Progressive Spirit

Carter Warden is a former conservative pastor of 25 years, now openly atheist. Using the pseudonym “Adam Mann”, he was a founder of The Clergy Project, an on-line support group for clergy who no longer believe the doctrines of the churches they serve. “Adam” was one of the original five interviewees in the 2010 Dennett-LaScola article, “Preachers who are not Believers.” While still in ministry, he was interviewed undercover by ABC World News Tonight and the Canadian Broadcasting Company.Last fall he "came out" publicly as an atheist at the Freedom From Religion Foundation's annual gathering. A press release was picked up by the Johnson City Press and Carter was outed to his church, friends, and extended family. In this interview, he talks about that experience, the challenge facing clergy who no longer believe yet who make a living for their families by serving their churches, and the liberation when people are able to be honest with themselves and others about what they really believe.Hear previous inter

Tony Campolo has been a fixture in the evangelical Christian scene for decades. For the past 30 years his son, Bart has followed in his footsteps. Their brand of Christianity is evangelical (personal salvation through Jesus) but with an emphasis on social justice and care for least of these.Just over two years ago, Bart decided to tell his parents that he no longer could believe in God. Out of this painful and liberating revelation is their story, the film, Far From the Tree, and the book, Why I Left: Why I Stayed: Conversations on Christianity Between an Evangelical Father and His Humanist Son.Bart is still in ministry. It isn’t Christianity, however. He is the University of Southern California’s first Humanist Chaplain. He speaks with me about what happens in many families when religion divides. Many families stop talking. The Campolos keep the conversation going.

(This is the 52 minute podcast version for Beloved Community)In this episode we discuss a condition that is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of millions of people. It is a condition that is completely preventable. Hunger.Why are so many people in the world…why is anyone in the world malnourished? What can we do about it? The answer according to today’s guest is simple. We can end hunger by the force of law.John Teton is the director of the International Food Security Treaty. The International Food Security Treaty or IFST aims to establish enforceable international law guaranteeing the right to be free from hunger, and to oblige countries to establish their own related national laws.John Teton lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon. He is a writer. He has written three science fiction novels. The novels are Upsurge, Appearing Live at the Final Test, and Elevation: The Cave Logs of New Hale, Tibet.John’s work with the International Food Security Treaty is not science fiction. Instead, it is a shift to recognize in

(This is the 27 minute podcast version for Progressive Spirit.)In this episode we discuss a condition that is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of millions of people. It is a condition that is completely preventable. Hunger.Why are so many people in the world…why is anyone in the world malnourished? What can we do about it? The answer according to today’s guest is simple. We can end hunger by the force of law.John Teton is the director of the International Food Security Treaty. The International Food Security Treaty or IFST aims to establish enforceable international law guaranteeing the right to be free from hunger, and to oblige countries to establish their own related national laws.John Teton lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon. He is a writer. He has written three science fiction novels. The novels are Upsurge, Appearing Live at the Final Test, and Elevation: The Cave Logs of New Hale, Tibet.John’s work with the International Food Security Treaty is not science fiction. Instead, it is a shift to recognize

This is the funniest book about the fear of hell I have read. Actress and comedian, Maggie Rowe, producer and performer of Comedy Central’s stage show sitnspin writes about her three month experience in an evangelical psychiatric institution. Diagnosed with a form of OCD known as scrupulosity she couldn’t shake the fear that she might not avoid hell.Maggie is not alone with this fear. She took her heaven and hell religion more seriously than many. Her book is Sin Bravely: A Memoir of Spiritual Disobedience. Because she writes with honesty and deadpan humor she has found a way to reframe her own experience of spiritual abuse and offer a path to others as well.She has written for “Arrested Development” and “Flaked” for Netflix. She co-wrote the screenplay for and directed the New Age religious mockumentary “Bright Day” and is the creator of the theatrical satires “Hollywood Hellhouse” and “Hollywood Purity Ball.”This is the third of my three-part series on Holy, Healing, Spiritually Disobedient, Creative

Carol Howard Merritt is an author, speaker, and minister who grew up in a white evangelical church and with an unpredictable and sometimes violent father. These experiences shaped her view of a punitive, judgmental God. She writes from personal experience and as professional minister about spiritual wounds inflicted by the church and how people can heal from them in her latest book.In Healing Spiritual Wounds: Reconnecting with a Loving God After Experiencing a Hurtful Church, she discusses her experience and that of others who have been spiritually abused by authoritarianism, patriarchy, and negative self-image propagated by a fundamentalist religion. She devotes each chapter to specific wounds with exercises as to how healing can happen.She has written several books on the church with a special focus on the needs of younger generations. She was previously on Progressive Spirit when we discussed Reframing Hope: Vital Ministry in a New Generation.Carol hosts God Complex Radio and is a regular contributor t

