jonathan_foster

Please welcome Keith Giles back to the show. Keith has a brand new book dropping today, actually, April 23 and it's called The Quantum Sayings of Jesus: Decoding the Lost Gospel of Thomas. I really enjoyed reading the book, learning more about the backstory with The Gospel of Thomas, and my conversation with Keith. I hope you'll pick up a copy of the book and/or find out more about Keith at his patheos site. Keith and I (and others) are a part of the QuoirCast Patreon page. We'd love for you to be involved. Jump in, support it as you can, which will help us do some advertising. :) Hope you take opportunity to sign up to my newlsetter at jonathanfosteronline.com. Once there you can go patreon or substack for your newsletter. How coool would that be? Also, while you're there you can learn more about some of my writing (or all of my writing ... why not?). To think through open and relational theology (ORT) and mimetic theory see Theology of Consent. To think ORT and grief, see indigo. For ORT (are you seeing a pattern?) and reconstruction see The Reconstructionist. Etc, etc. :)

Lookin' for a great book from an author and pastor? Oh, you should know about Mark Feldmeir and his book Life After God: Finding Faith When You Can't Believe Anymore. Really enjoyed having a conversation with Mark about love, church, relationality, theology and his journey. It was also great to have my friend, Hyemi Jones as our conversational partner on this episode. Both Hyemi and Mark are from the United Methodist flavor of Christianity, so it was cool to get their take on how open and relational thinking can play out within their perspective. Hey, thanks for supporting this particular show by joining up with the QuoirCast Patreon page. And I hope you've had a chance to get in on my newlsetter by subscribing to my Substack Publication. Leave a review, a like, a star or whatever. Thanks everyone! J_F

It was fun to work on SacraSage's latest book Preaching the Uncontrolling Love of God: Sermons, Essays, and Worship Elements from the Perspective of Open, Relational, and Process Theology. And, not only that, but to contribute an essay, which is really a sermon, as the point of this book is to help give some examples of messages that could be given from an open and relational framework. If you're a pastor type or someone who has influence within your local faith community, this is going to be a nice resource for you. Today's conversation is with the editors: The Rev Jeff Wells, The Rev/Dr Nichole Torbitzky, and the Rev/Dr Vikki Randall. After you pick up a copy of Preaching the Uncontrolling Love, make sure to sign up for my substack newsletter at jonathanfosteronline.com. In addition to weekly writing, you'll get access to fictional stories and some essays around theology and sexuality. Of course, detractors like to think my theology around sexuality is a ficitonal story, haha, but I'll let you be the judge of that! :) If you like todays show, make sure to subscribe, share, and like. Thanks everyone! All my best, Jonathan

Man, this is a great conversation with my friend, Shaleen Kendrick, about neurotheology, integrated ideas of salvation, well-being, and the adaptivity of open and relational theology. Plus, about 40 minutes in or so, we get into cognitive linguistic shame tactics that the religious system engages in (crap, I've probably engaged in them as well), which I found to be really helpful. Shaleen works in the world of Corporate Culture Coaching and Theology. She's also a podcast host at Desert Voices, an Enneagram-certified Culture Consultant, and a doctoral candidate. In her dissertation, Shaleen is writing about adaptive leadership and redefining it as a daily, three-fold integrative practice for well-being where she's merging mind, body, and spirit with insights from neurotheology, polyvagal theory, and ORT. Find out more at shaleenkendrick.com. Thanks, everyone. Don't forget to leave a review, some likes, or some stars. I hope you'll check out jonathanfosteronline.com for more info about what I'm up to and, if you're up for it, pick up a copy of my latest work called indigo: the color of grief. Peace, J

Hey, my podcast listening friend, thanks for tuning in today as we have the one and only Dr. Thomas Jay Oord back on the show to talk all things open and relational. We live in a day and age that is ripe for a new approach to theology, and I think ORT is that new approach! I I hope you'll check out Tom's site at c4ort.com and all of his resources, including his latest book, The Death of Omnipotence and the Birth of Amipotence. My co-host and conversational partner for this episode is the Rev. Libby Tedder Hugus. Libby is a mental fitness//mental flourishing coach at resonatenow.live, a pastor, writer, communicator, wife, and mom. I've had her on in recent seasons and really enjoyed having her back with Tom and me. As you'll hear, she brings something very dynamic to the table, I mean, to the mic. If you haven't signed up for my substack and/or patreon newsletter, well, you should do it. Just go to jonathanfosteronline.com and click the appropriate links. It'd be great for us to stay connected in that way. Also, speaking of connected you should come to the Persuade Conference in April, or ORTcon in July, or Theology Beer Camp in October. Regarding that last one, make sure to use the FOSTERFRODO promo code to get $25 off when you register. :) Don't forget to like, subscribe, give stars for this show and podcast because it just helps spread the word. Thanks everyone! J

