Patchwork Redemption: Suffering and Joy in Racial Perspective

In this conversation, philosopher Kent Dunnington discusses humility—in its ancient, scriptural, monastic, and Medieval Christian contexts; some damning criticisms of Christian virtue; Jesus' radical vision of flourishing and eternal life, which includes self sacrifice; the temptation toward ego building and self improvement; and Dunnington's own view of humility as “radical un-selfing.”

In this conversation, theologian J. Kameron Carter discusses the black experience of a structurally anti-black world; the meaning of belonging and communion; how race factors in America's struggle for belonging to each other; the difference between black misery and white melancholy; and the presumption of comfort and alleviation of suffering that whiteness assumes. He also covers atonement theology; the erroneous logic of false ownership; and the unkillable, vibrant life of Jesus the slave.

In this episode, theologian Kelly Kapic reflects on the linkage between theology and biography, the need for lament, the finitude and goodness of the human body, and the meaning of hope in the context of pain and suffering.

Theologian Miroslav Volf on the challenge of living a theology in the fissures of life; the often irreducible complexity of human experience; how Volf's own biography and personal experience with oppression during the Cold War impacted his theology; the centrality of memory to forgiveness; and the importance of living as a porous, open self—open to encountering and embracing the other.

Baylor University's Ralph Wood on the monstrosity of humanity, the goodness of God, finding grace and hope along the dark terrain of human history, all through the lens of literature and faith.

Peter Kreeft’s reflections on theology, psychology, and spiritual formation, spanning from surfing, science, and sanctification—to C.S. Lewis, faith, and mythology.

In this episode, we cover problems of consumerism, pop culture, how we can cure the loss of cultural memory, and a deeper dive into black and womanist perspectives on flourishing, suffering, and theodicy.

Philosopher Eleanore Stump on the core of what a Christian ought to care about most, the phenomenology and experience of suffering, her take on the question of whether God suffers and dies, and finally, how interpersonal union is intimately connected to finding meaning in suffering.

Theologian Stanley Hauerwas on death, love, suffering, mental disability, the American church, and what it means to him to be a Christian.

Jessica Hooten Wilson on her love for the saints and the concept of writing and reading saints lives as a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic task. Includes discussion of martyrdom, art, and the reverence due to great books and sacred texts (and of course, a little bit of Flannery O'Connor).