Homebrewed Christianity

I am thrilled to have Rev. Dr. Ben Bosell on the podcast and honored to be a part of his book launch for Confronting Whiteness. Our conversation was recorded live at Common Market Southend in Charlotte, North Carolina, and it was a blast. 

Ben and I became friends in undergrad at Campbell University and by the end of the podcast you will hear some fun stories. Before storytime, we explore his own wrestling with the concept and legacy of whiteness and his doctoral research seeking to address it in predominantly white congregations. 

You can find Confronting Whiteness to purchase here and access all the online resources, videos, and such here. As a friend, I am super proud of Ben’s work and hope those of you looking for resources in your own context connect with Ben. He also recently released a collection of timely sermons, For the Facing of this Hour: Preaching that Resists White Christian Nationalism. 

Benjamin Boswell is the Senior Minister of Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC, and a former Army Officer with degrees from Campbell University (B.A.), Duke Divinity School (M.Div.), and Saint Paul School of Theology (D.Min). He is a preacher, pastor, civil rights leader and public speaker who facilitates anti-racist spiritual formation courses for people racialized as White and for White dominant organizations. In 2021, Dr. Boswell was awarded the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr. Medallion, which is the city of Charlotte’s highest honor given to a person who promotes racial equality, social justice, and community service. He is the author of “For the Facing of this Hour: Preaching that Resists White Christian Nationalism,” and “Confronting Whiteness: A Spiritual Journey of Reflection, Conversation, and Transformation.”

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This is a preview stream for our upcoming online class – Tolkien Heads. The class is for those who want to go deeper into Middle-earth, but don’t know where to start. In this class you’ll be accompanied by fellow Tolkien heads and guided by Tolkien experts like John Garth and Flemming Rutledge to help you “keep your feet” on your journey down the Tolkien Road. Everything from Tolkien’s life, creation of Middle-earth, and faith will be covered, so you can increase your nerd street cred and follow the unending trail of Tolkien goodness. Plus, who doesn’t want to nerd out during the new show Rings of Power! It’s an open online class that is donation based (including 0), so if you want to nerd out come on! http://tolkienheadpod.com

 

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In this special episode, I am joined by Carmen Butcher and Mike Morrell to have a convo about everyday mysticism. They are the hosts for The Mystics Summit and just finished interviewing more than 30 scholars, teachers, and contemporary mystics — including Heiwa No Bushi, Mirabai Starr, Banafsheh Sayyad, Father Greg Boyle, Alexander John Shaia, Taya Mâ, Kabir Helminski, Rabbi Rami Shapiro, Dr. Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, Hillary Raining, Matthew Fox , Micky ScottBey Jones, Sophie Strand, Juliet Rania, Jay Michaelson, Gareth Higgins, Therese Taylor-Stinson, Tada Hozumi, Simona Chitescu Weik, Rebekah Berndt, Carl McColman, and many others…including me:) I was excited to hear what their takeaways were after having such a wide collection of powerful conversations. This didn’t disappoint! While Mike and I are long-time friends, I was blown away getting to meet Carmen and hear about her recent work translating Brother Lawrence. If you enjoy this episode half as much as I did, then you will definitely want to sign up for The Mystics Summit. The Summit airs on August 15-19. Catching the live dialogues is FREE, but you need to RSVP here.

Carmen Acevedo Butcher, PhD, is an internationally acclaimed speaker, author, educator, poet, and translator of spiritual texts. Her dynamic work around the evolution of language and the necessity of just and inclusive language has garnered interest from various media, including the BBC and NPR’s Morning Edition. From a young age, she was drawn to Brother Lawrence’s “practicing the presence” prayer, and with degrees in medieval studies and a linguistics background, Carmen brings history to life and makes its wisdom widely accessible and useful for healing, growth, and peace. She is the award-winning translator of classics such as Practice of the Presence by Brother Lawrence… The Cloud of Unknowing, an anonymous work of Christian mysticism… Hildegard of Bingen: A Spiritual Reader… and A Little Daily Wisdom: Christian Women Mystics. Her teaching reinvigorates the timeless insights of the humble French friar Brother Lawrence, The Cloud’s engaging contemplative teacher Anonymous, the creative genius Hildegard, and the deeply loving Julian of Norwich, among others. A Carnegie Foundation Professor of the Year and Fulbright Senior Lecturer, Carmen currently teaches at the University of California, Berkeley in the College Writing Programs.

Mike Morrell is the collaborating author, with Father Richard Rohr, on The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation, as well as the founder of Wisdom Camp, and a founding organizer of the Wild Goose Festival. Mike curates contemplative and community experiences via relational skills, taking joy in holding space for the extraordinary transformation that can take place at the intersection of anticipation, imagination, and radical acceptance.