Really fun to have Dr. Andrew Davis on the podcast today. Andrew is an author, theologian, and process philosopher and a reknowed expert in all things Alfred North Whitehead. Most importantly, Andrew is a friend! Please check out his website at andrewmdavis.info and don't forget to subscribe to his youtube channel at @AndrewMDavis-yo3mm. I loved this conversation and I can prove it to you because I first heard Andrew talk along these lines almost two years ago. That's right, in the summer of 2022 I heard AD give a presentation on Whiteheadean transitions and I've not forgotten it. So, when I decided to do an entire season around open and relational theology, I knew I wanted to kick it of with this conversation. These are the ten transitions we talk about and all of them have huge implications: Meanwhile, if you like the show, great, let your podcasting community know about it! Share, subscribe, give it stars! Also, find out what I'm up to at jonathanfosteronline.com. Want to hang with me at Persuade Conference in April? ORTcon in July? Theology Beer Camp in Oct? Then click the links. BTW, if you're going to Theology Beer Camp use the promo code: FOSTERFRODO to get some money off your ticket. How great is that? Thanks everyone. Peace!

It's outstanding to be back churning out the audio goodness on the jonathan_foster show. Today, I have my friend Matthew J. Distefano with us talking about his brand NEW book entitled, The Wisdom of Hobbits: Unearthing our Humanity at 3 Bagshot Row. It is a really nice read about yes, all things MiddleEarth, but also, all things Mimetic Theory. So, I encourage you to pick up a copy. Matthew is the author of many other books, including the wildly popular Heretic! and From the Blood of Abel. He is an audio engineer, the producer of the Heretic Happy Hour podcast, cohost of Apostates Anonymous, runs Quoir publishing, and is a regular columnist at Patheos. Find out more about Matthew at allsetfree.com. Meanwhile, if you are liking this show (and could you not?), why not leave some stars, or thumbs up, or whatever your particular podcasting provider is looking for? That would be nice. I hope you'll consider signing up for my newsletter on substack (that's right, jonathan_foster), and don't forget the brand new patreon page that is supporting a handful of podcasts connected through QuoirCast. Thanks everyone!

Cool to be with Rob Bell on this episode that wraps up season #7. You may have heard of Rob, you know, through creative works like Love Wins, Velvet Elvis, Everything is Spiritual (my favorite RB book btw), the NOOMA video series, and his latest, Where'd You Park Your Spaceship?. We talk about loss, family, identity, creativity, writing, and a whole bunch of stuff. It was a lot of fun. (We also spent a minute talking about indigo: the color of grief, which he was gracious to reference.) Hope you can leave some stars and share this one with a friend. Music for this is episode, per normal, is a mixture of stuff from epidemicsound.com, myself, or samples from landr.com. Hope you have a great holiday season. I'll see you (or talk to you) in the new year!

This is something like a part ii of my conversation with the professor, author, and Lecanian expert, Dr. Richard Boothby. In this episode Rick and I talk more about going through unspeakable loss as fathers, about the work born out of such loss, like Rick's book Embracing the Void: Rethinking the Origin of the Sacred, Hegel, LeCan, Freud, Jesus, and our commitment to love. I've really enjoyed having these conversations and if you're interested in psychoanalytics, philosophy, and love, there are few people who you are going to find more interesting than Rick. Some of the music for this episode comes by way of epidemicsound.com Hope you'll take time to give some stars, follows, and thumbs up, or whatever your platform asks for with respect to this podcast, oh, and while you're out on the internet, you might as well subscribe to my substack publication. Thanks everyone!

