Father and son Richard and Christopher Hays discuss their new book The Widening of God’s Mercy: Sexuality Within the Biblical Story. This book seeks to take the Bible seriously by taking more of the Bible seriously. These authors do not focus solely on the prooftexts that have been used to deny LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the church, nor do they try to write them off. In this book, New Testament professor Richard Hays and Old Testament professor Christopher Hays provide a fresh map through the Bible that tells the story of a God of mercy and a sexual ethic of inclusion. We talk about their reason for writing this book, the metanoia of Richard’s viewpoint since 1996, some of the passages at play, and what happens next.

The Rev’d Rob Fisher tells the story of St. John’s Lafayette Square in Washington, DC. He tells us stories about Presidents Madison and Lincoln and reminds us that the church’s history, including having lived through the American Civil War, gives us perspective. He talks about the life of the church in 2020 and tells stories of Trump’s photo op, a Molotov cocktail, the pandemic, and more. He tells the story about the city putting a fence around the church and the murals that resulted. Fisher calls us to ground ourselves this election season by tempering our media diet and paying attention to the living saints around us.

The Rev’d Rob Fisher is Rector of St. John’s Lafayette Square, known as the “Church of the Presidents.” He joins us to talk about his vocation story and what it’s like to be the priest at a church where people’s lives and careers revolve around politics. Join us next week for part 2, where Fisher discusses what it was like to be the rector of St. John’s during the events of 2020.

Hosts: Brandon Nappi, DMin and Hannah Black, PhD

Guest: The Rev’d Rob Fisher

See show notes at berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

Yale Professor Willie Jennings joins us to talk about the relationship between race and theology. We break down how this relationship manifests in Zionism, supercessionism, and Christian nationalism. We break these ideas down to understand where they have come from and what they are. We talk about the bizarreness of being introduced to academic theology, and we consider the ways in which theology can be harmful or lifegiving.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eliza Griswold joins us to talk about her new book Circle of Hope, a compelling and honest portrait of a progressive evangelical church. Griswold’s immersive journalism brings into focus how one church was impacted by division brought about by events like the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Dr. Kwok Pui Lan joins us to share wisdom from her 2023 book The Anglican Tradition from a Postcolonial Perspective. We talk about what a postcolonial perspective is and how it can color our thinking on topics from the history and identity of the Anglican Church to the ecological crisis and more.

The Rev’d Sarah Condon, co-host of Mockingcast, joins Hannah to talk about the twists and turns of life…in particular, vocation and grief.

Simeon Zahl, Professor of Christian Theology at the University of Cambridge, joins us to talk about the Holy Spirit. Our conversation ranges from who the Holy Spirit is to how we understand Christian experience to how the Book of Common Prayer is written with emotion in mind.

Brian McLaren joins us to share some of the riches from his new book Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart. The conversation names a feeling many of us have in our current world and helps us locate hope in the midst of it all.

Professors Amy Carr and Christine Helmer join Hannah to talk about their new, timely book, Ordinary Faith in Polarized Times: Justification and the Pursuit of Justice. We take a moment in this season leading up to the presidential election to discuss high-conflict times and how we can move toward good conflict. We talk about how Christians can create space for conversation because of their status of belonging due to justification. We discuss how Christians can listen to each other, discuss hot-button issues, and navigate difference.