Ep128. Ganbaru: a story of wrestling and humanity, Jonathan Foye

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Ep128. Ganbaru: a story of wrestling and humanity, Jonathan Foye

I sat down with a good friend, Jonathan Foye, to discuss his book Ganbaru: How All Japan Pro Wrestling Survived the Year 2000 Roster Split. We discuss the all-too-human drama of this story of grief, conflict, separation, and a will to persevere, playing out in and out of the ring.

In the year 2000, Mitsuharu Misawa left All Japan Pro Wrestling. He took all but two of the company’s contracted wrestlers with him. To keep the company alive, company owner Motoko Baba made two phone calls. One was to a man who had walked out on the company a decade ago. The other was to an age-old rival.

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Ep127. Towards a Wahine Maori Theology of Liberation, Tamsyn Kereopa

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Ep127. Towards a Wahine Maori Theology of Liberation, Tamsyn Kereopa

In the latest panel on BLM in the church in Australia and Oceania, Tamsyn Kereopa joins Katalina Tahaafe-Williams, Tau’alofa Anga’aelangi, and myself in a discussion on Indigenous theology, the struggle for racial justice in Aotearoa/New Zealand, the shifting forms of colonisation, and her work towards a Wahine Maori Theology of Liberation.

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Ep126. Theatre, Theology, and Bodily Hope, Shannon Craigo-Snell

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Ep126. Theatre, Theology, and Bodily Hope, Shannon Craigo-Snell

I sat down with Shannon Craigo-Snell to discuss turning to theatre to ask: Why Church? We discuss what led her to this conversation, how performance as event/interaction/doubleness illuminates the nature of the church, reading Delores Williams with Bertolt Brecht and much more.

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Ep125. Considering the Human, Peter Kline

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Ep125. Considering the Human, Peter Kline

I sat down with Peter Kline to talk about the fun and flexibility of teaching theological anthropology, talking sex and gender in the classroom, differences in theological academies and institutions he encountered moving from the US to Australia, and what drew him to negative/apophatic theology.

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Ep124. Reading Ruth in the Pacific, Jione Havea

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Ep124. Reading Ruth in the Pacific, Jione Havea

I sat down with Jione Havea to discuss his new book, Losing Ground. We discuss the book of Ruth, reading it amidst climate catastrophe, how Jione built this book through talanoa and bible studies with Pasifika people across Australia, Aotearoa, and the Pacific, opening up academic biblical studies, and how this book "seeks to make any notions of white supremacy absurd."

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Ep122. Why Read a Poem? Skyler Jay Keiter-Massefski

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Ep122. Why Read a Poem? Skyler Jay Keiter-Massefski

Skyler Jay Keiter-Massefski returns to the pod to answer the question: why read a poem. We discuss our mixed histories with poetry, how they approach the craft, and poetry's embodiedness and relation to breath. We also discuss the "how" of reading poetry and then Skyler finishes the chat by talking about the connection for them, between going out dancing and reading/writing poetry.

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Ep121. The Fragility of Language and the Encounter with God, Florian Klug

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Ep121. The Fragility of Language and the Encounter with God, Florian Klug

I sat down with German theologian, Florian Klug, to talk about the contingency and legitimacy of doctrine. We discuss the importance of God's initiative preceding human speech, that language is not something we possess but are born into and how this gives us a horizon of preconditioned knowledge that is expanded and shattered by God's intrusion. We also discuss how his book holds together an emphasis on God’s sovereignty and God’s grace in self-revelation so to not overwhelm the human in such a way that we can’t actually make a decision. We also discuss whether doctrine is fundamentally the product of past failure (and enter into a discussion on the early councils), and end with by exploring Flo's proposal that doctrines are “statements that lead into the mysterium of Christ; they are therefore not identical to it because the limits of language are constantly being transgressed by their overarching greatness and transcendence. Doctrines… are first and foremost statements of a hopeful faith… they can be true and correct without losing their human conditionality.”

