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Favorite Podcasts Links


Flatliner

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  • 1 month later...
Posted

So, I'm kinda heavy into the whole podcast thing right now. Like having my own personal radio network with me all day at work. It's cool. Are there any progressive-Christian podcasts?

Posted

It kinda depends on what is meant by Progressive Christianity but I like the audio and the podcast for sojourners magazine at www.sojo.net. Yes, they take the Bible iterally, including the teachings of Jesus but their politics is far from right wing. For example, they are against aboirtion but they are more concerned with the issues that cause abortion such as poverty. Last Pentcost, sojourners organized a rally to protest the cuts in taxes for the wealth and cuts to services for those with low income. Belief.net also has audio files on both progressive and conservative Christians.

Posted

I think of the Sojourners as moderates with kind of what I have been calling "soft" literalism. I think that Jim Wallis takes the Bible literally but perhaps not every single word or story. For instance, I doubt he'd say Jonah was swallowed by a whale (or fish). But his politics are fairly liberal. Yes, he is opposed to abortion but would like to have a serious discussion on really reducing abortions (hey I'd like that conversation as well). And I think he is opposed to gay marriage but would favor something like marriages by churches not

being "legal" and civil unions (of any kind-- I think two people though) being legal. Then churches could choose whether or not to marry someone, but that marriage would have spiritual signficance rather than be

state sponsored. (I think it woudl be a good compromise.) He is strongest in the area of poverty, and not even so outspoken on the environment, though he does discuss it.

 

I think he woudl be interesting to listen to. His book seemed very much like it was a set of sermons or other talks, and was redundant, but I bet he makes a good speaker.

 

 

--des

Posted

Jim Wallis gives me hope. Hope that things can change. Hope that things can turn around.

 

 

I would like add that you can find audio files by searching the audio of individual progressive Christian writers and thinkers. For example, I found Elaine pagels on NPR on her book "Beyond Belief".

Marilyn

  • 7 months later...
Posted

I thought it might be useful for our inner techies if we had a list specifically of Podcasts that might be of interest to Liberal Christians. If your church has a Podcast, or you just have a favorite that you love to listen to, post it here (preferably with a brief description)! :)

Posted

State of Belief - Air America Radio Podcast

 

This is probably my favorite Podcast that I've come across so far. It's not specifically Christian - its host is Rev. Welton Gaddy, the President of the Interfaith Alliance - but rather a sort of religion news program...it gives a liberal/progressive/inclusive look into the general religious issues we're facing today as well as the specific issues that come up each week, and often has really interesting guests. Each episode is about 35 minutes long. If you can't find the actual program on your radio, or it comes on at a bad time for you, I'd strongly recommend this Podcast! :)

 

  • 2 years later...
Posted

Could you guys recommend a few websites that have PD podcasts. I know I can do a search and hopefully find some good ones but I thought I would start here and see if some people use them already.

 

Thanks

Posted

I don't know of any, but if you find any good ones let me know because I might take some interest in them. :D

Posted

Could you guys recommend a few websites that have PD podcasts. I know I can do a search and hopefully find some good ones but I thought I would start here and see if some people use them already.

 

Thanks

 

Here's a few that I frequently enjoy:

 

http://www.christ-community.net/sermons.htm

 

http://www.stmatthews.org.nz/nav.php?sid=155

 

Anything by Marcus Borg, John Shelby Spong, John Dominic Crossan, and there is some good stuff by Brian McLaren

Posted

Good references Bill,

 

In case some were not aware, the first link will take you to Progressive Christian sermons by Pastor Ian Lawton who is a member here of our Executive Council at TCPC.org

 

 

Joseph

Posted

It's not always easy to find this podcasts within websites, so perhaps this link will make it a little easier:

 

http://www.sbnr.org/SBNR.orgPodcast.xml

 

What I really appreciate about PC sermons like this is 1) I, unfortunately, won't get to hear these kinds of messages at my wife's Baptist church and 2) they confirm to me that I am not the only one thinking and living along these lines.

