Love Rinse Repeat

I sat down with a good friend, Jonathan Foye, to discuss his book Ganbaru: How All Japan Pro Wrestling Survived the Year 2000 Roster Split. We discuss the all-too-human drama of this story of grief, conflict, separation, and a will to persevere, playing out in and out of the ring.  In the year 2000, Mitsuharu Misawa left All Japan Pro Wrestling. He took all but two of the company's contracted wrestlers with him. To keep the company alive, company owner Motoko Baba made two phone calls. One was to a man who had walked out on the company a decade ago. The other was to an age-old rival. Buy the Book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Ganbaru-Japan-Wrestling-Survived-Roster-ebook/dp/B09PRN4NMG   Jonathan Foye is a journalist and academic. He is the current Editor of Insights Magazine for the Uniting Church in NSW and the ACT. He holds a PhD in Communications and tutors part time at the University of New South Wales. Jonathan enjoys running, watching pro wrestling, and playing videogames. He lives in the Blue Mountains with his wife, Sarah, their son James, and their Labrador, Walter. Ganbaru is his first book.   Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show on twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // follow me: @liammiller87  

In the latest panel on BLM in the church in Australia and Oceania, Tamsyn Kereopa joins Katalina Tahaafe-Williams, Tau'alofa Anga'aelangi, and myself in a discussion on Indigenous theology, the struggle for racial justice in Aotearoa/New Zealand, the shifting forms of colonisation, and her work towards a Wahine Maori Theology of Liberation. Rev Tamsyn Kereopa is of Te Arawa & Tuwharetoa descent. She is a PhD candidate with the University of Otago on the topic “A Wahine Māori Theology of Liberation” and a researcher for Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa. She is an ordained deacon of the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand & Polynesia, and a member of the WCC Ecumenical Indigenous Network & the Commission on Ecumenical Theological Education and Formation.   Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show on twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // follow me: @liammiller87   To join the next panel live contact Rev. Tau'alofa Anga'aelangi at ucc.csu[@]gmail.com - the panels run on the last Sunday of the month at 3pm Australian Eastern Standard Time.

I sat down with Shannon Craigo-Snell to discuss turning to theatre to ask: Why Church? We discuss what led her to this conversation, how performance as event/interaction/doubleness illuminates the nature of the church, reading Delores Williams with Bertolt Brecht and much more. Buy The Empty Church Shannon Craigo-Snell is a systematic and constructive Christian theologian. Since 2011, she has served as professor of theology at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, where she teaches Masters and Doctor of Ministry students as they engage in multiple forms of ministry. Before arriving in Louisville, she was associate professor of Religious Studies at Yale University, where she taught undergraduates, masters students, and Ph.D. students. Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show on twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // follow me: @liammiller87

I sat down with Peter Kline to talk about the fun and flexibility of teaching theological anthropology, talking sex and gender in the classroom, differences in theological academies and institutions he encountered moving from the US to Australia, and what drew him to negative/apophatic theology. Peter Kline is the academic dean and lecturer in systematic theology at St Francis Theological College in Brisbane (part of Charles Sturt University). His research focuses on negative/apophatic theology. Peter is also an artist, and his work can be found at: www.peterklineart.virb.com Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show on twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // follow me: @liammiller87

I sat down with Jione Havea to discuss his new book, Losing Ground. We discuss the book of Ruth, reading it amidst climate catastrophe, how Jione built this book through talanoa and bible studies with Pasifika people across Australia, Aotearoa, and the Pacific, opening up academic biblical studies, and how this book "seeks to make any notions of white supremacy absurd." Buy the Book Rev Dr Jione Havea is a native pastor (Methodist Church in Tonga) and research fellow with Trinity Methodist Theological College (Aotearoa) and the Public and Contextual Theology research centre (Charles Sturt University). Jione's work focuses on the intersections of cultures (with sympathies to the oral cultures of Pasifika), scriptures (trans-reading biblical texts and native wisdom), critical theories (accounting for bounded bodies, colonized minds, stolen lands, and othered planetary life and spirit forms) and religions (searching for solidarity, resistance, and protest). Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show on twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // follow me: @liammiller87

Grace Ji-Sun Kim returns to the podcast to talk about the racism and sexism encountered presently and historically by Asian American women, before exploring what it might look like to live into a Theology of Visibility. Buy the Book Grace Ji-Sun Kim was born in Korea, was educated in Canada, and now teaches in the United States. She is the author or editor of 20 books, most recently, Invisible, Hope in Disarray; Keeping Hope Alive; and Intersectional Theology. Grace writes for Sojourners, Faith and Leadership and Wabash Center and has published in TIME, The Huffington Post, Christian Century, US Catholic Magazine and The Nation. She hosts the Madang podcast which is hosted by the Christian Century and is an ordained Presbyterian Church (USA) minister. Read more about Grace   Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // follow me @liammiller87

Skyler Jay Keiter-Massefski returns to the pod to answer the question: why read a poem. We discuss our mixed histories with poetry, how they approach the craft, and poetry's embodiedness and relation to breath. We also discuss the "how" of reading poetry and then Skyler finishes the chat by talking about the connection for them, between going out dancing and reading/writing poetry. Skyler Jay Keiter-Massefski is a theological anthropologist whose work focuses on the ghostliness of trans embodiment, grief as a facet of identity formation, and practices of experimental and poetic ethnography. They have a degree in Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Master of Divinity degree from Yale University. Skyler currently resides in Chapel Hill, NC with their spouse, dog, and cats. You can find them on Twitter at @SkylerJay_   Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // follow me: @liammiller87  

I sat down with German theologian, Florian Klug, to talk about the contingency and legitimacy of doctrine. We discuss the importance of God's initiative preceding human speech, that language is not something we possess but are born into and how this gives us a horizon of preconditioned knowledge that is expanded and shattered by God's intrusion. We also discuss how his book holds together an emphasis on God's sovereignty and God's grace in self-revelation so to not overwhelm the human in such a way that we can't actually make a decision. We also discuss whether doctrine is fundamentally the product of past failure (and enter into a discussion on the early councils), and end with by exploring Flo's proposal that doctrines are “statements that lead into the mysterium of Christ; they are therefore not identical to it because the limits of language are constantly being transgressed by their overarching greatness and transcendence. Doctrines… are first and foremost statements of a hopeful faith… they can be true and correct without losing their human conditionality.” Buy the Book Klug is a lecturer in systematic theology at the University of Würzburg in Germany. He has been a guest researcher in the United States, England, Ireland, and is the author or editor of four books published in German. Follow him on Twitter   Find more episodes www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // follow me: @liammiller87

I sat down with Hannah Bacon to talk about sin, salvation, and women's weight loss narratives. I ask Hannah what drew her to this project and why there are seemingly so few theological works concerning weight/weight loss. We also discuss her focus on the theological doctrinal loci of sin and salvation and how are these shaping/resurfacing contemporary weight-loss narratives. We end by discussing what it might look like for salvation to be performed and Hannah's particular rendering of 'sensible eating'. Note: there's a weird moment in the video about 22 minutes in when I needed to talk to my kid and hit mute instead of pause and pause instead of mute but its all of three seconds so I couldn't be bothered editing around it :) Buy the Book Hannah Bacon is Professor of Feminist and Contextual Theology at the University of Chester, UK.   Follow the show on twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // follow me: @liammiller87

I sat down with anthropologist Ellen Lewin to discuss her recent work, Filled with the Spirit: Sexuality, Gender, and Radical Inclusivity in a Black Pentecostal Church Coalition. The book (and our interview) focuses on Lewin's time participating in and researching the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries. Through our discussion Lewin shares about the emergence of the coalition, its values, how she became connected, and why spirituality and religion are still under-observed/under-researched in discussions of race, gender, and sexuality.   Buy the book Ellen Lewin is professor of anthropology and of gender, women's, and sexuality studies at the University of Iowa. She is the author of Gay Fatherhood: Narratives of Family and Citizenship in America.   Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show on twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // follow me: @liammiller87