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Ep120. Feminist Theology and Contemporary Dieting Culture, Hannah Bacon

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Ep120. Feminist Theology and Contemporary Dieting Culture, Hannah Bacon

I sat down with Hannah Bacon to talk about sin, salvation, and women's weight loss narratives. I ask Hannah what drew her to this project and why there are seemingly so few theological works concerning weight/weight loss. We also discuss her focus on the theological doctrinal loci of sin and salvation and how are these shaping/resurfacing contemporary weight-loss narratives. We end by discussing what it might look like for salvation to be performed and Hannah's particular rendering of 'sensible eating'.

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Ep119. Filled with the Spirit, Ellen Lewin

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Ep119. Filled with the Spirit, Ellen Lewin

I sat down with anthropologist Ellen Lewin to discuss her recent work, Filled with the Spirit: Sexuality, Gender, and Radical Inclusivity in a Black Pentecostal Church Coalition. The book (and our interview) focuses on Lewin’s time participating in and researching the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries. Through our discussion Lewin shares about the emergence of the coalition, its values, how she became connected, and why spirituality and religion are still under-observed/under-researched in discussions of race, gender, and sexuality.

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Ep117. Indigenous Theologies, Anne Pattel-Gray

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Ep117. Indigenous Theologies, Anne Pattel-Gray

This is a portion of the most recent Black Lives Matter and the Church in Australia panel discussion where Dr Anne Pattel-Gray joined the group to talk about Indigenous Theologies. She offers insight into the cost of developing a theology based in sovereignty and anti-colonialism, the work that remains, and what she's working on now.

The monthly panels are hosted by Rev. Tau’alofa Anga’aelangi of the Uniting Church Chaplaincy at Charles Sturt University in Port Macquarie and Rev Dr Katalina Tahaafe-Williams of the Social Justice Pilgrim Presbytery NT. The panel is also comprised of me and Emma Jackson (a PhD candidate at Macquarie University. These panels happen on the final Sunday of the month at 3pm EST. To find out more contact Rev. Tau’alofa Anga’aelangi at ucc.csu[@]gmail.com (The next one will be January 2022).

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Ep116. All Who Are Weary, Emmy Kegler

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Ep116. All Who Are Weary, Emmy Kegler

I sat down with Emmy Kegler to discuss easing the burden on the walk with mental illness. We discuss how this book emerged out fo a deep need for compassionate Christian talk about mental illness, something that critiqued harmful Christian approaches but still had something to offer. I ask about her chapter on sin, which helps us rethink where the 'sin' in conversations about mental health should be located. We then discuss prayer - especially the urge to pray it away even if that's not how we really believe prayer works (and Emmy shares about what Dawson's Creek taught her about prayer). We then discuss trauma and the ecclesial gaslighting of waving away suffering as God's will. We end with a chat about what Emmy would like to see next in terms of Christian reflection on mental health.

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Ep115. The Church as Salt, Sally Douglas

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Ep115. The Church as Salt, Sally Douglas

I spoke with Sally Douglas about becoming the community Jesus speaks about. We discuss the versatility and surprise of the image of salt when thinking about the church, her engagement with early church writings, salty wombs, and the importance of being a place where people can cry in times such as these.

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Ep113. a very Karl Barth episode, Christiane Tietz

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Ep113. a very Karl Barth episode, Christiane Tietz

I sat down with Christiane Tietz to discuss the challenges and rewards of writing a biography of Karl Barth, and what theology gains from biography. We discuss Barth's time as a pastor in Safenwil and his siding with factory workers in a local labour dispute, and I ask how this event influenced (or was shaped by) his understanding of the kingdom of God and whether she feels this commitment to the vision of heaven come to us as an impetus to support socialism lasts throughout Barth's life or was more of a youthful passion. We then discuss Barth's relationship with Charlotte von Kirschbaum, the tensions between Karl and Nelly, and the various pulls and pushes that led to all three under one roof. In particular I ask what responsibility did she feel in approaching this material. Finally, we talk about Barth's feelings toward the CD toward the end of his days, and, (perhaps relatedly) how he might have felt about the modest publishing industry the CD still sustains.

