Westminster John Knox Press Radio

WJK Radio 26: John Fea Responds: Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?

Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? The answer to that question is frequently debated by politicians, historians, and evangelicals. John Fea visits with us to offer his thoroughly-researched response. His new book, Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? A Historical Introduction, is an even-handed primer that approaches the title's question from a historical perspective. Fea unpacks what has been said over time about America being a Christian nation, helping readers see past the emotional rhetoric of today to the recorded facts of our past.

John Fea is Associate Professor of American History and Chair of the History Department at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania. Visit www.philipvickersfithian.com for more information about John Fea and his work.

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Related Resources:

David Dark, The Gospel according to America: A Meditation on a God-blessed, Christ-haunted Idea

Diana Eck, A New Religious America: How a "Christian Country" has Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation

Jacques Berlinerblau, Thumpin' It: The Use and Abuse of the Bible in Today's Presidential Politics - 75% OFF!

 

Music Credit:

“Shadows,” by David LaMotte

 

WJK Radio 23: Martin Thielen Explains the Least We Can Believe

Martin Thielen joins us to discuss ten things Christians need to believe—and ten things they don’t—to “qualify” as Christians. His new book, What’s the Least I Can Believe and Still Be a Christian? A Guide to What Matters Most is a lively and engaging book for seekers and believers who may find themselves questioning some of the assumptions they grew up with. The book is available at a great discount from TheThoughtfulChristian.com.

Ideal for individual, group, or congregational study, the book is accompanied by a free online leader's guide, featuring unique and easily implemented aids for carrying out a seven-week, congregation-wide initiative that will help local churches reach out to their communities.

Martin Thielen is Senior Pastor of Lebanon First United Methodist Church, in Lebanon, Tennessee. He has been a national worship and preaching consultant, seminary professor, and author, and has led more than one hundred church leadership workshops across the country.

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Related Resources:

Rowan Williams, Tokens of Trust: An Introduction to Christian Belief

Erik Kolbell, What Jesus Meant: The Beatitudes and a Meaningful Life 

Brian D. McLaren, A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey

 

Music Credit:

“Shadows,” by David LaMotte

WJK Radio 21: Ben Daniel Offers Thoughtful Guidance on Immigration

Who is our neighbor? Presbyterian pastor Ben Daniel joins us to discuss the controversial issues that surround undocumented migration in the United States. In his new book, Neighbor: Christian Encounters with “Illegal” Immigration, Daniel provides a Christian case for embracing undocumented immigrants using a blend of travel narrative, interviews, theological insight, and biblical scholarship.

Ben Daniel is a Presbyterian minister in northern California. He has served on the board of Presbyterian Border Ministries and is a regular contributor to UPI’s online religion and spirituality forum, as well as KQED FM, the largest NPR affiliate in the U.S. He is a graduate of Westmont College and Princeton Theological Seminary.

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Related Resources:

 Pamela K. Brubaker, Rebecca Todd Peters, and Laura A. Stivers, editors, Justice in a Global Economy: Strategies for Home, Community, and the World 

James Calvin Davis, In Defense of Civility: How Religion Can Unite America on Seven Moral Issues that Divide Us 

Music Credit:

Shadows,” by David LaMotte

 

WJK Radio 20: David Beckmann Calls Us to Change the Politics of Hunger

David Beckmann, the 2010 World Food Prize Laureate, is with us today to discuss Exodus from Hunger: We Are Called to Change the Politics of Hunger.  In his powerful and hopeful book, Beckmann looks at the causes of hunger, presents case studies of countries that have made great strides against it, and puts a human face on the problem by sharing stories of people who are, quite simply, hungry every day. The problems can seem overwhelming but Beckmann lays out a clear and workable plan for effectively using political channels to make great progress. He not only challenges us to get involved, he shows us how.

David Beckmann is president of Bread for the World, a collective Christian voice urging our nation’s leaders to end hunger in our country and around the world. He is a Lutheran pastor and an economist. The 2010 World Food Prize recognizes his leadership in achieving changes that have helped hundreds of millions of hungry people.

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Related Resources:

Jim Wallis, The Great Awakening: Seven Ways to Change the World

Greg Garrett, We Get to Carry Each Other: The Gospel according to U2

Rebecca Todd Peters and Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty (editors), To Do Justice: A Guide for Progressive Christians

Music Credit:

"Shadows,” by David LaMotte

WJK Radio 15: Walter Brueggemann paves the way toward the common good

Respected author and theologian Walter Brueggemann joins us today for a penetrating look at today’s most pressing issues, including terrorism, health care, and the recent economic collapse. He offers guidance for navigating through these challenging times through neighborliness, covenanting, and reconstruction. His new book, Journey to the Common Good, is now available from Westminster John Knox Press. 

Walter Brueggemann is William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament Emeritus at Columbia Theological Seminary. He is the world’s leading interpreter of the Old Testament and is the author of numerous books, including Westminster John Knox Press best sellers such as Genesis and An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian Imagination. For more information, visit http://brueggemann.wjkbooks.com.

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Related Resources:

Jim Wallis, The Great Awakening: Seven Ways to Change the World

Walter Brueggemann, Mandate to Difference: An Invitation to the Contemporary Church

 

Music Credit:

“Shadows,” by David LaMotte

WJK Radio 4: Jack Rogers on LGBT equality

Jack Rogers has spent the last few years advocating equal rights in both the church and society for people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered. He talks to Dan and Jana about his profound experiences as related in the newly revised edition of his best-selling book, Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church.

Jack Rogers is Professor of Theology Emeritus at San Francisco Theological Seminary and was moderator of the 213th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He is the author of Reading the Bible and the Confessions; Claiming the Center: Churches and Conflicting Worldviews; and Presbyterian Creeds. For more information, please visit www.drjackrogers.com.

Running Time: 29:03 minutes

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Related Resources:

John J. McNeill, Both Feet Firmly Planted in Midair

Dale B. Martin, Sex and the Single Savior

Rebecca Todd Peters and Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty, editors, To Do Justice: A Guide for Progressive Christians

 

Music Credit:

“Shadows,” by David LaMotte

WJK Radio 1: Rufus Burrow Jr. on African American history and Martin Luther King Jr.

On the heels of an historic presidential election, Dan and Jana talk with Rufus Burrow Jr. about the history of race relations in America and the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

Rufus Burrow Jr. is Indiana Professor of Christian Thought and Professor of Theological Social Ethics at Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, and the author of Martin Luther King Jr. for Armchair Theologians.

 Running Time: 37:47 minutes

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Related Resources:

Martin Luther King Jr., The Measure of a Man

Cornel West and Eddie S. Glaude Jr., African American Religious Thought: An Anthology

Music Credit:

"Shadows," by David Lamotte