Forging Ploughshares

Paul Axton preaches: This Easter sermon examines the first Christian proclamation of resurrection in its direct indictment of those who nailed him to the cross, but this scapegoating, nationalistic, religion in its captivity to death and killing exemplifies human religion and the human problem which Christ exposes and resolves in the resurrection.  If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace” Starting April 8th and running through May 27th on from 7 pm to 9 pm central time. This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” from various perspectives: Biblical, theological, philosophical, and inter-religious. Go to https://pbi.forgingploughshares.org/offerings.)  

In this discussion with Karl, Andy, Jim, and Scott, Paul brings together Christian Anarchy as it coincides with an apocalyptic theology, but fills this out through the work of Ann Jervis, who describes the need to set aside "now and not yet" as a controlling metaphor which does not do justice to victory in Christ. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace” Starting April 8th and running through May 27th on from 7 pm to 9 pm central time. This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” from various perspectives: Biblical, theological, philosophical, and inter-religious. Go to https://pbi.forgingploughshares.org/offerings.)

This is a combination of Brad and Paul discussing the sermon and the upcoming classes along with the sermon on approaching Easter through the cross, or taking up the cross as enabling resurrection faith. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace” Starting April 8th and running through May 27th from 7 pm to 9 pm central time. This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” from various perspectives: Biblical, theological, philosophical, and inter-religious. Go to https://pbi.forgingploughshares.org/offerings.)

Paul, Nate, Karl, Jim, and Andy discuss the work of renegade Catholic Priest Ivan Illich in his criticism of institutional Christianity as giving shape to modern nationalism and the profound failures of modern society.  If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace” Starting April 8th and running through May 27th on from 7 pm to 9 pm central time. This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” from various perspectives: Biblical, theological, philosophical, and inter-religious. Go to https://pbi.forgingploughshares.org/offerings.)

Paul Axton preaches: Mary and Martha illustrate two approaches to life and thought, with Mary representing a Sabbath form of thought in which thought is received, and Mary representing a doing form of thought in which thought is aimed at a product. While Marth thinking is necessary, all Martha and no Mary takes away the center and purpose from thought. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace” Starting April 8th and running through May 27th. This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” from various perspectives: Biblical, theological, philosophical, and inter-religious. Go to https://pbi.forgingploughshares.org/offerings.)

Karl, Jim, Nathan, Andy and Paul discuss the difference an apocalyptic theology makes in regard to natural theology, understandings of sin and salvation, and biblical hermeneutics. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace” Starting April 8th and running through May 27th. This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” from various perspectives: Biblical, theological, philosophical, and inter-religious. Go to https://pbi.forgingploughshares.org/offerings.)  

Paul Axton preaches: Building on the picture of salvation in Hebrews as occurring through Sabbath rest, and depicting the unrest or dis-ease of neurosis, war, philosophy, and religion, the resolution to the deadly human predicament through Sabbath is depicted.  If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace” Starting April 8th and running through May 27th. This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” from various perspectives: Biblical, theological, philosophical, and inter-religious. Go to https://pbi.forgingploughshares.org/offerings.)

Brad and Paul talk with Ethan Vander Leek about his upcoming course on peace in which he will utilize the insights of William Desmond, Rowan Williams, and Raimon Panikkar among others.  If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace” Starting April 8th and running through May 27th. This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” from various perspectives: Biblical, theological, philosophical, and inter-religious. Go to https://pbi.forgingploughshares.org/offerings.)  

Paul Axton preaches: In Galatians, Paul delineates fleshly Israel from Spiritual Israel, equating fleshly Israel with the children of Hagar, and Christians with Isaac. Isaac points directly to Christ, just as the faith of Abraham in having Isaac points to Christian faith, but to focus on fleshly Israel is to return to idolatry.  If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace”: This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” from various perspectives: Biblical, theological, philosophical, and inter-religious. Go to https://pbi.forgingploughshares.org/offerings.)

Paul Axton preaches: Developing Paul's understanding that we fill up the suffering of Christ, the state of being between an originary unity and a developing fulness is explicated against the background of the philosophy of William Desmond, which is building on this Pauline idea.  If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron! (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace”: This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” from various perspectives: Biblical, theological, philosophical, and inter-religious. Go to https://pbi.forgingploughshares.org/offerings.)

