Justice Worriers podcast

Leah, Jörg and Andy stop skirting around the issue and actually tackle the topic of death head on: can we see death as a natural returning of the breath/spirit, when sometimes it feels so wrong? Death always comes with loss, and our grief is an expression of love. Content warning: we talk about death and loss, so if this is hard, please feel free to skip this episode, or make sure you have people you can trust around you to support you. We are sending you our love. Contact us by email on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net, and follow us on Mastodon at @JusticeWorriers@mstdn.social. Subscribe to the podcast using our RSS feed.

As climate change causes heat wave after heat wave, Jörg, Leah and Andy meditate on the idea of praying for rain, unable to let go of it completely even as they struggle with the idea that God is incapable of action or unwilling to act. Is it possible to share this cry with our siblings who make it full of faith in the effectiveness of their prayers? That Ezra Klein interview with climate activist Bill McKibben is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogAZS7_RhhA The Climate Town video about grass is "America's Dumbest Crop" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLYMjPNppRQ The final reading is "How to pray for rain when you no longer believe in God" by M.C. Benner Dixon https://iowareview.org/blog/how-to-pray-for-rain-when-you-no-longer-believe-in-god/ Contact us by email on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net, and follow us on Mastodon at @JusticeWorriers@mstdn.social. Subscribe to the podcast using our RSS feed.

Leah, Jörg and Andy discuss freedom: what it used to mean to them, and what it might mean now. Can we actually be free when we're in community with others, and do we want to be? Are we safe to be our real selves? Contact us by email on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net, and follow us on Mastodon at @JusticeWorriers@mstdn.social. Subscribe to the podcast using our RSS feed.

Jörg, Leah and Andy ramble on about being "chosen" - can we find any way at all for us to say that God makes choices about our lives, or that we are chosen, in some way? If not, what then? Contact us by email on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net, and follow us on Mastodon at @JusticeWorriers@mstdn.social. Subscribe to the podcast using our RSS feed.

Leah, Jörg and Andy discuss certainty: does the conversation stop when certainty arrives? What can we be certain of? Is it good to be certain of something? What do we choose to believe? Contact us by email on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net, and follow us on Mastodon at @JusticeWorriers@mstdn.social. Subscribe to the podcast using our RSS feed.

Jörg went down a rabbit hole after the last episode, understanding the part in John 3 immediately after what was discussed last time. Leah and Andy follow him down, discovering the being "born again" may be very different from what they understood. Contact us by email on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net, and follow us on Mastodon at @JusticeWorriers@mstdn.social. Subscribe to the podcast using our RSS feed.

Both Leah and Jörg wrote sermons about the passage in John 2 where Jesus caused a kerfuffle in the temple. Andy is immediately irritated by memories of being told this meant he could be manly, but Leah and Jörg bring hints of hope for us: maybe it's about valuing people over rigid institutions, and maybe there is hope that sometimes we can stand up and say "no". Contact us on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net, follow us on Mastodon, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify or various other places. Subscribe to the podcast using our RSS feed.

Andy reads prayers that express respect and gratefulness to those killed and injured in war, ask God to end war, and wrestle with love for our enemies. If you have something you'd like to share in this series, do contact us on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net. Subscribe and rate us on Mastodon, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, tunein, Tumblr or good old RSS.

Andy, Jörg and Leah talk about a heavy theological idea: Original Sin. Does it help us understand the world, God and ourselves? Is it actively unhelpful? Should we think of ourselves as terrible people who construct all the evil in the world, or as innocent bystanders who are under God's curse? Contact us on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net or look for JusticeWorriers on Mastodon, Facebook, LinkedIn, or YouTube. Subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, tunein, SoundCloud, Tumblr or good old RSS.

Leah reflects on the passage in Luke 10 where Martha complains that Mary has left her to do all the work, and wonders how the story might have continued. If you have something you'd like to share in this series, do contact us on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net. Subscribe and rate us on Mastodon, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, tunein, Tumblr or good old RSS.