I spoke to Ali Robinson about teaching the New Testament, that little book of Jude, harsh language, conflict, and struggling to stick to a topic of research. Dr Ali Robinson hold a PhD from Macquarie University, a BTh with Honours from Charles Sturt University. She has a strong interest in the General Epistles, Greco-Roman Rhetoric, Invective, Second Temple Judaism and Biblical Greek. Ali is the author of Jude on the Attack: A Comparative Analysis of the Epistle of Jude, Jewish Judgment Oracles and Greco-Roman Invective (T&T Clark, 2018). Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // follow me: @liammiller87

This is a portion of the most recent Black Lives Matter and the Church in Australia panel discussion where Dr Anne Pattel-Gray joined the group to talk about Indigenous Theologies. She offers insight into the cost of developing a theology based in sovereignty and anti-colonialism, the work that remains, and what she's working on now. The monthly panels are hosted by Rev. Tau'alofa Anga'aelangi of the Uniting Church Chaplaincy at Charles Sturt University in Port Macquarie and Rev Dr Katalina Tahaafe-Williams of the Social Justice Pilgrim Presbytery NT. The panel is also comprised of me and Emma Jackson (a PhD candidate at Macquarie University. These panels happen on the final Sunday of the month at 3pm EST. To find out more contact Rev. Tau'alofa Anga'aelangi at ucc.csu[@]gmail.com (The next one will be January 2022). Dr. Anne Pattel-Gray is an Aboriginal woman who is a descendant of the Bidjara/ Kari Kari people in Queensland and she is a recognised Aboriginal leader within Australia – nationally and internationally. She has dedicated her life to the struggle of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and she is a strong campaigner and lobbyist and deeply committed to seeking justice, equity and equal representation for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people. She is very proud of her Aboriginal culture and heritage and is a strong advocate for Aboriginal women, children, families and community regarding our Cultural and basic Human Rights. She has developed a leadership quality that promotes and builds a deeper sense of community and participation that brings a greater Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage and cultural identity and cohesion with the broader community that leads to beneficial partnerships, engagement and reconciliation. Dr. Anne Pattel-Gray has an earned Ph.D. from the University of Sydney awarded in 1995 in the Studies of Religion with the major focus on Aboriginal Religion and Spirituality (she was the first Aboriginal person to graduate with a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney). And a Doctor of Divinity from India awarded in 1997 (the first Aboriginal person to be awarded the D.D.). Dr. Pattel-Gray has achieved many firsts in her prestigious life and she is known as a trail blazer and she has opened many doors for her people. She is a recognised scholar, theologian, activist and prolific writer with several publications – chapters, articles, edited works and authored books. Dr. Anne Pattel-Gray is deeply committed to the advancement of Aboriginal people and to reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. She has over thirty years in senior management as a CEO and she possesses a wealth of experience and she has developed enormous expertise. Buy the Great White FloodFind more episodes Follow the show on twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87

I sat down with Emmy Kegler to discuss easing the burden on the walk with mental illness. We discuss how this book emerged out fo a deep need for compassionate Christian talk about mental illness, something that critiqued harmful Christian approaches but still had something to offer. I ask about her chapter on sin, which helps us rethink where the 'sin' in conversations about mental health should be located. We then discuss prayer - especially the urge to pray it away even if that's not how we really believe prayer works. (and Emmy shares about what Dawson's Creek taught her about prayer). We then discuss trauma and the ecclesial gaslighting of waving away suffering as God's will. We end with a chat about what Emmy would like to see next in terms of Christian reflection on mental health. Buy the book Emmy Kegler is a pastor, speaker, and author of One Coin Found: How God's Love Stretches to the Margins. As both pastor and patient, Kegler has an intimate relationship with mental illness and its complex connections to faith. She works to normalize the experiences of depression, anxiety, and a host of other diagnoses and symptoms, treating them not as proof of exclusion from God's grace but rather a common and expansive experience of the human condition in which God remains present and compassionate. She lives in Saint Paul with her wife Michelle and their two dogs and cat. Website: emmykegler.com Find more episodes Follow the show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87

I spoke with Sally Douglas about becoming the community Jesus speaks about. We discuss the versatility and surprise of the image of salt when thinking about the church, her engagement with early church writings, salty wombs, and the importance of being a place where people can cry in times such as these. Buy the Book Sally Douglas is a Uniting Church minister, who works in the mode of ‘scholar pastor'. She ministers with an inner-city parish, lectures at Pilgrim Theological College and is an Honorary Research Associate within the University of Divinity. Her interdisciplinary doctoral research, spanning biblical studies and theology, was completed through the United Faculty of Theology in Melbourne and published to critical acclaim as Early Church Understandings of Jesus as the Female Divine: The Scandal of the Scandal of Particularity (T & T Clark Bloomsbury, 2016). As a theologian, biblical scholar, author and minister, the question that continues to infuse Sally's work is ‘so what?'. To find out more about Sally check out her website. Find more episodes Follow the show on twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // follow me: @liammiller87

I spoke with Gillian Townsley about queer reading across 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. We talk about attending to the ideology of reception and how reading across helps us move beyond the 'tired old debates'. I ask about how the work of Monique Wittig shapes her project (specifically about bringing men/masculinity back into focus). We also discuss her analysis of the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and Christians for Biblical Equality and how supposedly oppositional movements are bound by heteronormativity. We end by discussing the unique form/formatting of chapter 6 which involves two distinct thinkers battling for page space. Buy the Book Gillian Townsley is a Secondary School Teacher and Chaplain, and a Teaching Fellow at The University of Otago in New Zealand. Townsley has contributed essays to Bible Trouble: Queer Reading at the Boundaries of Biblical Scholarship (Society of Biblical Literature), Pieces of Ease and Grace (ATF), and Sexuality, Ideology, and the Bible: Antipodean Engagements (Sheffield Phoenix). Find more episodes Follow the show on twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // follow me: @liammiller87

I sat down with Christiane Tietz to discuss the challenges and rewards of writing a biography of Karl Barth, and what theology gains from biography. We discuss Barth's time as a pastor in Safenwil and his siding with factory workers in a local labour dispute, and I ask how this event influenced (or was shaped by) his understanding of the kingdom of God and whether she feels this commitment to the vision of heaven come to us as an impetus to support socialism lasts throughout Barth's life or was more of a youthful passion. We then discuss Barth's relationship with Charlotte von Kirschbaum, the tensions between Karl and Nelly, and the various pulls and pushes that led to all three under one roof. In particular I ask what responsibility did she feel in approaching this material. Finally, we talk about Barth's feelings toward the CD toward the end of his days, and, (perhaps relatedly) how he might have felt about the modest publishing industry the CD still sustains.Buy the Book Christiane Tietz studied Mathematics and Protestant Theology in Frankfurt/Main and Tübingen. She worked as assistant of Eberhard Jüngel and did her PhD with him on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Her PostDoc thesis was on a Christian concept of self-acceptance. She was awarded a Heisenberg Stipend by the German Research Foundation. From 2008 until 2013 she worked as Full Professor for Systematic Theology and Social Ethics at the University of Mainz/Germany. Since 2013 she has been Full Professor for Systematic Theology at the Institute of Hermeneutics and Philosophy of Religion at the University of Zurich/Switzerland. She has been a visiting lecturer or research scholar in Cambridge, Chicago, Heidelberg, Jerusalem, New York, and Princeton. She is a member of the editorial board of numerous journals and book series, and a judge for the Karl Barth-Prize and a member of the Advisory Board of the Karl Barth-Foundation, Basel. Find more episodesFollow the show on twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // follow me: @liammiller87

