Love Rinse Repeat

Ep97. The Miracle of Religion in Modern Manhattan, Jon Butler

I sat down with historian Jon Butler to discuss his book God in Gotham which explores religion in Manhattan from the last C19th to midC20th. We discuss how - contrary to much opinion (then and now) - modernity, urban density, and plurality did not prove a stranglehold on religion in this most city of cities but proved fertile ground for its flourishing. We also discuss religion, race, and activism in this period, in particular the efforts of the Reverends Adam Clayton Powell and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. We also explore what he dubs 'God's Urban Hothouse' the particularly fertile theological institutions (Union and the Jewish Theological Seminary) and prominent theologians and religious figures who worked in this time (e.g. Heschel, Day, Niebuhr, Tillich, Ida Bell Robinson, the Powells again). It is a rich discussion about an incredible story. Buy the Book Jon Butler is Howard R. Lamar Emeritus Professor of American Studies, History, and Religious Studies at Yale University and Research Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. His books include the Los Angeles Times bestseller Becoming America and the prizewinning Awash in a Sea of Faith and The Huguenots in America. He is a past president of the Organization of American Historians. Find more episodes Follow the Show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT.

Ep96. Black Christology and the Quest for Authenticity, John H. McClendon III

I sat down with Prof John H. McClendon to discuss his philosophical appraisal of Black Theology/Christology and materialist critique of its claim of authenticity. We discuss how he became interested in the topic through study of Howard Thurman, the relationship between Black Theology and African American theology that preceded it, and the shift from a focus on racism and its attendant structures to whiteness. We also discuss his engagement with and critique of Professor James Cone and the implications he sees in making God dependant on Blackness and Blackness dependant on white oppression. Finally we discuss the whole problem of claiming the existence of an "authentic Christianity" independent of the Christianity we've got. Buy the Book Also, toward the end Prof McClendon discusses African American Philosophers and Philosophy, buy that here. Dr. John H. McClendon III is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Michigan State University. His areas of interests include: African American philosophers and philosophical traditions; African philosophy, Marxism, philosophy of sports and the African American experience; philosophy of religion and African Americans. In addition to numerous scholarly articles, book chapters, research reports, bibliographic essays, and biographical entries; McClendon is the author of the following books, African American Philosophers and Philosophy: An Introduction to the History, Concepts, and Contemporary Issues —co-authored with Dr. Stephen C. Ferguson II (Bloomsbury Publishers (2019); Black Christology and the Quest for Authenticity: A Philosophical Appraisal (Lexington Books, 2019); Philosophy of Religion and the African American Experience: Conversations with My Christian Friends (Brill/Rodopi, 2017), Beyond the White Shadow: Philosophy, Sports, and the African-American Experience, co-authored with Dr. Stephen C. Ferguson II (Kendall Hunt, 2012); C. L. R. James’s Notes on Dialectics: Left-Hegelianism or Marxism-Leninism (Lexington Books, 2005). McClendon is the former Co-editor of the American Philosophical Association Newsletter on Philosophy of the Black Experience, and presently Co-Editor of the African American Philosophy Series for Brill Publishers; Consulting Editor of the Journal of the American Philosophical Association; Advisory Board Member of Blackpast.Org; member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the journal, Cultural Logic and serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal on African Philosophy. Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com Follow the Show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT.

Ep95. Disability, Diversity, and the Body of Christ, Brian Brock

I sat down with Brian Brock to talk about his new book, Disability: Living into the Diversity of Christ's Body (Baker, 2021). We discuss common misconceptions and assumptions that lead to unwelcome and awkwardness in churches (beginning with the common falsity that there are "no disabled people in our church"). Brian offers examples of how in noticing the diversity of the bodily experiences of the people around us, we begin to glimpse aspects of Scripture that we had previously missed. I also ask him about the issues that come from concepts like normality and inclusion, and how the confession that Christian's are - fundamentally - a people who receive can assist the task of disability theology. Finally we enter into a discussion about healing and how we've allowed a rather specific modern view of healing to shape how we read the healing narratives in the gospels. Buy the book Brian Brock (DPhil, King's College, London) is professor of moral and practical theology at the University of Aberdeen in Aberdeen, Scotland. He is the author of numerous books, including Wondrously Wounded, Disability in the Christian Tradition, has written extensively on disability issues, and is managing editor of the Journal of Disability and Religion. Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT. If you want to watch another interview I did with Brian, you can watch a discussion about his book, Wondrously Wounded, here

Ep94. Queering Wesley, Keegan Osinski

I spoke with Keegan Osinski about her new book: Queering Wesley, Queering the Church. We discuss what drew her to this project, her experience within the Wesleyan tradition, and how she found fertile ground for queer readings in Wesley's sermons. We then go deep on her readings of holiness, being born again, pride and humility, and pleasure. Buy the book Keegan Osinski is the librarian for theology and ethics at Vanderbilt University and a member of the Church of the Nazarene. Find out more about her work at her website: http://keeganosinski.com/ or connect with her on Twitter @Keegzzz Find more episodes Follow the Show in Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT.

