Best Matthew Whitaker Podcasts (2025)

1
Adding to the Good Pile: Women's Ordination and the Role of the Pastor's Wife with Beth Allison Barr 1:09:23

6d ago1:09:23

1:09:23

Text us your questions! How did the role of "pastor's wife" replace ordination for women in church history? Is the news that there was women's ordination in church history hitting you unexpectedly right now? It's cool, we get it; take a moment and come back when you're ready. Historian and actual pastor's wife Beth Allison Barr returns for a potent…

1
Sexual Ethics, Queer Theology, & Responding to Critics: Matthew Vines (Part 2) 1:23:11

19d ago1:23:11

1:23:11

Text us your questions! Matthew Vines returns to discuss how the revised edition of his book addresses critiques from prominent theologians, the distinction between affirming theology and queer theology, and the possibility of affirming, orthodox Christianity. Matthew unpacks the scholarly consensus that modern sexual orientation concepts simply di…

1
Pope Francis' Legacy: A Global Church in Transition 1:14:54

1M ago1:14:54

1:14:54

Text us your questions! Pope Francis, a man who inspired even many Protestants and non-Christians with his refreshingly prophetic voice, has died. The process to select his successor is ongoing as we release this. To help us understand what's happening, as well as its historical significance, we're talking with our friend and returning guest Shaun …

1
Does the Bible Affirm LGB Relationships? Interview with Matthew Vines (Part 1) 58:39

2M ago58:39

58:39

Text us your questions! Matthew Vines is here to discuss the revised and expanded edition of his influential book God and the Gay Christian, marking eleven years since its initial release. The book sent shockwaves through evangelical Christianity and remains a powerful and compelling case for an affirming reading of the Bible for those who want to …

1
We Need to Talk About It 1:12:56

2M ago1:12:56

1:12:56

Text us your questions! This is a conversation we've been avoiding: how are we doing now that Donald Trump is president again? As we had a break between interviews, we decided to try to unpack how we're feeling, what we're doing, what we've learned about ourselves, and what we're worried and hopeful about. This is an unusually impromptu and unpolis…

1
Re-Release - Outrage Porn, Echo Chambers, and the Seduction of Clarity: Interview with C. Thi Nguyen 1:02:25

3M ago1:02:25

1:02:25

Text us your questions! This is a re-release of an episode from our second season when we spoke with philosopher C Thi Nguyen. We think it bears re-listening in our current moment. ===== What happens when we seek simple answers in a complex world? Philosopher C Thi Nguyen takes us into the machinery of belief, understanding, and value formation, ex…

1
What Happens When You're Done with Religion Altogether? 1:19:50

3M ago1:19:50

1:19:50

Text us your questions! What happens when the foundation of your identity crumbles beneath you? When the lens through which you understood the world no longer works? Psychologist Dr. Daryl Van Tongeren joins us to explore this profound transition that one-fifth of Americans have experienced—leaving religion behind. Drawing from eight years of groun…

1
Unpacking Open and Relational Theology: Interview with Tom Oord 1:20:45

4M ago1:20:45

1:20:45

Text us your questions! Tom Oord is back! This time, we're discussing his "main thing": open and relational theology. We explore what it means and its significance in reshaping our understanding of God, love, prayer, and more. Tom answers our questions graciously, and we try to convince Randy that he's wrong. How is open and relational theology dif…

1
Will Deconstructing End My Marriage? A Conversation with Keri Ladouceur 1:25:46

4M ago1:25:46

1:25:46

Text us your questions! This episode explores the complexities of spiritual evolution and its impact on marriages and relationships. Our friend Keri Ladouceur shares her wisdom, and we discuss stories of navigating changing faith and the strain it can place on intimate partnerships. We cover how questioning beliefs impacts relationships, emotional …

1
When Seeking Jesus Drives You Out of the Church: Interview with Scot McKnight & Tommy Preson Phillips 1:12:43

5M ago1:12:43

1:12:43

Text us your questions! Faith deconstruction has become a defining trend in American Christianity, and disagreement persists about what’s driving it. In this episode, we talk with Scot McKnight and Tommy Preson Phillips about their book Invisible Jesus, which considers why so many Christians are critically re-examining their faith. Rather than trea…

1
Nicholas Ma on Division, Vulnerability, and Doing What You Can 1:11:46

5M ago1:11:46

1:11:46

Text us your questions! This is one of our favorite interviews we've ever done. Nicholas Ma (son of famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma) is a filmmaker best known for producing the 2018 documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor? about Fred Rogers. We speak with him about his latest documentary Leap of Faith, which follows a group of Christian pastors from diverse so…