I sat down with president of the Søren Kierkegaard Society (USA), Aaron Simmons to talk all about the existential Dane. We discuss who Kierkegaard was, what drew Aaron to his work (including the surprising points of resonance between Søren and pentecostalism). I also ask about Kierkegaard's work on Abraham and faith, how one can be led through existentialism to corporate struggles for liberation , and what theologians who study Kierkegaard can learn from those who utilise his work in other disciplines. We also talk about the free Homebrewed Christianity online pop-up learning community that Aaron is co-teaching with Tripp Fuller : Getting Lost & Finding Faith - Walking with Kierkegaard. Find out more. J. Aaron Simmons holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Vanderbilt University and is currently a Professor of philosophy at Furman University in Greenville, SC (USA). He is the President of the Søren Kierkegaard Society (USA) and has published widely in philosophy of religion, phenomenology, and existentialism. Among his authored and edited books are God and the Other: Ethics and Politics After the Theological Turn; The New Phenomenology: A Philosophical Introduction; Kierkegaard's God and the Good Life; and Kierkegaard and Levinas: Ethics, Politics, and Religion. He and his wife, Vanessa, have been married 20 years and have an 11 year old son, Atticus. Although Aaron loves doing philosophy, he would almost always rather be fishing. Check out Aaron's youtube channel: “Philosophy for Where We Find Ourselves” Find more episodes: loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show on twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // follow me: @liammiller87

I sat down with Eve Rebecca Parker to discuss an Indecent Dalit Theology. We talk about her book where she theologises with the Dalit women who from childhood have been dedicated to village goddesses and used as ‘sacred' sex workers. We talk about how she came to this project, and what theology and the reading of Scripture gains through engagement with the lived religiosity and daily struggles of these dedicated women, known as devadāsīs. Parker shows that it is through this engagement that an Indecent Dalit Liberation Theology that challenges systems of oppression and cultures of impunity, including casteism, sexism, classism and a history of socio-political and religious marginalisation can emerge. We end by discussing how it this engagement shapes her ongoing work - especially on trust in theological education. Buy the book Eve Rebecca Parker, Ph.D. (2016), University of St Andrews, is Postdoctoral Research Associate in Theological Education at Durham University. Her recent publications include The Virgin and the Whore – An Interreligious Challenge for Our Times, The Ecumenical Review (2019). Find more episodesFollow the show on twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // follow me: @liammiller87

Rev Dr Garry Deverell and Rev Dr Chris Budden join Rev. Tau'alofa Anga'aelangi, Rev Dr Katalina Tahaafe-Williams, and myself to discuss the preamble to the Uniting Church in Australia's constitution. Garry opens by discussing his critique of the document from an Indigenous perspective as one which rein-scribes colonial narratives, Chris then offers some insights into the motivation and process behind the production of the document, after which we all enter into a discussion on the lineage and impact of the document and ask where to from here for a church seeking to continue to engage in decolonisation, repair, and justice. This episode is a re-post of most recent of the monthly Black Lives Matter and the Church in Australia panels hosted by the Uniting Church Chaplaincy at Charles Sturt University in Port Macquarie and the Social Justice Pilgrim Presbytery NT. This episode is a re-post of most recent of the monthly Black Lives Matter and the Church in Australia panels hosted by the Uniting Church Chaplaincy at Charles Sturt University in Port Macquarie and the Social Justice Pilgrim Presbytery NT. These panels happen on the final Sunday of the month at 3pm EST. To find out more contact Rev. Tau'alofa Anga'aelangi at ucc.csu[@]gmail.com Dr Garry Deverell is a Trawloolway man, connected to the north east of Tasmania. He is the inaugural Vice-Chancellor's Fellow in Indigenous Theologies at the University of Divinity in Melbourne, and the author of Gondwana theology: A Trawloolway man reflects on Christian faith and The Bonds of Freedom: vows, sacraments and the formation of the Christian self . Rev Dr Chris Budden is a ‘retired' Minister of the UCA and a former General Secretary of the NSW/ACT Synod, who spent his last two placements working as a support person for the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress. He was chairperson of the working group that developed the Preamble. Chris is author of ‘Following Jesus in Invaded Space: Doing Theology on Aboriginal Land' (2009), and ‘Why Indigenous Sovereignty Should Matter to Christians' (2018). He teaches 'Theology and Politics in Reconciliation' at United Theological College and 'Living as a Christian on Aboriginal Land' at Broken Bay Institute. He is an adjunct faculty member at UTC and Assoc. Researcher (PACT) at Charles Sturt University. Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87

I sat down with Sathi Clarke to discuss his calling as a theologian, how his theological development was shaped by living with communities of untouchables in India, why a theologian needs to have concrete commitments to communities in their struggles for justice, how to teach global/world Christianity, responding to religious fundamentalism, and being passionately Christian and compassionately interreligious. In the interview we discuss the class Sathi is teaching as the United Theological College scholar in residence: Contemporary Theology in a Global Context. The class runs from 15 to 19 November 2021, from 9:30 to 4:30pm. The course is offered in person at UTC (in North Parramatta) or via Zoom. Find more here (Auditing welcome!) Sathianathan (“Sathi”) Clarke holds the Bishop Sundo Kim Chair in World Christianity and is Professor of Theology, Culture and Mission at Wesley Theological Seminary. He is a presbyter of the Church of South India. Dr. Clarke bridges the world between establishment and the marginalized, the global and the local, and academy and the congregation. For several years (1996-2004), he was on the faculty at United Theological College, Bangalore, India. He was also a visiting professor at Harvard Divinity School. For the last twenty years, he has taught and lectured on global Christianity, contextual theology, postcolonial mission, and interreligious dialogue in India, U.S.A., United Kingdom, Germany, Sri Lanka, Korea, South Africa, and Liberia. In his research and teaching, Dr. Clarke has cultivated specialties in contextual theology, constructive global theology, and theology of religions. Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87

"This book represents a series of approaches to theology as a critical human discourse, in light of an ever-expanding awareness of the degree to which Christianity is ruining all our lives." I sat down with Adam Kotsko to talk about Christian thought and contemporary life. I ask how he became (and why he remains) interested in theology, what is political theology, and the relationship between critique, construction, and hope. We then discuss theology and philosophy (and the way both are at risk of trending toward political quietism), before talking about genealogical work in theology and his illuminating chapter on how the doctrine of original sin continues to operate in the modern concept of race and colonial violence - both assigning people as inferior and blaming them for such 'damage'. Buy the Book Adam Kotsko teaches in the Shimer Great Books School at North Central College, where he teaches widely in the humanities and social sciences. Adam's research focuses on political theology, continental philosophy, and the history of Christian thought. He is the author, most recently, of The Prince of This World, a study of the political legacy of pre-modern Christian ideas about the devil, and Neoliberalism's Demons, which argues that the contemporary political-economic order functions on the basis of a logic of moral entrapment that echoes the theological concept of demonization. Visit his website. Find more episodes Follow the show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87

I sat down with Anna Scheid to discuss her Christian ethic of political resistance and social transformation. We discuss her critique and inversion of Just War Theory to consider how it might be shaped to consider resistance and revolutions from below. Buy the BookAnna Floerke Scheid is Associate Professor of theology at Duquesne University. Dr. Scheid's research interests are in the area of Christian social ethics. In particular she is concerned with ethical issues surrounding human rights, conflict, and post-conflict reconciliation. She explores Christian perspectives on war and peace-especially just war theory and just peacemaking theory-and studies how restorative justice has been enacted in truth and reconciliation commissions around the world. Find more episodesFollow the show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87

I sat down with Michael Graziano to talk about his book Errand into the Wilderness of Mirrors which investigates the dangers and delusions that ensued from the religious world-views of the early moulders of the CIA. We discuss how the religious studies of the time (both in the academy and in popular culture) shaped the CIA's view of and approach to religion - particularly the developing World Religions Paradigm. Along the way we discuss American exceptionalism, shifting attitudes to Catholicism, and the strongly held belief within the CIA that a religious person would always, ultimately, side with the good ol' USofA. Buy the bookMichael Graziano is Assistant Professor of Religion at the University of Northern Iowa. His research focuses on the relationship between religion, law, and government in the United States. In particular, how the U.S. government decides what counts as “religious,” and how it chooses to engage religious people, ideas, and institutions. Visit his websiteFind more episodesFollow the show: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87

