Sacred Anarchies: A Post Church Podcast

It's Pancake Day, Shrove Tuesday or perhaps even Fat Tuesday-the eve of Lent, the beginning of forty days of self-reflection, and for some, forty days of no chocolate or sugar! So we are talking about why feasting is as important as fasting and also how it feels to be shriven! www.handcogroup.com/the-dance-of-death www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

This week it's a post-Valentine conversation about the most elusive and consuming of all human emotions: love. What is it? Why can we never find the words? Why does Maria keep saying death when she means love?! All this and other prognostications about l-o-v-e. www.handcogroup.com/the-dance-of-death www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_  

This week we are discussing Ernest Becker's "The Denial of Death," zeroing in on a particular chapter entitled, "Human Character as a Vital Lie." OUCH! Join us as we probe further into the illusionary nature of life and what it might mean to live fully human vs. part. www.handcogroup.com/the-dance-of-death www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

We are back!  Back from our slumber or back from our sabbatical or...back from our death sleep?  Perhaps that is more appropriate given the subject matter of this week's podcast, which inaugurates Sacred Anarchies, Season 2!  It's good to be back! www.handcogroup.com/the-dance-of-death www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

The emergence of ‘man-tenance'? Conscious bars? All that and how men's skincare might herald new theological horizons and why the hyper-personalization of our lives is a pointer to changing understanding of the self, the world, and maybe even the gods! www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

In this week's conversation we cover everything from a comment left on an Instagram feed about narrative versus empirical realities, and why binary conversations about the ‘real world' are seldom satisfying and then how design might offer new ways of thinking through theology and other issues, ‘everything but the kitchen sink' said Maria, but then we talked about sinks so…we cover it all this time around! www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

Religion has been in the news a fair bit this past week. The usual uproar and indignation over this or that. It really does seem to echo the same theme over and over again, that religious leaders are out of touch and insensitive and too quick to uphold the institution at the expense of human dignity. So we have a moan about that, but we also talk about 16th century clockwork automaton monks that can kiss their rosaries and self-flagellate because we are committed to bringing the most important religious news items to you from the past as well as the present. www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

This week we are delighted to welcome a special guest Brien Aadland.  Brien is a Minneapolis based theologian and practitioner with a great story to tell about finding faith, losing faith and finding a very different version of it again. In some ways it mirrors many of the conversations we hear over and over about the struggle with dogmatic and institutional forms of faith that seem to stifle and snuff out individual quests but Brien's story takes some unique turns. Enjoy the conversation! www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

This week's conversation is all about the power of words. Not the power of words in the hyper-religious ‘name it and claim it' sense nor in the new age ‘manifesting' sense of things, but the real power of words and the ways in which new understanding of the relationship between the brain and the body are reframing the way people think about words-the energy they do or don't exact from our bodies-it's a fascinating idea that caught our attention and we thought it would be a good thing to share with you. www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

This week we chat about Jacques Derrida, the father, or perhaps, Godfather of deconstruction. Maria has been reading a wonderful new biography of the man that has opened her understanding of Derrida's work and she wanted to talk about it. This is not a theory heavy conversation as much as an enthusiastic cheer for ideas whose time has come and keeps on coming…perhaps. ;) www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

This week we talk about Bob Dylan-he just turned 80 and we thought it was worth taking a moment to reflect on an event early in his career that in many ways charted a course for him that continues to both challenge and inspire. We all struggle with pleasing others and meeting their expectations of us, but what do we do when we anger even our most ardent supporters? Well this story from Dylan’s life might just shine a light on that. www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

Data mining, predictive analytics, algorithms. This week we are discussing an ad tells you how to ‘live beyond the algorithm’ and  of course it’s connected to buying something. So we take a dive into marketing, advertising, and digitality, talking about how our lives are shaped by both technology and consumerism. Is there a way to truly break out of algorithmic conformity besides buying a product? Listen to our conversation to see what we think might be the answer to that question. www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

This week we delve into a couple of articles that popped up in our world on the subject of free will. Contemporary data and neuroscience sciences argue against the notion. But the implications of there being no free will causes some who believe it to be a myth to argue that we should continue in the illusion that there is such a thing to stop us falling into despair? We also realize we’ve both read different articles in preparation for the podcast—was that free will or what?! www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

This week we celebrate the publishing of a particular book and talk about our new class. It’s about crafting a faith without illusions and we are really excited to offer it! It’s a conversation you’ll be hard pressed to find in the theological world, but one we think is incredibly important and pertinent to all who are examining their faith and trying to work out what next, what the heck, or even what the hell?! Listen in to hear what we have to say. https://www.handcogroup.com/faith-without-illusions

