Complexified

Latest Episodes:

When Public Dollars Pay for Religious Education Oct 25, 2024

Show notes

The growing controversy surrounding school vouchers and their use in private religious education is once again emerging. With public dollars increasingly directed toward faith-based schools, the question arises: Does this expand educational choice or undermine public schools? Joined by RNS contributor, Dr. Charles Russo, research professor of law and expert on First Amendment issues, we dive into the legal and social implications of school vouchers: who benefits, who loses, and what it means for the future of public education in America.

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The Hindu Vote: Flipping the Script Oct 11, 2024

Show notes

The changing political landscape of Hindu Americans: we explore their shifting alliances from traditional Democratic loyalties to a growing alignment with the right. Host Amanda Henderson and RNS Hindu reporter Richa Karmarkar discuss the factors driving this transformation, from the influence of leaders like Kamala Harris and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the impact of caste discrimination and immigrant identity in shaping party affiliations. Join us as we unpack how these dynamics are redefining the Hindu vote in the upcoming election.

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Women’s Work: a Catholic Conundrum Oct 04, 2024

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In this episode, we sit down with Claire Giangravé, a Vatican correspondent for Religion News Service, to explore the pivotal discussions happening at the Synod on Synodality. With nearly 400 leaders of the Roman Catholic Church gathered in Vatican City, the role of women in church leadership has become a central focus. We dive into the historical resistance, theological debates, and cultural shifts that are shaping this centuries-old conversation. Will the Vatican finally open the door to greater leadership roles for women, including the possibility of female deacons? Tune in for an inside look at this momentous moment for the Catholic Church.

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Imagining a Land of Belonging Jun 19, 2024

Show notes

"The modern world is impossible to narrate without the idea of land as property and the seizing of land as property." "Imagination is our gift in creating and building new worlds."

In this episode, Amanda talks with Dr. Willie James Jennings about the profound impact of our conceptions of land on our world today. Our distorted understanding of land as a possession has led to a shallow sense of connectivity and belonging, impacting our relationship with the earth and each other. The conflicts around us are often centered in conflicts over land, and we need to restructure our communities to create shared living and press against how our communities have been shaped. Understanding the history, shape, and function of the land where we live is essential for deepening our connection to the earth and each other. Imagination plays a crucial role in anticipating the possibility of a lively life together, preparing us to receive the stranger and care for those who are different from us.

GUEST:

Dr. Willie James Jennings is an American theologian, known for his contributions on liberation theologies, cultural identities, and theological anthropology. He is an associate professor of systematic theology and Africana studies at Yale Divinity School.

Willie Jennings’ book The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race (Yale 2010) won the American Academy of Religion Award of Excellence in the Study of Religion in the Constructive-Reflective category the year after it appeared and, in 2015, the Grawemeyer Award in Religion, the largest prize for a theological work in North America. Englewood Review of Books called the work a “theological masterpiece.”

His commentary on the Book of Acts, titled Acts: A Commentary, The Revolution of the Intimate (for the Belief Series, Westminster/John Knox) received the Reference Book of the Year Award from The Academy of Parish Clergy in 2018.

Dr. Jennings has also recently published a book that examines the problems of theological education within western education, entitled After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging

Writing in the areas of liberation theologies, cultural identities, and anthropology, Jennings has authored more than 40 scholarly essays and nearly two-dozen reviews, as well as essays on academic administration and blog posts for Religion Dispatches.

Jennings is an ordained Baptist minister and has served as interim pastor for several North Carolina churches. He is in high demand as a speaker and is widely recognized as a major figure in theological education across North America.

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Dividing Lines: Life on the Border Jun 12, 2024

Show notes

What makes someone leave everything they know? Why do people risk their lives crossing treacherous deserts into a land they are not welcome in? Migration Activist and Humanitarian Dora Rodriguez shares her story of survival after fleeing political violence in El Salvador in 1980. She compels us to see the deep humanity of those simply seeking safety and opportunity.