1
Re-Release - Holy Balls: Power, Masculinity, and the Making of White American Evangelicalism with Kristin Kobes Du Mez 1:25:02

5M ago1:25:02

1:25:02

Text us your questions! This is a re-release of an episode from our first season: our first conversation with Kristin Kobes Du Mez, which happened to fall just after January 6, 2021. It seems fitting to revisit it now. ===== In this episode, we chat with Kristin Kobes Du Mez about her book that's been making waves and is brilliantly titled Jesus an…

1
Brian Zahnd on The Brothers Karamazov 1:08:17

6M ago1:08:17

1:08:17

Text us your questions! Brian Zahnd is back with us to discuss his favorite novel, Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. Brian is starting a public online course going through the book, which is notoriously philosophically and theologically rich, so we thought it would be fun to have him on to discuss its major themes and why it has been so i…

1
Jonathan Merritt on Family, Evangelicalism, and Children's Books 1:13:18

7M ago1:13:18

1:13:18

Text us your questions! Jonathan Merritt joins us to discuss his children's book My Guncle and Me. We also discuss what it was like to grow up with a dad who was the president of the SBC, his experience being involuntarily outed, and how to maintain relationships across serious ideological and personal divides. ===== Want to support us? The best wa…

1
Chatting about Church with Brian McLaren and Tim Whitaker 1:01:35

8M ago1:01:35

1:01:35

Text us your questions! This episode was recorded live at Theology Beer Camp 2024. We sat down with Brian McLaren and Tim Whitaker (from The New Evangelicals podcast) to discuss Brian's history in the emerging church movement, the current progressive religious movement (of which we're a part), the Christian nationalist backlash, and our political m…

1
Q&A Bonus Episode: The Soul 51:20

8M ago51:20

51:20

Text us your questions! Jeff Cook is back with us to dive deeper into our conversation from a while back about the soul and why Kyle is a materialist (and why Randy thinks he's silly for it). We discuss the difference between the claim that God is non-physical and the claim that humans are, Jeff's reservations about materialism, the mystery of the …

1
Kristin Kobes Du Mez on Her New Film For Our Daughters 1:07:59

8M ago1:07:59

1:07:59

Text us your questions! After more than three years, Kristin Kobes Du Mez is back on the show to discuss her new short film For Our Daughters, which examines the connection between the culture of submission and sexual abuse within the evangelical church and the Christian nationalist effort to influence the 2024 presidential election. It tells harro…

1
Evolution + Christianity, Part II: An Interview w/ Dr. Jim Stump 49:54

9M ago49:54

49:54

Text us your questions! More Jim Stump! We hope you loved Part I of our conversation with Dr. Jim Stump as much we did. Here's Part II! In this one, we talk about the problem of evil and more about AI. Also...aliens! Seriously. Cheers! ===== Want to support us? The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% …

1
Evolution + Christianity, Part I: An Interview w/ Dr. Jim Stump 1:05:33

9M ago1:05:33

1:05:33

Text us your questions! Are Christianity and evolution compatible? Can a person trust God and trust science at the same time? Jim Stump wrote a book called The Sacred Chain: How Understanding Evolution Leads to Deeper Faith, and we are very much here for it. In this interview, we chat about the Bible, science, evolution, the soul, afterlife, and ma…

1
Sarah McCammon on Exvangelicals 1:07:04

10M ago1:07:04

1:07:04

Text us your questions! Welcome to Season 5! We're joined by Sarah McCammon, a National Political Correspondent for NPR and author of The Exvangelicals, an insightful and empathetic look at the stories of those who have left white American evangelicalism. Sarah is also an exvangelical herself, so she has a unique perspective that blends both person…

1
The Book of Belonging: An Interview w/ Mariko Clark and Rachel Eleanor 1:18:37

11M ago1:18:37

1:18:37

Text us your questions! How do we grow and steward our children's spirituality when we've deconstructed so much of the spirituality that we were raised with? And even if we figure that out, how do we guide and encourage our kids on their spiritual journeys when there are so few quality resources and books that don't get all cheesy and cringe? We ar…

1
The Bible, Evangelicalism, and Propaganda with Scott Coley 1:15:49

12M ago1:15:49

1:15:49

Text us your questions! Good, Bible-believing Christians should just automatically be Republicans. Everybody knows this. Have you heard that sort of argument or been led to believe that this is just the "biblical" way? If so, that probably means you've been given a hearty serving of propaganda. Our friend and philosopher Scott Coley wrote Ministers…

