This is our most ambitious and most important podcast series yet” - Peter Laarman, Episode 1. Long ago, European Christians cast Jesus in the image of their imperial rulers, who wanted art portraying a fair-skinned Savior. The world still feels those consequences today. Join Front Row host Peter Laarman and guest Grace Ji-Sun Kim, as she explores the historical and theological implications of Jesus becoming white and God becoming a white male. Follow them on this challenging intellectual journey...
Apr 02, 2025•35 min•Ep. 64
This is our most ambitious and most important podcast series yet” - Peter Laarman, Episode 1. Long ago, European Christians cast Jesus in the image of their imperial rulers, who wanted art portraying a fair-skinned Savior. The world still feels those consequences today. Join Front Row host Peter Laarman and guest Grace Ji-Sun Kim, as she explores the historical and theological implications of Jesus becoming white and God becoming a white male. Follow them on this challenging intellectual journey...
Mar 21, 2025•33 min•Ep. 63
This is our most ambitious and most important podcast series yet” - Peter Laarman, Episode 1. Long ago, European Christians cast Jesus in the image of their imperial rulers, who wanted art portraying a fair-skinned Savior. The world still feels those consequences today. Join Front Row host Peter Laarman and guest Grace Ji-Sun Kim, as she explores the historical and theological implications of Jesus becoming white and God becoming a white male. Follow them on this challenging intellectual journey...
Mar 14, 2025•36 min•Ep. 62
This is our most ambitious and most important podcast series yet” - Peter Laarman, Episode 1. Long ago, European Christians cast Jesus in the image of their imperial rulers, who wanted art portraying a fair-skinned Savior. The world still feels those consequences today. Join Front Row host Peter Laarman and guest Grace Ji-Sun Kim, as she explores the historical and theological implications of Jesus becoming white and God becoming a white male. Follow them on this challenging intellectual journey...
Mar 07, 2025•31 min•Ep. 61
“This is our most ambitious and most important podcast series yet” - Peter Laarman Long ago, European Christians cast Jesus in the image of their imperial rulers, who wanted art portraying a fair-skinned Savior. The world still feels those consequences today. Join Front Row host Peter Laarmann and guest Grace Ji-Sun Kim, as she explores the historical and theological implications of Jesus becoming white and God becoming a white male. Follow them on this challenging intellectual journey, which di...
Feb 28, 2025•27 min•Ep. 60
In the fourth part of this series, Dr. Obery Hendricks, Dr. Charlene Sinclair, and Peter Laarman continue their deep dive into what white Christian nationalists actually worship: power, wealth, and whiteness. This FRONT ROW podcast features Dr. Obery Hendricks , Dr. Charlene Sinclair and Peter Laarman . Dr. Obery Hendricks is a lifelong social activist, and one of the foremost commentators on the intersection of religion and political economy in America. He is the most widely read and perhaps th...
Nov 01, 2024•38 min•Ep. 59
This is the 3rd episode in our season on Christians Against Christianity. This FRONT ROW podcast features Dr. Obery Hendricks , Dr. Charlene Sinclair and Peter Laarman . Dr. Obery Hendricks is a lifelong social activist, and one of the foremost commentators on the intersection of religion and political economy in America. He is the most widely read and perhaps the most influential African American biblical scholar writing today. His recent book, Christians Against Christianity: How Right-Wing Ev...
Oct 17, 2024•31 min•Ep. 58
Special Guests This FRONT ROW podcast features Dr. Obery Hendricks , Dr. Charlene Sinclair and Peter Laarman . Dr. Obery Hendricks is a lifelong social activist, and one of the foremost commentators on the intersection of religion and political economy in America. He is the most widely read and perhaps the most influential African American biblical scholar writing today. His recent book, Christians Against Christianity: How Right-Wing Evangelicals Are Destroying Our Nation and Our Faith (Beacon ...
Aug 26, 2024•37 min•Ep. 57
In the first part of this series, Dr. Obery Hendricks, Dr. Charlene Sinclair, and Peter Laarman lay out the beliefs of the ideologues who want an America ruled by a vengeful strongman. They ask if this movement can be fought by speaking in biblical terms, by seeing “loving your neighbor as yourself” as a struggle for the common good. Do these authoritarians care about what is right or only what serves their interest? Will their value of domination win out over repentance? Can a return to ethics ...
