Homebrewed Christianity Podcast

Well, we kicked off our Advent Against Empire series with Diana Butler Bass diving deep into Matthew's birth narrative, and wow—it did not disappoint. Diana brought her three signature lenses (anti-imperialism, non-violence, and eco-wholeness) to the most Jewish of all the gospels, and things got delightfully nerdy. We explored how Matthew's genealogy isn't just a boring list of "begats"—it's a subversive royal document packed with scandalous women and outsiders that announces Jesus as the true king in direct confrontation with Rome and Herod. Diana walked us through a brilliant two-act structure: Act One is all about the birth of Wisdom and Joseph (a dreamer who winds up in Egypt—sound familiar?) receiving divine announcements. Act Two gives us the Apocalyptic clash between the World as it is and the World to come, with the Magi's cosmic rebellion against Herod, the horrific violence that follows when the empire doesn't get its way, and the holy family's return. We also geeked out on Jesus as the embodiment