TWIH Episode 60: Challenging the Articles of Faith with Dr. Matthew Becker
Release Date: 11/23/2015
TWIH Episode 81: Planting the Church Unusual with Darnell Fennell #radicalinclusion #blacklivesmatter
This Week In Heresy
This episode we welcome Darnell Fennell, the founding pastor of Just Love, a radically inclusive church plant in Houstan, TX. We discuss what it’s like to create an inclusive church in an area that is seen as more conservative to the wider progressive community. What does it mean to be “church” and what are the difficulties in starting a new church in general? How do you bridge the conversation on race and privilege in a mixed congregation? What is the importance of doing the inner work outside of the worship space? We also discuss how to pastor people through the ever shifting...
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TWIH Episode 80: Learning from Where You're At with Pat Mosley #hb2
This Week In Heresy
In this episode we talk with Pat Mosley, a Gardnerian witch in North Carolina. We talk about how Wicca takes on the culture of where it’s at, and how it’s not that much of a stretch for people to be multi-faith practitioners. Pat discusses his coven, Granny Magick, and his involvement in CUUPs. We also talk politics and #HB2 (also known as the “bathroom bill”) and how, on the ground in North Carolina, there are more people who are against it rather than for it. Pat talks about the uphill battle in challenging their state government and the disconnect of their elected leaders from the...
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TWIH Episode 79: The Needles and the Compassion Done with Denise Cicuto #orlando
This Week In Heresy
Denise Cicuto returns in this episode to talk about her call to study acupuncture through a visitation by Kuan Yin. We talk about her journey, not only through acupuncture school, but her spiritual journey with Kuan Yin and her current studies of the spiritual side of acupuncture . We also discuss the nature of Kuan Yin, and how compassion isn’t necessarily “fluffy”. We also talk about the importance of self care when doing activism and after major emotional events such as Orlando. Denise Cicuto is a Witch and Healer. She is a third degree Priest in the Circle of Cerridwen. In...
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TWIH Episode 78: The Magick of Pagan Music with Sharon Knight
This Week In Heresy
After a brief TWIH hiatus, we return with our guest Sharon Knight, a pagan musician who does both solo work and plays as a group with her partner Winter in Pandemonaeon. We talk about the art of performing, the magickal experience of being on stage, the future and past of pagan music, and how music influences her work, both spiritually and professionally. We also talk about her latest album and the work that goes into writing, recording, and making videos for an album. Note: Please excuse the audio weirdness. We were having a bad Skype day. Festival Favorites Sharon...
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TWIH Episode 77: The Politics of the Body with Irene McCalphin
This Week In Heresy
Irene McCalphin joins us this week to talk about the intersections of fat liberation and marginalization. Why is it important to have representation in spiritual imagery, both in regards to race and body size? Why is the language of our rituals important? How can we move through learning about these issues of marginalization and come to a place where we can see outside of ourselves to a more inclusive community? Why is it important to keep the language of the diet industry out of spiritual space? How can kink (BDSM) be used as a spiritual tool and a pathway to a positive self image? ...
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TWIH Episode 76: Being Heathen with Cara Freyasdaughter
This Week In Heresy
In this episode, we talk to Cara Freyasdaughter, where we discuss her journey to Heathenism, her introduction to Freya and Freyr, and some of the issues that are challenging modern Heathenism. What are CUUPs and ADF? What does the lore say about racism and other issues that have been being dealt with within the Heathen community? ...
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TWIH Episode 75: Called by Kali with Chandra Alexandre
This Week In Heresy
In this episode we talk to Dr. Chandra Alexandre about her journey with Kali Ma and her experiences with the Divine Female. Not only through her travels and learning in India, and her current work in the Bay Area. What is Tantra and the SHARANYA practice? Why is daily practice important and how do you keep up a daily practice? How do we approach the everyday to support our own practices? ...
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TWIH Episode 74: The Polytheist Death Guild with Rebbeca Lynn Scott
This Week In Heresy
In this episode we talk about death and dying with Rebecca Lynn Scott, founder of the Polytheist Death Guild. She talks about her own experiences that lead her to creating the Guild and the importance and necessity of death rituals in our society. How do we talk about death in our society? How are we able to express grief? Do pagans (of any traditions) have a healthier view of death than other traditions? ...
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TWIH Episode 73: Paganism and Shinto with Megan Manson
This Week In Heresy
This week we talk to Megan Manson, a pagan who also practices Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan. Megan talks about her path to Shinto, some of the history of Shinto and how it relates to the other religions practiced in Japan. We also talk about how religion co-exists together in Japan and how it differs from how religions get along in the West. What is the difference between Japan and the West in regards to religious identity? What does it mean to be multi-faith, and how do we explain it to others? ...
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TWIH Episode 72: Honoring Death with Robin Griffith
This Week In Heresy
Robin Lynn Griffith joins me in this episode to talk about death and dying. Both of us are called to minister to the dying and while, for the two of us, this is a normal process, for most people in our culture, death is something you just don’t talk about. Why does our society tend to try and banish the idea of death? Why are we so afraid of something that is inevitable? Are we doing a disservice if we don’t allow someone to really grieve in their own way or telling people to just “get over” their grief? When does one’s grief need more professional help? Should we...
info_outlineIn this episode we talk to Matthew Becker who used to be a minister in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), a conservative denomination of the Lutheran church that does not ordain women. We talk about Matt’s personal growth in the LCMS, how he came to question the more conservative doctrines of the denomination (specifically Creationism and women’s ordination), and the heresy charges and tribunals that he had to go through, which, ultimately, lead him to leave the LCMS all together.
Dr. Matthew Becker, M.Div., M.A., Ph.D. was born in Salem, Oregon, in 1962. He attended public schools there and graduated in 1984 from Concordia University, Portland, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the liberal arts. That same year he entered the Master of Divinity program at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri. After receiving his Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Seminary in 1988, he entered a doctoral program in theology at the University of Chicago. While a student in that university, he was privileged to study under such notable theologians as Brian Gerrish, David Tracy (his Doktorvater), and Martin Marty. During that time Dr. Becker also took courses at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago.
In 1990 he earned a Master of Arts in Religious Studies degree from the University of Chicago. In 1996 he passed his doctoral examinations with the mark of “with distinction.” His dissertation, "The Self-giving God: Trinitarian Historicality and Kenosis in the Theology of Johann von Hofmann (1810-1877)," was completed in the summer of 2001. A revised version of this work was later published as The Self-Giving God and Salvation History: The Trinitarian Theology of Johannes von Hofmann (T&T Clark, 2004). This work examines the theology of one of the most important Lutheran theologians of the nineteenth century.
Dr. Becker was ordained into the Lutheran ministry in 1989. Until July 2015 he was a rostered clergyman in the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod (LCMS). He is currently seeking ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). For five years he was an assistant pastor and later associate pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, West Dundee, Illinois (1989-94). For two of those years he also served as an interim pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Chicago.
In addition to his academic responsibilities, Dr. Becker has served as the Secretary of the Northwest District of the LCMS (2000-4). Between Oct 2010 and March 2014 he served as the interim pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Michigan City, Indiana. Dr. Becker and his wife, Detra, were married in June 1993. They have a sixteen-year-old son, Jacob.
Links
Email: matthew.becker@valpo.edu
Books
Fundamental Theology: A Protestant Perspective
God Opens Doors: A Centennial Celebration of the Northwest District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod