The McKrakenCast

Part 1 - Scots Confession, History & Theology

This is Part 1 in a series of adult education (Sunday School) classes that I taught at St. Charles Presbyterian Church (USA) in the early months of 2020. It provides a fairly thorough discussion of the Scots Confession's history and theology targeted (hopefully, effectively so) at the generally educated churchgoer. 
Part 1 tries to answer the question of what a confession actually is in different Christian traditions, talks about the context and character of the Scots Confession, and explores chapters 1 - 5 in the confession itself.
This is Part 1 in a 5-part series. You can find the series index here. Click here for the blog post corresponding to this episode, and click here to access this content on YouTube.
=========================
I write books. I run a blog. I have a YouTube channel. I teach. 

Barth's "Göttingen Dogmatics" - §3: Deus Dixit (“God has spoken”)

We return to Barth’s first dogmatics lectures, and to the elaboration of one of his key theological concepts – both in this earlier period as well as throughout his later Church Dogmatics, although there it recedes into the background a bit despite continuing to be of foundational importance: Deus dixit, God has spoken.
This is part 4 of a multi-part series. You can find the series index here. Click here for the blog post corresponding to this episode, and click here to access this content on YouTube.
I begin the audio recordings by reading Barth’s Diktatsatz, so I will begin reproducing that here as well. The bold is mine and indicates where I find emphasis:
Christian preachers dare to speak about God. The permission and requirement to do so can rest only on their adoption of the witness of the prophets and apostles that underlies the church, the witness which is to the effect that God himself has spoken and that for this reason, and with this reference, they too must speak about God. This assumption can arise only because they take it that God’s address is directed to them as well. It means that with fear and trembling they recognize God as the true subject of the biblical witness and their own proclamation.
=========================
I write books. I run a blog. I have a YouTube channel. I teach.

The Belhar Confession: An Introduction

The Belhar Confession is about speaking the gospel in a time of rampant racial oppression. Those currents continue to run strongly in the USA, and the current COVID-19 crisis has only fanned the flames. The PC(USA)’s newest confession has much for us to hear in this moment lest the temporary social distancing necessary for physical help ultimately result in exacerbating white supremacism's harmful social distancing from racial and otherwise minority communities.
The PC(USA) adopted the Belhar Confession as part of its Book of Confessions at the 222nd General Assembly in 2016.
Presbyteries and local congregations were asked to engage with the confession as part of the church’s process of discernment. So in the Fall of 2015, I worked with some of the other leaders of my congregation – St. Charles Presbyterian Church – to organize a four-week adult education series on the confession. It was my job to provide the introductory session, covering Belhar’s background and significance.
I didn’t record that material at the time, but I came across that material again recently and thought that it might be worth sharing. Follow the links above for more resources on Belhar, as well as the text of the confession itself.
Also available in video.
=========================
I write books. I run a blog. I have a YouTube channel. I teach. 

Barth's "Göttingen Dogmatics" - §2: Preaching as the Starting Point and Goal of Dogmatics

More on Barth’s first dogmatics lectures! This episode addresses the relationship between dogmatics and preaching. We get a number of Barth “greatest hits” – like an early form of his approach to the three-fold Word of God (revelation, scripture, and preaching), and his distinction between regular and irregular dogmatics. But the central issue is the relationship between God’s word and the human word of preaching. Also, I use the idea of Sachkritik to expand on Barth’s definition of theology.
This is part 3 of a multi-part series, and you can find the series index here. It is also available on YouTube. Make sure to subscribe via your preferred site.
=========================
I write books. I run a blog. I have a YouTube channel. I teach.

My Top 5 Books of 2019

I read a lot of books in 2019. Here are my top 5.
Featured Books: 
Balmer, Evangelicalism in America
Heschel, The Insecurity of Freedom: Essays on Human Existence
Hunsinger, Karl Barth and Radical Politics, 2nd edition
Marable, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention 
Weinberg & Bealer, The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug
Also available on Youtube.
=========================
 I write books. I run a blog. I have a YouTube channel. I teach.

Women of the Reformation

You're bored of hearing about the men of the Reformation. Get the scoop on some of the key Reformation women!Click here to access written and video versions of this content. 
=========================
I write books. I run a blog. I have a YouTube channel. I teach. 

Barth's "Göttingen Dogmatics" - §1: The Word of God as the Problem of Dogmatics

Continuing our dive into Karl Barth's first attempt at writing a dogmatics, this episode tackles the first section: The Word of God as the Problem of Dogmatics. He discusses what it means to think of dogmatics as a science, and we also encounter an early version of his doctrine of the three-fold Word of God (revelation, Scripture, and preaching). Barth also reflects on why he thinks a prolegomena is necessary when doing theology, and I riff a bit on his recommendations for how to go about studying theology. This is part 2 of a multi-part series, and you can find the series index here. It is also available on YouTube. Make sure to subscribe via your preferred site.=========================
I write books. I run a blog. I have a YouTube channel. I teach.  
 
 

Barth's "Göttingen Dogmatics" - Introduction

Travel with me back to the early 1920s and Karl Barth's first attempt at writing a dogmatics. Launched while teaching at the University of Göttingen, this was the genesis of the material that would become Church Dogmatics approximately a decade later. What we call the Göttingen Dogmatics in English is especially interesting to me because it is much closer to Barth's work as pastor-cum-socialist organizer. This is the first of a multi-part series, and it is the first series that I have produced primarily for the podcast medium. It is also available on YouTube. Make sure to subscribe via your preferred site. Find episode 2 here, and get the series index here.
=========================
I write books. I run a blog. I have a YouTube channel. I teach.  

Barthian and Process Theologians in Dialogue (Part 3)

Dr. W. Travis McMaken and Rev. Dr. Nichole Torbitzky (both of the Lindenwood University Philosophy & Religion program) discuss Colin Gunton's book on Karl Barth and Charles Hartshorne - "Becoming and Being" - in an effort to help Barthian and Process theologians understand each other better. This is part 3 of a multi-part series.
Lindenwood University Philosophy & Religion department: https://www.lindenwood.edu/academics/academic-schools/school-of-humanities/philosophy-and-religion/
McMaken's Twitter: https://twitter.com/WTravisMcMaken
Torbitzky's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ntorbitzky
Torbitzky's LU profile: http://www.lindenwood.edu/about/directories/faculty-staff-directory/details/ntorbitzky/
McMaken's LU profile: http://www.lindenwood.edu/about/directories/faculty-staff-directory/details/wtmcmaken/
Gunton's book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Being-Hartshorne-Theological-Monographs/dp/0198267134/
We couldn't find a live link to the John Cobb book that Torbitzky mentioned at the end of the video, so here's another (also by Cobb) that's a good beginning resource: https://www.amazon.com/Process-Theology-Introductory-John-Cobb/dp/0664247431/
Also, there's this video of a lecture by Cobb: https://youtu.be/Zo5b2Pi8piQ

Helmut Gollwitzer on Karl Barth and Socialism: An Excerpt

This is an excerpt from an essay by Helmut Gollwitzer about Karl Barth and socialism.
Available in video format.
==========================I write books! Check them out here.
I run a blog! Check it out here.
==========================
Excerpt source: Helmut Gollwitzer, "Kingdom of God and Socialism in the Theology of Karl Barth," in George Hunsinger (ed., trans.), Karl Barth and Radical Politics, 2nd ed. (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2017), 83-85.
Image source and attribution: Stiftung Haus der Geschichte [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)].