Brad and Paul discuss the work of William Desmond and approach it through his engagement with Hegel, his reading of Flannery O'Connor, and his opposition to the dark reading of Slavoj Žižek. (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace”: This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” from various perspectives: Biblical, theological, philosophical, and inter-religious. Go to https://pbi.forgingploughshares.org/offerings.) If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

Paul Axton preaches: Thomas is a resolute unbeliever who after examining Jesus' wound gives the strongest of affirmations of Jesus' divine identity. As in the story of Flannery O'Connor, Revelation, one world falls apart revealing another. The crack opens up to let in the light.  (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace”: This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” from various perspectives: Biblical, theological, philosophical, and inter-religious. We will examine various forms of false peace and ask what peace is positively, its metaphysical and religious status as a concept and as a lived reality. Is peace possible? How is it characterized? How does Jesus make peace? Can difference be understood, lived, and resolved, not in violence and victory but in cooperation and mutuality? We will be guided into such questions by voices past and present, including Augustine, Thomas Merton, Raimon Panikkar, William Desmond, Rowan Williams, and more. Go to https://pbi.forgingploughshares.org/offerings.) If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

Brad and Paul continue the conversation with John Ashworth, who has spent much of his life in Sudan in practical peacemaking efforts and describes how nonviolence is the real-world solution to conflict.  (Sign up for “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace”: This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” from various perspectives: Biblical, theological, philosophical, and inter-religious. We will examine various forms of false peace and ask what peace is positively, its metaphysical and religious status as a concept and as a lived reality. Is peace possible? How is it characterized? How does Jesus make peace? Can difference be understood, lived, and resolved, not in violence and victory but in cooperation and mutuality? We will be guided into such questions by voices past and present, including Augustine, Thomas Merton, Raimon Panikkar, William Desmond, Rowan Williams, and more. Go to https://pbi.forgingploughshares.org/offerings.) If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

Paul Axton preaches: John combines his description of love and God with his picture of its reversal in the Antichrist. Friedrich Nietzsche, in recommending the Antichrist and his work (a recommendation taken up by the Nazis) depicts the reversal embraced by a German and American Christianity which would hate in the name of Christ. Agape love is the only counter to this demonic form of the faith. (Sign up for "Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Perspectives on Peace": This class, with Ethan Vander Leek, examines “peace” from various perspectives: Biblical, theological, philosophical, and inter-religious. We will examine various forms of false peace and ask what peace is positively, its metaphysical and religious status as a concept and as a lived reality. Is peace possible? How is it characterized? How does Jesus make peace? Can difference be understood, lived, and resolved, not in violence and victory but in cooperation and mutuality? We will be guided into such questions by voices past and present, including Augustine, Thomas Merton, Raimon Panikkar, William Desmond, Rowan Williams, and more. Go to https://pbi.forgingploughshares.org/offerings.) If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!  

Brad and Paul interview peacemaker John Ashworth, who has spent his life bringing peace to Sudan, long torn by ethnic and political violence. John has been key in negotiating peace settlements and bringing peace to this troubled region and his expertise with the realities of peace as the resolution to violence is grounded in real-world reality and experience.  If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

Paul Axton preaches: Jesus encounter with the woman at the well transports her and those who follow the conversation to a world in which God is no longer delimited by religion, place and time, and opens up a direct knowing of God, and Truth in the Spirit. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

In part 2 of our discussion of the physics of David Bohm reflected in the work of Hegel, Brad and I lay out the significance of Bohm's theory as it overlaps with Hegel's philosophy and also discuss the role of preaching, connected to these difficult topics.  If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

Paul Axton preaches: The slaying of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and the justification of this slaughter and its denial points us to Christ's exposure of the blind murderers who killed him in the name of law and order. Beyond this evil, there is a third tier of evil which acknowledges Christ's exposure of evil but which is now using this insight to manipulate the blind.  If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

Brad and Paul, so as to explain recent blogs and podcasts, discuss Hegel's Logic as it applies to the quantum reality and theory of David Bohm and which describes how it is that Christ unifies all things, bringing together mind and matter through the understanding that thought or cognition is ultimate reality. Paul's depiction of two kinds of letter is the point of entry. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

Ethan Vanderleek, a specialist on William Desmond describes to Paul, Desmond's project and its overlap with the Christology of Rowan Williams. William Desmond is one of our most important living philosophers, and Ethan explains how he poses a true metaphysical alternative to both modernism and postmodernism. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!