The most influential academic text arguing against the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ divine image bearers into the life of the Church is Richard Hays’ “The Moral Vision of the New Testament.” He has changed his mind and has a new book developing a theological framework for the full inclusion of LGBTQ people in Christian communities.

In this live stream, Daniel Kirk joined me to explore his former professor’s evolution on the issue, why it’s about time for Richard (and lots of other faith leaders) to say so publicly, and how to think ethically with scripture. Those familiar with Daniel’s previous visits to the podcast will know that he has argued publicly for full inclusion based on the logic of scripture for years, even to the point of being denied tenure in evangelical spaces that demand silence. When this new book was announced, I wanted to have him back on to unpack things and hopefully lure more straight allies to find their voice.

Daniel Kirk (Ph.D., Duke University) is an award-winning New Testament scholar whose work takes place at the intersection of history, biblical interpretation, and real life. He is currently broadening his intellectual and vocational horizons by studying to be a Physician Assistant. Look for upcoming work to have a robust dose of science and politics mixed into the biblical conversations.

Here are some resource links from Daniel:

• Enfleshed (resources for creating queer-affirming spaces, especially in church gatherings)
• Peculiar Faith by Jay Emmerson Johnson
• The Widening of God’s Mercy by Christopher B. Hays and Richard B. Hays
• The Gospel of Inclusion: A Christian Case for LGBT+ Inclusion in the Church by Brandan J. Robertson
• God and the Gay Christian: the Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships by Matthew Vines

Previous Episodes w. Dr. Kirk

• on ROMANS + Biblical Authority, Jesus’ Adoption, and Post-Penal Atonement
• How Paul Preaches Christmas
• A Man Attested by God
• The Secret Chart to the END OF TIME (kind of)
• TNT Easter-Cast
• Kirk talks Paul w/ Tripp & Pete Rollins 

Lexington Theological Seminary is the sponsor for this Episode.

Lexington Theological Seminary is a pioneer in online theological education. Both the Doctoral and Masters programs are designed with the flexibility and contextual focus needed for the working student. You can learn more by heading here.

Here are a few episodes with a couple of their Profs

• Leah Schade & Wilson Dickinson: Faith During an Ecological Collapse
• Leah Schade: Preaching in a time of Crisis from Corona to Climate
• Wilson Dickinson: Faith After a Neo-liberal Compliant Church

Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!

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Barry Taylor and Tripp Fuller discuss the changing religious and spiritual space and how it shows up in culture. They reflect on the shift in the Western conversation in the last 25 years. Barry raises a growing awareness in how the concept of religion people thought they were updating, reorienting, and morphing, wasn’t ultimately finding traction in the historic religious institutions.

Barry Taylor‘s work is focused on the intersections between religion, theology and culture, with a particular emphasis on the impact and interplay of contemporary digital life on religion and belief (particularly Western Christianity). He is particularly interested in religion where it is least obvious and in cultural clinamens- the behavior and phenomena that escape our categorizing and thus provide opportunity for re-framing how we think and approach life. Barry works with GCAS as the Chair of the Theology department. Check out his books: Sex, God, and Rock ‘n’ Roll: Catastrophes, Epiphanies, and Sacred Anarchies & Entertainment Theology: New-Edge Spirituality in a Digital Democracy

Previous Episodes w/ Barry

• Plundering Religion
• What Would Paul Do?
• Theology of Rock
• MORE… Theology of Rock
• F-it Theology
• The Birth of God
• Profano Theology Live

Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!

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In this episode, Bo reflects on his own deconstruction story, the pace of spiritual change in America, and drops a sweet audiological image. Tripp pitches his deconstruction typology and gets Bo to power rank 3 different theologians’ definition of theology.

Check out Bo’s webpage and his podcast with Randy Woodley, Peacing it All Together.

Bo’s new podcast exploring the legacy of his Father Dr. Martin Sanders can be found here.

JOIN our next class, GOD AFTER DECONSTRUCTION with Thomas Jay Oord

Come to THEOLOGY BEER CAMP.

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Kristian Smith is joining Tripp to unpack the intersection of cigars, spirituality, and community. Kristian is a pastor, stylist, theologian, spiritual director, host of the Holy Smokes podcast, and minister of an online faith community. https://www.holysmokesmovement.com & https://www.kristianasmith.com

Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!

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We have all been talking about AI of late and I have been on a bit of a reading deep dive about it. I am thrilled to have my friend Kester Brewin back on the podcast to talk about Artificial Intelligence & the future of religion. His new book, God-like: A 500-Year History of Artificial Intelligence in Myths, Machines, Monsters is out and 100% zesty. It is way too good for y’all not to check it out. It is not only a powerful telling of humanity’s ongoing relationship with technology and a reflection on the current questions surrounding AI, but it is also the most compelling radical theological text I have read. It demonstrates the symbolic starvation of a marketized public square, the wisdom of what has been harbored in religious reflection, and the need for the return of theology beyond religion. It is also practical theology at its best. It ends with a compelling call to community without an addiction to nostalgia or an allergy to the sacred. I would say more, but you can listen to our conversation.

