Christians are often portrayed as dumb as they hold onto ideas that are out of step with culture, science, and sometimes even common sense. But are Christians short on intellect or just change-averse? Elane and Benton chat over boulevardiers.

Cocktail: Boulevardier

Theme song: "Moving On (Feels Pretty Good)" recorded by Benton Stokes. Find Benton's songs wherever you listen to music online.

For decades, Richard Hays has been the leading New Testament scholar among conservatives. His case against LGBTQ+ people continues to justify queer exclusion in evangelical circles. But he has written a yet-to-be-released book with his son, Fuller Seminary professor Christopher Hays, that reverses his position, allowing for full affirmation of queer Christians in the church. Elane and Benton discuss the LGBTQ+ response and the implications of the Hays' about-face.

Cocktail: Martini

Theme song: "Moving On (Feels Pretty Good)" recorded by Benton Stokes. Find Benton's songs wherever you listen to music online.

American Christians are deeply divided on what our response should be to the Israel-Hamas War. The religious and political right support Israel no matter what, but why? And what is the big deal about campus protests denouncing the violence against Palestinians? Elane and Benton get into the thick of it.

Cocktail: Lemon Drop

Theme song: "Moving On (Feels Pretty Good)" recorded by Benton Stokes. Find Benton's songs wherever you listen to music online.

Progressives of any kind are generally thought of as forward-thinking non-traditionalists who dare to question conventionality and work at cultivating and spreading new ideas. Some of that is true of some progressive Christians. But ancient ideas, Biblical context, history, and lived experience are all vital to a healithy, progressive Christian life. Elane and Benton discuss what makes a progressive Christian progressive in the first episode of Cocktail Theology's fifth season!

Cocktail: Manhattan

Theme song: "Moving On (Feels Pretty Good)" recorded by Benton Stokes. Find Benton's songs wherever you listen to music online.

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between Jesus and Hercules? Well, we can think of a few. Elane and Benton close out Season 4 with a conversation about the Incarnation.

Cocktail: Evan Williams (Extra Noggy) Eggnog

Theme song: "Moving On (Feels Pretty Good)" recorded by Benton Stokes. Find Benton's songs wherever you listen to music online.

What is moral authority and where does it come from? Do we as a society care about moral authority? And where should Christians look for moral authority (besides Jesus, of course)? Benton and Elane discuss while sipping a Prohibition Era cocktail, the Scofflaw.

Cocktail: Scofflaw

Theme song: "Moving On (Feels Pretty Good)" recorded by Benton Stokes. Find Benton's songs wherever you listen to music online.

Should Christians vote for Christians to represent them in government? If the answer is "yes," then the next question is "why?" Elane and Benton discuss, among other things, the qualities and qualifications that cause people of faith to vote for one person over another.

Cocktail: Pressure Drop

Theme song: "Moving On (Feels Pretty Good)" recorded by Benton Stokes. Find Benton's songs wherever you listen to music online.

Power—and the desire each of us has for it—is the concern God confronted when They handed Moses the Ten Commandments. Bottom line: Power is at the root of sin. Elane and Benton have a (rather philosophical) conversation about the pitfalls of power.

Cocktail: Stokes's Sidecar

Theme song: "Moving On (Feels Pretty Good)" recorded by Benton Stokes. Find Benton's songs wherever you listen to music online.

God moves--and speaks--in mysterious ways. Benton and Elane chat about the ways they have (and haven't) heard God speak, and pose the question: "How do you know it's God?"

Cocktail: The Ford Cocktail

Theme song: "Moving On (Feels Pretty Good)" recorded by Benton Stokes. Find Benton's songs wherever you listen to music online.

Elane and Benton discuss the meaning and misunderstandings around the word 'godliness' as it appears in the Bible and in fundamentalist ideology—while drinking bourbon, as one does.

Cocktail: The Preakness Manhattan

Theme song: "Moving On (Feels Pretty Good)" recorded by Benton Stokes. Find Benton's songs wherever you listen to music online.