In this episode, I am joined by the eminent historian of science and religion, Peter Harrison. We examine how we've inherited a distorted narrative about the relationship between science and religion. Rather than the conflict narrative we're accustomed to, Harrison reveals that science and religion are not historical foes, and that modern Western sciences are actually built on theological assumptions. The real game-changer comes from tracing how Protestant reforms—notably the attack on allegoric...
Jun 30, 2025•1 hr 57 min
In this episode, Aaron Simmons stepped up to host this conversation with Robert Talisse while I'm leading the Bonhoeffer travel-learning trip. They unpack one of the most pressing issues of our time - this wild paradox where the very thing democracy needs (us banding together with like-minded folks to get stuff done) is also the thing that's slowly destroying our ability to see people who disagree with us as actual human beings worth listening to. Rob brilliantly unpacked how we've gotten to thi...
Jun 28, 2025•1 hr 47 min
This was our final Q&A session wrapping up Grace's lecture series on the Holy Spirit (you can get here), and what a fantastic conversation it turned out to be! Grace shared how spending time with pneumatology has shifted her focus toward the practical, embodied aspects of faith - moving beyond the academic exercises of graduate school toward understanding how the Spirit calls us to live sustainably and care for all of creation. We dove deep into how dualistic thinking has harmed both our rel...
Jun 23, 2025•1 hr 16 min
On this episode, we're back live at Lot 63 in Winston-Salem. I was joined once more by Corey Walker & Bill Leonard for a wide-ranging conversation from the Council of Nicaea to smartphone addiction. We explore the roots of our civilizational crisis, tracing lines from the Anabaptist radicals 500 years ago who said "God alone is judge of conscience" all the way to today's algorithmic plantation where our phones know us better than we know ourselves. Bill reminded us that the mentality behind ...
Jun 19, 2025•1 hr 56 min
In this episode, I am joined by the podcast Producer, Josh Gilbert, for our second tutorial edition. This time, we tackle some heavy stuff - Josh opens up about his modern existential crisis of living untethered from traditional institutions, which gets us into William James' "Will to Believe" and the whole mess of making momentous decisions in a culture that's allergic to commitment. Then I get nerdy about Andreas Reckwitz's fascinating analysis of late modernity - how we've split into two warr...
Jun 16, 2025•54 min
Grace Ji-Sun Kim joined me at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Durham for a fantastic live Pentecost Podcast, and let me tell you, the Spirit was moving! Grace had just preached at Duke's chapel that morning (complete with a birth story analogy that had people talking), and we dove deep into the connections between creation's hovering spirit and the fire that made us human as a species. We explored how every culture has words for spirit that sound like breath and why starting theology with the Sp...
Jun 13, 2025•1 hr 24 min
So we're back with my buddy Dr. Andrew Root and his brand new book Evangelism in the Age of Despair - and no, before you ask, this is definitely not your typical door-to-door evangelism handbook. Andy's doing what he does best here, which is taking some heavy theological machinery (theology of the cross, Charles Taylor, French philosophers you've never heard of) and making it speak to the very despair of our concrete cultural moment. The basic argument? Our whole pursuit-of-happiness project has...
Jun 10, 2025•1 hr 27 min
What's up theology nerds! When we lost the legendary Walter Brueggemann, I knew we had to do a proper tribute to one of the most influential biblical scholars of our time. I'm joined by Bo and Rolf Jacobson from Luther Seminary for a deep dive into Walter's life and work - this is the guy who somehow managed to have both mega-nerd street cred in the academy AND pastors across the country whose preaching was transformed by his books. We explore how Walter revolutionized biblical theology by showi...
Jun 07, 2025•1 hr 57 min
We've lost a giant in biblical scholarship with the passing of Walter Brueggemann, whose profound insights into the Hebrew Bible transformed how countless people understand scripture and faith. In this special tribute episode, we revisit three memorable conversations with Walter from across the years of Homebrewed Christianity, showcasing his remarkable ability to make ancient texts come alive with contemporary relevance. From his groundbreaking work on the prophetic imagination to his incisive ...
Jun 06, 2025•2 hr 59 min
This is an audio essay from my SubStack, Process This. You can head over here to read or watch the entire essay. I've been tracking the peculiar contradictions of American religious life for years now, and there's one puzzle that keeps me up at night: Why does liberal theology keep producing brilliant scholarship while liberal churches empty out? It's not just a marketing problem or bad leadership—it's what my friend Bo Sanders calls a "perfect storm." In this episode, I dig into the fundamental...