In the year 1600 a monk is burned at the stake for claiming to have built a device that will allow him to know all things.

350 years later, having witnessed ‘Trinity’ – the first test of the atomic bomb – America’s leading scientist outlines a memory machine that will help end war on earth.

25 years in the making, an ex-soldier finally unveils this ‘machine for augmenting human intellect’, dazzling as he stands ‘Zeus-like, dealing lightning with both hands.’

AI is both stunningly new and rooted in ancient desires. As we finally welcome this ‘god-like’ technology amongst us, what can learn from the myths and monsters of the past about how to survive alongside our greatest ever invention?

Previous Episodes with Kester

• Adult VBS with Walter Brueggemann, Kester Brewin, and Kristen Howerton

• Let Sleeping Gods Die w/ Kester Brewin

• Plundering Religion with Kester Brewin, Peter Rollins, & Barry Taylor #Mutiny

Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!

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I have been friends with Tony Jones for a long time. For over 12 years, he has been working on his memoir, and it was worth the wait. The God of Wild Places: Rediscovering the Divine in the Untamed Outdoors is now out in the world and we got to sit down in his living to record this conversation about it. Longtime listeners will be familiar with Tony since he has been on the podcast over 30 times in the last 16 years, but this visit is different. You will hear a vulnerable conversation between two friends, including challenging stories, laughter, and reflection on faith in life’s darkest moments.

If you aren’t following our new podcast, Emerged: an Oral History of the Emerging Church Movement, you won’t want to miss the latest episode. In it, we are joined by Nadia Boltz-Weber, Brian McLaren, and Doug Pagitt as we dig into all the backlash the emerging church movement generated. We laughed quite a bit while creating it

Tony Jones is the author of The God of Wild Places and contributing writer to several outdoors periodicals. He’s written a dozen books, including Did God Kill Jesus? and The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life, hosts the Reverend Hunter Podcast, and teaches at Fuller Theological Seminary and The Loft Literary Center. He writes a weekly newsletter on Substack.

Previous Episodes with Tony Jones

• Homebrewed Christianity’s 15th Birthday Party 
• Pete Enns & Tony Jones Love Baseball
• Camp Games & a Little Theology
• The Future of Evangelicalism is (NOT) David Brooks
• the Post-Emergent Church
• Tony Jones & Peter Rollins on #TheGreatDebacle
• Devilpalooza
• There are tons… you can scroll them here

JOIN our next class, GOD AFTER DECONSTRUCTION with Thomas Jay Oord

Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!

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On this edition of the Theology Nerd Throwdown, Tripp & Bo nerd out about…

• post-Covid Easter worship
• the United Methodist Breakup over LGBTQ inclusion
• how frustrating LOTS of aging institutions can get
• the connection between the Religious Nones & Political Independents
• how the BoDaddy plans to demolish all beer-chugging challengers at Theology Beer Camp
• Tripp gives Bo 6 thesis for understanding the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead & Bo gets him to explain and unpack them
• why Bo loves “AL” theologically
• why the conservative obsession with the physical resurrection and liberal naturalizing of the resurrection trigger Tripp theologically

Check out Bo’s webpage and his podcast with Randy Woodley, Peacing it All Together.

Bo’s new podcast exploring the legacy of his Father Dr. Martin Sanders can be found here.

JOIN our next class, GOD AFTER DECONSTRUCTION with Thomas Jay Oord

Come to THEOLOGY BEER CAMP.

Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community.

In this live session, Tom Oord and Tripp Fuller will joined by Josh Patterson of the (re)Thinking Faith podcast to discuss the nature of faith after certainty and the role of scripture for a faith in transition.

You can access all 10 videos now by joining the class at www.GodAfterDeconstruction.com

• God After Deconstruction: Check out our upcoming class, book, and in-person events
• Theology Beer Camp: head over here to get info on 2024 camp
• Check out the ORTcon 24 event this coming summer
• Check out ORTline 24 – an amazing online event with TONS of open and relational theologians

Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. He is an award-winning author, and he has written or edited more than twenty-five books. Oord directs a doctoral program at Northwind Theological Seminary and the Center for Open and Relational Theology. He won the Outstanding Faculty Award twelve times as a full-time professor and now speaks at institutions across the globe. Oord is known for his contributions to research on love, open and relational theology, science and religion, and freedom and relationships for transformation.

Some Previous Tripp & Tom Pods

• Big God Questions
• Christ, Christmas, & the Incarnation
• the Death of Omnipotence!
• Brian McLaren & Thomas Jay Oord: a God Worthy of Love
• Process This!
• Process Theology QnA
• Authority, Atonement, Abortion, and a Big Hug
• from Pluriform Love to Divine Revelation
• Big God Twitter Takes
• Trump is (NOT) a Process Theologian & Other Questions
• Thomas Jay Oord wants you to know “God Can’t”
• Open and Relational Theology Throwdown
• Open and Relational Q&A with Thomas Jay Oord
• Why Go Wesleyan?

Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!

