We continue our series on the liturgical calendar with an exploration of Halloween (yes, it's a Christian holiday), All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day: why they haven't been celebrated in most Protestant circles, and why we might want to reclaim these holy days of commemorating and praying for the dead.

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We talked with pastor and public theologian Trey Ferguson about the difference it makes when we read the Bible through the lens of love. His new book Love Is Good Religion: A 30-Day Journey to Compassion, Contemplation, and Connection cuts through our overfamiliarity and invites us to reread scripture in light of its persistent call to love, liberation, community, and human wholeness.

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We talked with science professor Janet Kellog Ray about how humans have both an evolutionary past AND a sacred purpose. Her book Fish with Feet: Human Evolution and the Image of God offers a "third way" for those who've been told they must choose between evolution and faith: understanding our complete biological story while honoring our spiritual identity.

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We talked with church history professor Wes Crawford about the complicated relationship between Christian faith and American patriotism, and how national devotion has grown into something resembling a civil religion—complete with its own rituals, sacred texts, and symbols. These are the themes explored in Crawford's new book One Nation over God.

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We talked with activist and academic Lucas Wilson about the experience of surviving queer conversion therapy. His book Shame-Sex Attraction tells these stories, seeks to expose conversion practices for what they are - pseudoscientific, bogus, ineffective, and wildly traumatic, and to ensure that these stories do not happen to future generations.

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We talked with pastor Kenneth Tanner about his new book Vulnerable God, which invites readers to reimagine both God and themselves through the mystery and vulnerability of the incarnation. Tanner argues that vulnerability is not a flaw in the divine nature but the very glory of divine love. Through service, hiddenness, and surrender, Jesus reveals what it means to be fully human the way God is human.

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We talked with minister and author Rohadi Nagassar reclaiming what makes us fully alive—slowing down, paying attention, and embracing the truth that each of us deserves to flourish. His new book Whole and Human walks through forty meditations engaging the five senses, journey into deeper relationship with land, body, spirit, and justice

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