Jun 05, 2025•26 min
This week's Q&A dives deep into expanding our pneumatological horizons with Grace Ji-Sun Kim as we gear up for Pentecost Sunday. We tackle some fantastic questions about the Hebrew "ruach" versus Greek "pneuma," unpack how Greco-Roman philosophy (thanks, Plato!) shaped early Trinitarian debates, and explore the fascinating gender fluidity of Spirit language throughout church history - spoiler alert: the Spirit was feminine in early Syriac and Hebrew texts before patriarchal translations masc...
Jun 03, 2025•1 hr 27 min
Here's another fantastic conversation with Justin Barrett, cognitive scientist extraordinaire, who spends his time at the intersection of science and religion. We dove deep into why developmental psychology is such a powerful lens for understanding human nature - turns out you can't figure out if a zebra is white with black stripes or black with white stripes just by looking at adult zebras, you've got to watch how they develop. Justin walked us through the fascinating story of human evolution a...
Jun 02, 2025•1 hr 41 min
This week Grace and I dove deep into the messy, fascinating history of how the early church wrestled with the Holy Spirit - and let me tell you, it's way more complicated than most of us realize. We're talking about a time when there was no canonized New Testament, no creeds, just a bunch of monotheistic folks trying to figure out what to do with the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead and they were experiencing God through the Spirit. Grace brilliantly walks us through why it took centurie...
May 29, 2025•1 hr 22 min
If you've ever read the Bible and felt tension between different passages, or found yourself in conversation with another Christian only to realize there are unresolvable differences at play, then Bill Brown's new book "acred Tension"is going to be right up your alley. Bill argues that this tension isn't a bug in the system—it's exactly what the Bible is supposed to do. In our conversation, we explore how the diversity of Scripture isn't a liability but rather an invitation to dialogue. From the...
May 27, 2025•1 hr 47 min
Well nerds, buckle up for this one. My buddy Ryan Burge has returned with his latest graphs about religion and the 2024 election, and let me tell you - it was zesty. We started talking about minor league baseball, chicken raising, and somehow ended up dissecting why 83% of white evangelicals voted for Trump (spoiler: it's not shocking). Ryan breaks down the real story of the 2024 election - how non-white evangelicals are now 50/50, why mainline Protestants aren't actually that liberal, and the f...
May 22, 2025•1 hr 43 min
In this kickoff live session for our new class on the Holy Spirit, I'm joined by Grace Ji-Sun Kim—author of the Homebrewed Christianity Guide to the Holy Spirit (and about 24 other spirit-focused books by her count!). We dive into some fascinating early questions about the nature of the spirit: Is it a person, principle, or energy? Grace reminds us that confusion is actually a good starting place, since certainty is where problems arise. We explore how her unique background—growing up Korean Pre...
May 21, 2025•1 hr 21 min
In this episode, I am joined by your favorite theological troublemaker, Dr. Pete Enns, for a wide-ranging Q&A session where we tackle your burning questions from our SubStack communities (Odds & Enns and Process This). We delve into everything from understanding eternal punishment in Matthew 25, to the various ways divine presence is portrayed in Genesis, to what makes deconstruction a healthy or nihilistic approach, and whether Christianity can adapt to modern existential needs. We brin...
May 19, 2025•58 min
Holy smokes, theology nerds – buckle up for a prophetic ride through Black Christology that'll completely recalibrate your understanding of Jesus and faith in times of empire. I am joined by Dr. Adam Clark as he traces the revolutionary lineage from Howard Thurman's mystical Jesus who refuses the "hounds of hell" (after being called a traitor to dark peoples for following Christianity), through Albert Cleage's literal Black Messiah who'd be riding in the colored section of Jim Crow buses, to Jam...
May 17, 2025•1 hr 36 min
In this plenary session from Theology Beer Camp 2024, John Thatamanil explores the future of religious identity in an increasingly pluralistic America, arguing that multiple religious participation will be the defining feature of North American religious life. Drawing from his personal journey as an Indian Christian immigrant who also practices Hinduism, and Wilfred Cantwell Smith's provocative question about how Christians explain the existence of other scriptures like the Bhagavad Gita, Thatam...
May 15, 2025•1 hr 21 min
What happens when you stand at the crossroads where the sacred meets the secular, where your identity refuses to fit into neat binaries, and where faith seeks understanding in the midst of doubt? In this deeply personal conversation, Episcopal priest and pioneering womanist theologian Kelly Brown Douglas returns to the podcast to explore theology as a lived experience, not abstract speculation. We dive into her powerful concept of "crossroads theology" – that stable, definite space where the blu...