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James McGrath is back and we have some serious fun geeking out about theology and Science Fiction!!

What is the difference between a god and a powerful alien? Can an android have a soul, or be considered a person with rights? Can we imagine biblical stories being retold in the distant future on planets far from Earth? Whether your interest is in Christianity in the future, or the Jedi in the present–and whether your interest in the Jedi is focused on real-world adherents or the fictional religion depicted on the silver screen–this book will help you explore the intersection between theology and science fiction across a range of authors and stories, topics and questions.

James F. McGrath is Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature. His PhD from the University of Durham became the basis for his first book, John’s Apologetic Christology, published by Cambridge University Press in the SNTS Monograph Series. He has also written a “prequel” about the broader context of monotheism and Christology in ancient Judaism and Christianity, The Only True God: Early Christian Monotheism in Its Jewish Context, published by University of Illinois Press. More recently, he has published What Jesus Learned from Women, which explores the topic of the historical figure of Jesus and the influence the women mentioned in the Gospels had on him.

In addition to his work on the New Testament and early Christianity, Dr. McGrath also researches the Mandaeans (the last surviving Gnostic group from the ancient world) and their literature. The two-volume critical edition, translation, and commentary on the Mandaean Book of John (which he produced together with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) represents the first such academic edition of the complete work in English based on all known manuscripts. Another area of specialty is the intersection of religion and science fiction. On that subject, he is the author of Theology and Science Fiction and The Battle of Ranskoor av Kolos (Black Archive #52), editor of Religion and Science Fiction and co-editor of Time and Relative Dimensions in Faith: Religion and Doctor Who. He blogs at Religion Prof.

Previous Episodes w/ James

• The A to Z of the New Testament 
• What Jesus Learned from Women
• Exploring the Matrix Resurrections
• Early Christian Monotheism

Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!

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I am excited to share this conversation with Thomas Jay Oord. In it, we discuss what we’ve learned from surveying thousands of people in faith transition – the reasons, the process, and the possibilities after faith deconstruction.

Are you navigating the challenging landscape of faith deconstruction, seeking a path that affirms your deepest intuitions and values?

Join theologians Dr. Thomas Jay Oord and Dr. Tripp Fuller for a transformative online class, “God After Deconstruction.” This six-week journey is designed to embrace the uncertainty, explore profound topics, and offer a constructive, hope-filled vision of God grounded in open and relational theology. In this course, we aim to foster a thoughtful and inclusive space where participants can explore a variety of topics crucial to the journey of reconstructing their spiritual beliefs.

Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.

This week, we are joined by Diana Butler Bass as we discuss the historical Jesus, the resurrected Christ, and a host of questions from members of the online class.

To join the class, head over to www.CrossanClass.com

Diana Butler Bass, Ph.D., is an award-winning author, popular speaker, inspiring preacher, and one of America’s most trusted commentators on religion and contemporary spirituality.

Previous Episodes with Diana & Tripp

• 2024: The Sequel
• The Christology Ladder
• The Indictment Edition of Ruining Dinner
• American Saints in a Cynical Age
• Ruining Dinner… and Date Nights
• Welcome to the Post-Christian Century
• Ruining Christmas Dinner
• Ruining Election Night Dinner
• The Over-Rated Genie God
• Bad Blood, Civil War, and other Soothing Topics
• Shall the Fundies (Keep) Winning?, Abortion, and Black Holes
• Theology and Spirituality in a Time of Rupture
• White Evangelical Theopolitics, John Shelby Spong, & Jesus
• 20 Years of Religious Decline
• Jesus After Religion and Beyond Fear
• Ruining Dinner with Diana Butler Bass and Robyn Henderson-Espinoza
• Evangelical Decline, the Supreme Court, and the Horizon of Possibility
• Debating, Praying, and Living with Tyrants
• Religion, Politics, & the Elephant in the Room

John Dominic Crossan, professor emeritus at DePaul University, is widely regarded as the foremost historical Jesus scholar of our time. He is the author of several bestselling books, including The Historical Jesus, How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian, God and Empire, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, The Greatest Prayer, The Last Week, and The Power of Parable. He lives in Minneola, Florida.

Previous Podcast Episodes with Dom & Tripp

• Brian McLaren & John Dominic Crossan: The Message of Jesus & the Judgement of Civilization
• Brian Zahnd & John Dominic Crossan: God, Violence, Empire, & Salvation
• Why the Biblical Paul is Awesome
• Christian Resurrection & Human Evolution
• The Cross & the Crisis of Civilization
• The Coming Kingdom & the Risen Christ
• The Parables of Jesus & the Parable of God
• How to think about Jesus like a Historian
• the Last Week of Jesus’ Life
• Jesus, Paul, & Bible Questions
• Saving the Biblical Christmas Stories
• the most important discovery for understanding Jesus
• The Bible, Violence, & Our Future
• Resurrecting Easter
• on the First Christmas
•  From Jesus’ Parables to Parables of God 
• Render Unto Caesar
• on God & Empire

Lenten Online Class w/ John Dominic Crossan

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