Crackers And Grape Juice Podcast

Days after the Red Wave— I mean, Ketchup Fizzle— Christian Ethicist Robin Lovin is on the podcast to talk about what we are to do when no one is listening. More on Lovin’s new book:A trusted senior statesman in Christian ethics and ministry addresses the crisis of political polarization threatening the existence of the church.Polarization and political gridlock have been the norm in the United States for decades. As that reality seeps into every aspect of our society, churches find themselves not only affected, but often at the very center of the conflict. Rather than remaining places of inclusive community and generous dialogue, our sanctuaries have too often become ground zero of the culture wars.What can pastors do to restore the church’s witness to the unity of all things in God—especially when it feels like members of the congregation would rather position the church’s identity firmly on one side of the political spectrum or the other? And how can church leaders maintain peace while speaking the truth on

It's All Saints Sunday this weekend so the podcast posse from Hermeneutics got together to talk about death, time, heaven, and how Christianity needs to reclaim its weirdness.

This week we have the honor of getting to talk mid-term politics with our friend Gretchen Purser. We talk about the importance of democracy to Christians and where she is seeing hope in our nations political future.

Our friend Matt Milliner returns to the podcast to talk about his latest article at the Bulwark, Putin’s Outright Satanism. You can find the piece here: https://www.thebulwark.com/on-putins-outright-satanism/ Dr. Milliner holds an M.A. & Ph.D. in art history from Princeton University, and an M.Div from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is a six-time appointee to the Curatorial Advisory Board of the United States Senate, and has written for publications ranging from The New York Times to First Things. He was awarded a Commonwealth fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, and is author most recently of The Everlasting People: G.K. Chesterton and the First Nations and Mother of the Lamb: The Story of a Global Icon.

Jason was recently a guest for the Weekend Edition of 1517's Christian History Almanac podcast, hosted by Dr. Dan Van Voorhis. Though no one elected him, Jason speaks here for all Methodists everywhere.

For this week's episode, we've got the second session from Jason's recent series of talks on Grace and Proclamation for the Anglican Church of Canada's Bishop's Clergy Conference.

Does Jesus need more celebrities tweeting and influencing on his behalf?Katelyn Beaty joins the pod to discuss her new book, ‘Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms, and Profits Are Hurting the Church’ (http://www.bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/celebrities-for-jesus/406890). Katelyn Beaty is the author of A Woman's Place: A Christian Vision for Your Calling in the Office, the Home, and the World (Howard Books / Simon & Schuster), and A Woman’s Place: A Bible Study Exploring Every Woman’s Call to Work (Abingdon Press), the companion group study guide. For nearly a decade she helped to lead Christianity Today, where she served as the magazine's first female and youngest managing editor. An Ohio native, she has written for The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Vox, Religion & Politics, and The New York Times, and has been interviewed about faith, politics, and culture by NPR, CNN, ABC News, Religion News Service, and the Associated Press.Katelyn currently lives in Brooklyn, New York,

Chris Nye is a doctoral student at Duke University's Divinity School and the author of several books, including most recently, A Captive Mind, which explores Christianity's relationship to ideologies. His writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, and various other publications. He lives with his family in Portland, Oregon. To connect further, visit chrisnye.co

In this episode of our crossover podcast with Tripp Fuller and Homebrewed Christianity, Tolkien Heads, we talk all things Middle Earth with my very own Gandalf, Brian Zahnd.

