REALigion

Season 5, Episode 13 - Season Finale - Is American Christianity Still a Religion?

Israel and Judaism are more than a religion. We learned a few episodes ago, they are also identity markers, without the expectation of faith. Is Christianity in America still a religion, or is it falling into an identity marker also, without the expectation of beliefs or behaviors anymore? Are there non-Christians that practice Christianity better tha...

Season 5, Episode 12 - Passover, Protests, and Post-Evangelicals

Here after Passover, what was it like for a Jewish community to celebrate in the shadows of the Israel/Hamas war? Why are American college campuses using camping, protests, and occasionally violence to resist violence? After Brett's visit last episode, how would we assist those who are stuck in arrogant faith traditions?

References from today's show:

The Curve of Conf...

Season 5, Episode 11 - Special Guest: Brett Terpstra

Certain faith communities hurt their people in the name of God with their inconsistent theology and hypocritical beliefs. One way to get healthy is to deconvert and deconstruct your true self beyond the harms of your former religion and/or faith. Brett has gone through much of that journey, and is still going through it with many freinds suffering and struggling the same. How doe...

Season 5, Episode 10 - What do Jews believe?

What do Jews believe? Do they expect a messiah? What qualities will that person have? What is the purpose of a messiah? Will the messiah come from government, military, a school or synagogue, poverty, inside or beyond Israel?

Is there a reward for following the law? Is there a faith statement all Jews agree they believe? What about “life after death” (whatever that means)... is that a p...

Season 5, Episode 09 - Tikkun Olam, Repair the World

Tikkun Olam means something like "repair the world." Can a person be Jewish or Christian without working to repair the world? Is that the same as social justice? How do we move people's hearts and actions in line with God's justice? Do we actually make a difference?

References from today's show:

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Season 5, Episode 08 - Zion and Zionism, Again

Does every Jew have to be a Zionist? Is Zionism a belief, a hope, a goal? How do Jewish and Christian definitions and use of Zion/Zionism differ? Is there a scriptural Zion, and if so, how does it differ from modern meanings? Do we aim too low when we settle for simpler Zions, instead of faithfully sacrificing and risking for God's Zion?

References from today's show:

The three pillars ...

Season 5, Episode 07 - Reclaiming Evangelical 

The term "evangelical" is being used by media and many pundits and polling agencies. The greek term means "good news" but most of what evangelicals believe, say, and do doesn't sound very good. Could we reclaim the term in a way that sounds more like God?

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How to follow Rabbi Eric

T...

Season 5, Episode 06 - Angels and Demons (NOT the Book/Movie) 

Who are the angels and demons in scripture? What role do they play in Judaism and in Christianity? Do we have to believe in these middle beings in order to believe in God? Did God create them, or did we imagine them to fill the gap between us and God? Do they even exist? Can we have a spiritual awareness without having to imagine or assign spirit-only beings like angels...

Season 5, Episode 05 - Discord and Disagreement because of Religion 

Would the world be better off without religion? Religion is often the source of anger, hatred, violence rather than wholeness, love, and peace. Is religion the reason we fight, or just a tool we use to fight? Does faithful commitment require us to build walls and exclude in order to be included ourselves? What changes does religion need? Or does religion need to d...

Season 5, Episode 04 - The Ten Commandments 

Why does these ten commandments end up carved in stone and put in courthouses? What was their intention? Do we even know what they are today? Do we know what they mean, what they really mean? What would America, or the world, look like if we really expected them of ourselves? Is there a difference between obeying them ethically, religiously, or legally?

Any other resources mentioned or s...

Season 5, Episode 03 - Sacrifice 

What is so important, or urgent, that we need to sacrifice something else? Is sacrifice a requirement of God? Does it change God or us or both? Is sacrifice still needed in religion? 

Resources mentioned or supporting this episode:

Eisenhower Decision Matrix

Presbyterian Church of Chestertown "Annual Report"

Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg

Website: Safaria

Reformation and Confronting Indulgen...

Season 5, Episode 02 - Excommunication 

Rabbi Eric and Rev. Joel answer a listener question... What is excommunication like in Judaism and Christianity? Who gets to decide who is in or out? Who has that power? The question is complicated, but we try to layout being in or out of:

a) the religion as a whole

b) a particular religious community

c) the leadership of a particular religious community.

Resources mentioned or supporting t...

Season 5, Episode 01 - We're Back, Israel/Palestine

Rabbi Eric and Rev. Joel come back in 2024 to reflect on the HAMAS attack of Israeli citizens in Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories, and the response of Israel against HAMAS and Palestinian citizens in the Gaza Strip. What is the history of this conflict? How do we talk about peace and justice in the face of multiple atrocities? How can we spend enough time teaching hi...

Season 4, Episode 12 - The final episode of Season 4:

What have we learned over these 4 seasons? Why did we start this podcast and what do we hope from its future? We remember the Jan 6 and the Tree of Life catastrophes, and wonder how big moments like these connect religion and faith to our lives.

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How to follow Rabbi Eric

Twit...

Season 4, Episode 11 - Listener Question! from a Jewish listener:

"A friend is going through a really rough time with cancer, and I'm really amazed, impressed at the peace that my friend has because of her faith, and her belief in God's plans and God's will. I don't know any Jews like that. Why, what is it about Christianity that gives some people this incredible faith and comfort and peace that is enviable?"

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Season 4, Episode 10 - This week, the loaded words are Fear, Awe, Reverence of God. If God is good, then why does scripture imagine fear as our response?  What does the presence of God do to us? Which of these reactions are justified and wise, or immature and inappropriate? If we really know the real God, is it still fear, or does it become something else?

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REALigio...

Season 4, Episode 9 - This week, the loaded words are Holy and Profane, Sacred and Sacrilegious. Is it beautifully holy or inappropriately sacrilegious for a Christian to put a Jewish Mezuzah on their door? Does our religious identity define which beliefs and practices are holy or profane, sacrilegious or sacred? Or, do our practices guide us toward holy? Using examples from our own congregations, we find moments that were consider...

Season 4, Episode 8 - This week, the loaded phrases are Imago Dei (image of God), "original sin", the Garden of Eden, and paradise. What does it mean that humanity is created by God in the "image" of God? If we are created in God's image, how does sin/evil enter into the world? The doctrine of "original sin" suggests the first humans made a sinful choice that had immediate consequences (losing the garden, suffering, working) and lo...

Season 4, Episode 7 - This week, the loaded phrase is "Spiritual, NOT Religious." Why are generations laying down the religious communities, beliefs, practices, and disciples of their ancestors? What do people need from religion? Did we stop providing it, or did the needs change? What kind of religion proves itself to be consistent with the God of Scriptures AND relevant in modern life?

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