The Tealos Podcast

This episode interviews Rev. Dr. Kirsten Guidero, theology professor and Episcopal clergy, as we continue(d) to celebrate Women's History Month and dig deeper into the effects of gender and theology.

How did Donald Trump become the ideal presidential candidate for white evangelical Christians? The moment when John Wayne replaced Jesus as Lord. In this episode of the Tealos Podcast, Gracia, Silas, and special guest Hannah Knodel interview Dr. Kristin Kobes Du Mez—an American historian of politics, gender, and religion. Her new book, Jesus & John Wayne, outlines the history of American Evangelicalism over the course of the last century. She explains how the distortion and corruption of gender roles and identity have become a foundational tenet of evangelical values. Her research demonstrates how Trump was the perfect advocate for Christian nationalist values.

Happy International Women's Day! In this episode, Silas, Natalie, & Gracia interview Dr. Anneke Stasson, Associate Professor of Humanities and History at Indiana Wesleyan University about the role of women throughout church history and into the present day.

"Every worship service tells a story. It's worship practices intentionally or unintentionally communicate a message that forms our reason for living. When Christian worship digresses from telling the story of Christ to one of personal motives and aspirations, that reason is lost."—Living Christ: Embodying Jesus' Life in Worship Through the Christian Year by Daniel RifeIn this episode, Gracia & Silas interview Daniel Rife—professor, author, and worship director at College Wesleyan Church. Daniel helps us understand what the Christian Year is and how it provides a sacred rhythm not only for our church services but for the entire Christian life.

Silas, Natalie, & Gracia talk through the wild year of 2020--the ways they've grown, things they've learned, and silly stories made along the way!

Why do so many conservative Christians continue to support Donald Trump despite his many overt moral failings? Why do many Americans advocate so vehemently for xenophobic policies, such as a border wall with Mexico? Why do many Americans seem so unwilling to acknowledge the injustices that ethnic and racial minorities experience in the United States?In this episode, Natalie interviews Dr. Andrew Whitehead, sociologist and author of the award-winning book Taking America Back for God, which points to the phenomenon of "Christian nationalism," the belief that the United States is, and should be a Christian nation. The first comprehensive empirical analysis of Christian nationalism in the United States, Taking America Back for God illustrates the influence of Christian nationalism on today's most contentious social and political issues.

Description: Dr. Miranda Cruz, Theologian & Church Historian, helps us understand what Christian Nationalism is, where it comes from, why it’s problematic, and what we—as Kingdom people seeking reconciliation—can do in this polarizing political season.WARNING: The audio quality in this episode is terrible due to Natalie & Gracia being idiots. We are fully aware and hope Silas is never absent again.

Why does there seem to be such a schism between science and religion, particularly in the American Evangelical tradition? And as a scientist who studies the empirical, how do you reconcile the mystical and the unknown? In this episode, the Tealos podcast interviews Gracia's older brother Ethan Gormong, a chemistry PhD student at the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities), who shares his insight and experience of being both a person of faith and a person of science...and how the two might not actually conflict at all.

At times, it seems as though the Christian faith hinges on the existence of a heaven and hell. But some wonder...what if we simply ceased to exist? What if there is nothing after we die? Is there still room for faith, God, and virtue in a “meaningless” world view? In this episode, Silas, Gracia, and Natalie explore the possibility and moralistic impact of believing in nothing after death.

Finally, back together in the Northwoods of Spooner, Wisconsin, Gracia, Natalie, and Silas continue the eschatology series with a discussion of purgatory. Mark Nauertz, a Catholic student at the University of Mary (Bismarck, ND) and a long-time friend of Gracia, joins the Tealos podcast to help explain not only purgatory but other Catholic concepts that can help Protestants broaden their faith understanding.