Danielle Shroyer believes that more than any other idea, the doctrine of original sin has "slowly eroded our understanding of our relationship with God". Not only that, she believes it is unbiblical, and was rejected by Judaism and many Christian traditions, such as the Eastern Orthodox Church. So we ask Danielle how she understands sin, separation, and our relationship with God. Her answer? Original Blessing. After the interview, Nomad hosts Tim Nash and new host Jemimah McAlpine reflect on the...
Apr 09, 2018•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 170
Poet and priest Malcolm Guite helps us mark the death and resurrection of Jesus with poems from his series on the stations of the cross, and with his reflections on the Messianic Event. Nomad's David Blower responds to Malcolm’s poetry and thought in sound and song, and Kate Blower brings the Easter readings. Malcolm’s poems are published in the book Sounding the Seasons . Used with permission by Canterbury Press. Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nomad’s thoughtful, ad-free content is enti...
Mar 27, 2018•30 min•Ep. 169
Professor Thomas Oord has spent years wrestling with the problem of evil. Why, if God is all powerful and all loving, is there so much evil in the world? This question has brought Thomas to the edge of his faith. In recent years, though, he has begun to consider a radical solution. Perhaps God can't stop evil? As shocking as this sounds, Thomas is careful to show how biblical this idea is, and just how much it looks like Jesus. Tune in for a mind bending episode! “If God really didn’t want somet...
Mar 01, 2018•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 168
Georgia May's parents had an open-door policy. Literally. Most of the time the front door of their home was left open, so that people would feel welcome at any time. Consequently, Georgia grew up with a house full of people who's didn't feel they had a family of their own. This radical approach to hospitality led to many lives being transformed. But Georgia also knows first hand what can happen when radical hospitality goes wrong. So we ask her, when is radical too radical? “Radical hospitality ...
Feb 22, 2018•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 167
Jayme Reaves grew up in a home and a church that weren't safe environments. This later led to a passion to study and experience true hospitality. Through her study of church history and her experiences in the former Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland, she discovered that the hospitality we're called to goes way beyond simply welcoming the stranger. Instead we're called to protect the stranger. Tune in for an enlightening and challenging conversation. “Hospitality has been the buzzword for evangelis...
Feb 09, 2018•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 166
Brad Jersak was in town recently, so we took the opportunity to quiz him about why his faith journey led him to the Eastern Orthodox Church. Despite many Western Christians being only vaguely aware of this ancient Christian tradition, it is increasingly influencing our beliefs. So we ask Brad, could the Orthodox Church be a home for spiritual nomads? Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nomad’s thoughtful, ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful and wonderful listeners. By...
Jan 24, 2018•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 165
John Swinton is a Scottish theologian and founder of the University of Aberdeen's Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability. After years of work as a mental health nurse, John became an academic in order to process all that he'd learnt. And my word has he learnt a lot! His book Dementia: Living in the Memories of God , and Becoming Friends of Time are packed full of fascinating and vital insights about what we must learn from people with disabilities about what it means to be human and a di...
Jan 09, 2018•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 164
Here's the final part of our four-part Advent Devotional series. This time philosopher and theologian Elaine Storkey reflects on Advent in the context of those on the margins. Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams finishes the Advent readings, and David Benjamin Blower closes things out with his unique style of music and songs. If you want more Nomad Devotionals, you're in luck as we produce one a month. Head over to our Patreon page for more information. “The margins are never margins ...
Dec 22, 2017•17 min•Ep. 163
It's week three of our four-part Advent Devotional series. This time philosopher and theologian Elaine Storkey considers how Advent might be Good News to the Poor. Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams continues to work his way through the Advent readings, with the help of Kate Blower. And David Benjamin Blower continues to bring the music and song. So good! “So why were the shepherds singled out for this good news of great joy?...Well, we have no idea, except that’s the way God works: ...
Dec 15, 2017•16 min•Ep. 162
Here's the second part of our four-part Advent Devotional series. This time philosopher and theologian Elaine Storkey bases her reflection around the idea of Peace Across Borders. Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams again brings the readings along with Kate Blower, and David Benjamin Blower brings the music and songs. “In the Gospels, there’s a huge contrast between those who come in peace in fulfilment of the Messianic prophecy, and Herod, the king, who responds with anything but pea...