Despite widespread skepticism on the matter, a significant number of people today have stories of religious experience - moments of inexplicable terror or rapturous joy, visions, near death experiences of the afterlife, encounters with angels, heavenly voices, and premonitions. How should rationally people respond? Our guest today is Dr. Dale Allison, Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary. His new book, Encountering Mystery, is both a departure from his scholarly work and deeply connected to it.What would your reaction be if someone told you that, one night while sitting alone, she saw through the window a brilliant light descend from the sky until it was so large that it filled the room - and that it radiated a feeling of "pure love"? And what would you say if a friend confided that one night he woke up and could not move, felt he was being suffocated and sensed and evil spirit in the room?By default in the secular age we are skeptical about anything mysterious or supernatural. More l

The third in a three part online study of the new book Don’t Look Back: Methodist Hope for What Comes Next

Our guest this week with Jason and Johanna is Bekah McNeel. Bekah is a journalist who covers education, immigration, and religion. A graduate of the London School of Economics, her new book, Bringing Up Kid When Church Lets You Down is a guide for parents questioning their faith. By touching taboo topics Bekah brings up ways to give your kids agency in discovering their own faith.

The second in a three part online study of the new book Don’t Look Back: Methodist Hope for What Comes Next

Our guest today is our good friend, David Zahl, who has written a great new book, Low Anthropology: The Unlikely Key to a Gracious View of Others ( and Yourself).It'll help you find mercy.Dave is the founder and director of Mockingbird Ministries ( www.mbird.com ) and a campus minister at UVA through Christ Episcopal Church in Charlottesville, VA.More about the book:Many of us spend our days feeling like we're the only one with problems, while everyone else has their act together. But the sooner we realize that everyone struggles like we do, the sooner we can show grace to ourselves and others.In Low Anthropology, popular author and theologian David Zahl explores how our ideas about human nature influence our expectations in friendship, work, marriage, and politics. We all go through life with an "anthropology" -- an idea about what humans are like, our potentials and our limitations. A high anthropology -- thinking optimistically about human nature -- can breed perfectionism, anxiety, burnout, lonlinesss, an

Here’s audio from our first of three live-stream sessions with our friend and mentor, Bishop Will Willimon, on his new book, Don’t Look Back. To join the next sessions, register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vU7WWmhCT4GcS1o6PgOFBw

Our guest today is my new friend, Jono Linebaugh who came on to talk about his new book, The Word of the Cross. This collection of Jonathan Linebaugh's most important work on Paul explores the merciful surprise at the heart of Paul's gospel: a grace that, while strange and weak in worldly terms, is nothing less than the power of God, full of comfort and promise. Through twelve messages - two of them new - Linebaugh contextualizes and interprets key Pauline passages, does comparative readings of Paul in conversation with early Jewish tests, and enters into dialogue with Reformation theologians such as Martin Luther and Thomas Cranmer. Thorough and multifaceted, Linebaugh's work is at once exegetical, historical, and theological in scope. Accordingly, The Word of the Cross is a rigorous scholarly enterprise that takes seriously Paul's claim that the good news of Jesus Christ, despite appearing scandalous and foolish, in fact contradicts and overcomes the conditions of the possible through the power of God.Jonat

Our guest today is Drew Ensz. Drew is a United Methodist Elder currently doing ministry at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. In that capacity Drew presided at a same-sex wedding and has since been, in limbo, under complaint and facing charges for over 1,100 days. Drew joined the podcast to talk about his discernment process and his experience of that complaint process in the larger institutional church.

Rev. Tom Emanuel (he/him/his) was born and raised on sacred Lakota land in the Paha Sapa (Black Hills) of South Dakota, which is where his father first read The Hobbit aloud to him when he was too young to remember it. Tom was trained as a social scientist at the University of South Dakota and as a theologian at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA. He is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and, beginning in Fall 2022, a doctoral student at the University of Glasgow where his research will focus on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, fandom, and post-Christian spiritual community. When he's not reading Tolkien aloud to his two small children, Tom can usually be found hiking, singing, or working away at a fantasy novel of his own.

For today’s episode, we’ve got the first installment of a short-term, crossover project with Tripp Fuller called Tolkien Heads. In anticipation of the new Rings of Power series by Amazon, we’ll be talking all things Middle Earth with a bevy of world class Tolkien scholars. If you’re interested in joining us, go to www.tolkienheadspod.com and sign up.