Special Guests

This FRONT ROW podcast features Dr. Obery Hendricks, Dr. Charlene Sinclair and Peter Laarman.

Dr. Obery Hendricks is a lifelong social activist, and one of the foremost commentators on the intersection of religion and political economy in America. He is the most widely read and perhaps the most influential African American biblical scholar writing today. His recent book, Christians Against Christianity: How Right-Wing Evangelicals Are Destroying Our Nation and Our Faith (Beacon Press, 2021) has gathered wide acclaim.

Dr. Charlene Sinclair is an organizer, thinker, and writer whose work centers on the intersection of race, gender, economy, and democracy. Strongly influenced by the pathbreaking thought of the late James Cone, founder of Black Liberation Theology, Dr. Sinclair is committed to fashioning strategies that embrace a liberationist approach to faith and spirituality in the context of popular struggles for racial, economic, and gender justice.

The Reverend Peter Laarman is a retired United Church of Christ minister and activist who led Judson Memorial Church in New York and Progressive Christians Uniting in California. He is currently involved with the King & Breaking Silence webinar project of the National Council of Elders and with the development of a new formation called Social Ethics Energizing Democracy.



In the first part of this series, Dr. Obery Hendricks, Dr. Charlene Sinclair, and Peter Laarman lay out the beliefs of the ideologues who want an America ruled by a vengeful strongman. They ask if this movement can be fought by speaking in biblical terms, by seeing “loving your neighbor as yourself” as a struggle for the common good.

Do these authoritarians care about what is right or only what serves their interest? Will their value of domination win out over repentance? Can a return to ethics and justice stave off their ascent?

Churches have a choice: They can embrace the radical power of Jesus of the gospels or slowly lose ground to an evangelical movement that worships at the strange altar of whiteness.

Obery M. Hendricks Jr. is a lifelong social activist, and one of the foremost commentators on the intersection of religion and political economy in America. He is the most widely read and perhaps the most influential African American biblical scholar writing today. His recent book, Christians Against Christianity: How Right-Wing Evangelicals Are Destroying Our Nation and Our Faith (Beacon Press, 2021) has gathered wide acclaim.

Dr. Charlene Sinclair is an organizer, thinker, and writer whose work centers on the intersection of race, gender, economy, and democracy. Strongly influenced by the pathbreaking thought of the late James Cone, founder of Black Liberation Theology, Dr. Sinclair is committed to fashioning strategies that embrace a liberationist approach to faith and spirituality in the context of popular struggles for racial, economic, and gender justice.

The Reverend Peter Laarman is a retired United Church of Christ minister and activist who led Judson Memorial Church in New York and Progressive Christians Uniting in California. He is currently involved with the King & Breaking Silence webinar project of the National Council of Elders and with the development of a new formation called Social Ethics Energizing Democracy.

The Book Of Revelation has been described as the most misunderstood and misinterpreted book of the Bible and ought to come with an adults-only "reader's caution" for all its violent imagery. Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States (1801-1809), denied the divine inspiration of the Book of Revelation, describing it to Alexander Smyth (US Representative from Virginia) in 1825 as "merely the ravings of a maniac, no more worthy nor capable of explanation than the incoherences of our own nightly dreams."

Despite Revelation's reputation, some, particularly Black people and other people of color, have found it to be hopeful and relevant. Revelation speaks to marginalized and powerless people, to anyone familiar with struggle. Some scholars call it the literature of the oppressed. And yet, we have seen over and over again, people going through tough times are remarkably resilient. There's something within them that keeps them hoping for life to get better, even when darkness seems to be winning. "True hope" is what preacher Peter Gomes calls a muscular hope, the stuff that gets us through and beyond when the worst that can happen happens. "Hope is forged on the anvil of adversity," Gomes famously said.

This FRONT ROW podcast features special guests Charlene Sinclair and Peter Laarman.

Dr. Charlene Sinclair is an organizer, thinker, and writer whose work centers on the intersection of race, gender, economy, and democracy. Strongly influenced by the pathbreaking thought of the late James Cone, founder of Black Liberation Theology, Dr. Sinclair is committed to fashioning strategies that embrace a liberationist approach to faith and spirituality in the context of popular struggles for racial, economic, and gender justice.

Peter Laarman is a retired United Church of Christ minister and activist who led Judson Memorial Church in New York and Progressive Christians Uniting in California. He is currently involved with the King & Breaking Silence webinar project of the National Council of Elders and with the development of a new formation called Social Ethics Energizing Democracy.

Charlene and Peter approach Revelation from very different positions.

This podcast series is about perhaps the most challenging and controversial book in the New Testament, The Book Of Revelation. Some Christians love it, and some hate it. Some Christians never talk about it; some never stop talking about it.

Some people are using it as a predictor of current events or as part of their impetus for violence and fervor for hatred and political gain. Others apply Revelation as a sort of war against good and evil to almost any situation one might be involved.

John Dominic Crossan, professor emeritus at DePaul University and widely regarded as the foremost historical Jesus scholar of our time, says, "The heartbeat of the Christian Bible is a recurrent cardiac cycle in which the asserted radicality of God’s nonviolent distributive justice is subverted by the normalcy of civilization's violent retributive justice. And, of course, the most profound annulment is that both assertion and subversion are attributed to the same God or the same Christ."

This FRONT ROW podcast features special guests Dr. Charlene Sinclair and Rev. Peter Laarman.

