PODCAST · religion
Worst Church Ever
by Worst Church Ever
Rejecting fundamentalism. Uncovering theologies of trauma and healing in our sacred stories. Other good σκύβαλον, too.
Episodes
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Jacob and Esau: Was Isaac Really Fooled?
Chris and Nathan wonder if there's more to the Jacob and Esau story that we're usually taught. Is it possible that Isaac knew what was happening all along? Bonus content includes some sincere appreciation for Masters of the Universe and Brad Meltzer! Join the conversation, and don't forget to…
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Happy New Year! What Will You Resolve This Year?
Traditions, resolutions, and predictions for the New Year. Plus, the gut-punch realization that making a "resolution" actually means committing to resolving something that needs our attention. Be kind to yourself this year...what else will you work to resolve in your relationships, trauma, or…
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Merry Christmas from Worst Church Ever!
Chris and Nathan talk the origins of Christmas traditions and what (if anything) is at stake if some of those origins are...dun dun dun! Pagan?!? Throw another log on the fire and enjoy our Christmas episode!
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What's at Stake if We're Not Alone?
Chris and Nathan talk UAP, cycles of trauma, and Spotify Wrapped!
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Ep 19: Jacob Steals the Blessing? (Genesis 27)
Continuing our look at Genesis, and it turns out there’s far more here than folk-tales and not-science. Actually, there is science, just not the kind the fundamentalist next store thinks they have in mind. It’s much more delightfully human (and holy) than all of that. Today: Jacob steals(?) the...
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Ep 18: Room for Blessing (Genesis 25 Part 2)
Stop digging your father's wells. Stop fighting over toxic holes in the ground. Do something new and find all the room you need for blessing and growth.
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On Gratitude and Competing Goods: Ninja Turtles, Gallagher Brothers, Social Systems and Matthew 5
Welcome back to Worst Church Ever, that friend you keep trying to connect with in the midst of all of this adulting. Today, Chris welcomes life-long friend Nathan for a discussion about being over-busy, making time for what matters, and raising kids. We also talk about famous sets of siblings…
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Subversive Faith (Like a Mustard Seed)
What was Jesus getting at with the repeated imagery of the mustard seed?
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Psalm 145 Part 2: Slow to Anger, Rich in Love
God's nature is both miraculous and necessary. Yahweh is an outlier among his capricious peers...
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Praise in the Image of God
Psalm 145:1-9
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Fig Trees and Muffled Hearts
Mark 12:20-25, a reading for September 20, 2023.
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The Problem with Piety: Romans 14:13-5:2
An unplugged look at one of the RCL readings for September 19, 2023.
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Psalm 77 Unplugged
Lo fi, high view of Psalm 77 for September 18/19, 2023
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Ep 17: Isaac, Jacob, and Esau: Repeated Motifs and Traumas in Genesis 25
Season 2 is here! In this episode: Isaac mourns the death of his mother...by consummating his marriage to Rebekah in his mother's tent. Isaac builds a life...in the same place Sarah banished Hagar and Ishmael. Isaac tries to rewrite the story of lost birthrights and unwanted sons...by picking a...
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Season 2 Prelaunch: UAPs, Disclosure, and Observations of the Soul
What should we make of the mainstreaming of the UAP phenomenon? Insights from Anton Zellinger, quantum physics, and St. Paul.
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Bonus Episode 7: I Kissed Youth Group Goodbye (A Purity Culture/Joshua Harris Deep Dive)
Picture it. Youth group. 1997. What the hell are these people talking about? Part look back at how "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" crept into my (mostly) Mainline church, part look back at that weird AF subculture. Trigger warnings: purity culture, sexual assault.
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Ep 16: Shame and Mourning in the Negev: Isaac Does the Work (Genesis 24)
We wanted to call this episode "Sarah Dies/Abraham's Thighs," or "More Weird Shit with Abraham" but those aren't the most important parts of the story. What Isaac does after the death of his mother is one of our first "Holy Shit" (in a good way?) moments thus far. We've read this text many times,...
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Ep 15: Altar-Bound Isaac, Trauma-Bound God (The Binding of Isaac, Genesis 22)
There's no way around it: the Binding of Isaac is an inescapably terrible story. Let's get to it.
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Ep. 14 - Hagar and Ishmael: Headfakes & Heartbreaks (Genesis 21)
"A few chapters back, Sarah tells Abraham to get rid of Hagar, and Abraham says “she’s your slave. She’s your issue. Do whatever you want.” In other words, you’ve already trafficked this Egyptian to me, I’ve already raped her, I don’t give a shit.” But now, oh, but now. But now there is a son...
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Bonus Episode 6: OUTTAKE on the Southern Baptist Convention and the misnomer of "conservatism."
What's so conservative about conservative Christianity? It turns out not very much. Southern Baptist convention meets this week in Nashville to address systemic issues...or not.