This week we are talking post theism and 'blasphemous hallelujahs' with Micah J. Murray of Existentialist Happy Hour. We unpack what Micah means by 'profane praise,' telling all sorts of stories along the way while also delving deep into moving on from the God that is idol and damaging illusion to an understanding of life that is sacrilegious against a certain type of god and certain types of sacred things. This is a conversation you don't want to miss! micahjmurray.com instagram: @micahjmurray  

This week we discuss a brand new magazine, which could be a book, and perhaps even more than a book-it even comes with its own Gucci inspired music on a flexible-disc. It’s called Perfect and we chat about why they chose that name, the impetus behind the project, why their inaugural issue was Issue 0 and why on earth would anyone launch something new in the middle of a global lockdown? Well, it might be the smartest move anyone could make. www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

This week on the podcast we chat with Jo Luehmann. A force of nature who speaks her mind and her truth with dignity and clarity, challenging status quo and conventional wisdom about most things church related. She pulls no punches which means you can have a real discussion about things like deconstruction, decolonizing theology, church leadership and even marriage and raising children and pretty much everything else! Follow Jo's work on instagram @joluehmann or on patreon at patreon.com/joluehmann

This week we talk with our friend John Caputo, the man who put philosophical deconstruction into dialog with Christianity. John is a marvel. He continues to write, speak and lead the way in radical theological conversation. We get the lowdown on what he thinks about his own work and his thoughts on Radical Theology and the pandemic, and so much more-it’s a good one! www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

Well, Lil Nas X pole danced his way into hell and the culture wars with his latest video.  On the back of releasing an exclusive collaboration ‘Satan Shoes’ (complete with upside down cross, pentagram and a drop of blood in the sole), his latest video has drawn the ire of conservatives. Are we really ‘wrestling for the soul of a nation’ or is this just one more example of the inability of many Christians to rightly read what’s going on in culture? This week we talk about the video, the shoes, the theology of both,  and why we think it’s time for a different kind of cultural conversation. www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

This week our guest is Josh de Keijzer. If you know him from his daily radical theology memes on Instagram you’ll know that he has a way with words and a very specific take on modern Christianity and the challenges it faces as well as a unique take on the contemporary market-based gods of consumer society. He lives and works in his homeland of The Netherlands but he and Maria share some Seminary experiences from their time in Minneapolis back in the day. @aftergodsend joshdekeyzer.com www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

Need a little alka-seltzer for your Evangelical hangover? We’ve got it right here for you fizzing away in our chat about religious hangovers, those residual feelings that we can’t shake when our theological world begins to implode. What to do with these feelings and how we navigate our way to new horizons is what we are talking about today. www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

This week we have a guest, Kim Stewart, who it just so happens went to Bible College with Maria. Naturally Barry is the third wheel in this conversation and there are some Bible school stories that might make you laugh, or cry. It’s a great conversation about religious trauma and finding freedom! Kim works as a psychotherapist working towards specializing in religious trauma and she shares some of her own expertise when it comes to the damage religious systems can do. www.abetterorg.com kim@abetterorg.com handcogroup.com/desconstruction-can-these-bones-live

Our guest this week is the one and only Phil Drysdale! Founder of the Deconstruction Network, instagrammer, speaker and podcaster, Phil is heavily engaged and invested in what is increasingly becoming a significant part of theological conversations today, deconstructing faith. What is he up to? What’s it all about? Join us this week to find out! handcogroup.com/deconstruction-can-these-bones-live Instagram.com/phildrysdale Phildrysdale.com Thedeconstructionnetwork.com

This week we were going to hear about Maria’s deconstruction story but we got a bit sidelined by larger conversation and then she gave all the reasons she didn’t think she needed to tell her story and all the reasons she gave turned out to be the interview she didn’t think she should give. So, there you have it-an interview that’s not an interview but really is.  In any case, you don't want to miss it! www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

This week we are continuing our deconstruction dialogues and Maria turns the microphone towards Barry and questions him about his own deconstruction, asking him to reflect on the catalyzing moments and issues that caused him to re-think religion. www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

Following on from last week's conversation, this week we are digging a little deeper into the philosophers and, particularly, Derrida’s theory of deconstruction and what it may and may not mean. We are excited about all the ‘deconstruction’ conversations going on out there in internet-land and want to support those conversations however we can. We are talking Derrida, Nietzsche, Vattimo and what impact dark blue paint can have on a room! What Would Jesus Deconstruct by John Caputo www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

This week we dip our toes into the waters of deconstruction. Well actually, we wade right into a conversation about the wider conversation around deconstruction that seems to have garnered a growing audience in the religious, Christian and post-Christian internet world. What are we talking about when we talk about deconstruction? Is that what we need or do we all just need therapy? This is the first in a series of conversations about the challenges of working out what deconstruction might look like. www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

