Was Saint Nick white? Did Saint Nick really slap Arius at the Council of Nicea? Whose side would Saint Nick take in the war on Christmas?

This is an all Saint Nick barrel-aged episode with Adam English. Learn about the historical St. Nick, the person behind the myths and legends and the confusion surrounding him, how he challenged systems of oppression, a brief history of Catholic social teachings, and how St. Nick provides the best model for the Christmas season.

Adam talks about the types of practical questions the christological heart of St. Nick poses to the church in the Christmas season, the ways we edit not just the historical person of St. Nick, but also the incarnation and birth narratives of Jesus to make them more palatable for our contemporary society, and he asks: do we need to get rid of Christmas to save it? or do we just give in and remove any vestige of Christ from Christmas? Plus, Tripp and Adam talk about how to negotiate (especially for parents) the history and myth of St. Nick while also preserving the mystery.

If you’re interested in reading more (and some excellent stocking stuffers) check out these books by Adam:

The Saint Who Would Be Santa Claus, and Christmas: Theological Anticipations

It’s not too late to get your tickets for the LIVE podcast in DC with Diana Butler Bass and the folks from Crackers and Grape Juice in on December 16th. You can get tickets and learn more here.

This is a #BarrelAged Podcast: nerdy audio with an oaky flavor.

This is one of Tripp’s favorite interviews from the early days. This was John Thatamanil‘s first visit, before he started teaching at Union theological seminary, where he teaches now. John and Tripp talk about:

You can check out some of John’s articles on Huffpost, a recent video he recorded with Robert Wright, or his book The Immanent Divine.

Adam English, professor of religion and philosophy at Campbell University, and Tripp’s undergrad prof, remixing theology. In his first podcast visit, Him and Tripp discuss his book, Theology Remixed, and how Christianity is like:

Also check out the most recent episode with Adam English, where he grills Tripp about his book in Raleigh, and his book on St. Nicholas, The Saint Who Would Be Santa Claus. 

As we come close to our 1,000 episode, lets go back all the way back to episode 76.

Eastern University professor Phillip Cary talks about Christian anxiety and how the traditional Catholic, Lutheran, and Calvinist notions of Christianity settle certain human anxieties.

You can check out some of Phillip’s classes on the Teaching Company website here, or his books Good News for Anxious Christians, Augustine’s Invention of the Inner Self, and his commentary on Jonah.

This #BarrelAged episode was NT Wright’s first visit to the podcast. You can watch NT Wright’s latest visit to the podcast, the live Devilpalooza, here.

Chad and Tripp begin by playing a theological name game, where Bishop Tom talks about:

Plus: the important choice he made not to decide between being an academic or priest, and golf as an eccumenical exercise.

You can check out After You Believe and Surprised By Hope plus much, much more on his Amazon page.

This guy is really into Paul.

One of Tripp’s favorite NT scholars is featured in this Barrel Aged episode: Neil Elliott is on talking about his book, The Arrogance of Nations, plus how we can re-frame the Roman Road. It’s not about Christian identity, but about issues of justice and power.

Get an orientation about the world Paul existed in, and what role Paul played in that world. And make sure you around to the end, because Neil gives advice to ministers who are wrestling with these texts in the American imperial context:

Other books mentioned in the episode: Liberating Paul, and God Mystery Diversity

I loved talking to Merold Westphal and I’m pretty sure all the HBC Deacons and theology nerds across the

inter-webs are gonna dig this conversation coming out of the barrel.  Westphal is a long time philosophy prof from Fordham University and has now reached the status of emeritus. Merold is a top notch philosopher and committed evangelical who thinks deep and wrestles faithfully.  He publishes regularly and also has an awesome book for a general audience.

In the episode we discuss…

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Robert Mesle (you can call him Bob) joined the podcast to give an introduction to Alfred North Whitehead based on his book, Process-Relational Philosophy: an Introduction to Alfred North Whitehead. This must-read intro clearly articulates Whitehead’s philosophy without a lot of technical language or headaches.

What would Bob say if you were riding in an elevator and he had 90 seconds to explain process-relational philosophy???

Learn about what motivated Whitehead, God’s work in the world, why God loves the world, and what makes freedom possible. Plus, denominational light bulb jokes and Jonathan Taylor Thomas tells us what he’s been up to.

5 Extremely Zesty Reasons You Should Go #ProcessCurious with Tripp and Monica A. Coleman on May 10th. Click here to learn more and here to signup for the webinar. 

Roger Haight is a prolific theologian, American Jesuit, and an excellent example of the Chicago School of

theology.  Standing in the tradition of greats like Paul Tillich and David Tracy, Roger seeks to articulate Christian theology for and to the cultural context.  In his career he has focused his attention on the postmodern context of the West, those who wrestle permanently with doubt and stand on the boundary of the church with their questions.  In addressing these people Dr. Haight reveals what is possible when the beauty of the Christian tradition is correlated with the questions and anxieties of people today.  In this conversation we discuss his work in Christology but end up touching on a whole number of other issues including religious pluralism, ecclesiology, the nature of Orthodoxy, and the application of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises for the entire church.

As you may know, Roger Haight has had a quarrel with the Vatican over his Christology.  As we begin a series here at the podcast on Christology, I imagine you will begin to notice through comparison and increased understanding of the theological context and questions present today, that Roger is a faithful Christian theologian attempting to contribute constructively to the thought and practice of a church he loves.  Of course you can decide yourself!

This barrel aged episode is one of my favorites from 2009. Not only am I a Robert Wright fan but his book we discuss, The Evolution of God, is one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy this throw back episode and my thicker southern accent.

Robert Wright is Visiting Professor of Science and Religion at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York.  He is the author, most recently, of The Evolution of God,which was a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His other books include The Moral Animal: Evolutionary Psychology and Everyday Life, which The New York Times Book Review named one of the ten best books of 1994, and Nonzero, which Bill Clinton called “astonishing” and instructed White House staff members to read. In 2009 Wright was named by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the top 100 global thinkers. Wright has written for The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Foreign Policy, and the op-ed pages of The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Financial Times. His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and his awards include the National Magazine Award for Essay and Criticism. Wright is editor-in-chief of the websites Bloggingheads.tv and Meaningoflife.tv.

** November 4-7th in Springfield, MO Get your Tickets for Subverting the Norm III with the discount code HBCSTN & the Theology Nerd Bootcamp with Jack Caputo **