It is time to NERD OUT with your GEEK OUT!

In this episode I am joined by my colleague and friend Dr. Sarah lane Ritchie. She was on the podcast this past summer and since moving to Edinburgh we've been planning to record again, so here it is.

At the beginning of the episode Sarah answers a question a number of you sent in about the different Religion and Science degrees offered here at the University of Edinburgh. Here's info for the online Philosophy, Science and Religion Masters, the on campus taught Masters, and research based Masters and PhD Degrees.

Dr. Sarah Lane Ritchie is Lecturer in Theology and Science at the University of Edinburgh. She has a PhD in Science and Religion from the University of Edinburgh, where her doctoral work focused on the question of divine action in the human mind. A Michigander by birth, Sarah also holds a BA in Philosophy and Religion from Spring Arbor University, an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary, and an MSc in Science and Religion from the University of Edinburgh. Her published work focuses on questions arising from the intersection of theology, philosophy, and the various brain-related sciences. Sarah’s research interests include divine action, philosophy of mind, naturalism, cognitive science of religion, and the psychology of belief formation.

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I am super pumped to have Philip Goff on the podcast and give a gigantic endorsement of his new book Galileo's Error: foundations for a new science of consciousness - now available in print, digital, and AUDIO. Goff is a leading philosopher of mind and advocate for a panpsychist account of mind. This new book is successfully written for a wider audience and should not be missed. If you want the super dense philosophical argument check out his text Consciousness and Fundamental Reality. 

It was a complete blast to finally get to talk to someone I have enjoyed reading and I hope you all enjoy it half as much as I did.

In the conversation we discuss...

• the hard problem of consciousness
• what is a Russellian monist?
• the failures of materialism and dualism
• what exactly is Galileo's error
• here's the article where Goff discusses religious fictionalism
• what neuroscience can and can't tell us about consciousness
• the power of a panpsychist argument
• Tripp mentions Alfred North Whitehead's Modes of Thought and the chapters Nature Lifeless and Nature Alive.
• what is consciousness? how is does it vary across reality?
• why electrons DO NOT have existential angst
• contrasting micro and macro panpsychism
• does panpsychism move towards a religious or spiritual worldview?
• here's talk Goff gave about the anthropic principle Tripp brings up
• you can tell Tripp is having fun when he decides to bring up more Process connections
• what is religious fictionalism? Here's the article in which Goff discusses it.
• Goff's symbolic affirmations that leads to his embrace of the Christian (fictional) faith - Crucifixion: 1)inversion of worldly powers & 2)inevitability of the bad guys winning / Easter: the hope against all odds, that the corrupt powers don't ultimately get the last word.
• what is the problem of 'Cosmic Alienation'?
• what would it mean to 'make rigorous'

Make sure you check out Philip Goff's very excellent website with tons of resources. Dr. Goff is an excellent twitter follow.

This episode is sponsored by our friends at The Pilgrim Press.

For everyone asking deep questions and chasing after God’s beauty in the world, The Pilgrim Press is a spiritual companion and resource. Those who love justice can turn to "Courageous Faith" by Emily Heath to nurture their spirits for the work of resistance. Those who love a bit of saucy biblical wisdom can learn from "Jesus and Those Bodacious Women" by the late great Linda Hollies. And those with the heartbreaking task of explaining death to children can lean on "Water Bugs and Dragonflies" by Doris Stickney, an all-time bestseller from The Pilgrim Press. These titles and many more are available through thepilgrimpress.com. The Homebrewed Christianity community can save 10% on orders by using the code HOMEBREWED at checkout.

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Who is Jesus Christ for us today?  Is there a way to even attempt to answer the question with intellectual credibility?  One of Germany’s greatest theologians, Michael Welker, is on the podcast discussing his new book God the Revealed: Christology.  In the book and on the podcast we discuss the quest for the historical, theological engagement with the natural sciences, the cultural shifts in the church, atonement theories, our shared love of Whitehead, and a bunch of other nerdy bits of goodness.

Professor Michael Welker is a Senior Professor at the University of Heidelberg (since 2013) and Director of the Research Center International and Interdisciplinary Theology (FIIT, since 2005) and an Honorary Professor at Seoul Theological University.

