Our guest this week with Jason and Johanna is Bekah McNeel. Bekah is a journalist who covers education, immigration, and religion. A graduate of the London School of Economics, her new book, Bringing Up Kid When Church Lets You Down is a guide for parents questioning their faith. By touching taboo topics Bekah brings up ways to give your kids agency in discovering their own faith.
Sep 16, 2022•1 hr 12 min
The second in a three part online study of the new book Don’t Look Back: Methodist Hope for What Comes Next
Sep 14, 2022•1 hr 13 min
Our guest today is our good friend, David Zahl, who has written a great new book, Low Anthropology: The Unlikely Key to a Gracious View of Others ( and Yourself). It'll help you find mercy. Dave is the founder and director of Mockingbird Ministries ( www.mbird.com ) and a campus minister at UVA through Christ Episcopal Church in Charlottesville, VA. More about the book: Many of us spend our days feeling like we're the only one with problems, while everyone else has their act together. But the so...
Sep 09, 2022•1 hr 2 min
Here’s audio from our first of three live-stream sessions with our friend and mentor, Bishop Will Willimon, on his new book, Don’t Look Back. To join the next sessions, register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vU7WWmhCT4GcS1o6PgOFBw
Sep 06, 2022•1 hr 8 min
Our guest today is my new friend, Jono Linebaugh who came on to talk about his new book, The Word of the Cross. This collection of Jonathan Linebaugh's most important work on Paul explores the merciful surprise at the heart of Paul's gospel: a grace that, while strange and weak in worldly terms, is nothing less than the power of God, full of comfort and promise. Through twelve messages - two of them new - Linebaugh contextualizes and interprets key Pauline passages, does comparative readings of ...
Sep 02, 2022•1 hr
Our guest today is Drew Ensz. Drew is a United Methodist Elder currently doing ministry at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. In that capacity Drew presided at a same-sex wedding and has since been, in limbo, under complaint and facing charges for over 1,100 days. Drew joined the podcast to talk about his discernment process and his experience of that complaint process in the larger institutional church.
Aug 26, 2022•1 hr 7 min
Rev. Tom Emanuel (he/him/his) was born and raised on sacred Lakota land in the Paha Sapa (Black Hills) of South Dakota, which is where his father first read The Hobbit aloud to him when he was too young to remember it. Tom was trained as a social scientist at the University of South Dakota and as a theologian at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA. He is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and, beginning in Fall 2022, a doctoral student at the University of Glasgow whe...
Aug 19, 2022•1 hr 34 min
Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Pugh joins the podcast to talk about his newest book, Cages: A Tale of Insurrection. The year is 1533. Elsbeth Joris is about to be executed for witchcraft when Andreas Wagner cuts her loose from the ducking stool. Exiled from family and village, Elsbeth accepts Andreas’s offer to accompany him back to his home in Münster, Germany—a decision that plunges her into a world of unhinged prophets, sassy nuns, and a deranged charlatan king. A disillusioned former monk, Andreas is retu...
Aug 12, 2022•1 hr 1 min
For today’s episode, we’ve got the first installment of a short-term, crossover project with Tripp Fuller called Tolkien Heads. In anticipation of the new Rings of Power series by Amazon, we’ll be talking all things Middle Earth with a bevy of world class Tolkien scholars. If you’re interested in joining us, go to www.tolkienheadspod.com and sign up.
Aug 05, 2022•1 hr 41 min
Jennifer Rosner joins the podcast to share her latest book, "Finding A Messiah." Jesus was Jewish, and his Jewish identity informed every aspect of his work, words, and witness. He came as the Messiah of Israel, God's covenant people, and he spoke the language of God's faithfulness to this people. So why does it seem that Judaism has little to do with our Christian discipleship today? Jennifer Rosner, a scholar of Jewish-Christian relations, takes us on a personal and corporate journey into the ...
Jul 29, 2022•1 hr 2 min
Author and editor Chris Hayes joins the podcast to talk about his latest book, " God and Guns: The Bible Against American Gun Culture." Using the Bible as the foundational source and guide, while also bringing contemporary sociological data to the conversation, seven biblical scholars and theologians construct a powerful dialogue about gun violence in America, concluding that guns are incompatible with the God of Christian Scripture. God and Guns is the first book to argue against gun culture fr...
Jul 22, 2022•49 min
Jul 08, 2022•58 min
Brian and Beau are, respectively, the President & Editor-in-Chief and the VP for External Affairs & Editor of Word and Way Magazine. They’re back on the podcast to talk about SCOTUS overturning Roe vs. Wade, the rise of Christian Nationalism in Republican politics, and how Christians should (or should not) celebrate Independence Day. Don’t forget to head over to https://www.crackersandgrapejuice.com Click on “Support the Show.” Become a patron Subscribe to CGJ+ For peanuts, you can help ...
Jul 01, 2022•1 hr 3 min
Rev. Dr. Kara Slade joined the podcast for the return of our annual live show at the Annual Conference of the Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Kara talked about her new book, "The Fullness of Time: Jesus Christ, Science, and Modernity," science vs. religion, and how we mark time. Don’t forget to head over to https://www.crackersandgrapejuice.com Click on “Support the Show.” Become a patron Subscribe to CGJ+ For peanuts, you can help us out….we appreciate it more than yo...
Jun 17, 2022•1 hr 11 min
Our guest is professor, ghost writer, and author, Tiffany Brooks, who’s written a new book on reconstructing a disillusioned faith. We have a right to encounter God where we are. We have a sacred responsibility to experience God authentically." What happens when the God we’ve been taught to believe in seems powerless to help us in the struggles of life? What do we do when the God we personally encounter no longer resembles the God we’ve been shown in narrow interpretations of the Bible? Many of ...
