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Forging Ploughshares

Cultivating the Peaceable Kingdom
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Episodes

Michael Hardin on Mimetic Atonement and Discipleship

Michael Hardin spells out his key advancement of Girardian theory in his development of a positive view of mimesis as the very mode of salvation. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

May 18, 20261 hr 26 minEp. 1156

Sermon: Recovering the Prophetic Voice of the Loved Enemy

Paul Axton preaches: In this sermon on the necessity of love of enemy to arrive at the perfection of God, the focus is on the possible insight the "enemy" such as Islam and Iran might have into the failures of Western Christianity. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

May 16, 202626 minEp. 1155

Michael Hardin On Girard and Hebrews

Michael Hardin explains how René Girard scapegoated the term sacrifice and the book of Hebrews and how he corrected course in regard to Hebrews. Karl and Paul discuss attachment of fundamentalism to the historical critical method, and then Nate and Paul point out to Michael the same problem with theological liberalism, and propose an alternative Christocentric hermeneutic in place of historicism. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!...

May 11, 20261 hr 33 minEp. 1154

The Personification of the Jewish Conception of Sabbath Realized in Christ

Brad and Paul discuss the attached sermon tracing a Jewish understanding of Sabbath as synonymous with God and with being joined to God, as in marriage, and the development of an event oriented understanding degraded into a space surrounding tabernacle and temple taken up and transformed by Christ. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!...

May 09, 20261 hr 16 minEp. 1153

Michael Hardin on Nonviolent Atonement

In this continued discussion with Michael Hardin, Michael lays out a theory of a nonviolent atonement, through Girardian theory. Michael pictures this as key to understanding the cross and the Bible. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

May 04, 20261 hr 41 minEp. 1152

The Epstein Class and the Augustinian Compromise

Brad and Paul discuss the attached sermon, of how it is that the church seems to no longer be a resistant community, as Paul and Origen would have it, "putting on the full armor of God," and how it is that Augustinian just war theory, and its exterior/interior division points to a morally compromised church and culture marked by the rise of Jeffrey Epstein and friends. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!...

May 02, 20261 hr 15 minEp. 1151

Michael Hardin on a Girardian Reading of the Bible

Michael Hardin, an expert and friend of René Girard, explains how a Girardian reading of the Bible solves the problem posed by Marcion, of distinguishing between the violent God of the Jews and the Father of Jesus Christ. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

Apr 27, 20261 hr 29 minEp. 1150

Sermon: "He Became Sin For Us" as Righteousness Realized

Paul Axton preaches: In this sermon reversing the usual meaning of Christ "becoming sin for us" the working of the cross is examined at a deep psychoanalytic and personal level, through the lens of Julian of Norwich, and her reversal of theology. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

Apr 25, 202631 minEp. 1149

Michael Hardin Explains the Comprehensive Nature of Mimetic Theory

Michael Hardin, the friend of and expert on René Girard, explains the comprehensive nature of mimesis, from the novel, to psychology, anthropology, and religion, explaining the scientific background and universal application of the theory. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

Apr 20, 20261 hr 8 minEp. 1148

Sermon: The Healing Presence of God in Sabbath

Paul Axton preaches: Bringing together the thought of William Desmond with Maximus the Confessor, this sermon traces how the seventh day is the revelation and reflexive divine presence fulfilled in Christ. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

Apr 18, 202634 minEp. 1147

Michael Hardin on the Life and Literature of René Girard

Michael Hardin leads a discussion on the life and work of René Girard, with whom he was friends, tracing the beginnings of his discovery and then the growth of appreciation and literature dealing with his work. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

Apr 13, 20261 hr 15 minEp. 1146

Sermon: Easter as Judgment On Christ Killers and Antisemitism

Paul Axton preaches: This Easter sermon examines the first Christian proclamation of resurrection in its direct indictment of those who nailed him to the cross, but this scapegoating, nationalistic, religion in its captivity to death and killing exemplifies human religion and the human problem which Christ exposes and resolves in the resurrection. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspect...

Apr 11, 202636 minEp. 1145

The Anarchy of Apocalyptic Theology: Beyond Now and Not Yet

In this discussion with Karl, Andy, Jim, and Scott, Paul brings together Christian Anarchy as it coincides with an apocalyptic theology, but fills this out through the work of Ann Jervis, who describes the need to set aside "now and not yet" as a controlling metaphor which does not do justice to victory in Christ. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace” Starting April 8th ...

Apr 06, 20261 hr 12 minEp. 1144

Coming To Easter Faith Through Taking Up the Cross

This is a combination of Brad and Paul discussing the sermon and the upcoming classes along with the sermon on approaching Easter through the cross, or taking up the cross as enabling resurrection faith. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace” Starting April 8th and running through May 27th from 7 pm to 9 pm central time. This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace...

Apr 04, 20261 hr 3 minEp. 1143

Ivan Illich and the Apocalyptic Failure of the Church

Paul, Nate, Karl, Jim, and Andy discuss the work of renegade Catholic Priest Ivan Illich in his criticism of institutional Christianity as giving shape to modern nationalism and the profound failures of modern society. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace” Starting April 8th and running through May 27th on from 7 pm to 9 pm central time. This class, with Ethan Vander Lee...

Mar 30, 202658 minEp. 1142

Sermon: Learning to Think with Mary and Martha

Paul Axton preaches: Mary and Martha illustrate two approaches to life and thought, with Mary representing a Sabbath form of thought in which thought is received, and Mary representing a doing form of thought in which thought is aimed at a product. While Marth thinking is necessary, all Martha and no Mary takes away the center and purpose from thought. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Per...

