The Progressive Christians Podcast

Only two weeks into 2026, things already feel overwhelming and out of control. In this episode, we discuss how the conservative evangelical understanding of sin as a failure to be obedient to authority figures is being weaponized to justify the shooting of Renee Nicole Good and ICE's violent treatment of protestors and innocent bystanders. Through the lens of the Just War Theory, we try to understand the mindset that allows someone to justify - and even champion - the murder of this young poet.

- Ice Shootings Tracker: https://www.thetrace.org/2025/12/immigration-ice-shootings-guns-tracker/

- White Property, Black Trespass by Andrew Krinks: https://nyupress.org/9781479823857/white-property-black-trespass/

- Just War Principles: https://www2.bellevuecollege.edu/artshum/materials/engl/Bessho/Summer05/101/PrinciplesJustWar.htm

- Mamdani Supporting Universal Childcare: https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2026/01/mayor-mamdani---governor-hochul-to-launch-free-child-care-for-tw

- Renee Good's Award Winning Poem: https://poets.org/2020-on-learning-to-dissect-fetal-pigs

- The lack of training these ICE agents have: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15345295/ICE-campaign-hire-deportation-officers-unfit-violent-illiterate.html

- Legal refresher sent out to ICE agents after Renee Nicole Good's murder: http://youtube.com/post/UgkxPNe-FPJUxRR5RHd0lkwHJEDyKYtyNTFS?si=QjFdGoCJ-gsorYIs

- The murder of James Reeb (CORRECTION: NOT EUGENE DEBS. They both just have funny last names): https://www.npr.org/2019/04/30/718647599/the-murder-of-the-rev-james-reeb

- White Lies Podcast - True Crime podcast about the death of James Reeb. In 1965, Rev. James Reeb — a Unitarian minister and civil-rights activist — was killed during the voting rights movement in Selma. After three men were tried and acquitted for his murder, the city's white community buried the truth. More than 50 years later, two native Alabamians return to Selma to uncover the truth about who killed James Reeb, and to delve into the systems of oppression and violence that allowed it to happen: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp-wXwmbv3z8HO5FT1SGJrwCU19qWdSn-

The Progressive Christians Podcast is available on all podcast platforms, TikTok, and Instagram. You can find the links and the links to the host's social media here: https://linktr.ee/theprogressivechristians

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected].

Christians should not believe IN the bible, we are called to believe in the living God revealed to us THROUGH the bible.

This week, we're releasing a special video minisode to celebrate the New Year (and let our hosts take a vacation)! Join Dr. Carter for a discussion on the similarities - and differences - between being "Biblical" and being "Christian." Is following and/or doing what you believe the bible tells you to do, enough to call an action or policy, or a position on a social subject, Christian?

Remember, the devil can quote the Bible.

Time is seriously running out (we mean it this time) to ask us your questions for the Q+A! Comment below, and feel free to ask anything on your mind - not just biblical questions!

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected].

The Progressive Christians Podcast is available on all podcast platforms, TikTok, and Instagram. You can find the links and the links to the host's social media here: https://linktr.ee/theprogressivechristians

Time is running out to submit your questions for the Q&A! Comment below or email us to have your questions answered. We encourage silly and personal questions too, not exclusively "serious" or "theological" ones!

This week, we continue our discussion from last week about Artificial Intelligence. In our previous episode, we focused more on the material impacts of AI. This week, we shifted to a more spiritual and metaphorical investigation. We also addressed Everest's original question - is AI ANTI CHRISTIAN? Don't worry, we make sure to look at all angles, and even end with some good news.

CORRECTION: THE "FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT" HOME WE DISCUSSED IS ACTUALLY A "ZIMMERMAN" HOME

Show notes:

1. Overview of Mimetic Theory: https://violenceandreligion.com/mimetic-theory-2/#:~:text=Mimetic%20theory%20is%20an%20interdisciplinary%20research%20program,that%20can%20lead%20to%20violence%20and%20destruction
2. https://www.datacenterwatch.org/report
3. https://www.techpolicy.press/the-real-race-for-an-ai-moratorium-stopping-data-centers/

The Progressive Christians Podcast is available on all podcast platforms, TikTok, and Instagram. You can find the links and the links to the host's social media here: https://linktr.ee/theprogressivechristians

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected].

Have y'all heard about this crazy new thing called Artificial Intelligence? Just kidding, of course you have - it's been impossible to avoid for the last few years. Our co-host Everest felt inspired to talk about the ethics of AI because of a discussion they led during Sunday School a few weeks ago, and oh boy, did we get into it - so much that we had to split the episode into two parts!

