In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Pete and Jared talk with Richard Rohr about the (biblical) universal Christ, and they explore the following questions:

• Is the Bible pleading with us to move beyond it? How does that work?
• How do we move from a transactional religion to a transformational religion?
• How can Richard Rohr’s famous “tricycle” analogy (“Mode of Knowing”) help us through deconstruction and reconstruction?
• Why does “sola scriptura” send up a red flag for Rohr?
• What does Richard Rohr mean by Universal Christ—and is it scriptural?
• Is Christ Jesus’ last name?
• What is Paul’s shortcut phrase for the Christ mystery that he uses 164 times in his letters?
• Which passages carry theological significance for a shared historical notion of Christ and creation for the Franciscans?
• Were the first 13.6 billion years of creation empty of God?
• What was the first Bible?
• What is the difference between pantheism and panentheism?
• What does Richard Rohr teach as the first step in contemplation?
• What’s the one thing that Fr. Rohr finds it hard to forgive Paul for?
• What is incarnation? Does what does this mean for our concept of “flesh”?
• What’s the danger in being raised in a win/lose world?
• Is mystery not knowable or endlessly knowable?
• What do we mean by supersessionism and how can we avoid some sense of development across the scriptures?
• What is the pattern of the universe? How can the divine presence be seen in loss and renewal?
• Are science and faith compatible?
• What are some practical things we can do to start down this road towards understanding the universal incarnation, or the Universal Christ?
• How is the Christian faith evolving?
• What are Millenials teaching Richard Rohr about living the gospel?
• Does Richard Rohr have a corporate understanding of salvation?
• How does Christ expand our understanding of ourselves, the world, and God?

Tweetables

Pithy, shareable, less-than-280-character statements you can share. 

• “I see us moving rather quickly in consciousness from transactional religion to transformational religion.” @RichardRohrOFM
• “The Universal Christ is the presence of God in matter…that’s the meaning of the incarnation.” @RichardRohrOFM

Mentioned in this episode

• Book: “The Universal Christ” by Richard Rohr
• Book: “The Divine Dance” by Richard Rohr
• Book: “What Do We Do With the Bible?” by Richard Rohr
• Support: The Bible for Normal People Patreon

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