In All Things Podcast

RESOURCING in a Crisis of Expertise with Josh Reeves (ep. 19)

On this episode of the podcast, I am joined by guest co-host Dr. Jeff Ploegstra (professor of biology). Together we interview Dr. Josh Reeves, Director of the Samford Center for Science and Religion at Samford University, and author of the book Redeeming Expertise, Scientific Trust and the Future of the Church (Baylor, 2021). Among the topics we discuss:

• How to make sense of the crisis of expertise in which we find ourselves - is there a way to redeem expertise?
• Distinguishing three forms of expertise, and placing scientific expertise in perspective
• How knowledge is always a communal project, requiring us to trust others and to cultivate communities of critical thinking.
• On the possibilities and limitations of science, what science does well and what it can't do

Dr. Ploegsta's review: https://inallthings.org/scientists-arent-hostile-alien-priests-a-review-of-redeeming-expertise/

Follow Dr. Reeves: https://twitter.com/joshareeves

Buy the book: https://www.baylorpress.com/9781481316156/redeeming-expertise/

RETRIEVING Kuyper, Warts & All with Jessica and Robert Joustra (ep. 18)

On this episode of the podcast, I talk with Jessica and Robert Joustra, about the new book they've coedited, Calvinism for a Secular Age: A Twenty-First Century Reading of Abraham Kuyper's Stone Lectures. Among the topics we discuss:

– How can we distinguish between all the varieties of Calvinism and Neo-Calvinism?

– Why should North Americans living in the 21st century be interested in lectures on Calvinism given by a 19th century Dutch polymath?

– When it comes to continuing an intellectual tradition, what is the relationship between looking back and looking forward?

– How should we think about Kuyper's flaws, and how should we complicate his legacy?

– What can the Kuyperian tradition learn from the wider Christian world?

– Why might Kuyper's vision be especially appropriate for "a secular age"?

To read a short piece in which the authors introduce their book: https://inallthings.org/can-calvinists-save-the-world-a-review-of-calvinism-for-a-secular-age/

RESTING in a Frantic World with April Fiet (ep. 17)

On this episode of the podcast, I am joined by guest co-host Erin Olson, and together we talk with April Fiet about her new book, The Sacred Pulse: Holy Rhythms for Overwhelmed Souls (Broadleaf Books). Among the topics we discuss:

– How those of us who are adept at "managing our time" may actually just be better at "hiding our weariness"

– How we can find holy rhythms in the midst of a culture and time where we are able and encouraged to "work anywhere and everywhere and at any time"

– How we can add practices in a way that is life-giving and sustainable instead of "one more thing" on the to do list

– On the way that felt futility of living intentionally, the difficulty of friendship as an adult, and ways to normalize grief and messiness

– One thing to know, and one thing to do if we want to change

To read Dr. Erin Olson's review of April Fiet's book: https://inallthings.org/reimagining-rhythms-a-review-of-the-sacred-pulse/

RECOVERING from our Devices with Felicia Wu Song (ep. 16)

On this episode of the podcast, I am joined by guest co-host Kayt Frisch, and together we talk with sociologist Dr. Felicia Wu Song about her new book, Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence, and Place in a Digital Age. Among the topics we discuss:

– How our devices (phones and computers) are more than mere tools, and what it means to evaluate them as cultural artifacts, the results of complex processes, driven by diverse influences

– What Christian designers and programmers can do to as they work in digital spaces

– How we should think about counter-cultural movements like "digital minimalism" and how the Christian story offers something distinct

– Why it is so difficult for us to change our digital habits and whether there are better ways to approach our counter-formation

– One thing to know, and one thing to do if we want to change

To read Dr. Kayt Frisch's review of Dr. Song's book: https://inallthings.org/corrupted-comforts-a-review-of-restless-devices/ 

REUNITING Faith & Science with Jennifer Powell McNutt (ep. 15)

On this episode of the podcast, we talk with theologian and historian Rev. Dr. Jennifer Powell McNutt about the relationship between science and theology. Together we discuss:

– How the narrative of a conflict between faith and science developed, and how this story of obscures important historical realities, especially during the Reformation

– The relationship between science and theology as well as between God’s two books: the book of creation and the book of Scripture.

– How we think about scientific investigation given the tension between suspicion (because of human sin) and confidence (because of the divine image and the reliability of human faculties)

– “Epistemic trespassing” and how pastors can live with the burden of being expected to weigh in on scientific issues, and how they build bridges between science and theology.

Books mentioned in this podcast:

History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science by John William Draper (1874)

A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology by Andrew Dickson White (1896)

Science and Theology in the Reformation by Charlotte Methuen (2008)

Since the Beginning: Interpreting Genesis 1 and 2 through the Ages ed. Kyle Greenwood (2018)

Follow Jennifer Powell McNutt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jpowellmcnutt

Here is a link to Dr. McNutt’s First Mondays talk at Dordt University: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-NTB-m2BQM  

PLANTING Trees, Songs, & Stories with Andrew Peterson (ep. 14)

On this episode of the podcast, we talk with singer-songwriter, author-beekeeper Andrew Peterson, about his new book The God of the Garden: Thoughts on Creation, Culture, and the Kingdom. Together we discuss:

– How the Covid-lockdown forced AP to put down roots after being on the road for the last 25 years, and the sort of creativity that being rooted in a physical place can produce.

– Why trees have so captivated AP's imagination and anchored his memory.

– How working with our hands connects to working with words, music, and art.

– On planting seeds of hope amidst seasons of sadness, and what it means to remain open and vulnerable instead of hardening our hearts

– On telling stories that are deeply (not necessarily overtly) Christian, and how AP navigates the tension between Fall and Redemption. 

– On practices that nourish ordinary creativity among artists and non-artists alike.

