Perspectives Pastors Podcast, Season 2, Episode 31: Hope for Planet Earth: How Can We Believe?
May 04, 2025
Summary
On this week’s episode of Perspectives Pastors Podcast, Rev. Trudy and Rev. Hannah look toward Romans and the Gospel of John to ask: “Hope for planet Earth … how can we believe?”
Detail
On this week’s episode of Perspectives Pastors Podcast, Rev. Trudy and Rev. Hannah look toward Romans and the Gospel of John to ask: “Hope for planet Earth … how can we believe?”
The two female pastors take us on a journey through this digital Bible study, exploring the deeper meanings behind Paul’s letter to the Romans, the reason why Thomas is depicted as a doubter, and the need for more integration in our spiritual life between the physical and spiritual, connecting our mind, heart, and sensory skills to impact how we believe.
Through Paul’s letter to the Romans, we begin to see all the ways we haven’t honored God, including neglecting to care for God’s creation. It’s a passage that’s full of doom and gloom and ends with the pointed question: “Who will save us?”
And when looking at the passage of John where Thomas states he needs to physically touch Jesus’ wounds to fully believe They look toward John to see if they can find some hope and grace. It’s the story of Jesus revealing his resurrected self to the disciples and doubting Thomas stating he needed to touch the wounds to believe.
Through the discussion, they also take a moment to deconstruct some of Romans that has been historically been used to explain homosexuality as a sin. But the team explains why that interpretation isn't historically and culturally accurate, and provides a more progressive lens to how to interpret Paul's statements in Romans.
It’s a deep, philosophical discussion that uncovers a lot for discussion. If you’d like to continue the conversation with others, we invite you to join our weekly in-person Convergence discussion group or our online Patreon community where you can connect with other spiritual seekers to discuss these questions:
- How do you value creation?
- How do you experience spiritual realities?
- What do your actions say about your beliefs?
Our Patreon community is open to all – no matter where you align in your spiritual beliefs. It’s free to join and connect over the weekly episode questions. There are also two additional membership levels that allow you to unlock additional content. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/fumcsd!
