Context Matters

In this episode, Dr. Richter also discusses the self-restraint required by God of his people and what we can do in our modern, industrialized age to create a healthier relationship with the environment.  Join the Patreon Team !  Find out more about Dr. Richter HERE Her book Stewards of Eden is an IVP Reader's Choice nominee!  Learn more about me and sign up for Food and Wine Tours of Israel/Palest...

Join the Patreon Team !  Find out more about Dr. Richter HERE Her book Stewards of Eden is an IVP Reader's Choice nominee!  Learn more about me and sign up for Food and Wine Tours of Israel/Palestine. Buy my new book Encountering Jesus in Real World of the Gospels   or listen to the audio or read the eBook !  

Join the Patreon Team !  Find out more about Dr. Phillips HERE See her book With God, Nothing is Impossible And her book discussed on this show: An Introduction to Reading Biblical Wisdom Texts Learn more about me and sign up for Food and Wine Tours of Israel/Palestine. Buy my new book Encountering Jesus in Real World of the Gospels   or listen to the audio or read the eBook !  

Dr. Elaine Phillips joins us to discuss what Israelite wisdom texts are and why we need them in the Bible. We get into the book of Proverbs and discuss who the Proverbs 31 woman really is. Join the Patreon Team !  Find out more about Dr. Phillips HERE See her book With God, Nothing is Impossible And her book discussed on this show: An Introduction to Reading Biblical Wisdom Texts Learn more about...

Learn more about Dr. Sarah Harris HERE Guess what????? A JUC sponsored FREE seminar. I'll be presenting with some other fantastically amazing scholars. Click here for information and to register for The Bible, Geography, and You. Join the Patreon Team ! https://www.patreon.com/cyndiparker Learn more about me and sign up for Food and Wine Tours of Israel/Palestine. For 40% off the pre-order of my n...

Were Mary and Joseph alone in an A-frame barn, isolated from their community when Jesus was born? What is the political intrigue buried in the narrative of the Magi visiting Jesus? Dr. Paul Wright from Jerusalem University College helps us read the birth narratives in a more culturally aware way. Guess what????? A JUC sponsored FREE seminar. I'll be presenting with some other fantastically amazing...

Join the Patreon Team ! https://www.patreon.com/cyndiparker Read Paul Wright's new books: Holman Illustrated Guide to Biblical Geography and Heart of the Holy Land .  Find out more about Jerusalem University College Guess what????? A JUC sponsored FREE seminar. I'll be presenting with some other fantastically amazing scholars. Click here for information and to register for The Bible, Geography, an...

Learn more about Dr. Norman Wirzba Link to his book Food and Faith and read a FREE article titled "Can we live in a world without a Sabbath?" Join the Patreon Team ! https://www.patreon.com/cyndiparker Learn more about me and sign up for Food and Wine Tours of Israel/Palestine. For 40% off the pre-order of my new book Encountering Jesus in the Real World of the Gospels . (sale through November 30,...

This week we talk about how theology, philosophy, and ecology can be amazing conversation partners. When our food is packaged and purchased at a store, we think of the products of the earth as a commodity first and foremost. We are disconnected from the reality about food and the connections we have with nature and with creatures, so how does that change how we interact with the biblical text? Lea...

What happens when work is combined with the experience of receiving the Eucharist? And can Dr. Kreglinger's experience on a vineyard help us know more about God's character? Join the Patreon Team! https://www.patreon.com/cyndiparker Learn more about Gisela Kreglinger and to contact her about her availability to guide you an a group of friends on a Spirituality of Wine event: https://www.giselakreg...

What can the church learn from embracing wine and engaging the vocation of being a vintner? After all, God is often called a vintner throughout the Old and New Testaments. Dr. Gisela Kreglinger-Smith encourages us to attend to the agrarian view of scripture.  Pour yourself a drink and join us as we discuss the beauty of wine. Join the Patreon Team! https://www.patreon.com/cyndiparker Learn more ab...