I interviewed Aaron Griffith about his book God's Law and Order, which argues that we cannot understand the US criminal justice system without accounting for evangelicalism's impact on its historical development. We discuss why crime and punishment 'mattered' for white evangelicals in the post-war period, how they made an expansive mass incarceration system seem neutral and appealing to the broader public, and how the focus on soul saving shaped the current justice system and evangelicals involvement therein. Buy the BookAaron Griffith is Assistant Professor of Modern American History at Whitworth University. He previously taught American history and the history of Christianity as an Assistant Professor at Sattler College. He is a former postdoctoral fellow at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics and instructor at Washington University's Prison Education Program, he has written for the Washington Post and Religion News Service. Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87

Naomi Wolfe sat down with Rev. Tau'alofa Anga'aelangi, Rev Dr Katalina Tahaafe-Williams, Emma Jackson, and myself to talk about Indigenous theology and spirituality, theological education, decolonising liturgy and language for God, and much more.This episode is a re-post of most recent of the monthly Black Lives Matter and the Church in Australia panels hosted by the Uniting Church Chaplaincy at Charles Sturt University in Port Macquarie and the Social Justice Pilgrim Presbytery NT. This episode is a re-post of most recent of the monthly Black Lives Matter and the Church in Australia panels hosted by the Uniting Church Chaplaincy at Charles Sturt University in Port Macquarie and the Social Justice Pilgrim Presbytery NT. These panels happen on the final Sunday of the month at 3pm EST. To find out more contact Rev. Tau'alofa Anga'aelangi at ucc.csu[@]gmail.com Naomi Wolfe is a trawloolway woman, and Academic Dean of the University of Divinity's Indigenous Studies program with Whitley College and NAIITS: an Indigenous learning community. Naomi is the First Peoples' Co-ordinator at the School of Indigenous Studies, University of Divinity. She holds a Bachelor Arts and Bachelor of Teaching and is finalising a Masters of Philosophy (Research) degree at Australian Catholic University, writing about the lives of the Hasmonean and Herodian women of the Late Second Temple Period. She is a graduate of the University of Divinity, having received a Graduate Certificate in Divinity in 2019. Naomi will also remain an academic within the ACU Faculty of Education and Arts. Naomi encourages a collaborative learning between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff and students at the University to break down barriers destroy stereotypes and to cultivate new relationships based on respect. She has a professional and personal interest in Indigenous cross-cultural training and awareness as well as Indigenous pedagogies and theology.Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the Show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87

I sat down with U-Wen Low to talk about the Book of Revelation as drama, resistance literature, and message of hope. We also discuss postcolonialism in biblical studies, and how he found himself in the middle of all this fascinating (if not highly controversial) research. Dr U-Wen Low is Senior Lecturer In Biblical Studies and Program Director - Master Of Theology at Alphacrucis College. U-Wen began theological studies at the University of Divinity in 2007, progressing through to an Honours year in 2013 and subsequently beginning his PhD in 2014, completing it in 2017 and graduating in 2018. His PhD is titled, Revelation as Drama: Reading and Interpreting Revelation through the lens of Greco-Roman Performance. Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by the Vital Leadership team of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT.

I sat down with Rhiannon Graybill to talk about how we tell biblical rape stories and how we might tell rape stories differently (content warnings for discussions of rape and sexual violence). We discuss the twofold sense of "after": 1) after Phyllis Trible and related approaches of feminist biblical interpretation, and 2) after the event of terror (as in not letting the suffering or darkness of the texts consume all the interpretive space around them). We also discuss her framework of fuzzy, messy, and icky, as well as what it means to do unhappy readings. Along the way we explore the Graybill's use of millennial and Gen Z women's fiction, why predation might not be the best fit when talking about King David, and why we need more than more than consent as the arbiter of whether a story is a rape story. Buy Texts After Terror: Rape, Sexual Violence, and the Hebrew Bible Rhiannon Graybill is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. She holds a PhD in Near Eastern Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a scholar of the Hebrew Bible whose work brings together biblical texts and contemporary critical and cultural theory. Her research interests include prophecy, gender and sexuality, horror theory, and psychoanalysis and ancient Near Eastern literature. She is the author of Are We Not Men? Unstable Masculinity in the Hebrew Prophets (Oxford, 2016). Her current projects include a study of sexual violence and rape in the Hebrew Bible (under contract with Oxford University Press), the Anchor Yale Bible Commentary on Jonah (with Steven L. McKenzie and John Kaltner), and an edited volume on Margaret Atwood and the Bible (with Peter Sabo). Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by the Vital Leadership team within the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT.

I sat down with Matthew Thiessen to discuss the Gospels' portrayal of ritual impurity within First-Century Judaism. We discuss how purity concerns map out the reality of the gospel writer's worlds, and clarify the differences between categories of holy, profane, pure, impure. Matthew then demonstrates Jesus' acceptance of the reality of these categories and his desire to rid people of the conditions that create ritual impurity. All of this shapes how we read Jesus' interactions with the haemorrhaging woman, those with leprosy, and corpses, as well as his teachings on sabbath, exorcisms, and food. We end with a discussion on how attention to ritual impurity can help us not fall into anti-semitism in our reading and preaching.Buy the book Matthew Thiessen (PhD, Duke University) is associate professor of religious studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. He is the author of Contesting Conversion: Genealogy, Circumcision, and Identity in Ancient Judaism and Christianity (awarded the Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise), Paul and the Gentile Problem, and Jesus and the Forces of Death. He is also the coeditor of several volumes. Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcastFollow the show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87Love Rinse Repeat is supported by the Vital Pathways team of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT

I'm joined by a wonderful group of friends to ring in episode 100 with a 64 team single-elimination tournament pitting books of the Bible against each other in one-on-one competition until just one remains and we declare the best book in the canon. It was a lot of fun to record and generated a lot of fascinating and passionate conversation about a host of different books and their importance, beauty, challenge, and place in our lives and scripture. If you want to play along you can download the bracket here.Enjoy, and thanks for joining us for 100 episodes of Love Rinse Repeat! Find more episodes: http://www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the Show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Today's guests: Steff Fenton (they/them) is Co-Pastor of New City Church, a church plant on Gadigal land/Sydney focused on justice, safety and inclusion. Steff is the Chair of Equal Voices Sydney, a network for LGBTIQA+ people and allies across the Church, and Treasurer-Director of a disability services organisation, Charis House. Through the week, you'll find Steff writing a thesis on male entitlement, gender-expansiveness and eunuchs in the Gospel of Matthew for their Master of Divinity at the University of Divinity. They identify as queer, ENFJ, an imperfect vegan, competitive with board games and an Enneagram 2 wing 3. @steff_fentonRosie Clare Shorter is a PhD Candidate in the Religion and Society Research Cluster at Western Sydney University. She is currently studying Anglicanism as a lived religion, focusing on the social consequences of complementarianism in the Sydney Anglican Diocese. She has previously completed a Master of Research and Bachelor of Creative Arts at Macquarie University. Rosie Clare likes to procrastinate by making coffee, doom-scrolling social media and re-reading Sara Ahmed's books and other classic feminist texts. She blogs very occasionally at rosieclareshorter.com and enjoys spending too much money on statement earrings and gin. @Roie Brian Fiu Kolia is an Australian-born Samoan ordained minister of the Congregational Christian Church Samoa. As an emerging scholar, his interests lie in postcolonial and diasporic theory, as well as utilising native Samoan wisdom and indigenous knowledge to engage with the biblical text. He recently submitted his PhD dissertation where he engages a number of themes in the book of Ecclesiastes from a diasporic Samoan perspective. His recent publications are: "A Tautua Reading of Toil in Ecclesiastes 2:18-23." In Reading Ecclesiastes in Asis-Pacific, SBL Press, 2020. “Eve's Serpent (Gen 3:1–9) Meets Sina's Tuna at Fāgogo.” In Vulnerability and Resilience, 2020. “Lifting the Tapu of Sex: A Tulou Reading of the Song of Songs” In Sea of Readings: The Bible in the South Pacific, SBL Press, 2018. @BKoliaRev Amanda Hay is a Minister of the Uniting Church in Australia. Amanda is the Minister in placement at Berowra Uniting Church where she has served since October 2019. Amanda has extensive experience in youth and young adult ministry positions and is passionate about how the church can support new and emerging expressions of faith, be it in person or online. Amanda is passionate about building church communities that support each other and serve the wider community in creative ways. She enjoys boardgaming and rollerskating in her spare time. Rohan Salmond is a producer with the Religion and Ethics unit at ABC RN. In his spare time he also writes Modern Relics, a newsletter about religion, pop culture and the internet. He is acting chair of Leichhardt Uniting Church. @RJSalmond Love Rinse Repeat is supported by the Vital Leadership team within the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT.