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We just finished the Christianity in Process class with John Cobb and had a bunch of lingering questions. So I called in my friend and super nerd, Tom Oord, for a little Process Theology QnA. These questions were all submitted by class members, but they ended up inspiring a conversation worth sharing. Plus, Tom and I have been doing a series of “Big God Questions” on the podcast and rarely get past 3 or 4 questions. In this convo we double our normal effort

Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. He is an award-winning author, and he has written or edited more than twenty-five books. Oord directs a doctoral program at Northwind Theological Seminary and the Center for Open and Relational Theology. He won the Outstanding Faculty Award twelve times as a full-time professor and now speaks at institutions across the globe. Oord is known for his contributions to research on love, open and relational theology, science and religion, and freedom and relationships for transformation.

Some Previous Tripp & Tom Pods

• Authority, Atonement, Abortion, and a Big Hug

• from Pluriform Love to Divine Revelation

• Big God Twitter Takes

• Trump is (NOT) a Process Theologian & Other Questions

• Thomas Jay Oord wants you to know “God Can’tâ€

• Open and Relational Theology Throwdown
• Open and Relational Q&A with Thomas Jay Oord
• Why Go Wesleyan?

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Audio Player

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This is a Fantasy Draft!!  Joining me for all the fun are three friends with plenty of CCM wisdom for the fantasy battle. After you listen to the episode head down below and vote for the winner. Whoever wins the battle will be selecting a song for the four of us to rock during the karaoke session at Theology Beer Camp.

Trey Pearson is back on the podcast. He has a zesty new album, “Somebody You Knew,” ready for your listening ears. You can check out all his info here.

Mason Mennenga is an aspiring theologian, podcaster, YouTuber, and the Internet’s youth pastor. The best and worst way to connect with him is his twitter.

Tim Whitaker runs the New Evangelicals and all its outputs. He was also “let go” as a drummer for asking too many questions. The gateway to their stuff is on IG

58 CCM Fantasy Draft: Trey Pearson & the Podcast 3-Way The CCM Fantasy Draft There are 4 teams, each with 7 players for the 7 positions. Unlike your fantasy football team, the positions are selections from CCM. Each team will have 1 'player' for each of these 'positions.'

1. Dominating the "Under the Sheets" game - where you add the phrase "under the sheets" to a song name
2. Thank God for Hand Motions
3. CCM Hottie
4. Most Theologically Problematic Lyric
5. Most "Cringe-Free" CCM Album
6. Youth Group Angst Bomb
7. Future Deconstructor All-Star

 

Thanks for your answer!

Trey Mason Tim Tripp Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.

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Jon Ivan Gill is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Gustavus Adolphus College (St Peter, Mn.) And Cross-Community Coordinator at the Center for Process Studies (Salem, Or. and Claremont, Ca.). He is an avid scholar of Whiteheadian process thought, metaphysics, cultural studies, aesthetics, existentialist philosophy, and constructive & secular theology. His creative tangent ranges from underground hip-hop culture to cryptic lyrics he pens in rap, poetry, journal refereeing, book reviews, and academic essays, critiques, and books.

In the conversation we discuss…

• Jon’s origin story as a scholar
• the “key change” of going Process
• responding to the predicament of omnipotence
• shout out to Suchocki’s God Christ Church: A Practical Guide to Process Theology 

the elements and origin of Hip-Hop

wrestling with the legacy of supremacy culture in religion

shout out to Coleman’s Making a Way Out of No Way: A Womanist Theology 

check out Jon’s new book, Toward Afrodiasporic and Afrofuturist Philosophies of Religion

reshaping the nature of religious engagement

Tripp gives an example where his love of the Lakers gets intense

how does a Process vision remix liberation

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What a treat! Joseph A. Bracken, SJ, is back on the podcast! He is an emeritus professor of theology at Xavier University and one of my favorite philosophical theologians. I even wrote a chapter about him in my last book.

