Episode 108 - Tony Campolo: remembering the man with archive interview

Beer Christianity

Tony Campolo, the Baptist preacher, sociologist, Red Letter Christian and ceaseless campaigner for a Christian vision of social justice, has died.

In this episode, we pay tribute to Tony in the best way we know how: by letting him speak for himself. Eventually.

First, we talk about our own memories of him, and his influence on our theology. But once we've done making it about us, we share an interview with Tony from the vaults. In 2012, Tony Campolo was concerned about many of the things that are now even more pressing and horrifying.

The interview feels prophetic in multiple understandings of the word, and Campolo is solid on everything from American militarism and imperialism to the incompatibility of Christian spirituality with right-wing ideological selfishness. His identification of the central problem with evangelical engagement with culture -- the idea that everything gets better if people become Christians -- is expressed particularly poignantly, considering where we are with the Church in the West.

We hope you enjoy hearing from Tony again, and that you remember his family and friends at this time. Full disclosure: we also talk a lot about why we're excited about our new magazine, S(h)ibboleth. We hope it doesn't come across as a sales pitch and more as the genuine excitement we're feeling about connecting more Christians with similar beliefs and making the world better as a result.

Naive? Maybe. Worth a shot? Sure. Fun? Hell yeah.

Find out deets at shibbolethmag.com and beerchristianity.co.uk