SHOW NOTES

As the Biden Administration moves to limit admission to the U.S. for those seeking asylum, we take a trip to the southern border to meet with those who move between the two countries, supporting those simply seeking survival. In this episode, Amanda interviews Migration Activist and Humanitarian Dora Rodriguez, Director of Salvavision, a Tucson, Arizona-based organization providing aid and support to asylum seekers, migrants passing through or being dropped off by cartels, or migrants deported by Border Patrol in the remote town of Sasabe, Sonora.

Hear about Dora’s experience as a migrant in the 1980 tragedy in Organ Pipe National Monument, AZ, where Salvadorans fled civil war, resulting in 13 deaths, including 3 minors. This experience propelled her to the forefront of the sanctuary movement in Tucson, AZ.

Resources:

https://www.dorarodriguez.org/

https://mexico.arizona.edu/revista/brief-legislative-history-last-50-years-us-mexico-border#:~:text=In%20September%201969%2C%20the%20Nixon,created%20our%20modern%20border%20lines.

https://www.smu.edu/dedman/research/institutes-and-centers/texas-mexico/about/timeline

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/05/travel/nogales-arizona-mexico-border.html

https://salvavision.org

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Church Land: Let Go & Grow Jun 05, 2024

Show notes

Listening to the needs in their community for housing and childcare led this Colorado Church to make a big decision. Rather than building a bigger church on the 11 acres they sat on, they decided to give the land away and develop a new non-profit with community partners. Does awareness of our history of land ownership in the U.S. shift the way Churches think about their land?

“We don't hear stories in scripture of …and then Jesus went home to his house and went to bed, watched Netflix, and had a snack. Jesus's ministry was dependent on the hospitality of others, people welcoming him into their own homes. And so for us, this is a measure of that hospitality, welcoming people here to Heartside Hill to say, ‘You have a safe and secure place to lay your head at night.’” (Rev. Melissa St. Clair)

In today’s episode, Amanda talks with Pastor Melissa St. Clair, who shares the story of Heart of the Rockies Christian Church, which, after years of work, is giving away most of its 11 acres to support a new community-centered non-profit that will provide accessible housing, childcare, and supportive services.

https://religionnews.com/complexified

GUEST:

Rev. Melissa St. Clair, Senior Pastor at Heart of the Rockies Christian Church in Fort Collins, Colorado

Senior Pastor since January 2013. She delights in the bike lanes, running paths, hiking trails, and the open-minded people in Fort Collins and at Heart of the Rockies Christian Church. Melissa was ordained in 2008 at St. John’s United Church of Christ in south central Pennsylvania, where her extended family still resides. Her Master of Divinity is from Eden Theological Seminary (St. Louis, MO).

Melissa serves as Moderator-Elect for the Central Rocky Mountain Region and chairs the Board of Stewards for the Center for Faith and Giving. She is an alumna of the Bethany Fellows and a graduate of Leadership Northern Colorado. She currently serves on the Leadership Team of the Ecumenical Circle of the Bethany Fellows.

Fort Collins church to transform part of their land for affordable housing

Collaborative housing plan at Heart of the Rockies church set for neighborhood meeting

Abundant Ground: A Congregational Land Initiative: Does your church have an underused parking lot or land? Could an affordable housing community revitalize your congregation?

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Land of the Violent May 29, 2024

Show notes

As bodies were burning from this massacre at the Mystic River in Massachusetts in 1637, pious settlers gave thanks to God for the victory- and even identified that the bodies burning were a “sweet-smelling savor in the nostrils of God.” Is this really the Land of the Free?

Does freedom for some depend on violence against others? Rev Dr. Lee Butler, President of Iliff School of Theology, shares his perspective on the violent history at the founding of the U.S. that continues to influence how we relate to one another today.