This week's podcast is a review of religion and the inauguration-the challenges that the employ of particular types of Christian symbolism created for many people who are trying to work out some serious ‘god issues.’ We also talked about writing screenplays, the Bernie meme and how Maria wished he’d worn a hat and why it is that it's increasingly difficult to keep praying the same prayers in the same way. www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

This week's chat is about Slavoj Žižek’s latest book Pandemic!2: Chronicles of a Time Lost. His second pandemic-based book, which grapples with how we are addressing the current pandemic and various lockdowns and the ways in which particular ideological positions on the Right and the Left are perhaps hindering us from truly coming to terms with what’s happening. From the book’s potent dedication, through the challenging and insightful essays, Žižek offers some hope for the lost time we have been living in. www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

This week's podcast is a bit of a brain-dump. We find ourselves a bit overwhelmed by the weight of the ongoing pandemic lockdown, shocked and yet not shocked by events in Washington last week, and generally lost for articulate commentary. So, we talk James Baldwin and Jesus and John Wayne and religious nationalism and John Caputo’s Radical Theology and put all of that in some kind of conversation-i.e. a brain dump! This is what’s going on in our heads this week-whoa! www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

This week's podcast is about our new culture course which starts next week, Pandemical Mysticism: A theology of Life-An exploration of the ways in which our lockdown experiences mirror some of the mystical experiences of monks and hermits. We talk about why a broader understanding of the variety of experiences we go through can help us be more self-aware and have a different perspective on post-lockdown life. handcogroup.com/pandemical-mysticism Instagram: @h_andco_

This week’s podcast is a first for us, we have a guest! James Prescott, host of Poema podcast, joins us for a discussion about lessons we might discover from grief and loss. What happens if we dig into grief rather than hope it goes away over time? An insightful and helpful conversation for times like these when we are all experiencing multitalented levels of loss and the grief that natural comes with it.  www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_ Find James and his podcast at: @jamesprescott77

This week we are talking Christmas in a pandemic-Maria is wearing a Love Actually sweatshirt whilst bemoaning the role nostalgia plays in the holiday.  She also confessed to not being able to bake and tried to get me to sing Away in a Manger but apparently I got the melody wrong and messed that up.  So all of that plus our Christmas thoughts on a global pandemic-this one is unmissable! www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

Skulls. They are everywhere and this week we chat about what that might mean, why Barry likes them, their place in religious history, their bad rap in Christianity today and why what was once the symbol of pirates and bikers is undergoing yet another shift in our cultural perception-and, in case you hadn’t noticed, we have a pink skull logo and we throw the reason for that into the mix, as well. www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

This week we are talking about our upcoming virtual seminar on Advent and deconstruction and Derrida’s notion of the ‘to come’-Avenir, L’avenir-the haunting figure of hope and expectation at the heart of his thinking and, to our minds, at the heart of Advent.  We are discussing Advent like you've (most likely) never discussed it before.  Merry Christmas.  handcogroup.com/advent-of-the-impossible Instagram: @h_andco_

This week we had a little brain thunderstorm and dropped the mic on our lived versus unlived lives, as it relates to God. Our conversation this week was prompted by the book Missing Out by Adam Phillips-a book about how we all have two lives, the one we are living and the fantasy life we carry inside. Does God have a fantasy life? And, if so, then we are certainly made in that image. www.handcogroup.com Instagram: @h_andco_

Be good. But why be good and what does it mean to be good? Who sets the standards and how do we know what goodness is? This is actually a conversation about being ‘fruitfully and bravely bad,' why the 'Duty Trap' further complicates matters and some ideas on that apple eating situation in Genesis. www.handcogroup.com Instagram: h_andco_

This week we are talking about the newly re-published Playgirl magazine! Once the feminine response to Playboy but now a magazine devoted to moving beyond gender equality and conversations about sexuality and identity in the 21st century. We also talk about Pornotopia, Paul Preciado’s challenging book about how the architecture of Playboy shaped sexual conversations in the second half of the 20th century and why those conversations are no longer helpful-kind of like a lot of religious conversations we’ve been party to!!     www.handcogroup.com Instagram: h_andco_

We meant to talk about the pandemic this week and our new forthcoming class, and we got there in the end, but we also veered off into a chat about lockdown cakes, and the various cakes that define British culture. It all connects if you listen all the way through and if you’ve never had a Tunnock’s tea cake you might want to start scouring the Internet! :) www.handcogroup.com/futureproof Instagram: h_andco_ www.tunnock.co.uk/products/teacakes/

In case you hadn’t noticed it’s election time in America. This week's podcast is a chat about the anxieties everyone seems to be feeling, partisan politics, the glaring holes in our public conversations about politics and ideology and why it is that Kanye West's presidential run was doomed by his wife’s Instagram post-All that and why democracy is still a gift and an idea yet to be realized. www.handcogroup.com Instagram: h_andco_