This week, we tackle the more "worldly" concerns - AI's impact on ecosystems, people's neighborhoods, people's livelihoods, copyright, education, and the way that AI can change our brains. The ethics of how we use new tools are essential, and we try to approach them with a nuanced yet decidedly Progressive Christian approach.

Next week, we are going to dive into Everest's argument that AI is anti-creation, and possibly even ANTI-CHRISTIAN!?

Show Notes

1. https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/16/politics/candace-owens-erika-kirk-podcast
2. AI Figures Out Protein Folding- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/one-of-the-biggest-problems-in-biology-has-finally-been-solved/
3. https://substack.perfectunion.us/p/how-data-centers-are-driving-up-your
4. More Perfect Union Data Centers Video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGjj7wDYaiI
5. More Perfect Union Data Centers Danger- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN6BEUA4jNU
6. Data Center Report from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy- https://www.lincolninst.edu/publications/land-lines-magazine/articles/land-water-impacts-data-centers/
7. https://www.seroundtable.com/chatgpt-google-aio-sources-39578.html#:~:text=Barry%20Schwartz%20/%20Executive%20Editor,Forum%20discussion%20at%20X.

The Progressive Christians Podcast is available on all podcast platforms, TikTok, and Instagram. You can find the links and the links to the host's social media here: https://linktr.ee/theprogressivechristians

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected].

This episode goes out to everyone who is feeling anxious about going home for the holidays this week. We get you, and we are you! Here are our thoughts on how to handle toxic family dynamics and ideally improve family communication on contentious topics. We discuss the cognitive dissonance around loving people who hate you, how to stay in community and conversation with them, and even break down specific techniques for the types of conversations you might be having. We finish with a sample conversation and getting to the root of what causes all this tension in the first place, and how to take care of yourself in the middle of it.

We love you guys, Jesus loves you guys, and you got this.

Don't forget to leave a comment or email us for the upcoming Q+A!

The Progressive Christians Podcast is available on all podcast platforms, TikTok, and Instagram. You can find the links and the links to the host's social media here: https://linktr.ee/theprogressivechristians

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected].

Show Notes

1. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/dhs-secretary-kristi-noem-confronted-veteran-contentious-hearing/story?id=128325824
2. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c07555m4710o
3. https://bookshop.org/p/books/disarming-leviathan-loving-your-christian-nationalist-neighbor-caleb-e-campbell/b1873183abfa677d?ean=9781514008515&next=t

On this week's episode, we wanted to talk about some of the current stressors on our queer listeners. We discuss the Oklahoma University "bible essay" situation with Samantha Fulnecky, and the way that Conservative Christian grifters use the bible to leverage hatred for profit. We answer listener questions on how to talk to family members with regressive social views during the holidays. Finally, we talk to our queer listeners and make sure everyone in our community knows how beloved they are. And, as a bonus - this episode has all of the podcast super friends!

Show Notes:

1. https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/04/sport/soccer-world-cup-peace-prize-trump-intl
2. Assignment criteria: https://archive.is/Iiocy
3. The Paper Itself: https://archive.is/2Rog1
4. The TA and Teacher's Notes: https://archive.is/LT0r1
5. Media Strategy of the Fulnecky women: https://www.readtpa.com/p/same-script-different-target?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share
6. https://religionnews.com/2025/12/04/oklahoma-university-instructor-on-leave-after-failing-bible-based-essay-on-gender/
7. https://religionnews.com/2025/12/08/was-a-university-of-oklahoma-teacher-unjustly-punished-for-anti-christian-bias/
8. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thegodarticle/2011/10/clobbering-biblical-gay-bashing/

The Progressive Christians Podcast is available on all podcast platforms, TikTok, and Instagram. You can find the links and the links to the host's social media here: https://linktr.ee/theprogressivechristians

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected].

In today's episode, Rev. Blair and Rev. Dr. Carter talk with Ben Stringer - an attorney and pastor in Springfield, Missouri. In 2024, Trump won Missouri with almost 20% over Harris. Though Springfield is often referred to as "having a church on every street," Progressive Christianity has often struggled to find advocates in the area.

We talk with Stringer about his experience growing up in a Conservative Baptist family, becoming a Civil Rights Lawyer to live out his calling as a Christian, how the courts are being used to help and hurt people in this turbulent time, and how he eventually heard the call to go into ministry late in his career. In this episode, Ben challenges us on how to define ministry, especially when living in a politically hostile environment. We also discuss how to be an authentic, effective advocate for Jesus' teachings in a world that tells us to do exactly the opposite (often, in the name of "Christianity").

