Holy Writ

In this episode, we discuss Octavia Butler’s *Parable of the Sower*—a prophetic work of speculative fiction that reimagines God, community, and survival amidst societal collapse. Reading it alongside Genesis 18–19 and 1 John 4, we explore the idea of God as Change, and the power of embodied experience in shaping how we interpret scripture and the world around us.
We’re joined by Dr. Tamisha Tyler, Visiting Assistant Professor of Theology and Culture, and Theopoetics at Bethany Theological Seminary. Tamisha also serves as Theologian in Residence at the Center for Restorative Justice in Pasadena, and is part of the Level Ground Artist Collective in Los Angeles. Her current research explores religion in the literary world of Octavia Butler.
Timestamps:
1:46 – Experiencing *Parable of the Sower*
35:47 – Emily on Genesis 18-19
1:16:18 – Tommy on 1 John 4
1:50:34 – Next month’s book
 
Up Next: *Time of the Child* by Niall Williams
 
Connect with Us:
Email: holywritpod@gmail.com 
Website: https://holywritpod.podbean.com/ 
Instagram: @holywritpodcast
Bluesky: @holywrit.bsky.social
TikTok: @holywritpodcast 

In this episode, we uneasily enter Stephen King’s novel *Misery*—a brutal and brilliant meditation on captivity, creation, and control. Reading it alongside Psalm 88 and 2 Corinthians 3, we wrestle with scriptural images of God as an abusive caregiver, consider the limitations of written words, and reflect on the strange clarity that horror can offer to faith.
Timestamps:
1:35 – Experiencing *Misery*
20:28 – Emily on Psalm 88
54:16 – Tommy on 2 Corinthians 3
1:39:48 – Next month’s book
 
Up Next: *Parable of the Sower* by Octavia Butler, with guest Dr. Tasmisha Tyler
 
Connect with Us:
Email: holywritpod@gmail.com
Website: https://holywritpod.podbean.com/
Instagram: @holywritpodcast
Bluesky: @holywrit.bsky.social
TikTok: @holywritpodcast

In this episode, we delve into John Steinbeck’s sprawling masterpiece *East of Eden,* a novel that reimagines the story of Cain and Abel across generations of rivalry, love and longing. Reading it in conversation with 1 Samuel 15 and Romans 9, we explore the power of names, thinking together about how naming expresses human vocation, God’s calling, and the gift of moral agency.
 
Timestamps:
1:28 – Experiencing *East of Eden*
27:53 – Emily on 1 Samuel 15
1:00:53 – Tommy on Romans 9
1:50:01 – Next month’s book, *Misery* by Stephen King
 
Connect with Us:
Email: holywritpod@gmail.com
Website: https://holywritpod.podbean.com/
Instagram: @holywritpodcast
Bluesky: @holywrit.bsky.social
Tiktok: @holywritpodcast

In this episode, we descend into the mist of Kazuo Ishiguro’s haunting novel, *The Buried Giant.* Reading it alongside Luke 22 and Nehemiah 2, we talk about the meaning and power of memory, specifically in relationship to violence, betrayal, death, the practice of the Eucharist, and the discipleship of children.
 
Timestamps:
1:28 – Experiencing *The Buried Giant*
32:25 – Tommy on Luke 22
1:05:03 – Emily on Nehemiah 2
1:42:48 – Next month’s book
 
Up Next: *East of Eden* by John Steinbeck
 
Connect with Us:
Email: holywritpod@gmail.com
Instagram: @holywritpodcast
Bluesky: @holywrit.bsky.social
Website: https://holywritpod.podbean.com/

In this episode, we wade into the waters of *Giovanni’s Room,* James Baldwin’s desperately beautiful and exposing novel of desire, dislocation and self-repression. Reckoning with this story alongside Genesis 9 and 1 Corinthians 13, we discuss gender and sexuality, human responses to the existential terror of vulnerability, and the importance of embracing our bodily existence as the incarnation of mystery.
 