I sat down with newly inducted President of the Uniting Church in Australia, Rev Sharon Hollis. We discuss her call into a role such as this, what it means for the UCA that we're entering an era when those taking roles like President, Moderator, etc. have no memory of union or experience with the uniting churches. We also discuss the issues and challenges facing the church, the state of ecumenism, and Sharon's hopes for her time in this position. Rev Sharon Hollis is a minister in the Uniting Church in Australia and its 16th President. You can find out more about the UCA here: https://uniting.church/ Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the Show on twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by the Vital Leadership team within the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT.

I sat down with Leah DeVun to discuss her book, The Shape of Sex: Nonbinary Gender from Genesis to the Renaissance. We talk about how widespread thinking and writing about non-binary individuals was during the first centuries of the CE and again in the C12th-14th, and the way non-binary bodies actually shaped the way a host of categories and boundaries (not just gender) were demarcated. We talk in detail about the shift in the C12th/13th and the way non-binary sex shaped the project of establishing a non-human other, justifying violence towards Jews and Muslims, and determining who could live in a Christian territory. We also talk about the figures of "Adam androgyne" and the "Jesus hermaphrodite", and how they function as "anchors of eschatological time." Finally, Leah discusses how this study can inform our present, not only by showing that the consideration of non-binary, trans*, and intersex bodies are not novel to our period, but how this consideration cuts through claims of 'natural and immutable' in our own day. Buy the book.Leah DeVun is Associate Professor of History and Vice Chair for Undergraduate Education at Rutgers University. Leah DeVun focuses on the history of gender, sexuality, science, and medicine in pre-modern Europe, as well as on contemporary queer and transgender studies. DeVun's new book, The Shape of Sex: Nonbinary Gender from Genesis to the Renaissance, is forthcoming from Columbia University Press (in spring 2021). DeVun is also the author of Prophecy, Alchemy, and the End of Time, winner of the 2013 John Nicholas Brown Prize, and co-editor (with Zeb Tortorici) of Trans*historicities, a special issue of TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly (2018) devoted to transgender history before the advent of current categories and terminologies of gender. DeVun has also written articles for GLQ, WSQ, Osiris, Journal of the History of Ideas, postmedieval, and Radical History Review, among other publications. DeVun is the recipient of fellowships and grants from the National Science Foundation, Huntington Library, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, American Philosophical Society, and Stanford Humanities Center. DeVun is also a multi-media artist and curator whose work explores queer, feminist, and gender nonconforming history. DeVun's artwork has been featured in Artforum, People, Huffington Post, Slate, Art Papers, Hyperallergic, and Modern Painters, and at venues including the ONE Archives Gallery and Museum at the University of Southern California, Houston Center for Photography, Blanton Museum, Leslie-Lohman Museum, and Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College. DeVun has curated exhibitions and programs at the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum, NYU's Fales Library and Special Collections, and other venues. Find More episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT

I sat down with historian Jon Butler to discuss his book God in Gotham which explores religion in Manhattan from the last C19th to midC20th. We discuss how - contrary to much opinion (then and now) - modernity, urban density, and plurality did not prove a stranglehold on religion in this most city of cities but proved fertile ground for its flourishing. We also discuss religion, race, and activism in this period, in particular the efforts of the Reverends Adam Clayton Powell and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. We also explore what he dubs 'God's Urban Hothouse' the particularly fertile theological institutions (Union and the Jewish Theological Seminary) and prominent theologians and religious figures who worked in this time (e.g. Heschel, Day, Niebuhr, Tillich, Ida Bell Robinson, the Powells again). It is a rich discussion about an incredible story. Buy the Book Jon Butler is Howard R. Lamar Emeritus Professor of American Studies, History, and Religious Studies at Yale University and Research Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. His books include the Los Angeles Times bestseller Becoming America and the prizewinning Awash in a Sea of Faith and The Huguenots in America. He is a past president of the Organization of American Historians. Find more episodes Follow the Show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT.

I sat down with Prof John H. McClendon to discuss his philosophical appraisal of Black Theology/Christology and materialist critique of its claim of authenticity. We discuss how he became interested in the topic through study of Howard Thurman, the relationship between Black Theology and African American theology that preceded it, and the shift from a focus on racism and its attendant structures to whiteness. We also discuss his engagement with and critique of Professor James Cone and the implications he sees in making God dependant on Blackness and Blackness dependant on white oppression. Finally we discuss the whole problem of claiming the existence of an "authentic Christianity" independent of the Christianity we've got. Buy the Book Also, toward the end Prof McClendon discusses African American Philosophers and Philosophy, buy that here. Dr. John H. McClendon III is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Michigan State University. His areas of interests include: African American philosophers and philosophical traditions; African philosophy, Marxism, philosophy of sports and the African American experience; philosophy of religion and African Americans. In addition to numerous scholarly articles, book chapters, research reports, bibliographic essays, and biographical entries; McClendon is the author of the following books, African American Philosophers and Philosophy: An Introduction to the History, Concepts, and Contemporary Issues —co-authored with Dr. Stephen C. Ferguson II (Bloomsbury Publishers (2019); Black Christology and the Quest for Authenticity: A Philosophical Appraisal (Lexington Books, 2019); Philosophy of Religion and the African American Experience: Conversations with My Christian Friends (Brill/Rodopi, 2017), Beyond the White Shadow: Philosophy, Sports, and the African-American Experience, co-authored with Dr. Stephen C. Ferguson II (Kendall Hunt, 2012); C. L. R. James's Notes on Dialectics: Left-Hegelianism or Marxism-Leninism (Lexington Books, 2005). McClendon is the former Co-editor of the American Philosophical Association Newsletter on Philosophy of the Black Experience, and presently Co-Editor of the African American Philosophy Series for Brill Publishers; Consulting Editor of the Journal of the American Philosophical Association; Advisory Board Member of Blackpast.Org; member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the journal, Cultural Logic and serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal on African Philosophy. Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com Follow the Show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT.