In the conversation we discuss…

• how he found the work of Whitehead in his journey as a Jesuit scholar
• the problems with Whitehead according to Bracken… Societies and the need for a stronger communitarian picture of life
• What is the problem of the One & Many and the process approach
• how does Bracken envision a Trinitarian God-World relationship
• Bracken’s reflection on Pope Francis and how it resonates with a Process-Relational framework
• the changing relationship between religion and science over church history
• the predicament of scientism
• how to think ethically about our planetary crisis
• Tripp discusses the 3 things he would add to the Christian canon
•  the need for a new worldview beyond the conflict of religion and science
• Bracken’s the Church as Dynamic Life-System

how Bracken uses the Trinity to think through a for of deep religious pluralism

Bracken’s new book – Reciprocal Causality in an Event-Filled World

a Process vision of the Cosmic Christ

Bracken’s Spirit Christology and field theory

the problem of evil and suffering

what Bracken has learned about the relationship between faith and doubt

Tripp tells Joe how much he loves him.

an amazing intro to God by Bracken – God: Three Who Are One

Previous Conversations with Bracken

• A Process Spirit Christology with Joseph Bracken

• Emergence, Panenthesim, Science & Process Theology

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Occasionally this theology nerd comes out as the other kind of nerd, a comic book nerd. My absolute favorite comic book run is Jason Arron’s time on Thor and it is at the center of the next MCU film, Thor: Love and Thunder. In this episode, HBC’s Guru of Geekdom, Rev. Will Rose, is here with a Thor specialist. – Ryan Does’ of Across the Bifrost: the Mighty Thor Podcast and we have a blast digging into Thor.

Links

• Ryan Does’ podcast Across the Bifrost: the Mighty Thor Podcast

Ryan’s interview with Jason Arron

Tripp & Will’s interview with Jason Arron

Love and Thunder movie trailer

In the conversation, we discuss…

• What makes a God worthy?
• Inverting the role of power in comic book narrative
• Curse you Virgin Media!!
• “Resting Zoom Face”
• Gorr the God Butcher — assassinating the unworthy gods
• When it comes to crap deities you gotta Gorr it
• the Road to Edmond – Tripp’s movie
• Tripp preaches Gorr & Psalm 82
• Jane Foster as Thor is EPIC
• What is the nature of self-sacrificial love?
• Confronting Cancer with Jane
• Who is worthy to wield the hammer when the Norse dude has failed?
• The use of Jason Aaron & Thor in the classroom
• Kenosis & Jane
• A cooperative deity is more zesty

Selfie from the Hobbit Hole with Ryan & Will

New to comics? The best move is to find a local comic book store. You can check out Jason’s stuff digitally through Amazon. If you are smart you will use the free 60 day trial of ComiXology or try out Marvel Unlimited and turn your iPad or computer into Jason Aaron gateway. For Jason’s independent releases you can go to his store. Here’s a guide to reading Jason’s Thor run.

WILL ROSE is a Lutheran pastor at the Holy Trinity in Chapel Hill and guru of all things pop culture.

RYAN DOES is the voice behind the Across the Bifrost podcast. You can follow the pod here on IG.

THIS PODCAST IS SPONSORED BY JOHN MABRY – check out his new album I Want to Be Changed. Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.

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BOOM! Jake Erickson is back on the podcast. This one is a complete blast. In our conversation we discuss…

– The origin story of a Lutheran queer eco-process theologian from North Dakota – an exploration of religion & violence – exploring sexuality, queerness and desire – god is queer – after an orgasm tell God you’re welcome – how purity culture destroys community – divine eroticism – Biblical authority in a Process style – feeling the trauma when you can’t fix the violence – moral agency w/out a redemption story – one of the big lies that shapes us, is that we are alone. It is in our relationality and community we find the power for creative transformation – post-Covid theology – thinking American from the outside – dead people Jake loves to think with – shout out to Marjorie Suchocki’s prayer book

Jacob J. Erickson is Assistant Professor of Theological Ethics at Trinity College Dublin. He previously taught Religion and Environmental Studies at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, USA.

Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Previous Visits from Jake

• Apocalyptic #ProcessParty with Catherine Keller & Jacob Erickson

• a Theopoetics of the Earth

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I have so much fun talking nerdy with Donna Bowman. I’m so pumped to have her back on the podcast and a part of the Christianity in Process series.  Donna Bowman is professor of interdisciplinary studies in the Norbert O. Schedler Honors College at the University of Central Arkansas.

In this conversation we discussed

• how Donna started as a Southern Baptist and found Process thought
• the nature of an open future
• Tripp complains about John Calvin being very very unBiblical and sub-Christian
• Donna gives a shout-out to her homeboy Karl Barth
• Should we fear the mystery of God?
• the problem with Christian Triumphalism
• what is happening in worship?
• what is a religious tradition and how does it live?
• Tripp gives a process reading of the song “Every Move I Make”
• the nature of ordinary lived theology
• Donna shares about getting into Blaseball… an online baseball + horror game
• Tripp gets excited about the upcoming Thor film
• how Donna moved beyond an impersonal, Ground of Being style, deity

Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Previous Podcast visits from Donna Bowman

• Becoming the Best Bag of Bones You Can Be

• Politics, Pussy Hats, and Patriarchy 

• Exploring the Matrix Resurrections!

• God and the World Wide Web 

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