What fresh possibilities open up with a narrative-historical approach to the Bible? Andrew Perriman discusses this in light of the gospel, salvation, hell, and then connecting dots to multifaith encounters. Perriman lives in London, UK. He is the author of several books, including Re: Mission: A Vision of Hope for a Post-Eschatological Church; The Future of the People of God: Reading Romans Before and After Western Christendom; End of Story: Same-Sex Relationships and the Narratives of...

Mohammed Dajani addresses the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Dajani is a Jerusalem-born scholar and peace activist who holds two doctorate degrees. He is Founder of the Wasatia Islamic moderate movement in Palestine which he created in 2007 to promote moderation and reconciliation, peace, tolerance, and justice. He is Founder and Director of Wasatia Graduate Academic Institute. Wasatia: http://www.wasatiamovement.com/Our prior podcasts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict:Daniel Bar-Tal on the...

June Everett is Campaign Director for the After School Club, and an ordained minister of The Satanic Temple. In this conversation she shares her personal journey, discusses the After School Satan Clubs, and responds to our prior podcast with Lydia Kaiser of Child Evangelism Fellowship and their Good News Clubs. After School Satan Club: https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/after-school-satanLydia Kaiser of Child Evangelism Fellowship on the Good News Club:...

Lydia Kaiser, Corporate Communications Specialist for Child Evangelism Fellowship talks about the Good News Clubs in schools, and also responds to the controversy raised by the response of The Satanic Temple to the Clubs and their efforts at putting After School Satan Clubs in schools where the Clubs are present.Good News Club at Child Evangelism Fellowship: https://www.cefonline.com/ministries/goodnewsclub/ Podcast with Lucien Greaves on After School Satan Clubs:...

In recent decades many people have begun following Christ while remaining a part of their non-Christian religious communities. These "insider" Muslims, Hindu, Buddhist, Native American, and other followers of Christ have generated much interest and controversy, particularly in Western mission agencies and churches. Darren Duerksen is our guest who discusses this topic as part of his new book "Christ-Followers in Other Religions: The Global Witness of Insider Movements." Along the way he...

Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint, is the heart of the fastest growing new religious movement in the Americas and the West. Andrew Chesnut is our guest who shares his research on the topic. Chesnut is Professor of Religious Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University. He is the author of Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint (Oxford University Press, 2012), the first academic study of this topic in in English. R. Andrew Chesnut: https://vcu.academia.edu/AndrewChesnut Additional...

Massimo Introvigne discusses the Korean cultural context of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, formerly known as the Unification Church, as well as various developments within the church, its mention in the news in connection with the assassination of the former Prime Minister of Japan, as well as questions related to deprogramming and brainwashing. Introvigne is an Italian sociologist, the managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), in Torino,...

Christians recognize and emphasize monotheism in the Bible, but on closer look at appears to have developed over time. This is important not only for a more careful understanding of the Bible and the Christian faith, but also as we develop arguments and critiques of other religions on their view of God such as the Latter-day Saints. In this episode we discuss the development of monotheism with Kenneth Seeskin, a Jewish scholar. Seeskin is the Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick Professor Emeritus...

Public theology seeks to articulate a theology beyond church and academy for the broader public and the common good. Ted Peters helps us understand how this can be done in light of the credibility challenges the church faces in America and the West. Dr. Peters teaches systematic theology and ethics at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He co-edits the journal, Theology and Science at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences. He is the author of God-The World's...

Popular culture and the internet help resource various fiction-based religions. In this episode Zoe Alderton discusses one such religion known as Snapewives or Snapeism, a new religion taking inspiration from the literary work of J.K. Rowling and the book and film franchise of Harry Potter and a character within it, Professor Severus Snape. Zoe Alderton is a trans-disciplinary researcher specializing in academic communications and the promotion of scholarly excellence. She is the creator of...

The Bahá’í Faith teaches that throughout history, God has sent to humanity a series of divine Educators—known as Manifestations of God—whose teachings have provided the basis for the advancement of civilization. These Manifestations have included Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus, and Muḥammad. Bahá’u’lláh, the latest of these Messengers, explained that the religions of the world come from the same Source and are in essence successive chapters of one religion from God....

In the 1960s and 1970s the Hare Krishnas were known for wearing saffron robes, chanting in the streets, and raising money at airports. Many people feared them and considered them a cult. A lot has changed in the over fifty years since the founding of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). Anuttama Dasa discusses ISKCON's origins, history, beliefs and practices, lived culture and more. Anuttama Dasa is the Minister of Communications for ISKCON. He has been a member of...

Evangelicals and Humility in Multifaith Engagement American Evangelicals are not known for embracing intellectual humility, but there are notable and promising examples. This podcast series explores the topic through the story of how Evangelical Christians and Zen Buddhists in Portland have been able to engage in an intellectually humble exchange of perspectives without compromising their core convictions. The series also includes analysis and commentary from scholars who specialize in the...

