Episode 108: Tony Campolo - remembering with archive interview

Tony Campolo, the Baptist preacher, sociologist, Red Letter Christian and ceaseless campaigner for a Christian vision of social justice, has died.

In this episode, we pay tribute to Tony in the best way we know how: by letting him speak for himself. Eventually.

First, we talk about our own memories of him, and his influence on our theology. But once we've done making it about us, we share an interview with Tony from the vaults. In 2012, Tony Campolo was concerned about many of the things that are now even more pressing and horrifying.

The interview feels prophetic in multiple understandings of the word, and Campolo is solid on everything from American militarism and imperialism to the incompatibility of Christian spirituality with right-wing ideological selfishness. His identification of the central problem with evangelical engagement with culture -- the idea that everything gets better if people become Christians -- is expressed particularly poignantly, considering where we are with the Church in the West.

We hope you enjoy hearing from Tony again, and that you remember his family and friends at this time.

Sunday’s coming!

Full disclosure: we also talk a lot about why we're excited about our new magazine, S(h)ibboleth. We hope it doesn't come across as a sales pitch and more as the genuine excitement we're feeling about connecting more Christians with similar beliefs and making the world better as a result.

Naive? Maybe. Worth a shot? Sure. Fun? Hell yeah.

You can listen to Episode 108 anywhere: at home while reading the red letters in your Bible, in a church, eating potato salad, or right here…



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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.


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S(h)ibboleth - our new magazine for left-leaning inclusive Christians (or the post-post-post evangelical and Christian-adjacent) is available for pre-order now! Find out more at shibbolethmag.com

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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. 


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Episode 109: The true meaning of Christmas - Yuletide, Luigi and our new magazine

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Episode 107: Helen Paynter - resisting the rise of the Right: the Bible and fascism