Category: Radical Christianity

Special Dustbowl Diatribes:  Lenten Murmurings on Capability and Culpability

April 7, 2023

As we head into the weekend, contemplating the meaning of Good Friday and Easter event, Spencer and Laurie discuss the need for leadership from Christian pastors and others on the care for our common home and the building of fruitful community. Why do almost all of them not talk about it, or if anything at all, pass the buck to non-church leaders and organizations to try the liberal move of lobbying? What would solid, integral leadership on this issue really be like?

Please fill out this form to be put on the email list for our free newsletter, which lists future Maurin Academy seminars, short series and other events. https://pmaurin.org/newsletter/ … More Special Dustbowl Diatribes:  Lenten Murmurings on Capability and Culpability

Liberalism vs. Christianity (DC Schindler’s The Politics of the Real–2)

October 21, 2022

Laurie discusses some of DC Schindler’s main themes in his introduction and first chapter in The Politics of the Real: The Church Between Liberalism and Integralism. Among the arguments Schindler makes that are challenging to contemporary sensibilities: that the combination of Christianity with Roman Institutions was not a mistake but somehow an unfolding of Christianity’s presence in the world, and that Liberalism is a “dis-incarnation” that strikes at the root of Christianity itself and is inherently atheistic. … More Liberalism vs. Christianity (DC Schindler’s The Politics of the Real–2)

The Politics of the Real by DC Schindler: Intro to Series

October 21, 2022

Get ready for a series on DC Schindler’s The Politics of the Real: The Church Between Liberalism and Integralism. This video introduces Schindler as a scholar. I discuss why I want to read his book, and something of the larger context of which it is a part. What do we make of a book written primarily for a Catholic audience, and an informed one at that? How do we approach it–and why should we do so? … More The Politics of the Real by DC Schindler: Intro to Series

The Amish and Bruderhof Are Partly Right (Christian Anarchism Clip 4)

July 9, 2022

In this segment from the fourth session of the Christian Anarchism Summer Seminar, I discuss the pros and cons of communities like the Amish and Bruderhof. The inherently exclusive nature of such communities is both heir strength and weakness. Is there any way to learn from them while doing something that includes more people and thus has more promise for solving social and environmental problems?

The Maurin Academy’s next short series, on Agricultural biotechnology and information technology will start in late August. Sign up on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/agriculture-biotechnology-the-information-economy-tickets-373417821757 … More The Amish and Bruderhof Are Partly Right (Christian Anarchism Clip 4)

Why Religion and Politics Don’t Go Together (Christian Anarchism Clip 2)

June 12, 2022

The second session of the Summer 2022 Christian Anarchism seminar went deeper into major themes in Christian Anarchism, including the importance of the Sermon on the Mount. The Jesus that emerges in that sermon is a revolutionary, but not the typical type. The ideas in the sermon and elsewhere in Jesus’ teaching reveal a God … More Why Religion and Politics Don’t Go Together (Christian Anarchism Clip 2)

Why Is It So Hard to Change Anything? Christian Anarchism 1, Clip (ft. the Radical Liberal Chomsky)

May 29, 2022

This is a section of my ongoing seminar on Christian Anarchism, Summer 2022. Why is it so hard for people to break free of the liberal world view and actually see and take up the challenge, and the life and action-altering depth of a religious commitment? With their insistence that Christianity and government are not friends but foes, Christian anarchists may help us recognize our own blockages and accept (at least a little) the challenge. … More Why Is It So Hard to Change Anything? Christian Anarchism 1, Clip (ft. the Radical Liberal Chomsky)

Dustbowl Diatribes 2: The Spoils of Egypt

May 14, 2022

Subscribe directly to the Dustbowl Diatribes podcast on iTunes, Google Podcasts, and Audible. Literature mentioned in this podcast is listed below the description.

Spencer Hess and Laurie Johnson talk about the “Spoils of Egypt” concept from Christian theology, how it has operated in the past, and what is keeping people from using it now. In the past, Christian theologians have often “plundered” secular theology for its riches, taking what was useful and true in light of Christian revelation, and leaving what was not. … More Dustbowl Diatribes 2: The Spoils of Egypt

The Unreality of War and the Nuclear Threat

March 27, 2022

How do we respond to the Russia-Ukraine war? Do we use it as yet another opportunity to signal our feelings and positions, but without any real commitment other than to our own narcissism? If we aren’t in the conflict, we have a certain luxury (or we think we have) to do so. But the existence of nuclear weapons should be a sobering factor that guides us as we try to find a resolution. In the shadow of the consecration of the world , and particularly Russia and Ukraine, to our Holy Mother Mary, Theotokos, Spencer and I dare to contemplate some enduring obstacles to peace-making. Consecration of Russia, Ukraine and the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. … More The Unreality of War and the Nuclear Threat

Stop the Culture Wars: A Plea to the US Left (ft. Chris Cutrone, Matt Christman & Catherine Liu)

March 6, 2022

Radical liberal brunches on the left march, tweet and wear edgy tee-shirts. Radical liberal boaters on the right march, tweet and put flags on their pickup trucks. Their main accomplishment is to blame the other side for their favorite problems, expiate their responsibility and guilt, and eliminate the possibility of positive change on any of their issues. … More Stop the Culture Wars: A Plea to the US Left (ft. Chris Cutrone, Matt Christman & Catherine Liu)

Rad-Lib’s Magical Thinking: Sterile Seeds–Longer Cut ft. South Park (Contributor: Spencer) 3

February 19, 2022

In this longer original cut, Spencer explores the distinction between wishes and results via the “Underpants Gnome” model of magical thinking made famous in the Southpark episode we all know and love. … More Rad-Lib’s Magical Thinking: Sterile Seeds–Longer Cut ft. South Park (Contributor: Spencer) 3