#139: Sabbatical Reflections | "Love is Working"

After a year-long hiatus, The Puddcast is back with episode 139! Tryphena and I share some heartfelt reflections on my family’s six-month sabbatical to New Zealand, England, Greece, and Finland. I unpack some unexpected discoveries I made about identity, intuition, and the importance of family and cultural roots. We reflect on the diversity of global faith traditions, the impact of stepping outside the North American bubble, and the recognition of humanity's inherent goodness and love.

Jonathan PuddleOctober 22, 2024love, family, church, social justice, rest, life, hopeComment

#126: Love, freedom and conflict (with Ashley Abercrombie)

This month I got to interview a true kindred spirit, Ashley Abercrombie. Ashley’s message of embracing transformative love by bravely facing disagreement and conflict was challenging to me in all the best ways. Ashley grew up in the American South before moving to Los Angeles and Manhattan. Along the way, she faced addiction, perfectionism, sexual assault and more, and today is a writer, podcaster, pastor and mom to three young kids. Her latest book is called Love is the Resistance: Learn to disagree, resolve the conflicts you've been avoiding and create real change. It’s excellent.

Jonathan PuddleMarch 25, 2022love, conflict, boundaries, community, toxic peopleComment

#103: The Great Sex Rescue (with Sheila Wray Gregoire & Rebecca Gregoire Lindenbach)

This week, popular Christian sex blogger and author Sheila Wray Gregoire returns to the show with her daughter Rebecca Gregoire Lindenbach to discuss their groundbreaking research on harmful Evangelical teachings about sex. They conducted a survey of 22,000 Christian women to test many popular evangelical teachings about sex and see how they corresponded with women’s sexual and marital satisfaction. Their findings are important and powerful, and they’re available in their new book, The Great Sex Rescue: The Lies You’ve Been Taught and How to Recover What God Intended. Content warning: contains a discussion on sexual assault in marriage, and is not appropriate for children. This interview offers hope to anyone who grew up in purity culture, or who has experienced sexual difficulties in marriage and wondered whether it was all their fault.

Jonathan PuddleFebruary 25, 2021sex, marriage, love, restoration, relationships, deconstructionComment

#94: Abortion, politics and God (with Maija Puddle)

This week we welcome the most specialist guest ever, Maija Puddle, my better half! Maija’s undergrad was in Political Science specializing in Public Policy and her masters’ thesis (in development and cooperation) was on power and language. So in the aftermath of the US election, Maija and I had an in-depth discussion on abortion, democracy, representation, the dangers of spiritualizing politics, and how God does and doesn’t work within society to bring about change. Expect hope, fire and lots of love.

Jonathan PuddleNovember 12, 2020politics, abortion, love, jesus, cultureComment

#61: Participating in the life of God (with Father Kenneth Tanner)

My guest this week is Episcopal priest and poster of popular liturgical reflections, Father Kenneth Tanner. We discussed the character of God and what it means to participate in the life of God, who has already done all things and redeemed all of creation for our benefit. It might leave you speechless at the goodness of God.

Jonathan PuddleDecember 12, 2019love, redemption, theology, god, god's goodness, justice (theological)Comment

#35: Love, justice and universalism (with Wm. Paul Young)

So I’m talking to William Paul Young, and I’m thinking, “Man, I’ve got the author of The Shack and Lies We Believe About God right here. Do I ask him about universalism? Does he believe God is a woman? What does he believe about hell? Can I ask to see his heretic card? Where do I even begin?!” We ended up having a beautiful, dynamic conversation centred on the intersection of love and justice in the context of Christ’s finished work on the cross. Beware… this might change your life.

Jonathan PuddleMarch 21, 2019love, atonement, redemption, shame, hell, universalism, theology, justice (theological)Comment

#21: Towards a New World

God does not need Christianity nor any other world religion. He doesn’t need us to follow the rules or get in line or bow down to him. Rather he invites us to partake freely of his new world, right now.

Jonathan PuddleNovember 23, 2018church, restoration, god, god's love, freedom, kingdom, loveComment

#11: Finding clarity in an age of confusion (with Abdu Murray)

In a world with a plurality of religions and worldviews, how do we engage the culture around us without being drawn into a post-truth maelstrom of confusion? Abdu Murray and I discuss postmodernism's legacy, the rise of Jordan Peterson, and the apologetics of self-sacrificial love.

Jonathan PuddleAugust 2, 2018apologetics, reason, postmodernism, post truth, love, compassion, god's loveComment