The Progressive Christians Podcast

Join us as we delve into a nuanced discussion on purity, shame, and "biblical" marriage—topics often surrounded by controversy and misinformation, especially within traditional religious circles. Using the perspectives of liberation, feminist, and womanist theologies, we analyze how religion, economics, and politics have always intertwined, shaping our views on purity, marriage, and divorce. As pr...

In this episode, we explore the complex factors that lead individuals to depart from their faith communities and the experiences and desires that ultimately bring them back. We explain why progressive Churches are well-equipped to meet the needs of people who are searching for an authentic faith community that engages the social and political realities of our time. We close out the show by answeri...

In a society saturated with violence, how do we, as Christians, process ongoing trauma? In this important yet heavy episode, we explore the concept of moral injury with insights from a combat veteran. We confront the dangerous "myth of redemptive violence," examining how it normalizes harm in our culture and even in our faith. This discussion offers an honest look at the widespread trauma we all c...

Listener Survey ! Please take 5 minutes to complete our listener survey, and help us to keep creating the content that you want.  https://forms.gle/ADiZmaFHAffvkArS7 In this episode, we examine the connection between faith, justice, and the American carceral system with Dr. Andrew Krinks, author of " White Property, Black Trespass ." Dr. Krinks discusses the religious, social, and political roots...

Listener Survey ! Please take 5 minutes to complete our listener survey, and help us to keep creating the content that you want.  https://forms.gle/ADiZmaFHAffvkArS7 Dr. James Dobson's death triggered an onslaught of social, digital, and print media reflections. While some mourned his death, most of the reflections were about the traumatic impact of their parents following his advice, which encour...

Have you ever wondered what motivates someone to become a Christian Nationalist and what it takes to recognize you're not truly practicing the teachings of Jesus and to leave high-control religion? Then this episode is just for you! We were joined by April Ajoy, author of Star Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding a True Faith, for a compelling discussion about her book, her ro...

The Progressive Christians Podcast - New Episodes Available Every Friday - On All Platforms We're the love your neighbor kind of Christians, not the storm the capitol kind. So, if you're curious about what a socially and politically progressive Christianity looks like, this podcast is for you! In each episode, we discuss politics, pop culture, and anything else we find interesting from the perspec...

Cynthia Erivo's portrayal of Jesus in "Jesus Christ Superstar" at the Hollywood Bowl has been widely praised as powerful, transcendent, and unsurprisingly criticized by religious conservatives. How could a woman, and especially a Black queer woman, play the role of Jesus? Julia, Rev. Blair, and Everest were in attendance on opening night. In this episode, we discuss Erivo's performance, the role o...

Are you struggling to reconcile your faith with the headlines about the human-made famine that is causing the deaths of innocent civilians in Gaza? You're not alone. All people of good conscience should feel unease. When Jesus wept, it was for the suffering of all humanity. What if we applied that same deep empathy to the heartbreaking crisis unfolding right now? In this episode, we are joined by...

What is biblical or traditional marriage, and how have Christian understandings of marriage been shaped by economics, politics, and faith? In this week's episode, we explore the rise of the Trad-Wife phenomenon and shed light on the propaganda that pushes this image of family life as normative. We conclude by re-examining our sacred texts to craft a vision of partnership that honors the sacred wor...

Has Christianity lost its positive public perception? The season premiere of South Park revealed a lot about our current political and religious climate. Their portrayal of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount exposes the hypocrisy that an increasing number of non-religious people see within our tradition. In this week's episode, we discuss the declining public image of Christianity, the role evangelical, c...

What if the person you elected president to save the country from a global cabal of child sex-traffickers actually was a part of the cabal? At first glance, this question sounds strange. However, when you consider that a 2022 poll by PRRI revealed that 1 in 5 people and 1 in 4 Republicans believe the QAnon conspiracy theory that the government, media, and financial sector are controlled by a group...

