The podcast is back! For our return episode, Ben sits down with author
and blogger Grace Biskie. Their conversation focuses especially on the
deep vulnerability of Grace's writing and her thoughts on racial issues
stemming both from her childhood in Detroit and her bi-racial identity.
In addition, we'll touch on issues of gender, feminism, marriage, and
parenthood. It's a wonderfully open and honest interview, and I hope you
enjoy it.
You can find more of Grace's writing at her website and you can follow her on Twitter @gracebiskie.
You can download the podcast by clicking here.
Or you can subscribe to the podcast by searching "On Pop Theology" in
the iTunes music store. If you like the show, please rate and
review us on iTunes. It's the first step in our secret mission to take over the world. Finally, if you'd like to stream the podcast, you can do that here:
Peace,
Ben
You can follow On Pop Theology on Twitter @OnPopTheology or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OnPopTheology. If you'd like to support what we do, you can donate via the button on the right of the screen.
by Ben Howard Reads of the Week 1)Theology (and the Theological Academy) & Rape (and Rape Culture): A Miniature Memoir of Sorts by Brandy Daniels "I’m not sure if this truth will be healing, for me or for anyone else… I hope that it will. Regardless, I’m speaking about my experiences as a survivor because, for me, this is a way that I feel like I can continually bear witness to the truth even when it might threaten a few things that this world holds most dear: my reputation, potential academic possibilities, etc." 2)Life in the After by Becca Rose "There’s not a pretty or easy way to talk about my life before now, so I usually don’t. After all I have fought for and been through, I’m finally living in the life After, the hope that I had for years of a life free of abuse come to fruition. Some people would say it’s better for me to just put the past behind me, lock it all in a box and never look at it again. But that would be denying those years of abuse and the struggle I had to leave that situation." 3) I'm Terrified of Death by Zack Hunt "It’s a lot easier to look past death when it’s nice and neat and lying all dressed up in a casket, but when a body is lying on a cold metal table in a morgue with nothing but a thin sheet to cover it you’re forced to literally come face to face with the stark reality of death. You’re forced to accept the finality of death and the fragility of life." 4) The Theology of Government Shutdown: Christian Dominionism by Morgan Guyton "I couldn’t find any substantive theological statements from Ted, but his father Pastor Rafael Cruz has been a keynote speaker and ideological catalyst whom Heritage Action has been flying around the country in its campaign to defund Obamacare over the last several months. The elder Cruz has a distinct theological vision for what America is supposed to look like: Christian dominionism." 5)I'm Christian and I Swear...Occasionally by Grace Biskie "Maybe I’m not going to be a very good christian girl in your opinion. Maybe I’m okay with that. Maybe it’s not me, maybe it’s you. Maybe you never seen a different version of what A Good Christian Girl is. Maybe you’ve never seen ‘A Good Christian Girl’ face the worst version of herself and win. Maybe you don’t know what it’s like to go into a war and make it out alive. What war does to people is violent, is angry. My childhood was war. You don’t get to tell me how to manage my PTSD. I’m sorry, y’all but you don’t. My trusted, invited inner circle does. No one else." 6) Thomas, a Modern Day Desert Father by Micha Boyett "And I look at him and think of the Desert Fathers. Maybe Thomas is a modern day Desert Father, waiting for miraculous bread, living by prayer alone. Instead of a cave, he dwells with his shopping cart along this road packed with people. Of course, the Desert Fathers chose their lives. I don’t know Thomas’ story, but I imagine he didn’t want this." 7) Heaven and Matchbox Cars by Leanne Penny "On my darker days? I feel jilted and harbor jealous resentment toward my friends for simply having parents. For posting grandpa pictures on Facebook and sending their kids to 'grandma camp.' This sucks twice because it leaves me feeling like an orphan AND a bad friend." 