Amanda and Rev. Dr. Lee Butler discuss the contradictions between the U.S. ideals of freedom and the country's violent history of slavery, lynching, and cruel massacres. In this episode, this duo argues that acknowledging this history is crucial for understanding the ongoing legacies of colonization and systemic inequality, and the importance of redefining this idea of freedom for future generations to come.

https://religionnews.com/complexified

GUEST:

Born in Central Pennsylvania, the Rev. Dr. Lee H. Butler, Jr. is a lifelong Baptist and a first-generation beneficiary of the Post-Civil and Human Rights struggle in the United States. Dr. Butler comes to Iliff School of Theology from Phillips Theological Seminary where he served as the Vice-President of Academic Affairs and Academic Dean, and the William Tabbernee Professor of the History of Religions and Africana Pastoral Theology since July 1, 2020. He is the first African American tenured full professor and the first person of color to hold the office of VPAA and Academic Dean and serve as Acting President at Phillips. As VPAA, his responsibilities included oversight and supervision of the Associate Dean, Registrar, Recruitment, Admissions and Financial Aid, Director of Theological Field Education, Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program, Director of Black Church Traditions Program, Dean of the Chapel, Faculty, and Dean of the Library. He is an active publishing scholar. He is the co-editor of The Edward Wimberly Reader: A Black Pastoral Theology (Baylor University Press, 2020); author of Listen, My Son: Wisdom to Help African American Fathers (Abingdon Press, 2010), Liberating Our Dignity, Saving Our Souls (Chalice Press, 2006), A Loving Home: Caring for African American Marriage and Families (Pilgrim Press, 2000), and numerous articles published in many books and professional journals on the subject of pastoral care and pastoral psychology.

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Sowing Seeds, Reaping Freedom May 22, 2024

Show notes

Did you know that for some enslaved Africans, small plots of land became ways to maintain culture and heritage- and even pathways to freedom? Soul Food Scholar, Adrian Miller joins us to share stories that tie land to belonging and survival.

Amanda Henderson and Adrian Miller dive deep into the stories about navigating the ways of the land to cultivate food sovereignty within African American communities, despite forced migration and slavery in the United States. As they discuss the truths about the ongoing struggle of food injustice for marginalized communities and the rise of consciousness towards food sovereignty, we learn the importance of connecting and adapting to the land as a means of survival.

GUEST:

Adrian Miller is a food writer, James Beard Award winner, attorney, and certified barbecue judge who lives in Denver, Colorado. Adrian received an A.B in International Relations from Stanford University in 1991, and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1995. From 1999 to 2001, Miller served as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton with his Initiative for One America – the first free-standing office in the White House to address issues of racial, religious and ethnic reconciliation. Miller went on to serve as a senior policy analyst for Colorado Governor Bill Ritter Jr. From 2004 to 2010, he served on the board for the Southern Foodways Alliance. In June 2019, Adrian lectured in the Masters of Gastronomy program at the Università di Scienze Gastronomiche (nicknamed the “Slow Food University”) in Pollenzo, Italy. He is currently the executive director of the Colorado Council of Churches and, as such, is the first African American, and the first layperson, to hold that position.
Miller’s first book, Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time won the James Beard Foundation Award for Scholarship and Reference in 2014. His second book, The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, From the Washingtons to the Obamas was published on President’s Day 2017. It was a finalist for a 2018 NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Literary Work – Non-Fiction,” and the 2018 Colorado Book Award for History. Adrian’s third book, Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue, will be published Spring 2021.
Sharecropping, Black Land Acquistion, and White Supremacy (1868-1900)
Food Sovereignty
Growing Your Own Food: Resources and Tools
Talking Trash: Five Easy Steps to Reduce Food Waste

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Stealing Land in the Name of God May 15, 2024

Show notes

Amanda Henderson and Steven Newcomb discuss the Doctrine of Discovery and the ways in which religion has impacted the social and political frameworks amongst Native nations and the United States government.

