
The Ground of Being & the Becoming of God or Tillich & Process
01/27/25 • 69 min
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This episode gives you a taste of what happens on the Theology Nerd stage at Theology Beer Camp. These super-nerdy breakout sessions are based on suggestions from the Homebrewed Community, and this session was designed to explore the connections and contrasts between Ground of Being theology and Process theology. I was joined by Benjamin Chicka, John Thatamanil, Thomas Jay Oord, and Taylor Thomas.
If you want to get info, updates, and access to pre-sale tickets for Theology Beer Camp 2025, you can sign up here.
Dr. Taylor Thomas is a philosophy instructor at Boston College, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Mind and Culture, & host of the Tillich Today podcast.
Dr. Thatamanil is Professor of Theology & World Religions at Union Theological Seminary in NYC.
Previous Episodes with John
- Tillich and the Advent of New Being
- Deconstructing Divinity & Embracing Diversity
- God – the Ground, the Between, the Personal
- What we do when we do theology
- A Comparative Theology of Religious Diversity
- Theology Without Walls
- Non-duality, Polydoxy, and Christian Identity
Dr. Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. He is an award-winning author, and he has written or edited more than twenty-five books. Oord directs a doctoral program at Northwind Theological Seminary and the Center for Open and Relational Theology.
Previous episodes with Tom
- Big God Questions
- Christ, Christmas, & the Incarnation
- the Death of Omnipotence!
- Brian McLaren & Thomas Jay Oord: a God Worthy of Love
- Process This!
- Process Theology QnA
- Authority, Atonement, Abortion, and a Big Hug
- from Pluriform Love to Divine Revelation
- Big God Twitter Takes
- Trump is (NOT) a Process Theologian & Other Questions
- Thomas Jay Oord wants you to know “God Can’t”
- Open and Relational Theology Throwdown
This episode gives you a taste of what happens on the Theology Nerd stage at Theology Beer Camp. These super-nerdy breakout sessions are based on suggestions from the Homebrewed Community, and this session was designed to explore the connections and contrasts between Ground of Being theology and Process theology. I was joined by Benjamin Chicka, John Thatamanil, Thomas Jay Oord, and Taylor Thomas.
If you want to get info, updates, and access to pre-sale tickets for Theology Beer Camp 2025, you can sign up here.
Dr. Taylor Thomas is a philosophy instructor at Boston College, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Mind and Culture, & host of the Tillich Today podcast.
Dr. Thatamanil is Professor of Theology & World Religions at Union Theological Seminary in NYC.
Previous Episodes with John
- Tillich and the Advent of New Being
- Deconstructing Divinity & Embracing Diversity
- God – the Ground, the Between, the Personal
- What we do when we do theology
- A Comparative Theology of Religious Diversity
- Theology Without Walls
- Non-duality, Polydoxy, and Christian Identity
Dr. Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. He is an award-winning author, and he has written or edited more than twenty-five books. Oord directs a doctoral program at Northwind Theological Seminary and the Center for Open and Relational Theology.
Previous episodes with Tom
- Big God Questions
- Christ, Christmas, & the Incarnation
- the Death of Omnipotence!
- Brian McLaren & Thomas Jay Oord: a God Worthy of Love
- Process This!
- Process Theology QnA
- Authority, Atonement, Abortion, and a Big Hug
- from Pluriform Love to Divine Revelation
- Big God Twitter Takes
- Trump is (NOT) a Process Theologian & Other Questions
- Thomas Jay Oord wants you to know “God Can’t”
- Open and Relational Theology Throwdown
Previous Episode

Celebrating the Life & Thought of John Cobb
We just lost John Cobb months before his 100th birthday. In this episode, Philip Clayton joins me for a conversation to celebrate his life and thought. My relationship with John started as the author of a book that changed my life (God & the World). Then, I got to take a summer school class with him in Claremont before Divinity School. When I moved to LA for my PhD he invited me and my family to lunch. Over the years in SoCal we had many meals and conversations together. We have recorded over 30 hours of conversation and taught two classes together. Beyond being a creative, brilliant, and ground-breaking scholar, John was a deeply passionate and compassionate disciple of Jesus. When friends ask about his picture with me, I say "That's John freaking Cobb, and he's my Gandalf." The last time we got to hang he introduced me as his friend (and said this in front of a bunch of people).
