For Laypeople, By Laypeople

Just wanted to share some thoughts about belonging to a religious community, both in a physical sense (i.e., a congregation) as well as a sort of ideological one (e.g., particular writers you resonate with). Pardon all the pauses.

Theology is the study of the nature of God, religious beliefs, and religious experiences. There is revealed theology, the knowledge of the supernatural obtained directly from God (through revelation), and there's natural theology, knowledge of God sought through reason and nature. In this episode we explore what I'm calling shroom theology, knowledge of the divine—the mystery—resulting from psychedelic experiences. Yes, shroom theology. Enjoy! -Enrique

For this episode, I sat down with my good friend Slade Lane. I recorded this conversation back in May when I visited Lincoln. Slade and I spent quite a bit of time in the same coffee shop talking about all kinds of things, but often coming back to God, religion, and spirituality. He is one of the people who, for better or worse, introduced me to ideas that pushed some of the boundaries that characterize a more conservative approach to understanding God. So, naturally, I asked him about his growing up in church and how his ideas about God evolved. I hope you enjoy this conversation by two laypeople. -Enrique

Pastor Michael Paradise is the Young Adult Pastor at College View Church (CVC), a Seventh-day Adventist church in Lincoln, Neb. During my studies at Union College (also an Adventist institution), I took a first-year course from Pastor Paradise and while I did not had a ton of interaction with him, I immediately gained an appreciation for his ministry when he started a series of meetings to discuss belief (and unbelief). With an impressive Goodreads record (for real, though) and a commendable openness for discussion (in that order), I decided to sit down and listen to his perspective on God. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did and that you can find some interesting material to chew on. -Enrique

In this episode we discuss two ways in which we think can think about how we think (yes, very meta): schemas and models. Do not be afraid, they are very intuitive concepts that provide nice frameworks to think about any kind of questions.

This episode serves as an introduction to the type of conversations we will be having around the issues of faith, spirituality, and belief in God. We are laypeople trying to figure out what we believe and why we believe it.

I sat down with Dr. Trudy Holmes-Caines before leaving Lincoln, Neb., and had a wonderful conversation for this podcast. She is a professor of psychology at Union College who came to the United States to pursue graduate studies. We discussed her life in Jamaica and how language plays a role in one's identity, as well as how the immigrant cultures differ from the culture in their respective countries of origin.

Before leaving Lincoln, Neb., for good, I sat down with Michael Paradise in his office at the College View Seventh-day Adventist Church where he serves as the young adult pastor. I was curious to know what it is like to work with young adults and what made him want that job—it may have something to do with having a pretty wife. After a fun chat, I left so he could continue eating pizza and playing worship songs on the guitar, which is basically his job description—according to him, not his employer.

Slade and I have been spending quite a bit of time attempting to read at our local coffee shop, but we just end up talking whenever we run into each other. We decided to talk for the podcast about some of the Christian books we've read—or more specifically, just me ranting about an "honest and self-revealing" book I read. Enjoy!

After a few months without coming back to the studio, Slade and I return to say goodbye … kind of. Since the last episode, we have both been working on new projects: he's launched a new blog called "The Obsessionist," and I'm about to release a new podcast on Mexican politics, society, and culture titled "Independientemente." We hope to soon be back with new episodes for this podcast. So, as my English idioms fail me at the moment I turn to Spanish now: esto no es un adiós, es un hasta luego.

This week on the show: Natalie Bruzon. I had the pleasure of working with her (meaning for her) at The Clocktower, our college's newspaper. Now, she lives in Orchard, a tiny town somewhere in Nebraska (and where's Nebraska?), where she works as editor of Antelope County News. A few weeks back she came to Lincoln, so we sat down to talk about her new life, creating community, working for a newspaper, and the upcoming election. I had a lot of fun producing this episode, and I hope you enjoy our conversation. -Enrique

This week on the podcast we have Hannah Ashburn. She is an artist finishing up her college degree and finding what the next step is. Besides talking about what it is like to grow up white and how creepy I think Gothic paintings are, we tried to discuss the intersection between various art forms and history. Perhaps I shouldn't talk about things I don't know, but here we go! Check out our book recommendation from our previous episode: Sonia Nazario's Enrique's Journey

It's been a while. We are bringing you some new conversations soon. But this time, we are re-releasing our episode with Claudia Pech. Back in December, we talked about Trump's comments on Mexicans, the difficulties of being an undocumented immigrant, and the state of the conversation surrounding immigration. After listening to a lecture by Sonia Nazario (Pullitzer Prize winner) on immigration for the E. N. Thompson Forum on World Issues at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, I decided to re-release this episode and go buy her bestselling book, "Enrique's Journey."