Dec 09, 2017•17 min•Ep. 161
If you're one of our Patreon supporters, you'll already be familiar with our Nomad Devotionals. Every month we ask a guest to reflect on a topic, and we unpack it with music, song, readings, and prayers. For Advent we thought we produce a four-part Devotional and make it available to everyone. So for the next four Sundays you can expect a reflection from feminist philosopher and theologian Dr. Elaine Storkey , and the former archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams will be contributing the r...
Dec 02, 2017•17 min•Ep. 160
Dave Randall has played guitar for some huge acts, including Faithless , Dido and Sinead O'Connor . As he's reflected on his career and the industry he's been a part of, he has begun to see the huge potential of music to change society. This prompted him to write the excellent book Sound System: The Political Power of Music . So if you're interested in pondering how the songs we sing might help us not just love God, but also love our neighbour, then tune in! This episode ends with Ibrahim Qashou...
Nov 23, 2017•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 159
Muhanad Al Qaisy's grandfather, grandmother and seven children were driven from their home in Palestine and into a refugee camp in 1948. Nearly 70 years later, the family is still struggling to make a life in the same camp. So we ask Muhanad what he sees as signs of hope. “It was a very hard situation for [Palestinians]. Because I’m telling you, they never imagined one day someone will come and just say ‘leave from here’, because they had been there since hundreds of years. They had their homes,...
Nov 09, 2017•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 158
Well, this is it, Dave Ward's final episode. After six years of podcasting, he's decided to go on to other things (probably something to do with horses...). In his final episode, we're chatting with Nick Spencer , the Director of Research at Theos Think Tank, and author of The Evolution of the West: How Christianity Has Shaped Our Values . And we're asking him, what difference has Christianity really made to society, and what indications are there that it has a hopeful future? “We shouldn’t roma...
Oct 23, 2017•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 157
A recent report into human trafficking revealed that the problem is significantly worse than previously thought. In fact, it is believed that in the UK alone, every large town and city will have trafficked people in it who are effectively enslaved, and many of us are unwittingly coming into contact with trafficked people every day. So we speak with three people - Ruth Dearnley, Julia Pugh and Hannah Flint - committed to finding signs of hope in this seemingly bleak situation. For more informatio...
Oct 09, 2017•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 156
Elizabeth Edman believes she has learnt more from the LGBTQ community about what it means to be a Christian, than she has from the Church. Why? Well, she believes the church has forgotten what it means to be scandalous, to struggle for identity and to expand its boundaries to include the marginalised. And so the Church needs to learn from the gay community - and other marginalised groups - that have embraced these virtues. It's an insightful and challenging conversation! "Christianity was meant ...
Sep 22, 2017•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 155
Malcolm Guite is a poet, priest and theologian. Years of inhabiting these roles has led him to the belief that we're relying far too much on reason and thought in the formation of our faith, and are overlooking the significance of the 'poetic imagination'. He believes that we can find deep truth in the imagination and that poetry can bring our faith alive in a way that nothing else can. It's a fascinating and hope-filled conversation! "Liturgy is poetry, necessarily. Liturgy is a made and shaped...
Sep 08, 2017•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 154
I know, we only just interviewed Walter Brueggemann ! But he's just brought a book out entitled Money and Possessions and we've still got unresolved questions after our chat with Justin Welby on that subject. So why not spend another hour in the digital presence of one of the great biblical scholars of our time?! And as you'd expect, it was an hour chock-full of wisdom and insight. “Money regularly morphs into an idolatry and that idolatry will lead to the commoditization of human relationships....
Aug 23, 2017•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 153
Walter Brueggemann is widely considered to be one of the most influential theologians of our time. So who better to help us get a handle on the idea of the Sabbath. Especially as he wrote the fascinating and insightful Sabbath as Resistance . That's right, Sabbath is so much more than simply taking a day off, it's an intentional and creative act of resistance. “We have forgotten who we are, and we think that our life is mainly defined by production and consumption. And if that is the goal and de...
Aug 10, 2017•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 152
Shane Claiborne has been an inspiration to many ever since his book The Irresistible Revolution came out, with its 'What if Jesus really meant what he said' message. For the last 20 years Shane has been trying to live out Jesus's message in a deprived area of Philadelphia, where he founded the new monastic community, The Simple Way . This journey has led him to a commitment to non-violence, 'from womb to tomb', which has been tested on many occasions. So tune in for a challenging and counter-cul...