Jun 10, 2022•1 hr 4 min
The one and only Kara Slade will be joining Crackers&Grape Juice for a live pubcast next Wednesday (6/15/22) at 6:30pm in Hampton, VA at the St. George Brewing Company to help kick off Annual Conference. Her book "The Fullness Of Time" is a remarkable witness to the work of Karl Barth for the church today and we can't wait to hear what Kara has to share with us. All are welcome!
Jun 09, 2022•2 min
Mark Edwards joins the podcast to talk about his new book "Christ Is Time: The Gospel according to Karl Barth (and the Red Hot Chili Peppers)." Christ Is Time: The Gospel according to Karl Barth (and the Red Hot Chili Peppers) welcomes you to the jungle of Barth's head-banging opus, the Church Dogmatics, with the beats, rhythms, and lyrics of Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Metallica, and more. Based on lectures at Princeton Seminary, Edwards distills Barth's treatment of key questions in philosop...
Jun 03, 2022•52 min
The author of Monsters, Daniel van Voorhis is the host of the Christian History Almanac and a former co-host of the Virtue in the Wasteland podcast and an author and speaker at the 1517 legacy Project. After receiving his PhD in Modern history from the University of St. Andrews, Dr. van Voorhis spent 11 years teaching history and political science at Concordia University, Irvine and was most recently the Assistant Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. Dr. van Voorhis has published articles an...
May 20, 2022•59 min
Our guest this week is Dr. Jeannine Brown who’s got a new commentary out on Paul’s most popular epistle, Philippians! Dr. Brown joins us to talk about Paul, Jesus, and a narrative understanding of the New Testament. Check it out, I think it was a fun conversation. The letter to the Philippians illuminates a warm relationship between the apostle Paul and the Philippian believers. Despite difficult situations being experienced on both sides, Paul finds ample reason to celebrate what God in Christ ...
May 13, 2022•1 hr 1 min
Our guest is Jim Belcher, author of the new book Cold Civil War: Overcoming Polarization, Discovering Unity, and Healing the Nation. America's political landscape is experiencing dangerous polarization and fragmentation, with the extremes pulling the country apart. Political philosopher Jim Belcher shows that this is not merely a binary opposition between conservativism on the right and liberalism on the left, but also between conflicting visions of order and freedom on both sides. Through his u...
May 06, 2022•1 hr 1 min
Back on the podcast, Dr. Fred Schmidt is here to talk about doubt, proclamation, and the calling of pastors. Fred is a professor at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and is the vice-rector at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Nashville, Virginia. Here’s the bit he wrote that we discuss: There you go. A perfect distillation of Boomer-esque spirituality. And a perfect summary of what is wrong with far too much of the modern American church. “I don’t want answers. All that matters are the qu...
Apr 22, 2022•54 min
For Good Friday, we have for you Jason Micheli’s homilies on the Seven Last Words of Jesus. In them, Jason interprets each of the last words of Christ in light of a key character in the Book of Genesis.
Apr 15, 2022•59 min
Our mentor and muse, Will Willimon, is back on the podcast. His new book is Listeners Dare. Discipleship and witness are not self-sustainable. Preaching equips God’s people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ (Eph. 4:11). The gospel is news that passes from the lips of one who has heard to the ears of one who has not yet heard, then (God willing) it burrows in the soul, energizing the hands in daring response to a word received. Preaching is instigated by an astounding cla...
Apr 08, 2022•1 hr 1 min
Apr 01, 2022•54 min
Aaron Simmons holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Vanderbilt University and is currently a Professor of philosophy at Furman University in Greenville, SC (USA). He is the President of the Søren Kierkegaard Society (USA) and has published widely in philosophy of religion, phenomenology, and existentialism. Among his authored and edited books are God and the Other: Ethics and Politics After the Theological Turn; The New Phenomenology: A Philosophical Introduction; Kierkegaard’s God and the Good Life;...
Mar 25, 2022•1 hr 19 min
Back on the podcast for #348 with Jason and Johanna is Fritz Bauerschmidt to talk about preaching, beauty, and making the word visible in the world. His new book is How Beautiful the World Could Be. Frederick (Fritz) Bauerschmidt is professor of theology at Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland and a permanent deacon of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, assigned to the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. His new book is How Beautiful the World Could Be. His other books include The Love That Is God: An I...
Mar 18, 2022•1 hr 1 min
Mar 04, 2022•1 hr 51 min
Our guest today is Dr. David F. Ford to talk about his wonderful new book, John: A Theological Commentary. David is an Anglican public theologian. He was the Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, beginning in 1991. He is now an Emeritus Regius Professor of Divinity. His research interests include political theology, ecumenical theology, Christian theologians and theologies, theology and poetry, the shaping of universities and of the field of theology and religious studies ...
Feb 25, 2022•1 hr 2 min
Our guest today is Amy Julia Becker, author of the new book, To Be Made Well. From hurting bodies and souls to hurting relationships and communities, it’s clear that things are not as they should be. The gospels brim with stories of Jesus healing people, but what does that mean for us today? In To Be Made Well, author Amy Julia Becker weaves together her own story with reflections on biblical accounts of Jesus’ healing work, providing fresh insight into both the nature of healing and the pathway...
Feb 18, 2022•54 min
Corey Nathan was raised in an observant Jewish household attending an Orthodox synagogue. His family is mostly from Brooklyn, NY; but Corey grew up on the Jersey side - Bruce Springsteen country! In his late 20s, much to the family's chagrin, Corey became a Born-again Christian. Not long after this epiphany, the new believer began to find many of the default social and political positions of contemporary American Evangelicalism to be at odds with the very Scriptures that are supposed to be Chris...
Feb 11, 2022•1 hr 17 min
