church Archives - Page 5 of 36 - Lisa Colón DeLay

Eps 78 – Guest, Peter Rollins on Lacking the Lack, Fighting Ghosts, and Reveling in the Raveling

Welcome to Spark My Muse!

• Each FRIDAY I invite guests to have a conversation with me!
• Come back each Wednesday
(on “Hump Day” aka Midweek) for a brief Soul School “lesson”.

HOW FUNDING WORKS:
The difficult truth is that even though listening is free, Spark My Muse costs hundreds of dollars out of my own pocket each month to create, produce, and host online–and takes 25-30 hours of work per week to keep it afloat–which keeps me from making income to pay my own normal bills like electricity and water. The good news is that Listeners give so kindly (at over 3 times the average!!) to support the show–not just because my particular listeners are high-quality people (they are!), but because of that awesome feeling that happens each time we help out someone else when they need it most. $5 or $10 makes a BIG difference – Thank you for helping too!

(Want to have the power to share Peter Rollins audio for yourself? Just use the Clammer app below to select a snippet! Click the red and white logo.)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:10 — 70.3MB) | Embed

SHOW NOTES:
So many show notes!

MIN 1:30
How the use of story enhanced Peter’s talks.

Video Example:

The Power of Parable from Peter Rollins on Vimeo.

His book containing parables:

His “friend” Sheamus

Pints and Parables events

4:30
Pub culture in Ireland and not running from doubts and pain.
(Repression is the term in psychoanalysis)

Sharing in each other’s suffering.

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]Parables are a technology that help us look at painful things not directly so we can cultivate a grace in our lives and toward other people.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

(You can instantly tweet this quote above by clicking the blue bird. Look for other blue birds in these show notes.)

9:00
JRR Tolkien
Eucatastrophe (a good undoing, like the kind that happen in Fairy Stories)
Irish culture / music / art

Shane Tucker’s podcast

Green Belt Festival

The 18 foot woman in a dress at IKON. Ravel and unravel.

13:30 Pete’s Memento Mori

Something to remind you of death.
• Pete’s happy reaper memento mori.
• Lack and nothingness has a painful side but there is a way to find a fuel from it for life and living.

The painters called the Dutch Masters featured a theme: Vanity / futility of life.

Pieter Claesz, "Vanitas" 1630 — Pieter Claesz, “Vanitas” (1630)

The authentic, lively and cohesive pub [juxtaposed with] the vacuous and lonely night club.

The IKON community

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]We already are depressed and don’t know it.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

We say “Gone and not forgotten.”
The truth is usually “Forgotten but not gone.”

19:00
Believing in ghosts and hauntings.
A ghost is the presence of an absence.

Community can help us with our ghosts and make peace with them.

22:00
Friendly Fire Event (link)

Pyrotheology from Peter Rollins on Vimeo.

PyroTheology – Theory and Technology
5 academics

Engaging the Journal looking at the 5 critiques

Atheism for Lent course

Facebook LIVE events (link)
Philosophy for the streets

26:00
WAKE (2017) Festival in Belfast

Irish way to remember the life of the one who has dies and celebrate life for the living.

30:30
The Divine Magician (book link)

“God talk is often talk about ourselves with a megaphone “ -Karl Barth

The Vanishing Act of God the purposeful ambiguity in the title (Is God vanishing or doing the vanishing?)

Who is the magician? The Priest? The believer? God?
Liturgy is the technology of Theology.

The sacred object: The Forbidden Fruit is the first sacred object.

Video of Pete:

Tearing The Temple Curtain from Peter Rollins on Vimeo.

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]God is not an object that we love. God is that which we find in the act of love itself.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

3 Elements of the magic trick: The Pledge (The Object), the Turn (The Disappearance), the Prestige (The Object returns as something else)

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]The Eucharist includes the 3 parts of the magic trick.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

40:00
Pete’s event and speaking schedule

On naps!

45:00
Costs of living and why he lives in LA now.
Freedom from the pursuit of what will make you happy.

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]The tyranny of happiness is at its worst in Los Vegas and LA[/ictt-tweet-inline]

47:30
The serpent says,
“If you eat the fruit then you will be like God.”
(To lack the lack that we feel.)

• The serpent is called the superego in psychoanalysis.

