Homebrewed Christianity

This is a super special episode. I have been looking forward having James Evans on the podcast since I first read his Systematic Theology in Divinity School. Luckily Callid Keefe-Perry was able to connect with him an have an amazing conversation. James Evans is the Robert K. Davies Professor of Systematic Theology at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. If you have yet to read We Have Been Believers: An African American Systematic Theology then get on it now.

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Norman Wirzba is on the podcast talking about his newest book, Way of Love: Rediscovering the Heart of Christianity. Spoiler alert: it's love.

Norman and Tripp talk about ecology, creation out of nothing, and why you don't want to be like Socrates. How does a theologian get interested in ecology you might ask? Norman describes meeting Wendell Berry and how that helped him to see how land and food issues are central to the way human beings think about cultural issues. "So much of Christianity is Gnostic today and only cares about our souls - you forget about our embodiment. When you talk about embodiment you have to talk about food, land, energy, water, air."

Way of Love is a shift back to the earthiness of the gospel telling - retelling the heart of Christianity connected to love. But not the sort of shallow, flippant, me-and-Jesus love. This love is not primarily an emotion but an action, a power - a power of God at work in the world. How does that power get expressed when we think about:

• God's relationship and care for non-human creatures
• The way God cares for human communities
• How it is at work in our individual and collective bodies

What happens when you take love out of the realm of emotivism, and see how it is a power at work in the world? It opens up whole new ways of thinking about our relationships to each other, to the places in which we live, a new insight into the kinds of degradation we are committing and how destructive they are. "When we destroy bodies, when we destroy lands, it is an affront to God's love."

Any Christianity that doesn't talk about the wounding of love or bodies is naive Christianity. And if Christianity is to survive at all, it better be about teaching us how to love each other, love the world, love God. "Without love, Christianity becomes really dangerous."

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The secret is out. Find out what professional theologians really think about being theologians.

In this episode we: quest for answers to the biggest questions in life; create a just world by being an activist-intellectual; free people from internal, not just external, restraints; help our beliefs make a difference in the world; put the words 'Pentecostal' and 'theologian' together; and bring back the prophetic church. Plus, you'll hear about what it's like to teach at Hogwarts.

During Enfolding Theology, Josh Linton, from Philips Theological Seminary, asked Tom Oord, Keith Ward, Adam Clark, Cindy Rigby, Amos Yong, and Barbara Holmes:

A big thanks to Philips Theological Seminary for sponsoring the podcast! Theological higher education continues to change. What it looks like and how it works constantly evolves but it's not going away. Phillips Seminary in Tulsa, OK has tuned into these changes and has responded with accessible, flexible, and creative programming. And it's why students from all over the nation enroll in their programs. And it's why so many HBC Deacons resonate with who they are and what they're about. I

Adam Clark, Associate Professor of Theology at Xavier University, is committed to the idea that theological education in the twenty first century must function as a counter-story. One that equips students to read against the grain of the dominant culture and inspires them to live into the Ignatian dictum of going forth “to set the world on fire.” He currently serves as co-chair of Black Theology Group at the American Academy of Religion, actively publishes in the area of black theology and black religion and participates in social justice groups at Xavier and in the Cincinnati area. 

Barbara Holmes is a writer and scholar, who publishes books about the intersection of ethics, spirituality, mysticism, cosmology and African American religious culture. She is the President of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, and the former Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Memphis Theological Seminary. She says, "I have been called to work in diverse settings, where the call to serve also invites the human spirit to engage in radical creativity." In addition to her work with law firms, she has worked with homeless missions, HIV/AIDS ministries, and international ministries in Kenya (the Presbyterian Church of East Africa) and Japan.

Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. He is the author or editor of more than twenty books and professor in the American northwest. A gifted speaker, Oord is known for his contributions to research on love, open and relational theology, science and religion,  and theologies exploring the implications of freedom and relationships for transformation. See more here.

Cindy Rigby joined the faculty of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 1995. Dr. Rigby’s special area of interest is setting Reformed theologies in conversation with theologies of liberation, particularly feminist theologies. An energetic scholar, Dr. Rigby is the author of more than thirty articles and book chapters and is also working on two additional projects, one focused on the doctrines of “sin and salvation” and the other on developing a systematic theology especially for pastors. Professor Rigby is the co-chair of the Christian Systematic Theology Section of the American Academy of Religion, where she has been an active member since 1993.

