Welcome to our monthly on the Unlearning Podcast called “The Briefing: News and Events from a Progressive Christian world view.” In our August episode, I interview Dr. Tracey Shenell and Pastor Hannah Sims on all of their thoughts concerning recent news and events. The Briefing on the Unlearning Podcast is here to help you think critically about the world around you AND to demonstrate what it’s like to have healthy, respectful conversations about politics, news, and Christianity.

On today’s episode, we are going to talk about freedom of speech and the recent stabbing of author Salman Rushdie, the sentencing of Brittney Griner, what we can expect in a Post-Rowe world and the popular show Yellowstone and the opinion piece Tressie McMillan Cottom wrote for the New York Times.

You can connect with Dr. Tracey Shenell at https://www.traceyshenell.com/ and Pastor Hannah Sims on Facebook and on Twitter @hannahfjean. 

Ashley Lynn Hengst is the host of the Unlearning podcast and you can connect with her at on Instagram and Twitter @ashleylhengst or at ashleylhengst.com

When thinking about Christianity as a religion, Cuban theologian Miguel De La Torre explains that we must define our religion from the point of view of people on the margins and not people in wealth and in power. That’s a big change in point of view for a lot of us because for many of us, all we do is follow and like and invest in the point of view of the rich, famous and powerful. But Christ is calling us to fix our gaze on the liberation of the poor and the oppressed, on the people living on the margins. 

On today's episode, Ashley helps listeners define Jesus gospel of liberation and compares it to the evangelical understanding of salvation. You can connect with Ashley on Instagram and Twitter at @ashleylhengst or find her on her website at ashleylhengst.com

Lex Orandi, Lex Crendendi "the law of prayer is the law of belief" or you are what you pray. On this week's Friday Field Notes,  Ashley talks about prayer and invites listeners to incorporate the beautiful tradition of the Book of Common Prayer into their prayer lives. 

You can connect with Ashley on Instagram and Twitter @ashleylhengst or on her website at ashleylhengst.com

THE BRIEFING  is a monthly segment by Ashley Lynn Hengst on the "News and Events from a Progressive Christian Point of View."

This past July, we saw the exquisite images from NASA’s James Webb Telescope, continuation of the midterm elections, the passing of the Inflation Reduction act , and former President Trump’s Margo Island fiasco.

Check out the New York Times article that Ashley mentions on the James Webb Space Telescope. 

You can connect with Ashley on Instagram and Twitter at @ashleylhengst or on her website at ashleylhengst.com

As we make our way back to church and look for a church and look for a pastor and begin to reconstruct our faith, it is so important that we begin to take part in Christian fellowship. Staying after church for cookies and coffee to talk with people, to catch up on their week, to encourage other people and to be encouraged by them is good for your soul 

On today's episode, Ashley talks about the importance of "fellowship" and staying after church for "coffee and cookies. You can connect with Ashley on Instagram and Twitter @ashleylhengst or on her website at ashleylhengst.com

Whenever people go on an unlearning journey, on a journey of deconstructing their Christian faith, it’s often necessary to take a break from attending church and to take a break from reading Scripture and sometimes to take a break, even from praying. And that’s okay. Religious trauma is a REAL THING and sometimes you cannot heal from trauma until you separate yourself from the situation or context in which that trauma occurred. 

But in the process of taking a break and unpacking some of these toxic, unhealthy beliefs, we often tempted to let go of our religion and our faith all together.  On today's episode, Ashley talks about the problem with losing our religion and encourages listeners to keep their faith, whatever faith feels right to them.

You can connect with Ashley on Instagram and Twitter at @ashleylhengst or on her website at ashleylhengst.com

It doesn’t matter what evangelical pastors say – Scripture is for everyone. We can all approach the Bible using our own context or through the lens of our own liberation and allow God to strengthen us, fill up our soul and strengthen our connection to the Divine no matter who we are or what context we find ourselves in. 

On today's Friday Field Notes, Ashley talks about how to read the Bible through your own experience of liberation. You can connect with Ashley on Instagram and Twitter at @ashleylhengst or visit her website at ashleylhengst.com

This gospel that Jesus proclaimed is a gospel of liberation – not a gospel of hell fire and brimstone. This is why liberation theologies are so important. Liberation theologies like black theology or feminist theology or womanist theology or queer theology are theologies of liberation, ways of looking at Scripture and at the character of God that support spiritual and physical freedom from oppressive forces.

On today's episode, Ashley takes a look at Luke chapter 4:14-30 and focuses on aspects of Jesus' rejection at Nazareth that many pastors ignore, primarily Jesus' focus on liberation.

You can connect with Ashley on Instagram at Twitter @ashleylhengst or on her website at ashleylhengst.com

Welcome to the Unlearning Podcast – a gentle deconstruction podcast dedicated to helping you learn to love Jesus and your neighbor through healthy life-giving theology. I am your host, Ashley Lynn Hengst and I’m so grateful you are checking out the show. I am a graduate of Claremont School of Theology and I’m passionate about helping people understand and practice the Christian faith in a healthy way. On this show we cover everything from the wrath of God to healthy Christian sexual ethics. I share interviews with pastors, bible teachers and wonderfully ordinary people of faith whose lives have been enriched by their own unlearning journey. You will also find a monthly segment called The Briefing on news and events from a progressive Christian world view as well as a weekly segment called “Friday Field Notes” which provides ways to reconstruct your faith. 

            If are looking for a podcast to help you unlearn toxic evangelical theology and show you a healthy way of understanding and practicing the Christian faith make sure to subscribe so that you never miss out on future episodes to help you with your unlearning journey. 

        You can connect with Ashley on Instagram and Twitter at @ashleylhengst or on her website at ashleylhengst.com

Your life is so much more than what you give and do for other people. The abundant life that Christ talked about is not limited to service of others. It’s about living joyfully in your spirit and enjoying the healthy pleasures of life knowing you are unconditionally loved. 

What would you love to do if time and money were not a problem? What would you love to do if you were in the best physical shape you could be in? What would you want to try? What might be fun?

The more you take care of yourself  through hobbies the better you will show up at work and in your relationships. When you cultivate fulfilling hobbies, you come back to your relationships from a place of fulfillment – not from a place of lack. 

Join Ashley Lynn Hengst each Friday on her segment: Friday Field Notes where she gives you a brief helpful episode on reconstruction.  You can connect with Ashley on Instagram and Twitter at @ashleylhengst or visit her website at ashleylhengst.com