1
Pastors Behaving Badly with Sheila Gregoire 57:54

1y ago57:54

57:54

Text us your questions! Evangelical megachurch pastors saying cringe things is nothing new, right? However, there's a point when cringe turns destructive and abusive. That's what this episode is about. Dallas/Ft. Worth megachurch pastor Josh Howerton said some very ugly and destructive things, and then doubled down with a weak (plagiarized) apology…

1
God, Goodness, and Choice: A Conversation with Bruce Reyes-Chow 1:01:21

1y ago1:01:21

1:01:21

Text us your questions! We speak with Bruce Reyes-Chow about his recent book Everything Good about God Is True, a primer on what it means to choose faith in the midst of a bleeding world and an often broken church. We discuss the Christian ethic of loving enemies, listening, having compassion across ideological division, embodying faith in the publ…

1
Q&A Bonus Episode: Corporate Deconstruction 46:26

1y ago46:26

46:26

Text us your questions! Jeff Cook is back with us to dive deeper into deconstruction, inspired by our interview with Keri Ladouceur, the Executive Director of the Post-Evangelical Collective. We discuss the nature of deconstruction, its corporate, personal, and ethical dimensions, and what it implies about what's next. And because we're nerds, we a…

1
Recovering Enchantment in a Secular Age: Interview with Richard Beck 1:22:34

1y ago1:22:34

1:22:34

Text us your questions! Psychologist and author Richard Beck joins us to discuss his recent book Hunting Magic Eels: Recovering an Enchanted Faith in a Skeptical Age. Richard is an engaging critic of some forms of contemporary "disenchanted" spirituality. He's also a fun dialogue partner and a good sport, who was willing to roll with Kyle's annoyin…

1
Is American Democracy in Danger? Interview with David Gushee 1:16:01

1y ago1:16:01

1:16:01

Text us your questions! David Gushee is back on the show to discuss his book Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies, an erudite, timely, and disturbing take on American democracy, its struggles with authoritarianism, and its place on the global political stage. We discuss such questions as: How are government and morality related? What does…

1
Making Sense of Negative Theology: Peter Rollins, Part 2 1:27:18

1y ago1:27:18

1:27:18

Text us your questions! Believe it or not, this is our 100th episode! And what better way to spend it than diving back in with Peter Rollins, a guest who is unusually suited to the regular themes of our show, while also throwing some wrenches into pretty much everything we do. :-) Picking up with where we left off in Part 1, we explore the sense in…

1
Disillusionment, Pyrotheology, and the Death of God: Peter Rollins, Part 1 1:04:06

1y ago1:04:06

1:04:06

Text us your questions! Break out your dictionaries folks, this one got in the weeds a bit. But if you're familiar with Peter Rollins, you're probably not too surprised by that. Peter is a philosopher, public intellectual, and self-described anti-guru who writes and speaks extensively about concepts like the death of God, negative theology, "pyroth…

1
Is Your Theology Too Small? A Conversation with Trey Ferguson 1:26:15

1y ago1:26:15

1:26:15

Text us your questions! Trey Ferguson of the New Living Treyslation and Three Black Men podcasts joins us to discuss his new book Theologizin' Bigger: Homilies on Living Freely and Loving Wholly. We talk about the Bible, the difference between "theologizin'" and theology, the racial dynamics of deconstruction, why evangelicals are so obsessed with …

1
Is There a Soul? 1:04:59

1+ y ago1:04:59

1:04:59

Text us your questions! In this episode, Kyle and Randy discuss the philosophy of the soul and its implications for religious belief, the lived experience of faith, and even ethics. Kyle is a materialist, which means he thinks humans are physical objects, and Randy leans towards dualism, which involves belief in a soul or non-physical part of a hum…

1
Randy Quit 59:39

1+ y ago59:39

59:39

Text us your questions! ... 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 …

1
Changing Our Mind with David Gushee 1:18:17

1+ y ago1:18:17

1:18:17

Text us your questions! 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 …

1
Philosophy in the Wild: Aaron Simmons 1:19:02

1+ y ago1:19:02

1:19:02

Text us your questions! 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 li…

1
After Evangelicalism with Keri Ladouceur 1:19:59

1+ y ago1:19:59

1:19:59

Text us your questions! 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 Exe…

