Santa Claus, Saturnalia, and St. Nick Punched a Guy

Can We Heal the Divide?

It keeps coming up. We live in a deeply divided society. Every day feels like it brings in new reasons to be incredibly, righteously, horrifically angry at what people are doing in the world. Harm is being dealt out constantly. There are things worth fighting for, but also, so much of a life of faith is seeking a way of peace and a process of humanization rather than dehumanization - even of an "enemy." How do we heal this divide? How do we stand up for what's right without furthering the dehumanization? Is that possible? ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

What is the Bible, anyways?

We have this book, the Bible. As books go, it's influenced a huge amount of human history with pieces of it having served as holy scripture for 3,500 years. Multiple world religions interface with it, and for Christians, most would identify it as in some way "the Word of God" and essential to the understanding of God. From there, it goes wildly off the rails with doctrines insisting that we take it "literally," declaring it "inerrant," imposing it as the final world on all things holy, scientific, moral, and historical. None of that seems to be what the book itself wants. So, what is it, anyways? ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Santa Claus, Saturnalia, and St. Nick Punched a Guy

'Tis the season. The big, red guy is out in full force. The mail system is flooded with letters to the North Pole, and terrified children are being forced to encounter him in mall kiosks. Santa Claus, Good Saint Nick, is as much a part of this season, as presents, trees, and eating all the cookies that you're supposed to give away a the office holiday party. What does any of this have to do with St. Nicholas or Jesus or Christmas or God? Well, it has something to do with all of those things and also Oden, Saturnalia, and Coca Cola. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Cut the Crap Conversations: Jude Mills of FKD Up by Faith

Jude Mills felt drawn to matters of faith and to theological study but also knew that this thing that we call the life of faith frequently messes people up. FKD Up By Faith is a podcast that grew out of this journey. There, Jude could listen to, share, and amplify people's stories that often get swept under the rug, deliberately silenced, or simply withheld from fear that no one would listen. Through it all, Jude has also found a fall to geek out, deep dive, and deconstruct some truly unhealthy theologies. More about Jude Mills and FKD Up By Faith: https://judemills.com/ ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Well Sh*t

So, an election happened in the US in this week. We have thoughts. The results mean a lot of things for a lot of people. We hurt. We hope. We grieve. The scale of the vote guarantees power for not just a set of political policies but a set of Christian theologies that do not appear to align with the faith as handed down to us from Christ. We've got a lot of work to do. Let's do it together. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.