I sat down with Brian Brock to talk about his new book, Disability: Living into the Diversity of Christ's Body (Baker, 2021). We discuss common misconceptions and assumptions that lead to unwelcome and awkwardness in churches (beginning with the common falsity that there are "no disabled people in our church"). Brian offers examples of how in noticing the diversity of the bodily experiences of the people around us, we begin to glimpse aspects of Scripture that we had previously missed. I also ask him about the issues that come from concepts like normality and inclusion, and how the confession that Christian's are - fundamentally - a people who receive can assist the task of disability theology. Finally we enter into a discussion about healing and how we've allowed a rather specific modern view of healing to shape how we read the healing narratives in the gospels. Buy the book Brian Brock (DPhil, King's College, London) is professor of moral and practical theology at the University of Aberdeen in Aberdeen, Scotland. He is the author of numerous books, including Wondrously Wounded, Disability in the Christian Tradition, has written extensively on disability issues, and is managing editor of the Journal of Disability and Religion. Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT. If you want to watch another interview I did with Brian, you can watch a discussion about his book, Wondrously Wounded, here

I spoke with Keegan Osinski about her new book: Queering Wesley, Queering the Church. We discuss what drew her to this project, her experience within the Wesleyan tradition, and how she found fertile ground for queer readings in Wesley's sermons. We then go deep on her readings of holiness, being born again, pride and humility, and pleasure. Buy the book Keegan Osinski is the librarian for theology and ethics at Vanderbilt University and a member of the Church of the Nazarene. Find out more about her work at her website: http://keeganosinski.com/ or connect with her on Twitter @Keegzzz Find more episodes Follow the Show in Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT.

I sat down with Natalie Wigg-Stevenson to talk about theology as performance art. We discuss her new work which weaves together discussions in church basements, notorious works of performance art, and a broad range of theological thinkers to respond to a moment where she felt forgotten by God. Along the way we talk about what it might mean to think about God's omnipotence through a framework of cognitive decline, in turn we discuss how she conceives of the role of humanity through caregiving to God. We also talk about the problems posed by the incarnation, ecclesiology as writing the church (rather than writing about), the role of the Spirit in the conception of Christ, and how infection and risk provide a way into thinking about what it means to be swept up into life with God. Buy the Book Natalie Wigg-Stevenson is Director of Master of Divinity, Director of Contextual Education, and Associate Professor of Contextual Education and Theology at Emmanuel College, Toronto. Her research explores how ethnographic methods can help create theological conversations across church, academy and everyday life. She is also interested in feminist and queer theologies, cultural theories of practice and practices for decolonizing higher education. Her current scholarly project uses ethnographic research to reimagine systematic theology as a form of performance art. Follow Natalie on twitter: @nataliews Find more episodes Follow the Show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT.

Dr Anne Pattel-Gray, author of the Great White Flood, joins Rev. Tau'alofa Anga'aelangi, Rev Dr Katalina Tahaafe-Williams, and myself in a discussion on Black Lives Matter, the church's call to confront racist injustice, the relationship between Indigenous sovereignty and multiculturalism, where the UCA has become too timid, the ongoing lack of Indigenous theology and teaching in theological education, how her book was banned from sales in physical bookstores in Australia, the importance of being able to worship in one's own language, and much more. This episode is a re-post of most recent of the monthly Black Lives Matter and the Church in Australia panels hosted by the Uniting Church Chaplaincy at Charles Sturt University in Port Macquarie and the Social Justice Pilgrim Presbytery NT. These panels happen on the final Sunday of the month at 3pm EST. To find out more contact Rev. Tau'alofa Anga'aelangi at ucc.csu[@]gmail.com Dr. Anne Pattel-Gray is an Aboriginal woman who is a descendant of the Bidjara/ Kari Kari people in Queensland and she is a recognised Aboriginal leader within Australia – nationally and internationally. She has dedicated her life to the struggle of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and she is a strong campaigner and lobbyist and deeply committed to seeking justice, equity and equal representation for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people. She is very proud of her Aboriginal culture and heritage and is a strong advocate for Aboriginal women, children, families and community regarding our Cultural and basic Human Rights. She has developed a leadership quality that promotes and builds a deeper sense of community and participation that brings a greater Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage and cultural identity and cohesion with the broader community that leads to beneficial partnerships, engagement and reconciliation. Dr. Anne Pattel-Gray has an earned Ph.D. from the University of Sydney awarded in 1995 in the Studies of Religion with the major focus on Aboriginal Religion and Spirituality (she was the first Aboriginal person to graduate with a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney). And a Doctor of Divinity from India awarded in 1997 (the first Aboriginal person to be awarded the D.D.). Dr. Pattel-Gray has achieved many firsts in her prestigious life and she is known as a trail blazer and she has opened many doors for her people. She is a recognised scholar, theologian, activist and prolific writer with several publications – chapters, articles, edited works and authored books. Dr. Anne Pattel-Gray is deeply committed to the advancement of Aboriginal people and to reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. She has over thirty years in senior management as a CEO and she possesses a wealth of experience and she has developed enormous expertise. Buy The Great White Flood Rev. Dr. Katalina Tahaafe-Williams is an Oceanian theologian educated in Australia and the United Kingdom with extensive involvement in the world church and ecumenical movement. She brings years of experience in social justice to our BLM webinar conversations and is a global expert in the field of racial justice and multicultural relations. She is an ordained minister of the UCA currently serving at Nightcliff UC, NT. Rev. Tau'alofa Anga'aelangi is an ordained Deacon in the Uniting Church in Australia and currently serving as a Tertiary Chaplain at Charles Sturt University in Port Macquarie, Lofa has a strong interest in studies of the Hebrew Bible and contextual Theology. As a young contemporary Theologian from Oceania, her hope is to see more Theological work from those at the grassroots of Pasifika. With strong beliefs that the church is accountable in creating space for truth-telling and active listening. She sees this webinar on Black Lives Matter, as a response and collaboration for bringing faith, injustice and academia together. Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the Show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT

I sat down with Grace Ji-Sun Kim to talk about hope. We talk about writing for the public, differentiating hope from optimism, speaking of hope amidst the pain and violence of sexism, racism, and ecological destruction, and what it means to live inside and even become our hope. We also talk about her new podcast Madang and what it's like to be on the other side of the mic. Buy the Book Listen to Madang Grace Ji-Sun Kim is Professor of Theology at Earlham School of Religion. She is the author or editor of 20 books, Invisible, Hope in Disarray: Piecing Our Lives Together in Faith; Reimagining Spirit, Keeping Hope Alive (Orbis Books), Intersectional Theology: An Introductory Guide (Fortress Press) cowritten with Dr. Susan Shaw; Healing Our Broken Humanity, co-written with Graham Hill, The Homebrewed Christianity Guide to the Holy Spirit, Mother Daughter Speak, co-written with Elisabeth Sophia Lee; Planetary Solidarity (Fortress Press) co-edited with Hilda Koster; Intercultural Ministry co-edited with Jann Aldredge-Clanton (Judson Press); Making Peace with the Earth (WCC); Embracing the Other (Eerdmans); Here I Am(Judson Press); Christian Doctrines for Global Gender Justice (Palgrave) co-edited with Jenny Daggers; Theological Reflections on “Gangnam Style” (Palgrave Macmillan) co-written with Joseph Cheah; Contemplations from the Heart (Wipf & Stock); Reimagining with Christian Doctrines co-edited with Jenny Daggers (Palgrave Macmillan); Colonialism, Han and the Transformative Power (Palgrave Macmillan); The Holy Spirit, Chi and the Other (Palgrave Macmillan); and The Grace of Sophia (Pilgrim Press). Find more episodes Follow the Show: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT.

