It's a boys night! Josh and Stephen are left alone to talk about religion in the workplace. It felt fitting, after all, to let the pastor have a break for this one, considering her workplace IS her religion. We get into public shows of faith at work, evangelism in the cubicles, and what exactly "makes us different."

Host Recommendations

• Josh: Phrases on a tilt
• Stephen: LEGOs

Join us:

• Join our free Discord community by emailing us at [email protected] for an invite link!
• Take a minute to drop us a 5-star rating and a 1-2 sentence review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

Credits:

• Theme Song: In Full Color by Louie Zong on Spotify and Bandcamp
• Artwork: Yarn and Ravel by Dixie Lee Henning @dixieleedraws
• Produced by Stephen Henning, Josh Lieuallen, and Emily Rettinghouse
• Editing/Audio Engineering by Stephen Henning
• Certified Organic benediction by Reverend Emily Rettinghouse, MDiv

There are still quite a few things we've never done here at Ravel. One of them was playing games on air. So we change that today, as Stephen leads us through a bracket style challenge game, pitting 32 ancient and modern heresies against each other in order to find the ultimate ICK! Grab a drink, play along, and learn a little bit about what Christians through the ages have cared about enough to condemn certain ideas as (scare quotes) HERESY!

Join us:

• Join our free Discord community by emailing us at [email protected] for an invite link!
• Take a minute to drop us a 5-star rating and a 1-2 sentence review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

Credits:

• Theme Song: In Full Color by Louie Zong on Spotify and Bandcamp
• Artwork: Yarn and Ravel by Dixie Lee Henning @dixieleedraws
• Produced by Stephen Henning, Josh Lieuallen, and Emily Rettinghouse
• Editing/Audio Engineering by Stephen Henning
• Certified Organic benediction by Reverend Emily Rettinghouse, MDiv

... but we're actually not going anywhere! Just different.

Join us:

• Join our free Discord community by emailing us at [email protected] for an invite link!
• Take a minute to drop us a 5-star rating and a 1-2 sentence review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

Credits:

• Theme Song: In Full Color by Louie Zong on Spotify and Bandcamp
• Artwork: Yarn and Ravel by Dixie Lee Henning @dixieleedraws
• Produced by Stephen Henning, Josh Lieuallen, and Emily Rettinghouse
• Editing/Audio Engineering by Stephen Henning
• Certified Organic benediction by Reverend Emily Rettinghouse, MDiv

Natural disasters often ignite spiritual reflection, but what if the apocalypse isn’t destruction, but transformation? In this episode, we trace the line between eschatology and ecology, questioning the theology that sees disaster as divine judgment and exploring what it means to live as responsible stewards in a world crying out for renewal.

Host Recommendations

• Stephen: Octavia Butler's Earth Seed series
• Josh: Get a dog, if you can
• Emily: Explore new hobbies

Join us:

• Join our free Discord community by emailing us at [email protected] for an invite link!
• Take a minute to drop us a 5-star rating and a 1-2 sentence review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

Credits:

• Theme Song: In Full Color by Louie Zong on Spotify and Bandcamp
• Artwork: Yarn and Ravel by Dixie Lee Henning @dixieleedraws
• Produced by Stephen Henning, Josh Lieuallen, and Emily Rettinghouse
• Editing/Audio Engineering by Stephen Henning
• Certified Organic benediction by Reverend Emily Rettinghouse, MDiv

We're back, and we explore whether transitional beliefs are helpful or harmful in faith journeys. We dig into slippery slopes, the power of personal values, and how openness (not rigidity) often shapes a healthier spiritual life. Along the way, we debate if progressive Christianity is truly an “off-ramp” out of faith, or just a new way to stay on the road. 

Mentioned in the episode:

• Spiral Dynamics Wiki
• Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
• Is Dan A Christian Agnostic? YHP episode
• Fiddler On The Roof

Host Recommendations

• I Wrote This When I Was Manic by Mason Scurry
• Two Steps With Stephen Henning
• Conclave movie

Support us:

• Join our Patreon community and buy us a drink at patreon.com/ravelpod for as little as $3/mo!
• Submit a voice memo or comment to the inbox at [email protected]! 
• Take a minute to drop us a 5-star rating and a 1-2 sentence review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

Credits:

• Theme Song: In Full Color by Louie Zong on Spotify and Bandcamp
• Artwork: Yarn and Ravel by Dixie Lee Henning @dixieleedraws
• Produced by Stephen Henning, Josh Lieuallen, and Emily Rettinghouse
• Editing/Audio Engineering by Stephen Henning
• Certified Organic benediction by Reverend Emily Rettinghouse, MDiv

***CW: There is a brief mention of suicide at 39:48 and a story involving the following memorial service lasting until 41:20.

If you or a loved one are experiencing mental health struggles, please call or text the Crisis Lifeline at 988. Please listen gently and carefully.***

Allow us to set the table for a classic Christian conundrum: who gets to come to the table and partake in Communion? Do the gluten-free get to have an option in this highly symbolic act of worship and ritual? What about those with food allergies? Or that youth group camp that is forced to use corn chips and yellow lemonade in their communion service? Or perhaps you enjoy a meal in remembrance of a loved one with boxed wine and McDoubles? What COUNTS?