The podcast includes a short reading of  the opening pages of the book (12:36). 

Order The God of the Garden from The Rabbit Room: https://store.rabbitroom.com/products/the-god-of-the-garden 

Follow Andrew Peterson: https://www.andrew-peterson.com/ 

Bible Project Podcast on Trees (mentioned at 11:50): https://bibleproject.com/podcast/humans-are-trees/ 

Here is a link to Ruth Clark's IAT review of The God of the Garden: https://inallthings.org/for-the-beauty-of-the-earth-a-review-of-the-god-of-the-garden/ 

***Production note: this is the first episode we were able to record in person. Special thanks to tech genius Alex Priore for making it happen.***

 

STAYING in Evangelical Spaces with Dan Stringer (ep. 13)

On this episode of the podcast, we talk with Dan Stringer, a pastor and team leader for InterVarsity in Hawai'i. He is also the author of a new book, Struggling with Evangelicalism: Why I Want to Leave and What It Takes to Stay. Together we discuss:

• How Dan's background as a "third culture kid" who lived in five countries on three continents + being a part of 9 (!) different denominations gave him unique lenses to see evangelicalism's strengths and weaknesses. 
• How to define "evangelicalism," and the difference it makes when approaching evangelicalism as "brand" vs. a "space" 
• Four stages of struggling with evangelicalism: awareness, appreciation, repentance, and renewal
• What it means to make evangelical spaces "better than we found them."

Order from IVP: https://ivpress.com/struggling-with-evangelicalism 

Follow Dan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RevDanStringer (@RevDanStringer) 

TRANSLATING the First Nations NT with Terry Wildman (ep. 12)

On this episode of the podcast, we talk with Terry Wildman, founder of Rain ministries and head of the translation team for the First Nations Version, an indigenous translation of the New Testament that involved a council of 12 and over 50 representatives from the native peoples of North America.

See the website here: https://firstnationsversion.com/

Order from IVP: https://www.ivpress.com/first-nations-version 

My co-host for this episode is Dr. Gayle Doornbos, professor of theology at Dordt. Together we discuss:

• The story behind this indigenous translation of the New Testament and the many contributing scholars
• The history of colonialism and how the translation team handled English words with negative connotations for native peoples (e.g., sin, kingdom)
• The unique practice of translating names by what they mean, so that Jerusalem is rendered "Village of Peace" and Paul is "Small Man". 
• What it might mean for the larger body of Christ to receive this new translation as a gift from the native peoples of North America.

Terry also reads a beautiful passage of Scripture for us (from Hebrews 1).

Here is my written reflection on the translation (which I use in part to introduce the episode): https://inallthings.org/gained-in-translation-a-review-of-the-first-nations-version/

SHOUTIN’ in the Fire with Danté Stewart (ep. 11)

On this episode of the podcast, we talk with Danté Stewart about his new book, Shoutin' in the Fire, a memoir about being Black and Christian in America. My guest co-host is Dr. Howard Schaap, professor of English at Dordt. Together we discuss: 

• What it means to "shout in the fire," holding onto an honest, vulnerable, and resilient faith amidst pain, anger, and despair.
• How his sense of the gospel of Jesus has been clarified and complicated over the course of his journey.
• The importance of "keeping our eyes on the body" as we live in this world.
• Literary and theological sources for the Black prophetic imagination, and how Danté found his writing voice.

Here is a link to Howard Schaap's review at our online journal: https://inallthings.org/the-prophetic-and-black-and-pentecostal-voice-a-review-of-shoutin-in-the-fire/ 

As mentioned in the intro, Danté mentions no less than 30 authors, and we have pulled together a list below:

Books mentioned by Danté:

Jesmyn Ward, Men We Reaped

Kiese Laymon, Heavy

Imani Perry, Breathe: A Letter to My Sons

Sarah Broom, The Yellow House

Darnell L. Moore, No Ashes in the Fire

Viet Thanh Nguyen, Nothing Ever Dies

Shawn Copeland, Enfleshing Freedom

Austin Channing Brown, I’m Still Here

Saidiya Hartman, Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments

Steven King, On Writing

N.K. Jemisin, The City We Became (fiction)

Robert Jones, Jr., The Prophets (fiction)

Octavia Butler, The Parable of the Sower (fiction)

 

Articles mentioned by Danté:

Elizabeth Alexander, “The Travon Generation”

Imani Perry, “Racism Is Terrible. Blackness Is Not.”

 

Authors mentioned by Danté:

James Baldwin

Toni Morrison

Deesha Philyaw

Maurice Ruffin

Jason Reynolds

Nikki Giovanni

James Cone

Kevin Quashie

Ta-Nehisi Coates

Willie James Jennings

Ashon Crawley

Gwendolyn Brooks

Zora Neale Hurston

Elizabeth Alexander

June Jordan

Amiri Baraka

Terrion Williamson

WONDERING about Faith & Doubt with Elizabeth Hall (ep. 10)

On this episode of the podcast, we talk with psychologist and researcher Elizabeth Hall about the psychology of doubt. This episode is in response to Dr. Hall's article, "Teaching Students to Doubt Well: The Roles of Intellectual Humility and Uncertainty Tolerance" (published in spring 2021 issue of Christian Scholar's Review). My co-host for this episode is Dr. Channon Visscher, professor of chemistry and planetary science at Dordt. Some topics we discuss:

• What do we gain from paying attention to the psychological dimensions of doubt?
• How can we think of faith and doubt in a way that takes rational, intuitive, and relational knowing into account?
• What is "intellectual humility" and "uncertainty tolerance," and how do we develop these traits?
• What are some strategies and practices for helping people "doubt well"?

To read the article: https://christianscholars.com/teaching-students-to-doubt-well-the-roles-of-intellectual-humility-and-uncertainty-tolerance/