Grace Ji-Sun Kim returns to the podcast to talk about the racism and sexism encountered presently and historically by Asian American women, before exploring what it might look like to live into a Theology of Visibility.
Read MoreI 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.
Read More"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'.
Read MoreI 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.
Read MoreI sat down with Ashwin Thyssen to talk about his work at the intersections of race, sexuality and faith, what it means for him to be part of the 'reformed' movement, and the challenge of doing theology in South Africa when you were born after 1994.
Ashwin Afrikanus Thyssen is a PhD Candidate at Stellenbosch University, in Systematic Theology. His research considers the intersections of race, sexuality, and faith. At present he is also undergoing ministerial training for ordained life in the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa. In short, Ashwin identifies as ontologically black, existentially queer, and spiritually Christian.
Read MoreI 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.
Read MoreHip Hop theology allows us to live in ambiguity while still seeking the face of God.
I sat down with Daniel White Hodge to talk about his book Homeland Insecurity: A Hip Hop Missiology for the Post-Civil Rights Context (IVP 2018). We talk about his concept of the wild, learning theology and missiology from Hip Hop, the gospel messages of Tupac Amaru Shakur and Kendrick Lamar, the deep problems of short-term mission and white led urban ministry, missiology as civil disruption, why most conversations on non-violence are too simplistic, and his claim that, generally, “reconciliation has no meaning other than marketable charm.” It is a wide-ranging and passionate conversation and I am very excited to get to share it with you all.
Read More“Comedy can teach us to let go a little bit and think about things in a new way, allow God to change us so we’re not stuck in one setting. I do that specifically with race right now.”
I talked with comedian and actor Jonathan Braylock, cohost of the excellent Black Men Can't Jump (in Hollywood) Podcast. We discuss the podcast, diversity in Hollywood, trends and tropes in movies with Black leads. We also talk about his faith, comedy, and what a good laugh can teach the life of faith. And loads of other good stuff. Listen in iTunes
Read MoreHow are we to be Christian in the face of white supremacy...
In the wake of Charlottesville this is a special "from the vault double feature". Two interviews from last year with Brandi Miller and Drew Hart talking a black Jesus in a white church/society. These are powerful interviews that can be great resources in the ongoing resistance to white supremacy in the church and culture. Listen in iTunes
Read MoreA (hopefully) fun, provocative, and encouraging site where I sharing thoughts (blog, talk, video) on faith, world, and self. My name's Liam Miller, I have studied Theology, Social Sciences, and Acting. I enjoy reading radical theology (actually all kinds of theology) and telling stories - the two tend to intertwine on this site.
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