A Pastor and a Philosopher Walk into a Bar
Mixing a cocktail of philosophy, theology, and spirituality.
We're a pastor and a philosopher who have discovered that sometimes pastors need philosophy, and sometimes philosophers need pastors. We tackle topics and interview guests that straddle the divide between our interests.
Who we are:
Randy Knie (Co-Host) - Randy is the founding and Lead Pastor of Brew City Church in Milwaukee, WI. Randy loves his family, the Church, cooking, and the sound of his own voice. He drinks boring pilsners.
Kyle Whitaker (Co-Host) - Kyle is a philosophy PhD and an expert in disagreement and philosophy of religion. Kyle loves his wife, sarcasm, kindness, and making fun of pop psychology. He drinks childish slushy beers.
Elliot Lund (Producer) - Elliot is a recovering fundamentalist. His favorite people are his wife and three boys, and his favorite things are computers and hamburgers. Elliot loves mixing with a variety of ingredients, including rye, compression, EQ, and bitters.
Episodes
148 episodes
Trump, Iran, and Where This All Might Be Headed: A Conversation With Mike Madrid
The news cycle is moving so fast it’s training us to forget. We invited Mike Madrid, a longtime classical conservative political strategist, commentator, and Lincoln Project cofounder, back on the show to help us slow down and put the recent ch...
Thinking About Nature With Brian McLaren
Prayer doesn’t always happen in a church. Sometimes it happens under streetlights or beside old trees. We open with Randy’s simple practice of late night walks and how nature has slowly become the place where his spirituality feels dynamic agai...
Bart Ehrman: Is Jesus Responsible for Our Moral Common Sense?
Bart Ehrman, an atheist New Testament scholar with a penchant for annoying evangelicals, now claims that the teachings of Jesus determined the moral instincts of the West. Bart joins us to talk about his new book
Human Is The New Vinyl: Micah Voraritskul
AI can now generate essays, photos, songs, and video that look real enough to fool experts. This impacts how and whether humans can trust one another, and it’s already reshaping how we learn, create, and relate to each other.Kyle sits d...
A Live Conversation on the Church, Healing, and Truth-Telling With David Gushee and Keri Ladouceur
We recorded this live gathering in Chicago with the Post Evangelical Collective, and it still feels uncomfortably current. Alongside Dr. David Gushee and Keri Ladouceur (director of the PEC), we sit with a question that haunts a lot of post-eva...
Power, Love, and What God Can’t Do: More on Omnipotence With Tom Oord and Chris Lilley
What kind of God is worth trusting when life falls apart? We pull up a chair with Thomas Jay Oord and guest Chris Lilley for a spirited, vulnerable conversation about omnipotence, evil, and why love may be the only measure of divine power that ...
Motives, Meaning, and the Enneagram with Jeff Cook
Our friend Jeff Cook—writer, podcaster, and Enneagram systems thinker—is back with us to discuss his recent book (volume 1 of a series because of course it is): about the Enneagram. (See our first conversation from S03E26
Miroslav Volf: How Striving to Be Better Than Others Makes Us Worse
Is the drive to be better than others making us worse? We talk with theologian Miroslav Volf about his book The Cost of Ambition and explore why...
How Latino Voters Are Reshaping American Politics
We talk with political strategist, author, and Lincoln Project member Mike Madrid about data, culture, and why both parties keep getting the Latino vote wrong.Mike takes us inside the Lincoln Project’s 2020 strategy and the personal cos...
What Conservative LGBTQ+ Christians Can Teach Us About Love
Dawne Moon and Theresa Tobin are back to discuss their book Choosing Love, which represents the culmination of their research over...
Deconstructing the Culture Wars with Laurie Johnson
What happens when political labels lose their meaning? Dr. Laurie Johnson, political philosopher and president of the Maurin Academy, joins us to unpack the tangled roots of America's culture wars and explore ...
Reframing the Bible with Zach Lambert
Ready to transform your relationship with the Bible? Zach Lambert, pastor of Restore Church in Austin and author of Better Ways to Read the Bible, offers a healing pathway for th...
Do You Still Pray?
What happens to prayer after you rethink religion and spirituality? Does it feel empty, confusing, or even impossible? If so, you're not alone.In this episode, the three of us discuss our journeys from structured, wordy, and sometimes de...
Gender, Faith, and Privilege after Transitioning: Paula Stone Williams
What happens when a successful religious leader transitions genders and loses everything? Reverend Dr. Paula Stone Williams takes us on her extraordinary journey from privilege to authenticity.Paula once stood at the pinnacle of evangel...
Adding to the Good Pile: Women's Ordination and the Role of the Pastor's Wife with Beth Allison Barr
How did the role of "pastor's wife" replace ordination for women in church history? Is the news that there was women's ordination in church history hitting you unexpectedly right now? It's cool, we get it; take a moment and come back w...
Sexual Ethics, Queer Theology, & Responding to Critics: Matthew Vines (Part 2)
Matthew Vines returns to discuss how the revised edition of his book addresses critiques from prominent theologians, the distinction between affirming theology and queer theology, and the possibility of affirming, orthodox Christianity....
Pope Francis' Legacy: A Global Church in Transition
Pope Francis, a man who inspired even many Protestants and non-Christians with his refreshingly prophetic voice, has died. The process to select his successor is ongoing as we release this. To help us understand what's happening, as well as its...
Does the Bible Affirm LGB Relationships? Interview with Matthew Vines (Part 1)
Matthew Vines is here to discuss the revised and expanded edition of his influential book God and ...
We Need to Talk About It
This is a conversation we've been avoiding: how are we doing now that Donald Trump is president again? As we had a break between interviews, we decided to try to unpack how we're feeling, what we're doing, what we've learned about ourselves, an...
Re-Release - Outrage Porn, Echo Chambers, and the Seduction of Clarity: Interview with C. Thi Nguyen
This is a re-release of an episode from our second season when we spoke with philosopher C Thi Nguyen. We think it bears re-listening in our current moment.=====What happens when we seek simple answers in a complex world? Philosop...
What Happens When You're Done with Religion Altogether?
What happens when the foundation of your identity crumbles beneath you? When the lens through which you understood the world no longer works? Psychologist Dr. Daryl Van Tongeren joins us to explore this profound transition that one-fifth of Ame...
Unpacking Open and Relational Theology: Interview with Tom Oord
Tom Oord is back! This time, we're discussing his "main thing": open and relational theology. We explore what it means and its significance in reshaping our understanding of God, love, prayer, and more. Tom answers our questions graciously, and...
Will Deconstructing End My Marriage? A Conversation with Keri Ladouceur
This episode explores the complexities of spiritual evolution and its impact on marriages and relationships. Our friend Keri Ladouceur shares her wisdom, and we discuss stories of navigat...
When Seeking Jesus Drives You Out of the Church: Interview with Scot McKnight & Tommy Preson Phillips
Faith deconstruction has become a defining trend in American Christianity, and disagreement persists about what’s driving it. In this episode, we talk with Scot McKnight and Tommy Preson Phillips about their book