Evangelicals and Humility in Multifaith Engagement American Evangelicals are not known for embracing intellectual humility, but there are notable and promising examples. This podcast series explores the topic through the story of how Evangelical Christians and Zen Buddhists in Portland have been able to engage in an intellectually humble exchange of perspectives without compromising their core convictions. The series also includes analysis and commentary from scholars who specialize in the...

Evangelicals and Humility in Multifaith Engagement American Evangelicals are not known for embracing intellectual humility, but there are notable and promising examples. This podcast series explores the topic through the story of how Evangelical Christians and Zen Buddhists in Portland have been able to engage in an intellectually humble exchange of perspectives without compromising their core convictions. The series also includes analysis and commentary from scholars who specialize in the...

Evangelicals and Humility in Multifaith Engagement American Evangelicals are not known for embracing intellectual humility, but there are notable and promising examples. This podcast series explores the topic through the story of how Evangelical Christians and Zen Buddhists in Portland have been able to engage in an intellectually humble exchange of perspectives without compromising their core convictions. The series also includes analysis and commentary from scholars who specialize in the...

How should the horror of the atom bomb be remembered? In what ways might we remember so that the terrible experience of its use might be transformed into hope for a universal community of peace? In a fascinating case study, Yuki Miyamoto compares how Buddhist and Catholic survivors of the 1945 bombings make sense of their experiences through an ethic of "not retaliation, but reconciliation." This study is not only of great historical interest, but also provides help for us as we reflect on...

A conversation with three leaders of Summum (a Latin term meaning “the sum total of creation”), a religious group in Salt Lake City, including Su Menu, president of Summum, Bernie Aua, vice president, and Ron Temu, counselor who oversees their mummification practices. Summum began in the fall of 1975 when founder Claude “Corky” Rex Nowell began to have a series of encounters with highly intelligent beings who work the pathways of spiritual evolution. During these encounters he received...

In this conversation, Massimo Introvigne shares the story of The Church of Almighty God, a group in China that has seen rapid growth, dramatic persecution, and the struggle of believers to see asylum in countries around the world. Among the items discussed, Introvigne reconstructs the Church's idiosyncratic theology, centered in the belief that Jesus Christ has returned in our time in the shape of a Chinese woman, worshipped as Almighty God, to eradicate the sinful human nature and that we...

The Jehovah's Witnesses have been the focus of much evangelical apologetic and secular media critique. In this podcast, new religions scholar George Chryssides presents an overview of the Watch Tower organization's origins, their lived religion, key beliefs and practices, and controversial aspects like disfellowshipping, blood transfusions, and sexual abuse allegations. Chryssides is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at York St. John University,...

A discussion of research around demonic and divine attributions surrounding COVID-19 vaccines. Julie Exline discusses a research paper of she and her colleagues which showed that demonic vaccine attributions were linked with more anti-vaccination attitudes, and were also linked with conspiracy beliefs, QAnon, and apocalypticism. Exline is professor of psychology and spirituality at the College of Arts and Sciences at Western Reserve University. A special emphasis of her research includes...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints whose members were formerly known as Mormons have been the focus of evangelical critique for many years by way of a doctrinal contrast and a heresy apologetic template. But what might we learn about the LDS by other pathways? In this conversation Charles Randall Paul, founder and president of the Foundation for Religious Diplomacy, shares aspects of the faith of the LDS as lived religion such as the importance of ritual, ethics, and sacred...

The COVID-19 pandemic brought lots of surprises, including the political and religious conflicts connected to it. In this podcast we explore one facet of this as Emily Kubin and Frank J. Kachanoff discuss their research published in the paper "Threat Rejection Fuels Political Dehumanization" published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science. Part of their abstract for the paper reads, "Americans disagree about many things, including what threats are most pressing. We...

Andrew DeCort is a lecturer on religious and political ethics and Ethiopian studies. He's the author of Bonhoeffer's New Beginning: Ethics After Devastation, he founded the Institute for Faith and Flourishing, and co-directs the Neighbor-Love Movement. His forthcoming book is titled Why Pray?: Seven Practices of Flourishing on the Edge of Faith. In this podcast we discuss his article "Christian Nationalism Is Tearing Ethiopia Apart," published at Foreign Policy, and his book Why...

The great book From Bubble to Bridge: Educating Christians for a Multifaith World by Marion H. Larson and Sara L. H. Shady (IVP Academic, 2017) is the focus of a conversation between Charles Randall Paul, founder and president of the Foundation for Religious Diplomacy, and John W. Morehead, Director of FRD's Evangelical chapter. From Bubble to Bridge: https://www.amazon.com/Bubble-Bridge-Educating-Christians-Multifaith/dp/0830851569/ John Morehead's review of this book from Cultural...