Ep93. Transgressive Devotion, Natalie Wigg-Stevenson

I sat down with Natalie Wigg-Stevenson to talk about theology as performance art. We discuss her new work which weaves together discussions in church basements, notorious works of performance art, and a broad range of theological thinkers to respond to a moment where she felt forgotten by God. Along the way we talk about what it might mean to think about God's omnipotence through a framework of cognitive decline, in turn we discuss how she conceives of the role of humanity through caregiving to God. We also talk about the problems posed by the incarnation, ecclesiology as writing the church (rather than writing about), the role of the Spirit in the conception of Christ, and how infection and risk provide a way into thinking about what it means to be swept up into life with God. Buy the Book Natalie Wigg-Stevenson is Director of Master of Divinity, Director of Contextual Education, and Associate Professor of Contextual Education and Theology at Emmanuel College, Toronto. Her research explores how ethnographic methods can help create theological conversations across church, academy and everyday life. She is also interested in feminist and queer theologies, cultural theories of practice and practices for decolonizing higher education. Her current scholarly project uses ethnographic research to reimagine systematic theology as a form of performance art. Follow Natalie on twitter: @nataliews Find more episodes Follow the Show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT.

Ep92 (LIVE). Indigenous Sovereignty, Multiculturalism, and the Church, with Anne Pattel-Gray

Dr Anne Pattel-Gray, author of the Great White Flood, joins Rev. Tau’alofa Anga’aelangi, Rev Dr Katalina Tahaafe-Williams, and myself in a discussion on Black Lives Matter, the church's call to confront racist injustice, the relationship between Indigenous sovereignty and multiculturalism, where the UCA has become too timid, the ongoing lack of Indigenous theology and teaching in theological education, how her book was banned from sales in physical bookstores in Australia, the importance of being able to worship in one's own language, and much more. This episode is a re-post of most recent of the monthly Black Lives Matter and the Church in Australia panels hosted by the Uniting Church Chaplaincy at Charles Sturt University in Port Macquarie and the Social Justice Pilgrim Presbytery NT. These panels happen on the final Sunday of the month at 3pm EST. To find out more contact Rev. Tau’alofa Anga’aelangi at ucc.csu[@]gmail.com Dr. Anne Pattel-Gray is an Aboriginal woman who is a descendant of the Bidjara/ Kari Kari people in Queensland and she is a recognised Aboriginal leader within Australia – nationally and internationally. She has dedicated her life to the struggle of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and she is a strong campaigner and lobbyist and deeply committed to seeking justice, equity and equal representation for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people. She is very proud of her Aboriginal culture and heritage and is a strong advocate for Aboriginal women, children, families and community regarding our Cultural and basic Human Rights. She has developed a leadership quality that promotes and builds a deeper sense of community and participation that brings a greater Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage and cultural identity and cohesion with the broader community that leads to beneficial partnerships, engagement and reconciliation. Dr. Anne Pattel-Gray has an earned Ph.D. from the University of Sydney awarded in 1995 in the Studies of Religion with the major focus on Aboriginal Religion and Spirituality (she was the first Aboriginal person to graduate with a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney). And a Doctor of Divinity from India awarded in 1997 (the first Aboriginal person to be awarded the D.D.). Dr. Pattel-Gray has achieved many firsts in her prestigious life and she is known as a trail blazer and she has opened many doors for her people. She is a recognised scholar, theologian, activist and prolific writer with several publications – chapters, articles, edited works and authored books. Dr. Anne Pattel-Gray is deeply committed to the advancement of Aboriginal people and to reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. She has over thirty years in senior management as a CEO and she possesses a wealth of experience and she has developed enormous expertise. Buy The Great White Flood Rev. Dr. Katalina Tahaafe-Williams is an Oceanian theologian educated in Australia and the United Kingdom with extensive involvement in the world church and ecumenical movement. She brings years of experience in social justice to our BLM webinar conversations and is a global expert in the field of racial justice and multicultural relations. She is an ordained minister of the UCA currently serving at Nightcliff UC, NT. Rev. Tau’alofa Anga’aelangi is an ordained Deacon in the Uniting Church in Australia and currently serving as a Tertiary Chaplain at Charles Sturt University in Port Macquarie, Lofa has a strong interest in studies of the Hebrew Bible and contextual Theology. As a young contemporary Theologian from Oceania, her hope is to see more Theological work from those at the grassroots of Pasifika. With strong beliefs that the church is accountable in creating space for truth-telling and active listening. She sees this webinar on Black Lives Matter, as a response and collaboration for bringing faith, injustice and academia together. Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the Show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT

Ep91. Hope in Disarray, Grace Ji-Sun Kim

I sat down with Grace Ji-Sun Kim to talk about hope. We talk about writing for the public, differentiating hope from optimism, speaking of hope amidst the pain and violence of sexism, racism, and ecological destruction, and what it means to live inside and even become our hope. We also talk about her new podcast Madang and what it's like to be on the other side of the mic. Buy the Book Listen to Madang Grace Ji-Sun Kim is Professor of Theology at Earlham School of Religion. She is the author or editor of 20 books, Invisible, Hope in Disarray: Piecing Our Lives Together in Faith; Reimagining Spirit, Keeping Hope Alive (Orbis Books), Intersectional Theology: An Introductory Guide (Fortress Press) cowritten with Dr. Susan Shaw; Healing Our Broken Humanity, co-written with Graham Hill, The Homebrewed Christianity Guide to the Holy Spirit, Mother Daughter Speak, co-written with Elisabeth Sophia Lee; Planetary Solidarity (Fortress Press) co-edited with Hilda Koster; Intercultural Ministry co-edited with Jann Aldredge-Clanton (Judson Press); Making Peace with the Earth (WCC); Embracing the Other (Eerdmans); Here I Am(Judson Press); Christian Doctrines for Global Gender Justice (Palgrave) co-edited with Jenny Daggers; Theological Reflections on “Gangnam Style” (Palgrave Macmillan) co-written with Joseph Cheah; Contemplations from the Heart (Wipf & Stock); Reimagining with Christian Doctrines co-edited with Jenny Daggers (Palgrave Macmillan); Colonialism, Han and the Transformative Power (Palgrave Macmillan); The Holy Spirit, Chi and the Other (Palgrave Macmillan); and The Grace of Sophia (Pilgrim Press). Find more episodes Follow the Show: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT.

Ep90. Redfern: Aboriginal Activism in the 1970s, Johanna Perheentupa

I sat down with Johanna Perheentupa to discuss her new book on Aboriginal activism and the push for self-determination in Redfern in the 1970s. We discuss the conditions and social changes that made Redfern ripe for such radical change and the development of landmark organisations such as the Aboriginal Legal Service, the National Black Theatre, Aboriginal Medical Service, Murawina preschool, and the Aboriginal Housing Company. We discuss the relationship between these organisations and the well known demonstrations of the time (such as the Tent Embassy). We discuss the way the ALS emerged as a response to police violence, how the Black Theatre sought to shape a national Indigenous identity, and how the ALS and AHC engaged the fight for land rights in the city.Buy the book through Aboriginal Studies Press at the AIATSIS shop.Dr Johanna Perheentupa is a lecturer in the Nura Gili Centre for Indigenous Programs at UNSW. Johanna grew up in Finland, where she completed a Master’s degree at the University of Turku before completing her PhD in History at UNSW. Her research centres on First Nation rights and the engagement of settler-colonial governments with Indigenous peoples. Johanna’s recent publication Redfern: Aboriginal Activism in the 1970s, by Aboriginal Studies Press, explores the ways in which local Aboriginal organisations pursued self-determination in the diverse fields of law, health, arts and culture, education and housing. Find more episodes Follow the Show: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammmiller87Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT - thanks team :) Music by Fyzex

Ep89. What Public Theology Could Be, Janice McRandal

I sat down with Janice McRandal, public, feminist theologian, to talk about theology (public and otherwise) as it is in Australia and how it could be. We discuss how she came to a life of an academic and public theology, what The Cooperative is about and hopes to disrupt and achieve, theological education in Australia and what she thinks it needs for a flourishing future, the role of social media in public theology, and the inaugural Cooperative theological conference, "Uncommon Goods: Public Theology and Empire". Learn more about the Cooperative and check out the conference (regos open July 1) Dr Janice McRandal is Director of the Cooperative. She is a feminist theologian who works with critical theory to explore themes of systematic theology alongside politics and popular culture. Her publications include Christian Doctrine and the Grammar of Difference and Sarah Coakley and the Future of Systematic Theology. Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the Show: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church Synod of NSW/ACT.

Ep88. Queer and Indecent: a conversation about Marcella Althaus-Reid, Thia Cooper

"In sum, Althaus-Reid wanted to help us free ourselves from dominating constructs that keep us from knowing God... the goal is not to formulate one theology but to celebrate the diverse ways of knowing God." I sat down with Thia Cooper to talk about her new introduction to the work of Marcella Althaus-Reid. We talk about the theological marketplace, attending to variety and lived experience in theology, the hermeneutical circle, the work that remains to be done, and armpits. Buy the Book Thia Cooper is Professor in Religion; Peace Studies; Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies at Gustavus Adolphus College. Professor Cooper teaches in the area of Religion, Culture, and Society. Her teaching and research interests include theology and liberation, theology and development, faith and practice in faith-based aid agencies, non-western Christianities, and religion in Latin America, particularly Brazil. Her recent publications include: A Theology of International Development (forthcoming 2020, Routledge), A Christian Guide to Liberating Desire, Sex, Partnership, Work and Reproduction (2018, Palgrave), and an edited book The Re-emergence of Liberation Theologies: Models for the Twenty-First Century (2013, Palgrave). She regularly publishes chapters, articles, and speaks on issues of liberation theology and feminist theology. Find more interviews: http://www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast/ Follow the podcast: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT. Check out their work and upcoming events: https://ume.nswact.uca.org.au/