God for Grownups – Details, episodes & analysis

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 talks with author and theologian Thomas Jay Oord about the power and limits of God, and the persistent question of why God "allows" bad things to happen in the world. As Tom explains in one of his latest books, 'God Can't,' the answer challenges the very premise of the question.

Pastor Dan Peterson of Queen Anne Lutheran Church and guest Dr. Beatrice Lawrence of Seattle University, an expert in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish Hermeneutics, discuss Christian and Jewish perspectives on the immortality of the soul, what happens when we die, and how the answers can inform the way we live.

What was the symbolism of President Trump's impromptu visit to St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C.? Pastor Mark Griffith of St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Bellevue, Wash., joins Pastor Dan Peterson of Queen Anne Lutheran Church in Seattle for this discusison.

1 Timothy 2:12 -- "I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent" -- makes the biblical view of women clear.  Or does it?  Join Dan and Bea as they explore the topic of women in the Bible, comparing this verse with others and finding some highly surprising alternatives along the way.

Should the Christian sacrament of Holy Communion be delivered over a Zoom call? And is it really a sacrament if not given in person? A special guest, Pastor Mark Griffith of St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Bellevue, Wash., joins Pastor Dan Peterson of Queen Anne Lutheran Church in Seattle to discuss and debate an issue that is dividing the Christian faith during the COVID-19 pandemic, and compare the different approaches they've taken to Holy Communion in their respective congregations. Co-host Beatrice Lawrence will be back on our next episode.

• Follow St. Luke's Lutheran on YouTube. 
• Listen to "Word Out," the weekly audio worship service from Queen Anne Lutheran.
• Subscribe to God for Grownups for more episodes.

How can religious traditions continue when the communities that define and inspire them are kept from coming together? Dan and Bea discuss the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the Jewish and Christian communities, the struggle to bridge the gap with technology, and the long-term impact on our understanding and practice of faith. 

Dan and Bea discuss some important and surprising facts to know about Hebrew Bible, and the Old and New Testaments, and larger differences between the Jewish and Christian traditions, providing some important background in the God for Grownups podcast series.

Bea and Dan discuss the historical roots and modern implications of Anti-Semitism from a Biblical perspective, tracing this insidious form of bias and discrimination from the "great divide" of the Jewish and Christian faiths to present-day politics.