Mar 28, 202634 minEp. 1141

Apocalyptic Hermeneutics

Karl, Jim, Nathan, Andy and Paul discuss the difference an apocalyptic theology makes in regard to natural theology, understandings of sin and salvation, and biblical hermeneutics. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace” Starting April 8th and running through May 27th. This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” from various perspectives: Biblical, theological, ph...

Mar 23, 20261 hr 13 minEp. 1140

Sermon: There is a Sabbath for Thought

Paul Axton preaches: Building on the picture of salvation in Hebrews as occurring through Sabbath rest, and depicting the unrest or dis-ease of neurosis, war, philosophy, and religion, the resolution to the deadly human predicament through Sabbath is depicted. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace” Starting April 8th and running through May 27th. This class, with Ethan Va...

Mar 21, 202634 minEp. 1139

Ethan Vander Leek on the Peace of William Desmond and Rowan Williams

Brad and Paul talk with Ethan Vander Leek about his upcoming course on peace in which he will utilize the insights of William Desmond, Rowan Williams, and Raimon Panikkar among others. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace” Starting April 8th and running through May 27th. This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” from various perspectives: Biblical, theological...

Mar 16, 20261 hr 8 minEp. 1138

Sermon: Christian Zionism as Apostasy

Paul Axton preaches: In Galatians, Paul delineates fleshly Israel from Spiritual Israel, equating fleshly Israel with the children of Hagar, and Christians with Isaac. Isaac points directly to Christ, just as the faith of Abraham in having Isaac points to Christian faith, but to focus on fleshly Israel is to return to idolatry. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace”: This...

Mar 14, 202631 minEp. 1137

Sermon: Being Between

Paul Axton preaches: Developing Paul's understanding that we fill up the suffering of Christ, the state of being between an originary unity and a developing fulness is explicated against the background of the philosophy of William Desmond, which is building on this Pauline idea. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace”: This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” f...

Mar 09, 202629 minEp. 1136

Understanding William Desmond Through Hegel, Žižek, and Flannery O'Connor

Brad and Paul discuss the work of William Desmond and approach it through his engagement with Hegel, his reading of Flannery O'Connor, and his opposition to the dark reading of Slavoj Žižek. (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace”: This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” from various perspectives: Biblical, theological, philosophical, and inter-religious. Go to https://pbi.forgingploughshares.org/offerings.) If you enjoyed this podcast, please consid...

Mar 02, 20261 hr 36 minEp. 1135

Sermon: There is a Crack in Everything - Letting in the Light

Paul Axton preaches: Thomas is a resolute unbeliever who after examining Jesus' wound gives the strongest of affirmations of Jesus' divine identity. As in the story of Flannery O'Connor, Revelation , one world falls apart revealing another. The crack opens up to let in the light. (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace”: This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” from various perspectives: Biblical, theological, philosophical, and inter-religious. We wil...

Feb 28, 202633 minEp. 1134

Part 2: Interview With African Peace Activist John Ashworth

Brad and Paul continue the conversation with John Ashworth, who has spent much of his life in Sudan in practical peacemaking efforts and describes how nonviolence is the real-world solution to conflict. (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace”: This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” from various perspectives: Biblical, theological, philosophical, and inter-religious. We will examine various forms of false peace and ask what peace is positively, its m...

Feb 23, 202654 minEp. 1133

Sermon: Exposing the Reigning Antichrist Through Love

Paul Axton preaches: John combines his description of love and God with his picture of its reversal in the Antichrist. Friedrich Nietzsche, in recommending the Antichrist and his work (a recommendation taken up by the Nazis) depicts the reversal embraced by a German and American Christianity which would hate in the name of Christ. Agape love is the only counter to this demonic form of the faith. (Sign up for "Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace": This class, with Ethan Vand...

Feb 21, 202633 minEp. 1132

John Ashworth: Peacemaker to Africa

Brad and Paul interview peacemaker John Ashworth, who has spent his life bringing peace to Sudan, long torn by ethnic and political violence. John has been key in negotiating peace settlements and bringing peace to this troubled region and his expertise with the realities of peace as the resolution to violence is grounded in real-world reality and experience. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!...

Feb 16, 20261 hr 11 minEp. 1131

Sermon: Re-enchantment of the World Through Truth and Spirit

Paul Axton preaches: Jesus encounter with the woman at the well transports her and those who follow the conversation to a world in which God is no longer delimited by religion, place and time, and opens up a direct knowing of God, and Truth in the Spirit. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

Feb 14, 202631 minEp. 1130

Quantum Physics and Hegel

In part 2 of our discussion of the physics of David Bohm reflected in the work of Hegel, Brad and I lay out the significance of Bohm's theory as it overlaps with Hegel's philosophy and also discuss the role of preaching, connected to these difficult topics. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

Feb 09, 20261 hr 3 minEp. 1129

Sermon: Why Are Some Blind to the Slaughter?

Paul Axton preaches: The slaying of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and the justification of this slaughter and its denial points us to Christ's exposure of the blind murderers who killed him in the name of law and order. Beyond this evil, there is a third tier of evil which acknowledges Christ's exposure of evil but which is now using this insight to manipulate the blind. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!...

Feb 07, 202632 minEp. 1128

G.W.F Hegel and David Bohm on Unifying Mind and Matter

Brad and Paul, so as to explain recent blogs and podcasts, discuss Hegel's Logic as it applies to the quantum reality and theory of David Bohm and which describes how it is that Christ unifies all things, bringing together mind and matter through the understanding that thought or cognition is ultimate reality. Paul's depiction of two kinds of letter is the point of entry. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!...

Feb 02, 20261 hr 7 minEp. 1127
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