So glad I'm able to have this conversation with my friend, Dr. Richard Boothby. Rick is an author who teaches at Loyola Univ of Maryland. He has an interest and expertise in Psychoanalysis and Philosophical Psychology as well as religion, Christianity, and love. His two recent books have influenced me: Embracing the Void: Rethinking the Origin of the Sacred, which we'll refer to more in a part II conversation, and Blown Away: Refinding Life After My Son's Suicide. If you're thinking that neither of these books sounds particularly hopeful, let me encourage you to avoid jumping to that conclusion. Love, for those looking for it, is woven throughout the pages of both works. Pretty interesting. Make sure you're on my newsletter, which can be found at jonathan_foster on Substack. And I hope you've picked up a copy of indigo: the color of grief. A colleague of mine emailed a bit ago and said, "This is the most embodied, healing work on grief I've ever read." So, that's cool. I hope you'll take the time to check it out. Music today comes by way of epidemicsound.com

Jim Palmer is, among other things, an author, retreat speaker, certified Spiritual Director, and the founder of The Center for Non-Religious Spirituality. I am really impressed with the consistent way Jim's gone about telling his story and helping others evolve in their faith journey for a lot of years now, and I'm really glad to call him a friend. We talk about all kinds of things including his own story, megachurch, faith crisis, relationally, gen z, deconstruction, and the compassion he's learning to bring into his spiritual journey. Make sure to check out his website at jimpalmerauthor.com and his podcast called Non-Religious Spirituality. Jim's voice is an important one to be aware of. Meanwhile, after a successful crowdfunder indigo:the color of grief is now available for preorder on Amazon (and other places). I hope you'll check it out. Our offical launch date is Dec 5, 2024. Thanks everyone. Like, star, thumbs up, and share this with a friend!

I had the best time being with the one and only Dr John (Jack) D. Caputo on this episode. Jack is a philosopher, author, and a really important figure connected to postmodern Christianity and continental philosophy. He's also the Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion Emeritus at Syracuse University and the David R. Cook Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Villanova University. His new book is called What to Believe About God: 12 Brief Lessons in Radical Theology. His "Weak Theology" writing has influenced me quite a bit and it's no suprise that I quote him quite a bit in Theology of Consent as well as my brand new book, indigo: the color of grief. Thanks everyone, hope you can like, star, and review this one. Peace.

Nice to sit down today with Keith Giles, Fred Stella, Kevin Sweeny, Caleb Gilliland, and Gregory Smith, who are representing a new book of essays called Sitting in the Shade of Another Tree: What We Learn by Listening to Other Faiths brought to you by Quoir Publishing. I hope you'll check it out. And don't forget to check out my substack page as well as my newest book, indigo, which, as of this episode release, is happening as a crowdfunder. Music for this episode comes to us by way of epidemicsound.com

Hey friends, if you like James Baldwin, you will love this episode with my friend and author extraordinaire Greg Garrett. Gregg's latest book is called The Gospel According to James Baldwin: What America's Great Prophet Can Teach Us about Life, Love, and Identity. Please pick a copy up because it's an outstanding read about one of America's (the world's) most remarkable civil rights activists and theologians. Also, my latest book indigo: the color of grief, is out Tuesday, Oct 17th. You may be listening to this after that date, but no problem, head on over to my crowdfunding campaign and see why lots of really nice author types, like David Gushee, Brian McLaren, Catherine Keller, Paul Young (and more!), have gone out of their way to endorse this book. The campaign will be happening until Nov, and then we'll be working the book into the Amazons, Apples, Barnes and Nobles, and those kinds of places. Thanks, everyone. Hope you can like, review, and share this special Greg Garret episode The music for this episode is brought to you by epidemicsound.com, me, or a combination. :)

Hey, my podcast-listening friends. Thanks for tuning into this short episode that introduces my forthcoming new book, indigo: the color of grief. This surprising little book will be launched into the world Tuesday, Oct 17th, via this Indiegogo crowdfunding site link. For what it's worth, Brian McLaren said the writing is "Simultaneously heart-breaking, heart-opening, and heart-expanding," Peter Rollins called it "Stunning," Oh, and Richard Boothby said it's "An understated masterpiece." And other folks had good stuff to say about it as well, but good grief, I don't want to overdo it here! When the campaign launches, there will be opportunity to get the book in digital, audio, and both signed and unsigned physical forms. And if that wasn't enough, we've got some other "perks" we're also working on. Yeah, it'll be a little something for everybody. I hope you can particpate. Thanks everyone! Some of the music for today's episode comes from epidemicsound.com.