You can WATCH the conversation on YouTube
Dr. John B. Cobb, Jr. taught theology at the Claremont School of Theology from 1958 to 1990. In 2014 he became the first theologian elected to the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences for his interdisciplinary work in ecology, economics, and biology.
Previous Episodes with John Cobb
- Why Stay Christian?
- John Cobb turns 97
- Secularizing Christianity
- JC on JC: a conversation with John Cobb and Tom Oord on Jesus
- Why Whitehead?
- John Cobb goes to #TheologyBeerCamp
- LIVE from Vancouver with Sallie McFague and John Cobb
- How Modern Metaphysics Killed God
- Have Yourself a John Cobb Advent!
- Christology and Process Theology
- Why Metaphysics Matters
- Prayer & Process with John Cobb
- Theology for the People: Keller, Cobb and God
Lexington Theological Seminary is the sponsor for this Episode.
Lexington Theological Seminary is a pioneer in online theological education. Both the Doctoral and Masters programs are designed with the flexibility and contextual focus needed for the working student. You can learn more by heading here.
Here are a few episodes with a couple of their Profs
- Leah Schade & Wilson Dickinson: Faith During an Ecological Collapse
- Leah Schade: Preaching in a time of Crisis from Corona to Climate
- Wilson Dickinson: Faith After a Neo-liberal Compliant Church
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Next Episode

Victoria Barnett: Dietrich Bonhoeffer & Our Times
How does one read the signs of the times? What does it mean to resist? How do we engage faithfully in the struggle? Dietrich Bonhoeffer has achieved iconic status as one who epitomizes what it means to struggle and resist tyranny and fascism and how one acts in faithful witness as a religious and political commitment. Bonhoeffer‘s witness and example is more relevant than ever. In this episode, I am joined by the preeminent historian of the Holocaust and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dr. Victoria Barnett. Jeffrey Pugh and I got to talk to her multiple times throughout our work for the Rise of Bonhoeffer, and our last conversation was so rich that I couldn't help but share it here. Our discussion focuses on a crucial essay penned by Bonhoeffer in 1942; "After Ten Years" is a succinct and sober reflection and remains one of the best descriptions ever written about what happened to the German people under National Socialism. We also let Vicki demythologize some popular ahistorical attributions around Bonhoeffer's life.
Victoria J. Barnett served from 2004-2014 as one of the general editors of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, the English translation series of Bonhoeffer’s complete works. She has lectured and written extensively about the Holocaust, particularly about the role of the German churches. In 2004 she began directing the Programs on Ethics, Religion, and the Holocaust at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum until her retirement. Her published works include Bystanders: Conscience and Complicity during the Holocaust (1999) and For the Soul of the People: Protestant Protest against Hitler (1992). This conversation centers around her translation and significant introduction and historical analysis of Bonhoeffer's "After Ten Years": Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Our Times.
Check out the Bonhoeffer Audi-Documentary series - the Rise of Bonhoeffer podcast here.
Garrett Theological Seminary sponsored this episode. Seminary education isn’t just for pastors. Social awareness of the world’s most pressing problems, robust ethical analysis, empathic biblical wisdom, and courageous leadership are skills you can use across a wide range of vocations. Whether you feel called to care and counseling, public service, prophetic arts, or non-profit management, there’s a degree program at Garrett Seminary that’s right for you. Our global faculty and diverse student body nurture class discussions that reflect the contextual realities in the communities you’ll serve, and our commitment to hands-on learning means you’ll have plenty of opportunities to put that knowledge to use. Located in the heart of Northwestern’s campus, just a short train ride from Chicago, let our city be your training ground. Garrett also offers fully online and hybrid programs. So wherever and whoever you are, apply to begin your fulfilling new career today. Learn more here.
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Join my Substack - Process This!
Join our class - TRUTH IN TOUGH TIMES: Global Voices of Liberation
Spend a week with Tripp & Andrew Root in Bonhoeffer’s House in Berlin this June as part of the Rise of Bonhoeffer Travel Learning Experience. INFO & DETAILS HERE
Get access to over 45 of our online classes at TheologyClass.com
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