The Progressive Christians Podcast

The Progressive Christians
The Progressive Christians Podcast

We're the love your neighbor kind of Christians, not the storm the capitol kind. So, if you're curious about what a socially and politically progressive Christianity looks like, this podcast is for you! In each episode we discuss politics, pop culture, and anything else we find interesting from the perspective of progressive Christianity. The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church.

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    Sex, Gender, & Christian Theology

    Can you be queer and Christian? Does gender and sexuality even matter with respect to your theological beliefs? In today’s episode we address the surprisingly recent disagreement about whether Christianity can accept the full participation of persons in same-sex relationships and persons whose gender identity does not match the one assigned at birth by medical authorities. We were grateful to be joined by special guest Everest Harvey. If you’d like to connect with Everest about starting a Queer Group at your place of worship, please email them at everest@westwoodumc.org. Links we mentioned in this episode https://www.umc.org/en/content/the-malevolent-seven https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thegodarticle/2011/10/clobbering-biblical-gay-bashing/ https://www.1946themovie.com/ The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at theloft@theloftla.org.

    1h 13m

  2. 3 DAYS AGO

    Undocumented Immigrants & The Sanctuary Movement

    In today’s episode we discuss the dangerous and inhumane treatment of undocumented immigrants under the Trump administration. We were grateful to be joined by the Rev. Dr. Britta Meiers Carlson, whose research focuses on the church's engagement with the US immigration system. Rev. Dr. Meiers Carlson is a Visiting Assistant Professor in Practical Theology at the University of the South and an ordained pastor within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Links mentioned in this episode: https://afsc.org/tag/sanctuary-everywhere?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA8Lu9BhA8EiwAag16by4gqSzBGfGBL57eN8VK3eSC_NtdZH4X0F34E6kcQgCAyEbcU50fZhoC_nMQAvD_BwE https://www.dukeupress.edu/sanctuary-everywhere https://uncpress.org/book/9781469621814/the-civil-war-as-a-theological-crisis/

    54 min

  3. FEB 14

    The Myth Of Anti-Christian Bias

    At the National Prayer Breakfast President Trump announced that he was creating a task force to “eradicate anti-Christian bias” in the government and in institutions that receive federal funding. In this episode we discuss Trump’s remarks during the prayer breakfast and the eradicating anti-Christian bias executive order. Surprise bonus episode! There is a lot going on right now that deserves our attention, and we can’t get through it all in a one-hour podcast. For the next few weeks, we will be dropping a few bonus episodes to keep up with the news!  Links mentioned in the podcast: https://www.npr.org/2025/02/11/g-s1-48184/27-religious-groups-sue-administration-over-immigration-enforcement-policy https://www.whitehouse.gov/remarks/2025/02/remarks-by-president-trump-at-the-national-prayer-breakfast/ https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/religious-right-real-origins-107133/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-eradicates-anti-christian-bias/ https://www.friendlyatheist.com/p/trumps-task-force-to-eradicate-anti

    40 min

  4. FEB 7

    Project 2025: A Progressive Christian Analysis

    We read (a lot) of it so you wouldn’t have to. In this episode, we discuss the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, the 900-page document that Trump “had nothing to do with” but accurately describes almost everything that his administration has been doing during his first few weeks in office. We examine the four pillars that inform their political ideology, how these pillars are rooted in half-truths and outright lies, and how Trump is using the executive branch to subvert congressional power to implement his agenda.  We planned on covering more than we were able to get to in this episode. Rev. Dr. Carter read nearly 300 pages of the document, and we didn’t have time to get to all the policy points because it was difficult to contain our frustration. If you want more information on Project 2025 and don’t want to read it, we’ve included a link to John Oliver’s show from June 20th, 2024, where he gives an excellent overview. Lastly, if you are interested in reading it yourself, you can find it on the Heritage Foundation website. We would recommend only reading the Forward because it gives you a good overview of the entire project. Articles referenced in this episode https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/08/opinion/charles-blow-black-dads-are-doing-the-best-of-all.html https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr071.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYwqpx6lp_s

    1h 17m
  5. Women, Patriarchy, & the Bible with Claire McKeever-Burgett

    JAN 31

    Women, Patriarchy, & the Bible with Claire McKeever-Burgett

    “Without women we don’t have Jesus. We don’t have Christianity. We don’t have any of it,” writes Claire McKeever-Burgett, theologian and author of “Blessed Are The Women: Naming and Reclaiming Women’s Stories from the Gospels.” In this episode we speak with Claire about her amazing book, what inspired her to write it, and the importance of women’s stories in the story of Christianity. Claire’s newest book, "In The Beginning Were The Women: Matriarchs, Mystics, Wise Women, and Warriors in the Hebrew Bible", will be available on October 21, 2025.  You can learn more about Claire’s work on her website, https://www.clairemckeeverburgett.com, or her substack https://clairemckeeverburgett.substack.com.

    51 min

  6. JAN 24

    Trump 2.0 - How Should Progressive Christians Respond To The Second Trump Presidency

    It is not worse than we thought—it is exactly what we thought it would be! During our conversation, which felt a bit like our post-election analysis, we examined the first few days of the Trump presidency and discussed how progressive Christians might respond and resist. We also discussed former president Joe Biden’s legacy and what’s going on with TikTok and Meta.  In this episode, Rev. Dr. Carter mentions creating a Discord server as a way to cultivate community for Progressive Christians to meet, learn, and grow together. Is that something you all might be interested in? Please let us know in your iTunes review, Spotify comments or by sending us an email: theloft@theloftla.org There was some audio issue with Julia’s microphone and we apologize for the brief sound distortion. Articles referenced: https://www.axios.com/2025/01/21/president-donald-trump-executive-orders-list https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwwaEuDeqM8

    57 min

  7. JAN 17

    MAGA Evangelicalism vs. Jimmy Carter’s Progressive Evangelicalism

    In today’s episode we discuss the impact of the LA fires on our community and dissect the conservative conspiracy theories about the origin of the fires and how they have been handled. We then discuss the legacy of President Jimmy Carter, a Southern Baptist and the first Evangelical president of the United States. We compare and contrast his progressive evangelicalism with what we see in the MAGA movement today. A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was announced while we were recording, and we touched on it briefly and plan to cover it in more detail in the coming weeks. Articles mentioned on the episode: https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/jimmy-carter-evangelical-christianity/ https://www.calpacumc.org/uncategorized/ways-to-help-la-fire-victims/ https://www.qasimrashid.com/p/president-jimmy-carter-has-died

    1h 2m

  8. JAN 11

    L.A. - Where We All Live - Is On Fire

    Los Angeles is suffering from a historical fire. Thankfully, Julia, Westley, Rev. Blair, and Dr. Carter are safe, but we are thinking about and actively working on ways to support our local community. If you are interested in supporting, please check out the links below. In this episode, Rev. Dr. Carter is solo, recording from San Diego, where he and his family have evacuated from the Pallisades and Sunset fires. He discusses the difficulties that lie ahead for their community and what the root causes of the fire really are, and what they are not (hint: it has nothing to do with DEI). We end this episode with a prayer and we hope that you join us in keeping our community uplifted in prayer and support during this difficult time. Links to organizations that are supporting Angelinos: https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/how-to-help-la-fire-victims https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-08/how-to-help-victims-of-pacific-palisades-eaton-and-hurst-fires

    21 min
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About

We're the love your neighbor kind of Christians, not the storm the capitol kind. So, if you're curious about what a socially and politically progressive Christianity looks like, this podcast is for you! In each episode we discuss politics, pop culture, and anything else we find interesting from the perspective of progressive Christianity. The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church.

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