Beer Christianity

A 'conservative' and 'liberal' in conversation. Sam Hailes is Editor of Premier Christianity magazine. And while he occupies a different space politically and theologically from the one Beer Christianity generally occupies, this episode proves we can get along despite our differences. Sam and Jonty talk the future of print magazines, whether Facebook is right wing and Christian conspiracy theories...

Beer Christianity presents: 19 recommendations for your lockdown. (Full list with links at BeerChristianity.libsyn.com) From podcasts to Netflix (and other) series, to radio drama, films and real life activities. Stay sane with out top 19! Drabs, Lau-Lau and Jonty give you their recommendations:  Beer Christianity's Covid-19 Top 19 Streaming series Mindhunter (Drabs) Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Laura) Tig...

Corona. It's not just a reasonable beer. Nobody's really talking about it, but it's also a virus. You heard it here first. What is it okay to be judgey about, Covid-wise? And will anyone go back to church after the joys of online services? What is helpful and unhelpful for the Church to be saying right now? Ben, Laura and Jonty get together online to discuss Christian responses to Covid-19, whethe...

Meet Grace . She's cool, funny, a committed Christian, and gay. Being gay and a Christian is a hard concept for some people to get their heads around. If we're going to move beyond the same old arguments, it might be helpful to move from propositions to the personal. To meet someone who has experienced it themselves.  This episode is a simple interview with Grace, in a pub called The Alex in South...

Kalle Lasn is a bit of a hero. You can tell that if you read his books  Culture Jam and  Meme Wars , or from his legendary magazine, movement and media foundation Adbusters . But really, the best way to get to know him is in this interview from around 2009. Drabs, Lau-Lau and Jonty discuss the interview (and therefore consumerism, mental health and the ecological crisis of capitalism) from a Chris...

Is Tolkien hobbit-forming? Do you like CS Lewis, are you like  Nah-nia ? Did you know that JRR stands for Jessica Ra-Ra?  These and many other questions are answered in this episode recorded in the Eagle and Child pub in Oxford. Drabs, Lau-Lau and Jonty talk contextualised Christianity and whether being a 'moderate' Christian' is something to be proud of. They also answer listener questions, make...

It's 2020, b-words. And not a single vision joke in this whole goshdarn podcast! But it does contain politics, mission, faith-goals and a blessing for our pub. We also answer a letter from a fan in Amsterdam!  Lau-Lau, Drabs and Jonty see the new year in with a few pints.  Follow  Beer Christianity on Twitter: @beerxianity  and find us on  Spotify ,  Apple Podcasts ,  YouTube  and  Stitcher .  All...

Philip Yancey is a bestselling author and generally lovely chap. In this episode he discusses suffering, what we get wrong about suffering, who we are in the Job story and the most important thing to know about God's attitude to suffering: that Jesus is always on the side of the sufferer. Jonty unearthed this very old interview he'd done with Philip Yancey while in Cornwall between Christmas and N...

Merry Christmas from Beer Christianity! A short episode to keep you company while you cook or chill. Drabs shares a reflection on Scripture while drinking a mediocre IPA. Jonty talks about Christmas blues and seasonal Good News while sipping on a Mimosa* and tea. Lau-Lau gets her friends to say hi and almost chokes to death. Merry Christmas!  Recorded at our homes on 24 and 25 December 2019.  Foll...

Graham Greene wrote wonderfully challenging and troubling books with deeply Christian themes. He was called the greatest author of the 20th century. Jonty loves him.  David Jasper is Professor Emeritus of Literature and Theology at the University of Glasgow. He's a lovely chap, and he talked to Beer Christianity about Graham Greene and Christianity in literature at the Graham Greene International...

Is a real tree or a plastic one more environmentally friendly? Is a matt black tree disturbing? Can you do Christmas without consumerism? Is it ever okay to give a goat? Lau-Lau, Drabs and Jonty answer these and other yuletide questions. Listen to this long chat in Berro Lounge, Didcot, for the lowdown on Christmas books, where Beer Christianity's listeners come from, shout-outs to the BC fandom,...