1
William Paul Young & Brad Jersak: Judgment, Wrath, Hell, and the God Who Is Love (Re-Release from S01E11) 1:13:19

1+ y ago1:13:19

1:13:19

Text us your questions! 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 …

1
The Other Side of Advent with Brian Zahnd 1:15:22

1+ y ago1:15:22

1:15:22

Text us your questions! 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…

1
Theology, Race, and Inclusion: An Interview w/ Dr. Willie James Jennings 1:13:23

1+ y ago1:13:23

1:13:23

Text us your questions! 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 grou…

1
Theology from the Margins: An Interview w/ Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim 1:14:11

1+ y ago1:14:11

1:14:11

Text us your questions! 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 …

1
Q&A Bonus Episode: The Problem of Evil 55:51

1+ y ago55:51

55:51

Text us your questions! 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 …

1
How Liberals, Progressives, Feminists, and Black and LGBTQ People Got Kicked Out of Evangelicalism 1:06:13

1+ y ago1:06:13

1:06:13

Text us your questions! 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…

1
The Problem of Evil (Part 2) 41:45

1+ y ago41:45

41:45

Text us your questions! We wrap our discussion of evil and suffering with a look at some other sorts of responses to the problem and a reflection on where we land personally. If you haven't heard part 1, start there first. Due to the subject and the tone of this conversation, these episodes do not include a beverage tasting. Content note: this conv…

1
The Problem of Evil (Part 1) 1:04:34

1+ y ago1:04:34

1:04:34

Text us your questions! How can people who believe in a good God account for the existence of pervasive suffering and evil? This is the oldest and most powerful objection to both belief in God's existence and religious practice, and it has been the subject of philosophical discussion and theological speculation spanning many religious traditions fo…

1
Q&A Bonus Episode: AI and God 26:15

1+ y ago26:15

26:15

Text us your questions! Elliot has a few more questions about AI following our conversation with Derek Schuurman. Is AI a Tower of Babel moment? Is there any real reason for concern? Will it go so great that it makes us all soft? If you could live forever, would you? What about the end of the world? Big questions! We do our best for answering on th…

1
The AI Takeover: A Conversation w/ Dr. Derek C. Schuurman 1:21:17

1+ y ago1:21:17

1:21:17

Text us your questions! The rise of artificial intelligence has happened at a startlingly rapid rate, and it seems like it's only accelerating by the month. Whether it's AI writing (plagiarizing) college papers and lazy pastors' sermons, potentially curing horrific diseases, making fake humans, or taking over the world, we all have an endless amoun…

1
Q&A Bonus Episode: Evangelicals, Nationalism, Guns, and Masculinity 33:09

2y ago33:09

33:09

Text us your questions! Our friend Jeff Cook joins us for a new Q&A segment to reflect on our conversation with Rob Schenck (see parts 1 and 2 of that conversation here and here). This is our second installment of what will become a regular bonus segment with Jeff unpacking the content of certain episodes. You can hear the first installment, on LQB…

1
Christians and Guns: A Conversation with Rob Schenck (Part 2) 51:51

2y ago51:51

51:51

Text us your questions! In the second part of our interview with Rob Schenck, a former Washington insider and heavy hitter in the evangelical pro-life lobbying industry, we discuss gun culture among American Christians and how asking questions about it ultimately cost him the organization he built and led for decades and led to him being ostracized…

1
Abortion and American Nationalist Religion: A Conversation with Rob Schenck (Part 1) 51:45

2y ago51:45

51:45

Text us your questions! Season 4 is here! To kick it off, we've got a 2-parter for you with Rob Schenck, a former Washington insider and heavy hitter in the evangelical Christian lobbying industry. Rob was an influential voice in the pro-life movement for decades, but lost his position, and his funding, when he began to question the consistency of …

1
January 6, White Christian Nationalism, and How We Got Here, with Bradley Onishi 1:19:25

2y ago1:19:25

1:19:25

Text us your questions! We speak with Dr. Bradley Onishi, a religion scholar whose latest book, Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism and What Comes Next, explores the rise of the extremist religious right in America and its evolution from the 1960s through the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. We dis…

1
The Meeting That Changed the Church 1:20:15

2y ago1:20:15

1:20:15

Text us your questions! Many Protestants don't understand or appreciate how transformational Vatican II was for the Catholic Church and the whole global Christian Church in general. Our friend and Catholic theologian Shaun Blanchard co-wrote a book called Vatican II: A Very Short Introduction. In this episode, we chat with Shaun about the size, sco…

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