The Progressive Christians Podcast

Mar 07 2025 30 ep. 54 mins 2
The Progressive Christians Podcast artwork

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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Trump, Ukraine, & The Failure To Bother To Love Our Neighbors

Mar 07 2025 71 mins  
Failing to bother to love is the scriptural concept of sin Jesus teaches in the gospels. In this episode, we build on this concept of sin and discuss why moral injury can make it difficult for progressive Christians to talk about sin constructively. We then discuss our theology of sin in light of President Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the defun

Do Progressive Christians Believe In The Bible?

Feb 28 2025 67 mins  
Christians should not believe in the bible, they should believe in the living God attested by the bible. This statement used to be reflect an orthodox (i.e., traditional) approach to the bible, but now belief in the bible is often a litmus text for how serious a Christians faith is. In this episode, we describe some of the problematic approaches to the bible, notably the biblicist

Sex, Gender, & Christian Theology

Feb 21 2025 72 mins  
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 wer

Undocumented Immigrants & The Sanctuary Movement

Feb 18 2025 53 mins  
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

Trump's Executive Order for Christian Supremacy

Feb 13 2025 39 mins  
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

Project 2025: A Progressive Christian Analysis

Feb 07 2025 77 mins  
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

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

Jan 31 2025 50 mins  
“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 s

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

Jan 24 2025 57 mins  
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 e

MAGA Evangelicalism vs. Jimmy Carter’s Progressive Evangelicalism

Jan 17 2025 61 mins  
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 w

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

Jan 10 2025 20 mins  
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