Crush the head of the serpent.

49:00
Why and how Pete jogs in LA

Some other books by Pete you should check out!

Thank you for listening.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone else
and leave a rating on iTunes so more people find it!

Listen to the some of the most recent episodes by clicking below.

Pick the best option for you below.

Soul School – Lesson 46: The Story of How “Heathens” Received my Son

Welcome to Spark My Muse!

Welcome to SOUL SCHOOL.

These brief “lessons” are released each Wednesday
(on “Hump Day” aka Midweek).

• Come back FRIDAYS for intriguing guest conversations!

HOW FUNDING WORKS:
Spark My Muse is heard in 159 countries and costs hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket each month to create, produce, and host online. Without help, it will go bye bye.

Thank you for ANY amount, even $5 or $10, you can give today.

Scroll down for the AUDIO PLAYER to hear the epsiode.

INTRO:
Today, I share a personal story as springboard for something about compassion offered in context.

Many of you might not know that my husband and I have a special needs son named Nathan. (We also have a normally-developing daughter named Gabrielle, who we usually call “Ellie”. See photos of both of them below.) It’s been very arduous over the years with Nathan’s myriad of challenges and a strain on the whole family in many ways. To those friends, teachers, family, and others (too many to name) who have been helpful and supportive over the years, we say “thank you”.

What I am sharing today relates mainly to Nathan finding rich connection, friendship, or being truly accepted among his self-identified Christian/church going peers. Acceptance is a challenge for many typically developing children and teens. Children and teens by nature are immature, so I don’t (and didn’t) expect things to go perfectly!

His story is far from unique and neither is my pain as his parent watching it unfold. In a Christian setting, we’d like to think that rejection doesn’t happen too much because children might be influenced by church teachings and leadership. Or, Children and teens might be influenced by their Jesus-loving parents to act in ways that loving receive others with equality, but that was not our son’s experience.

When “being a mascot” is the best your child can hope for in terms of acceptance (that is to say that being ostracized is normal and being treated as a ” ‘Hey there little buddy!’ mascot” is a more rare but rather humiliating experience), your context as a family, how you help your child cope, and who shows up as your salvation, can take a surprising turn.

This personal story is the springboard for a deeper reflection today: about how we find our way in the world, make life better for ourselves and others, and maybe find some healing in the process.

What our family’s experiences showed me was that we can provide for others best out of the context from which we come, eventually. Examining those needs, hurts, and context can (possibly) yield a harvest of “good fruit”, eventual healing, and service to others. And maybe (with some new awareness), as we become more mature we can be increasingly mindful to ways we distance ourselves from people we fear. We also distance ourselves from people who unconsciously reflect parts our own weakness or insecurities back to us, and sometimes we distance ourselves from others we deem un-preferred to our sensibilities (or our cultures’ sensibilities) and are unlike us. If we can begin to see this, it’s a start.

• Thanks for listening today! Blessing and peace.

See the show notes below for my two previous fantastic conversations on the theology of disability and hospitality from Dr. Thomas Reynolds. He offers some truly inspiring and enlightening things in these areas that are likely to be completely new ground for you and your community.

AUDIO PLAYER:

(Share a snippet of audio by clicking the Clammr app below. It’s a rock star upgrade!)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 15:03 — 20.7MB) | Embed

SHOW NOTES:

This is Nathan.

Pictured in photo: Nathan, his friend Cori, Nathan’s sister Ellie, and Luna–our dog.
A little bit about Nathan: Nathan loves to make videos on his youtube channel about trains, how-to videos, and animation videos. He loves working at his part-time job (large scale yard work), spending time with friends, making things from soda cans, drawing, playing with Luna, and coming up with fanciful business ideas. He also enjoys posting on his Instagram account. You can follow him on those outlets and encourage him, if you’d like. He loves connecting with new friends and fans. (And if you send him train video footage or interesting video script ideas he might try to create new videos with them.)

Nathan’s video channel trailer:

More on the the study and theology of disability and hospitality.

Tom Reynolds – Part I

Tom Reynolds – Part II

Thank you so very much for listening today.

Hear other recent episodes:

Pick an option below!

Eps 72: Deconstructionists RECAP with Adam & John on Jack Caputo

Welcome to Spark My Muse!

Thanks for your generousity.