8) Satan Is Real, Just Ask Jesse Pinkman by Tony Jones "Walt has indeed abandoned all inherent and socialized standards of morality. By the end, it’s clear that he is not troubled by anything he’s done. The only thing that troubles him is that others, like his wife and his brother-in-law, don’t love him for it. He is, in my opinion, the logical outcome of Nietzsche’s Übermensch — he’s abandoned all metaphysics, he is completely this-worldly, he has no moral compass, no fear of God, no worry about any eschatological comeuppance." 9) Would Jesus Be Cool With Keeping Poor Kids In Orphanages? by Kelsey Nielsen "With limited resources and the hospital an hour away, the family did not know what to do. They loved their granddaughter and wanted to find her help so they approached the leaders in their community about the situation. The leaders contacted some missionaries in town and told them about this family. And just like that, this little girl was brought to an orphanage, where she would be separated from her family for the next 3 years." 10)Doctor Who's Doctrine, Part 3: Exterminating Evil by Jason Morehead "But what has been part of the revival’s brilliance is its revelations that the Doctor, for all his brilliance and derring-do, is a shell of an alien. All his eccentricities actually conceal a demi-god who verges on breakdown, and he’s certainly more than the benevolent-yet-eccentric savior we may think. He’s a 'mad man with a box' — and the emphasis is on mad." Honorable Mention Charity's Dirty Little Secret by Joy Bennett What I Blogged, What I Preached, and Why They Differ by David Henson I Am Your Enemy (A Poem) by Morgan Guyton Tweets of the Week "Maybe kids aren't even small and they're all just really far away." - Ashley Feinberg (@ashfein) "We're not ganging up on you, America, I just see a bunch of people in this room who love you and want you to get better." - Chris Jones (@MySecondEmpire)
"I can sympathize with House Republicans because once my mom wouldn’t let
me get candy at the store, and then I burned down the whole city." - Zomb BrainTaker (@RobDenBlyker) On Pop Theology Week in Review On Pop Theology Podcast: Episode 42 - Stuffed Animals, Grace, and Being a Pastor in the City w/ Jes Kast-Keat by Ben Howard "This week on the show Ben spends some time with Jes Kast-Keat, the associate minister of West End Collegiate Church in New York City." The Deluge and the Disillusion by Amanda Taylor "It’s official; I’m quitting the interwebs." We Have Been To Gray Places: A Review of Addie Zierman's When We Were On Fire by Charity Erickson "I cannot tell a lie. Because, as we all know, liars go to hell (Revelation 21:8)." Chicago Area Man Watches Breaking Bad Finale To See What All The Fuss Is About by Lane Severson "Last Sunday night, a Chicago area man chose to watch the series finale of the critically acclaimed AMC show Breaking Bad." Song of the Week "Headphones" by Jars of Clay
by Ben Howard Reads of the Week 1)Come Hither Men, For I Have Sex Demons by Grace Biskie "It is those men who have been Jesus to me. It’s the ones who’ve looked me in my eye with definitive actions and words and communicated: you are not your sexuality. Those are the men who have healed. Those are the men who have pulled a miracle of out their damned hats in rescue of my soul. Thank God for these men. Thank God for these men." 2)Your Story is Worth Finishing by Luke Harms "This is me opening doors that I’ve never dared to open publicly because the fact that you’re reading this means maybe you’re looking for a reason not to and I’m telling you that this is it. This is me, jumping up and down, waving my arms and screaming that I see you, that you’re not alone, that your life has value. This is me telling you all of the things that I wish someone would have told me when I started down that road. It is worth it. You’re worth it. You are loved, you are loved, you are loved." 3) A Threat to Never Forget: September 11 and America's Vengeful Memory by David Henson "There is a threat implied in refusing to forget. It is a threat against others, a reminder that our collective memory is as deep as our desire for vengeance. We refuse to forget with war, drones, and torture. We refuse to forget with the erosion of civil liberties. We refuse to forget by reminding the entire world that retaliation — not freedom — is our nation’s most treasured value." 4)The Witness of the Saints by Richard Beck "What holds the church together are the saints. And I think church history bears this out. Before there was a bible or creeds or orthodoxy or an authoritative teaching tradition there were the martyrs and the saints. And it was the veneration of the martyrs and saints that held the church together." 