It was an honor to have Sarah Stankorb on the show today talking about her really important book, Disobedient Women: How a Small Group of Faithful Women Exposed Abuse, Brought Down Powerful Pastors, and Ignited an Evangelical Reckoning I hope you'll pick up a copy and share it with a friend because what Sarah does is important and takes courage. We would all do ourselves a service by reading it. Because of a vocal condition, Sarah's voice cracks a bit. She does an amazing job with it, but I also attempted some transcription for this show to ensure you caught everything she was saying. I think it worked pretty well, there are a few things off, but overall, it should help. To access that, just click this link. Please like, review, and share the show. And if you haven't already, make sure you're on my substack publication. It's probably where I hang out the most online, although I have been hanging out a lot at the Indiegogo crowdfunding site because my newest book will be offered there beginning Oct 17th. But you can sign up for all the news about that now by going here. I hope you join me for this one because I am going to need you. Thanks everyone. Music for this episode comes from epidemicsound.com, or me, or a combination of both.

It was outstanding to be with Meredith Miller on this episode. We have lots of points of interest, not the least of which is ways to help kids grow up in the faith that are healthy. Her book is called Woven: Nurturing a Faith Your Kid Doesn’t Have to Heal From and I hope you pick it up. Soon. Like, right now. I really enjoyed this conversation and hope Meredith, her partner, and kids all the best in what they are doing in So Cal. Oh, and while you're on substack reading up on my posts, make sure subscribe to Meredith's page (like I do), which is called The Kids + Faith Community. Meanwhile, you might as well leave a review, some stars, likes, follows, whatever your platform is looking for and share this with a friend. If you're listening to this before Oct 17, 2023, get in on the pre-launch goodness for my new book called indigo: the color of grief. If it's after the 17th? Well, you can find the actual campaign and support the book, or go to Amazon and find it. :) Today's music is from epidemicsound.com, myself, or some combination of both. Thanks everyone. Have a great day!

Hey, I'm happy to introduce you to my friend, Cornell Ellis. Cornell is the executive director of theblockc.org, which exists to increase the number of black male educators in our school systems. It's a super important job and I'm really proud to be a part of theblockc's effort. I hope you'll take time to click on the link and find out more. Make sure to jump on my substack and even more sure to check out the pre-launch news about my newest book. Music for today's show happens by way of me or some strong musicians at epidemicsound.com.Hey, here's a thought: share, like, and leave a review. :) Thanks everyone!

Today's conversation is with my friend, Heather Hamilton. She's someone who's been on a journey ... life, parenting, church, and reintepreting the bible. Her book is called Returning to Eden: A Fieldguide for the Spiritual Journey. Her website is returningtoeden.com and I hope you check it out, jump on her newsletter, and see what she's up to. Meanwhile, we're a part of the QuoirCast Network now, so you'll be hearing ads from time to time (like Heather's at the beginning of this show), and at some point, other ads will pop in. I'm sure none of us would sign up to hear more ads, but many of us would sign up to be a part of a community and potentially have our work monetized, so that's what's happening here. ;) Find me at jonathanfosteronline.com. I got a new book coming out sometime this fall and you can sign up for updates there. Oh, and also, you should check out my brand new fictional short story section on my substack page. Music for today's show is either by me or Victor Lundberg by way of epidemicsound.com Thanks everyone. Right before you head to Heather's site, you should like, review, or share with a friend. Or maybe all three!

It was great to be with Paul Young today. He's the author of a little book ... let's see, what was the name again? Oh, yeah, The Shack. Paul and I got introduced to each other a couple of months ago, which then led to this conversation, (and also led to his endorsement of my forthcoming book, but more on that later). Not suprisingly, Paul is a really genuine guy and I had a great time interacting with him. Find out more at his site, https://wmpaulyoung.com. Meanwhile, find out more about the aforementioned book, and other things, at https://www.jonathanfosteronline.com Music for today’s episode is either me or a tune called “Encore” by Sarah the Instrumentalist from https://epidemicsound.com. Hey, why not leave a cool review or share with a friend? Peace everyone!