Tony Campolo, the Baptist preacher, sociologist, Red Letter Christian and ceaseless campaigner for a Christian vision of social justice, has died.

In this episode, we pay tribute to Tony in the best way we know how: by letting him speak for himself. Eventually.

First, we talk about our own memories of him, and his influence on our theology. But once we've done making it about us, we share an interview with Tony from the vaults. In 2012, Tony Campolo was concerned about many of the things that are now even more pressing and horrifying.

The interview feels prophetic in multiple understandings of the word, and Campolo is solid on everything from American militarism and imperialism to the incompatibility of Christian spirituality with right-wing ideological selfishness. His identification of the central problem with evangelical engagement with culture -- the idea that everything gets better if people become Christians -- is expressed particularly poignantly, considering where we are with the Church in the West.

We hope you enjoy hearing from Tony again, and that you remember his family and friends at this time. Full disclosure: we also talk a lot about why we're excited about our new magazine, S(h)ibboleth. We hope it doesn't come across as a sales pitch and more as the genuine excitement we're feeling about connecting more Christians with similar beliefs and making the world better as a result.

Naive? Maybe. Worth a shot? Sure. Fun? Hell yeah.

Find out deets at shibbolethmag.com and beerchristianity.co.uk

The Far Right is on the rise. And, increasingly, fascists and proto-fascists are using Christian language and imagery to justify their position.

What should a Christian response be? Can we really say that our faith is being 'hijacked' by racists and bigots, or is there deeper acknowledgement and repentance to be done in the service of justice? And if fascists are the enemy, what do wee do with the command to love them?

The brilliant Revd Dr Helen Paynter, theologian, Executive Director of the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence, and Beer Christianity's most regular guest, talks to Jonty and Laura about all this and more.

It's a good one!

Helpful links from the episode

Visit the page for The Church and the far-right claim to Christianity page for a list of events coming up. Specific events on the horizon (at time of publishing) include an event in Birmingham on Englishness and race, a London event on youth radicalisation and a YouTube-based event on the subject with the good people at Modern Church.

You can and should get hold of Helen's books we mentioned (edited and written) at these links:

The Church, the Far Right, and the Claim to Christianity

Blessed are the Peacemakers: A biblical theology of human violence

And you can also check out a discussion of the dissenting traditions here.

ALSO. We are launching a magazine. You're going to love it. It's called S(h)ibboleth, and you can read all about the new left-leaning Christian magazine here.

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

Brian McLaren is one of the most important and influential voices in the Christian deconstruction movement. He's also one hell of a nice guy.

Brian's influence on the post-evangelical Church is hard to overstate, and yet he remains humble and approachable as ever. We caught up with him at Greenbelt festival in August 2024 and talked to him about deconstruction, US election harm reduction and that appalling Musk-Trump interview. We also asked him about hope and the future. It's a great chat.

Brian McLaren's latest book, Life After Doom, is available to buy right now.

S(h)pecial announcement: S(h)ibboleth magazine launch

We also take the opportunity in this episode to tell you about the launch of S(h)ibboleth - our new magazine for left-leaning inclusive Christians (or the post-post-post evangelical and Christian-adjacent). Find out more at shibbolethmag.com

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