Is it a sin to be rich? What should Christian politics and power look like? Jonty interviewed Shane Claiborne around 2010 and the authour/activist's answers are especially relevant today. Which is mildly depressing. Claiborne's progressive Christianity provides some inspiring answers we can apply right now.  No Lau-Lau or Drabs this episode, but Jonty muses on British and American politics (as wel...

What's worse: dressing your kid for Halloween or buying Nike clothes? Jonty gets irate, Drabs gets biblical and Lau-Lau gets drowsy. It's the third and final part of our 'is it okay for Christians to celebrate Halloween?' arc! Peter Laws shares the second installment of his Horror flick recommendations and we ask: is Halloween conforming to this world? Is it too commercial? Have we forgotten the t...

Rev Peter Laws recommends horror movies for Christians, Laura has a swollen face and the team talk about whether Halloween is dangerous or evil. Jonty also recommends articles to read about Christianity and Horror. Contains strong language and weak attention to argument detail.  This is part two of three on the subject of Halloween (Episode 8: Hell-ish was part 1 - it's all very confusing, isn't i...

Peter Laws is the author of  The Frighteners: Why We Love Monsters, Ghosts, Death and Gore . He's also a Baptist Minister, novelist, podcaster, columnist and YouTuber. As Halloween approaches, an expert in Horror and the spooky seems the perfect guest. And he was! Peter chatted to Beer Christianity about how Christians should view Horror movies, Halloween and Hell.  Actually, Hell features strongl...

It's not often you get to get real with someone who has something to say, but Amie Aitken is one of those people. She's the second female minister ever to be the sole pastor of a Baptist church in Scotland. She is an ambassador for Home for Good. She once planned a tour as a worship singer without writing any songs.  Amie is a former complementarian who has started leading a church. She is a respi...

Downton Abbey . Great series. Movie tho: bourgeois propaganda. So this episode features a seven minute rant about why it's ideologically enraging. Fun tho!   CONTAINS SO MANY SPOILERS. Also: ever wanted to understand the Christian Rock and Metal scenes? Start here >>> Doug Van Pelt founded legendary Christian Metal mag  Heaven's Metal in 1985. It later became HM magazine  and covered some of the m...

Greta Thunberg said How dare you at the UN. We loved it. Our friend Picket told us more about being in a Zimbabwean anti-poaching unit and why he believes God calls us to conservation. We nearly came to blows about fracking. Luckily, we'd had a few. Jonty, Laura and Ben explore Christian environmentalism in part two of Going EnvironMENTAL.  Check out  Beer Christianity on Spotify and Beer Christia...

Anti-poaching unit leader Picket Chabwedzeka defends rhinos from heavily armed and well funded international poachers in Zimbabwe. As the amazon burns and capitalism drives us towards a climate change catastrophe, Jonty, Ben and Laura discuss vegetarianism, big game hunting and beer. Jonty also looks at the seminary chapel that did a  ritual of confession to plants.   There's so much to say that w...

After the horrific attacks on Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand, an image of a Christian in England standing guard outside his local mosque went viral. Andrew Graystone was the good witness. Speaking in a press tent at Greenbelt festival , he talks to Beer Christianity about power and whether the Church needs it.  Also on the podcast, in the pub: a man called Drabs and a woman called Laura talk...

The pub: Broadways, Didcot. The presenters: a 22-year-old feminist environmentalist and a 42-year-old Christian socialist. The beer: American and surprisingly hard to pronounce. Also: gin. Beer Christianity episode 2: Ginesis features a long and funny interview with Harry and Chris , whose entire back catalogue you should get immediately. It also features reflections on Greenbelt festival 2019, wh...

Introducing Beer Christianity - the podcast of faith, hops and love. The opening episode features an exclusive interview with Noam Chomsky from a few years ago that is still depressingly relevant, as well as some lone beer-sipping and musing from host and former  Baptist Times 'news communist', Jonty Langley. With the aid of a bottle of Tusker (a tasty Kenyan beer), Jonty talks about what you can...