Faithful Disruption: Religion in Public Life

On this episode of “Faithful Disruption,” Trista’s guest is U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. He has represented Rhode Island in the United States Senate since 2007. The senator has a reputation as an advocate for progressive values and a thoughtful legislator capable of reaching across the aisle to achieve bipartisan solutions.Whitehouse has given hundreds of Senate floor speeches about climate change and asserted that politically conservative “dark money” groups are corrupting the federal government to prevent climate action, and other reasons.As always, you can reach Trista at the Center for Religion in Public Life by emailing: crpl@ptstulsa.edu.Image Credit: By United States Senate Photographic Studio - [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87990584

On this episode, Trista’s guest is Chris Shannahan, author of Life on the Breadline: Theology, Poverty and Politics in an Age of Austerity. He is an Associate Professor in Political Theology at Coventry University’s Research Centre for Peace and Security in Coventry, UK.Chris served in a variety of teaching and ministry roles, including as a Methodist Minister in inner-city London and Birmingham and a community organizer. His grassroots experience provided the grounding for his research in urban theology, sociology of religion and diversity studies and the basis of his PhD, within which he developed the first critical analysis of urban theology in the UK.As always, you can reach Trista at the Center for Religion in Public Life by emailing: crpl@ptstulsa.edu.

On this episode of “Faithful Disruption: Religion in Public Life,” our host, Trista Soendker Nicholson, takes us to Cambridge, England for a conversation with Dr. Jonathan Chaplin. They discuss the unique differences and similarities surrounding issues of church and state in the United Kingdom and the United States.Jonathan is a specialist in Christian political theology and a fellow of Wesley House, Cambridge Theological Federation, where he works with the Centre for Faith in Public Life. He is also the author of Beyond Establishment: Resetting Church-State Relations in England published in 2022, and Faith in Democracy: Framing a Politics of Deep Diversity released in 2021.From 2006 to 2017, he was director of the Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics in Cambridge, and from 1999 to 2006 he was associate professor of political theory at the Institute of Christian Studies (ICS) in Toronto. He held the Dooyeweerd Chair in Social and Political Philosophy at ICS from 2004 to 2006 and was visiting lecturer in Christian social and political thought at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam from 2007 to 2011.He is a research fellow of the Canadian Christian think-tank Cardus. He also wrote, Herman Dooyeweerd: Christian Philosopher of State and Civil Society (2011). He has edited or co-edited nine other works and published many articles and book chapters in the field.As always, you can reach Trista at the Center for Religion in Public Life by emailing: crpl@ptstulsa.edu. Stay updated by subscribing to our Substack.

Kelli Driscoll Crews and Emilee Bounds discuss the importance and value of community organizing in this episode of Faithful Disruption with Trista Soendker Nicholson. They share how community organizing isn't just about problems. It's about people connecting and building solutions together.

Emma Olson Sharkey visits with Faithful Disruption host Trista Soendker Nicholson about the way congressional and other voting districts are changing to increase political power for some and disenfranchise others.Sharkey is a partner at Elias Law Group. She focuses her practice on nonprofit tax and campaign finance law, and legal issues related to ballot measures. Emma advises clients participating in political and issue advocacy across the country, including progressive ballot measure campaigns, political campaigns, and nonprofit organizations. She helps clients understand the law, anticipate challenges, and mitigate legal risk.Emma is one of the nation’s leading ballot measure attorneys, counseling clients on how to effectively engage in measures across the country. She routinely defends clients engaged in ballot measure activity before state agencies and advises on ballot measure litigation strategy. She has served as outside counsel to progressive ballot measure efforts in more than 15 states, most recently focusing on campaigns that seek to protect the ballot measure process.Emma regularly speaks and writes about ballot measures, most recently in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Salon, NBC News, Slate, CBS News Radio, The Hill, Democracy Docket, the Columbia Journalism Review, Pluribus, and Common Dreams. Her research has also been cited by TIME Magazine. (from law firm page https://elias.law/bio/emma-olson-sharkey/)

The Rev. Jesse Jackson Jr., a Phillips alum and longest serving pastor at East Sixth Street Christian Church in Oklahoma City, discusses his lifelong commitment to resistance and change. He also shares how this part of his ministry has changed as he has faced several health concerns.

Join Trista Soendker Nicholson as she discusses the origins of the Center for Religion in Public LIfe with its founder, Gary Peluso-Verdend. You can also read Trista's latest blogs.

The relationship between Judaism and the New Testament has often been clouded by misinterpretation and bias. On the new episode of Committing Faith in Public, Phillips Theological Seminary President Doug Powe welcomes New Testament scholar and faculty member Dr. Warren Carter to discuss his new co-authored Baker Academic volume, Early Judaism and the New Testament: Troubling Misunderstandings.BOOK LINKAUTHOR INFORMATIONWarren CarterWarren Carter (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary) is the LaDonna Kramer Meinders Professor of New Testament at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is the author of many books, including Seven Events That Shaped the New Testament World and The Roman Empire and the New Testament.Ariel FeldmanAriel Feldman (PhD, University of Haifa, Israel) is the Rosalyn and Manny Rosenthal Professor of Jewish Studies at Brite Divinity School and Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, where he also directs the Jewish Studies program. He has published several books and articles, most of which deal with the literature of Early Judaism.BOOK OVERVIEW (from the publisher)The relationship between Early Judaism and the New Testament is a major issue in biblical studies, one that has impacted Jewish-Christian relations for centuries. This impact has often been negative due to troubling misconceptions of both the New Testament and Jewish writings contemporaneous with it. Misunderstandings have arisen from inaccurate information, religious traditions, and anti-Semitism.Warren Carter and Ariel Feldman address and correct these misconceptions by engaging with the New Testament and major writings from Early Judaism, including the Apocrypha, Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, and the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as Philo and Josephus. The authors emphasize various interactions among these traditions for the purpose of better interpreting the New Testament and, importantly, avoiding anti-Jewish bias.This is an ideal supplemental textbook for students of the New Testament as well as interested clergy and laity. The text is straightforward and readable, and unlike other books on the topic, it does not assume prior knowledge of Early Judaism or of New Testament engagement with it. Each chapter recognizes troubling misunderstandings that people often have about the interactions between Early Judaism and the New Testament and includes discussion prompts.