The Table Audio w/ Evan Rosa

In this conversation, philosopher Kent Dunnington discusses humility—in its ancient, scriptural, monastic, and Medieval Christian contexts; some damning criticisms of Christian virtue; Jesus' radical vision of flourishing and eternal life, which includes self sacrifice; the temptation toward ego building and self improvement; and Dunnington's own view of humility as “radical un-selfing.”

In this conversation, theologian J. Kameron Carter discusses the black experience of a structurally anti-black world; the meaning of belonging and communion; how race factors in America's struggle for belonging to each other; the difference between black misery and white melancholy; and the presumption of comfort and alleviation of suffering that whiteness assumes. He also covers atonement theology; the erroneous logic of false ownership; and the unkillable, vibrant life of Jesus the slave.

In this episode, theologian Kelly Kapic reflects on the linkage between theology and biography, the need for lament, the finitude and goodness of the human body, and the meaning of hope in the context of pain and suffering.

Theologian Miroslav Volf on the challenge of living a theology in the fissures of life; the often irreducible complexity of human experience; how Volf's own biography and personal experience with oppression during the Cold War impacted his theology; the centrality of memory to forgiveness; and the importance of living as a porous, open self—open to encountering and embracing the other.

Baylor University's Ralph Wood on the monstrosity of humanity, the goodness of God, finding grace and hope along the dark terrain of human history, all through the lens of literature and faith.

Peter Kreeft’s reflections on theology, psychology, and spiritual formation, spanning from surfing, science, and sanctification—to C.S. Lewis, faith, and mythology.

In this episode, we cover problems of consumerism, pop culture, how we can cure the loss of cultural memory, and a deeper dive into black and womanist perspectives on flourishing, suffering, and theodicy.

Philosopher Eleanore Stump on the core of what a Christian ought to care about most, the phenomenology and experience of suffering, her take on the question of whether God suffers and dies, and finally, how interpersonal union is intimately connected to finding meaning in suffering.

Theologian Stanley Hauerwas on death, love, suffering, mental disability, the American church, and what it means to him to be a Christian.

Jessica Hooten Wilson on her love for the saints and the concept of writing and reading saints lives as a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic task. Includes discussion of martyrdom, art, and the reverence due to great books and sacred texts (and of course, a little bit of Flannery O'Connor).

A Christmas Podcast: Evan Rosa interviews analytic theologian Oliver Crisp on the Incarnation of Christ, and how we can learn from the Incarnation about what it is to be human.

Dr. J. Todd Billings is the Gordon H. Girod research professor of reformed theology at Western Theological Seminary and an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America. His life changed in 2012 when he was diagnosed with an incurable blood cancer. In this podcast episode, we speak frankly about his diagnosis and illness, his thoughts and feeling about death, and the broader theological and cultural implications about dying.

Acclaimed author and speaker Os Guinness on the timeless topics of covenantal love, evil, suffering, political life in modern America, public discourse, death, legacy, and the character of God.

Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, "Queen of the Vices" (we mean that in the best way possible), discusses soul care and excavating the heart of vainglory, pride, and other glittering vices.

Psychologist Robert Emmons on the positive effects of gratitude on subjective well-being (that is, happiness). A special Thanksgiving episode.

What is love? For something so familiar to the human experience, love is notoriously difficult to define, explain, and articulate, and even harder to embody. Our guest Thomas J. Oord has spent the last two decades thinking about the theology, science, and philosophy of love.

On living and finding meaning in the "in-between"—featuring Diane Glancy, an American poet, author, and playwright of Cherokee descent on embracing liminality.

Flannery O'Connor is an American novelist, essayist, and short-story writer known for her sardonic Southern Gothic style with grotesque characters and violent scenes. Our guest today, Jessica Hooten Wilson, is a Flannery O'Connor expert and is currently preparing O'Connor's unfinished novel Why Do the Heathen Rage? for publication. Dr. Hooten Wilson shares her intimate knowledge of O'Connor and how the Gospel scandalously emerges from the pages of her dark and twisted stories.

In this episode, we interview theologian and Washington influence-maker Dr. Russell Moore on love, humility and power in American political life.

How shall we approach seemingly opposing virtues of humility and magnanimity? What happens when our view of self is too low or too high? Professor of Christian Ethics Jennifer Herdt discusses the balancing act between what St. Thomas Aquinas penned the "Twin Virtues": humility and magnanimity.

Renowned philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff talks to us about his only non-philosophical published work, Lament for a Son—an expression of profound grief written in the wake of his son Eric's untimely death in 1983.

Sister Helen Prejean on her work as an advocate for the abolishment of the death penalty in the United States. Sr. Helen talks about grace, justice, life, and death.

A spiritual riddle to the modern mind: A desert monk burns all of his baskets as a means of fighting off the so-called “Noonday Demon.” Evan Rosa interviews celebrated writer Kathleen Norris, author of The Cloisterwalk, Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith, Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, and the Quotidian Mysteries, about her 2008 book, Acedia & me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer’s Life—discussing ancient Christian spirituality and the deadly vice of acedia, with commentary from theologian Jerry Sittser. Acedia was taken off the list of deadly vices in the 6th century, only to rear its ugly head in contemporary technological life. Has the noonday demon been haunting you? Well, now you’ll know its name.

What is love's response to suffering? Easy, mediated solidarity? Social media lowers the bar for what counts as activism. These days, we’re all activists. But as Tyler Wigg-Stevenson suggests, the danger of lowering that bar is to cut out the costliness of such work for good. This is part 2 of 2 in Evan Rosa’s interview with Catholic priest and theologian Emmanuel Katongole about the ethics of love in response to global suffering, also featuring commentary by Wigg-Stevenson on “mediated solidarity" and the story of a local Ugandan woman—Angelina Atyam—who was faithfully working locally against the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) while we were all watching KONY 2012 and staring at our screens.

Pope Francis has criticized "the globalization of indifference" in recent years. Despite the constant cycle of suffering we observe in our social feeds, leading to unprecedented awareness of others' pain, and despite our increasing ability to reach those in need of our care, we're numb. What is the loving response to suffering? Evan Rosa interviews Tom Crisp and Emmanuel Katongole in this first installment of a two-part series on love's response to suffering. Featuring the (in?)famous pond case applied to relief efforts, an exploration of lament, Pope Francis on the globalization of indifference in the face of suffering and violence, and the beautiful story of Maggie Barankitse, who witnessed first hand the atrocities of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and responded with loving action.

What are some aspects of social humility? Becoming humble means more than understanding one's own stature and status. It means finding oneself standing on common ground with others. This is part 2 of Evan Rosa's interview with Krista Tippett (host of On Being and author of Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living). Krista talks about the origins and purpose of the question she asks all of her conversation partners; intellectual humility as an article of faith; and how humility enables communication with the religious and political other.

Evan Rosa interviews Krista Tippett (host of On Being and author of Becoming Wise) on humility, mystery, and self-knowledge.

Evan Rosa introduces The Table Audio and gives a sneak peek for what's coming soon. Bonus: Listen to cute kids as ridiculous (ly awesome) questions.