A Pastor and a Philosopher Walk into a Bar
Mixing a cocktail of philosophy, theology, and spirituality.
We're a pastor and a philosopher who have discovered that sometimes pastors need philosophy, and sometimes philosophers need pastors. We tackle topics and interview guests that straddle the divide between our interests.
Who we are:
Randy Knie (Co-Host) - Randy is the founding and Lead Pastor of Brew City Church in Milwaukee, WI. Randy loves his family, the Church, cooking, and the sound of his own voice. He drinks boring pilsners.
Kyle Whitaker (Co-Host) - Kyle is a philosophy PhD and an expert in disagreement and philosophy of religion. Kyle loves his wife, sarcasm, kindness, and making fun of pop psychology. He drinks childish slushy beers.
Elliot Lund (Producer) - Elliot is a recovering fundamentalist. His favorite people are his wife and three boys, and his favorite things are computers and hamburgers. Elliot loves mixing with a variety of ingredients, including rye, compression, EQ, and bitters.
- Update frequency
- every 12 days
- Average duration
- 66 minutes
- Episodes
- 136
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
Theology, Race, and Inclusion: An Interview w/ Dr. Willie James Jennings
This is such a rich conversation. Dr. Willie James Jennings is an incredible theologian who teaches Systematic Theology and Africana Studies at Yale Divinity School. Dr. Jennin…
Theology from the Margins: An Interview w/ Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim
How do you process your identity and theology if you feel invisible as a person? What if your story, history, and experience are largely rejected and excluded from the culture …
Q&A Bonus Episode: The Problem of Evil
Jeff joins us to ask some questions about evil and get into the philosophical weeds a bit. What is the connection between God's nature and suffering? Can we say that suffering …
How Liberals, Progressives, Feminists, and Black and LGBTQ People Got Kicked Out of Evangelicalism
We discuss the history of evangelicalism with Isaac B. Sharp. Or rather, the alternative history of evangelicalism, for it differs in some significant ways from what you may ha…
The Problem of Evil (Part 2)
We wrap our discussion of evil and suffering with a look at some other sorts of responses to the problem and a reflection on where we land personally. If you haven't heard part…
The Problem of Evil (Part 1)
How can people who believe in a good God account for the existence of pervasive suffering and evil? This is the oldest and most powerful objection to both belief in God's exist…
Q&A Bonus Episode: AI and God
Elliot has a few more questions about AI following our conversation with Derek Schuurman. Is AI a Tower of Babel moment? Is there any real reason for concern? Will it go so gre…
The AI Takeover: A Conversation w/ Dr. Derek C. Schuurman
The rise of artificial intelligence has happened at a startlingly rapid rate, and it seems like it's only accelerating by the month. Whether it's AI writing (plagiarizing) coll…
Q&A Bonus Episode: Evangelicals, Nationalism, Guns, and Masculinity
Christians and Guns: A Conversation with Rob Schenck (Part 2)
In the second part of our interview with Rob Schenck, a former Washington insider and heavy hitter in the evangelical pro-life lobbying industry, we discuss gun culture among A…
Abortion and American Nationalist Religion: A Conversation with Rob Schenck (Part 1)
Season 4 is here! To kick it off, we've got a 2-parter for you with Rob Schenck, a former Washington insider and heavy hitter in the evangelical Christian lobbying industry. Ro…
January 6, White Christian Nationalism, and How We Got Here, with Bradley Onishi
We speak with Dr. Bradley Onishi, a religion scholar whose latest book, Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism and What Comes Next, explores th…
The Meeting That Changed the Church
Many Protestants don't understand or appreciate how transformational Vatican II was for the Catholic Church and the whole global Christian Church in general. Our friend and Cat…
Arguing About the Enneagram
If you're an American evangelical or used to be, there's a good chance you've heard of the Enneagram. You may have even run into it in another context or heard about it from fr…
Why the Church Should Be LGBTQ+ Affirming With Tom and Alexa Oord
Tom Oord is back! Dr. Thomas Oord and his daughter Alexa compiled and edited a book called Why the Church of the Nazarene Should be Fully LGBTQ+ Affirming." We wanted to talk …
Is God All Powerful? A Conversation with Thomas Jay Oord
We speak with theologian and philosopher (and former pastor) Thomas Jay Oord about his new book The Death of Omnipotence and the Birth of Amipotence. We cover Tom's objections …
Certainty, Hell, Evil, and Universalism: A Conversation with Keith DeRose
If you heard our recent episode on hell and universalism, you may recall that Randy mentioned having Keith DeRose, a philosopher at Yale, on the show at some point to respond t…
Rescuing Sex and Raising Girls: Sheila Gregoire
Sheila Gregoire is an author who has written several books that break the mold of Christian books about sex and marriage. Her latest book, She Deserves Better, is about raising…
How the Brain Constructs Reality: Interview with Andy Clark
Every now and then we like to talk to someone who is an expert in something we know almost nothing about. What better topic than philosophy and neuroscience? Andy Clark is Prof…
Redeeming Revelation w/ Scot McKnight
Do you keep a healthy distance between yourself and the book of Revelation? Have a loved one who believes super weird things about Revelation? If so, you're in good company.
Sc…