The Godly Communists

Friends!

It has been a fantastic run but, like all good things, our podcast has come to an end. This is our Farwell episode (!) and it covers a pretty standard array of topics: Manichaeism, Baby Jesus’ bowel movements, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s presidential aspirations, and us cackling at Tom’s tongue-in-cheek-millennialism. We also take you behind the scenes a bit and talk about what it was like to make 32 episodes over the course of a year, bringing on guests, and the horrors of editing your own voice every week.

With Abrahamic-Heathen-Commie blessings,

Tom and Aaron

In today’s episode, we are joined by friend of the show Sister Mariakali to discuss the lives and works of the “Swedish Seer” (Emanuel Swedenborg) and the editor of “The New Reformer” (D. Gopaul Chetty).

Swedenborg was a Swedish scientist and mystic who, amongst other things, summoned the long-dead Isaac Newton to argue with him about the scientific properties of matter (and won the argument, of course). Chetty was an Indian theologian, activist, and author who so fell in love with the work of the Swedish Seer, and how it intersected with his own tradition (Saiva Siddhanta), that he stood outside of churches on Sunday mornings and evangelized the congregants as they were trying to go home. This episode is a deep dive into mysticism, religious pluralism, and the lives of two truly remarkable men.

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Sister Mariakali (also known as Eleanor Schnarr) is a mystic, interoceptive painter, seventh generation Swedenborgian, and is currently studying the intersection of Swedenborgian philosophy and Hinduism at the Graduate Theological Union. See below for links!

“New Light Upon Indian Philosophy”, by D. Gopaul Chetty:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ffs9mvEtazJ6j77_gQuoh61ZixMYiLsy/view?usp=sharing

“Swedenborgianism in India” by Sister Mariakali:

https://spiritualquesters.org/?p=1480&fbclid=IwAR2XyA0MsLi4VfwblM4Ngk6dTPHvP5IBEyCRwMsVUbWDZArVQOBhBM4jZGk

Merch shop for Mariakali’s (awesome!) art:

https://www.swedenborgianspiritstore.com/

Mariakali’s GoFundMe, where she intends to continue the work and legacy of D. Gopaul Chetty:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/2948oob8dc?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=p_na%20share-sheet&pc_code=fb_co_dashboard_a&rcid=722b8c8dfda447638708c63ed45d1a70&fbclid=IwAR2sJu6wAAZSX-vSLQEm-sbojRGIt--mKgFrU19llaG2kBgzr_xLam-Y1Rk

Indecent as ever, The Godly Communists are joined by the brilliant scholar and pastor, the Rev. Kai Daniel Moore. In today’s episode, we talk about flesh, gender, disability, and illness. We engage with the work of Marcella Althaus-Reid, Christina Sharpe, Michel Foucault, and others. Aaron swoons over the idea of Jesus being a Knight-for-the-Lord and, in the process, comes to hate Anselm slightly less. And just to round things out, we briefly touch on the events of January 6th. On the whole, it’s a conversation about vulnerability, power, bodies, and what Queer Theology brings to bear in our understanding of these fundamental aspects of life.

The South is in the house, as The Godly Communists are joined by a couple of Alabamians: Gabi France and Michael Hankes, co-hosts of the Vicious as Roman Rule podcast. Our guests share their thoughts on Alabama’s elected officials, the prison-industrial complex, and whether the South is actually as bad as it’s made out to be. We also discuss the shitshow that happened at the Capitol building and have a brief visit from someone who was there on the scene, right after Michael was briefly disappeared by some very well-dressed men in black suits.

It’s a dirtbag southern slugfest, replete with irony, inappropriate words, long-winded rants, and one heart-moving vignette depicting a true American hero.

Links to the Birmingham Free Store (as well as other awesome organizations that Vicious wants to highlight) can be found here: https://linktr.ee/VARRR

And you can find Vicious as Roman Rule on any of your favorite podcasting platforms: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, etc.

The Godly Communists talk to new friend of the show, Kevin Mellis, a doctoral student at the Graduate Theological Union whose research focuses on the intersections of Christian dogmatic theology, sexual ethics, and liberation. We discuss Kevin's (literal) heresy trial, their experience in labor organizing, an intersex Jesus, and everything from Peter Rollins to prefigurative politics, from Aquinas to Jesus’ circumcision, and of course a passing reference to eating the rich. (We hear they pair especially well with cake.)

Please consider donating to Kevin’s GoFundMe, so they can continue and expand their awesome ministry: www.gofundme.com/f/j3eea

We're joined this week by friend of the show, Dr. Isabel Call, to discuss the fine, finnicky art of Sabbath and Jenny Odell’s book How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy.

Dr. Isabel Call is a community economist, disability activist, and Assistant Minister for Pastoral Care at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus, OH. She holds a PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California at Davis and a Master of Divinity from Starr King School for the Ministry.

Watch: Jenny Odell, "How to Do Nothing"

"If they deny you work, ask them for bread. If they deny you bread, take it!"

This week, Tom and Aaron discuss the wild, revolutionary life of the Jewish-American anarchist once described by J. Edgar Hoover as "the most dangerous woman in America," Emma Goldman. Her story offers insight, not only into the history of the Left in the United States, but also into the profound human drive to live in truth, and consequences be damned! Learn more about "Red Emma" in Vivian Gornick's biography Emma Goldman: Revolution as a Way of Life.

Music: "The Internationale" (source)

For Thanksgiving Week in the U.S., Tom and Aaron take a break from electoral politics to chat about the media keeping them sane(ish) over the past few weeks. For Aaron it's "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics & Religion" by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt; for Tom it's "VICE," the 2018 biopic of Dick Cheney, and the podcast "Blowback," exploring the history of the Iraq War and the criminals and conmen who got us into it. Check out the links below to learn more.

The Righteous Mind: https://bookshop.org/books/the-righteous-mind-why-good-people-are-divided-by-politics-and-religion/9780307455772

Blowback: https://blowback.show/

VICE: https://www.amazon.com/Vice-Christian-Bale/dp/B07MD6QXHT

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/godlycommunists

“Democracy will constantly break your heart.”

Aaron chats with fellow-progressive and friend of the show Elle Mills-Warner about the 2020 elections specifically, the possibilities (and limitations) of electoral politics in general, and what it might take to unite a divided country.

Also, Make America Sweden Again.

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/godlycommunists

Elle Mills-Warner is a spiritual seeker, activist, and artist working in direct ministry with vulnerable populations. She received a Bachelor of the Arts from Weber State University and a Master of Divinity from Starr King School for the Ministry. She describes herself as multireligious having a background in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormonism), Greek Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Unitarian Universalism. She is currently an active member of Community of Christ, several earth-centered traditions, and regularly attends Mass. Prior to seminary, Elle did a research blog called “52 Weeks in 52 Churches” in which she visited 52 houses of worship in a single year. Elle self-identifies as an intersectional feminist, socialist, and proud member of the LGBTQ+ community. She is currently a Residential Companion at Plymouth Healing Communities in Seattle, WA.

The U.S. 2020 Election results are (mostly) in, and Joey B is on track become the next President of the United States. Tom and Aaron discuss what this means for the Left and what to order for brunch on this new Morning in America.