The AI Takeover: A Conversation w/ Dr. Derek C. Schuurman

... drinking.

This is a more personal episode for us, particularly for Randy. As you know, we like alcohol around here, especially whiskey. In this episode, we chat about that and the presence it's had on our podcast and in our lives.

Can we have a "healthy relationship" with alcohol? What does that look like? How does that question get answered for each of us in honest ways? How do we responsibly balance our autonomy with the example we want to set for others?

Also, what kinds of conversations do we want to cultivate? (Hint: they're not necessarily churchy conversations or purely academic conversations, but conversations you might have in a bar.) What does this mean for the show going forward? And maybe most importantly, is there such a thing as a good mocktail?

The NA spirits we mixed in this episode are Monday "whiskey" and Martini Rossi Vibrante.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Content note: this episode contains some mild profanity.

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Cheers!

David Gushee is an influential Christian ethicist who famously changed his mind about LGBTQ Christians. His 2014 book Changing Our Mind (now in its third edition) has been celebrated and widely recommended as an honest and forceful reckoning with the ethical issues surrounding LGBTQ Christians and the church's complicity in their exclusion, neglect, and abuse. It is a powerful and well-researched chronicle of David's journey from a traditional stance to an inclusive one, a journey that he completed while remaining theologically conservative. We are honored that David agreed to speak with us about this important book, and we look forward to more conversations about his many others in the near future!

The bourbon we tasted in this episode is Hardin's Creek Clermont.

To skip to the interview, go to 11:32. You can find the transcript for this episode here.

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Cheers!

Philosopher Aaron Simmons joins us to discuss his new book Camping with Kierkegaard. It's all about living life in a way that is "worthy of your finitude," avoiding becoming an "asshole capitalist," and learning how to value the things in your life with the help of folks like Kierkegaard and Simone de Beauvoir. We discuss living faithfully, being present, living on purpose toward something you've chosen, and a lot more. There's a LOT to unpack in this one, and a couple interesting tangents that didn't make it into the final cut, so Patreon supporters, look out for those.

The whiskey we tasted in this episode is the Fercullen Irish Whiskey Blend from Bardstown Bourbon Company.

Content note: this episode contains some mild profanity. But it's philosophy, so it's fine.

To skip the alcohol tasting, go to 6:46. You can find the transcript for this episode here.

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Want to support us?

The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.

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Cheers!

Where do we engage when we're done with evangelicalism, but we don't want to be done with the church? Thanks be to God, there are new signs of life springing up in the post-evangelical wasteland, and we're so here for it.

Keri Ladouceur leads one of those hopeful spaces called the Post Evangelical Collective. Keri is the Executive Director of the PEC, has been leading in influential church spaces for years, and she has some stories to tell. Keri's journey is one that's been marked by abuse, patriarchy, and sexism, but also by healing, goodness, beauty, and so much redemption. We're so excited about the work she is doing with the Post Evangelical Collective and can't wait to share Keri and the PEC with you.

The whiskey we tasted in this episode is Wild Turkey 101 12 Year Japanese Edition.

To skip the alcohol tasting, go to the 8:35. You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Cheers!

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Want to support us?

The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.

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Cheers!

For New Year's, we're re-airing an episode from Season 1 in which we discuss God and love in the context of suffering, abuse, betrayal, and addiction with William Paul Young and Brad Jersak. It remains one of our most popular episodes to date, and we hope re-airing it will introduce it to new listeners. Enjoy! We'll be back on our regular schedule with new content on January 12.

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CONTENT NOTE: This episode contains references to trauma, abuse, suicide, and mental illness. Not recommended for children.

On this episode, we're joined by William Paul Young (author of The Shack and Eve) and Brad Jersak (author of A More Christlike God and Her Gates Will Never Be Shut). We discuss their new co-authored novella, The Pastor: A Crisis, a raw story of a fundamentalist pastor undergoing the judgment of God. But our conversation is much more wide-ranging than just the book. We discuss what it means to say that God is love, the nature of forgiveness, the metaphor of Hell, and more.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

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Want to support us?

