The Sectarian Review

Today, Danny talks with Dr. Frederick L. Downing, scholar and editor of a new book for Plough Books called The Inconvenient Gospel. The book is a collection of writings by Clarence Jordan, founder of the famous Koinonia Farm in Georgia. Downing was a pioneer in the Civil Rights Movement and ran into vitriolic opposition from his fellow Southern Christians. Downing discusses how Jordan's theology and activism was years ahead of his time and how mainstream Christianity has finally come around to his thinking on these issues.

More on the book as well as purchasing options, can be found here: https://www.plough.com/en/topics/community/intentional-community/inconvenient-gospel

Here is the contact info for Koinonia Farm:

koinoniafarm.org   1324 GA-49, Americus, GA 31719   229 924-0391

Follow Danny Anderson's writing and podcasting at https://untaking.substack.com/

The 2022 Christian Humanist Halloween crossover is here! This year, Nathan Gilmour and Carter Smith-Stepper join Danny Anderson for a discussion of John Carpenter's under-rated classic Prince of Darkness. The film presents an alternative theological universe in which Satan has spent millenia as the prisoner of a secret sect of the Catholic Church. As he begins to stir, a group of academics, along with a priest, join together to try and stop him from bringing his father, an ancient dark god, back to Earth. 

The film has heavy Lovecraftian themes and Carter, Nathan, and Danny have a spirited (and largely unresolved) theological debate about cosmic horror. 

Update:

Danny's article "John Carpenter and the Origin of Evil" for Pop Culture and Theology: https://popularcultureandtheology.com/2022/10/31/john-carpenter-and-the-origins-of-evil/

Returning to the today is C. Derick Varn. This time he joins Danny Anderson to discuss the unique and incredible musical career of British singer-songwriter Elvis Costello. Emerging out the British pub rock, punk, and New Wave scenes, Costello forged an almost unparallelled career of musical variation and experimentation. Varn and Anderson discuss what makes him so important. 

Links

Varn Vlog https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMuZYE1Q9yNpzn4dzsPtmcQ

To follow this podcast and the writing that Danny Anderson does, go to https://authory.com/DannyAnderson and sign up for a weekly newsletter update. It's free and Danny promises not to clutter up your inbox.

This week, Arthur Aghajanian joins the show for a fascinating discussion of mystical, contemplative traditions in Christianity. Part of the discussion is the role that liminality, or experiences at the margins, play in building a deeper, non-credal faith. A great discussion about liminality and filmgoing is included. A real treat, for Danny.

Links:

Arthur's twitter: https://twitter.com/ArtAghajanian

Arthur's website, Image and Faith: https://www.imageandfaith.com/

To follow this podcast and the writing that Danny Anderson does, go to https://authory.com/DannyAnderson and sign up for a weekly newsletter update. It's free and Danny promises not to clutter up your inbox.

This episode, we take another look at the power of comics for teaching. This time, Dr. Justin Martin, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Whitworth University, joins the show to discuss Black Panther and how comics can help us learn about moral development and civics education. A lot to unpack here and a lot to learn.

Links:

Dr. Martin's Academia.edu page

Justin's Twitter

R-Squared Comicz

To follow this podcast and the writing that Danny Anderson does, go to https://authory.com/DannyAnderson and sign up for a weekly newsletter update. 

This week, historian and teacher Jonathan Wilson returns to the show to discuss Francis Schaeffer's influential documentary series How Should We Then Live? Long before the Benedict Option, Schaeffer offered Christians a grand narrative of societal decline and put forth a call for "Bible Believing" Christians to rescue society from decadence. In 2021, Dr. Wilson wrote a series of blog posts about the series, exploring its historical method and paranoid worldview. He joins us today to explain. 

