God for Grownups Pastor Dan Peterson

When I first heard about the "Big Bang Singularity," probably while watching the movie Interstellar, back in 2014, my immediate thought was God. Think about it: classical theology teaches that God resides, likewise, beyond space and time. Space and time, in other words, lose meaning when applied to God. How is this any different from the Singularity posited by science? Maybe, I wonder, the Singularity is sacred.

On this episode, we're featuring a session from the Queen Anne Lutheran Church forum series, Demons, Darkness & the Devil, with Catholic perspectives from Fr. William Watson, S.J.  


Watch a recording of this forum and view earlier sessions at in the series on the Queen Anne Lutheran YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/queenannelutheran
Join us on Sunday, March 21 for the final session in the series, with Pastor Dan sharing contemporary Lutheran perspectives on the topic: https://fb.me/e/1S2GHaoXe

About this week's speaker: Fr. Watson has spent over thirty years developing Ignatian programs and retreats used by Georgetown University, Seattle University, Santa Clara University, Gonzaga University and Loyola College in Baltimore. In 2011 he launched The Sacred Story Institute, a non-profit promoting third millennium evangelization for the Society of Jesus and the Church by using the Examination of Conscience of St. Ignatius. Fr. Watson received his Doctor of Ministry degree in 2009 from The Catholic University of America (Washington D.C.). He also holds Masters degrees in Divinity and Pastoral Studies, respectively (1986; Weston Jesuit School of Theology, Cambridge Massachusetts).

Pastor Dan Peterson and Dr. Beatrice Lawrence discuss and compare Christian and Jewish perspectives on violence, in light of the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol.

How do we explain such rash behavior on the part of the earliest disciples? Pastor Dan Peterson shares what he believes to be the best answer to the question of why the disciples immediately left everything to follow Jesus. The answer sheds light, as well, on what it might mean for us to follow Jesus today. This episode of God for Grownups is Pastor Dan's sermon from Queen Anne Lutheran's weekly audio podcast service. Subscribe to the Queen Anne Lutheran podcast for the full service and more messages from Pastor Dan. 

On this episode, we're presenting highlights from one of our most enlightening virtual forums of the past year.

The talk focuses on a turning point in the life of Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German who lived from 1906 to 1945. Bonhoeffer is widely known for his resistance to Nazi dictatorship and genocide, and for his writings on Christianity in secular life, including his classic book, The Cost of Discipleship. Lesser-known is the impact on Bonhoeffer of his year of study at Union Seminary in New York, in 1930-31, during which he worshiped at Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church and was deeply influenced by Harlem Renaissance intellectuals.

Dr. Reggie Williams writes about this subject in his award-winning book, Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus: Harlem Renaissance Theology and an Ethic of Resistance. Dr. Williams is our featured guest for this forum, which Queen Anne Lutheran co-hosted with St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Bellevue.

Watch a video of the forum here, with additional audience Q&A. 

In difficult times like these, where do you find hope? Pastor Mark Griffith of St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Bellevue, Wash., joins host Pastor Dan Peterson of Queen Anne Lutheran Church in Seattle to grapple with that question on this episode of God for Grownups.