This week on the podcast, Slade sat down with Micah Robinson to discuss our guest's journey with music. They had an amazing conversation, of which I can't say much because Slade doesn't want me to. He says you should just go listen to it! (I agree.) Check out this week's recommendations: García Márquez's Chronicle of a Death Foretold Amelie (2001) - recommended by Hannah Ashburn Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! www.equezadallanes.com

Today on the show we have Tyler Morrison, a talented Christian singer-(now)songwriter. On September 4, he'll be releasing his debut album "Surrender." Tyler is here to share all about how his music ministry has evolved and where it may go. To receive a free download of "He Leadeth Me" visit tylermorrisonmusic.com and subscribe. This week's book and film recommendations (check them out!): Dave Eggers's "What Is the What" (recommended by Pablo Colindres) People Places Things (recommended by Slade) If you liked this episode, share and subscribe on Facebook, iTunes, and Twitter!

In this week's podcast, Pablo Colindres joins us to discuss the election. Our guest brought an interesting gift to alleviate the confusion of talking about Trump and Twitter and why you shouldn't vote for a third-party candidate. Also, Pablo has a great show in the works. Click here to check out what he's up to in his podcast "Mesa." This week's book and film recommendations (check them out!): Marina Keegan's The Opposite of Loneliness (recommended by Enrique) Even the Rain (recommended by Slade) Let us know what you think about today's topic and share the podcast! Of lovers and fools

A couple weeks ago, I (Enrique) wrote about those infamous Facebook debates. For this episode, Slade and I expand on the subject and share our experiences trying to avoid such discussions and sometimes taking part in them. Why can't we be more civilized? How can we engage in healthy conversation? I don't know, but perhaps Slade does. Also, in this episode we introduce two new sections: book recommendation and film recommendation (maybe we need some creative names). This week's book and film recommendations (check them out!): Peter Rollins' The Idolatry of God: https://amzn.to/29Q4B0D Alejandro G. Iñárritu's Amores Perros: https://amzn.to/29S9jkN https://equezadallanes.com

Why is this blog titled "Of lovers and fools"? This week on the podcast, I welcome Slade Lane as my co host to discuss how the blog and podcast got their name. We talked 4th of July, graphic novels/comic books, copying García Márquez, and, our favorite political commentator, Sean Hannity. What's coming next? I have no idea. Visit the blog!

After a while, a new episode of the podcast is here. This time, Slade is back to talk about life after graduation. We both recently joined the ranks of the unemployed and this change has resulted in many a fearful look at the future. We hereby present our musings on these matters. Visit the blog!

Today on the podcast, Debbie Pinto talks about leadership. An energetic and optimist student, she's held several leadership positions during her college career at Union College. Although she didn't have the qualities she thought made a good leader, she realized her strengths were equally useful. From executive vice president of the associated student body at Union to president of said organization, Debbie is now the president of the Adventist Intercollegiate Association. Visit the blog!

Esta semana Guillermo Ximenez vuelve al podcast, pero esta vez no para una entrevista. Sin mucha planeación pero con muchas ganas, realizamos una sesión acústica al principio del año. De los cinco temas, dos aparecen en su disco "Por la eternidad". El resto incluye un himno y dos cantos originales que no lograron entrar en el álbum. Guillermo se une via Skype para hablar sobre esta experiencia y de lo que sigue.  ¡Visita el blog!