He is a member of the Heidelberg Academy and Corresponding Member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and received the Medal of the University of Heidelberg. Karl-Barth-Preis award in 2016.

For lots of info on Dr. Welker check out his website HERE.

Want to check out Dr. Welker's Gifford Lectures? Head over here and you can find the videos, audio, and written responses. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community.

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In this podcast Erin Law joins Tripp and Robyn to talk about her work in Somatics. They discuss… Why Erin Law is awesome. “Gender Trouble” as the Sermon on the Mount for humanity degrees… also Judith Butler is sometimes called J Buts. the nature of gender and sexuality what’s the deal with Christianity and bodies? how… Read more about Called to be Prophets: Erin Law, Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, Steed Davidson, and Brian McLaren

In this podcast Erin Law joins Tripp and Robyn to talk about her work in Somatics. They discuss...

• Why Erin Law is awesome.

"Gender Trouble" as the Sermon on the Mount for humanity degrees... also Judith Butler is sometimes called J Buts.

the nature of gender and sexuality

what's the deal with Christianity and bodies?

how friendship can become the place of resistance

the oppressive technology of separation

you should get Activist Theology -there is now an AUDIO version.

Then Steed Davidson and Brian McLaren join the fun as we discuss...

Dr. Steed Davidson is a post-colonial scholar of the Hebrew Bible at McCormick Theological Seminary.

Tripp takes advice from a Homebrewed Community Member and gets Brian to talk to Steed about the role of post-colonial thought for the future of the church.

the role of politics and empire in the Reformation translations of scripture

King James... of the authorized version KJV Bible translation was gay

the language of 'slavery' is used in expanding Protestantism as a spiritualized metaphor for everything but actual slavery

"if what you are saying is true... the next thing you are gonna tell me is that Jesus didn't preach the Roman Road."

the prophetic persona is a political persona

the forgotten prophetic power and possibility within the church

what's up with the word 'God' and does it have a future?

God is like the world's greatest tee-ball coach

the problematic nature of our culture of anxiety creation and management

 

If you are wise you will get inspired to check out Robyn’s new book. If you do… we got a bunch of goodies from Robyn to send you when you pre-order their new book Activist Theology. That’s right, when you pre-order the book just forward the receipt to goactivistheology [at] gmail [dot] com and we will send you our class Theologies of Resistance and Robyn’s lecture from Theology Beer Camp. 

This episode is sponsored by the #1 selling study Bible - The New Life Application Study Bible. 

Whether you’re new to the Bible or a lifelong reader, this study Bible includes clarifications that help you understand the language, advice on how to apply the Bible’s teaching to everyday life, descriptions of the context and setting, profiles of key Bible people, guides for finding what you’re looking for and more. That’s what makes it a Bible for all times and the bestselling study Bible in the world.

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Justin L. Barrett joined the School of Psychology in 2011 as Thrive Professor of Developmental Science and served as director of the Thrive Center for Human Development from 2011 to 2014. He is currently the chief project developer for the Office for Science, Theology, and Religion Initiatives (STAR) and, from January to September 2018, also… Read more about Justin Barrett: This is Your Brain on God – Cognitive Science and the Naturalness of Belief

Dr. Jonathan Jong is a Research Fellow at Coventry University, and Deputy Director of the Brain, Belief and Behaviour group there. He is also a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Oxford. Most of his current research is on the psychology of religion and the philosophical issues associated with the scientific study of religion. The Doctor is also a Reverend and Associate Priest at the parish church of St Mary Magdalen, Oxford and the Web Editor for the St Mary Magdalen School of Theology.

In this conversation we talked about...

• what is the scientific study of religion?
• what of religion is available to science?
• the role of humility in theological speculation
• how does cognitive science describe the origin of religion?
• what are the two big approaches to understanding the evolutionary origin of religion?
• how the relationship of our cognitive mechanisms and culture work together
• the role and function of culture in shaping humanity's religious disposition
• the problem of assessing a Christian account of theism with cognitive science
• how does a historically situated account of revelation impact the way you understand revelation?
• we discuss the role of reading and ritual experience in shaping the content of faith
• how the manner in which you engage the scripture changes the text itself
• what does cognitive psychology teach us about passing on the faith?
• is God real?
• "I think the church leadership has not woken up to the fact we don't live in the Middle Ages anymore."
• what are the ethical challenges raised by the cultural appropriation of mindfulness meditation?
• what is terror management theory?
• what is a death cafe?