  • 6 months later...
  • 5 months later...
Posted

My favorite progressive Christian podcast is the State of Belief podcast hosted by Rev Gaddy of the Interfaith Alliance. I like how his podcast focuses on politics from a progressive Christian perspective and I enjoy their discussions about the nature of religion and its role in society. I especially like how they have all sorts of guests of different faiths like Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam. Rev Gaddy even has conservative Christian guests on there which I really like how it's not just a bunch of liberals ranting about how stupid conservatives are. I like how Rev Gaddy tries to be respectable towards different religious views including conservative Christianity and he never demonizes those he disagrees with. In the ever increasingly polarization of American politics, I find Gaddy's voice of compassion to be refreshing and I wish we had more like him. My favorite sermon podcast is the Cathedral of Hope. The Cathedral of Hope is the largest liberal LGBT church but their weekly sermon podcasts aren't just focused on LGBT issues. They preach about all sorts of issues and read the gospel through one of the most inclusive and liberal interpretations that I've heard. Their pastors are also very well-informed about not only their own scriptures but they also often preach about other religions and one time they even had a sermon praising atheism. The full service version of their sermon podcast also has some of the best and most impressive worship music you'll find of any sermon podcast.

 

I'm not sure if they count as progressive since it's a gay Christian podcast but these gay Christians are also conservative Christians yet they're not exactly fundamentalist either, but I'm also a fan of the gaychristian.net podcast. They talk about the different issues facing LGBT Christians from the perspective of gay Christians with conservative theological beliefs but they're never judgmental about their beliefs and they tend to stay away from politics and mostly focus on the personal experiences of LGBT Christians. I like that they have interviews with all sorts of different famous celebrities like Anne Rice and Mel White but they also have interviews with ordinary LGBT Christians who they interview about their life experiences in the church which I think gives it more of a personal feeling that podcasts sometimes don't always have. Which progressive Christian podcasts do you like and why?

Guest billmc
Posted

One of my favorites is "America's Evolutionary Evangelists" by Michael Dowd and his wife, Connie Barlow. Bonnie comes from a UU background and Michael was once a fundamentalist Christian. Michael's take on things is that our word "God" points to what we consider to be ultimate reality and, therefore, our notions of God change over time as we change and grow as a human species. He believes that God speaks to us through nature and science as opposed to supernatural revelation (a view I also share) and that as long as the Church refuses to evolve in incorporating how God speaks to us today, Christianity will continue to slide into oblivion, much as the notions of the Greek gods did.

 

My favorite sermon from Michael is titled, oddly enough, "The New Atheists as God's Prophets" where Michael submits that people like Dawkins, Hitchens, and Harris are actually calling us beyond ancient superstitious notions about God in order to experience what is really real. You can find that sermon listed as number 31 here:

 

http://evolutionaryevangelists.libsyn.com/

 

Michael, more than anyone else I know, seeks to blend progressive Christianity with the realities of science and nature.

Guest billmc
Posted

BTW, for those interested, Michael is the author of the book, "Thank God for Evolution," which, like his podcasts, focus on the concept that God has lead us and continues to lead our universe through 14.5 billion years to the point where we are the universe's way of knowing itself.

 

Personally, I find this very refreshing as, though I was interested in science from a young age, my religion essentially taught me that science was not only not to be trusted as a way to know truth, but that is was an enemy of God. Even as an adult, I was told that science and religion were two separate realms, two ways of knowing truth, but that they really weren't compatible. Michael, and others like him, are bravely saying that all truth, all knowledge, and all progress ultimate comes from God and that we don't need to bifurcate our minds or our hearts in order to understand not only what we know about existence, but what the meanings of existence are.

 

It is certain that not all Christians are going to find this approach to faith or religion helpful. But to those of us who feel awe in gazing through a telescope, seeing a sunset, watching a butterfly emerge from a cocoon, or who are at a loss of words when holding our child for the first time and feel these things are somehow sacred, Michael helps us to understand that what we call God is behind all of this, leading us forward.

  • 8 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...
Posted

The Partially Examined Life

 

The Partially Examined Life is a philosophy podcast by some guys who were at one point set on doing philosophy for a living but then thought better of it. Each episode, we pick a text and chat about it with some balance between insight and flippancy. You don't have to know any philosophy, or even to have read the text we're talking about to (mostly) follow and (hopefully) enjoy the discussion.

  • 3 months later...

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