5) Mumford & Sons and Religious Experiences by Nate Pyle "For the Christian, the church is the thing we connect to that is larger than self. It gives us a sense of purpose that is greater than just our individual lives. It connects us to something that transcends the moment and extends back through 2,000 years of history connecting up to eternity. This is why I believe the church is God’s plan for the world. Church is supposed to be the ultimate transcendent, larger than life experience." 6) Texas Evangelicals Argue Against Evangelism by Fred Clark "Here let’s just say this: If you’re an evangelical Christian and you find yourself arguing that “religious liberty” means that religious identity is immutable and unchangeable, and therefore that evangelism is unnecessary and impossible, then you need to rethink the trap you’ve set for yourself." 7) #BlackGirlProblems at a Christian College by Joy Ubani "I often wonder if genuine racial diversity can be achieved at a Christian college, or any PWI. Generally speaking, students who attend these colleges are privileged, White students. Some of these students and staff members have grown up in a rather homogeneous environment. (Hence the dramatic questions about hair and surprised expressions when they know I can’t twerk like the Black girl they saw on YouTube)." 8) The High Human Stakes of Movie Destruction by Geoffrey Reiter "Because too many disaster movies fail to earn their stakes by demonstrating the human cost in concrete terms, they are “pornographic” in the same way: they create a brief, artificial thrill that cannot be sustained and comes at the expense of recognizing the implications that such catastrophic events would have on actual lives if they actually occurred. Thus, the terms “disaster porn” or “destruction porn” are actually uncannily accurate." 9) If You Knew Me, You Would Care by D.L. Mayfield "Because I know people now, and they have made me care. But here is the other truth that no one want to talk about, that we spend all our time protecting at all costs: our culture thrives on forgetting. On distractions, petty concerns, and the crushing pursuit of individual comfort. Every day is a struggle to care. The only thing that makes it easier is if you are forced to confront it, time and time again." 10) From 'Full House' to 'Modern Family': Ten Shows That Forced Us to Reimagine the American Family by Jonathan Merritt "In the 1950s, television largely mirrored the prevalent concept of the American family. Popular shows like 'Leave it to Beaver' and 'Father Knows Best' depicted the family as a heterosexual, patriarchal, churchgoing unit with chaste children. But in the 1960s, family depictions began to change. And so did America’s thinking." Honorable Mention A Piece of the Answer by Elora Nicole Becoming Madrina: Relationships and World Vision by Micha Boyett Are Concussions the Price We Pay for Manly Men? by E. Stephen Burnett Tweets of the Week "Sort of think Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga are building towards an endgame where they wear turtlenecks and play sedate piano pop." - Alyssa Rosenberg (@AlyssaRosenberg) "When Miley Cyrus is naked & licks a hammer it’s 'art' and 'music'..
but when I do it, I’m 'wasted' and 'have to leave Home Depot'" - Ray Lopez (@Raylopez)
"The year is 2015. Someone publishes an article that isn't a list.
Is promptly burned for witchcraft." - Jonathan Harrison (@jonateharrison) On Pop Theology Week in Review On Pop Theology Podcast: Episode 39 - A Christian Nation Full of Care Bears by Ben Howard "This week Ben, Jesse and Sebastian talk about whether or not America is a Christian nation." How to Get Abs Like Jesus by Lane Severson "Ever since the Disciples asked Jesus how to pray people have been changing up the pattern to work better for their schedule, personality, or just to get better results." A Series of Outright Lies About the Bible by Ben Howard "There's a lot of misinformation in the world today. Some argue that's simply the nature of the internet and the democratization of information itself." Song of the Week "Wrecking Ball (The Country Version)" by The Gregory Brothers
"I don’t want to be bitter. I don’t
want to be resentful. Most of all, I don’t want my relationship
with God to become strained. So, even though I wasn’t directly
wronged, I forgive God for letting me down and I live in peace
because of it. In fact, I feel more connected to God than ever
before."