I sat down with Johanna Perheentupa to discuss her new book on Aboriginal activism and the push for self-determination in Redfern in the 1970s. We discuss the conditions and social changes that made Redfern ripe for such radical change and the development of landmark organisations such as the Aboriginal Legal Service, the National Black Theatre, Aboriginal Medical Service, Murawina preschool, and the Aboriginal Housing Company. We discuss the relationship between these organisations and the well known demonstrations of the time (such as the Tent Embassy). We discuss the way the ALS emerged as a response to police violence, how the Black Theatre sought to shape a national Indigenous identity, and how the ALS and AHC engaged the fight for land rights in the city.Buy the book through Aboriginal Studies Press at the AIATSIS shop.Dr Johanna Perheentupa is a lecturer in the Nura Gili Centre for Indigenous Programs at UNSW. Johanna grew up in Finland, where she completed a Master's degree at the University of Turku before completing her PhD in History at UNSW. Her research centres on First Nation rights and the engagement of settler-colonial governments with Indigenous peoples. Johanna's recent publication Redfern: Aboriginal Activism in the 1970s, by Aboriginal Studies Press, explores the ways in which local Aboriginal organisations pursued self-determination in the diverse fields of law, health, arts and culture, education and housing. Find more episodes Follow the Show: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammmiller87Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT - thanks team :) Music by Fyzex

I sat down with Janice McRandal, public, feminist theologian, to talk about theology (public and otherwise) as it is in Australia and how it could be. We discuss how she came to a life of an academic and public theology, what The Cooperative is about and hopes to disrupt and achieve, theological education in Australia and what she thinks it needs for a flourishing future, the role of social media in public theology, and the inaugural Cooperative theological conference, "Uncommon Goods: Public Theology and Empire". Learn more about the Cooperative and check out the conference (regos open July 1) Dr Janice McRandal is Director of the Cooperative. She is a feminist theologian who works with critical theory to explore themes of systematic theology alongside politics and popular culture. Her publications include Christian Doctrine and the Grammar of Difference and Sarah Coakley and the Future of Systematic Theology. Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the Show: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church Synod of NSW/ACT.

"In sum, Althaus-Reid wanted to help us free ourselves from dominating constructs that keep us from knowing God... the goal is not to formulate one theology but to celebrate the diverse ways of knowing God." I sat down with Thia Cooper to talk about her new introduction to the work of Marcella Althaus-Reid. We talk about the theological marketplace, attending to variety and lived experience in theology, the hermeneutical circle, the work that remains to be done, and armpits. Buy the Book Thia Cooper is Professor in Religion; Peace Studies; Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies at Gustavus Adolphus College. Professor Cooper teaches in the area of Religion, Culture, and Society. Her teaching and research interests include theology and liberation, theology and development, faith and practice in faith-based aid agencies, non-western Christianities, and religion in Latin America, particularly Brazil. Her recent publications include: A Theology of International Development (forthcoming 2020, Routledge), A Christian Guide to Liberating Desire, Sex, Partnership, Work and Reproduction (2018, Palgrave), and an edited book The Re-emergence of Liberation Theologies: Models for the Twenty-First Century (2013, Palgrave). She regularly publishes chapters, articles, and speaks on issues of liberation theology and feminist theology. Find more interviews: http://www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast/ Follow the podcast: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT. Check out their work and upcoming events: https://ume.nswact.uca.org.au/

I spoke with Anne Elvey about her new book, Reading the Magnificat in Australia. We discuss her approach to the project as a poet and biblical scholar who has creatively engaged the Magnificat for many years, and how this combination connects to a hermeneutics of creative imagination and need for creative writing to 'turn the breath' toward empathy and resistance. We talk about keeping an aspect of unknowing central to the book's epistemological frame and the hermeneutic of restraint. I also ask about how the Magnificat offers a call to "reconfigure the learned desire of the will of white possession", and finally the concept of entanglement as a way toward a broader (less anthropocentric) reading and rewriting of Magnificat. Buy the Book Anne F. Elvey is a poet, researcher, and editor. She is Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics, Monash University, and Honorary Researcher, University of Divinity, Melbourne, Australia. Find More EpisodesFollow the Show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT. Check out their work and upcoming events: https://ume.nswact.uca.org.au/

"Paul is probably the least interesting thing about Paul’s letters." I sat down with Joseph Marchal to talk the way his book reaches past questions of what Paul 'thought' (or how his texts can be read in 'inclusive' ways) toward far more fascinating queer figures before and after his letters: "androgynes, eunuchs, slaves, and barbarians—each depicted as perversely gendered and strangely embodied figures in their own distinctive, though interrelated ways”. We discuss his intentionally anachronistic style of juxtaposition, and how this leads his work on 1 Corinthians 11 and Paul's concerns about the women prophesying, to considerations of ancient figures of androgyny and contemporary work on female masculinity. And much, much more!Buy the BookJoseph A. Marchal is Professor of Religious Studies at Ball State University. Dr Marchal teaches introductory religious studies courses, a range of biblical studies courses, as well as more advanced seminars on bodies and religions, and theories for religious studies. He is particularly passionate about introducing students to the ancient contexts of biblical texts and, then, helping them reflect upon their relevance for more recent cultures (including our own). This passion extends to his research, focused particularly on the dynamics of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and empire and the audiences of Paul's letters. Dr. Marchal has published three books and edited two others on these topics, alongside eighteen book chapters, and twelve articles in a wide variety of journals for biblical and religious studies, including: Journal of Biblical Literature, Biblical Interpretation, Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Culture and Religion, Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Theology and Sexuality, and Bible and Critical Theory. Find more episodesFollow the Podcast: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love Rinse Repeat is supported by Uniting Mission and Education, part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of NSW/ACT. Check out their upcoming PreachFest 21, June 1st to 3rd, featuring a raft of amazing preachers and teachers. Sign up at ume.nswact.uca.org.au click upcoming events and then click Preachfest! https://ume.nswact.uca.org.au/calendar/preachfest-2021/

I sat down with Anna Carter Florence to talk about her passion for preaching. We discuss lessons she's learnt from teaching preaching for two decades, overlap between acting and preaching, how to make Scripture more dynamic and accessible, and her book Rehearsing Scripture: Discovering God's Word in Community. Anna Carter Florence will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming PreachFest 2021 hosted by Uniting Mission and Education, June 1st to 3rd, featuring a raft of amazing preachers and teachers. Sign up at ume.nswact.uca.org.au click upcoming events and then click Preachfest! https://ume.nswact.uca.org.au/calendar/preachfest-2021/ Dr. Anna Carter Florence is Peter Marshall Professor of Preaching at Columbia Theological Seminary. She is interested in preaching and public proclamation, and preparing leaders who can speak and listen in multiple contexts for ministry. Her research focuses on testimony, pedagogies of preaching, the creative process by which communities engage and embody scripture, and how other fields—particularly poetry and theater—offer models for prophetic speech. Find more episodesFollow the Show on Twitter: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87

How does Luke's understanding of the end of history reshape experience in the present? I sat down with Kylie Crabbe to talk Luke/Acts, eschatology, history, and how ancient writers make sense of negative experience. I also ask Kylie to argue the case for Luke as the best gospel and attempt to disprove the theory that Acts is actually kind of boring. Buy the Book Dr Kylie Crabbe is Director of Graduate Research Programs and Senior Research Fellow Biblical and Early Christian Studies at Australian Catholic University. After her undergraduate studies (in Criminology, Psychology, and Theology at the University of Melbourne and Melbourne College of Divinity) she undertook a Master of Theology (in New Testament Studies), was ordained Minister of the Word in the Uniting Church in Australia in 2010, and engaged in congregational ministry in Melbourne. Following doctoral study at the University of Oxford, Kylie was Lecturer in Theology at Trinity College, Oxford, from 2015-2017, with additional responsibilities as Instructor in New Testament Greek for the Faculty of Theology and Religion at Oxford University (2016), Assistant Welfare Dean at Trinity College, Oxford (2017), and Editorial Assistant for the Journal of Theological Studies (2013-2016). She then began work as Research Fellow at Australian Catholic University in late 2017. Find more episodes Follow the Show: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87 Love, Rinse, Repeat is part of the Uniting Mission and Education family. Check out their upcoming PreachFest 21, June 1st to 3rd, featuring a raft of amazing preachers and teachers. Sign up at ume.nswact.uca.org.au click upcoming events and then click Preachfest! https://ume.nswact.uca.org.au/calendar/preachfest-2021/