If you thought the world was ending, how would you spend the last days of your life? While this may be a theoretical question that many of us can use to help discern what we believe are the most essential things in our lives, it is also a very pragmatic question for others. In this episode, we discuss how the eschatological belief in the Rapture has informed our governments' response to the Guadal...

A few weeks ago, at a Bible study on Capitol Hill titled "God's Design for a Societal Safety Net," political conservative and Christian pastor Ralph Drollinger argued that the New Testament never discusses governments helping people. He told the Senators that helping the truly needy is for individuals, then families, then the church, but not the government. With this, he morally justified the suff...

Modern society tells us that we should constantly reinvent ourselves to stay interesting and that we should do whatever it takes to get wherever we want to go. In her book, Here: A Spirituality of Staying in a Culture of Leaving, Lydia Sohn argues for the opposite: stay. Stay and cultivate the immense potential and beauty that currently lies dormant within your circumstances. In this episode, we s...

In part one of our episode, we discuss the No Kings Marches across the country, the detainment of NYC Mayoral Candidate Brad Lander by ICE, and the political assassinations of two Minnesota State Representatives. In part two (19:00), we are joined by Jonas Williams, an undergraduate student at UCLA who has been researching the masculinity crisis for a film project. In our conversation with Jonas,...

No one enjoys being labeled immature, particularly when it comes to our faith journey. However, Paul the Apostle reminds us in his first letter to the Corinthian church that we ought to mature in our Christian faith, recognizing that we currently know God only partially and will ultimately come to know God fully after we transition from this life to whatever is next. In this episode, we explore tw...

While LA is not the war zone that Fox News would have you believe, what we are experiencing in our community is not normal. In this episode, Rev. Dr. Carter, Westley, and Everest discuss the immigration raids and protests that have erupted across Los Angeles County, share our thoughts on why Trump is doing this right now, and describe what a progressive Christian response could look like. The Prog...

"The American Government gives the most help to those who need it the least. This is the true nature of our welfare state, and it has far-reaching implications, not only for our bank accounts and poverty levels but also for our psychology and civic spirit." This quote from Matthew Desmond's book, Poverty, by America , is a hard truth, but it is true. It is certainly not the story we tell ourselves...

How do you know when it is time to walk away and retire? The last eight members of Congress to die in office were Democrats. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a trailblazer, and yet her decision to continue serving on the Supreme Court until her death in September of 2020 is a part of her legacy that can't be overlooked. In this episode, we discuss ageism and how it is keeping young people out of both polit...

Many progressives often find themselves in communities where very few, if any, of their peers identify as religious, let alone as Christians. In America, many people associate the word "Christian" with the type of theological and political conservatism that has theologically justified historic harms against every minority group in our country. Yet, we have chosen to identify ourselves as Progressi...

We want to hear from you! If you have a question you'd like us to discuss on the pod, please email us at progressivechristians@theloftla.org .  There is a lot of talk about fascism in politics today, but what is fascism, and how, if at all, does it impact our faith? In this episode, Everest, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter discuss what fascism is, the role conservative Christianity is playing in supp...

We have a new email address and we want to hear from you! If you have a question you'd love for us to discuss on the pod, please email us at  progressivechristians@theloftla.org .  How do you hold onto hope when everything feels like, or actually is, falling apart? Given the state of US politics and the global lurch to the political right, how, if at all, are you holding onto hope? In this episode...

We have a new email address and we want to hear from you! If you have a question you'd love for us to discuss on the pod please email us at progressivechristians@theloftla.org . In addition to our weekly episodes, we hope to publish 1-2 short episodes per month that will be dedicated to answering listener questions about theology, politics, church, parenting, pop culture, or anything else that you...

We are entangled in systems full of wicked problems that we cannot solve on our own. For Dr. Copeland, sin is the most appropriate theological language for naming what has gone wrong in the world and for beginning to repair those wrongs, despite modern resistance to the use of sin-talk. In this episode, we discuss sin, suffering, and the problem of evil with Dr. Copeland, whose new book, Entangled...