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Ep112. a very Kierkegaard episode, Aaron Simmons

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Ep112. a very Kierkegaard episode, Aaron Simmons

I sat down with president of the Søren Kierkegaard Society (USA), Aaron Simmons to talk all about the existential Dane. We discuss who Kierkegaard was, what drew Aaron to his work (including the surprising points of resonance between Søren and pentecostalism). I also ask about Kierkegaard's work on Abraham and faith, how one can be led through existentialism to corporate struggles for liberation , and what theologians who study Kierkegaard can learn from those who utilise his work in other disciplines.

We also talk about the free Homebrewed Christianity online pop-up learning community that Aaron is co-teaching with Tripp Fuller : Getting Lost & Finding Faith - Walking with Kierkegaard. Find out more.

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Ep111. Theologising with the Sacred 'Prostitutes' of South India, Eve Rebecca Parker

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Ep111. Theologising with the Sacred 'Prostitutes' of South India, Eve Rebecca Parker

I sat down with Eve Rebecca Parker to discuss an Indecent Dalit Theology. We talk about her book where she theologises with the Dalit women who from childhood have been dedicated to village goddesses and used as ‘sacred’ sex workers. We talk about how she came to this project, and what theology and the reading of Scripture gains through engagement with the lived religiosity and daily struggles of these dedicated women, known as devadāsīs. Parker shows that it is through this engagement that an Indecent Dalit Liberation Theology that challenges systems of oppression and cultures of impunity, including casteism, sexism, classism and a history of socio-political and religious marginalisation can emerge. We end by discussing how it this engagement shapes her ongoing work - especially on trust in theological education.

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Ep110. Decolonisation and the Preamble to the UCA Constitution, Garry Deverell and Chris Budden

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Ep110. Decolonisation and the Preamble to the UCA Constitution, Garry Deverell and Chris Budden

Rev Dr Garry Deverell and Rev Dr Chris Budden join Rev. Tau’alofa Anga’aelangi, Rev Dr Katalina Tahaafe-Williams, and myself to discuss the preamble to the Uniting Church in Australia's constitution. Garry opens by discussing his critique of the document from an Indigenous perspective as one which rein-scribes colonial narratives, Chris then offers some insights into the motivation and process behind the production of the document, after which we all enter into a discussion on the lineage and impact of the document and ask where to from here for a church seeking to continue to engage in decolonisation, repair, and justice.

This episode is a re-post of most recent of the monthly Black Lives Matter and the Church in Australia panels hosted by the Uniting Church Chaplaincy at Charles Sturt University in Port Macquarie and the Social Justice Pilgrim Presbytery NT. This episode is a re-post of most recent of the monthly Black Lives Matter and the Church in Australia panels hosted by the Uniting Church Chaplaincy at Charles Sturt University in Port Macquarie and the Social Justice Pilgrim Presbytery NT. These panels happen on the final Sunday of the month at 3pm EST. To find out more contact Rev. Tau’alofa Anga’aelangi at ucc.csu[@]gmail.com

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Ep109. Teaching Global Theology, Sathianathan Clarke

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Ep109. Teaching Global Theology, Sathianathan Clarke

I sat down with Sathi Clarke to discuss his calling as a theologian, how his theological development was shaped by living with communities of untouchables in India, why a theologian needs to have concrete commitments to communities in their struggles for justice, how to teach global/world Christianity, responding to religious fundamentalism, and being passionately Christian and compassionately interreligious.

In the interview we discuss the class Sathi is teaching as the United Theological College scholar in residence: Contemporary Theology in a Global Context. The class runs from 15 to 19 November 2021, from 9:30 to 4:30pm. The course is offered in person at UTC (in North Parramatta) or via Zoom. Find more here (Auditing welcome!)

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Ep108. What is Theology? Adam Kotsko

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Ep108. What is Theology? Adam Kotsko

"This book represents a series of approaches to theology as a critical human discourse, in light of an ever-expanding awareness of the degree to which Christianity is ruining all our lives."

I sat down with Adam Kotsko to talk about Christian thought and contemporary life. I ask how he became (and why he remains) interested in theology, what is political theology, and the relationship between critique, construction, and hope. We then discuss theology and philosophy (and the way both are at risk of trending toward political quietism), before talking about genealogical work in theology and his illuminating chapter on how the doctrine of original sin continues to operate in the modern concept of race and colonial violence - both assigning people as inferior and blaming them for such 'damage'.

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