Doug Barahona, my first guest for 2016, recites a spoken word poem he wrote about his experiences in the street and his subsequent conversion to the Christian faith. He now studies religion with a pastoral care emphasis at Union College in Lincoln, Neb. Doug came to the podcast to talk about his life in the streets, his time at a Christian school, his early involvement in the church and his hopes for the future. Follow the blog: Of lovers and fools

Mi hermano Ed está en el podcast esta vez. Aprovechamos estar en casa para grabar un episodio de fin de año. Hablamos un poco de nuestras resoluciones para el 2016 y de lo que se viene. Como mi hermano está relacionado con el cine, hablamos de las películas que nos gustaron este 2015 y de lo que saldrá el año que viene. ¡Feliz año nuevo! Visita el blog: Of lovers and fools

After a busy month, I am back with another episode. This time, Claudia Pech is on the show to discuss immigration. We talked about Trump's comments, the difficulties of being an undocumented immigrant, and the current state of the conversation surrounding immigration. Also, Claudia told me her immigration story. Happy holidays! Visit the blog: Of lovers and fools

The past few weeks have been difficult, so I didn't release an episode last week as I was supposed to. Here's an update, though, on what has happened since last episode. My jaw gave me quite a bit of trouble as I prepared for a recital. Also, Thanksgiving break means I need to finish my grad school applications soon. Am I procrastinating? Yes! But at least I had a good time at The Ohio State University earlier this month. That's what today's update is about. You can read my article for The Clocktower here.

Although I believed Ben and I were completely different people, I learned we have many things in common. Ben VandeVere has founded two a cappella groups in the last few years. He talked about V7's history and all the time he put into that project before starting his new group R3sonate. As if that was not enough, Ben also has a Youtube channel titled "Deep-Fried Brain." All these projects present many challenges. Ben and I talked about them. Of lovers and fools

This week, Rachael Boyd is on the show. She moved to Nebraska less than a year ago, and I asked her to teach me a little bit about the United States culture and how different or similar Nebraska is from where she has lived before. Apart from this lesson, we also talked about her dog Penny and dog parks. Finally, we tried not talking about feminism or the body positive movement. It was difficult! Enjoy and let me know if you have any feedback. Visit the blog!

Slade is back! This time he is my guest. We talked about disappointment (kind of) and pretentiousness. Before that, Slade told me about his experiences with the guitar and why he has not given up on it, even though he's wanted to many times before. This is the first episode with explicit language! I am not sure if that's a good thing, though. Anyway, there's like three curse words (one's enough to be marked explicit). Thanks to Slade for this achievement!

This week, Abner Campos is on the show! He currently works as vespers coordinator for the campus ministries office at Union College in Lincoln, Neb. Our conversation goes from the negative view a lot of students have of campus ministries to Abner's personal struggles in his relationship with God. Also, Slade Lane, who will be on the show next time, appears as co host. The song featured in this week's episode is "Ven a Jesús" from Guillermo Ximenez's soon-to-be-released first album. You can listen to episode 5 to learn more.

Shaina Adams is back on the show. We recorded this conversation before the school year started. In it we talk about Shaina's semester abroad and summer camp. She deliberately put herself in two situations pretty far from her comfort zone. You can read her blog here. Also, we have Amanda Ashburn on the show telling us a summer camp story. Like Shaina, she also worked at a summer camp this past summer break. Finally, the song featured in this week's episode is "Ven a Jesús" from Guillermo Ximenez's soon-to-be-released first album. To support him, please visit the Indiegogo campaign. Of lovers and fools.

Hace ya un poco más de dos semanas tuve la oportunidad de platicar nuevamente con Guillermo Ximenez. Hubo un tiempo en el que lo acompañaba en el piano a las diferentes iglesias a las que visitaba, incluyendo una iglesia en El Centro, California, y otra en Yuma, Arizona. Ya ha pasado tiempo de eso y ahorita él se encuentra grabando su primer álbum. Junto con este episodio, estamos lanzando una campaña en indiegogo para juntar fondos para este álbum del que Memo habla. No importa si tu apoyo es de $10, $5 o $3 dólares, cualquier apoyo por pequeño que sea es de gran ayuda. ¡Checa la campaña y apoya este proyecto! ¡Visita la campaña en Indiegogo! Of lovers and fools

Today's episode is about home. Why do we miss home? Is it the food, the people or something else like the "disorganization"? First, we'll listen to a series of recording I did while I was at the airport this past weekend. The second part of the episode is a conversation I had with Ricky Amimo last Sunday. He talks about home. equezadallanes.com

Entrevista completa, con todo y errores.

This episode is in Spanish. I met with a friend who is now a youth leader in his church to talk about what he has accomplished with his group and what still needs to be done. Tuve la oportunidad de entrevistar a un gran amigo y hablar del trabajo que ha hecho como director de jóvenes en su iglesia.

First podcast for the reflection section on equezadallanes.com. Why should/do we pray before meals? Does the Bible recommends or commands it?