Front Row

In the development of our existence, we search to transcend basic levels of consciousness. We can experience a reality beyond our own body and self image. Fear about how we are perceived can cause us to hide parts of ourselves, and to project them onto those who belong to other groups.

In Part 2 of our series featuring audio from Father Richard Rohr’s lecture “The Human Spirit,” Ann and Debo discuss moving beyond fear, projection versus authenticity, and self-examination as the work of responsible humans.

Hear more from Richard Rohr and Sr. Joan Chittister by purchasing “The Human Spirit and The Times We Live In”, a Faith And Reason seminar series resource.

The FaithAndReason 360 podcast is free to all listeners. Interested in supporting? Donate at FaithAndReason.org.

“What characterizes a spiritually mature person?”

Part one of our four-part series features audio from Father Richard Rohr in his lecture “The Human Spirit,” available from Faith And Reason as a two-disc set also featuring Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB.

Ann and Debo discuss insights from Father Richard Rohr’s lecture on faith and self-awareness, aptly titled “The Human Spirit.” Join Ann and Debo for commentary on clips form Rohr on rejecting dualism, the narcissism of certainty, and faith as an act of making peace with life’s mysteries.

The FaithAndReason 360 podcast is free to all listeners. Interested in supporting? Donate at FaithAndReason.org.

Grab “The Human Spirit and The Times We Live In”, a Faith And Reason seminar series resource featuring contemplatives Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB, and Father Richard Rohr.

In this episode of Faith And Reason 360 we are honored to welcome author, scholar, and scribe of the popular monthly newsletter “Connections” Barbara Wendland. Join us as Barbara discusses the need for a radical update of creed, attitude, and structure in the Christian church, whose practices, Wendland says, are outdated—and this behind-the-times attitude, though revered as traditional by many, comes at the expense of Church success. The world has changed dramatically since the 3rd century; is the Church ready to catch up?

“...America has traditionally been understood as a Christian nation. The question is: understood by whom?”

An enormously influential Old Testament scholar, Dr. Walter Brueggeman’s question echoed at Faith And Reason’s The Prospect of a World Community of Religions seminar. Challenging the commonly-held assumption that the Founding Fathers intended for the United States to be a Christian nation, instead, he argues, it is intended to be a secular democracy. The churches of a secular democracy, Brueggemann argues, should exist to “bring vision, and passion, and energy, and courage” to society—not division, strife, and oppression.

No small critic of imperialism and nationalism, Brueggemann heavily influences this podcast episode. Join Ann and Debo as they use Brueggemann’s scholarship to reflect on the First Amendment, the exclusion of minority voices in the national political and religious conversation, and how Christians can co-exist in the secular democracy—not co-opt it.

On this episode, we’re joined by Noorain Khan, program officer at the Ford Foundation.

Though Khan’s achievements as a decorated academic landed her a position at a prestigious corporate law firm in New York City, the self-described “Girl Scouts evangelist” knew that her professional goals lay in the world of social justice. So Khan, honored by Law and Policy’s “30 Under 30” List, gave up the ultra-competitive world of corporate law to her true calling of giving back to the global community.

Tune in as Khan discusses her experiences as a Muslim-American woman navigating a roiling political and social landscape, the importance of intersectional representation in all fields, and how altruism is a catalyst not only for social change but also for deep personal fulfillment.

Debo Dykes and Ann Phelps host a roundtable discussion with guests Rev. Dr. Jason Coker, field coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Mississippi and David Dykes, Executive Director of Faith And Reason, about the beginnings of our faith formed by family and the image and language of God created for and by white men.

We discuss the patriarchal language of God, ownership of God’s image, and the ways in which those perceptions, often fiercely and systemically protected, color our moral and political views. Critical work comes in remembering that Christians’ commitment to progress should prioritize justice for anyone on the margins of society.

Read more from Rev. Dr. Jason Coker on the CBF website: http://www.cbfms.org/drjasonblog/

David Dykes is wrapping up production on The Challenge of Paul, available at https://www.faithandreason.org.

Sr. Joan Chittister in God, The World, & The Gap Between, an audio recording available as either a CD ($15) or USB flash drive ($20).

As fires rage in California and hurricanes menace the Gulf Coast and the Caribbean, hosts Ann Phelps and Debo Dykes talk with guest Frederica Helmiere about the environment and what lessons Christians can learn from their interaction with the natural world.

Helmiere challenges Christians to examine their ideas about consumption, and the direct and indirect impact of that consumption on the global environment. She discusses the way race, class, gender and capitalism intersect with faith and the conservation of the environment. Helmiere pushes us to reflect always on the way that intersectionality is critical to understanding the management of the environment while taking into consideration justice for marginalized people.

Frederica Helmiere has spent the last fifteen years working at the intersection of religion, social justice and ecology in the United States and abroad. She is currently a multiregion coordinator at the United Religions Initiative, and has taught related undergraduate and graduate courses at the University of Washington and Seattle University. Helmiere has two masters via a joint Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and Yale Divinity School, and gained her BA from Dartmouth in Religion and Environmental Studies.

Learn more about the United Religions Initiative: http://www.uri.org/

Debo and Ann talk to the Rev. Dr. Jason Coker, field coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Mississippi (CBF MS) in light of recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Jason, who is white, grew up poor in a predominantly black public school in the Mississippi Delta, and talks about how his early life formed his views on race and justice. Jason went on to study at Yale Divinity and Drew which included work in ancient biblical languages and modern postcolonial theory.

These experiences shaped Jason's outlook and informs his current work with CBF MS to tackle rural poverty. In keeping with the ethics of the historical Jesus, Jason's work is geared towards the liberation of the oppressed.

Read more from Rev. Dr. Jason Coker on the CBF website: http://www.cbfms.org/drjasonblog/

Ann Phelps and Debo Dykes revisit an archived Marcus Borg lecture to dissect Borg's ideas on how one can practice Christianity but reject literalism and beliefs that don't fit a modern understanding of justice.

Can some parts of the Bible be "flat-out wrong?" Does this create anxiety or relief when you hear it? For Marcus Borg, letting go of literalism opens a larger world of metaphor that ultimately leads to a more fulfilling personal faith.

This episode of the podcast reacquaints listeners with Marcus Borg, who passed away in 2015. Borg left a legacy of historical Jesus scholarship and a lasting call to experience Christianity as a call to create justice in today's world.

Faith And Reason Seminar Series

Rob Hill's journey has taken him from the pulpit as a United Methodist Church pastor to a position as director of the Human Rights Campaign Mississippi.

Through the organization's One America project, Rob and his team lead the effort to bring equality to LGBTQ people throughout Mississippi. Using the resources of HRC and collaborating with local organizations, he works each day to help change hearts and minds, advance enduring legal protections and build more inclusive institutions in the Magnolia State.

For those who are not LGBTQ but want to put compassion into action, Rob suggests speaking out when you hear unacceptable language, and showing up to rallies and policy discussions.

Learn more:

HRC "Love Your Neighbor" video campaign: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLstyCKmnMAyYHdPYAeMYVPl7DH2T_JetR

HRC "Religion & Faith" topic http://www.hrc.org/explore/topic/religion-faith