There is nothing new about mixing politics and religion. Christians, unfortunately, have been doing it ever since the time of Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century. More recently there is a growing movement in the United States called “Christian Nationalism” which is gaining traction and influencing officials at some of the highest levels of government. To help us explore the rise of this phenomenon, and assess what can be done about it, we are joined in the garage by Dr. Tom Mockaitis, professor of history at DePaul University.

As we come to Easter this year, we tackle one of the questions that has vexed theologians and ordinary believers for many years; i.e., where can you find a white rabbit with a basket full of candy eggs hanging around the empty tomb? But seriously, we think there is a deeper truth to the story of Jesus’s resurrection that applies to people whether they are believers or not, or whether they think the story is factual or metaphorical. So grab a few chocolates out of your Easter basket and join us in the Soul’s Garage.

For this final episode in the garage with Emily Hensley we concentrate less on the words that are mere descriptor’s of our lives—life’s adjectives—and focus instead on the words that encapsulate the essence of who we are—life’s nouns. We dare to dream how different our world might be if we could think of ourselves and others as the latter instead of the former as well as the implications for our spiritual lives too.

This episode we continue our discussion with Emily Hensley about the adjectives we use to describe ourselves and others, and how negative—maybe downright hurtful—they can be. We explore how to let go of those adjectives, what is helpful and unhelpful in the process, and the implications for relating to ourselves and others.

In school, our grammar teachers taught us the importance of nouns and adjectives for effective communication, but nouns and adjectives are more than just parts of speech. They have the power to determine how we view ourselves, and how we view each other, in positive and negative ways. Join us in the garage as we chat with Emily Hensley about the implications for living in this world that are implied by the words we use and the stories we tell.

Growing up where we did, and when we did, we have been blessed with multitudes of stories. Also, at this time of year, we cannot avoid The Story that is at the heart of the season. Join us in the garage as we share some of the Christmas stories from our own lives—some of them funny, some of them poignant—and talk a little about what the Christmas story can mean to people of faith, to people of a different faith, and to people of no faith.

Even though our society likes to portray the holiday season as a magical time to share with family and friends, there are scores of people who can’t wait for this time of year to appear in their rearview mirror. Sometimes it seems as if the Thanksgiving/Hanukah/Kwanza/Christmas season brings out the worst tensions simmering within families. There are reasons why that’s true, and there are helpful suggestions for dealing with them. But for those of us who are searching for, or living out, a life of spirituality perhaps there are possibilities a tad more helpful than just avoiding too much alcohol or ignoring Uncle Fred. Join us in the garage as we discuss positive approaches for surviving holiday family gatherings.

Have you ever heard a person referred to as a “saint”? Perhaps you have said your mother was a saint. Maybe you had a teacher in school you would classify as a saint. To hear the way people use that word we could easily conclude that a saint is a person who is kinder than everybody else, or more courageous, or more dedicated, or smarter than the average Joe. In other words, a saint is a person most of us will never be. We just can’t measure up to the standard. But is any of that true? Is the world made up of mediocre humans with a few rare individuals that just make the rest of us look bad? Join us in The Soul’s Garage as we look for saints in unlikely places.