This episode contains descriptions of gratuitous violence. Listener discretion is advised. Nicole Joshua is a wife to one husband and a mother to one child. She is a theologian, a home executive, and is currently on a journey of discernment towards ordination in the Christian tradition. She has a deep thirst for learning, evidenced by her formal studies in accounting, theology, particularly Biblical studies, and her voracious appetite for reading, and loves sharing what she is learning with others. Nicole is also a teacher at heart, having taught biblical studies at Cornerstone Institute, through involvement in Christian education in the faith communities where she had worshipped, and is currently enjoying many opportunities to preach in her church. Nicole has a passion for teaching about the Bible. Through her appreciation for the complexity and beauty of biblical texts, she aims to invite others to gain new and sometimes deeply challenging insights into their understanding of the God revealed in the biblical text. She believes that the text of Scripture not only carries the capacity to transform individual lives, but also has the capacity to call the faith community to creatively live out their faith in the world in ways that bring about social transformation. She hopes to inspire followers of Jesus towards joining God in God's work of bringing shalom into the world. In this episode, Nicole introduces us to the idea of Deep Hope. She defines it as a hard won Hope which grabs you and does not let go, and which exists on the borderline of beauty and destruction, reminding us that death does not have the final say. Her experience on a visit to Rwanda greatly informs this belief. She recalls a moment where she experienced this Hope - a gap in reality - on a trip to Rwanda, during which she visited The Nyamata Church Genocide Memorial which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nicole and Rashid are both avid fantasy fans and geek out on Lord of the Rings and similar epic fantasy stories. We consider whether we can learn from fantasy realms to shape our reality. In a world where imagination is limited, we enquire if it is possible to remain in our bodies while we ‘escape’ in these stories of hard fought resistance and triumph against oppressive powers, all the while discovering new possibilities for our own world. Lastly, Nicole introduces us to the Sacred Feminine, a concept we frame as a necessary reimagination of God which can lead us to new, rehumanising considerations of the Divine. The music in this episode is composed and arranged by Rashid Epstein Adams, Arkenstone, Pursuit and Howard Shore. It includes an instrumental of Pursuit’s song “Trinity”, and a piano rendition of Howard Shore’s “Concerning Hobbits” performed by Rashid Epstein Adams. All rights reserved to the original composers. The quote Tristan shares is from an abstract of a paper titled “Gaza writes back: Narrating Palestine” by Refaat R. Alareer. “In Palestine, stories are sacred. In trying times, we turn to story-telling for solace. Mothers and grandmothers are the major source of stories in the families. And just when you are old enough, you realise that you have been shaped by these stories and that they go far beyond entertainment. As a Palestinian, I have been brought up on stories, and I learned early in my life that it's both selfish and treacherous to keep a story to myself. If I allowed a story to stop, I would be betraying my legacy, my mother, my grandmother, and my homeland. “ Alareer was a Palestinian writer, poet, professor, and activist from Gaza. He was killed in an Israeli Airstrike on 6 December 2023 [Source Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refaat_Alareer].
