In the Shift

In the Flesh: Bodies, consciousness, and why you don't have a "spirit-man"

Episode 20: What is a human being? Are we just flesh and blood, or is there something more going on here? What, or who, is the 'real' us? These are questions that humans have been contemplating for thousands of years. In recent times, the idea of humans as body-soul-spirit has become common in certain streams of Christianity... suggesting that the "spirit" is the most real you. But this can lead to a diminishing of the importance of one's own body and of the emotional/physical self. This episode unpacks the language of body-soul-spirit, and makes some alternative suggestions for how we might think about the human experience, the spiritual life, and human flourishing.

In the Flesh: The purity problem

Episode 19: In this episode we examine the language of purity, and the way it is used within the Christian tradition. To do so, we explore the psychology of disgust, the principles of contamination, and what all of this has to do with our sense of embodiment. In particular, religious language about sex and sexuality is shaped almost entirely by a purity discourse. But there are some problems that arise when the binary language of purity is used as the primary framework for this arena of our lives. When someone comes to see themselves as "impure", this can lay the ground for feelings of self-loathing and guilt, as well as anger and rejection toward others.

This episode draws on the insights of psychologist and experimental theologian Richard Beck, who explores how the language of purity in Christianity intersects with a psychology of disgust in shaping social and religious exclusion (and how love transforms this paradigm). To read more, see his book -Unclean: Meditations on Purity, Hospitality and Mortality.

In the Flesh: The shame of (un)holiness

Episode 18: In the Christian tradition, the terms "holiness" and "the flesh" have often been used to set people in a battle against their own selves, a constant internal wrestle. In seeing life as this ongoing struggle, the result can be repeated feelings of failure and shame and an external projection of self that tries to cover over harsh internal judgements. But what if holiness has much more to do with love than it does with battling against oneself?

In the Flesh: Dualism and Disembodiment

Episode 17: This is the beginning of a new series called "In the Flesh", focused on the intersection of faith and spirituality with our reality as physical and embodied human beings. We talk about some of the complicated ways that Christianity has understood the body, including pentecostal dancing in the 80s, stories of worship leaders wanting to leave their bodies so they can love God more, and the repeated prayer ministry apparently required for lustful young men in the church.

In light of this, I discuss how dualistic ways of thinking have shaped such negative views of the body, and how this can lead to a spirituality that is often about escaping or transcending our own embodiment, rather than embracing it.

Jesus' death and the subversion of power

Episode 16: At the centre of Christianity is a non-violent revolutionary who rejects traditional modes of power, and is executed by the combined forces of empire and religion. But the new life that emerges in the wake of his death inspires his followers to believe that self-giving love is ultimately more powerful than the strength, might and violence of these dominant systems that sought to oppress others. So what could it mean for us to live in the wake of this subversion of power?

The death of God

Episode 15: This is the second of 3 episodes exploring the meaning of the death of Jesus. Nietzsche famously said that God is dead and we have killed him. Was he right? Perhaps the answer is yes... and no. In this episode we explore how the cross becomes an icon for the death of God, or at least of many ideas we have of God. And yet it also becomes the location of divine solidarity; the presence of the divine that can be found in absence, in suffering and on the margins.

Why Jesus' death wasn't (and was) a sacrifice

Episode 14: Does God require the blood of an innocent man in order to forgive us? But if not, then what does the death of Jesus mean in the Christian tradition? In this episode, we examine the emergence of sacrificial rituals in ancient societies, the connection to violence and scapegoating, and how the death of Jesus can be understood as a rejection of sacrificial systems as the means to peace.

How did we get here?

Episode 13: One of the questions that has come up in response to the latest series on hell, has been: if Christianity is not about escaping eternity in hell, then why do so many people – Christians or not – understand this to be the central message and purpose of Christianity? How the hell did we get here?

In this episode we explore some of the key historical movements that contribute towards a Christian tradition that so often claims a belief in hell as eternal suffering, and the related lack of openness to different perspectives. From early Christianity to Constantine, Augustine, and Calvin... how did we get here, and what does this mean?

 

What the hell?! Part 3

Episode 12: This is the final episode in our 3-part series on hell. In this episode we look at the implications of belief in hell as eternal suffering for unbelievers, and the way it is connected to a sense of superiority, religious xenophobia, and the abdication of responsibility for issues of social and environmental concern.

What the hell?! Part 2

Episode 11: This is the 2nd in a 3-part series on the traditional Christian idea of hell. In this episode we explore the logic of the historical Christian doctrine of eternal torment for unbelievers, and examine why this is inconsistent with the story of Jesus. But if this is not the best way to frame Christian belief, then what are the alternatives?