Ep108. What is Theology? Adam Kotsko

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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Ep96. Black Christology and the Quest for Authenticity, John H. McClendon III

Ep96. Black Christology and the Quest for Authenticity, John H. McClendon III

I sat down with Prof John H. McClendon to discuss his philosophical appraisal of Black Theology/Christology and materialist critique of its claim of authenticity. We discuss how he became interested in the topic through study of Howard Thurman, the relationship between Black Theology and African American theology that preceded it, and the shift from a focus on racism and its attendant structures to whiteness. We also discuss his engagement with and critique of Professor James Cone and the implications he sees in making God dependant on Blackness and Blackness dependant on white oppression. Finally we discuss the whole problem of claiming the existence of an "authentic Christianity" independent of the Christianity we've got.

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