Everyday Theology

With some ardent supporters, very vocal detractors, and many left in-between, the ideology of Christian nationalism has become a topic of much debate. Particularly within an election year, asking how Christian should engage within a political life, is the continued work of theological exploration. On today's podcast, Aaron discusses Christian nationalism, what it is, what is is not, and what it should not be for Christian, with Dr. Paul Miller. From his Georgetown Bio: Dr. Miller is a political theorist and political scientist focusing on international affairs, the American experiment, and America's role in the world. He is a Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He serves as co-chair of the Global Politics and Security concentration in the MSFS program. He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. As a practitioner, Dr. Miller served as Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan on the National Security Council staff; worked as an intelligence analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency; and served as a military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. His most recent book, The Religion of American Greatness: What's Wrong With Christian Nationalism, was published by IVP Academic in 2022. He is also the author of Just War and Ordered Liberty (Cambridge University Press, 2021) and American Power and Liberal Order (Georgetown University Press, 2016). Miller taught at The University of Texas at Austin and the National Defense University and worked at the RAND Corporation prior to his arrival at Georgetown.

There have been a lot of book about Jesus and movies, or Jesus and music, but have we ever stopped to ask questions about the engagement between the arts and the Spirit? In this episode, Drs. Chris Green and Robby Waddell join Aaron to discuss reflecting on the Spirit through the arts. We as the church might be surprised to find what we both understand about culture and about the Spirit when we find where the Spirit is moving within the arts.

It may sound odd to hear, but often theology has forgotten the third person of the Trinity. The Spirit, her work, and what it means for us as Christians in participating with the Spirit, has often been an after thoughts in the tomes of systematic theology. In this epidote, Revd Dr Helen Collins joins Aaron to discuss her new book Charismatic Christianity: Introducing Its Theology Through the Gifts of the Spirit. Together, the two discuss what has gone awry in thinking about the Spirit in relation to theology and what comes from intentionally thinking about the work of the Spirit.

Modernism gave us scientific certainty, which ultimately pushed back against the faith claims of Christianity (and religion in general). Postmodernism taught us there was nothing to be certain about, nothing real to be claimed. Is there a better way? In this episode, Aaron speaks with his guest Brendan Graham Dempsey about what metamodernism is as a new(ish) paradigm for engaging with the world and the potential it holds for Christianity and religions in general.

It is easy to talk about the prophetic theologically and biblically. Many claims can be made, frameworks created, and methods deduced about when the prophetic is helpful and spiritual, and when it is manipulative and done poorly. Everyday Theology has explored the prophetic, good, bad, and ugly in biblical and theological ways. This week, Aaron speaks with Dr. Mark Chironna who holds a PhD from the University of Birmingham in Theology as well as a DMin, about the ways the prophetic has been used in healthy ways and spiritually destructive ways. As a Charismatic, Pentecostal Pastor, Academic, and practitioner, Mark is able to aptly blend both theological rigor and practical understanding to a topic that has caused joy and suffering in many lives.

Worldview is a term used often to describe how people think about, see, and engage within the world. Christians have used this term for some time now, but do we really know what the word means or why it is important for Christians to understand what comprises their worldview. Everyone has a worldview, but not everyone knows what makes up their own worldviews. In this podcast, Aaron talked with Steven Felix and Yoon Shin about their new book, "Renewing Christian Worldview" that has just been released and available everywhere books are sold.

God's Not Dead. . . God's Not Dead 2. . . Son of God. . . I Still Believe. . . on and on and on, there seems to be no slowing down of "Christian" media (especially media that is being created for a profit!). In this episode, Dr. Blaine Charette joins Aaron to talk about the representation of Jesus in pop culture, what we get right, and what we get oh so wrong.

Every few years it seems that another video, blog article, or preacher espouses some idea based on the numbers of the Bible - whether it is fear over "antichrist" and the number 666 or even just saying that the number 7 means completion. What do we do with these numbers and how do we better approach what scripture is doing when it seems to use numbers as symbols? Frequent guest, Dr. Rick Wadholm, Professor of Old Testament, joins Aaron to go over the good (use), bad (use), and ugly (use) of numbers in the Bible.

The Billy Graham rule is an often touted rule for ministry and life. You don't meet with someone of the opposite sex alone. Simply right? Not really. Ryan Beaty joins Aaron to talk about the origins of the Billy Graham rule, what it was actually about when Graham's ministry instituted their rules for ministry, and how the church in the following years got it all wrong - because of poor sense-making. Sense-making helps us not only understand the world around us, but can be used to make poor decisions along the way. Join Aaron and Ryan in this discussion on what sense-making is and how we can be better at it.

You cannot seem to escape it, church scandal after church scandal, with no clear end in sight. It should not surprise us that church attendance in the Unites States is dropping, and quickly. How do we fix it? How do we create a church that is good and one that fulfills its purpose? In 2020 Scot and Laura published their book, "A Church Called Tov" discussing some of these pressing issues surrounding the church. On Sept 19th their latest book "Pivot: The Priorities, Practices, and Powers That Can Transform Your Church into a Tov Culture" will be available. Scot and Laura join Aaron to discuss what are some of the practices to help craft a church into a Tov culture, what can one do who is not in leadership in a church in this vision, and what do we do with power and authority (when it is often used so poorly)?