How many times has somebody's “BUT” gotten in the way of God’s love? "God loves us BUT”…He is also Just. But we can’t affirm that behavior. But we can't just accept that sinner. What if...God's love is "BUT"-less? Kelly talks with author/teacher Bradley Jersak about a love that is not the opposite of mercy, a love that is not retributive, a love that frees rather than enforces. We discuss how projecting conditions onto God’s love affects our theology and culture, including the belief that God will desert most of us in the Rapture, the view that if our kind of Christians were in control our nation would do God’s will, and the heresy that empathy and embodying the values of the Sermon on the Mount here on earth are ungodly. When we are asked to love our neighbor and share the Good News, is there a more effective way to do it? Yes, we think there is. Bradley Jersak is an author and teacher based in Abbotsford, BC, Canada. He the author of several books, including A More Christlike God and Out of the Embers: Faith After the Great Deconstruction. Bradley also serves as the Principal and as a professor of St. Stephen’s University (SSU.ca) in New Brunswick, Canada. Bradley's focus is on sharing the good news that God is Love, perfectly revealed in Jesus' all-embracing gospel. Find more of his work at https://bradjersak.com and subscribe to his Substack at https://substack.com/@bradleyjersak124315.

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Who or what is God? When one says “Oh, my God” in awe, or mutters “Jesus…” in a moment of trouble, what power are they invoking? Is it a curse, a prayer, an invitation to co-create with the divine? This week, Mark and Kelly examine what we are talking about when we talk about God. Is God close or distant? Powerful or codependent? Intelligent or intuitive? Ineffable or quite effable? The embodiment of love or a demanding judge of righteousness? Separate or part of all of us (or part of everything)? Is our faith enough to allow us to approach the divine, or do we need to be cleansed, perfected, saved? Listen as we finally, for once and for all, get to the bottom of who God is, what God wants, and how difficult it is to pin those concepts down with certainty without idolatry. ALSO FEATURING: A revelatory Bible Moment with scholar Amanda Pence.

*****
Special thanks to our sponsors at Quoir, publishers of The Quollective.
The Quollective isn’t just another media platform. It’s a grassroots,
justice-fueled toolbox for people who want to change the world—and
still laugh while doing it.
----
Use promo code radicallove for 10% off a yearly subscription—that’s a
savings of 20% off the monthly price. Go to thequollective.com and
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What is “Grace,” and can we humans offer it to one another in a divided, cutthroat world? Can we love those of whose behavior we do not agree or approve? Can we love without agreement or approval? Mark and Kelly delve into the multifaceted concept of grace, exploring its definitions, implications in personal growth, and its role in navigating social and political divides. We share our personal experiences with grace, particularly in the context of how it has saved our relationships with others and ourselves, and discuss the challenges of extending grace in spaces where we are the ideological minority. And listen as Bible Scholar Amanda Pence frames this conversation with Scripture in her “Bible Moment”!

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Photo by Fallon Michael on Unsplash

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*****
Special thanks to our sponsors at Quoir, publishers of The Quollective.
The Quollective isn’t just another media platform. It’s a grassroots,
justice-fueled toolbox for people who want to change the world—and
still laugh while doing it.
----
Use promo code radicallove for 10% off a yearly subscription—that’s a
savings of 20% off the monthly price. Go to thequollective.com and
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CONTENT Alert: Explicit talk about sex. What are churches saying about robust, spirit-led erotic love and sexual flourishing? (If they talk about it at all.) Beyond talk of sexual purity versus fornication or enforcing heteronormativity versus embracing queerness, Queer/Liberative theologian Jon Carl Lewis opens the door to grander conversations to be had about the complexity of human sexuality—including what a Christ-centered sexual ethic looks like, how the integration of the spirit AND the body can lead to a more fully realized divine connection, and why these concepts matter not only to queer Christians but to all Christians who desire to live a life more aligned with the divine.

John Carl Lewis describes himself as “your average queer, liberative theologian and spiritual guide.” His work invites” individuals and communities into conversation around how integration of the spiritual and the sexual/erotic can enliven and reconcile people of faith to themselves, the sacred, their communities, and all of creation.” His Substack is called “Ramblints (of a Queer, Christian Contemplative) (queerchristianramblings.substack.com).

*****
Special thanks to our sponsors at Quoir, publishers of The Quollective.
The Quollective isn’t just another media platform. It’s a grassroots,
justice-fueled toolbox for people who want to change the world—and
still laugh while doing it.
----
Use promo code radicallove for 10% off a yearly subscription—that’s a
savings of 20% off the monthly price. Go to thequollective.com and
let’s build a post-fascist future together.

What are churches saying about robust, spirit-led erotic love and sexual flourishing? (If they talk about it at all.) Beyond talk of sexual purity versus fornication or enforcing heteronormativity versus embracing queerness, Queer/Liberative theologian Jon Carl Lewis opens the door to grander conversations to be had about the complexity of human sexuality—including what a Christ-centered sexual ethic looks like, how the integration of the spirit AND the body can lead to a more fully realized divine connection, and why these concepts matter not only to queer Christians but to all Christians who desire to live a life more aligned with the divine.

