ORT Shorts

In this episode, Dr. Oord interacts with the new book from Greg Boyd and Scott Boren entitled God Looks Like Jesus: A Renewed Approach to Understanding God.

In this accessible introduction to understanding the character of God, author Gregory A. Boyd, with M. Scott Boren, lays out the radical truth at the heart of this movement: the conviction that God looks like Jesus. In other words, in the life, ministry, and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, we see the embodiment of God’s very essence—a love that is humble, other-oriented, and self-sacrificial.

In this episode, Dr. Oord engages with God and Faith: Thinking About God with Keith Ward, a collection of essays from distinguished scholars with responses from one of our generation's most important theologians.

Perfect for students, scholars, and anyone interested in deepening their understanding of theology, philosophy, and science, this book offers a comprehensive and thought-provoking exploration of faith and reason.

In this episode, Dr. Oord engages with the new book written by Paul E. Johnson entitled, Talking With God:  Imagination, Inspiration, and Prayer in the Age of Neuroscience. 

Offering a fresh, integrated perspective for those who struggle with the dissonance between their experience in the physical world and a healing spiritual life, this work navigates a path to reconcile religious spirituality with science. It also sheds light on an integrated view of science and religious belief, accepting the physicality of consciousness while allowing for spirituality in the form of divine inspiration. Talking with God is an original academic contribution to the field of science and religion and an indispensable read for researchers and readers interested in the concept of belief and belief change from a neuroscientific perspective.

In this episode, Dr. Oord uses the 2024 presidential assassination attempt, as a case study to discuss and critique unhealthy ideas about God's relation to creation in response to violence, suffering and evil.

In his new book, Is It God's Will:  Making Sense of Tragedy, Luck, and Hope in a World Gone Wrong, journalist and author Brandon Ambrosino argues that theologians have been poorly equipped to confront these questions, because many hang on to an omnipotent model of God.  In his book, Ambrosino provides us with the tools to understand and process grief but also presents a refreshing portrait of less a God of power, and more of one of persuasion, who can still provide a residue of hope in a world gone wrong.

In this episode, Dr. Oord discusses the recent Speaking to a Modern World conference which took place in Charlotte, NC gathering together Open and Relational Theologians from across the country.  

The conference was hosted by Russ Dean, co-pastor of Park Road Baptist Church, who has written a new book entitled The Story as We Have Received It:  On the Making of Gospel Truth

To access audio recordings from the conference, visit: https://c4ort.com/speaking-to-a-modern-world-audio-recordings/

In this episode, Dr. Oord engages the new book from pediatrician and Open and Relational theologian Dr. Chris Hanson.

Dr. Hanson's book, entitled Open and Relational Parenting: Loving Parents Reflecting a Loving God, bridges child development research with open and relational theology to present a transformative model for modern parenting which rejects authoritarian parenting styles often rooted in classical theism, in favor of a vision of parenting that mirrors a loving, responsive, co-creative God.

In this episode Dr. Oord engages with the work of Tracy Tucker and his new book, Can We Talk About Death?: An Open and Relational Vision.

For chaplain and theologian Tracy Tucker, both the language of life and death reflects one's thoughts and convictions and his new book explores (un)healthy language and pathways for speaking about death and walking alongside those approaching the end of life.

In this episode, Dr. Oord engages the theme of prayer in conversation with Gayle Hansen Browne's new book, Wild Geese Rising: Living Prayer as Moment-by-Moment Contemplative Action.

For Hansen Browne, prayer arises as a way of beholding and befriending life. This book transforms the practice of “saying our prayers” into an instinctive way of living prayer as moment-by-moment contemplative action.

In this episode Dr. Oord discusses the annual upcoming Theology Beer Camp which will include special Open and Relational Theology pre-sessions.

This year Theology Beer Camp takes place October 16-18 in St. Paul, Minnesota with the pre-Theology ORT sessions taking place the morning of October 16.

For information and registration visit: https://www.theologybeercamp2025.com/

In this episode, Dr. Oord discusses the theme of divine hiddenness in conversation with a new book by Tim Miller entitled The Silence of the Lamb: Exploring the Hiddenness of Christ and God

In the book, Tim Miller highlights a variety of explanations over the centuries for why a God of love might exist yet seem so silent and hidden, giving particular attention to Process and Open and Relational ideas as well as proposing novel ideas for reconciling a God of love with the divine hiddenness so many experience.