No Experts Allowed

Ezekiel 36:33-38

Ezekiel proclaims a vision of renewed gardens and rebuilt cities. God does not throw away what seems desolate and forlorn but will transform it. That theme leads to a discussion about the prison industrial complex, recidivism, and the need for a system that takes seriously the reforming capacity of people.

Isaiah 56:1–6

Isaiah proclaims that all will be part of God's people; foreigners are invited to join in praise. Jonathan and Seth discuss how churches both intentionally and accidentally exclude others. We also discuss chicken sandwiches.

Matthew 16:1-4

Jesus chides the religious leaders' ability to predict the weather, but not understand the miracles happening in front of them. He continues by pointing to a rather cryptic "sign of Jonah." Seth and Jonathan discuss how churches can interpret the signs of the times.

Genesis 31:1-21

Tired of his father-in-law's treatment, Jacob flees Laban. But in the story, Rachel and Leah are relatively quiet, passive characters. Jonathan and Seth discuss how the Bible (and all texts) reinforce one perspective to the exclusion of others and how we can elevate those who whisper in the text.

Psalm 105:1-11

Praise saturates the Psalms. Since the writer of Psalm 105 roots worship in God's action, Jonathan and Seth discuss ways they've seen God move in their stories to motivate praise.

Matthew 7:15-20

Returning to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, we discuss how to determine whether someone is a false prophet as well as our need to address harmful ideologies without attacking the healthy parts of the tree.

Isaiah 2:1–4

Jonathan and Seth discuss how God's kin-dom requires the transformation of weapons into tools that renew and reconnect people with the earth.

We talk briefly about the organization Raw Tools, which literally turns guns into garden tools but also offers non-violence training. Read more about them here: rawtools.org

Jeremiah 20:1-6

In this episode, Pashhur, the chief officer in the Lord's house, slaps Jeremiah and throws him in the stocks. Jonathan and Seth talk about dentists.

Psalm 13

Our longest episode yet focuses on Psalm 13 and heavy, healthy lament. Jonathan reads an excerpt from womanist Hebrew Bible scholar Wil Gafney. The full text is available here: https://www.wilgafney.com/2017/07/02/a-newold-psalm-of-lament/

Luke 11:53-12:3

Jesus confronts the Pharisees and religious leaders about their hypocrisy. We talk about the harmful effects of being "double-minded" and how it hurts those who are already marginalized.