May 13, 2025•1 hr 13 min
In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim's to discuss Feminist Christology. We explore the importance of retrieving feminine imagery of God and Jesus through the biblical wisdom figure Sophia. She argues that despite Jesus's historical maleness, a feminist Christological approach is essential for contemporary Christianity because it challenges 2000 years of patriarchal interpretations and creates more inclusive understandings of the divine. The conversation traces Sophia's developmen...
May 11, 2025•1 hr 17 min
In this thought-provoking episode, former neuroscientist-turned-Franciscan sister Ilia Delio offers a radical vision for the future of religion at Theology Beer Camp. Speaking to a community of spiritual seekers, Delio places humanity within our cosmic context—mere seconds in the universe's 13.8 billion-year story—while arguing that we are the universe becoming conscious of itself. She challenges institutional religion's static cosmologies, drawing on Teilhard de Chardin's integration of evoluti...
May 08, 2025•1 hr 15 min
What's up Theology Nerds! Today I'm thrilled to share my conversation with the brilliant Philip Clayton on his new book Science and the Sacred: Beyond the Gods in Our Own Image. This isn't your typical science vs. religion debate - it's something way more interesting! Philip co-authored this book with Claudia Pierce, an atheist religion journalist, creating a beautiful dialogue between theistic and non-theistic perspectives that finds surprising common ground. We explore how their five-year coll...
May 05, 2025•1 hr 44 min
What's up Theology Nerds! Today on the podcast I'm joined by my brilliant friend Diana Butler Bass for another edition of "Ruining Dinner" as we mark the first 100 days of Trump's second administration. We dive into some fascinating new data on religion and politics in America that just dropped, examining everything from unexpected consensus on religious liberty (a rare bright spot!) to disturbing trends in support for political violence among Christian nationalist adherents. Diana shares her re...
May 04, 2025•1 hr 10 min
In this session, we are joined by historical theologian, Dr. Paul Capetz. Dr. Capetz, a minister in the United Methodist Church and former theology professor at various Protestant seminaries, discusses liberal Christology and its limitations. While identifying as a liberal theologian who seeks to reconcile Protestant heritage with Enlightenment thinking, Capetz argues that traditional liberal Christology is fundamentally flawed. He explains that liberal theologians like Friedrich Schleiermacher ...
May 02, 2025•1 hr 19 min
In this episode, Dr. Jason Storm returns to explore the relationship between science, religion, and meaning in the modern world. Starting with Storm's work on The Myth of Disenchantment, they discuss how the conventional narrative of modernity leading to widespread secularization and loss of magical/spiritual thinking is largely inaccurate. Storm explains how this narrative emerged in the 19th century while spiritualism and occult movements were actually flourishing. They examine the fragmentati...
Apr 28, 2025•1 hr 36 min
In this session, Dr. Ruben Rosario Rodriguez provides an overview of Reformed Christology, focusing on the theological contributions of two key 20th century Reformed theologians: Karl Barth and Jürgen Moltmann. He begins by introducing the Reformed tradition's historical roots in 16th century Calvinism and its emphasis on social responsibility. It then examines Barth's Christocentric theology, which emphasizes God's transcendence and self-revelation in Christ as the only source of knowledge abou...
Apr 25, 2025•1 hr 39 min
Sarah Heath, and Kristen Tideman joined me to unveil the exciting details for Theology Beer Camp 2025 in this lively promotional episode filled with laughter, nostalgia, and anticipation. The hosts reminisce about past camps while revealing this year's Monty Python-inspired theme, "Quest for the Holy Stein," coming to St. Paul, Minnesota this October. With an impressive lineup of theologians, free-flowing beer, and a community-focused approach, this episode captures the unique blend of intellect...
Apr 24, 2025•1 hr 8 min
In this episode, I am joined by Congressman Eric Swalwell. We discuss his background, faith, and political journey to Congress. Swalwell shares how he first came to Campbell University (a small Christian school in North Carolina) on a soccer scholarship, where he was the goalkeeper on the soccer team. Though politics wasn't initially on his radar, an injury led him to explore student government, mock trial, and Model UN activities. After interning for a member of Congress, he transferred to the ...
Apr 23, 2025•36 min
In this episode, Sociologist Christian Smith discusses his new book Why Religion Went Obsolete. Smith explains that while traditional religion has been declining in America for decades, this decline hasn't resulted in greater secularism but rather a shift toward what he calls "re-enchantment culture." He argues that religion hasn't simply declined but has become obsolete - still functional but superseded by alternatives that better match contemporary sensibilities. Smith identifies numerous caus...
Apr 21, 2025•1 hr 43 min