Jul 24, 2017•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 151
It's pretty clear what Jesus was about. Love you neighbour (and if that's not challenging enough, love your enemies) was at the top of his manifesto. So why do we find it so hard to follow his example? Professor of Psychology at Abilene University, Richard Beck , doesn't think the issue is a lack of understanding. We know what we're meant to do. Instead, Richard thinks the issue is a psychological one. And it's to do with a misplaced psychology of disgust. Tune in for a truly fascinating convers...
Jul 07, 2017•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 150
In many ways Brian Zahnd is like many of Nomad's guests in that he deconstructed (although he doesn't like that term) what he came to see as a very narrow faith, and reconstructed something much deeper and broader. The difference with Brian, though, is that he went through this process while pastoring a mega-church. So we asked him, how can you lead a church, or indeed be a member of a church, when your faith is changing and you feel like you're in a very different place from everyone else. "I d...
Jun 22, 2017•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 149
Every now and then we like to interview a fellow podcaster who, like us, is creating a space for an open and honest exploration of the Christian faith. And Justin Brierley is one such person. Over the last 11 years he's been producing Unbelievable? , on which he moderates conversations between Christians and people from others faiths and none. So firstly I took the opportunity to see if he suffers from the same podcaster insecurities that I do. Then we dug into whether apologetics - the rational...
Jun 06, 2017•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 148
As much as we love some good old fashioned theological cut-and-thrust, we're increasingly aware that if this journey is going to be sustainable, it's got to be an holistic one. So each month we'll be producing Nomad Devotionals, through which we'll be experimenting with readings, prayers, liturgies and songs. We're making the first one free to everyone, so you can decide whether you're interested in joining us on this leg of the journey. If you are, then head over to Patreon and donate $5 or mor...
May 31, 2017•33 min•Ep. 147
What actually is prayer? What happens when we do it? What difference can it make, if any, to the events and circumstances we find ourselves in? Should we expect to sense God in prayer, or perhaps even hear him communicate to us? And if so, why do so few of us ever seem to have these sorts of experiences. For many of us, these questions, and others like them, have led us to a place of disillusionment and prayerlessness. And yet we still yearn for the deep, rooted, holistic connectedness that pray...
May 24, 2017•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 146
Greg Boyd is back on the show. This time he's tackling the tricky issue of violence in the Old Testament. How is it, for example, that the God revealed in Jesus loves his enemies and lays down his life for them, when the God we see in the Old Testament seemingly thinks nothing of killing his enemies? What does this tell us about the nature of God, and the nature of the Bible? Greg is certainly the man to ask, as he's just published a 1492 page book on this very subject, The Crucifixion of the Wa...
May 08, 2017•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 145
At our recent offline Gathering, Mark Vernon - former Anglican Priest, turned atheist, turned Christian agnostic - led us in a Buddhist inspired meditation. To get the full benefit from this, you might want to sit near some other people (e.g. in a cafe, the library, or park, etc.) as it's all about how we perceive ourselves in relation to others. If you want more from Nomad, check out our website , and follow us on Facebook and twitter If you're looking for other people to share this journey wit...
May 03, 2017•12 min
This podcast comes to you from Nomad's first offline Gathering. We had a great weekend of food, drink, conversation, music and meditation. We also interviewed Mark Vernon . Mark was an Anglican priest but developed deep doubts about the faith. His subsequent journey took him through atheism, agnosticism, through ancient Greek philosophy, to a Christian faith that sees doubt and uncertainty as integral parts. "We do need some certainty in order to live so I think that the need for some certainty ...
Apr 28, 2017•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 144
We recently invited the beloved listener to Nottingham for Nomad's first offline get-together. It was a splendid weekend of conversation, interviews, music, food and drink. And we recorded some of it for you. First up is a Q&A we did on the Friday night, where David Benjamin Blower asked us about the Nomad story and what impact the last few years of podcasting has had on our faith. Personally, I think we're much better at interviewing people than we are at being interviewed, but nevertheless...
Apr 21, 2017•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 143
We recently travelled to the Creature Conference in London, where we spent the day pondering the question 'Is Christianity Good News for Animals?'. Animal welfare used to be seen as an important expression of the gospel for leaders such as Spurgeon, Wesley, C. S. Lewis and many others. But more recently it seems to have dropped off the Church's agenda. So we asked theological ethicists Prof. David Clough , and Christian leaders Tony Campolo , Steve Chalke , Ruth Valerio , and founder of the anim...
Apr 05, 2017•2 hr 2 min•Ep. 142