This episode is dedicated to all of our red area listeners out there - we see you, we hear you, and you are not alone.

The Progressive Christians Podcast is available on all podcast platforms, TikTok, and Instagram. You can find the links and the links to the host's social media here: https://linktr.ee/theprogressivechristians

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected].

If you're a Christian and you're American, you've probably been taught that socialism is unbiblical. That capitalism is God's chosen economic system. That Jesus would be against redistributing wealth, and the early church in the book of Acts was nothing more than a group of friends sharing their stuff. The election of Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani and Rev. Blair's viral TikTok in response to Mamdani's election, which appeared on Jesse Watters' nightly Fox News show, prompted us to ask: Should Christians be socialist? Are Christian ethics really at odds with socialism? Or have many of us been taught a version of Christianity that was blended with modern conservative political and economic ideologies that have little to do with the radical call of Jesus Christ? Digging into the bible, we question the idea of capitalism as God's chosen system, offering a different perspective on socialism explained through the lens of Christianity and faith.

Show Notes:

1. Dead Internet Theory Def - https://www.vice.com/en/article/dead-internet-theory-is-back-thanks-to-all-of-that-ai-slop/
2. What Makes Us Free- Throughline on NPR https://www.npr.org/2025/07/10/1255443727/what-makes-us-free-07-10-2025
3. Parable of the Talents- Matthew 25:14-30
4. Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard- Matthew 20:1-16
5. Sharing things in Common Acts 2:44-47
6. Ananais and Sapphira Acts 5:1-11
7. Working for Bread 2 Thessalonians 3:10
8. Good Fortune Movie- https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/good_fortune
9. Leith Ross- I Can See the Future https://leithross.com/
10. Syrophoenecian Woman- Matthew 15:21-28

The Progressive Christians Podcast is available on all podcast platforms, TikTok, and Instagram. You can find the links and the links to the host's social media here: https://linktr.ee/theprogressivechristians

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected].

Conservative figures like podcast host Allie Beth Stuckey and theologian Joe Rigney are leading a campaign against a feeling they consider dangerous and are weaponizing against Christians—empathy. They argue that empathy has been hijacked and can become toxic and sinful. In this episode, we'll explore their distinction between what they call "toxic empathy" and "biblical compassion." We analyze their arguments, their use of the Bible, and how they overlook the teachings and ministry of Jesus to justify their claims. Ultimately, the conservative opposition to empathy helps explain some of the cruelty emerging from the Trump administration and their willingness to starve women and children to make a political point.

The Progressive Christians Podcast is available on all podcast platforms, TikTok, and Instagram. You can find the links and the links to the host's social media here: https://linktr.ee/theprogressivechristians

Show Notes

1. https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/texas-megachurch-tiktok-baby-formula-b2863291.html
2. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/woman-called-lakewood-church-asking-132510186.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADQCTJ57PswQV8JV_QLVUpSRj7VFB1g5_NgeMdCVwiqEllHyZ4kvwlCNGUh-3QM2FM4VzDmI0Zr3FXb8QGQ3RpMpNXs1UoEwNuWHnnIRqkrYEgB1y9hvyJWa44QFpJQ-oMdgO5PXqHIKZwGJs-UfRPkHi9vQyoVEPxRfxNDq2L4d

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected].

Vice President JD Vance wants to be the next leader of the MAGA movement. Speaking during a recent Turning Point USA event at Ole Miss, he cast a vision for America that blends Christian Nationalism, white supremacy, and conservative populism. In this episode, we discuss Vance's beliefs about immigration, how his wife, Usha Vance, got caught up in the rhetoric, and how Pope Francis and Pope Leo offer a very different Roman Catholic perspective on how we are to love our immigrant neighbors.

The Progressive Christians Podcast is available on all podcast platforms, TikTok, and Instagram. You can find the links and the links to the host's social media here: https://linktr.ee/theprogressivechristians

Show Notes

1. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/03/great-gatsby-book-fitzgerald-race-interpretation/672778/
2. Gina Zurlo- https://ginazurlo.com/
3. https://www.rev.com/transcripts/vance-speaks-at-turning-point-event
4. Usha Vance interview with Meghan McCain- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwpR0yUWgvY
5. https://www.thelettersfromleo.com/p/why-two-popes-told-jd-vance-he-was
6. https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/guest-voices/jd-vance-wrong-jesus-doesnt-ask-us-rank-our-love-others
7. https://katarmas.substack.com/p/the-pope-shared-my-article-and-the

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected].