The Sectarian Review

Today, Danny talks with Dr. Frederick L. Downing, scholar and editor of a new book for Plough Books called The Inconvenient Gospel. The book is a collection of writings by Clarence Jordan, founder of the famous Koinonia Farm in Georgia. Downing was a pioneer in the Civil Rights Movement and ran into vitriolic opposition from his fellow Southern Christians. Downing discusses how Jordan's theology and activism was years ahead of his time and how mainstream Christianity has finally come around to his thinking on these issues. More on the book as well as purchasing options, can be found here: https://www.plough.com/en/topics/community/intentional-community/inconvenient-gospel Follow Danny Anderson's writing and podcasting at https://untaking.substack.com/

The 2022 Christian Humanist Halloween crossover is here! This year, Nathan Gilmour and Carter Smith-Stepper join Danny Anderson for a discussion of John Carpenter's under-rated classic Prince of Darkness. The film presents an alternative theological universe in which Satan has spent millenia as the prisoner of a secret sect of the Catholic Church. As he begins to stir, a group of academics, along with a priest, join together to try and stop him from bringing his father, an ancient dark god, back to Earth. The film has heavy Lovecraftian themes and Carter, Nathan, and Danny have a spirited (and largely unresolved) theological debate about cosmic horror.

Returning to the today is C. Derick Varn. This time he joins Danny Anderson to discuss the unique and incredible musical career of British singer-songwriter Elvis Costello. Emerging out the British pub rock, punk, and New Wave scenes, Costello forged an almost unparallelled career of musical variation and experimentation. Varn and Anderson discuss what makes him so important. Links Varn Vlog https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMuZYE1Q9yNpzn4dzsPtmcQ To follow this podcast and the writing that Danny Anderson does, go to https://authory.com/DannyAnderson and sign up for a weekly newsletter update. It's free and Danny promises not to clutter up your inbox.

This week, Arthur Aghajanian joins the show for a fascinating discussion of mystical, contemplative traditions in Christianity. Part of the discussion is the role that liminality, or experiences at the margins, play in building a deeper, non-credal faith. A great discussion about liminality and filmgoing is included. A real treat, for Danny. Links: Arthur's twitter: https://twitter.com/ArtAghajanian Arthur's website, Image and Faith: https://www.imageandfaith.com/ To follow this podcast and the writing that Danny Anderson does, go to https://authory.com/DannyAnderson and sign up for a weekly newsletter update. It's free and Danny promises not to clutter up your inbox.

This episode, we take another look at the power of comics for teaching. This time, Dr. Justin Martin, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Whitworth University, joins the show to discuss Black Panther and how comics can help us learn about moral development and civics education. A lot to unpack here and a lot to learn. Links: Dr. Martin's Academia.edu page Justin's Twitter R-Squared Comicz To follow this podcast and the writing that Danny Anderson does, go to https://authory.com/DannyAnderson and sign up for a weekly newsletter update.

This week, historian and teacher Jonathan Wilson returns to the show to discuss Francis Schaeffer's influential documentary series How Should We Then Live? Long before the Benedict Option, Schaeffer offered Christians a grand narrative of societal decline and put forth a call for "Bible Believing" Christians to rescue society from decadence. In 2021, Dr. Wilson wrote a series of blog posts about the series, exploring its historical method and paranoid worldview. He joins us today to explain. Links: How Should We Then Live Bluebook Life series by Jonathan Wilson How Should We Then Live? on YouTube https://labri.org/resources/how-should-we-then-live-series/ Sarah Edwards, "Sharing the Bad News: Regretting Francis Schaeffer's 'How Should We Then Live,' Forty Years On" https://thebaffler.com/latest/should-live-schaeffer-edwards Barry Hankins, Francis Schaeffer and the Shaping of Evangelical America https://www.eerdmans.com/Products/6389/francis-schaeffer-and-the-shaping-of-evangelical-america.aspx Frank Schaeffer, Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back https://www.dacapopress.com/titles/frank-schaeffer/crazy-for-god/9780306817502/ Edith Schaeffer, L'Abri (New Expanded Edition) https://www.crossway.org/books/labri-tpb/ L'Abri Fellowship International as it exists today https://labri.org/ To follow this podcast and the writing that Danny Anderson does, go to https://authory.com/DannyAnderson and sign up for a weekly newsletter update.

This week's show is an interview with Greg O'Brien, author of On Pluto, and star of the new documentary Have you Heard About Greg? Greg is an award-winning journalist who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at age 59 and dedicated the rest of his life to spreading the word about this tragic disease. In this interview, Greg discusses his family history with Alzheimer's, the toll it takes on him and his family, as well as the roles that humor and faith play in coping with the disease. It is a serious, yet humorous journey, and an honor to feature on the Sectarian Review Podcast. Below are some links to various topics and resources covered in the episode: On Pluto (Greg's website) Remember, by Lisa Genova Dr. Tanzi's "S.H.I.E.L.D" plan Us Against Alzheimer's Brain Guide Alzheimer's Family Support Center To keep up with the show, as well as Danny Anderson's writing efforts: https://authory.com/DannyAnderson

Joining the show today is educator, historian, and writer Jonathan Wilson to discuss his essay "The Conservatism of My Teaching: Seven Elements." The conversation is a fascinating exploration of some paradoxes embedded withing good, engaged teaching. The productive role of Grand Narratives in student learning. Conceiving education as a moral activity. These are just a few of the rather conservative ideas that liberal and left teachers often employ in their pedagogy. The conversation is filled with fascinating paradoxes and nuggets of wisdom about teaching, including during Covid pandemic. Links: "The Conservatism of My Teaching: Seven Elements:" https://bluebook.life/2021/04/16/the-conservatism-of-my-teaching/ Jonathan Wilson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jnthnwwlsn Knowing, Teaching, and Learning History: National and International Perspectives, ed. Stearns, Seixas, Wineburg https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED452140 The Journal of American History, March 2022 https://academic.oup.com/jah/issue/108/4?login=false To follow this podcast and the writing that Danny Anderson does, go to https://authory.com/DannyAnderson and sign up for a weekly newsletter update.

Back on the show today is C. Derick Varn. Danny rescues him from having to talk politics once again. This time, Derick discusses his new book of poetry, Liberation and All the Bright Etcetera. The discussion covers such topics as psychology, poetics, identity, movies, and is punctuated by a particularly profound reflection on caregivng for someone with cancer. In addition, the poet reads a few selections from the book. You can find the book at the following link: https://mysteriosobooks.com/ols/products/liberation-and-all-the-bright-etcetera-a-poetry-chapbook-by-c-derick-varn?fbclid=IwAR30dirZpwXLwkAm4-ZPipP-HNmOIk2MlR7Xax5BiW4eQI8gowCZZiZUIoM To follow this podcast and the writing that Danny Anderson does, go to https://authory.com/DannyAnderson and sign up for a weekly newsletter update.

Joining the show today is filmmaker and performer Jo Rou. Jo discusses her experience in comedy, theater, and independent filmmaking. Her latest short film, "Mary," depicts an insurance salesman with lingering guilty feelings about his late mother who encounters a client (on the anniversary of his mother's death) who may or may not be the ghost of his mother. Jo has a lot to say about art and life and you will absolutely enjoy this interview. Jo's work can be found at http://callmejo.com/. To follow this podcast and the writing that Danny Anderson does, go to https://authory.com/DannyAnderson and sign up for a weekly newsletter update.

By request from our beloved listener Elton! This week, Danny is Joined by long-time friend of the show Carter Stepper-Smith to talk about the role of physical space in worship practices. Carter is an Anglican priest and is currently restoring an old church building and has much to say on the subject. Feel free to comment by sending an email to danny.p.anderson@gmail.com

This week, Danny is joined by City of Man host Coyle Neal to discuss 2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife. A great discussion about the film and the possibilities and limits of nostalgia. Have fun!

This week, Ivan Anaya and Brannon Hollingsworth join the show to discuss their new King David comic project, and a lot more. The conversation focuses mostly on becoming an artist and staying an artist while navigating the business side of art. A lot of great insight from two working artists here. Their new project can be located here - https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/chronicles-of-faith-david-issue-02#/

This week, Danny Anderson is joined by Joshua Herring of the Optimistic Curmudgeon Podcast to discuss the insights about trends in Evangelicalism revealed by the Christianity Today podcast, The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. What does the tragedy of Mark Driscoll's church reveal about structural issues within American Christianity?

Retired Brethren Pastor John Eash joins the show today to discuss his new book, The Bible, The Bomb, The Burden, published by Christian Faith Publishing. Eash's book explores the ways in which more traditional theological language excludes the Church from important scientific and technological developments. How can the church remain relevant after the splitting of the atom? The wide-ranging conversation covers a lot of ground and Eash, still ministering into his 90s, brings a fascinating perspective on how much the world has changed since the 1940s and how the Church should respond. John's book can be found on Amazon at this link: https://www.amazon.com/Bible-Bomb-Burden-John-Eash/dp/1098097904

Danny is joined by Carter Stepper to discuss Edgar Allan Poe's "Masque of the Red Death" for this year's installment of the annual Christian Humanist Radio Network's Halloween Crossover event! Class! Plague! A Sectarian Review greatest hits!

This week Charles E. Moore joins the show to discuss his new anthology for Plough Books. Following the Call examines the radical and graceful theology of Jesus's Sermon on the Mount from a wide variety of Christian traditions. Learn about why this text should be central to any expression of Christianity.

This week Danny is joined by Andrew Pessin (who previously came on the show to discuss his book The Jewish God Question) to discuss Andrew's new novel Nevergreen, or Acaementia. The novel is a campus satire that explores college culture wars through a Kafkaesque nightmare. Does Cancel Culture exist? How does anti-semitism play into this?

This week we have a very special episode of the Sectarian Review Podcast. Danny Anderson is joined by David Grubbs of the Christian Humanist Podcast to talk with Mark Matzke, a pastor who also happens to be an expert in Bigfoot, Mothman, and all things paranormal. Mark is a part of the independent production company, Small Town Monsters, which produces a variety of documentaries and television series about cryptids, UFOs, and the paranormal. He also co-hosts the Monsteropolis podcast with Seth Breedlove. Mark joins the show for a really engaging and educational discussion about how interest in such topics is consistent with the Christian faith. Listen and enjoy!

For our season finale, Danny is joined by network luminaries Katie Grubbs and Jay Eldred for one of the strangest episodes of the show. Think of it as a live therapy session in which Danny asks Katie and Jay to explain his feeling to him. The question at hand is why people's core identities shift over time - from Liberal to Conservative, from Conservative to Liberal, from Evangelical to Exvangelical, etc... Danny felt better at the end of this show and hopefully you will too.

This week, Danny is joined by Ed Simon to discuss his new book from Belt Publishing, An Alternative History of Pittsburgh.

Nathan Gilmour of the Christian Humanist Podcast joins the show to discuss whether or not student workloads have increased due to the expanded use of of technology during the Covid crisis. Inspired by Jody Greene's blog post, "The Strange Case of the Exploding Student Workload" at Just Visiting - https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/just-visiting/guest-post-strange-case-exploding-student-workload - Danny and Nathan have a friendly debate about the technocracy in action.

C. Derick Varn joins the show once again for another in our series about the films of Andrei Tarkovsky. This week, we discuss the Russian filmmaker's seminal Italian language film 'Nostalghia.' How does 1 plus 1 equal 1? Lots to unpack in this one.

In this episode, Danny is joined by Dr. Robert Erlewine to discuss his new collection of writings by the great 20th Century Jewish theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel, recently published by Plough Books. Learn about Heschel's contribution to how we think about God, and about how he synthesized a conservative theology with a radical, engaged politics, befriending and influencing major religious figures like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Reinhold Neibuhr. Erlewine makes a compelling case for why Heschel is fantastically relevant to our contemporary world.

This week, Danny Anderson is joined by Rachel Pieh Jones to discuss her new book from Plough Publishing, 'Pillars: How Muslim Friends Led Me Closer to Jesus.' Jones discusses her life as a Christian in the Horn of Africa and how living among followers of Islam gave her new insight into and appreciation for her own Christianity.

This week, Ross Benes joins the show to discuss his new book Rural Rebellion: How Nebraska Became a Republican Stronghold. The book explores the intensifying conservative/liberal divide in America's heartland and explores the ways that liberal political strategy and rhetoric combined with Republican focus on core value issues have led to an increasingly red state.

This week, Ed Simon joins the show to discuss the academic snobbery the insists on "minimalist" styles of writing. What is the history of this groupthink? What does it get wrong about writing? What pleasures are there in the rich textures of "purple prose?"

This week, Brannon Hollingsworth of Brainy Pixel Productions and Ivan Anaya of MercyWays Studios come on the show to discuss their new collaborative effort, the comic book "Chronicles of Faith: David." Tune in for an enlightening discussion about Christian Art, the universal appeal of King David, and the creative capacity of comic books.

This week, composer and music professor Delvyn Case joins the show to discuss how secular music does some prophetic work in ways that sacred music often does not.

This week, author and podcaster Peter Laws joins the show to discuss his journey from anti-Christian horror fan to Christian Pastor horror fan. What does horror contribute to the Christian walk?

Recently the world lost Texas singer-songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker, an vital figure in the Outlaw Country movement and all-around self-made enigma. This week, Michial Farmer and his dad, Mike Farmer, join the show to discuss Jerry Jeff's seminal 'live' album Viva Terlingua and it's lasting effects on Country Music.

Danny Anderson is joined by Coyle Neal of the City of Man podcast and Chris Maverick from the Vox Popcast (but not, oddly enough, given the episide title, Josh Altmanshofer) to discuss what exactly makes a movie a "Christmas Movie." Can the right argument make anything a Christmas movie? And why is Danny right that Children of Men is a great Christmas movie?

Andy Whitaker Smith discusses his new book 'Keeping Christmas: The Journey of Ebenezer Scrooge.' What can we learn about redemption, grace, and changing our lives by examining the life of Scrooge?

Danny Anderson returns to his wheel house. Joining the show today are David Grubbs and Jordan Poss to discuss the deep contours of the Ancient Astronaut Theory and its racist assumptions. This show was inspired by Jordan's recent blog post, which can be found here https://www.jordanmposs.com/blog/2020/11/6/im-not-saying-ancient-aliens-racist

This week, Danny Anderson interviews Charles Dickens scholar about her new collection from Plough Books, The Gospel in Dickens. Learn about the grand themes of sin and redemption in the work of the great Victorian novelist. A great start to the Christmas season!

For this year's entry in the Christian Humanist Halloween Crossover, Danny Anderson and Nathan Magee discuss M. Night Shyamalan's big comeback film, Split.

To get you in the mood for both Halloween and Church, this week's guest is Andy Whitaker-Smith, who discusses his book Universal Monsters and how the iconic creature of Universal Studios help us think about the Christian faith. The book can be purchased on Amazon and coincides with a small group discussion via Zoom with First United Methodist Church in Lakeland, Florida.

Writer Jon Malesic joins the show this week to discuss his recent Commonweal essay, "Drinking Alone," which explores the difficulties of living an academic life in the Rust Belt. What conflicts arise when the life of the mind meets the a working class used up by Capital?

C. Derick Varn joins the show once again to discuss a wide range of topics, beginning with a book review by Michael Clune in the LA Review of Books about Martin Hagglund's This Life (Socialist Freedom and Capitalist Freedom). We discuss the value of judgement and discipline and apply it to various topics in politics and religion.

Join Danny Anderson, Katie Grubbs, and Jay Eldred as they discuss the classic sci-fi horror comedy, Tremors!

Description:In this big episode, Danny is joined by Michial Farmer of the Christian Humanist Podcast and Ben Crosby to discuss the recent New York Times article by Tara Isabella Burton, "Christianity Gets Weird," featuring Ben himself! Learn all about the ins and outs of an emerging practice of liturgical Christianity and how it differs from Rod Dreher's Benedict Option.

Travis Harris, AKA "Hood Scholar" joins the show for a scintillating discussion about Hip Hop and Christianity, Race in America, and how White Supremacy is built into institutions such as the Church, Policing, and Higher Education. This is one you will not want to miss.

In this episode Danny has a cohost! Will Rose of God Loves Geeks joins to interview Dr. Gregory Stevenson, editor of a new collection of essays called Theology and the Marvel Universe. Learn about the many theological conversations you can have by watching the MCU!

Chase Tibbs, organizer and host of the Faith and Capital podcast joins the show this week to discuss the intersections between Christianity and Left politics.

C. Derick Varn joins the show to discuss the curiously relevant Cynthia Ozick story, "The Pagan Rabbi." Part of the Coronavirus "Bunker Recording" series.

On this week's show, Danny Anderson is joined by Melissa Stough and Sara Klooster (of the Christian Feminist Podcast) for a discussion about the grooming charges against YouTube star Onision. How does celebrity and YouTube lead down a dark path?

Joshua Wise joins the show to discuss the Universalist-ish theology of George MacDonald and how that vision of God's love affects various apocalyptic pop culture narratives.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic situation, C. Derick Varn joins the show (at his request!) to discuss not only political failures but also cultural ones as well. What is the source of our failed imaginations?

A special episode. Todd Pedlar of the Book of Nature Podcast and Professor of Physics at Luther College joins the show to discuss the Coronavirus epidemic and its effects, long-term and short-term, on higher education.

Danny is joined once again by Adam Ray Adkins, also known as Dirt: Son of Earth, for a discussion about apocalyptic visions of artificial intelligence.

Danny Anderson is joined once again by C. Derick Varn for another discussion about a Tarkovsky film. Previously we covered Andrei Rublev and Stalker, and this week we discuss Tarkovsky's great 1972 sci-fi masterpiece, Solaris, the story of a sentient planet presents many philosophical problems and maybe even a Lenten meditative practice! Tune in for the fun.