Episode 106: Brian McLaren - hope for uncertain futures
Brian McLaren is one of the most important and influential voices in the Christian deconstruction movement. He's also one hell of a nice guy.
Brian's influence on the post-evangelical Church is hard to overstate, and yet he remains humble and approachable as ever. We caught up with him at Greenbelt festival in August 2024 and talked to him about deconstruction, US election harm reduction and that appalling Musk-Trump interview. We also asked him about hope and the future. Which feels pretty timely.
It's a great chat. We hope you enjoy it.
Brian McLaren's latest book, Life After Doom, is available to buy right now.
You can listen to Episode 106 anywhere: on a great spiritual migration, on the road we make by walking, in the Galapagos islands (spiritually), or right here…
S(h)pecial announcement: S(h)ibboleth magazine launch
We also take the opportunity in this episode to tell you about the launch of S(h)ibboleth - our new magazine for left-leaning inclusive Christians (or the post-post-post evangelical and Christian-adjacent). Find out more at shibbolethmag.com
New to Beer Christianity?
Well howdy.
Beer Christianity is an anti-capitalist, pro-BLM, pro-LGBTQ+, anti-imperialist, post-post-post-evangelical podcast where we drink a bit and talk a lot. Our aim is to be real, helpful and entertaining.
Beer Christianity also has a newsletter in which Jonty and guest authors comment on the news, theological issues and stuff that matters. He updates it according to his own wildly inconsistent neurodivergent schedule, but it’s a good read. Sign up to the Beer Christianity newsletter on Substack.
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Follow Beer Christianity on Twitter: @beerxianity and find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and, probably, loads of other places. We love hearing from listeners. You can email us at beerchristianity AT yahoo DOT com. We often respond to mails we get on the show. And if you leave us a voicenote on Insta we might air your question on an episode.
There's also a connected Show With Music on Spotify called New Old Music. Check it out if you like eclectic music and random chat.
Other things…
Malky’s design work has graced many good magazines and music videos. You can find his stuff and even commission him if he’s not too busy, here. Jonty's novel, Incredulous Moshoeshoe and the Lightning Bird, is not literature but it’s quite fun if you like Supernatural, Africa or the Goth scene. Laura doesn’t want us to post her BookTok until she’s posted more videos. She may have prayed for the app to be banned just to avoid it.
Beliefs…
We don't really want to preach at you, but some people like to know what we believe. It's this: Jesus Christ is the Son of God and came to teach us a better way to be, while reconciling us to God and each other in a way we could never do without Him. He also changed water into wine. Nice.