Things Not Seen Podcast

Jon M. Sweeney introduces us to 36 ways to understand God through the wisdom of Saint Francis. Francis of Assisi was spiritual before anyone used that word, and he was religious in the best ways. We love him because he cut through the paraphernalia to get back to religion where it belongs: working in the human heart, making a difference in everyday life.

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Our guest Kate Ott discusses her recent book, Sex, Tech, & Faith, inviting readers into a realistic conversation about ethics in the 21st century

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Our guest, Timothy Morton, argues that there is an unexpected yet profound relationship between religion and ecology that can guide a planet-scale response to the climate crisis. Spiritual and mystical feelings have a deep resonance with ecological thinking, and together they provide the resources environmentalism desperately needs in this time of climate emergency. We discuss his recent book, Hell: In Search of a Christian Ecology.

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Our guest, David W. Congdon tells the story of how 20th-century American Christians have repeatedly sought and failed to define and defend a "pure" form of Christianity. We discuss his recent book, Who Is a True Christian?: Contesting Religious Identity in American Culture.

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We welcome back to the show philosophers Jacob Goodson and Brad Elliott Stone to talk about their recent book, co-authored with Pastor Philip Rudolph Kuehnert, Building Beloved Community in a Wounded World

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Our guest, Daniel P. Horan, returns to Things Not Seen to talk about his recent book, Engaging Thomas Merton: Spirituality, Justice, and Racism. This important book is based on contemporary engagements with the work and legacy of Thomas Merton that highlight the enduring relevance of his thought in addressing the pressing concerns of our time.

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Looking through the lens of the biblical narrative of Esther, our guest Brenda Salter McNeil challenges Christians to recognize the pain in our world so they can work together to repair what is broken.

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Popular speaker and award-winning author James K. A. Smith returns to our show to explain that we must reckon with the past in order to discern the present and have hope for the future. In his recent book, How to Inhabit Time, Smith brings together popular culture, biblical exposition, and meditation, he helps us develop a sense of "temporal awareness" that is attuned to the texture of history, the vicissitudes of life, and the tempo of the Spirit.

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In his recent book,Thriving on a Riff, Presbyterian minister and jazz pianist Bill Carter introduces us to the spiritual worlds opened up by jazz music.

From King David to Dave Brubeck, from the Psalms of Israel to John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, musicians help us glimpse the experience of music as communion with the Divine. Weaving together stories from the history of American music with his personal experiences as a working musician, Carter invites us to meet a God who not only embraces syncopation but blesses the swing.

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Award-winning journalist John Blake tells the story of his quest to reconcile with his white mother and the family he’d never met—and how faith brought them all together.

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