John Carl Lewis describes himself as “your average queer, liberative theologian and spiritual guide.” His work invites” individuals and communities into conversation around how integration of the spiritual and the sexual/erotic can enliven and reconcile people of faith to themselves, the sacred, their communities, and all of creation.” His Substack is called “Ramblings (of a Queer, Christian Contemplative) (queerchristianramblings.substack.com).

*****
Special thanks to our sponsors at Quoir, publishers of The Quollective.
The Quollective isn’t just another media platform. It’s a grassroots,
justice-fueled toolbox for people who want to change the world—and
still laugh while doing it.
----
Use promo code radicallove for 10% off a yearly subscription—that’s a
savings of 20% off the monthly price. Go to thequollective.com and
let’s build a post-fascist future together.

Kelly gets a chance to talk with Josh Patterson, host of the "[Re] Thinking Faith" podcast and scholar of Process/Relational Theology about a whole range of topics about how theology and belief intersect with this current moment. In Part 1, we focus on division--how ideas about theology and politics drive a wedge between us, and ways we can intentionally break out of that binary to connect with others across the divide. In Part 2, we get more philosophical as we delve into Josh's recent work in studying the connections between Process and Radical Theology. It's a fascinating conversation that touches on the many ways our theological thinking shapes our everyday lives. Josh Patterson is a writer, speaker, and thinker whose work includes the [Re]-Thinking Christianity podcast; panelist roles at ORTcon, Theology Beer Camp, and others, and contributions to several books on Process/Open & Relational Theology. Find him and his work at https://www.joshuagpatterson.com and on socials at IG:@rethinking_faith and FB: @josh.patterson.144734. (Note: Also for more info on Theology Beer Camp, visit: https://www.theologybeercamp2025.com -- keep an eye on this space, we'll update it soon with the discount code!)

*****
Special thanks to our sponsors at Quoir, publishers of The Quollective.
The Quollective isn’t just another media platform. It’s a grassroots,
justice-fueled toolbox for people who want to change the world—and
still laugh while doing it.
----
Use promo code radicallove for 10% off a yearly subscription—that’s a
savings of 20% off the monthly price. Go to thequollective.com and
let’s build a post-fascist future together.

Kelly gets a chance to talk with Josh Patterson, host of the "[Re] Thinking Faith" podcast and scholar of Process/Relational Theology about a whole range of topics about how theology and belief intersect with this current moment. In Part 1, we focus on division--how ideas about theology and politics drive a wedge between us, and ways we can intentionally break out of that binary to connect with others across the divide. In Part 2, we get more philosophical as we delve into Josh's recent work in studying the connections between Process and Radical Theology. It's a fascinating conversation that touches on the many ways our theological thinking shapes our everyday lives.

Josh Patterson is a writer, speaker, and thinker whose work includes the [Re]-Thinking Christianity podcast; panelist roles at ORTcon, Theology Beer Camp, and others, and contributions to several books on Process/Open & Relational Theology. Find him and his work at https://www.joshuagpatterson.com and on socials at IG:@rethinking_faith and FB: @josh.patterson.144734. (Note: Also for more info on Theology Beer Camp, visit: https://www.theologybeercamp2025.com -- keep an eye on this space, we'll update it soon with the discount code!)

*****
Special thanks to our sponsors at Quoir, publishers of The Quollective.
The Quollective isn’t just another media platform. It’s a grassroots,
justice-fueled toolbox for people who want to change the world—and
still laugh while doing it.
----
Use promo code radicallove for 10% off a yearly subscription—that’s a
savings of 20% off the monthly price. Go to thequollective.com and
let’s build a post-fascist future together.

Is there a good kind of contamination? The energy and emotion get turned up in this 2nd part of our conversation with teacher and author Bille Hoard about disgust and "eucontamination.". This week we also introduce our new "Bible Moment" segment with Bible Teacher Amanda Pence, MA, who provides valuable context, history, and insight into how passages from the Hebrew Bible and Christian New Testament apply to the episode topic--in this case, disgust (and who are the "real" people of God)

Billie Hoard is "a trans woman, teacher, author, and something of an Anabaptist radical.” Billie and her brother, psychology professor Paul Hoard, are co-authors of the forthcoming book “Eucontamination: Disgust Theology and the Christian Life” (Cascade Books), a psychological, theological, and sociological exploration of disgust, purity/contamination, and being transformed by what’s trueFind Billie's work at billieiswriting.substack.com and connect on IG/Threads @billieiswriting

Amanda Pence MA is a Bible scholar who graduated with highest honors from Talbot School of Theology (Biola University). She is committed to studying the Bible in context & with a deep commitment to its inspiration & authority. She is also an Evangelical LGBTQIA+ advocate who affirms the full inclusion of all siblings of faith, in all levels of the church. Find out more about her academic writings and public speaking at https://www.amandapence.org. Subscribe to her Substack at https://open.substack.com/pub/amandapence.

*****
Special thanks to our sponsors at Quoir, publishers of The Quollective.
The Quollective isn’t just another media platform. It’s a grassroots,
justice-fueled toolbox for people who want to change the world—and
still laugh while doing it.
----
Use promo code radicallove for 10% off a yearly subscription—that’s a
savings of 20% off the monthly price. Go to thequollective.com and
let’s build a post-fascist future together.