Begin Again Podcast

For the first interview in Ambushed history... is an upcoming scholar and theological juggernaut. He also happens to be my brother, Steve Chaffee. Join us as we chat about Torrance, Barth, American Christianity, physical vs spiritual and more!

A quote from George Carlin and another one from Blaise Pascal inspired this one. The question is this, have we been encouraged to make a cartoon of Jesus our hero?

Just some reflections on Not-Zeus, children playing, and the Trinity. Be ready for Perichoresis and the fact that it sounds so new-age but is, in reality, quite an ancient way of looking at the Divine!

Ever have a moment where you hear a little voice say, "Pay attention, something is happening..."? Well, I can't say these moments happen to me often but here is one of those instances that happened to me about 6-7 years ago and still resonates mystifies me.

Christianity is absurd... and that's a good thing. Early scholastic theologians came up with the phrase "credo quia absurdum", which translates as "I believe because it is absurd." However, to take this faith seriously may mean that we are seen as absurd, not only by those outside of the church, but maybe also by those within it. This too, is a good thing. Why? Because the church has only ever been reminded to be what it should through the words and the works of the saints, the holy fools. Thus, the title, "Brennan Manning and Holy Foolishness.”

Here is part 2 of "Reclaiming ______"! This time, I want to reclaim the Greek word Metanoia as "to change one's mind." This is a follow up to the last podcast on the Hebrew word Teshuvah. In all likelihood, these will be the start of an ongoing series that looks at different words that are helpful to our holistic health, betterment and spirituality. Enjoy and feel free to share!

Being raised by teachers, literally, my family has always highly valued books. And what goes with books? Well, words, of course. Here is 1 of 2 podcasts looking at specific words. Here I chat over the word teshuvah, which some translate as "repent", but more accurately should be "return." Enjoy and feel free to pass on to others!

The two greatest commandments, Jesus' own distillation of the Jewish Law, has got some other angles that we can understand them. Here are three different ways of understanding "You shall love God and love your neighbor as yourself.”

Back in grad school I was told I was iconoclastic, that I enjoyed challenging the popular ways of looking at things to see if there was not a better viewpoint. This week you can expect comments against a narcissistic god, three guidelines of physical humor, and how we choose to talk about the "Good News." Enjoy!

It's a simple question... Is it possible to make an idol of the life of Jesus? Maybe it's splitting hairs, but perhaps it is more necessary as a question than we care to admit. This is sure to be conversation fodder for you and others. Enjoy!