Ep101. Jesus and the Forces of Death, Matthew Thiessen

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Ep101. Jesus and the Forces of Death, Matthew Thiessen

I sat down with Matthew Thiessen to discuss the Gospels’ portrayal of ritual impurity within First-Century Judaism. We discuss how purity concerns map out the reality of the gospel writer's worlds, and clarify the differences between categories of holy, profane, pure, impure. Matthew then demonstrates Jesus' acceptance of the reality of these categories and his desire to rid people of the conditions that create ritual impurity. All of this shapes how we read Jesus' interactions with the haemorrhaging woman, those with leprosy, and corpses, as well as his teachings on sabbath, exorcisms, and food. We end with a discussion on how attention to ritual impurity can help us not fall into anti-semitism in our reading and preaching.

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Ep95. Disability, Diversity, and the Body of Christ, Brian Brock

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Ep95. Disability, Diversity, and the Body of Christ, Brian Brock

I sat down with Brian Brock to talk about his new book, Disability: Living into the Diversity of Christ's Body (Baker, 2021). We discuss common misconceptions and assumptions that lead to unwelcome and awkwardness in churches (beginning with the common falsity that there are "no disabled people in our church"). Brian offers examples of how in noticing the diversity of the bodily experiences of the people around us, we begin to glimpse aspects of Scripture that we had previously missed. I also ask him about the issues that come from concepts like normality and inclusion, and how the confession that Christian's are - fundamentally - a people who receive can assist the task of disability theology. Finally we enter into a discussion about healing and how we've allowed a rather specific modern view of healing to shape how we read the healing narratives in the gospels.

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Ep55. Resacralizing the Other at the US-Mexico Border, Gregory Cuéllar

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Ep55. Resacralizing the Other at the US-Mexico Border, Gregory Cuéllar

I interviewed Gregory L. Cuéllar about his book Resacralizing the Other at the US-Mexico Border: A Borderland Hermeneutic (Routledge, 2020). We talk about the way the sacred is weaponsised by elite powers to shape social reality, the way it grants permanence to the negating of the inherent sacred worth of the black and brown bodies of those approaching or crossing the border, while sacralizing the Anglo-American project of colonisation, violence, and manifest destiny. We talk about how – counter intuitively – appealing to the sacredness of the other can provide a way toward a healing strategy, and how this book seeks to “attend in a healing way to the recurring, open wounds of postcoloniality at the US-Mexico border” – wounds that are, for the author, personal.

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Ep46. Christians for the Abolition of Prisons, Hannah Bowman

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Ep46. Christians for the Abolition of Prisons, Hannah Bowman

I sat down with Hannah Bowman to talk about the Prison Abolition movement and why Christians should get involved. Its a wide-ranging, informative, and impassioned conversation about the reality of prisons, their fundamental flaws, why reform isn't enough, better alternatives which promote responsibility and relational healing, and how churches might get to work.

Be sure to check out the Christians for the Abolition of Prisons website for loads of resources, articles, blogs, and FAQs.

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Ep33. Healing our Broken Humanity, Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Graham Joseph Hill

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Ep33. Healing our Broken Humanity, Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Graham Joseph Hill

I sat down (in person!) with Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Graham Joseph Hill to talk about their new book, Healing Our Broken Humanity: Practices for Revitalising the Church and Renewing the World. We talk about the process of co-authoring, why they focused on practices, justice, lament, race, beauty, hospitality, and how writing the book has shaped their experience with The Sermon on the Mount. Watch on YouTube // Listen in Apple Podcasts

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Ep23. God Can't, Thomas Jay Oord

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Ep23. God Can't, Thomas Jay Oord

I sat down with Thomas Jay Oord to talk about his new book God Can't: How to Believe in God and Love after Tragedy, Abuse, or Other Suffering. We talk about his proposal that it would contradict God's nature to stop evil and tragedy unilaterally, and how (pastorally) this is good news. We discuss evil, love, suffering, climate change, and – since this is Thomas’ third visit – I play the grand inquisitor and throw some curve ball questions his way. Watch on YouTube. Or, listen by subscribing to Love Rinse Repeat in your podcast app.

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