Mentioned in the episode:

• Ravel Episode 63. It's All About Food

Host Recommendations

• Many books
  • Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist by Brant Pitre
  • The Lambs Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth by Scott Hahn
  • Signs of Life: 40 Catholic Customs and Their Biblical Roots by Scott Hahn
  • The Fourth Cup: Unveiling the Mystery of the Last Supper and the Cross by Scott Hahn
  • Consuming The Word: The New Testament and the Eucharist in the Early Church by Scott Hahn
• Spinach cream
• Wholesome weekly rituals like Waffle Wednesday

Support us:

• Join our Patreon community and buy us a drink at patreon.com/ravelpod for as little as $3/mo!
• Submit a voice memo or comment to the inbox at [email protected]! 
• Take a minute to drop us a 5-star rating and a 1-2 sentence review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

Credits:

• Theme Song: In Full Color by Louie Zong on Spotify and Bandcamp
• Artwork: Yarn and Ravel by Dixie Lee Henning @dixieleedraws
• Produced by Stephen Henning, Josh Lieuallen, and Emily Rettinghouse
• Editing/Audio Engineering by Stephen Henning
• Certified Organic benediction by Reverend Emily Rettinghouse, MDiv

Truly, this is just one of those episodes you have to listen to to believe. Josh does a book report on The Xanue: Befriending the Bigfoot Forrest People (no link provided because we don't actually think you should buy the book). 

Bigfoot is a missionary for the gospel of Christ Jesus. 
There are warring factions of shapeshifters fighting to confuse and terrify THAT ARE DEFINITELY NOT NEPHILIM. 
The Garden of Eden is the name of an extragalactic planet where the progenitors of humanity (Adam and Eve) FAILED the test while the Xanue people PASSED and became ascended, unfallen beings of the universe.

Support us:

• Join our Patreon community and buy us a drink at patreon.com/ravelpod for as little as $3/mo!
• Submit a voice memo or comment to the inbox at [email protected]! 
• Take a minute to drop us a 5-star rating and a 1-2 sentence review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

Credits:

• Theme Song: In Full Color by Louie Zong on Spotify and Bandcamp
• Artwork: Yarn and Ravel by Dixie Lee Henning @dixieleedraws
• Produced by Stephen Henning, Josh Lieuallen, and Emily Rettinghouse
• Editing/Audio Engineering by Stephen Henning
• Certified Organic benediction by Reverend Emily Rettinghouse, MDiv

In this episode, we volley interpretations around the story of Pharoah not letting the Israelites go because of his "hardened heart." What does it mean? In the light and heat of YHWH, was Pharoah more like mud baking dry rather than wax melting smooth? And what the heck do we do with the New Testament's "Unforgivable Sin"? And ultimately, are we looking at the same thing in Pharoah?

Mentioned in the episode:

• Exodus 7-11 The Plagues of Egypt
• Episode 141 I'm An Atheist Now AMA
• Episode 117 I See Jesus In The Eisegesis
• Hebrews 10:26-31 The Unforgivable Sin
• Romans 6:1-2 Do we continue to sin so that grace may abound?
• The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur

Support us:

• Join our Patreon community and buy us a drink at patreon.com/ravelpod for as little as $3/mo!
• Submit a voice memo or comment to the inbox at [email protected]! 
• Take a minute to drop us a 5-star rating and a 1-2 sentence review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

Credits:

• Theme Song: In Full Color by Louie Zong on Spotify and Bandcamp
• Artwork: Yarn and Ravel by Dixie Lee Henning @dixieleedraws
• Produced by Stephen Henning, Josh Lieuallen, and Emily Rettinghouse
• Editing/Audio Engineering by Stephen Henning
• Certified Organic benediction by Reverend Emily Rettinghouse, MDiv

WHO'S YOUR DADDY??? Ravel is back from the unplanned break and ready to gooooo! We're bringing you an episode that was, admittedly, recorded months ago, but it is no less fun. We're getting into the reading of the Hebrew word "ABBA" as we try to figure out where the heck this whole "daddy" business started as it's used to refer to God.

(FACT CHECK: Stephen goes the entire episode talking about the "ABBA, Father" verse as if Jesus was the one teaching it, while it was in fact, Paul in Romans 8:15.)

Mentioned in the episode:

• Breath by James Nestor
• Romans 8:15 - Abba, Father
• Matthew 6:9-13 - The Lords Prayer
• Matthew 6:6 - Pray in your closet 
• Matthew 7:9-12 - Who would give their child a serpent?
• JELLY B Drinkable Konjac snack
• Adam's Return by Richard Rohr

Support us:

• Join our Patreon community and buy us a drink at patreon.com/ravelpod for as little as $3/mo!
• Submit a voice memo or comment to the inbox at [email protected]! 
• Take a minute to drop us a 5-star rating and a 1-2 sentence review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

Credits:

• Theme Song: In Full Color by Louie Zong on Spotify and Bandcamp
• Artwork: Yarn and Ravel by Dixie Lee Henning @dixieleedraws
• Produced by Stephen Henning, Josh Lieuallen, and Emily Rettinghouse
• Editing/Audio Engineering by Stephen Henning
• Certified Organic benediction by Reverend Emily Rettinghouse, MDiv

Stephen says "there are a lot of god shaped ghosts in my attic." Josh takes the idea and runs with it, saying that "we will always be haunted by the Holy Ghost, but it is up to us whether it's like Casper the friendly ghost or like a poltergeist." 

Mentioned in the episode:

• Lofi Girl
• iOS Mental Health Check-In Feature
• Beedle The Bardcore

Support us:

• Join our Patreon community and buy us a drink at patreon.com/ravelpod for as little as $3/mo!
• Submit a voice memo or comment to the inbox at [email protected]! 
• Take a minute to drop us a 5-star rating and a 1-2 sentence review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

Credits:

• Theme Song: In Full Color by Louie Zong on Spotify and Bandcamp
• Artwork: Yarn and Ravel by Dixie Lee Henning @dixieleedraws
• Produced by Stephen Henning, Josh Lieuallen, and Emily Rettinghouse
• Editing/Audio Engineering by Stephen Henning
• Certified Organic benediction by Reverend Emily Rettinghouse, MDiv