Keith Ward - from his website: I have been an academic virtually all my working life, teaching philosophy, theology, and religious studies at various times. I am interested in intellectual problems, in arguments and theories, and I largely depend on other people for finding out facts. I am, by nature and conviction, an Idealist philosopher, somebody who believes in the supremacy of Spirit or Mind, and who thinks that the material universe is an expression or creation of a Supreme Mind. I am a Christian, and became a priest of the Church of England in 1972. I think the main task for religious believers today is to ensure that their beliefs are conducive to human flourishing and, so far as is possible, to the flourishing of all sentient beings; to relate ancient religious beliefs to the modern scientific world view; and to see their own faith in a truly global context.

Amos Yong came to Fuller Seminary in July 2014 from Regent University School of Divinity, where he taught for nine years, serving most recently as J. Rodman Williams Professor of Theology and dean. Prior to that he was on the faculty at Bethel University in St. Paul, Bethany College of the Assemblies of God, and served as a pastor and worked in Social and Health Services in Vancouver, Washington. Yong’s scholarship has been foundational in Pentecostal theology, interacting with both traditional theological traditions and contemporary contextual theologies—dealing with such themes as the theologies of Christian-Buddhist dialogue, of disability, of hospitality, and of the mission of God. Dr. Yong is past president of the Society for Pentecostal Studies.

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Jack Caputo joined Barry Taylor, Peter Rollins and I at the Hatchery for a day long workshop on Radical Theology. The night before we recorded this zesty podcast in which Jack tells us a stack of stories from his life. These stories will give you a glimpse into the life of a philosopher and the personal side of Caputo's work.

If you are asking yourself, "How can I get the audio of the Radical Theology workshop?" then look no further. You can get it right here.

For more Caputo stories make sure you check out his newest book Hoping Against Hope: Confessions of a Postmodern Pilgrim.

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Get ready to travel deep with Kirk and Tripp.

This non-violent improvisational encounter between the LectioCast's Daniel Kirk and Tripp was recorded at First Baptist Church in Palo Alto before the ClobberCast. They keep Christology crazy as they talk about awkward metaphysics, heretical Sunday School lessons, and some questions Daniel has about Tripp's book:

• Can you confess "Jesus is Lord" without becoming hierarchical?
• How do you understand who Jesus was? Wandering cynic sage? or Apocalyptic prophet?
• If God has to be at least as nice as Jesus, where does this nice Jesus come from?

Start getting disturbed again by a homeless dead Jew. Keep the voices in the canon diverse and you are allowed to know them, wrestle with them, and sometimes tell Matthew that he is wrong - but only after you've sat long enough with what Matthew says to be disturbed by it. Remember, "you settle to never settle it, because to settle it would be to be Tatian, and he was condemned a heretic."

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Can I name God as just love?

Keller will tackle that question and more on the podcast! Over the course of the conversation the relationship of language to theology, the problem of reductionistic accounts of God, Creation, Incarnation, Eschatology, process, atheism, radical theology, jazz, fireworks, micro-theology, and more. It was a super zesty conversation that will leave you wanting more. Luckily that can be arranged.

Catherine Keller is Professor of Constructive Theology at the Theological School of Drew University. In her teaching, lecturing and writing, she develops the relational potential of a theology of becoming. Her books reconfigure ancient symbols of divinity for the sake of a planetary conviviality—a life together, across vast webs of difference.

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I am super pumped about this episode. Recently I have been absolutely loving Keith Ward's new book Christ and the Cosmos. On this episode I get to talk to Keith about God, philosophy, atheism, idealism, science, and how Rahner's Rule (theology nerd reference) is not cool. The thing is Keith has been talking to me in my head for years. I have read over 10 of his books, enjoyed his audio lectures, and some zesty debates on youtube. This time he came to the Hatchery and talked to me in person. Enjoy!

Keith Ward is a British philosopher, theologian, priest and scholar. He is a fellow of the British Academy and a priest of the Church of England. He was a canon of Christ Church, Oxford until 2003. Comparative theologyand the relationship between science and religion are two of his main topics of interest. He was Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford from 1991 to 2004.

Don't forget to check out some amazing free lectures of Keith. Literally quality, zesty, nerdy, and free lectures.

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