Timestamps:
1:36 – Experiencing *Giovanni’s Room*
37:27 – Emily on Genesis 9
1:19:32 – Tommy on 1 Corinthians 13
1:49:12 – Next month’s book
 
Up Next: *The Buried Giant* by Kazuo Ishiguro 
 
Connect with Us:
Email: holywritpod@gmail.com
Instagram: @holywritpodcast
Bluesky: @holywrit.bsky.social
Website: https://holywritpod.podbean.com/

In this episode, we enter the deadly arena of *Sunrise on the Reaping,* the latest installment in Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games saga. Reading this prequel alongside Exodus 1, Matthew 27, and Colossians 2, we discuss politics of spectacle, transgressive art, patient resistance to empire, and the vulnerable power of sacred language.
 
Timestamps:
1:32 – Experiencing *Sunrise on the Reaping*
31:20 – Emily on Exodus 1
1:03:44 – Tommy on Matthew 27 and Colossians 2
1:44:38 – Next month’s book
 
References: Wendell Berry poem entitled “1993: IV” (from *A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997*)
 
Up Next: *Giovanni’s Room* by James Baldwin
 
Connect with Us:
Email: holywritpod@gmail.com 
Instagram: @holywritpodcast
Bluesky: @holywrit.bsky.social
Website: https://holywritpod.podbean.com/ 
 

 In this episode, we explore Anne Leckie's book, *Ancillary Justice*–a novel of galactic empire, artificial intelligence and fractured identity. In our mind-bending conversation with Old Testament scholar Dr. Collin Cornell, we draw 2 Chronicles 33 and Romans 7 into the orbit of this alternative world, discussing everything from imperial reform and primordial splitting to memory and gender.
 
Up Next: *Sunrise on the Reaping* by Suzanne Collins 
 
Timestamps:
1:48 –Experiencing *Ancillary Justice*
27:18 – Collin on 2 Chronicles 33
1:00:05 – Tommy on Romans 7
1:37:32 – Next Month’s Book
 
Connect with Us:
Email: holywritpod@gmail.com
Instagram: @holywritpodcast
Bluesky: @holywrit.bsky.social
Website: https://holywritpod.podbean.com/

In this episode, we dive with delight into *North Woods* by Daniel Mason—a novel that, in many ways, unfolds like the Bible itself. In our wide-ranging conversation, which draws specifically Job 29 and John 4, we reflect on the sexuality of creation, the limits of human perception, and the interplay between the intimate and the epic.
 
Timestamps:
1:33 - Experiencing *North Woods*
43:22 - Tommy on John 4
1:11:29 - Emily on Job 29
1:49:32 - Next month’s Book  … and Guest!
 
Up Next: *Ancillary Justice* by Ann Leckie (with guest Collin Cornell)
 
Connect with Us:
Email: holywritpod@gmail.com
Instagram: @holywritpodcast
Bluesky: @holywrit.bsky.social
Website: https://holywritpod.podbean.com/

In this episode, we discuss Toni Morrison’s *Beloved,* a novel that refuses to let the past be forgotten. Bringing it into conversation with Romans, John 6, and Lamentations 2 & 4, we explore haunting and historical memory, suffering and healing, the promiscuity of grace, and the pain of love.
**Content Note: Beloved is a novel written for a mature audience, and our discussion reflects that. 
Timestamps:
1:40 - Experiencing Beloved
17:26 - The novel’s epigraph and Romans
29:31 - Emily on Lamentations 2&4 
1:06:24 - Tommy on John 6
1:46:53 - Next month’s book
 
Up Next: *North Woods* by Daniel Mason
Connect with Us:
Email: holywritpod@gmail.com 
Instagram: @holywritpodcast
Bluesky: @holywrit.bsky.social
Website: https://holywritpod.podbean.com/ 
 

In this debut conversation, we introduce ourselves and share the story behind this podcast—how our love for fiction and scripture led us to explore the ways these texts speak to and challenge each other. Then, we dig into Holes by Louis Sachar alongside Exodus 19 and Matthew 3, discussing themes of intergenerationality, curses, mutual responsibility, and love.  
References:
Makarios Institute
Abraham Heschel quote: from God in Search of Man
 
Up Next: Beloved by Toni Morrison
Connect with Us:
Email: holywritpod@gmail.com 
Instagram: @holywritpodcast
Bluesky: @holywrit.bsky.social
Website: https://holywritpod.podbean.com/