The Heavenly Banquet

In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia discuss the so-called Asbury Revival, a chapel service on February 8, 2023 that just didn't stop. Chad offers some background on the Methodist Holiness Movement and shares insights from his own experience at Asbury University. Charlotte has a lot of questions as she struggles to fight her own skepticism. Chad: What’s going to come out of this? That’s...

In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia discuss whether all passages of scripture equally merit preaching and teaching and whether there are some passages that might not merit any investigation at all. Does every bit of scripture lift up the love of God and the love of neighbor or are there some truly terrible texts that are simply irredeemable? How do we identify those texts and what respo...

In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia discuss whether people of other faiths and people of no faith are cut off from the means of salvation. Can those be saved who have never heard the gospel? What about good, moral people of other traditions? And how do we as Christians relate to those of other religions? Charlotte: What I know and what I affirm to be true is that Jesus is the way, the t...

In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia start with considering how one might tell if someone is a Christian before meandering through the related issues of what it means to be a Christian and what is essential for the faith. Chad: The internet has opened up my eyes to a lot of things, and one thing is there’s a lot of people out there confessing Christ’s name that are downright mean. Charlo...

In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia mark the beginning of a new year by reflecting on Christian themes of renewal, the relationship between time and eternity, and the contemplative life as a counter to our time-bound existence. Chad: It’s a great act of faith to live in the moment without bringing the burdens of the past or the fears or worries of the future into that moment. Certainly...

In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia continue to celebrate Christmas by chatting about the nativity stories, the meaning of the incarnation, and their favorite Christmas carols. Chad: When Christmas comes around, it’s such a great time to think about just the wonder of what it means for the Word of God to take on flesh and live among us, as it is in John’s Gospel. I don’t think there’s a...

In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia take a look back at the most downloaded episodes of 2022 and recommend a few host favorites. The top five episodes of 2022 were: 1. What is Love? 2. Will There Be Animals in Heaven? 3. The Older, Responsible Son 4. Concerning That Richard Rohr Meme 5. Faith and Doubt; Faith or Doubt? Also mentioned in this episode were our series on the afterlife, ( W...

Charlotte Elia offers a reflection on Luke 1:38-56 . "We don’t know Mary’s song because we largely have no revolution in us. And having no revolution in us only speaks of a more distressing underlying condition of having no real hope within us, no real conviction that things can or even should be better, no strength of belief in the promises of God that moves us to seize the promises as though the...

In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia chat about Matthew 1:18-25 , the Gospel lesson for the fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A. This telling of the nativity story centers Joseph, his righteousness, and his dreams. Here we have a couple beset with obstacles and facing grave danger before they even begin their lives together, and we have an image of biblical masculinity characterized by kindn...

In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia chat about Matthew 11:2-11 , the Gospel lesson for the third Sunday of Advent, Year A. John the Baptist is in prison, and he asks if Jesus is the one. Jesus affirms his identity as Messiah and commends John's mission as forerunner, but a particular omission points to John's fate. This is a hard passage that holds a mirror to the reality of hope and de...

In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia chat about Matthew 3:1-12 , the Gospel lesson for the second Sunday of Advent, Year A. This text has it all: baptism, repentance, locusts, and wild honey. Listen as your hosts discuss John the Baptist as a type of Christ, the ecological and eschatological implications of the text, the ongoing work of baptism, and the wild voices we ignore. Charlotte:...

In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia chat about Matthew 24:36-44, the gospel lesson for the first Sunday of Advent, Year A. The season opens by inviting us to look at Jesus' words about his return and by demanding that we prepare ourselves for that encounter. How should we respond? What can we do to prepare? And where's the good news here for us?

In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia talk through the acronym TULIP, an encapsulation of five points of Calvinism: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints. Your hosts discuss each point, how it functions within Augustinian Calvinism, and what they find either beneficial or lacking. Charlotte: "There's no distinction b...

In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia discuss both their favorite and least favorite books of the Bible. The scriptures are the authoritative, written witness to Jesus Christ and the rule of faith and practice. The scriptures are also incredibly diverse, containing both beautiful, instructive content as well as questionable, hardly helpful content. Charlotte and Chad explore both the book...

Charlotte Elia offers a reflection on Romans 8:31-39 for All Souls' Day. "Love can reach across any obstacle, real or imagined, present or future, anything in life and even the chasm of death. You know 'Till death do us part?' That’s a legal boundary, not a Christian one. We love each other beyond death, through death, in spite of death. On this All Souls’ Day we remember that our God turns even g...

In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia discuss their approach to engaging each other in theological conversation and offer some tips and encouragement for listeners hoping to find their own "soul friends." Charlotte: Regardless of where either one of us might go in a conversation there’s a presupposition that I’m trying to come from a place of faith seeking understanding, that it’s not a c...

As we enter Allhallowtide Charlotte Elia offers a reflection on Romans 8:31-39. "Our God chose death, destroyed death by occupying death. Our God chose that, chose that out of such a great love for us. God chose to die so that even the terrifying, unknown spaces between worlds would be filled with God’s love, and we’d never be alone, not for a moment, not for an instance. God in our death and in o...

In this episode Chad Rhodes gives Charlotte Elia some space to rant about the hate being spewed online by the so-called Christian Right, and then your hosts discuss both the wisdom of trying to respond to it and some tactics should one choose to witness against it. "Ultimately, beyond scriptural evidence, the tradition, what Paul may or may not have actually meant in these clobber passages- beyond...

In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia return to one of Chad's blog posts on Osuna and the apophatic way or via negativa. While the kataphatic approach seeks to define God in positive terms, by affirming what God is, the apophatic way seeks the divine by dismissing those things which are not God. The apophatic approach is most often embraced by the contemplative and mystical traditions in...

“If the faith is not a journey toward union with God and it’s not transformative, then it’s trash.” -Charlotte In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia take a look at a popular meme featuring a quote from Richard Rohr. The quote reads as follows: "We worshipped Jesus instead of following him on his same path. We made Jesus into a mere religion instead of a journey toward union with God and e...

In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia talk about aliens and what impact an encounter with extraterrestrial life might have on the Christian faith. Your hosts also discuss the impact of Christ's life, death, and resurrection on the entire cosmos and wonder if aliens even need salvation. Will the story of a 1st century Palestinian Jew preach to beings from other worlds? What will life out t...

In this episode each of your hosts brings a topic to the table. Chad starts things off by discussing the relationship between Lectio Divina and Christian mysticism. Charlotte then introduces Chad to the pastors who have confused Jesus' teaching and example with the very worst of hyper/toxic masculinity. From Part 1: Chad: One way to think of lectio is as a conversation between God and myself. I’m...

Charlotte Elia offers a sermon on a passage from Luke 15, commonly referred to as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. "There was a man who had two sons..." It's one of the most repeated stories in the Bible, bringing to mind Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob. The younger son is indulged by his father, leaves the family home, squanders his inheritance, and is received upon his return wi...

In this episode Chad Rhodes and Charlotte Elia discuss the issue of "re-baptism." Why would someone seek that for themselves and why would some demand it of others? What's the worry there? What happens to the sins you commit after baptism anyhow? Are they forgiven too? What are some alternatives for folks seeking to mark transitions in their life or wanting to rededicate themselves to the faith? A...

Charlotte Elia offers a reflection on Luke 14:25-33. "You see, too many of our churches and far too much of American society are filled with nominal Christians, those who are Christian in name only. Those are folks who have aligned themselves with this faith for friends, power, social networks, and warm, fuzzy feelings rather than mission, the hard work of disciple making, the transformative task...