Crackers and Grape Juice

Jennifer Rosner joins the podcast to share her latest book, "Finding A Messiah." Jesus was Jewish, and his Jewish identity informed every aspect of his work, words, and witness. He came as the Messiah of Israel, God's covenant people, and he spoke the language of God's faithfulness to this people. So why does it seem that Judaism has little to do with our Christian discipleship today? Jennifer Ros...

Author and editor Chris Hayes joins the podcast to talk about his latest book, " God and Guns: The Bible Against American Gun Culture." Using the Bible as the foundational source and guide, while also bringing contemporary sociological data to the conversation, seven biblical scholars and theologians construct a powerful dialogue about gun violence in America, concluding that guns are incompatible...

Brian and Beau are, respectively, the President & Editor-in-Chief and the VP for External Affairs & Editor of Word and Way Magazine. They’re back on the podcast to talk about SCOTUS overturning Roe vs. Wade, the rise of Christian Nationalism in Republican politics, and how Christians should (or should not) celebrate Independence Day. Don’t forget to head over to https://www.crackersandgrapejuice.c...

Rev. Dr. Kara Slade joined the podcast for the return of our annual live show at the Annual Conference of the Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Kara talked about her new book, "The Fullness of Time: Jesus Christ, Science, and Modernity," science vs. religion, and how we mark time. Don’t forget to head over to https://www.crackersandgrapejuice.com Click on “Support the Show...

Our guest is professor, ghost writer, and author, Tiffany Brooks, who’s written a new book on reconstructing a disillusioned faith. We have a right to encounter God where we are. We have a sacred responsibility to experience God authentically." What happens when the God we’ve been taught to believe in seems powerless to help us in the struggles of life? What do we do when the God we personally enc...

The one and only Kara Slade will be joining Crackers&Grape Juice for a live pubcast next Wednesday (6/15/22) at 6:30pm in Hampton, VA at the St. George Brewing Company to help kick off Annual Conference. Her book "The Fullness Of Time" is a remarkable witness to the work of Karl Barth for the church today and we can't wait to hear what Kara has to share with us. All are welcome!

Mark Edwards joins the podcast to talk about his new book "Christ Is Time: The Gospel according to Karl Barth (and the Red Hot Chili Peppers)." Christ Is Time: The Gospel according to Karl Barth (and the Red Hot Chili Peppers) welcomes you to the jungle of Barth's head-banging opus, the Church Dogmatics, with the beats, rhythms, and lyrics of Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Metallica, and more. Base...

The author of Monsters, Daniel van Voorhis is the host of the Christian History Almanac and a former co-host of the Virtue in the Wasteland podcast and an author and speaker at the 1517 legacy Project. After receiving his PhD in Modern history from the University of St. Andrews, Dr. van Voorhis spent 11 years teaching history and political science at Concordia University, Irvine and was most recen...

Our guest this week is Dr. Jeannine Brown who’s got a new commentary out on Paul’s most popular epistle, Philippians! Dr. Brown joins us to talk about Paul, Jesus, and a narrative understanding of the New Testament. Check it out, I think it was a fun conversation. The letter to the Philippians illuminates a warm relationship between the apostle Paul and the Philippian believers. Despite difficult...

Our guest is Jim Belcher, author of the new book Cold Civil War: Overcoming Polarization, Discovering Unity, and Healing the Nation. America's political landscape is experiencing dangerous polarization and fragmentation, with the extremes pulling the country apart. Political philosopher Jim Belcher shows that this is not merely a binary opposition between conservativism on the right and liberalism...

Back on the podcast, Dr. Fred Schmidt is here to talk about doubt, proclamation, and the calling of pastors. Fred is a professor at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and is the vice-rector at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Nashville, Virginia. Here’s the bit he wrote that we discuss: There you go. A perfect distillation of Boomer-esque spirituality. And a perfect summary of what is wrong...

For Good Friday, we have for you Jason Micheli’s homilies on the Seven Last Words of Jesus. In them, Jason interprets each of the last words of Christ in light of a key character in the Book of Genesis.

Our mentor and muse, Will Willimon, is back on the podcast. His new book is Listeners Dare. Discipleship and witness are not self-sustainable. Preaching equips God’s people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ (Eph. 4:11). The gospel is news that passes from the lips of one who has heard to the ears of one who has not yet heard, then (God willing) it burrows in the soul, ener...

Aaron Simmons holds a Ph. D. in philosophy from Vanderbilt University and is currently a Professor of philosophy at Furman University in Greenville, SC (USA). He is the President of the Søren Kierkegaard Society (USA) and has published widely in philosophy of religion, phenomenology, and existentialism. Among his authored and edited books are God and the Other: Ethics and Politics After the Theolo...

Back on the podcast for #348 with Jason and Johanna is Fritz Bauerschmidt to talk about preaching, beauty, and making the word visible in the world. His new book is How Beautiful the World Could Be. Frederick (Fritz) Bauerschmidt is professor of theology at Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland and a permanent deacon of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, assigned to the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen....

Our guest today is Dr. David F. Ford to talk about his wonderful new book, John: A Theological Commentary. David is an Anglican public theologian. He was the Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, beginning in 1991. He is now an Emeritus Regius Professor of Divinity. His research interests include political theology, ecumenical theology, Christian theologians and theologies,...

Our guest today is Amy Julia Becker, author of the new book, To Be Made Well. From hurting bodies and souls to hurting relationships and communities, it’s clear that things are not as they should be. The gospels brim with stories of Jesus healing people, but what does that mean for us today? In To Be Made Well, author Amy Julia Becker weaves together her own story with reflections on biblical acco...

Corey Nathan was raised in an observant Jewish household attending an Orthodox synagogue. His family is mostly from Brooklyn, NY; but Corey grew up on the Jersey side - Bruce Springsteen country! In his late 20s, much to the family's chagrin, Corey became a Born-again Christian. Not long after this epiphany, the new believer began to find many of the default social and political positions of conte...

A book that marries the theologian of THE 20th century (Karl Barth) with THE philosopher at the turn into the 21st, Charles Taylor, and all for the practical application of pastors and congregations? What’s not to love? On the podcast once again is friend and fellow Princeton alum, Andy Root, of Luther Seminary in the Twin Cities. About his latest: Congregations often seek to combat the crisis of...

“Barth’s attacks on the liberal theologians and what he regarded as their high humanism has led many to label him as anti-humanistic. Barth, however, never abandoned his presumption that to be a Christian is to be a creature on the way to being a human being. To be sure that way is one determined by Christ. “God is God and we are not” remains central to Barth but for Barth the God that is the othe...

Our guest for #341 is our friend Christy Thomas. Christy is a retired UMC Elder and journalist from Texas. She writes at the website The Thoughtful Pastor on Patheos. You may remember Christy from our coverage of the United Methodist Church’s General Conference in 2019. The pandemic has interrupted the UMC’s divorce proceedings, but that does not mean the schism has been event-less. Christy joined...

On the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Teer, David, and Jason reflect on the ignominious event from the perspective of the Feast of the Epiphany. Before you listen, do us a solid and help out the podcast. Head over to  https://www.crackersandgrapejuice.com . Click on “Support the Show.” Become a patron Subscribe to CGJ+ For peanuts, you can help us out….we appreciate...