First Impressions #77: Father James Martin on the Seven Last Words of Jesus
The final utterances of Jesus Christ on the cross are particularly meaningful to his followers. Father James Martin speaks with First Impressions host
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First Impressions
First Impressions #74: John Shelby Spong On Biblical Literalism as a “Gentile Heresy”
A close reading of Matthew’s gospel reveals that a literal understanding of Jesus’s story obscures its deep Jewish roots. John Shelby Spong joins
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First Impressions #66: James Benn on the Religious and Cultural History of Tea in China
Tea has impacted Chinese society far beyond economics and agriculture. Kristian Petersen talks with James Benn, Professor of Religious Studies at McMaster University,
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First Impressions #64: Diana Butler Bass and the Emerging Spiritual Revolution
Even though church attendance is on the decline, signs of a new spiritual consciousness are springing up from the ground beneath us. Art
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First Impressions #63: Robert Shedinger on Jesus and Jihad
“Holy war” is only one meaning of the term jihad. In mainstream Islam, jihad is understood in terms of what Christians might understand
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First Impressions #62: Gareth Fisher on Lay Buddhist Practice in Contemporary China
Lay Buddhism is a pathway to meaning in post-Maoist China. Kristian Petersen talks with Gareth Fisher, Associate Professor of Religion at Syracuse University,
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First Impressions #61: Neil J. Young
American politics makes strange bedfellows — the unlikely coalition of Mormons, Catholics, and Evangelicals. Art Remillard talks with Neil J. Young about his
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First Impressions #60: John Wilsey
The idea of American exceptionalism in its best and worst forms. Art Remillard talks with theologian and historian John Wilsey about his new
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A First Impressions New Book Guide for #AARSBL2015
First Impressions is a Marginalia Review of Books podcast featuring authors of some of the most important new books in religion, history, and
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First Impressions #59: The Study Qur’an
Kristian Petersen talks with Caner Dagli of College of the Holy Cross, Maria Dakake of George Mason University, and Joseph Lumbard of American
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