Amateurs in Divinity

Nothing is more practical than finding God, than falling in Love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, whom you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in Love, stay in love, and it will decide everything. Joseph Whelan, SJ

We've been off the airwaves for awhile, but we're back and ready for some great podcasting this summer! We've got some fun episodes lined up and we're looking forward to sharing them with you.

The first part of this episode can be found wherever you get out podcast.

It's a good one! Ekman, Hank, and Chowder start off talking about belief, but from there the conversation varies wildly. It was such a long episode that, to meet file-size requirements, in had to be split in twain. The second part can be found wherever you get our podcast.

Ekman and Hank talk to Ben Crosby about his academic interests, life as a seminarian, and Ben and Hank spend a significant amount of time nerding out about their respective liturgical traditions. Plus there's some reflection about how the pandemic has affected our thinking and our prayer lives.

Ekman and Hank interview their friend, and Hank's former boss, Daniel about his experiences in liturgical ministry. Not one, not two, but three mentions of Oprah. Special Guest: Daniel Dangca.

Show Notes: Holy Envy - https://g.co/kgs/fTnEpN Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey from Bozeman to Banaras - https://g.co/kgs/sgLnNQ Another Name for Everything - https://cac.org/podcast/another-name-for-every-thing/ Universal Christ - https://g.co/kgs/6o2dXk The RobCast - https://robbell.com/portfolio/robcast/ Inspired: a Production of Interfaith Voices - https://soundcloud.com/listeninspired Special Guest: Emily Chaudhari.

Hank and Ekman discuss their exposure to Jesuit education. In this episode, they share their experiences and how Jesuit education contributed to their formation. Also, Ekman provides a little spoken word in the introduction (we support the arts).

Ekman and Hank, just chatting and whatnot.

For this episode, Ekman and Hank are joined by their friend Renne! We talk about what it's like to be non-religious in religious spaces and also about how retreats are occasionally emotionally manipulative. Ekman and Renne also talk about which of Hanks friends they've had crushes on. All the names have been censored, so as to avoid boosting too many egos. Special Guest: Renne Richards.

Ekman and Hank are indebted to this article, shared by Dr. Kevin Brown while recording the previous episode, for their righteous anger regarding the redemption of Darth Vader. Better Hermeneutics through Star Wars: https://dailytheology.org/2011/11/17/better-hermeneutics-through-star-wars/ Buzzfeed Lightsaber Quiz: https://www.buzzfeed.com/igrace97/which-lightsaber-colour-would-fit-your-personality-6nup09immy Ekman and Hank will reveal their color later this week.

Dr. Brown's Twitter Reccomendations: @gregorykhillis @nimperatori @MaryAnnHinsdale @DanHoranOFM @JessicaCoblentz and a note from Dr. Brown: “I also recommend following my spouse Megan McCabe [@megankmccabe]—a great theology twitter follow—whom I should have mentioned in the podcast with the other theologians to follow, and not just because she’s my spouse” Special Guest: B. Kevin Brown.

Ekman and Hank chat about things.

In this episode, Hank and Ekman interview data journalist and current Columbia graduate student, Alyssa Lukpat. Alyssa shares her background in the field, the significance of data journalism, and the portrayal of religion in the context of reporting. Special Guest: Alyssa Lukpat.

In this episode, Hank and Elizabeth interview confident and recent Gonzaga alum, Zoe Jaspers. Zoe discusses their senior thesis on queer theology, highlighting how this particular theology is essential for human flourishing. Hank, Elizabeth, and Zoe discuss the historical roots of queer theology, the application of its values, and the need for this framework in our current religious context. Special Guest: Zoe Jaspers.

In this episode, Hank shares his insights on Catholic social activist, Dorothy Day, and the Catholic Worker Movement. Ekman asks questions in regards to the impact of the movement. Hank and Ekman also discuss representations of sainthood, which prompts further dialogue on how Day's work provides a modern day example of lay leadership. Additional Links: The Catholic Worker Movement https://www.catholicworker.org Dorothy Day: Dissenting Voice of the American Century https://books.google.com/books/about/DorothyDay.html?id=oZyeDwAAQBAJ&source=kpbook_description and https://www.secondsale.com/i/dorothy-day-dissenting-voice-of-the-american-century/9781982103491 The Long Loneliness https://www.google.com/books/edition/TheLongLoneliness/DErFDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=the+long+loneliness&printsec=frontcover and https://www.secondsale.com/i/the-long-loneliness-the-autobiography-of-the-legendary-catholic-social-activist/9780060617516 Pope Francis' 2015 Speech to Congress (Episode Cold Open) https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiAjbHQ-JPrAhW-JzQIHV79CsAQwqsBMAF6BAgKEAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DoBM7DIeMsP0&usg=AOvVaw12qVYKv38hviEbs-Rp1wtM and (transcript) http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2015/september/documents/papa-francesco20150924usa-us-congress.html

For her undergraduate thesis, Ekman wrote about the cultural phenomenon of Hallmark movies, how they've developed a cult following, and whether or not that cult following is like a religion. In this episode, we talk about some of her central ideas (with scant reference to the actual paper) and Hank asks some questions. Hank has also never seen a Hallmark movie and will likely never do so on purpose, but nevertheless finds Ekman's paper very interesting.

Welcome to Amateurs in Divinity! This is our first ever episode, in which Ekman and Hank introduce themselves and explain what our hopes are in producing a conversational theology podcast. Hopefully you enjoy the episode and stick around for more!