Currents in Religion

In this episode, Dr. Bruce Longenecker joins to discuss Greco-Roman associations and how studying them helps us to read the New Testament. Bruce recently published an edited volume about Greco-Roman associations with Baylor Press. He’s currently teaching both a graduate and an undergraduate seminar on the topic. The study of associations is proving, more and more, to bear fruit for those intereste...

How might interreligious dialogue help the world address some of its most vexing issues? One possible way is by making progress on questions surrounding natural law. In today’s episode, I’m joined by Dr. Seyed Amir Hossein Asghari , who is the Postdoctoral Research Associate in Natural Law in the Religion Department here at Baylor University. We’re going to talk about natural law, its history, and...

In this episode, I speak with Thomas Gardner about Lyric Theology , his recent book that is out now with Baylor University Press. In the book, Thomas looks at four different artists—Czeslaw Milosz, Terence Malick, Marilynne Robinson, and Annie Dillard—as a way of exploring the doctrine of creation. Thomas practices patient, careful engagements with these artists, asking all along the way how their...

Today—February 24, 2023—marks one year since Russia invaded Ukraine, an escalation of a conflict that has been long running. In this episode, Zen speaks with Paul Martens about the war, about how Christians have thought about war throughout history, and about how Christians might respond. Dr. Paul Martens is associate professor of ethics in the department of religion at Baylor University and direc...

In this episode, Zen speaks with Dr. Ericka Shawndricka Dunbar about her book Trafficking Hadassah (Taylor & Francis Group, 2021) . This book explores the Book of Esther by employing Africana biblical criticism. We discuss her method and some of the ways it leads her to read Esther differently.  Dr. Ericka Shawndricka Dunbar is Assistant Professor in the Religion Department at Baylor Universit...

In this episode, Zen chats with Rev. Dr. Marcus Jerkins about his book, Black Lives Matter to Jesus: The Salvation of Black Life and All Life in Luke and Acts . The book explores the significance of Black characters in the theological story of salvation told throughout Luke and Acts. Here's the books blurb: ############## The third evangelist makes Black-skinned people central to his claim in Luke...

In this episode, we chat with Dustin Benac about his new book Adaptive Church: Collaboration and Community in a Changing World (Baylor University Press 2022). The book studies the way Christian communities in the Pacific Northwest are adapting in ways that may prove beneficial to the broader Christian community. How do churches belong in their particular communities? What is the broader ecology in...

In this episode, I speak with Katherine Ellis about getting a PhD in Baylor's Religion Department. We talk about the various stages of the program, from course work to dissertation. We talk about funding and what it's like to be at an R1 institution in Waco. Katherine also confirms that I am the most fun person in the Department. This episode will be of interest to prospective students who would l...

“What is the revelatory potential of the corpse?” That is the question that Cody Sanders and Mikeal Parsons seek to answer in their new book, Corpse Care: Ethics for Tending the Dead . Here's the book's blurb: "Corpse Care relates the history of death care in the U.S. to craft robust, constructive, practical ethics for tending the dead. It specifically relates corpse care to economic, environmenta...

For many, the term “inclusion” is the end all for social justice efforts. But, in her new book , Erin Raffety suggests that “inclusion” doesn’t work, at least in churches with disabled people. Listen to this quote: “The church is called apart from the world to repent of its ableism, disown its power, abandon inclusion, and pursue justice alongside disabled people.” Throughout her book she clarifie...

In this episode, Elizabeth (Betsy) Flowers and Doug Weaver discuss Baptist-related headlines from 2022. Topics include Christian nationalism, women in pastoral ministry, and the sexual abuse scandal in the Southern Baptist Convention. Elizabeth Flowers is Associate Professor of Religion at Baylor University.  Doug Weaver is Professor of Baptist Studies and Chair of the Religion Department at Baylo...

In this Christmas special, three church historians share about Christmas throughout history and around the world. David Wilhite, Allison Brown, and David Chrisna discuss the origins of celebrating Christmas, the legend of St. Nick, the story of Christmas carols, and the way Christmas has been received in various cultural contexts.  From all of us in the Baylor Religion Department and at Baylo...