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Bonus Episode 5: Quantum Gospel, Cosmic Christ
The Incarnation of God as the willful cosmic wave-collapse response to our penchant for creating (not just choosing) evil. Schrodinger (sans cat), my snoring dogs, the Upanishads, Jesus, warm milk, and melatonin.
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Episode 13: Lot's Daughters Keep the Score (Genesis 19 concluded)
As we move through Genesis 19, familiar patterns are starting to emerge. We see the patriarchs, matriarchs, and their families recreating trauma in destructive cycles. As noted in the last episode, this tracks with what modern neuroscience knows about the ways in which "the body keeps the score."...
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Bonus Episode 4: Another Bite of the Apple...
It's under four minutes long. You could do a lot worse.
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Episode 12: The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah Was Never About Homosexuality (Genesis 19)
In this extended episode, we follow the Genesis narrative(s) into Chapter 19, and we take some journeys to later Christian scripture. This might be a good episode for your next 40-minute commute.
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Episode 11: Abraham's Big, Bad Daddy Issues (Genesis 18)
"...You can believe in that God if you want to, but keep him (always him) far away from me..."
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Bonus Episode 3: It Could Have Gone *This* Way (The Rich Young Ruler Reimagined)
How we wish the story of the Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10) would have gone. (And lo but for the grace of God go we..)
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Episode 10: Circumcision, Power, and Violence (Genesis 17)
Who gets to choose who puts (which) skin in the game, and why does it matter?
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Episode 9: Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar: The Perpetuation of Sexual Trauma in Genesis 16
The story of Sarah and Hagar through the lens of reproduced trauma and family (?) systems. Trigger warning: sexual assault, trafficking, and rape.
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Episode 8: Some Spaces Between (Genesis 15)
We're repainting a room and the fumes are getting to us. This episode looks at the covenant ritual in Genesis 15, and was interrupted by the church dog, its own outro, and just a bit of Abraham fatigue. We humbly share it anyway. Enjoy!
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Episode 7: Sarah: Sister, Wife, and Trafficked Matriarch (Genesis 12)
We consider the competing narrative claims of "indigenous" Judeans and repatriating exiles in the formation of the Genesis text; we also look at Karen Gonzalez's 2019 piece on Sarah as a human trafficking survivor. TW: Human Trafficking.
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Bonus Episode 2: Kevin Max Is Just Being Honest
Kevin Max, Carl Sandburg, and Exvangelicals, oh my! Also, the Oxford Comma.
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Bonus Episode: "To A Contemporary Bunkshooter" by Carl Sandburg
Published in 1916, this poem is at once a meditation on Jesus and Sandburg's "statement of faith" against sham religion. Aimed at prosperity-preaching fundamentalists in general (and Billy Sunday specifically), Sandburg contrasts the wealth and "work" of these hucksters against the extreme…
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Episode 6: The Calling of Abraham, the Compiling of Scripture (Genesis 12 - 15)
In today's episode, we look at the first call of Abram/Abraham and begin to consider what the content of these stories says about the the circumstances of their composition, how that relates to competing (or complimentary?) agendas and needs, the codification of the Torah, and more.
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Episode 5: Introducing Abraham
"My fundamentalist neighbor needs me to believe a tradition about what the Bible is before I get to meet Jesus. I just don’t think that’s how Jesus works..."
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Episode 4: Every New Beginning Part 2
"Hello and Welcome to Worst Church Ever, the show that rolls its sleeves up to play in the mud with Yahweh, even though our fundamentalist neighbor thinks we ought to keep the Holy action at a distance and call God Elohim..."
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Episode 3: Every New Beginning Part 1
"Everyone born downstream of Los Alamos, Nagasaki and Hiroshima are children of the atom, that’s not just some cool turn of phrase Stan Lee used to launch the X-Men. Everyone born downstream of Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes, are children of that same revolution. We’ve got all the good things Neil...
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Episode 2: The Deep, Deep Magic (Forever's Gonna Start Tonight)
"I said listen, brother, you’re a smart guy, you know this so-called liberal view of scripture isn’t new, I didn’t make it up, it’s the balance of the Christian tradition..." "The cross of Jesus Christ upends the story of empire, it lifts up the true story that our highest calling is not our…
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Episode 1: The Fundamentalist Next Door
"I know all the moves," I said. "I grew up in that circus..."
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Rejecting fundamentalism. Uncovering theologies of trauma and healing in our sacred stories. Other good σκύβαλον, too.
HOSTED BY
Worst Church Ever
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Worst Church Ever have?
Worst Church Ever currently has 38 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Worst Church Ever about?
Rejecting fundamentalism. Uncovering theologies of trauma and healing in our sacred stories. Other good σκύβαλον, too.
How often does Worst Church Ever release new episodes?
Worst Church Ever has 38 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Worst Church Ever?
You can listen to Worst Church Ever on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Worst Church Ever?
Worst Church Ever is created and hosted by Worst Church Ever.
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