Homebrewed Christianity

Who is ready for some religion, politics, history, inspiration and a few pretty intense questions? I hope you are because Diana Butler Bass is here.

This is the kick-off of our newest online pop-up community – Ruining Dinner. When the headlines bleed and your relatives are screaming at each other online, who knows what this election season will bring. For many of us, some of our closest relationships are strained and fracturing at thought of 4 more years of this. Well, as we approach election day (or month?!!) let’s do it together. You don’t have to ruin ever dinner alone – let us help!

• Weekly Live Streams: Diana & Tripp will gather online to share
  timely insights as scholars of religion about the present moment, introduce you to some other progressive Christian scholars/activists, and tackle questions/topics from the community.
• Private Community Facebook Group: We will have a private FB group so you can have a MAGA-free space in your feed & a community of people to ride with.

• Moments of Gratitude & Reflection: In these anxious times we will work to cultivate a deeper spiritual center amidst our crazy times.
• Email Updates: Info on all the streams, resources, and opportunities will be shared so no one is out of the loop.
• A Community Archive: All the content will be archived and available to each member online. You do NOT have to join live to get everything.

Dr. Bass is an award-winning author, popular speaker, inspiring preacher, and one of America’s most trusted commentators on religion and contemporary spirituality. Diana’s passion is sharing great ideas to change lives and the world – a passion that ranges from informing the public about spiritual trends, challenging conventional narratives about religious practice, entering the fray of social media with spiritual wisdom and smart theology, and writing books to help readers see themselves, their place in history, and God differently.

Don’t miss out on Diana’s excellent and regular newsletter – The Cottage.

In the episode we get a visit from Rev. Ryan Eller, Executive Director of New Moral Majority, and hear about his work organizing people of faith this election year. Check out their new ad below.

Dr. Leah Schade is Assistant Professor of Preaching and Worship at Lexington Theological Seminary, A graduate of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, her research and experience cover the fields of homiletics and ecological theology. As an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), Schade has served in suburban, urban, and rural settings and has worked with parishioners from a variety of cultural, racial, and economic backgrounds. Formerly the pastor of United in Christ Lutheran Church in Lewisburg, PA, Schade s ministry is marked by her experience in and passion for ecological and social justice advocacy and activism.

In our conversation we talk about…

• the tradition to teaching online
• empowering women within the church
• the theological task of preaching
• the sermon in a time of crisis
• corona and community
• what goes into the crafting of a sermon
• why you don’t need to make the sermon practical, but make it strange

Dr. Schade’s Books

Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide

Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis

Creation-Crisis Preaching: Ecology, Theology, and the Pulpit

This Episode is Sponsored by Lexington Theological Seminary

See what their unique accredited online seminary program can do for you. Whether you want to broaden your knowledge in one area, brush up on your preaching skills, or earn a degree, now in our 150th year, Lexington Theological Seminary offers the serious academic study you’ve come to expect, packaged in the newest model of theological education. Find out how you can be part of the growing, supportive community of LTS students, where you live, on your schedule.

This is a really fun conversation with one of the most influential living scientist. Dr. Christof Koch is neuroscientist pioneering th the neural bases of consciousness. He is the president and chief scientist of the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle. In this conversation we discuss...

• Christof’s journey into the brain sciences and work with Francis Crick
• what is the ‘integrated information theory’ of consciousness
• russellian monism and the panpsychist revival
• contrasting consciousness and intelligence
• can a machine become conscious
• the possibility of artificial intelligence
• the love of dogs and becoming a vegetarian
• how practices open up different worlds
• defending the depths for human existence
• Iain Banks‘ novels
• adversarial experimentation and the problem of conscious
• beginning with phenomenology in the explanation of consciousness

Check out his two most recent books:

The Feeling of Life Itself: Why Consciousness Is Widespread but Can’t Be Computed

Consciousness: Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist

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Jacob J. Erickson is Assistant Professor of Theological Ethics at Trinity College Dublin. He previously taught Religion and Environmental Studies at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, USA.

There is no good reason not to follow him on twitter.

This conversation came after a Jacob gave a lecture in the Theology and Ethics seminar at New College, University of Edinburgh and then we got lost trying to find Brew Dog & their super legit cauliflower buffalo wings. Things that came up…

• a theopoetics of the earth
• relearning religion and spirituality in light of the planetary crisis
• coming to process thought through a theology of the cross
• the problems of logocentrism
• “salvation is not carbon neutral”
• the gospel without eternal conscious torment
• grief and the ecological crisis
• we both loved this book by Thomas Attig, How We Grieve: Relearning the World
• the practical relativism of climate denial

  

• Marjorie Suchocki is awesome and we both dig this text – A Fall to Violence
• youth ministry and the anxiety of climate change
• is it ethical to have children? is that even the best way to ask the question?