Podcast: Underground Sessions Podcast

This episode is a recording from our live Underground Sessions event from October 3, 2020. Our topic was “Income Inequality” and our speaker was Dr. Anne Bradley. This is part 2 of a 3 part series from this event.

Income Inequality Recap

On October 3^rd, 2020, MBC hosed its first ever virtual The Underground Sessions event where we discussed the important, and provocative, topic of “income inequality.” Our guest for this event was Dr. Anne Bradley, an expert economist who approaches this topic from a Christian worldview. After giving a keynote talk defining income inequality, she sat down with Pastor Bob and further discussed the related topics of socialism, capitalism, racial discrimination, as well as practical steps to address poverty in our world. You can watch the full-length session, or choose from three different segments on this page.

About the Speaker

Anne Bradley is the George and Sally Mayer Fellow for Economic Education and the Academic Director at the Fund for American Studies.  She served as the Vice President of Economic Initiatives at The Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics, where she developed and commissioned research toward a systematic biblical theology of economic freedom. She is a visiting professor at Georgetown University and has previously taught at George Mason University and at Charles University, Prague. She is currently a visiting scholar at the Bernard Center for Women, Politics, and Public Policy. She served as the Associate Director for the Program in Economics, Politics, and the Law at the James M. Buchanan Center at George Mason University.

Dr. Bradley’s academic work focuses on the political economy of terrorism with specific emphasis on the industrial organization of al-Qaeda. Her academic research has been published in scholarly journals and edited volumes. She is currently working on a book that analyzes the political economy of al-Qaeda post 9/11. Based on her academic research she also worked as an Economic Analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency’s Office of Terrorism Analysis.

Dr. Bradley is the author of several books, and served as the general editor of For the Least of These: A Biblical Answer to Poverty, in which she frames a solid biblical & economic understanding of how best to care for the poor and foster economic development.

This episode is a recording from our live Underground Sessions event from October 3, 2020. Our topic was “Income Inequality” and our speaker was Dr. Anne Bradley.

Income Inequality Recap

On October 3^rd, 2020, MBC hosed its first ever virtual The Underground Sessions event where we discussed the important, and provocative, topic of “income inequality.” Our guest for this event was Dr. Anne Bradley, an expert economist who approaches this topic from a Christian worldview. After giving a keynote talk defining income inequality, she sat down with Pastor Bob and further discussed the related topics of socialism, capitalism, racial discrimination, as well as practical steps to address poverty in our world. You can watch the full-length session, or choose from three different segments on this page.

About the Speaker

Anne Bradley is the George and Sally Mayer Fellow for Economic Education and the Academic Director at the Fund for American Studies.  She served as the Vice President of Economic Initiatives at The Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics, where she developed and commissioned research toward a systematic biblical theology of economic freedom. She is a visiting professor at Georgetown University and has previously taught at George Mason University and at Charles University, Prague. She is currently a visiting scholar at the Bernard Center for Women, Politics, and Public Policy. She served as the Associate Director for the Program in Economics, Politics, and the Law at the James M. Buchanan Center at George Mason University.

Dr. Bradley’s academic work focuses on the political economy of terrorism with specific emphasis on the industrial organization of al-Qaeda. Her academic research has been published in scholarly journals and edited volumes. She is currently working on a book that analyzes the political economy of al-Qaeda post 9/11. Based on her academic research she also worked as an Economic Analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency’s Office of Terrorism Analysis.

Dr. Bradley is the author of several books, and served as the general editor of For the Least of These: A Biblical Answer to Poverty, in which she frames a solid biblical & economic understanding of how best to care for the poor and foster economic development.

Gov. Phil Murphy campaigned in 2017 on the promise to legalize marijuana within his first 100 days in office. But lawmakers could not muster enough votes in the state Senate to pass legislation sponsored by Sen. Nick Scutari, D-Union, and eventually voted to put it on the ballot for the people to decide.

And they did so Tuesday in a victory that wasn’t a surprise (early polling showed some 60% of voters were likely to approve the referendum.) On Nov. 3, 2020, New Jersey voters approved a constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana, capping an effort launched by lawmakers three years ago and setting the stage for a big-money industry to do business in the Garden State. How should Christians respond to this new, ethical dilemma? Pastor Bob and Pastor Dave speak with Dr. Barnabas Sprinkle about this important subject.

Barnabas Sprinkle is the Pastor of Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church in Liberty Corner NJ.

Barnabas’ name means “son of encouragement,” and he strives to live up to it. His passion is helping people experience eternal and abundant life in Jesus Christ. He has lived out this passion at three churches before Liberty Corner, in Texas, Georgia, and most recently in Medford, Oregon where he has served for eight years. 

Barnabas earned degrees in physics and communication before getting a Master of Divinity degree and Spiritual Formation Certificate at Columbia Seminary as well as a Doctorate in Ministry from Fuller Seminary emphasizing missional leadership. He enjoys woodworking and has recently tried his hand at wood turning. 