In this conversation, Amanda Henderson and Steven Newcomb dive deeper into how the founding documents of the US contain a claim of a God-ordained right for Christians to take land from non-Christians, which continues to be used as legal precedent in today’s world. Together, they advocate for a more inclusive and holistic approach to social and political change, one that acknowledges and respects Indigenous perspectives and sovereignty. Steven Newcomb invites us to step into the view "from the shore" as conquerors landed on waters of the Americas and claimed dominion, or domination over all they could see and take.

For more information: https://religionnews.com/complexified

Guest:

Steven Newcomb is a Shawnee-Lenape scholar and author. He has been studying and writing about U.S. federal Indian law and policy since the early 1980s, particularly the application of international law to Indigenous nations and peoples. Mr. Newcomb is the Director of the Indigenous Law Institute, which he co-founded with Birgil Kills Straight, a Traditional Headman and Elder of the Oglala Lakota Nation. Together they have carried on a global campaign challenging imperial Vatican documents from the fifteenth century. Those documents resulted in the decimation of Original Nations and Peoples of Mother Earth and thereby deprived the planet of life-ways, sustainable ecosystems, and Sacred Teachings. Newcomb’s book Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery (2008) relies upon recent findings in cognitive theory and a semantic analysis of the Latin and English versions of 15th century Vatican documents. He has identified the little noticed patterns found in those documents and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which claimed a right of a “Christian prince or people” to discover and exert a right of domination (dominorum Christianorum) over the lands of “heathens and infidels.”

For more episodes and info visit Complexified at RNS

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The Bible is a Book about Land May 07, 2024

Show notes

Amanda and Amy dive into the complex relationship between land ownership and belonging in the US, drawing on biblical interpretations. Amanda emphasized the significance of land in shaping political and religious beliefs, while Amy offered nuanced interpretations of the Hebrew Bible, revealing how it has been used to justify land ownership and extraction.

In this conversation, Amy and Amanda discuss the Bible's views on land and its interpretation. They explore the contradictory perspectives on land ownership and the connection between land and identity. They also examine the impact of assumptions about land in the United States and the disconnect between urban elites and the land. Amy shares her personal journey of developing a deeper connection with the land through activities like hunting and fly fishing. The conversation highlights the healing power of the land and the importance of understanding our relationship with it.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

03:13 The Bible's Contradictory Views on Land

08:29 Genesis 1 and the Interpretation of Land

12:22 John Locke and the Interpretation of Land Ownership

14:20 The Connection Between Land and Identity

20:23 The Impact of Assumptions about Land in the United States

23:10 The Disconnect between Urban Elites and the Land

26:08 The Impact of Land Use on Communities

28:30 Personal Connection to the Land

30:26 The Healing Power of the Land

33:18 The Bible's View on Our Relationship with the Land

Guest:

Amy Erickson is Professor of Hebrew Bible at the Iliff School of Theology. Erickson teaches a range of courses in biblical interpretation, including The Body and Sexuality in the Hebrew Bible, The Hebrew Bible and Ecology, and Jonah and Its Afterlives. Her research interests include Hebrew poetry, poetic and mythological texts in ancient West Asian literature, and the Hebrew Bible’s history of interpretation.

She has recently completed a commentary on the book of Jonah and its history of interpretation entitled Jonah: Introduction and Commentary (Illuminations; Eerdmans, 2021), and has written articles on Job, Jonah, the Psalms, Zechariah, and Amos for academic journals and edited volumes. Erickson is also a regular contributor to workingpreacher.org, the Huffington Post ON Scripture, The Christian Century, and The Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (de Gruyter). She is currently working on a book on the Hebrew Bible and ecology.

An Interview with Eerdmans Publishing Co. about Erickson’s book on Jonah.

Commentary on Psalm 146

Commentary on Psalm 121

Psalm 1: Putting Evil in Its Place

For more episodes and info visit Complexified at RNS

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