What makes people gravitate towards diverse places or towards white places? Is the church being mindful of the narratives they choose to tell? Dr. Leong brings in the ideas of Bob Ekblad who talks of the church being the bridge between the margins and the mainstream. We also touch on the signifiant writings of Stanley Haurwas that emphasize how the church gathers to rehearse and retell the transfo...

From the studies of urban environments to the church's responsibility to engage in reconciliation, Dr. Leong's book Race and Place is a must read. This week we discuss Dr. Leong's history and how it led him to write this book. Along with Race and Place, we discuss how important it is to create a sense of belonging if reconciliation is to happen.   Join our Patreon Team: https://www.patreon.com/cyn...

How well do we know our history? The stories we tell influence who we perceive to be the primary contributors to the Christian faith. Dr. Vince Bantu does an excellent job convincing us we should be paying attention to more voices than we normally listen to.  This week we dive into more of the specifics of the untold stories of early church history that originated in Africa and Syrai. Hold on, you...

Dr. Bantu grew up in a racially segregated St. Louis. His neighborhood was "the hood" (as he says), but he went to school in an affluent area. The church they went to was nearby, but it was over the line separating the white and black neighborhoods. This week we talk about the subtleties of cultural clues that get mixed into the expression of religions, and how detangling culture and religion push...

This week we start by addressing a question a listener sent in to Dr. Kalantzis about the Eucharist and Ecclesiology. Then we get into who the early church mothers are and what we lose by not preserving and passing along their stories. Find out more about me: www.narrativeofplace.com  Join the Patreon team here: https://www.patreon.com/cyndiparker  More about Dr. Kalantzis: https://www.wheaton.edu...

The early church theologians were pastors who wrote to address the context of their local congregations. Some of their writings were lost and have been recently rediscovered. What can we know about these early thinkers and how do they impact what we believe now? Join the Patreon team here: https://www.patreon.com/cyndiparker  More about Dr. Kalantzis: https://www.wheaton.edu/academics/faculty/geor...

Join the Patreon powerhouse team at: https://www.patreon.com/cyndiparker Father Andrew's website with connections to all his books and podcasts is found at: https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/asd/ Book on Mt. Athos: https://www.amazon.com/Mount-Athos-Paradise-Graham-Speake/dp/0300093535 David Dry's photography and writings are at: https://www.daviddry.com Connect with me on Twitter @CyndiParkerPhD   o...

Can stages, rock bands, and moving lights usher us into the sacred? Many of you on social media said no, although you recognized your upbringing in such places. Do we value the theological teachings on Sunday over what the place of Sunday worship communicates? And is it possible that the place can be objectively "sacred" even when a person does not intellectually or emotionally feel it as sacred?...

Join the Patreon Team!  HERE !   Father Paul Drozdowski's website: https://www.pd-icons.com David Dry's website: https://www.daviddry.com Explore the "Jordanville" style icons and maybe get one for yourself HERE . Explore the online Rabulla Gospel and the Ascension image in particular.

Join the Patreon Team!  HERE !   Father Paul's website: https://www.pd-icons.com  

Join the Patreon Team!  HERE !   Watch a short video on Our Lady of Guadalupe HERE See Frederica's Website  HERE  Mary as the Early Christians Knew Her  book

Join the Patreon Team! HERE !   See Frederica's Website HERE  Mary as the Early Christians Knew Her book Read the Protoevangelion of James HERE

This week I am joined by Mom and Dad Parker, Kendra, Shanna, and Brian as we all look back at the first season of Context Matters. What stories drew us in and which lessons keep us coming back for more? And I am getting ready to move and reorganize my pandemic-shaped life, so Context Matters is taking a break until mid August. Make sure to subscribe now so you do not miss Episode 1 of Season 2 whe...

Join part 2 in the conversation with Dr. Riedel through the complex history of the early church councils that were responsible for establishing the basic tenets of the Christian faith. The first seven ecumenical councils had to be attended by bishops of Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, and Rome. If we look at the geographical, historical, and linguistic context of those 5 cities we...