Not many congregations have two out lesbians as a clergy team. They do that kind of thing in North Carolina. Rev. Dr. Angela Yarber is a trailblazer. She is author of several books that address the intersections among religion, the arts, gender and sexuality. She holds a Ph.D. in Art and Religion from the Graduate Theological Union. Dr. Yarber has been a clergywoman and professional artist since 1999. Her books include: Microagressions in Ministry: Confronting the Hidden Violence of Everyday Church, The Gendered Pulpit: Sex, Body, and Desire in Preaching and Worship, Tearing Open the Heavens, Dance in Scripture, How Biblical Dancers Can Revolutionize Scripture, Holy Women Icons, Holy Women Icons Contemplative Coloring Book, and Embodying the Feminine in the Dances of the World’s Religions.We spend most of our time talking about The Holy Women Icons Project. According to her website, this project… seeks to empower women by telling the stories of rev

A Panel Discussion on Dismantling RacismOn Tuesday, January 17th two Portland activists, Jo Ann Hardesty and Ibrahim Mubarak, spoke to five Beaverton congregations about racism. The presentation was entitled, “The Dream Under Siege: A Community Forum On Racism.” It was held at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Beaverton. Five Beaverton congregations: Murray Hills Christian Church, Christ United Methodist Church, Cedar Hills United Church of Christ, Spirit of Grace, and Southminster Presbyterian hosted this event as an opportunity for suburban residents to interact with leading activists in Portland to talk about critical issues facing the Portland metro in regards to diversity, race, privilege, housing, policing, gentrification and economic justice.The Honorable JoAnn Hardesty is president of the Portland chapter of the NAACP. She is a community organizer and activist who advocates for those on the downside of power. She campaigns for police accountability and racial and economic justice. She hosts Vo

Dr. Catherine Meeks is a retired professor of socio-cultural studies at Wesleyan College. She is the editor of the newly released book, Living Into God’s Dream: Dismantling Racism in America. From the publisher:"This book is a report from the front, combining personal stories and theoretical and theological reflection with examples of the work of dismantling racism and methods for creating the much-needed “safe space” for dialogue on race to occur. Its aim is to demonstrate the ways in which a new conversation on race can be forged."Her book contains chapters from eight different contributors including herself. Some white, some people of color, some men, some women.The first chapter is written by Luther E. Smith, Jr. Dr. Smith is professor emeritus of Church and Community at the Candler School of Theology of Emory University. He writes:“Racism also persists because a large segment of the population benefits from it. This explains why and how individuals perpetuate the system of racism, even without their cons

Sister Maura Clarke, a Catholic nun and three other women were assassinated by the El Salvadoran government in December 1980. This was a government supported by the United States. What did Sister Maura do that resulted in her violent death? Under the context of Vatican II, liberation theology, and oppressive dictatorships, we hear a story of radical faith.Investigative journalist, Eileen Markey, whose work has appeared in New York Times, New York Magazine, Wall Street Journal, National Catholic Reporter, America, Commonweal, and Killing the Buddha. wrote Sister Maura's biography, in A Radical Faith: The Assassination of Sister Maura.This is from America Magazine:'No one remembered Maura thirty years later because she was the most pious or the most correct. People didn't hang her picture on their plaster wall or name their daughter after her or wipe away tears even as they smiled at the mention of her name because she was the most severe, the best at self- flagellation, the most familiar with the desert. They

53 years ago, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., delivered his famous speech, “I Have A Dream.” What has happened to the dream of a Beloved Community? Host John Shuck speaks with three activists who have a proven track record on social change about King’s dream and how it has been hijacked.Dr. Catherine Meeks is a retired professor of socio-cultural studies at Wesleyan College. She is the editor of the newly released book, Living Into God’s Dream: Dismantling Racism in America. She serves the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta as the chari of the Beloved Community: Commission for Dismantling Racism.The Honorable JoAnn Hardesty is president of the Portland chapter of the NAACP. She is a community organizer and activist who advocates for those on the downside of power. She campaigns for police accountability and racial and economic justice. She hosts a weekly radio program, Voices from the Edge.Teressa Raiford is the lead organizer of “Don’t Shoot Portland” A social justice movement in support of #BlackLivesMatter

Known as the superego or the judge, our inner critic is the voice in our heads that is hypercritical of everything we do and of who we are. The inner critic shames us and debilitates us. How do we become free of the inner critic? The answer is mindfulness, awareness, compassion, and practice.Mark Coleman, a meditation teacher and therapist, has written a book to help us become free of our inner critic, "Make Peace With Your Mind: How Mindfulness and Compassion Can Free You from Your Inner Critic." One of the tools is to be lighthearted, to mock the critic. You will enjoy this conversation and find skills and methods to go easier on yourself and to treat yourself (and others) with compassion as opposed to judgment.