Jul 29, 2024•42 min•Ep. 56
The Book Of Revelation has been described as the most misunderstood and misinterpreted book of the Bible and ought to come with an adults-only "reader's caution" for all its violent imagery. Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States (1801-1809), denied the divine inspiration of the Book of Revelation, describing it to Alexander Smyth (US Representative from Virginia) in 1825 as "merely the ravings of a maniac, no more worthy nor capable of explanation than the incoherences of our own ...
Feb 27, 2024•26 min•Ep. 55
This podcast series is about perhaps the most challenging and controversial book in the New Testament, The Book Of Revelation . Some Christians love it, and some hate it. Some Christians never talk about it; some never stop talking about it. Some people are using it as a predictor of current events or as part of their impetus for violence and fervor for hatred and political gain. Others apply Revelation as a sort of war against good and evil to almost any situation one might be involved. John Do...
Feb 15, 2024•26 min•Ep. 54
The Book Of Revelation is said to be the strangest, most controversial book in the Bible. Some love it, and some hate it. Some Christians never talk about it; some never stop talking about it. And, some people use it as a predictor of current events, as part of their impetus for violence and fervor for hatred and political gain. Others apply Revelation as evidence of a war between good and evil to almost any situation. Elaine Pagels, Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton Univ...
Feb 01, 2024•24 min•Ep. 53
Justice-seekers, church leaders, and religious scholars will learn more about how younger generations are perceiving the church, how to support local advocacy and activism, and how the future of Christianity is changing. Marcus Borg’s lectures, drawn from Faith and Reason seminars like “Does Christianity Have a Future?” and “ The Heart of Christianity ,” provide the perfect foundation for an engaging and thoughtful discussion on these topics. Reverend Janet Cooper Nelson is a University Chaplain...
Feb 18, 2022•45 min•Ep. 52
Religious scholars and church leaders will learn more about how younger generations are perceiving the church, how the gospel may be interpreted by younger church members, and how the future of Christianity is changing. Reverend Janet Cooper Nelson is a University Chaplain and Director of the Office of Chaplains and Religious Life and Faculty Member at Brown University. Janet leads a multi-faith team of associate chaplains and oversees the university’s broad circle of religious life affiliates w...
Feb 11, 2022•40 min•Ep. 51
Church leaders will gain valuable insight into how younger generations are perceiving the church, how gospel and positive church communities are influencing activism, and how to navigate the future of Christianity. Reverend Janet Cooper Nelson is a University Chaplain and Director of the Office of Chaplains and Religious Life and Faculty Member at Brown University. Janet leads a multi-faith team of associate chaplains and oversees the university’s broad circle of religious life affiliates who ad...
Feb 03, 2022•41 min•Ep. 50
Buy "The Role of the Public Intellectual in a Just Society" Session 4: https://www.faithandreason.org/product/public-intellectual4/
May 28, 2021•37 min•Ep. 49
Buy "The Role of the Public Intellectual in a Just Society" Session 3: https://www.faithandreason.org/product/public-intellectual3/
Apr 23, 2021•37 min•Ep. 48
Buy "The Role of the Public Intellectual in a Just Society" Session 2: https://www.faithandreason.org/product/public-intellectual2/.
Apr 20, 2021•28 min•Ep. 47
Buy "The Role of the Public Intellectual in a Just Society" Session 1: https://www.faithandreason.org/product/public-intellectual/
Mar 26, 2021•28 min•Ep. 46
Listen as John Dominic Crossan dissects the agreements between Jesus’ Infancy Story in Matthew and Luke! In this episode, David and Debo talk to Dr. John Dominic Crossan about “The First Christmas,” the book by Crossan and the late Marcus Borg. Although our traditional nativity crib scene has the Shepherds and the Magi there together, each actually belongs to a different story. The Magi are from Matthew alone and the Shepherds from Luke alone. That difference draws attention to the fact that the...
