Cut the Crap: An Intentionally Heretical Podcast

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 for more information.

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 for more information.

'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 for more information.

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 for more information.

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 for more information.

There’s the thing called the 2024 US Presidential election that (at time of release) is shockingly close, and A LOT of people have A LOT to say about how God wants you to vote, the kind of nation that God wants, and the ways the Christianity should have political power to enforce a specific version of its rules. What if the New Testament authors never imagined political power like that? What if the whole grounding of the Christian faith is an invitation to discipleship rather than discipleship at the force of law? What does it mean to Christians in an extremely powerful nation?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A lot of people say a lot of very definite things about who God is, as if that's how we've always thought about God and how everyone thinks about God. Then, what do we do with the fact that a lot of our images for God date back to a Canaanite storm god named Yahweh? We should probably expand our notions, let go of an ounce of our certainties, and leave room for something far bigger. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.