"My hope in sharing is not that my exact stages would be used to describe
another’s journey, but that instead, each person would gain clarity of
where they are at on this journey of understanding and embracing our
racial-cultural identity, and identify what terrain is still to be
discovered." 3)Jesus, Stripping, and Gospel Music by Grace Biskie "He took me to an R.Kelly concert. After intermission, R.Kelly came back
on stage in Gospel Choir robes with a full out Gospel Choir performing
Gospel music. Fake, awful Gospel music. We’d spent the first 45
minutes of his concert bumping and grinding, screaming along with
thousands of other people at the Palace of Auburn Hills. R. Kelly
stripped down to tighty-whitey’s -I’m not even playin’ y’all- and now he
had the freaking nerve to play Gospel? I excused myself to go sit
outside and think. And, cry." 4)When Your Patron Saint is a 12-Year Old Girl Who Was Brutally Murdered by Danielle Vermeer "So I continued reading about how her murderer was captured and sentenced to 30 years in jail. I
took notes on how Maria forgave him on her deathbed, even going so far
as to wish that he be saved so she could see him in heaven. I
grimaced through the part on how he was unrepentant and uncommunicative
for three years in jail, refusing to come to terms with the grave crime
he committed until he had a dream in which Maria visited him. In the
dream, she gave him some lilies which promptly burned to ashes in his
hands." 5)The N-Word on the 4th of July by Brittney Cooper "As we sat awaiting takeoff, I finished a text conversation and signaled
to the flight attendant for a seat-belt extender, a fat passenger’s best
friend. Then just as the call came to shut our phones off, I glanced
over at her, and she was still texting, rapidly. I caught a few words of
the end of her text that made me look more intently: 'on the plane,
sitting thigh to thigh with a big fat nigger. Lucky me.'" Honorable Mention
"On the day of the historic Supreme Court rulings which declared the
Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional and effectively invalidated
California's Proposition 8, Jesse, Sebastian and Ben sit down in the
studio to reflect on the meaning and importance of the day's events." Bad Music Theology: "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke (feat. Pharrell and T.I.)
"Every
so often I come across a pop song so catchy that I can't stop listening
to it, but with lyrics so terrible that I hate myself every time I
press play." Song of the Week
1) Jesus Started With the "Outliers" by Rachel Held Evans "If the gospel isn’t good news to
the so-called ‘outliers,’ then it’s not good news at all. And, in fact,
if our theology doesn’t start with the ‘outliers,’ then maybe we’re
doing it wrong."
2) The Bible Needs to Die, and We Need to Let It by Krista Dalton "Thus, I say it is time for the Bible to die. The Bible, perhaps the
biggest superstition of them all in that the book’s authority and
gravitas, encoded in the words “but the Bible says,” dictates the course
of many, often in destructive ways. Now I’m all about studying the
Bible and its authors’ original context, but what is our answer when the
original context is wrong for our modern society? What if the Bible
“really says” slavery is okay; what if the Bible “really says” witches,
homosexuals, sexually promiscuous women deserve to die? What is our
answer then?"
3) God Washed My Feet, And It Was Warm by Grace Biskie "Well, why did the disciples need their feet washed? Because they lived
and walked in a desert in flimsy sandals and they got dirty. Through
no fault of their own, the journey their life took them on required
cleaning by a servant who loved them."
4) Liturgical Texting by Zack Hunt "We practiced liturgical texting at church last Sunday and it was one of
the most incredible moments of worship I’ve experienced in a long time
and I am incredibly proud of and grateful to my pastor for creating that
moment for us."
