ORT Shorts

Thomas Jay Oord
  • 4.6 (27)
  • CHRISTIANITY

Open and Relational theology just makes sense... at least that's what most people say when they discover it. This podcast offers 3-minute short episodes -- "shorts" -- on this perspective on God. Episodes offer insights, inspiration, and information, and a few are posted each week. Dr. Thomas Jay Oord hosts this podcast. He's a best-selling author, world-renown speaker, and leading voice in this burgeoning field. Dr. Oord directs a Center and Doctoral Program in Open and Relational Theology too. Subscribe if you're tired of conventional theology and want a perspective that both makes sense and fits life as we live it.

  1. 10/24/2025

    Ep. 286: Evolution and Divine Love

    In this episode, Dr. Oord engages with some key paradigm shifts compatible with Open and Relational Theology in the book Evolution and Divine Love: The Eternal Becoming of God, Soul, and Matter written by Gaudiya Vaishnava monk, scholar and spiritual teacher Swami Bhakti Pranaya Padmanabha. Drawing from Hindu Devotional Vedanta, psychology, modern science, and mystical insights from multiple traditions, this bold and tender work reimagines the spiritual journey as a process of ever-deepening relationship—with the Divine, with the world, and with our evolving selves.

    5 min

  2. 10/21/2025

    Ep. 285: God Looks Like Jesus

    In this episode, Dr. Oord interacts with the new book from Greg Boyd and Scott Boren entitled God Looks Like Jesus: A Renewed Approach to Understanding God. In this accessible introduction to understanding the character of God, author Gregory A. Boyd, with M. Scott Boren, lays out the radical truth at the heart of this movement: the conviction that God looks like Jesus. In other words, in the life, ministry, and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, we see the embodiment of God’s very essence—a love that is humble, other-oriented, and self-sacrificial.

    3 min

  3. 10/17/2025

    Ep. 284: Thinking About God with Keith Ward

    In this episode, Dr. Oord engages with God and Faith: Thinking About God with Keith Ward, a collection of essays from distinguished scholars with responses from one of our generation's most important theologians. Perfect for students, scholars, and anyone interested in deepening their understanding of theology, philosophy, and science, this book offers a comprehensive and thought-provoking exploration of faith and reason.

    5 min

  4. 10/14/2025

    Ep. 283: Prayer and the Brain

    In this episode, Dr. Oord engages with the new book written by Paul E. Johnson entitled, Talking With God:  Imagination, Inspiration, and Prayer in the Age of Neuroscience.  Offering a fresh, integrated perspective for those who struggle with the dissonance between their experience in the physical world and a healing spiritual life, this work navigates a path to reconcile religious spirituality with science. It also sheds light on an integrated view of science and religious belief, accepting the physicality of consciousness while allowing for spirituality in the form of divine inspiration. Talking with God is an original academic contribution to the field of science and religion and an indispensable read for researchers and readers interested in the concept of belief and belief change from a neuroscientific perspective.

    3 min

  5. 10/10/2025

    Ep. 282: Is it God's Will?

    In this episode, Dr. Oord uses the 2024 presidential assassination attempt, as a case study to discuss and critique unhealthy ideas about God's relation to creation in response to violence, suffering and evil. In his new book, Is It God's Will:  Making Sense of Tragedy, Luck, and Hope in a World Gone Wrong, journalist and author Brandon Ambrosino argues that theologians have been poorly equipped to confront these questions, because many hang on to an omnipotent model of God.  In his book, Ambrosino provides us with the tools to understand and process grief but also presents a refreshing portrait of less a God of power, and more of one of persuasion, who can still provide a residue of hope in a world gone wrong.

    4 min

  6. 10/07/2025

    Ep. 281: The Misunderstood Power of God

    In this episode, Dr. Oord discusses the recent Speaking to a Modern World conference which took place in Charlotte, NC gathering together Open and Relational Theologians from across the country.   The conference was hosted by Russ Dean, co-pastor of Park Road Baptist Church, who has written a new book entitled The Story as We Have Received It:  On the Making of Gospel Truth To access audio recordings from the conference, visit: https://c4ort.com/speaking-to-a-modern-world-audio-recordings/

    4 min

  7. 10/03/2025

    Ep. 280: Open and Relational Parenting

    In this episode, Dr. Oord engages the new book from pediatrician and Open and Relational theologian Dr. Chris Hanson. Dr. Hanson's book, entitled Open and Relational Parenting: Loving Parents Reflecting a Loving God, bridges child development research with open and relational theology to present a transformative model for modern parenting which rejects authoritarian parenting styles often rooted in classical theism, in favor of a vision of parenting that mirrors a loving, responsive, co-creative God.

    3 min

  8. 09/30/2025

    Ep. 279: Death from an Open and Relational Perspective

    In this episode Dr. Oord engages with the work of Tracy Tucker and his new book, Can We Talk About Death?: An Open and Relational Vision. For chaplain and theologian Tracy Tucker, both the language of life and death reflects one's thoughts and convictions and his new book explores (un)healthy language and pathways for speaking about death and walking alongside those approaching the end of life.

    4 min
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4.6
out of 5
27 Ratings

About

Open and Relational theology just makes sense... at least that's what most people say when they discover it. This podcast offers 3-minute short episodes -- "shorts" -- on this perspective on God. Episodes offer insights, inspiration, and information, and a few are posted each week. Dr. Thomas Jay Oord hosts this podcast. He's a best-selling author, world-renown speaker, and leading voice in this burgeoning field. Dr. Oord directs a Center and Doctoral Program in Open and Relational Theology too. Subscribe if you're tired of conventional theology and want a perspective that both makes sense and fits life as we live it.

Information

  • Creator
    Thomas Jay Oord
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    286
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 ORT Shorts
  • Show Website
    ORT Shorts