The Homebrewed Christianity Guide to Being Human
Becoming the Best Bag of Bones You Can Be
Donna Bowman
Author
Tripp Fuller
Series Editor
Fortress Press
Minneapolis
THE HOMEBREWED CHRISTIANITY GUIDE TOBEING HUMAN
Becoming the Best Bag of Bones You Can Be
Copyright 2018 Fortress Press. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no partof this book may be reproduced in any manner withoutprior written permission from the publisher. Email copyright@1517.media or write to Permissions, Fortress Press,
PO Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440-1209.
Cover design: Jesse Turi
Book Design: PerfecType, Nashville, TN
Print ISBN: 978-1-5064-0565-0
eBook ISBN: 978-1-5064-0566-7
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z329.48-1984.
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
Contents
You are about to read a guidebook. Not only is the book the sweet guidebook size, shaped perfectly to take a ride in your back pocket, but the book itself was crafted with care by a real-deal theology nerd. Heres the thing. The Homebrewed Christianity Guide series has one real goal: we want to think with you, not for you.
The whole homebrew metaphor grows from my passion for helping anyone who wants to geek out about theology to do so with the best ingredients around. Thats why I started the Homebrewed Christianity podcast in 2008, and thats why I am thrilled to partner with Fortress Presss Theology for the People team to produce this series. I am confident that the church has plenty of intelligent and passionate people who want a more robust conversation about their faith.
A podcast, in case youre wondering, is like talk radio on demand without the commercials. You download a file and listen when, if, where, and how long you want. I love the podcast medium. Short of talking one-on-one, theres hardly a more intimate presence than speaking to someone in their earbuds as theyre stuck in traffic, on the treadmill, or washing dishes. When I started the podcast, I wanted to give anyone the option of listening to some of the best thinkers from the church and the academy.
Originally, the podcast was for friends, family, and my local pub theology group. I figured people in the group were more likely to listen to a podcast than read a giant book. So as the resident theology nerd, I read the books and then interviewed the authors. Soon, thousands of people were listening. Since then the audience has grown to over fifty thousand unique listeners each month and over a million downloads. A community of listeners, whom we call Deacons, grew, and weve got a cast of cohosts and regular guests.
Over the better part of a decade, I have talked to scores of theologians and engaged with the Deacons about these conversations. It has been a real joy. Every time I hear from a listener, I do the happy dance in my soul.
And heres the deal: I love theology, but I love the church more. I am convinced that the church can really make a difference in the world. But in order to do that, it needs to face reality rather than run from it. The church must use its brain, live its faith, and join God in working for the salvation of the world. And thats what these books are all about.
We often open and close the podcast by reminding listeners that we are providing the ingredients so that they can brew their own faith. Thats the same with these books. Each author is an expert theological brewer, and theyve been asked to write from their own point of view. These guidebooks are not boringly neutral; instead, they are zestily provocative, meant to get you thinking and brewing.
I look forward to hearing from you on the Speakpipe at HomebrewedChristianity.com and meeting you at an HBC 3D event. We can drink a pint and talk about this book, how you agree and disagree with it. Because if were talking about theology, the world is a better place.
And remember: Share the Brew!
Tripp Fuller
Whether its the podcast, the blog, or live events, Homebrewed Christianity has always been a conversation, and these books are no different. So inside of this and every volume in the HBC book series, youll be hearing from four members of the Homebrewed community. They are:
The Bishop: Kindly, pastoral, encouraging. Shes been around the block a few times, and nothing ruffles her feathers. She wants everyone to succeed, and shes an optimist, so she knows they will.
The Elder: Scolding, arrogant, know-it-all. Hes old and disgruntled, the father figure you can never please. He loves quoting doctrine; hes the kind of guy who controls every church meeting because he knows Roberts Rules of Order better than anyone else.
The Deacon: Earnest, excited, energetic. Hes a guy who has just discovered HBC, and he cant get enough of it. Hes a cheerleader, a shouter, an encourager. Hes still in his first navet.
The Acolyte: Smart, inquisitive, skeptical. Shes the smartest student in your confirmation class. Shes bound to be a biologist or a physicist, and shes skeptical of all the hocus pocus of Christianity. But she hasnt given up on it yet, so her questions come from the heart. She really wants to know if all this stuff works.
We look forward to continuing the conversation with you, online and in person!
1
Humanity: Achievement Unlocked
Do we really need a guidebook to tell us how to be human? Im glad someone thinks we do, because theyve just given me the easiest writing assignment ever. I can tell you how to be human, and whats more, I can tell you that youre already doing it.
Step one of one: Be a member of the genus Homo, the species sapiens, and the subspecies sapiens.
If youre wondering what that looks like in practice, most of it is bound up with doing stuff other mammals do. Be born alive rather than hatching out of an egg. Get nutrition out of your moms body (or a technological facsimile) for the first months of life. Have hair! But not too much hair. Mostly have some follicles where your distant ancestors hair used to be. Regulate your temperatureand this is importantinternally. Engage in sexual reproduction. Gestate your offspring in your uterus and then feed them from your mammary glands.
Is this a sophisticated version of my favorite childrens book, Everybody Poops? |