Below the Upper Room

Below the Upper Room

By Below the Upper RoomReligion & Spirituality
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Below the Upper Room episodes

  • Identifying and Fighting Hatred
    Adrianna and Kenzie discuss Jesus x Taylor Swift TikTok edits, the end of The War on Christmas, and if Elf on the Shelf is an authoritarian surveillance panopticonic parenting or just annoying. The gals then dive into their main topic: the disturbing rise of Christian Nationalism. What is it? Why is it dangerous? And how can we combat it?
    Sources:
    How Christian Nationalism Is Taking Root Across the World by CAMILA VERGARA https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/10/27/global-far-right-christian-nationalists-00063400
    What is Christian Nationalism by Paul D. Miller https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/february-web-only/what-is-christian-nationalism.html
    Christian nationalism's white supremacy crisis: Bitter battle on the far right https://www.salon.com/2022/12/02/christian-nationalisms-supremacy-crisis-bitter-battle-on-the-far-right/
    The GOP Tweeted Its Praise for Kanye 56 Days Ago. Here’s Everything That Happened Since From "White Lives Matter" to "Death Con 3" and beyond, the rapper's antisemitic spiral didn't deter Republicans until this week BY TIM DICKINSON, NIKKI MCCANN RAMIREZ, RICK CARP https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/kanye-west-antisemitism-tolerated-gop-praised-hitler-1234640466/
    Views of the U.S. as a ‘Christian nation’ and opinions about ‘Christian nationalism’ BY GREGORY A. SMITH, MICHAEL ROTOLO AND PATRICIA TEVINGTON
    https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/10/27/views-of-the-u-s-as-a-christian-nation-and-opinions-about-christian-nationalism/
    What is Christian nationalism?Rev. Ryan Dunn
    https://www.umc.org/en/content/what-is-christian-nationalism
    https://www.justice.gov/crs/highlights/2021-hate-crime-statistics
    https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/10/27/45-of-americans-say-u-s-should-be-a-christian-nation/
    Resources: 
    The Interfaith Alliance https://interfaithalliance.org/
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum https://www.ushmm.org/
    Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum https://memorialmuseum.com/
    Southern Poverty Law Center https://www.splcenter.org/
    1 hr 22 min
  • Hated Christian Media That We Love

    Adrianna and Kenzie sit down and talk and discuss what's been going on with them and what's happening in the world. The gals then talk about the film Parable and the book The Shack which are beloved but also marred with controversy for their depictions of Christ. This leads to a discussion about how art can be used to help express complicated feelings and make spiritual discoveries. 

    Parable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S95afVrh0AI

    Rolf Forsberg Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpXpvwGfryw

    The Shack: https://wmpaulyoung.com/the-shack/

    1 hr 19 min
  • Before Christians were Christian: Christian History Pt. 1

    Have you ever thought about how Christianity went from a religion of the oppressed to a dominating force in just a short time period? Adrianna and Mackenzie discuss how intensely dramatic first 300 years of Christianity and what early controversies shaped  Christianity identity.  The gals also talk about the Taylor Swift Ticket Master fiasco, Thanksgiving plans, and podcast recommendations.

    Podcast recommendation: The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill by Christianity Today https://open.spotify.com/show/5rJtwcRM7WNYs0LNTrlP5N?si=y4ElsrbiTc2ZrU_hyA-ONg

    Sources:

    Justo Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity, Volume 1, 2ndedition, 2010.

    John W. Coakley and Andrea Sterk, Readings in World Christian History, Vol 1, 2006.

    Barbara MacHaffie, HerStory: Women in Christian Tradition, 2nd edition, 2006.

    1 hr 10 min
  • State School vs Liberal Arts: College Ministry Showdown
    Adrianna and Mackenzie had VERY different college experiences. Which means they had very different relationships with college ministry. In the latest episode of BTUR the gals go head to head and talked about their alma maters’ religious life cultures.
    Sources:
    BETTER TOGETHER WEEK’ PROMOTES INCLUSION, TOLERANCE by Eliana Moon MediaOCU https://mediaocu.com/2016/04/05/better-together-week-promotes-inclusion-tolerance/
    ‘Fertile Soil For Abuse’: A Reckoning At Covenant Fellowship Church By Esther Yoon-Ji Kang, Susie An
    https://www.wbez.org/stories/a-reckoning-at-covenant-fellowship-church/7e19a80b-92bd-4ad8-a6f9-61edb114b46f
    Documentary recommendations: “God Forbid” on Hulu & “Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed” on Amazon
    1 hr 19 min
  • Hell Houses
    ***CONTENT WARNING*** this episode mentions gun violence, sexual assault, and suicide. We do not go into explicit detail about these topics but we understand that these things can be triggering.
    Happy Halloween! Adrianna and Mackenzie follow up on the Egg Church and investigated the VeggieTales Twitter discourse. The gals the discuss the concept of hell houses and read listener submitted stories about these haunted attractions with a religious twist.
    Sources
    Hell House  (2001)  George Ratfliff
    “Hell House” True Crime Obsessed Podcast
    “Evangelical Hell Houses Are Waking Nightmares” by Josiah Hesse Vice
    “4 Ex-Evangelical Woman on Their Memories of hell Houses” by Melissa Dahl The Cut
    “Guts Church Goes Scarier in 25th Year of its Spook House with a Message” by Bill Sherman Tulsa World
    57 min
  • The Good Book
    The Bible is often referred “The Good Book” but it can also be a confusing book. Adrianna and Mackenzie discuss their relationships with scripture and attempt to answer the questions: What is the Bible? How did it come to be? Why are there contradictions in the Bible? Why are there so many different versions? How should we read the Bible?
    1 hr 8 min
  • America's Next Top Christian Influencer
    In their inaugural episodes, besties and Sunday school teachers Adrianna and Mackenzie discuss hipster evangelicals and Catholic trads. The gals also talk about their own faith journeys, and how they're basically the Call Her Daddy: Christian Edition of the podcasting world.
    47 min

About Below the Upper Room

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Are you interested in talking about theology but wish the convos were more fun and inviting and less exclusive and discouraging? Tune into Below the Upper Room! Childhood besties and women in ministry…