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This is a special live podcast episode. It was recorded at Wild Heaven Brewing in Atlanta Georgia with a bunch of our friends from McAfee School of Theology. During this zesty episode we discuss...

• what is a 'wet baptist'?
• Dean Greg DeLoach gives beer style intros to Profs on the Mics
• the nature of missionary dating and how it is absolutely not connected to the missionary posititon
• the nature of Baptist life and American Evangelicalism
• why David Gushee is sticking it to Stan... at least in podcasting.
• Tripp discusses Carmen. He is sorry.
• we meet Colin. he managed to publish a very zesty text as a student at McAfee with Dr. Gushee... Moral Leadership for a Divided Age: Fourteen People Who Dared to Change Our World

why Ghandi might not be included in the second edition

the inspiring life of Oscar Romero

what question would you ask a Presidential Candidate to get at their moral leadership?

"we are remembering faith, not an ideological faith"

how comic books help you learn how to read the Bible

what's going on theologically in the cultural rise of the comic?

why everyone should read Sandman by Neil Gaiman

the unique shape, power, and creativity of nerd culture

Things to check out:

David Gushee's super high-quality podcast that I hope you are already listening to.  Kingdom Ethics Podcast

Upcoming Events at McAfee School of Theology

The Mercer Preaching Consultation in Chattanooga on October 6-8 with Dr. Brent Strawn (Professor of Hebrew Bible, Duke Div.)

The Self Preaching Lectures on March 9-10 at Mercer in Atlanta with Dr. Miroslav Volf (Professor of Theology and Director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, Yale Univ.). Contact Nikki Hardeman for more information ([email protected], 678.547.6357)

McAfee School of Theology

Dr. David P. Gushee is Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics and Director of the Center for Theology and Public Life at Mercer University.

Dr. Gushee is the elected Past-President of both the American Academy of Religion and Society of Christian Ethics. He is the author and/or editor of 24 books and approximately 150 book chapters, journal articles, and reviews. His most notable books include: Righteous Gentiles of the Holocaust, Kingdom Ethics, The Sacredness of Human Life, Changing our Mind, and Moral Leadership for a Divided Age.

A devoted teacher, Professor Gushee offers courses to seminarians and college students. Over a busy 25-year career, he has written hundreds of opinion pieces, given interviews to scores of media outlets, and has led several significant social-ethical activist efforts.

David G. Garber, Jr. is the Associate Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at McAfee. He received his B.A. in Religion from Baylor University (1995), his M.Div. and Th.M. from Princeton Theological Seminary (1998-99), and his Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible from Emory University (2005). Before this position, Dr. Garber served as an adjunct professor at McAfee for three years while finishing his dissertation on "Trauma, History, and Survival in Ezekiel 1-24." He teaches courses in Old Testament, Hebrew Exegesis, Social Justice in the Old Testament, The Theology of Ezekiel, The Bible and Popular Culture, and The Book of the Twelve.

In his research, Dr. Garber explores the usefulness of trauma theory as an interpretive lens for biblical study. He was the co-editor for a volume of Review and Expositor titled Faith Facing Trauma and contributed to the introduction and an expository article on Nahum 3 for the volume. Stemming from his work with trauma theory, Dr. Garber is currently composing an essay on “A Philology of Trauma in the Exilic Writings” to be published in a volume on the interpretation of exile ancient Israel by the Society of Biblical Literature.

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Robert John Russell is the current Ian G. Barbour Professor of Theology and Science at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. Since 1981, Dr. Russell has served as both founding director of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) and professor of theology and science at the GTU. Holding a PhD in physics and… Read more about Robert J. Russell: Cosmology, Divine Action, & Eschatology

Norman Wirzba was raised on a farm in Southern Alberta, Norman went on to study history at the University of Lethbridge, theology at Yale University Divinity School, and philosophy at Loyola University Chicago. Since then he has taught at Saint Thomas More College/University of Saskatchewan, Georgetown College (KY), and Duke University Divinity School. He’s the father… Read more about Norman Wirzba: Farm to Table Theology