His partner in marriage and ministry is Emi, a professional counselor who has started both counseling centers and wholeness ministries. She grew up in Romania (attending the Hungarian Reformed Church) and came to the U.S. as a political refugee before the fall of communism. She has two master’s degrees in counseling and public administration, and a spiritual formation certificate. Emi is the musical one, playing piano and hammered dulcimer. 

The Sprinkles have three children: Joshua, Matthew, and Hannah. All three enjoy scouts and piano. Together, the family enjoys camping and hiking in God’s creation.  Barnabas is the author of the new book, Jesus and Mary Jane: Navigating Marijuana in Light of Science and Scripture. You can buy the book on amazon.com here:

As cases are rising around the country, and specifically in NJ, what are we to make of the so-called “second wave” of COVID-19? What do infection rates mean to the average person? What mitigation strategies are effective and sustainable? Pastor Bob speaks with Dr. Raymond Zakhari, a nurse practitioner based in Manhattan about these important questions.

Dr. Raymond Zakhari is a triple board certified nurse practitioner (Adult Adolescent Health, Family Practice, and Psychiatric Mental Health), trained in Sex Therapy and has a diverse clinical background ranging from critical care to mental health. Over the years has worked at the bedside with patients infected with MERS, SARS, H1N1). This season he has swabbed over 500 patients and counting for Covid-19. In 2009 he founded Metro Medical Direct, a concierge web enhanced medical and psychiatric house calls private practice in Manhattan. He was a former Air Force officer and deployed to Iraq in 2006 in the role of an emergency room nurse. He has published in peer reviewed journals and presented at national and regional conferences on a range of topics from critical care care to mental health. This year he published The Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certification Review Manual.

RESOURCES:

www.MetroMedicalDirect.com (Dr. Zakhari’s private practice website)

Overview of public health: https://www.cdc.gov/csels/dsepd/ss1978/index.html

Data on COVID-19 mortality risk: https://ourworldindata.org/mortality-risk-covid?fbclid=IwAR1UMlcHP-8ZoQ–sfrFvYLPmILXjkZVf84lY3zYFPtdACoJQOYQqvHCG5w

CORRECTION:

During the H1N1 (Swine Flu) epidemic, the country experienced 100k deaths and 300k hospitalizations. It was incorrectly spoken as the other way around during the recording.

Welcome to season 2 of the Underground Sessions Podcast! It’s hard to believe that 2020 is almost over—what a year it’s been! That also means that we have lots of topics to discuss as it relates to faith, culture and politics. Coronavirus Pandemics, governmental lockdowns, mask wearing… and of course racial strife and policing issues. In this episode, we are going to cover that last topic, which has generated quite a bit of conversation and controversy over the last year. Pastor Bob speaks with Timothy Hsiao and Aaron Brake who recently wrote an article entitled, “A Thinking Person’s Guide to Police Shootings,” at www.humanevents.com.

Tim Hsiao is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Grantham University and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at Johnson County Community College. He is also trained as a master pistol instructor and patrol rifle instructor through Missouri POST. His website is timhsiao.org

Aaron Brake received his BA in Criminal Justice and MA in Christian Apologetics from Biola University. He has worked in law enforcement for 20 years and taught academy classes on arrest and control techniques, use of force, and assaultive behavior.

RESOURCES:

www.timhsiao.org

“A Thinking Person’s Guide to Police Shootings,” https://humanevents.com/2020/09/25/a-thinking-persons-guide-to-police-shootings/

“Jesus Endorsed Armed Self-Defense,” https://freethinkingministries.com/jesus-endorsed-armed-self-defense/

On this episode of the Underground Sessions Podcast, Pastor Bob interviews legal expert Jesse Nash on some important decisions handed down by the Supreme Court during the 2020 term. There are five important cases we cover in this episode: 

1. June Medical Services vs. Russo
2. Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue
3. Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru
4. Little Sisters of the Poor v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5. Bostock v. Clayton County

What impact will they have on religious liberty in the future? Listen to hear Jesse’s take. 

This episode looks at the journey of Father Rick Morley into the Episcopalian tradition. Rick leads a local clergy council and Basking Ridge. He grew up in Ocean City, NJ and graduated from Saint Joseph’s University in 1996 with a BA in Theology and a BS in Psychology. Rick holds a MDiv from The Candler School of Theology at Emory University, which he received in 2002. He grew up in the United Methodist Church but became a member of the Episcopal Church in college, and has served as a priest in the Episcopal Church since 2002. Rick and his wife wife, Karen, just celebrated our 20th anniversary last week, and they have two daughters—one in High School and one in Middle School. Rick came to St Mark’s in Basking Ridge in 2009 and he enjoys painting, tennis, and hanging with our backyard chickens.

In this episode, we continue our conversation about home education with Alex DePierro. Specific focus was given to Classical Conversations, as well as the challenges and benefits of home education with a large family. 

In this episode, Pastor Bob and Dave talk about how Christians should engage the government. This discussion involves a robust understanding of Scripture and the tradition you come from. They also discuss current events and offer resources for further study.