The AST Podcast

In this podcast episode Daniel and David discuss -

(1) Staying sane during quarantine (from the start to 8:52 )

(2) Religious services online ( 8:52- 16:45 )

(3) What will this period do to Church attendance? ( 16:45 - 18:45 )

(4) The Rusty Reno / First Things thing (with bits on Agamben and the State) (18:56 - 38:07 )

(5) The focus on "the local" (36:15 - 38:29)

(6) Daniel's "cranky old men" reading list, featuring Alasdair MacIntyre (with discussion of the media, fascism, and the end of the "expert" class) (38:10 - 51:40)

(7) The enforced "Benedict Option" and prayer practices such as compline and the rosary. (51:40 - end)

No doubt you have heard a lot about Covid-19 and the threat it poses. But what does it mean for Christians? Are Christians called to act in specific ways in response to this crisis? What kind of questions does the pandemic pose Christian theology? What's happening on the ground here in Nova Scotia? and What are the implications for Church services across the denominations?

To discuss such questions we have Dr Karen MacDonald who works in Emergency Medicine at St Martha's Regional Hospital in Antigonish, and Dr Daniel Driver, Associate professor of Biblical Studies at AST.

Brevard Childs helped broaden Biblical studies beyond the exclusively historical critical approach that dominated between the late 19th and late 20th centuries. Dr Daniel Driver, associate professor of Biblical Studies at AST, is perhaps the leading scholar of Childs today. Daniel leads us on a discussion of Childs and the forms of (figural) biblical interpretation that he has helped put back on the intellectual landscape. The conversation proceeds to consider how preachers can avail of more daring methods of biblical interpretation in their lenten preaching. Please share your thoughts on the topics discussed below!

Michael Bourgeois has written about an encounter that Alan Davis (emeritus professor of religion at University of Toronto) had with a colleague. The colleague expressed the opinion that because the United Church is not bound by a single creed it has no theology. As Bourgeois writes, "Davies countered, it is precisely because the United Church is not bound by a single creed or confession that theology is abundant in the church. The United Church is, Davies maintained, "awash in theology."

This abundance of theology can be inspiring but overwhelming. To introduce and invite discussion of it, Don Schweitzer, McDougald Professor of Theology at St Andrew's College, University of Saskatchewan, Micheal Bourgeois, associate professor of theology at Emmanuel College, University of Toronto, and AST's own academic Dean and systematic theologian, the Rev. Dr. Rob Fennell, have contributed to and edited a collection of essays exploring the Theology of the United Church.

It is a fascinating and tremendously helpful book which has, understandably, been a massive success. The AST podcast was very lucky this week to have all three of them have come on to discuss their book and the theology of the UCC in general. We do hope you enjoy the conversation!

In this episode Tom Beaudoin, Associate Professor of Religion at Fordham University and Dave Csinos, Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at AST discuss their recent research. Both Dave and Tom are exploring how people make meaning in post secular spaces. They look at how old divisions between secular and religious are crumbling in the current context and encourage us to look at things through a new lens.

Most churches pride themselves on being inclusive. Few Church websites fail to include the word "welcome" as often as possible. But as we saw with our episode on immigration, welcome is often dependant on people fitting pre-existing categories. When they resist such categories, the welcome can be more fraught.

To discuss this we have Julia and Shanon McLean and Tamsin Michael Robson. Julia is a Sunday school teacher at Woodlawn United where her mother, Shannon, has ministered for over a decade. This summer Shannon is moving to lead St Andrews in Truro. Tamsin is a first year M.Div student at AST and student minister at Port Wallis United.

Please add your voice to the conversation via the comments below!

What is the sacramental theology of the United Church of Canada? Rev. Ivan Gregan and Rev. Dr. Rob Fennell discuss this question. They explore the diversity of approaches to sacraments within the United Church and look at the ways that sacraments can help shape a community of resistance to oppression. It's a fascinating and often inspiring conversation! Please do share and leave a rating!

This a a special episode of the AST Podcast which explores many facets of Religion and Sport. On deck are Rev. Canon Professor, Jody Clarke, and Director of Youth Ministry, Corey Robinson. Jody teaches at AST and Corey is on the disciple formation team at Saint Benedict, but perhaps more relevant to this episode is the fact that Jody is the former Quarterback for the Dalhousie Tigers and an active athlete (running and dragon boating) while Corey is a former member of the Canadian national wrestling team, and a former coach for the Canadian olympic wrestling squad as well as being a (visible) devotee of cross fit.

The episode is broken up into three sections for manageable viewing / listening.

Section 1 - The Colin Kaepernick Super Bowl 1:50 - 24:16

In this section the panel discuss Colin Kaepernick's protests. Does the NFL's treatment of Colin Kaepernick mark a tipping point when capitalist concerns fully override athlete's rights to free expression? Has sport in recent years taken on a sinister turn that breaks with the past when sport (as we saw with Muhammed Ali, the Black Power salutes at the 68' Olympics and more) was part of political culture?

Section 2 - Cheating and the ethics of sport 24:16 - 54:00

In this section, the panel discuss the ethical and cultural issues raised by the recent Huston Astros cheating scandal. Is cheating always immoral? Do different cultures have different understandings of authority and therefore shape athletes with different understandings of what good action looks like? What is the role of technology in these debates and, most importantly, did Corey or Jody ever cheat???

Section 3 - Kobe Bryant, Sport, and Faith 54:01 - 1:25:55

After a discussion of Kobe Bryant and how modern culture ritualizes grief, Jody and Corey speak about the role of sport in their faith lives and the role of faith in the sporting lives. Did they / Do they pray while competing? Do they pray for success? Jody discusses the in-breaking of faith in his coaching past and Corey shares some experiences from his time using sport to help young offenders.

Nova Scotia is known as a welcoming place. But is this reputation justified?

To answer this question we are joined by Aida Hachem Mrad from the Lebanese consulate and Mariana Carrera, a Mexican Canadian who has studied and worked in the field of immigration. Their perspectives and experiences offer new vistas for how we understand patterns of immigration to this part of Canada. The discussion concludes with reflection on how we in Nova Scotia can begin to move past the cultural and racial prejudices that have too often shaped how the province responds to immigrants.

The discussion is divided into 4 sections below - just click the time stamp to go to each.

3:35 - 17:05 Race and Immigration to Nova Scotia

17:25 - 33:17 The Lebanese experience in Atlantic Canada

33:22 - 56:06 Immigration and the loss of cultural identity

1:00:10 - How do we make progress?

The AST Podcast, Season 2, Episode 2 "The Two Popes"

In this episode Stephanie Potter, communications manager from CMDA https://cmdacanada.org/ and Aurea Sadi, communications director from the Archdiocese of Halifax Yarmouth https://www.halifaxyarmouth.org/ join David to discuss the Netflix movie "The Two Popes"

Stephanie writes over at Ora https://oraministry.weebly.com/home/c... and tweets @sjgpotter

Aurea resists church polarization brilliantly through editing Discipleship https://www.halifaxyarmouth.org/disci... and tweets @AureaSadi