Dec 21, 2020•51 min•Ep. 45
Listen as John Dominic Crossan explores Luke's infancy story of Jesus’ birth. In this episode, David and Debo talk to Crossan about “The First Christmas,” the book by Crossan and the late Marcus Borg. In Luke’s nativity story, why does Luke choose to have Mary give birth to Jesus in such a humble setting as a stable? Crossan breaks down Luke’s gospel. Luke tells the story of the shepherds in the field. Luke is more interested in Jesus as the healer, a person directly helping the poor, and intere...
Dec 17, 2020•45 min•Ep. 44
Listen as John Dominic Crossan dives deep into Matthew’s infancy story of Jesus’ birth! In this episode, David and Debo talk to Crossan about “The First Christmas,” the book by Crossan and the late Marcus Borg. Crossan breaks down Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew tells the story of Herod and the wise men, as well as the genealogy of Jesus. Mary and Joseph flee from Herod because he wants to kill first born babies. Matthew, interested in placing Jesus directly in the Davidic royal bloodline, makes his i...
Dec 09, 2020•45 min•Ep. 43
Kick off Advent with John Dominic Crossan! In this episode, David and Debo talk to Crossan about “The First Christmas,” the book by Crossan and the late Marcus Borg. In this episode, Crossan breaks down what he means by a parabolic overture, and points to some main differences in the Matthew and Luke gospels. Although our traditional nativity crib scene has the Shepherds and the Magi there together, each actually belongs to a different story. The Magi are from Matthew alone and the Shepherds fro...
Dec 02, 2020•33 min•Ep. 42
Debo and Catherine Young sit down with Dr. Kristin Black to talk about the realities of black Americans' access to healthcare. There’s a widespread misconception that faith is not interested in fact and scientific research. Faith is always concerned with reality and truth. For faith to be active, faith has to know what the facts are. Science explores the natural world that God created. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, a...
Oct 07, 2020•56 min•Ep. 41
In honor of Suicide Prevention Month, Debo and David sit down with Reverend Dr. Jason Coker to talk about mental health. Dr. Coker recently released a new book, Faded Flowers: Preaching in the Aftermath of Suicide, about suicide and responding to pain as a church and as individuals. People deal with loss and pain in different ways, and Dr. Coker describes his own experience preaching in the aftermath of suicide. The rate of depression is much larger in youth and minorities than a lot of people r...
Sep 15, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 40
David, Debo, and Catherine Young talk with Rev. Peter Laarman about structural racism in America and how that racism plays into religion. Biblical tradition describes two very different Gods: a jealous God and a God of boundless love and kindness. Over the last 50 years, white American Christianity has been further degraded by the idea that God prospers people individually -- that it’s a transactional kind of religion. If you’re already at the point where you think of some human beings as less t...
Aug 24, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 39
Debo and Catherine Young sit down with Dr. Stephen Farrow, Executive Director of the National Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute of Mississippi (NDORI), to discuss health as a justice issue and how social factors like income and education impact health. Mississippi has the highest rate of obesity and childhood obesity in the United States, and 1 out of 3 people in Mississippi are considered obese. When thinking about health and obesity, one must also consider how racial bias and structural ...
Aug 17, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 38
For the fifth episode of Faith & Reason’s Born Black series, Debo and Catherine Young chat with Dr. Corey Wiggins, the Executive Director of the NAACP Mississippi State Conference. Dr. Wiggins goes into detail about growing up and figuring out what he wanted to do with his life, as well as how all that led to his position at the NAACP. They touch on the importance of the vote to remove confederate emblems from the Mississippi state flag, and how that vote was followed with debates about issu...
Jul 27, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 37
In the fourth episode of the Born Black Faith & Reason series, Debo and Catherine Young chat with Normella Walker, Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Brigham Health hospital. Walker talks about diversity in the workplace, as well as the importance of organizations’ roles in civic responsibility and social justice issues. If we’re going to see change, we need to have leaders in place who value diversity and who will work to create change. How does white privilege ap...
Jul 10, 2020•55 min•Ep. 36
In the third episode of the Born Black Faith & Reason series, Debo and Catherine Young talk with Dr. Alice Graham, the executive director of Back Bay Mission in Biloxi. Dr. Graham recounts her own experience growing up, as well as how she found herself living in Mississippi. Dr. Graham goes into detail about how there are racial inequities evident in things like education, lack of funding for transportation, and red lining of properties. Dr. Graham describes her work with Back Bay Mission, s...
Jul 06, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 35
