What if God wasn’t all-powerful? What if you already held a theology that the mainstream Church saw as heretical? What are Process Theology and Open and Relational Theology?

Simon Cross and Thomas Oord join us for this episode to talk about a theology that, in a sense, rejects the images of God that don’t make sense in the light of God’s goodness. One part of that is seeing God as emotional, and not all-powerful.

Jonty and Laura talk to them about their ideas about God, about dealing with people with abhorrent ideas and about the conference Simon and Thomas are contributing to in June 2025.

We don’t agree on everything, but we’re surprised at how much we do agree on.

You can get tickets to the conference The Uncontrolling Love of God here while stocks last.

If you’re interested in whether God is in control or not, and if you want to hear Laura getting increasingly uncomfortable with Jonty arguing with a guest, this one is for you.

Dan's takes are challenging not just to right-wing conspiracy theorists, but to many traditional Christian assumptions. What's nice is that he recognises that, and that he has no particular agenda aside from presenting data and academic consensus as an alternative to dogma and misinformation.

Jonty caught up with Dan a few months ago to talk about the Bible, its misuses and our misunderstandings about it.

Among other things, Dan shares the best and worst Bible translations, the biblical 'position' (such as it is) on abortion, and how an academic got onto an app for Korean teenagers to troll politicians.

You can find more from Dan McClellan at his blog and also at the Data Over Dogma podcast.

Follow Dan on socials by finding his handle: @maklelan

An edited version of this interview appears in Issue 2 of S(h)ibboleth magazine. It’s a good issue. You should buy it.

Find out more about Beer Christianity at beerchristianity.co.uk

What can good church look like? What is 'success' if you're a progressive Christian? Do Christians who aren't conservative have to give up on things like evangelism and outreach?

After a little break, we are delighted to welcome Naomi Nixon, CEO of the Student Christian Movement, which seeks to offer an affirming, progressive space that encourages Christians to put their faith into action. We talk about all these questions and more!

We loved this episode because Naomi is just great, but also because it's cool to meet progressives who have nice things to say about conservatives.

Listen to find out more about SCM's vision and campaigns, as well as a cool discussion about how we live out our faith without exclusively 'defining against' or giving up ground that the self-proclaimed arbiters of holiness have claimed for too long.

Check out SCM at movement.org.uk and check out naomi's bookshelf interview in the upcoming issue of S(h)ibboleth magazine at shibbolethmag.com

To find out more about Beer Christianity, visit beerchristianity.co.uk