Dr. Charlene Sinclair is an organizer, thinker, and writer whose work centers on the intersection of race, gender, economy, and democracy. Strongly influenced by the pathbreaking thought of the late James Cone, founder of Black Liberation Theology, Dr. Sinclair is committed to fashioning strategies that embrace a liberationist approach to faith and spirituality in the context of popular struggles for racial, economic, and gender justice.

Rev. Peter Laarman is a retired United Church of Christ minister and activist who led Judson Memorial Church in New York and Progressive Christians Uniting in California. He is currently involved with the King & Breaking Silence webinar project of the National Council of Elders and with the development of a new formation called Social Ethics Energizing Democracy.

Listen as Charlene’s and Peter’s different perspectives confront and challenge the ascending violence of “the war in heaven,” where Jesus judges the whole world; all who worship other gods, who commit murder, perform magic, or illicit sexual acts are thrown down to be forever tormented in a lake of fire, while those who claim to be God’s faithful are invited to enter the new city of Jerusalem that descends from heaven and reigns in triumph for 1,000 years.

The Book Of Revelation is said to be the strangest, most controversial book in the Bible. Some love it, and some hate it. Some Christians never talk about it; some never stop talking about it. And, some people use it as a predictor of current events, as part of their impetus for violence and fervor for hatred and political gain. Others apply Revelation as evidence of a war between good and evil to almost any situation.

Elaine Pagels, Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University, refers to The Book of Revelation as “war literature.” Pagels explains that John of Patmos, a war refugee, wrote Revelation sixty years after the death of Jesus, and twenty years after 60,000 Roman troops crushed the Jewish rebellion in Judea and destroyed Jerusalem and its Great Temple. Pagels persuasively interprets Revelation as a scathing attack on the decadence of Rome.

This FRONT ROW podcast features special guests Charlene Sinclair and Peter Laarman.

Dr. Charlene Sinclair is an organizer, thinker, and writer whose work centers on the intersection of race, gender, economy, and democracy. Strongly influenced by the pathbreaking thought of the late James Cone, founder of Black Liberation Theology, Dr. Sinclair is committed to fashioning strategies that embrace a liberationist approach to faith and spirituality in the context of popular struggles for racial, economic, and gender justice.

Peter Laarman is a retired United Church of Christ minister and activist who led Judson Memorial Church in New York and Progressive Christians Uniting in California. He is currently involved with the King & Breaking Silence webinar project of the National Council of Elders and with the development of a new formation called Social Ethics Energizing Democracy. Charlene and Peter approach Revelation from very different positions.

Justice-seekers, church leaders, and religious scholars will learn more about how younger generations are perceiving the church, how to support local advocacy and activism, and how the future of Christianity is changing. Marcus Borg’s lectures, drawn from Faith and Reason seminars like “Does Christianity Have a Future?” and “The Heart of Christianity,” provide the perfect foundation for an engaging and thoughtful discussion on these topics.

Reverend Janet Cooper Nelson is a University Chaplain and Director of the Office of Chaplains and Religious Life and Faculty Member at Brown University. Janet leads a multi-faith team of associate chaplains and oversees the university’s broad circle of religious life affiliates who advise student religious organizations. Together they ensure that a diversity of belief has voice and vitality throughout the university’s community and that Brown’s largest educational program is infused with opportunity to enrich religious literacy and experience with a practice in religion.

Peter Laarman is a United Church of Christ minister who served as senior minister of New York's Judson Memorial Church and then as executive director of LA's Progressive Christians Uniting before retiring in 2014. He remains deeply involved in national and regional social justice projects touching on race, class, and religion. A lifelong activist, Peter focuses on the intersection of religion, race, and class and on how centuries of white supremacy shape the multiple crises we face today.

Religious scholars and church leaders will learn more about how younger generations are perceiving the church, how the gospel may be interpreted by younger church members, and how the future of Christianity is changing.

Reverend Janet Cooper Nelson is a University Chaplain and Director of the Office of Chaplains and Religious Life and Faculty Member at Brown University. Janet leads a multi-faith team of associate chaplains and oversees the university’s broad circle of religious life affiliates who advise student religious organizations. Together they ensure that a diversity of belief has voice and vitality throughout the university’s community and that Brown’s largest educational program is infused with opportunity to enrich religious literacy and experience with a practice in religion.

Peter Laarman is a United Church of Christ minister who served as senior minister of New York's Judson Memorial Church and then as executive director of LA's Progressive Christians Uniting before retiring in 2014. He remains deeply involved in national and regional social justice projects touching on race, class, and religion. A lifelong activist, Peter focuses on the intersection of religion, race, and class and on how centuries of white supremacy shape the multiple crises we face today.

Church leaders will gain valuable insight into how younger generations are perceiving the church, how gospel and positive church communities are influencing activism, and how to navigate the future of Christianity.

Reverend Janet Cooper Nelson is a University Chaplain and Director of the Office of Chaplains and Religious Life and Faculty Member at Brown University. Janet leads a multi-faith team of associate chaplains and oversees the university’s broad circle of religious life affiliates who advise student religious organizations. Together they ensure that a diversity of belief has voice and vitality throughout the university’s community and that Brown’s largest educational program is infused with opportunity to enrich religious literacy and experience with a practice in religion.

Peter Laarman is a United Church of Christ minister who served as senior minister of New York's Judson Memorial Church and then as executive director of LA's Progressive Christians Uniting before retiring in 2014. He remains deeply involved in national and regional social justice projects touching on race, class, and religion.