Spark My Muse listeners hear quality episodes–twice, each week–and give what they can. YOU ARE THE VERY BEST.

THEY ARE BACK.
Adam Narloch and John Williamson of the Deconstructionist Podcast!

I put lots of effort into the show notes so they are amazing and helpful for you.
SO. MANY. LINKS.
Scroll down for those and enjoy the show!

AUDIO PLAYER:

(You can share an audio clip from the show by using the Clammr app below. Just click the red and white logo

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 50:51 — 69.9MB) | Embed

Hear Adam and John the previous time they came on the Spark My Muse show: Episode 59.

SHOW NOTES for Episode 72

It’s a special podcast powwow with Adam and John as we deconstruct / unpack their recent conversation with remarkable guest John D. Caputo!
(often referred to as Jack)

Min 2
“What Would Jesus Deconstruct” by Jack Caputo

(John) On Jack Caputo and his work related to Philosopher Jacques Derrida

The Weakness of God – by Jack Caputo

Other books by John D. Caputo

MIN 3:30

The meaning of “Weak Theology”

(briefly explained)

Tragedies bring out the questions of Theodicy (or so-called “weak theology”) and the questions of why good God would allow humans to suffer. We talk about how we perceive weakness compared to how God might encounter or solve that. It’s a loving term of weakness.

Looking at Jesus dying on the cross as a metaphor for weakness. (sacrifice)

Violence begets more violence.
The solution is a surprising one.

MIN 6:30

(Adam)

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]Foolishness of God is the great reversal and is the premise of weak theology.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

Michel Foucault on knowledge and power

MIN 8:20
Why the Deconstructionist podcast is not heterodox or counter-orthodoxy or heretical:

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]Theology isn’t something you can capture and freeze.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

Beliefs are constructed through history are relatively stable (this is why they last throughout time) but they are also relatively unstable then too. It’s both dangerous to mess with the beliefs and dangerous to keep them frozen too.

MIN 10

(John) The nugget John found in the conversation:

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]Deconstruction is not a drive-by shooting.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

• Karen Armstrong’s work – (books)

Ancient people, scribes, leaders, and rabbi’s were always struggling with how to interpret scripture.

MIN 13:00
The cultural legacy of a modernity mindset is to think that the Bible could be seen as inerrant.

The re-imagining of the Scriptures.

MIN 13:30

(Adam)

Theo-poetics

It’s not that we have to destroy it but we have to continue to to image and expose the Scripture to its own future.

MIN 15:00

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]If Justice or Hospitality exists, it calls to us. It’s something we imagine and pray for and long for. God doesn’t exist, God insists.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

MIN 16:30

“You can’t be a fascist of knowledge.” -Adam Narloch

MIN 17:30
Some people think deconstructing is negative and a dead end. Why deconstructing is not a dead end but rather life-giving.

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]The desire beyond desire. It calls us to the next thing. We mistake desire for the thing.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

MIN 18:30

(Adam)

Further up and further in…

the thing calling us forward. The beyond the beyond. The deconstructive process continues and we have to keep opening it up.

MIN 20:00

(John) Being comfortable of the Mystery of God.

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]Who created God? you realize is the wrong question.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

MIN 23:30

(Lisa) My own deconstructing the image of Jesus, of God, and the mystery of understanding how our brains understand reality through constructions.

MIN 25:00

(Adam)

The alien orb. Sphere a Michael Crighton novel.

The Anthropomorphic problem – people make things people-like.

Jewish people are iconoclastic. No graven images. Images don’t capture the meaning.

Jesus is iconoclastic because he comes as divine coming in human form.

The temple curtain is torn revealing that nothing was there behind it because there was more to be revealed.

MIN 29:00

(John)

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]Pluralism helps us deconstructs and helps take us to deeper truth.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

MIN 32:00

(Lisa)
Wrestling with God is our “calling” (as humans). In other words, it’s our most basic human experience.

Hear Robcast with Rabbi Joel.

MIN 33 (Adam)

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]Enlightenment has co-opted inside religion to take the wrestling [with God] out.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

MIN 33:30

(John)

on their podcast being referred to as “dangerous”

Heresy in the Middle Ages related to power and government structures (not spirituality).

The influence of the famous women mystics threatened power structures more than personal spiritual devotion in the lives of people.