Links:

How Should We Then Live Bluebook Life series by Jonathan Wilson

How Should We Then Live? on YouTube  https://labri.org/resources/how-should-we-then-live-series/

Sarah Edwards, "Sharing the Bad News: Regretting Francis Schaeffer's 'How Should We Then Live,' Forty Years On"  https://thebaffler.com/latest/should-live-schaeffer-edwards 

Barry Hankins, Francis Schaeffer and the Shaping of Evangelical America  https://www.eerdmans.com/Products/6389/francis-schaeffer-and-the-shaping-of-evangelical-america.aspx

Frank Schaeffer, Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back  https://www.dacapopress.com/titles/frank-schaeffer/crazy-for-god/9780306817502/

Edith Schaeffer, L'Abri (New Expanded Edition)  https://www.crossway.org/books/labri-tpb/

L'Abri Fellowship International as it exists today  https://labri.org/

To follow this podcast and the writing that Danny Anderson does, go to https://authory.com/DannyAnderson and sign up for a weekly newsletter update. 

This week's show is an interview with Greg O'Brien, author of On Pluto, and star of the new documentary Have you Heard About Greg?

Greg is an award-winning journalist who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at age 59 and dedicated the rest of his life to spreading the word about this tragic disease. In this interview, Greg discusses his family history with Alzheimer's, the toll it takes on him and his family, as well as the roles that humor and faith play in coping with the disease. It is a serious, yet humorous journey, and an honor to feature on the Sectarian Review Podcast.

Below are some links to various topics and resources covered in the episode:

On Pluto (Greg's website)

Remember, by Lisa Genova

Dr. Tanzi's "S.H.I.E.L.D" plan

Us Against Alzheimer's Brain Guide

Alzheimer's Family Support Center

To keep up with the show, as well as Danny Anderson's writing efforts:

https://authory.com/DannyAnderson

Joining the show today is educator, historian, and writer Jonathan Wilson to discuss his essay "The Conservatism of My Teaching: Seven Elements." The conversation is a fascinating exploration of some paradoxes embedded withing good, engaged teaching. The productive role of Grand Narratives in student learning. Conceiving education as a moral activity. These are just a few of the rather conservative ideas that liberal and left teachers often employ in their pedagogy. The conversation is filled with fascinating paradoxes and nuggets of wisdom about teaching, including during Covid pandemic. 

Links:

"The Conservatism of My Teaching: Seven Elements:" https://bluebook.life/2021/04/16/the-conservatism-of-my-teaching/

Jonathan Wilson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jnthnwwlsn

Knowing, Teaching, and Learning History: National and International Perspectives, ed. Stearns, Seixas, Wineburg https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED452140

The Journal of American History, March 2022 https://academic.oup.com/jah/issue/108/4?login=false

 To follow this podcast and the writing that Danny Anderson does, go to https://authory.com/DannyAnderson and sign up for a weekly newsletter update. 

Back on the show today is C. Derick Varn. Danny rescues him from having to talk politics once again. This time, Derick discusses his new book of poetry, Liberation and All the Bright Etcetera. The discussion covers such topics as psychology, poetics, identity, movies, and is punctuated by a particularly profound reflection on caregivng for someone with cancer. In addition, the poet reads a few selections from the book. You can find the book at the following link: https://mysteriosobooks.com/ols/products/liberation-and-all-the-bright-etcetera-a-poetry-chapbook-by-c-derick-varn?fbclid=IwAR30dirZpwXLwkAm4-ZPipP-HNmOIk2MlR7Xax5BiW4eQI8gowCZZiZUIoM 

To follow this podcast and the writing that Danny Anderson does, go to https://authory.com/DannyAnderson and sign up for a weekly newsletter update. 

Joining the show today is filmmaker and performer Jo Rou. Jo discusses her experience in comedy, theater, and independent filmmaking. Her latest short film, "Mary," depicts an insurance salesman with lingering guilty feelings about his late mother who encounters a client (on the anniversary of his mother's death) who may or may not be the ghost of his mother. Jo has a lot to say about art and life and you will absolutely enjoy this interview. Jo's work can be found at http://callmejo.com/. 

To follow this podcast and the writing that Danny Anderson does, go to https://authory.com/DannyAnderson and sign up for a weekly newsletter update.