In this episode, Zen speaks with Micheal O’Siadhail about his newly published Testament , a collection of poems published by Baylor University Press. In addition to readings from Testament , we discuss themes from the collection, the role of form in poetry, and how poetry might help people read scripture. Micheal O’Siadhail is an internationally acclaimed poet whose works include The Five Quintets...

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Devan Stahl about disability, eugenics, metaphysics, and how theology can help navigate the ethics of medicine. The subject of our book is Devan's new book Disability's Challenge to Theology (University of Notre Dame Press). Devan Stahl is Assistant Professor of Religion at Baylor University and co-host of the podcast Bioethics for the People.

In this episode, we talk with Mike Bird about how ancient Jewish and Greco-Roman folks thought about what makes a god a god. We also talk about how the New Testament writings portray Jesus as a God, and what the creeds from the fourth century and onward have to do with all of this. These are subjects Mike explores in detail in his new book Jesus Among the Gods . Michael F. Bird is the Academic Dea...

In this episode, Bill Bellinger joins us to discuss the literary shape of the psalms, and how the psalms have given people of faith a grammar for their faith and prayer.  Bill Bellinger was the W. Marshall and Lulie Craig Chairholder in Bible and the Chair of the Department of Religion at Baylor University before his recent retirement (though, he is returning this spring to teach a course on...

In this episode, Dave Nelson discusses what AAR/SBL is like for a publisher, the importance of relationships, and the way COVID might change the role of major annual meetings. Dr. Dave Nelson is Director of Baylor University Press. The Elevator Speech for this episode introduces Daryl Ireland's recent book Visions of Salvation .

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Cynthia Shafer-Elliott about her archaeological and historical research, and how she thinks it matters for reading the Hebrew Bible. Dr. Shafer-Elliott's scholarship explores homes and households, food and hospitality, and the importance of domestic ritual in ancient religious life. Listen now to hear more about her work, and why she thinks it matters for reading...

Episode Description In this episode, we discuss how the Gospel of Luke's stories about food, eating, and sharing meals nourish the Christian imagination. Dr. Matthew Croasmun joins us to discuss the way he and Miroslav Volf reflect on Luke's gospel in their new book The Hunger for Home.  Matthew Croasmun (@mattcroasmun) is Associate Research Scholar and Director of the Life Worth Living Program at...

In this episode, Dr. Jessica Wai-Fong Wong and Dr. Jonathan Tran discuss race, racism, and the work of antiracism in relation to Christian theology.  Dr. Jessica Wai-Fong Wong is associate professor of systematic theology at Azusa Pacific University and authored Disordered: The Holy Icon and the Racial Myth Dr. Jonathan Tran is Associate Professor of Philosophical Theology and George W. Baines Cha...

After more than forty years as a New Testament professor, Dr. Beverly Gaventa joins us to discuss the way things have changed over her career, what excites her in New Testament studies today, and what might need to change going forward. (Also, she gives us a little about her forthcoming Romans commentary!) Beverly Gaventa served as the Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Baylor University,...

In this episode, Dr. Amy Marga describes the diverse ways Christians have imagined motherhood throughout the church's life. From Origen's mother to modern day, there is no singular image of the Christian mother. What is more, does looking carefully at the stories of mothers in the Christian tradition inform theology today? She explores these topics in her new book with Baylor University Press, In...

In this episode, Dr. Natalie Carnes discusses the relationship between feminist theology and the arts, and what the arts offer feminist theology going forward. This is the topic of a book she is currently writing. Natalie Carnes is Associate Professor of Theology at Baylor University.

In this episode, Dr. Trevor Laurence wrestles with how Christians ought to pray the imprecatory psalms, which call on God to judge, destroy, or otherwise punish the enemies of the one praying. Should Christians pray these prayers or do they run counter to Christ's call to love enemies and to pray for those who persecute? And if they should, how? This is the topic of Laurence's new book with Baylor...

In this episode, Dr. João Chaves discusses what he learned from years of research on Brazuca Baptist churches, that is, Brazilian American Baptist churches. These congregations reveal the way the experience of migration shapes theology and religious life and raise questions for what the landscape of religious life in America might look going forward. This research is the topic of João's 2021 book...