MIN 36:00

• Revisionist History podcast Malcom Galdwell.

Do a revisionist history on the church heretics.

Check out Pelagius and see if maybe he wasn’t a heretic.

MIN 39:00

on Paul’s letters (which became part of collection of books now know as The Holy Bible) were the documents that were preserved the best (and most shaped what is now Christianity)

MIN 43:00

Paul’s authority.

The scandal of turning Paul’s letters into a new law would have deeply grieved Paul.

The Fidelity of Betrayal – Peter Rollins

• Peter Rollins’ books

Hear Episode 18 of the Deconstructionist Podcast featuring Jack Caputo here.

Hear the most recent episodes of Spark My Muse:

Pick an option below for the next amazing episode!

Eps 66: Pirates & Getting High (Transcendence) – Guest Kester Brewin

Today, my guest is author and friend from across the pond, Kester Brewin. Our conversation covers fascinating topics about human nature and the history of drug culture and the Jesus movement, the surprising backstory about colonial era Pirates and mutiny few of us have heard, along with some of Kester’s personal journey.

MAKE SURE to scroll down to see a playlist of other episodes I know you’ll like and a subscribe option. Thank you so much for listening in. A wonderful summer lineup of guests is coming. Like, next week’s guest: Mike McHargue (Ask Science Mike).

(If you hear some audio you’d like to share. Simply click the red and white Clammr icon below! SO COOL!)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 49:26 — ) | Embed

SHOW NOTES

on Pirates, and Getting High (Transcendence)

Check out Kester’s
WEBSITE
TWITTER
• Math teacher, by day
– started VAUX community, and is the author of a number of books

The Complexed Christ

Mutiny (about pirates and democracy)

Here’s his UK TED talk

4:00
What Pirates are actually all about.

In culture and film and even theology.

An act of self determination.

Everyone was stealing. Pirates bought themselves more years.

Skull and crossbones, a symbol of death, is turned into new life.

Pirate radio and other uprisings that set riches into public circulation.

9:00
Theology, Piracy and Peter Pan

Overcoming the Father and the piracy of that.

12:30
Kester’s book Mutiny

He tackles two stories.
The Prodigal Son – retold as a tragedy
and The Odyssey

~If you’d like…read the PRODIGAL SON parable in the Bible HERE.~

When children become free.

MIN 20:00
The latest book
Getting High A Savage Journey to the Heart the Dream of Flight

An argument with Peter Rollins about the infinite.

The ancient and ongoing quest for transcendence;
wanting to lift away.

Humans can’t fly.
Flight, space, mind trips, charismatics, emotionalism

22:00
“Up there” becomes spiritual, like fire straining to reach the lights of heaven.

24:00
Flight is seen as a sin at first.

Balloonists (first “flyers”) refer to the experience as spiritual.

25:00
Space program of the 1960s
LSD counter culture
And the pentecostal movement
Technology has spiritual weight, meaning and significance to humans.

Lonnie Frisbee hippie has experience meeting Jesus in the bible.

Beach music brought into church and known as worship tunes.

John Wimber and the Vineyard church

Middle class Christianity

Hell’s Angels, working class men.

29:00
Kester’s religious background

Toronto Blessing 1990s

mind trips and technologies trying to lift us out because of anxiety.

Apollo missions were evangelistic.

34:00
The stress and need to lift off especially seen in poor communities.

Link to Kester’s audio presentation–a half hour meditation called ‘High Flight‘ – for BBC Radio 4’s program called “Something Understood”.

Eps 59: Adam and John from The Deconstructionist Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:39 — 72.3MB) | Embed

Thank you for visiting Spark My Muse!

This week is the celebration of 1 year of podcasting!
#weekofSPARKle (To party with us, you can search #weekofSPARKle on Twitter for contests, videos, and zaniness, and on eBay for some tasty and whacky auction/collector’s items.)
• MORE INFO HERE

Send a birthday gift?
Click to give the baby Spark a present–support the show.

Adam Narloch and John Williamson started a podcast and after just a few episodes, they had thousands of listeners–find out why. Our conversation is wide-ranging and fantastic!

SHOW NOTES:

MIN 1:30

The deep seated need to find a home to talk about uncomfortable issues of faith and doubt.