Mid-faith Crisis

Joe talks to our friend Lacey about the feminine divine, the effect of patriarchy on faith, and how 'anger is not your enemy, bitterness is.’ Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: Sarah Bessey, Jesus Feminist Sue Monk Kidd, The Dance of the Dissident Daughter Theresa Kim Pecinovsky and Khoa Le, Mother God

It's Joe's turn to reflect on his version of the good news. What would he change? What has been his journey so far? Is he really just an enormous butterfly. Are we all just bits of plumbing walking about? To sum up: 'It's not very satisfactory but it's just how we see stuff.' Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: Your Name BBC: Forest, Field...

Half a podcast lifetime ago (episode 125 to be precise) we put forward our versions of the good news. This week we revisit them – well, Nick's version, anyway. Does he still agree with it? And how did he start with all this Jesus stuff anyway? Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: Chanctonbury Ring Wilderthorn Frederick Buechner (pronounced B...

It's episode 250! But there's no time for celebration, as we discuss the issue of whether the Lords Prayer needs updating. Should we start 'Our mother who art in heaven'? Is Nick really part of the oppressive patriarchal system? Also more feedback on lament, the theology of Barbie, Faurés Requiem, and the importance of dissonance. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine...

In this episode we discuss the role of music as a place of spiritual encounter. We touch on the need for authenticity in worship and the way in music and song connects us to each other and connects us deeper to our true selves. Also, do angels sing? Or are they into hip-hop? Meanwhile, Joe has been to Barbie, Nick is suffering from a touch of 'old' and pith has gone out of the window. Support the...

We're back! And we have an episode of top-notch feedback on peoples' sacred spaces. We think about sacred memories, gardening with God, and encountering the divine in the intensive care unit. All this, plus chiffchaffs, blackcaps, Saint Trillo and Saint Treacle, and a great quote from the Archbishop of Pith. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episo...

We talk about how we experience God in nature. If your 'church' is the mountains or the countryside what does that mean? Is there anything you can do to enhance the experience? Also we talk about images of God, more on the incarnation and, of course, it's a happy new financial year to Joe. You see? Interesting and fun. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in...

Wassail! It's the height of Summer which as everyone knows is the traditional time for the Midfaith Crisis Christmas Special! As usual we dive into the mystery of the incarnation. Was it a miracle or a reset? What does it tell us about the world and our humanity? And do our Christmas services relate it to the wrong bit of Genesis? Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine...

Joe is back from holiday and Nick is recovering from some cricket. Meanwhile we tackle some of the difficult questions. What empowers us to be more Christlike? Does it matter if the resurrection is historical truth or mystical metaphor? And can you have too many multiverses? Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: Swallowtail Butterfly God in F...

We discuss our responses to the interview with Chris Scott in the last episode. Is it possible that the gospels could be both historical truth and life-informing myth? What is the relationship between beliefs and actions? And is the chiffchaff really a sign of hope and grace? Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: The Jesus Myth: a psychologis...

Joe interviews Chris Scott, psychologist, psychotherapist and priest about his book The Jesus Myth. It's a thought-provoking exploration of how myth can carry deep truth, and whether we need to jettison what Chris calls 'bronze-age' images of God. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: The Jesus Myth: a psychologist's viewpoint

We discuss speaking in tongues. Is there a place for it in public worship? Or should it only be exercised in the privacy of your own home? Also we have more on retreats, a lot of love for the Song of the Chiffchaff, and we ask why there aren't any global conferences for people who put the chairs out. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: Glos...

Joe and Nick have both been on retreat, so this week we talk about our different approaches, what works for us, and why we find it vital to go to a place where 'there is less of you to get in the way'. Also, brilliantly, the Song of the Chiffchaff is now an official, actual song. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It...

We reflect on the Coronation service. Was it weird or wonderful? Amazing or anachronistic? Holy or hypocritical? Or was it just like every other church service only with more bling and a woman with a sword? Also what happens when you ask ChatGPT to write a worship song featuring the Chiffchaff? Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: Private Ey...

We discuss different ideas of heaven and the afterlife. Will we have bodies? Do we go to heaven? Will it be largely standing around on bits of gemstone singing? And, most importantly, will there be a buffet? Meanwhile, Nick is thinking of blogging and Joe looks in fridges. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harol...

Cheer up everyone, it's an episode all about hell. We reflect on the Staying Defiantly event that Joe hosted earlier in the week. In other news, Joe's been to Bristol, Nick has been to IKEA, God is love and beer is good. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: The Housemartins Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2022 Staying defiantly MFC Episode...

Nick has been useless. Joe has been watching an eagle. We discuss the role of imagination in faith, whether wishful thinking is always bad and the heroic doubt of Thomas. Also how to replace defensiveness with love. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: Wisden Cricketer's Almanack 2023 Knepp White-tailed eagle Pulborough Brooks Bunnahabhain M...

Joe isn't feeling Eastery yet. Nick's valves are burning out. Meanwhile we talk about how we want to be when things go wrong, how Christianity really needs two symbols, and in what ways theology can be dangerous. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: Staying Defiantly: What the Hell?

Happy Easter! And while we're at it, Happy New Year and Happy Nard-day! Joe is back from his travels and Nick is in a cupboard. We talk about what Easter means to us and reflect on how the shape of the week reflects the shape of our existence. Also Joe has a new theme for the official MFC new year. And Nick has been inhaling the New Testament. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your e...

Just a very quick update. Joe is in Mexico and Nick is in a dangerously low house. We talk about recognising our need for sleep as part of our spiritual life. Warning: dubious quality sound but that's what you get when one of you is recording on his iPhone over dodgy internet. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: Church of the Wild, Victoria...

We talk a bit about politics this week, particularly the conflict between private morality and public leadership. Can we learn to listen to people with vastly different views? And should those views automatically debar them from certain roles? Meanwhile, in one of the worst 'support the podcast' segments ever, we end up wondering whether those who donate should really have less to listen to. And a...

Joe is enjoying his birthday. Nick has been immersed in art. And we discuss the difference between judgement and condemnation, whether tradition and religion are necessarily bad, and what enables us - well, one of us - to remain part of the established church. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: Staying Defiantly: What the Hell? What's love...

Nick's life is chaotic. Joe has escaped a fire. And meanwhile, we discuss whether to choose a local or non-local church, how do we actually have a relationship with God, and whether we need a spreadsheet to measure how like Jesus we are. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: The Fabelmans Women Talking

Life is heavy. Life is stressful. It's hard to respond wisely, when anger is easier. In this episode we talk about responding to stress, Christianity as an eastern religion, the power of patience, and the way in which Jesus critiqued power. Also, we reflect on the current terrible events in Turkey and Syria. And Nick blesses BP and Shell with a new liturgical gesture of blessing. Support the podca...

We discuss the crucial questions: Is God just some kind of cosmic life-force? Was Jesus just God in a man-shaped onesie? How do we avoid weaponising our language? Why are we suddenly so popular in Denmark? And, what kind of bird did that? Oh, and we've decided to celebrate the MFC new year in March. Just like they did in 1752. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Ment...