Gravity Commons Podcast

We talked with church history professor Wes Crawford about the complicated relationship between Christian faith and American patriotism, and how national devotion has grown into something resembling a civil religion—complete with its own rituals, sacred texts, and symbols. These are the themes explored in Crawford's new book One Nation over God.

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Connect with Gravity Commons:

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We talked with activist and academic Lucas Wilson about the experience of surviving queer conversion therapy. His book Shame-Sex Attraction tells these stories, seeks to expose conversion practices for what they are - pseudoscientific, bogus, ineffective, and wildly traumatic, and to ensure that these stories do not happen to future generations.

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We talked with pastor Kenneth Tanner about his new book Vulnerable God, which invites readers to reimagine both God and themselves through the mystery and vulnerability of the incarnation. Tanner argues that vulnerability is not a flaw in the divine nature but the very glory of divine love. Through service, hiddenness, and surrender, Jesus reveals what it means to be fully human the way God is human.

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We talked with minister and author Rohadi Nagassar reclaiming what makes us fully alive—slowing down, paying attention, and embracing the truth that each of us deserves to flourish. His new book Whole and Human walks through forty meditations engaging the five senses, journey into deeper relationship with land, body, spirit, and justice

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We talked with Presbyterian minister and peace activist Ben Daniel about his book Grace Over Guns: Pursuing Peace in a Militarized World, in which he challenges readers to think through common justifications for military violence and to consider how those justifications might not measure up to the teachings of Jesus, offering a prophetic call to reject the sin of military violence and embrace the grace of Christian pacifism.

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We talked with spiritual director Deb Gregory about the profoundly reorienting practice of walking and praying: a multisensory journey that integrates mind, body, and spirit as we notice God's gentle leading, one step at a time. In her new book Spiritual Wayfinding, Deb has created thirty-three unique walking meditations exploring the core questions Where am I? and Where am I going? Each experience in this easy-to-use guide offers a creative approach to walking, specific prompts for reflection and prayer, and Ignatian contemplation of Scripture.

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We talked with spiritual director and author Susan Carson about how neuroscience and mystical theology intersect to inform a way of being together with God and one another that heals our trauma and alienation, which she explores in her new book A Kenotic Way of Contemplative Healing: Julian of Norwich, Neuroscience and the Centrality of Safety in Healing Trauma. Find her podcast, blog, and more at www.susancarson.net.

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We talked with pastor Steve Watson about shedding forms of Christianity that have disappointed us and constructing and embracing a faith that makes us "larger, freer, and more loving," in the famous words of James Baldwin. His new book All Flesh Shalom dissects some of white Western Christianity’s most narrow and misguided readings of the life and teaching of Jesus, and in conversation with leading open and relational and postcolonial, liberation theologians, explores ways we can engage major themes in the gospels in the service of a larger, freer, more loving faith.

You can connect with Steve and his work on Substack: https://allfleshshalom.substack.com

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We talked with Professor Victor Counted about how the attachment framework can help us explore how we develop and sustain psychological bonds with God, and how, when those bonds are eroded, it can lead to a crisis of faith. His book Bonded With God navigates questions of identity, meaning, and purpose, and the role of faith in offering support and guidance as we examine our connection with God.

Victor Counted is associate professor of psychology, director of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, and director of the Abundant Life Flourishing Program at Regent University. He is a faculty affiliate of Harvard University's Human Flourishing Program and associate editor of The Journal of Positive Psychology. You can connect with him and his work on his website https://vcounted.com/

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