Well, this week's topic is the revolutionary, radical potential of love and it seems that we’ve had a little ‘love revolution’ of our own here at H&Co. So, check out our conversation about all things love, the big shift in Maria’s world that happened this past weekend and some of our thoughts on institution, marriage, partnership and, of course, innovation. www.handcogroup.com Instagram: h_andco_

This week we talk about the future of the gospel. Is that a question even worth asking? We're not sure.  We think there are other questions inside that question that invite us to look at what we think about the future of religion itself. Barry thinks it’s all a bit absurd and Maria talks about hermeneutics and other important stuff. So, is there a future for the gospel?  www.handcogroup.com Instagram: h_andco_

On this week's podcast we are talking sex. Again. Our conversation is about how we are often haunted by who and what we exclude; we also talk about the difference between liberation and liberalization and we tell you why we are taking the time to offer a course on theology and sex and it’s not coz we just like talking about sex. www.handcogroup.com instagram: h_andco_ www.handcogroup.com/shame-full

On this weeks podcast we are talking sex. Yes, sex that minefield of a little word packed with all kinds of inflammatory ideas about power and morality and taboos. You’ll also get a snippet of some old school hip-hip from one of the hosts, plus some thoughts about purity culture, desire and, perhaps, why we should be angrier at St. Augustine than St. Paul when it comes to the negation of sex. We are talking about sex ahead of our latest culture we course class called Shame(full): Theology and the Impossibility of Sex. Also, one of the hosts caused this podcast to have an explicit notice and it wasn’t who you might think it would be. Let’s talk about Sex! www.handcogroup.com instagram: h_andco_ www.handcogroup.com/shame-full

The philosopher A. N. Whitehead contrasted the differing ways that science and religion handle change, noting that science seems to do much better with accepting new ideas whereas religion is often resistant to new ideas—we think this has a lot to do with the difference between having ideas and thinking you have the ‘truth’—we think that is one of the reasons innovative theology is another way of thinking about how we effect change. For more information on H&Co: www.handcogroup.com/ Follow us on instagram: @h_andco_

Conservative/Liberal, Fundamentalist/Progressive they seem so different until you start to look more closely and then you realize that they all wrestle with the same ideas about God, belief and faith, they just have slightly different answers. Moving beyond belief, and getting off the conservative/liberal continuum and why we are not progressives is what we are talking about this week. For more information on H&Co: www.handcogroup.com/ Follow us on instagram: @h_andco_

Christianity does not exist in a vacuum.  In spite of widespread notions that the church exists outside of culture, the fact is that all religion is both a product of and an integral part of the culture it finds itself in. This week we talk about culture, Christianity, and why we need a vibrant theory of culture. For more information on H&Co: www.handcogroup.com/ Follow us on instagram: @h_andco_

This week we are talking about Radical Theology, one of the more provocative and controversial areas of conversation in Christianity today.  If questions about metaphysics and ontology are driving you nuts, Radical Theology might just be right for you.  Listen as we talk about why we think Radical Theology offers hope to anyone struggling with what to do about faith. For more information on H&Co: www.handcogroup.com/ Follow us on instagram: @h_andco_

In this week's podcast we explore some of the ideas found in Slavoj Žižek’s little book 'Pandemic!,' which was released very early on during the lockdown. He offers some interesting takes on not only the pandemic and its impact and possibilities for crafting a new sense of common humanity, but also delves into some theological territory as well. We talk about Mary Magdalene, Jesus and what it all might mean for communities seeking to find a way through and beyond the lockdown and the world we have left behind. For more information on H&Co: https://www.handcogroup.com/ Follow us on instagram: @h_andco_

People seem to talk all the time about their beliefs and often question the beliefs of others-it seems to be some kind of measuring stick whereby we gauge one another’s legitimacy or something. But what if we’ve got it all wrong? What if what we call beliefs are really nothing but a shell game that we play in order to hide what we really believe? Or maybe talking about beliefs is an unnecessary starting point for serious conversations about life, god and everything in between. In this episode, we are talking about belief and faith and Francois Laruelle’s remarkable book Christo-fiction which invites us to think past the rigid  categorizations we make to realize new relations between faith and belief. For more information on H&Co: https://www.handcogroup.com/

The philosopher Jean Beaudrillard writes of the cultural move toward what he terms ‘the ecstasies of communication’ and a new world framed by digitality, media, and technological experiences. In this world a new terrain of experiences emerge which render previous ideas and theories irrelevant. For Beaudrillard this new reality, this ecstasy is a form of obscenity, meaning it is explicit, and hides nothing. We talk about the challenge of doing theology and thinking about community and faith in this world where the real is obscene.