In the Shift

Episode 46: This episode unpacks the language of heaven in the Christian scriptures. One of the mistakes we often make is to read our presumptions into the language and stories of these ancient texts. Much of the time the biblical authors were ambiguous about life after death, and the 'kingdom of heaven' was not a place for life after death at all - rather it was about a present reality unfolding among us.

But what does this mean for us when we die? Is it pearly gates, clouds, wings and harps, an old white man playing God. Maybe some streets of gold? A mansion sized just for you based on how much you tithed to the church?

Or perhaps heaven is a place on earth after all? 

Episode 45: The "mark of the beast", the "antichrist", the "rapture"; these are terms associated with a relatively recent, and unfortunately influential way of reading ancient scriptural texts. So where do these ideas come from, what is the problem with them, and what are some alternative interpretations that might be more helpful to us? This episode pulls apart some of the assumptions that sit behind "end-times" thinking, including the impact on geopolitical politics and conflict (especially in the Middle East). Rather than predicting events thousands of years into the future, we find that the authors of Daniel & Revelation were speaking in subversive ways about how to live under oppressive empires. The way of Jesus was seen to be a non-violent alternative to the temptation to participate in the dominating, colonising and violent actions of those with power. 

Episode 44: In this episode I chat with Dr David P. Gushee about his important book published in 2014 called 'Changing our Mind', calling for full LGBT+ inclusion in the church. We talk about his resultant expulsion from Evangelicalism culture, and from there we discuss the more widespread toxicity present within the movement (both theologically and culturally), made even more evident in the Trump years. From there we move on to talk about his most recent book, "After Evangelicalism" in which he proposes what lies beyond, including a move toward Christian humanism, and the reclaiming of the Jesus of the gospels. 

For more information on David's work, you can visit http://www.davidpgushee.com/ 

Episode 43 - In this episode we continue our conversation about evil and the devil by focusing on three things: the language of spiritual attack, being tempted by the Devil, and the idea of the demonic. Although definitive answers are hard to come by, at the very least these ideas can function as a seemingly reassuring explanation for why things don't always go well for us. But are there implications that are less helpful? And if so, what are some ways of thinking about this that help us to understand crises, temptations, compulsions, addictions and the fracturing of self that we experience in our day-to-day lives?

Episode 42: In this first of two episodes on the topic, we look at the language of principalities, powers, demons and the devil, and ask - what on earth is going on here? Is any of this real, what does it mean, what damage can these ideas do, and can a conversation about demons and evil powers be of any use to us in a modern society, or is it all just nonsense? 

[**Content Warning** This episode includes conversations that deal with abuse, trauma, sexual assault and self-harm. Specifically from 7min to 27mins] 

Episode 41: In this conversation with Paul Young (The Shack) and Brad Jersak (A More Christlike Way) we discuss the themes found in their jointly written novella - The Pastor: A Crisis. We talk about the cyclical impact of abuse, understanding (and misunderstanding) forgiveness, the need for control that often drives fundamentalism, the dangers of hierarchy and power in the church, along with the possibilities of healing and of living into a more hopeful and liberating form of faith.

Episode 40: This episode explores where I'm currently up to in my re-thinking of Jesus, especially in light of a view of God who is in and through all things. From here, we look at three emerging themes that come from the Jesus story: presence over ideology, grace over status, and self-giving love over coercive power.

Episode 39: Our guest for this episode is Dr Tripp Fuller and (in one of our more meaty theological episodes) we dive further into all things 'Jesus'. Is Jesus just a nice guy, or did God jump down from heaven into human form... or is it possible that something else is going on here? We talk about all of this in relation to Tripp's latest book, Divine Self Investment, in which he proposes an open and relational constructive Christology.

If you're the kind of person who likes the idea of diving into an academic theological book that packs a punch, and that proposes bold, innovative and compelling ways of understanding the Jesus story, then you can check out his new book here.

Episode 38: In this episode I talk again with Dr Thomas Jay Oord, but this time we turn our attention toward Jesus. If God is present in and through all things and by very nature is not intervening but rather is uncontrolling love, then how do we make sense of the Jesus story? In this conversation we wrestle with Jesus' identity and the historic claims of his divinity and humanity, discuss his miracles and how they might be seen as 'uncontrolling', tackle a range of views on the virgin birth, contemplate Jesus' possible cooperation with his own resurrection, and consider what it is that makes him unique.

You can also check out Tom's latest book, "Questions and Answers for God Can't" for more responses to the questions that have arisen in response to his book "God Can't".

Episode 37: For many of us the idea that God is all-powerful and all-knowing is assumed to be the very definition of divinity. But here we bring together threads from recent episodes to suggest that God might not be all powerful (in the way we typically understand power) and may not know the future. But what does this mean? It can be an unsettling idea, but perhaps it also allows us to more honestly see the challenges we face and to explore what real participation with the divine might look like.