Andy reads a prayer from 2022 that encourages empathy and sharing between people rich and poor in financial and spiritual terms. If you have something you'd like to share in this series, do contact us on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net. Subscribe and rate us on Mastodon, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, tunein, Tumblr or good old RSS.

Andy reads a prayer from 2009 which includes prayer for people going through divorce and other types of relationship breakdown. If you have something you'd like to share in this series, do contact us on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net. Subscribe and rate us on Mastodon, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, tunein, Tumblr or good old RSS.

Andy reads a poem about a rare spiritual experience(!) If you have something you'd like to share in this series, do contact us on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net. Subscribe and rate us on Mastodon, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, tunein, Tumblr or good old RSS.

Andy reads a prayer from way back in 2014 that talks about conflict, building, resisting sexual violence, and a longing for God. If you have something you'd like to share in this series, do contact us on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net. Subscribe and rate us on Mastodon, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, tunein, Tumblr or good old RSS.

Andy reads a prayer he wrote in 2023 that concludes with a request for us to learn companionship with people considered beneath contempt, to learn with and from people who are different and make us uncomfortable. As may be a familiar feeling now, there was a lot of war happening in the world at the time, and the prayer starts with lots of asking for peace and reconciliation. If you have something you'd like to share in this series, do contact us. Contact us on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net or look for JusticeWorriers on Mastodon, Facebook, LinkedIn, or YouTube. Subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, tunein, SoundCloud, Tumblr or good old RSS.

Andy, Leah and Jörg talk to Bethany, whose personal encounters in Palestine and Israel led to academic study, giving her a rare depth of insight which she brings to her introduction to the history of the devastating conflict in this region. The group tries to engage with how to respond as people who are collectively implicated in the mistakes of the past and largely powerless as individuals in the present. This is part 2 of the conversation. Apologies for the background noise of traffic and aeroplanes. You can find Bethany's research about the encounters between volunteers and Palestinians at https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/view/people/Elce=3ABethany=3A=3A.html Contact us on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net or look for JusticeWorriers on Mastodon, Facebook, LinkedIn, or YouTube. Subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, tunein, SoundCloud, Tumblr or good old RSS.

Andy, Leah and Jörg talk to Bethany, whose personal encounters in Palestine and Israel led to academic study, giving her a rare depth of insight which she brings to her introduction to the history of the devastating conflict in this region. The group tries to engage with how to respond as people who are collectively implicated in the mistakes of the past and largely powerless as individuals in the present. This is part 1 of the conversation. Apologies for the background noise of traffic and aeroplanes. You can find Bethany's research about the encounters between volunteers and Palestinians at https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/view/people/Elce=3ABethany=3A=3A.html Contact us on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net or look for JusticeWorriers on Mastodon, Facebook, LinkedIn, or YouTube. Subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, tunein, SoundCloud, Tumblr or good old RSS.

Andy reads a reflection on prayer sent in by a listener who also happens to be called Andy! He leads us to see prayer in some of our day-to-day activities, and maybe even to believe again that we can engage with the divine. If you have something you'd like to share in this series, do contact us. Contact us on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net or look for JusticeWorriers on Mastodon, Facebook, LinkedIn, or YouTube. Subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, tunein, SoundCloud, Tumblr or good old RSS.

Andy reads another angry poem, this time about us singing ourselves deaf while we burn our world to the ground, and step on the poor. The poem is at https://artificialworlds.net/poems/deaf_song.html If you have something you'd like to share in this series, do contact us. Contact us on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net or look for JusticeWorriers on Mastodon, Facebook, LinkedIn, or YouTube. Subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, tunein, SoundCloud, Tumblr or good old RSS.

Andy, Leah and Jörg discuss AI: its utility, ethical problems and potential to change how we see ourselves and God. By building machines that reflect the totality of human knowledge and dress themselves up as truth machines, are we building idols? Does all this text cheapen our communication? Are we becoming yet more isolated? How should we respond? Contact us on justiceworriers@artificialworlds.net or look for JusticeWorriers on Mastodon, Facebook, LinkedIn, or YouTube. Subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, tunein, SoundCloud, Tumblr or good old RSS.