Host John Shuck of KBOO in Portland, Oregon speaks with Penpa Tsering, the new Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Office of Tibet, based in Washington DC. He was elected to this post in May. Previously he was a member of the Tibetan Parliament in exile where he served as speaker since 2011.In this exclusive interview they discuss Tibet’s history, geography and spirituality.What does it mean to be a country-in-exile?How does a people who value spirituality above all else express their need to an atheistic, materialistic colonial power?They discuss China’s demographic aggression, its exploitation of Tibet’s natural resources and environmental abuses of Tibet’s land and rivers, and the urgency before the United States to pressure China to solve peacefully the Tibet crisis. They also discuss how 13 centuries of Buddhism has shaped the people of Tibet and may be the spiritual resource that can be a beacon in a dark time of destruction for our shared Earth home.

The Kamasutra brings to mind (and to Google searches) erotic and exotic sexual positions. OK, it is that. But it is much more. It is about the art of living. Wendy Doniger, Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago, is a leading scholar in Hinduism and mythology. She has written over forty books including Hindu Myths: A Sourcebook, Translated from the Sanskrit, The Laws of Manu, and a new translation of the Kamasutra. Her latest is Redeeming the Kamasutra. We discuss this fascinating text and the controversy it ignites still today.

Robert Jensen is a professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas. He returns to Progressive Spirit to discuss his book, 'Plain Radical: Living, Loving, and Learning to Leave the Planet Gracefully.' He calls this book a “polemical memoir” in that it is a story of his mentor and friend, Jim Koplin, and their twenty-five year relationship. Thus it is a memoir. But it is polemical and political in that this relationship shaped Robert’s life and his radical views toward life. Ultimately, this book is an invitation to be human as industrial civilization collapses and takes the eco-system with it. How do we navigate this coming chaos summoning the best of what makes us human as opposed to the worst? How do we leave the planet gracefully? This is an interview and a book you will want to share with other awakened individuals who both grieve and hope.Jensen’s eleven general audience books include, 'The Heart of Whiteness: Confronting Race, Racism, and White Privilege,' 'We Are All Apocalyp

John Shuck, speaks with Penpa Tsering, U.S. Representative of the Dalai Lama, about Tibet's history, China's demographic aggression and exploitation of Tibet's natural resources, China's human rights abuses of the Tibetan people and how time is running out for Tibetan autonomy.

His guru told him to do it.So he listened. Thus the quest began for a hippie with a medical degree to become a key player in helping to eradicate smallpox, the deadliest disease in history. Larry Brilliant tells his story in Sometimes Brilliant: The Impossible Adventure of a Spiritual Seeker and Visionary Physician Who Helped Conquer the Worst disease in History.After sitting at the feet of Martin Luther King at the University of Michigan in 1963, Larry Brilliant was swept up into the civil rights movement, marching and protesting across America and Europe. As a radical young doctor he followed the hippie trail from London over the Khyber Pass with his wife Girija, Wavy Gravy and the Hog Farm commune to India. There, he found himself in a Himalayan ashram wondering whether he had stumbled into a cult. Instead, one of India’s greatest spiritual teachers, Neem Karoli Baba, opened Larry’s heart and told him his destiny was to work for the World Health Organization to help eradicate killer smallpox. He would neve

Sue Monk Kidd has written several novels including The Secret Life of Bees, The Mermaid Chair, and The Invention of Wings. Before the novels was the story of Sue Monk Kidd’s own journey, the Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman’s Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine. The 20th anniversary edition of the Dance of the Dissident Daughter has just been released. She discusses how that book shaped her novels, the quest for the Sacred Feminine, her relationship with organized religion, the effect Dance of the Dissident Daughter has had on her readers over the past 20 years, “holy misogyny,” and the grief and corresponding responsive action regarding the election.

When many think of Tarot cards they think of a gypsy in a tent telling some rube that there is a stranger, tall, dark and handsome in her future. But Tarot is much more than fortune-telling and hocus pocus. It is a fun way to discover the "deep self." My guest, Kim Krans, author and writer from Portland, has created a beautiful Tarot card deck and accompanying guidebook, The Wild Unknown: Tarot Card and Guidebook. She finds her own path with the artistry and presents a deck that is visually arresting. I speak with Kim about Tarot and her story in creating The Wild Unknown.

This week I speak with someone who models activism, intellect and spirituality, Matthew Fox. Silenced by the Vatican for his views, he left the Catholic priesthood in the early 1980s. Matthew Fox is a theologian and activist who has written over 30 books. He has introduced millions of people to Creation Spirituality. His latest book, published in 2016 is called A Way to God: Thomas Merton’s Creation Spirituality Journey. According to Fox, Merton was assassinated by the CIA. We will talk more about that as well as have a candid conversation about ecology, human rights, capitalism, and resistance.