The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.

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• Rate & review us on Apple & Spotify
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Cheers!

Merry Christmas! Brian Zahnd is back on the show to discuss his Christmas devotional The Anticipated Christ. We talk about why he's "trying to be religious," the difference between Christmas and Advent, the book of Isaiah, the Magnificat, what nonviolence has to do with Advent, the current Israel–Hamas war, and more.

We also spend a few minutes at the end just riffing on music. Why? Because Brian loves music and created an unconventional Advent playlist to go along with the book. And after our conversation, he created another one inspired by this episode! We strongly recommend rocking out to them while cooking Christmas dinner.

Here's a couple more links to things mentioned in the episode:

• Eggnog recipe
• Spiritual, Not Religious

The beverage we taste in this episode is ... eggnog. With some Eagle Rare, if you're so inclined.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Content note: this episode contains some mild profanity.

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Want to support us?

The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.

If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal.

Other important info:

• Rate & review us on Apple & Spotify
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Cheers!

This is such a rich conversation. Dr. Willie James Jennings is an incredible theologian who teaches Systematic Theology and Africana Studies at Yale Divinity School. Dr. Jennings has written influential books like, The Christian Imagination: Theology and Origins of Race, After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging, and a groundbreaking commentary on the book of Acts, among a number of other books. Dr. Jennings is a treasure to the church and we loved chatting with him. We spoke about theology, race, whiteness, the book of Acts, LGBTQ+ inclusion and much more. Enjoy!

The whiskey we tasted in this episode is Old Fitzgerald Bottle in Bond 16 Year. Good luck finding that.

To skip the alcohol tasting, skip to the 8:10 mark. You can find the transcript for this episode here.

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Want to support us?

The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.

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• Rate & review us on Apple & Spotify
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Cheers!

How do you process your identity and theology if you feel invisible as a person? What if your story, history, and experience are largely rejected and excluded from the culture you're a part of? How does that shape the way you see God and the world?

Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim is a Korean-American theologian who works in liberation and feminist theology and wrote the book Invisible asking those questions from her perspective as an Asian American woman. In this conversation, we talk about identity, whiteness, white supremacy, and how the Holy Spirit and the Asian concept of chi might be interwoven.

The bourbon we taste in this episode is a 1980 I.W. Harper.  But don't go looking for it, because it's, you know, 43 years old. To skip the tasting, go to 7:19. You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Production note: Logic corrupted our files (thanks Apple), so we had to use Zoom audio this time. Apologies.

PS: Kyle was dealing with some family stuff and unfortunately couldn't make it for this interview. He'll be back next episode.

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Want to support us?

The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.

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Cheers!

Jeff joins us to ask some questions about evil and get into the philosophical weeds a bit. What is the connection between God's nature and suffering? Can we say that suffering is meaningless? What was up with Leibniz? And a lot more.

If you'd like to ask a question about a recent episode to be featured on one of these bonus segments, email us at pastorandphilosopher@gmail.com.

Content note: this episode contains mild profanity and discussion of evil, suffering, and abuse.

The transcript of this episode can be found here.

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Want to support us?

The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.

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Cheers!

We discuss the history of evangelicalism with Isaac B. Sharp. Or rather, the alternative history of evangelicalism, for it differs in some significant ways from what you may have heard about how evangelicalism in America developed, and how most of us understand what it is today. Would it surprise you to learn there were once proud theologically liberal evangelicals? That there was a time when being evangelical did not obviously imply a conservative political stance or being white or straight? If so, Sharp's analysis in his book The Other Evangelicals will give helpful context to why that seems strange to us now (hint: it wasn't accidental).

The bourbon we taste in this episode is George T. Stagg from Buffalo Trace Distillery. To skip the tasting, go to 8:09. You can find the transcript for this episode here.

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Want to support us?

The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.

If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal.

Other important info:

• Rate & review us on Apple & Spotify
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Cheers!