Interview with Richard Rohr: The (Biblical) Universal Christ

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

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