Provocative, non-religious conversations about life, love and God.
Hosted by Jonathan Puddle and Tryphena Perumalla-Gagnon.
Text transcriptions are available for most episodes.
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Just in time for Christmas comes a wild ride of a B-Side. Looking back at our interview with Lisa Sharon Harper, Tryphena and I reflected on themes of forgiveness and reparations, the gift of tongues as Indigenous celebration, how the monarcy dehumanizes people, the emotional impact on Europeans of that dehumanization, the myth of an American Christian nation and more. We were both deeply impacted by Lisa’s book Fortune and so we sounded off, big time.
Read MoreAcclaimed speaker, activist, playwright, and the author of several books, Lisa Sharon Harper is on The Puddcast! Recognized as one of the most important and powerful voices speaking to matters of justice and religion today, Lisa joined us to talk about her latest book Fortune: How Race Broke my Family and the World - and How to Repair it All. Blending fascinating ancestry research, family biography and memoir with a detailed history of race law in the United States, Fortune moved me profoundly. In this interview we discuss colonialism, radical re-connection to our stories and land; we explore shalom, confession, and the rehumanizing process of forgiveness. We talk about the lies of European supremacy and the greatness of pre-colonial African nations. There is some heavy content within, but it’s also full of hope and wisdom.
Read MoreOn The Puddcast this week is writer and cartoonist, Heather Caliri. Heather’s work on finding God’s grace in awkward, uncomfortable places has been featured on ChristianityToday.com, In Touch Magazine, Fathom Magazine, Relevant Magazine.com and more. Heather shared with me how she asked the most serious questions of her faith and experienced God respond with love and dignity. That grace slowly transformed her life, and now she teaches others how to let dignity transform their lives and their most difficult relationships.
Read MoreThis week we dive into the 2nd half of our panel discussion on Jesus & Trauma. Once again, my guests are Wm. Paul Young, Alison Cook, Ph.D, Dr. Jerome D. Lubbe and Ahmeda Mansaray-Richardson. Building on the discussion in the first half, where the lenses of psychology, neurology, theology, and cultural studies were applied to matters of identity, brokenness, colonialism, institutional religious structures, diversity and more, we went after forgiveness and reconciliation next. The conversation is shorter but no less robust.
Read MorePopular author Lysa TerKeurst returns to the show this week to catch us up on the reconciliation of her marriage and how to forgive things that can’t be forgotten. We discussed dealing honestly with grief and acknowledging pain instead of spiritual bypassing. We talked at length about forgiveness, why it’s important for our healing, and how to give forgiveness to someone who really doesn’t deserve it… and why maybe the matter of their deserving-ness is the wrong question. I highly recommend you check this out along with her new book, Forgiving What You Can’t Forget. I was moved, y’all.
Read MoreIn November last year, I spent two weeks in South Africa volunteering at a children’s home and daycare centre. Today I’m honoured to share with you the story of the centre’s founder, Maria Gaba. Maria’s story is one of overcoming traumatic childhood abuse by the power and love of God. It is honest, brutal at times, yet ultimately hope-filled. The work Maria does is nothing short of remarkable, and she gives all the glory to God. You will come away impacted, I promise you.
Read MoreDr. Christena Cleveland is the Director of the Center for Justice + Renewal, and a social psychologist, public theologian, author and professor. Christena joined me on the show to discuss her exploration of the social location of God and concepts of the divine. She helped me understand the damage that the vision of God as a powerful white man has done to people of colour for centuries, and how we can repurpose metaphors to enable us to enter into forgiveness and compassion.
Read MorePastor & author Carol Howard Merritt and I had a broad ranging discussion on how the church holds up patriarchy and shames victims of abuse, forgiveness as a process, love in the face of economic injustice, and a God who offers rivers of healing and restoration to all.
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