James Spencer and Ashish Varma debrief their conversation with William Cavanaugh, and work out what he was and wasn't saying.

They start with a tension: Cavanaugh sounded gentler in conversation than his books read, and both men try to account for it. The answer they land on has to do with audience — that Torture and Eucharist and Being Consumed are written to people who need to resist, while the broader project is aimed at those of us sitting near the center of a global economic order who don't notice we're being formed at all.

Much of the episode turns on Cavanaugh's remark that he couldn't answer a question about the midterms without sounding partisan. James and Ashish read that carefully: not as a coded endorsement, but as a recognition that theological convictions will sometimes land incidentally on one side of a two-party ballot without originating there.

From there they recover the older sense of politics — the life of the polis — through a piece of litter on the ground, a squirrel in the road, and Hebrews on efforts that matter without being ultimate.

Chapters:

00:00 Why he sounded softer than he reads

02:23 The nation state as an ideology, not a neutral container

04:33 Why Cavanaugh reaches for idolatry

07:14 Formation, identity, and voices from the periphery

10:16 "I'm not sure I can answer that without sounding partisan"

16:52 Incidental alignment isn't partisanship

20:52 Recovering the polis

26:26 The litter on the ground

29:35 Creation care and the squirrel in the road

36:00 Amazon, Target, and picking your poison

40:13 Politics as art rather than science

44:16 We don't fix the world; we live faithfully in it

48:15 The fall as an optimistic doctrine

51:04 Hebrews: effort that matters without being ultimate

Follow and subscribe

Subscribe to Thinking Christian: https://episodes.thinkingchristian.org 

Website: www.thinkingchristian.org 

James Spencer and Ashish Varma debrief their conversation with William Cavanaugh, and work out what he was and wasn't saying.
They start with a tension: Cavanaugh sounded gentler in conversation than his books read, and both men try to account for it. The answer they land on has to do with audience &mdash; that Torture and Eucharist and Being Consumed are written to people who need to resist, while the broader project is aimed at those of us sitting near the center of a global economic order who don't notice we're being formed at all.
Much of the episode turns on Cavanaugh's remark that he couldn't answer a question about the midterms without sounding partisan. James and Ashish read that carefully: not as a coded endorsement, but as a recognition that theological convictions will sometimes land incidentally on one side of a two-party ballot without originating there.
From there they recover the older sense of politics &mdash; the life of the polis &mdash; through a piece of litter on the ground, a squirrel in the road, and Hebrews on efforts that matter without being ultimate.
Chapters:
00:00 Why he sounded softer than he reads
02:23 The nation state as an ideology, not a neutral container
04:33 Why Cavanaugh reaches for idolatry
07:14 Formation, identity, and voices from the periphery
10:16 "I'm not sure I can answer that without sounding partisan"
16:52 Incidental alignment isn't partisanship
20:52 Recovering the polis
26:26 The litter on the ground
29:35 Creation care and the squirrel in the road
36:00 Amazon, Target, and picking your poison
40:13 Politics as art rather than science
44:16 We don't fix the world; we live faithfully in it
48:15 The fall as an optimistic doctrine
51:04 Hebrews: effort that matters without being ultimate
Follow and subscribe
Subscribe to Thinking Christian: <a href="https://episodes.thinkingchristian.org">https://episodes.thinkingchristian.org</a>&nbsp;
Website: <a href="https://www.thinkingchristian.org">www.thinkingchristian.org</a>&nbsp;

Christians shouldn’t just think. They should think Christian. Join Dr. James Spencer and guests for calm, thoughtful, theological discussions about a variety of topics Christians face every day. The Thinking Christian Podcast will help you grow spiritually and learn theology as you seek to be faithful in a world that is becoming increasingly proficient at telling stories that deny Christ.

Find more from James at https://www.thinkingchristian.org/.

Christians shouldn&rsquo;t just think. They should think Christian. Join Dr. James Spencer and guests for calm, thoughtful, theological discussions about a variety of topics Christians face every day. The Thinking Christian Podcast will help you grow spiritually and learn theology as you seek to be faithful in a world that is becoming increasingly proficient at telling stories that deny Christ.
Find more from James at <a href="https://www.thinkingchristian.org/">https://www.thinkingchristian.org/</a>.

Christians shouldn’t just think. They should think Christian. Join Dr. James Spencer and guests for calm, thoughtful, theological discussions about a variety of topics Christians face every day. The Thinking Christian Podcast will help you grow spiritually and learn theology as you seek to be faithful in a world that is becoming increasingly proficient at telling stories that deny Christ.

Thinking Christian: Clear Theology for a Confusing World

Christians shouldn&rsquo;t just think. They should think Christian. Join Dr. James Spencer and guests for calm, thoughtful, theological discussions about a variety of topics Christians face every day. The Thinking Christian Podcast will help you grow spiritually and learn theology as you seek to be faithful in a world that is becoming increasingly proficient at telling stories that deny Christ.
Find more from James at <a href="https://www.thinkingchristian.org/">https://www.thinkingchristian.org/</a>.

Politics as an Art, Not a Science | Faith & Politics #6

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/5e27a451-e6e6-4c51-aa03-a7370003783c/clips/50bfa863-2370-465a-bee2-b4b301433dad/transcript