Learning How to See with Brian McLaren

In today's episode, we explore the story of the Tower of Babel and turn the usual reading of it upside down. Diverse languages, in this telling, are not the curse — the tower is.

In this conversation, Brian McLaren, Randy Woodley, and Edith Woodley talk about the cost of enforced sameness — from Native American boarding schools to the quiet pressure many people feel to hide what makes them different. What does it mean for the church to keep trying to finish a tower that the Creator never wanted rebuilt?

Resources:

Find the transcript for today's episode here.

Learn more about ⁠the Woodleys and Eloheh here⁠.

Pick up a copy of Randy’s new book, ⁠How Western Christianity Got It Wrong.⁠

⁠Journey to Eloheh⁠ by Randy and Edith Woodley explores how Indigenous values lead us to harmony and well-being.

Discover more about composer April Stace ⁠⁠⁠here.⁠

Connect with us:

Have a question you’d like Brian, Randy, or Edith to answer about this season?

Email us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠podcasts@cac.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Send us a voicemail: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠cac.org/voicemail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Thank you for joining us for today's episode of Learning How to See, hosted by Brian McLaren, with guest hosts Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley and Edith Woodley.

Today, Edith reads the Biblical flood story from Genesis 6–9. She then connects this flood story to the U.S. government’s Native American boarding school system — including her own family’s history at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

Our hosts invite us to consider: what does it mean to survive a flood that was “meant to cover everything” — and didn’t?

Resources:

Find the transcript for today's episode here.

Learn more about the Woodleys and Eloheh here.

Pick up a copy of Randy’s new book, How Western Christianity Got It Wrong.

Journey to Eloheh by Randy and Edith Woodley explores how Indigenous values lead us to harmony and well-being.

Discover more about composer April Stace ⁠⁠here.

Connect with us:

Have a question you’d like Brian, Randy, or Edith to answer about this season?

Email us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠podcasts@cac.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Send us a voicemail: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠cac.org/voicemail⁠⁠⁠⁠

In today's episode, our hosts Brian McLaren, Randy Woodley, and Edith Woodley explore the story of Cain and Abel through a lens of Indigenous wisdom, considering the origins of human violence and the contrast between “earth people” and “empire people.” Together they reflect on harmony, balance, and the Biblical call to be our “brother’s keeper.”

Listen in as our hosts unpack Genesis 4 alongside a Cherokee story of the terrapin and the wolves, consider how violence and domination shape human communities — and how choosing nonviolence and reciprocity can help us find another way.

Resources:

Find the transcript for today's episode here.

Learn more about the Woodleys and Eloheh here.

Pick up a copy of Randy’s new book, How Western Christianity Got It Wrong.

Journey to Eloheh by Randy and Edith Woodley explores how Indigenous values lead us to harmony and well-being.

Discover more about composer April Stace ⁠here.

Connect with us:

Have a question you’d like Brian, Randy, or Edith to answer about this season?

Email us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠podcasts@cac.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠podcasts@cac.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Welcome to the 10th season of Learning How to See hosted by Brian McLaren and guest hosts Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley and Edith Woodley. In today's episode, our hosts examine Genesis 1 through the lens of Indigenous wisdom, contrasting “earth people” with “empire people.” “Earth people” understand themselves as part of an interconnected web of life and practice caring for the land. “Empire people,” instead, emphasize domination and control.

Join us at our Bible study, as Brian, Edith, and Randy unpack Genesis 1, and invite us to consider how we hear and interpret the Bible.

Find the transcript for this episode here.

Resources:

Learn more about the Woodleys and Eloheh here.

Pick up a copy of Randy’s new book, How Western Christianity Got It Wrong.

Journey to Eloheh by Randy and Edith Woodley explores how Indigenous values lead us to harmony and well-being.

Discover more about composer April Stace here.

Connect with us:

Have a question you’d like Brian, Randy, or Edith to answer about this season?

Email us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠podcasts@cac.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Send us a voicemail: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠cac.org/voicemail⁠⁠⁠⁠

Season Ten begins September 10th!

This season on Learning How to See, host Brian McLaren and co-hosts Randy and Edith Woodley will focus on experiencing the Biblical text with a heart of seeking and curiosity. Brief readings from the book of Genesis will be followed by essays or stories with themes similar to that of the Biblical passages. The episodes will conclude with round-table conversations about the ways we see and experience stories differently. For faith reclaimers eager to help heal a hurting world, reimagine Christianity as a path of compassion, justice, and care for creation on Learning How to See: The Bible. Join us in exploring the book of Genesis through fresh perspectives rooted in wonder, wisdom, and lived experience.