Segments
State of Belief comes to you this week from the Georgia Public Broadcasting studios in Macon, GA. Tune in to hear a conversation with the writer of the hit film “Noah,” finding Dr. King’s legacy in Georgia’s Moral Monday movement, and a Millennial Evangelical response to World Vision’s flip-flop on marriage equality.
What’s a Revangelical?
Last month, World Vision, a global Christian relief organization, announced that it would begin hiring people in same-sex marriages in a move to sidestep the ongoing culture wars and focus on its vital mission. Days later, after a furious conservative Evangelical uproar leading to the loss of an estimated 10,000 donors, the organization reversed its decision. Was this an example of money trumping Christian values of compassion and inclusiveness? Welton speaks with Brandan Robertson, a young Evangelical writer, activist, and speaker, about his reaction to the attack on World Vision, and his vision of a “Revangelical” movement that promises more Jesus, less culture war.
Moral Mondays Come Down to Georgia
This week Welton discusses the powerful Moral Monday movement with the Senior Pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock. Having inherited a congregation once led by Martin Luther King, Jr., Ebenezer Baptist’s longtime connection with the struggle for civil rights is self-evident – Like Dr. King before him, Rev. Warnock himself was arrested during a recent Moral Mondays protest. He joins Welton to reflect on issues addressed by the movement in Georgia, and discuss the empowering nature of activism, as well as his new book, The Divided Mind of the Black Church: Theology, Piety and Public Witness.
Writing “Noah”: A Discussion with Ari Handel
In a year that features an unusual number of religiously-themed films – from “Son of God” to Ridley Scott’s upcoming “Exodus,” State of Belief welcomes Ari Handel, the co-writer and co-executive producer of this week’s highest-grossing movie in America, “Noah.” Welton chats with Ari about his decision to bring the Noah story back to the big screen, the challenges of making a religiously-themed film in 2014, and the backlash from critics who have focused on the ways in which the film deviates from scripture.