5) Even the Rocks by D.L. Mayfield "Sitting in that pew so straight, my heart at full attention. I had to
know: did Jesus have the words of the prophet in his mind as he looked
out over Jerusalem, knowing what the next week would bring? Did he know
how many more empires, nations, and people would found their entire
lives on injustice, everyone content to pursue wickedness to the point
that the very city itself would cry out in anguish?" Honorable Mention We Had Hoped by Micah Murray An Open Letter to Myself About Being a Man by Bruce Reyes-Chow Ignoring the Man With No Teeth by Shawn Smucker Line of the Week
"In any case, I give this book two thumbs way, way up! If you've spent
your entire life wondering if there is a God that you can put in a box,
consume in small, easy-to-chew quantities and exploit in order to feel
some arbitrary (albeit fleeting) sense of meaning and happiness, this is
the book for you." - Anonymous Amazon Review for "A Story of God and All of Us: A Novel Based on the Epic TV Miniseries 'The Bible'" On Pop Theology Week in Review The Allure of a Handsome, White Jesus by John Thornton Jr. John Thornton explores the problems of depicting Jesus as a handsome, white man when the truth is so much deeper. Bad Music Video Theology: "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons by Sebastian Faust Because sometimes Jesus is a Care Bear with laser eyes and sometimes Lou Diamond Phillips is the Devil. What We Talk About When We Talk About Rob Bell by Ben Howard What are we talking about when we talk about Rob Bell? We're talking about us. Etsy, Betsy, Regretsy by Leigh Bonner On Etsy, bad earrings, and bullying. A Prayer for Good Friday On this holy day I pray you peace, love, and the beauty that only comes when darkness becomes dawn. Song of the Week "Handlebars" by Flobots
Reads of the Week God-Shaped Hole by Addie Zierman "We are, all of us, punched through with holes, living with a little bit more emptiness every year. And it’s possible to be filled with the Spirit and still feel the void."
Russell Brand on Heroin, Abstinence, and Addiction by Russell Brand "Without these fellowships I would take drugs. Because even now the
condition persists. Drugs and alcohol are not my problem — reality is my
problem. Drugs and alcohol are my solution." On Rape, Cages, and the Steubenville Verdict by Mia McKenzie "I, unlike many people reacting to today's verdict, am not just thrilled
to death that two 16-year-old boys are going to jail. What they did was
terrible. There is no excuse. They have to be two seriously fucked-up
kids to have done what they did. But what I know for damn sure is that
jail does not fix broken people. It only breaks them harder."
Today's Journey by Grace Biskie "For
this journey, you need camping gear. You need to stop and rest. You need
water because it's taxing and flashlights because it's dark. You need
correct expectations because no one climbs a strenuous mountain
unprepared. But most of all, you need to know that you won't see the
top, the very top until you pass from this life to the next. That
mountain top experience of 100% healing from abuse is not for us in this
not-yet-fully-here Kingdom of God in which we currently reside." When This Is About Piss and the Eucharist by Preston Yancey "When I shook the man’s hand, I met his eyes. They were grey and blue,
touched with a few speckles of brown. I blessed him with the peace of
Jesus and he blessed me with the same. I could smell piss like a cloud
around me when I took my hand away. I could taste it in my mouth, feel
it burn my lungs. I felt nauseous for a moment but stole myself,
settling back into the pew as the offering began." Honorable Mention God is Love by Sarah Moon Find The Thing You're Most Passionate About, Then Do It On Nights And Weekends For The Rest Of Your Life by The Onion Public Shaming is a Better Example of "If it feels good - do it" than Teen Pregnancy by Brene Brown Line of the Week
"Chances Anderson Cooper uses rumors of his being on the 'Jeopardy' short-list as an excuse to grow a mustache? 100%." - Daniel Fienberg (@hitfixdaniel) On Pop Theology Week in Review On Predicting the Future by Ben Howard The church, Back to the Future 2, and why there are always flying cars. Mad Men and the Power of Sin by Lyndsey Graves Human depravity, the destructive power of sin, and the cynically beautiful world of Mad Men. On Macklemore, Webb, and Being Safe for the Whole Family by Ryan Hawk A recovering recording artist explores two musicians, Derek Webb and Macklemore, who have reignited his inspiration for making music.
Slow Justice by Rebekah Mays Nakul Bera, the determination for justice, and the need to make ourselves uncomfortable. The Denominational Dominion Tournament of Championships by Ben Howard We set the rosters for the Anglican Avengers, the Catholic Crushers, the Mainline Marauders, and the Evangelical Evolutionaries. Song of the Week "Go" by Avalanche City
by Ben Howard