“No good comes from the denial of enmity.” I spoke with Melissa Florer-Bixler about her new book, How To Have an Enemy. The question, she emphasises, is not whether to have enemies, but how to have the right enemy. We also talk about the myth of the Christmas Day truce, problems of 'unity', and why Melissa's job as a pastor isn't "to create a politically diverse church where people share their ideas dispassionately in an attempt towards middle ground or mutual transformation.” We end with a discussion about what the church can offer in a society riddled by inequality, dispossession, and violence and how stepping out to work against the principalities and powers of this world might require us to make ourselves enemies of the community (even the family) in which we were once so lovingly rooted.Buy the BookMelissa Florer-Bixler is the pastor of Raleigh Mennonite Church, and a graduate of Duke University and Princeton Theological Seminary. She spent times studying in Israel/Palestine, Kenya, and England. Much of her formation took place in the L'Arche community of Portland, OR. Now she prefers the Eno River and her garden in Raleigh, NC. She is the chair of L'Arche North Carolina and a steering committee member in broad-based organizing in her county. Melissa's writing has appeared in Christian Century, Sojourners, Geez, Anabaptist Witness, The Bias, Faith&Leadership, and Anabaptist Vision. From time to time she publishes academic writing. She and her spouse parent three children. On twitter: @MelissaFloBix Website: https://www.melissaflorerbixler.com/​More episodesFollow the Show: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87

I sat down with Joshua Ralston to talk about his book Law and the Rule of God: a Christian Engagement with Shari’a (Cambridge, 2020). We discuss what lead him to this work, why discussions of law in Islam are missing in political theology (and why they matter), the problems of Protestant antinomianism, comparative theology and how recognising different conceptions of the law and its purpose assist interfaith work, and his account of public law as a provisional and indirect witness to the divine rule of justice Buy the bookCheck out the free course on Christian-Muslim relations Dr Ralston mentions at the end of the interview, produced by the University of Edinburgh. Joshua Ralston is Reader in Christian-Muslim Relations at the School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh and director and co-founder of the Christian-Muslim Studies Network funded by the Henry Luce Foundation. He has published widely on Reformed Theology, Christian theological engagements with Islam, Arab Christianity, and on political theology. His monograph, Law and the Rule of God: A Christian Engagement with Shari'a was pubslished by Cambridge University Press (2020) and he has co-edited two books, Church in an Age of Global Migration: A Moving Body (Palgrave, 2015) and Religious Diversity in Europe: Comparative Political Theology (Ferdinand Schöning, 2020). He is currently working on a monograph tentatively entitled, Witness and the Word: An Approach to Christian-Muslim Dialogue. Prior to moving to Scotland, he was Assistant Professor of Theology at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. He earned his undergraduate degree in philosophy at Wake Forest University, before going on to study World Christianity at Edinburgh (MTh with distinction), divinity at Candler School of Theology (MDiv), and Christian Theology and Islamic Thought at Emory University.Follow the show: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87

I sat down with Brett Krutzsch to talk about his book Dying to Be Normal: Gay Martyrs and the Transformation of American Sexual Politics. The book highlights how, through the process of commemoration, secular gay activists deployed Protestant Christian ideals to present gays as similar to upstanding heterosexuals and, therefore, as deserving of equal rights. Our conversation centres on the treatment of Harvey Milk, Matthew Shepard, and Tyler Clementi who, in the wake of their deaths, had aspects of their life, politics, and personality erased in order that they might make more appropriate martyrs in the eyes of white Protestant America. Through this we see the way Christian language of sacrifice and redemption, and the symbol of crucifixion still hold sway in American society and thus limit the ways (and the who) of seeking equality and dignity. As Krutzsch writes, "Ultimately, this is a story of exclusion, built on a politics of inclusion, shaped and foreclosed by a white Protestant vision of “normal” American citizens." Brett Krutzsch is a scholar of religion at New York University’s Center for Religion and Media where he serves as Editor of the Revealer, a monthly online magazine about religion and society. He is an expert on religion and LGBTQ history and is the author of Dying to Be Normal: Gay Martyrs and the Transformation of American Sexual Politics from Oxford University Press, a 2020 Lambda Literary Award finalist for best LGBTQ nonfiction book of the year. Buy the Book Check out the Revealer Find more episodes: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcast Follow the show: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87

I sat down with Ruth Jackson Ravenscroft to talk theology, finitude, and Schleiermacher. I ask about her journey into theology, the importance of reading Schleiermacher with his biography close at hand, and what she's learnt with sharing Schleiermacher beyond the halls of theology, before engaging with her work on finitude (in particular the freedom and unity found therein).Buy the book.Ruth Jackson Ravenscroft hails from Bury in Greater Manchester. She studied Theology and Religious Studies as an undergraduate here at Sidney Sussex, before moving to Corpus Christi College Cambridge for her doctoral research. In 2015, she took up a postdoctoral research fellowship at CRASSH, on the ERC-funded project ‘Bible and Antiquity in Nineteenth-Century Culture’. In the 2016-2017 academic year, she was Director of Studies for Theology at Corpus Christi College. Ruth’s research sits at the intersection of theology, philosophy, literature, and intellectual history, and has focussed on late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century thought in particular. Her first monograph, The Veiled God, reappraises the early work of the German theologian and philosopher, Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834). Her research interests include hermeneutics, religious language, gender and epistemology. Find more episodesFollow the Show: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87Love, Rinse, Repeat is part of the Uniting Mission and Education family. Check out their upcoming PreachFest 21, June 1st to 3rd, featuring a raft of amazing preachers and teachers. Sign up at ume.nswact.uca.org.au click upcoming events and then click Preachfest! https://ume.nswact.uca.org.au/calendar/preachfest-2021/

I sat down with Katharine Massam to talk about Spanish Benedictine Missionary Women in New Norcia in Western Australia. We discuss the way this strange, surprising, complex, and sad story helps chart a path for thinking about religious and colonial history in these lands now called Australia. We talk about the way this small mission town both reflected and balked the broader trends in the colonial project of assimilation, changes in C20th Catholicism, and the experience of women in religious orders (with particular attention to the story of Sr Veronica Therese Willaway OSB). We also cover how one writes history that doesn't praise anyone, and holds the complexity of a story that should never have been with the fullness of feeling of those most impacted.Download a free copy of the book here: https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/anu-lives-series-biography/bridge-betweenKatarine Massam is a historian of religion who teaches at Pilgrim Theological College within the University of Divinity in Melbourne. She has published on monastic theology, the history of education and, mostly widely, on the lived experience of faith and belief.Find more: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcastFollow the show: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87Love, Rinse, Repeat is part of the Uniting Mission and Education family. Check out their upcoming PreachFest 21, June 1st to 3rd, featuring a raft of amazing preachers and teachers. Sign up at ume.nswact.uca.org.au click upcoming events and then click Preachfest! https://ume.nswact.uca.org.au/calendar/preachfest-2021/

I sat down with Josh Jipp to talk about the messianic identity of Jesus as the presupposition for and primary content of New Testament theology. We discuss balancing unity and plurality within the New Testament, the benefits and risks of centring the messianic identity in light of the history of Christian supersessionism, the kind of kingdom this messiah brings, and (just in time for Easter) how the Passion narratives establish Jesus' messianic identity - hint, it has much more to do with the Psalmist's Davidic King than Isaiah's suffering servant.Buy the BookJoshua W. Jipp is associate professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. His books include The Messianic Theology of the New Testament (Eerdmans, 2020) Christ Is King: Paul's Royal Ideology (Fortress, 2015) and Saved by Faith and Hospitality (Eerdmans, 2017), which won the Academy of Parish Clergy's Book of the Year award in 2018.Find More: www.loverinserepeat.com/podcastFollow the Show: @RinseRepeatPod // Follow me: @liammiller87Love, Rinse, Repeat is part of the Uniting Mission and Education family. Check out their upcoming PreachFest 21, June 1st to 3rd, featuring a raft of amazing preachers and teachers. Sign up at ume.nswact.uca.org.au click upcoming events and then click Preachfest! https://ume.nswact.uca.org.au/calendar/preachfest-2021/