OnScript

Episode: Philip Ziegler joins Erin Heim to discuss apocalyptic theology, Pauline literature, and the implications of both for Christian discipleship. They discuss Ziegler's new book, Militant Grace , which constitutes a serious theological engagement and response to the apocalyptic turn in Pauline studies. Along the way, Professor Ziegler shares with us the influence friends and mentors like J. Lo...

Episode: Seth Heringer's Uniting History and Theology argues that Christians do not need to use the historical-critical method to make historical claims but should instead write boldly Christian history. By using the historical method, grounded as it is in an incomplete understating of German historicism, they close off investigation of the past from the aesthetic and, importantly, from God. This...

Episode: You've spoken. We've listened.  You've asked for more episodes giving a window into the secret lives of OnScript co-hosts. Or at least, you've asked us to allow more time for chat between hosts. So we'll try to do a bit more of that. In this episode, Matt Lynch and Matt Bates, the co-founders of OnScript, ask each other questions about Paul, hell, life, violence, divine-human appearances...

Episode: What is the relationship between the individual Christian and the community of faith? How do we navigate the pendulum swings between an overemphasis on the individual at the expense of community and an overemphasis on community at the expense of the individual? In this episode, OnScript host Amy Brown Hughes talks with her colleague Sharon Ketcham about her new book  Reciprocal Church: Be...

Episode: We all know that for Christians, Scripture is crucial--it's the lifeblood of the church. But when we press deeper, what is it? What do words like authority and inspiration mean? How does the Bible best fit into a broader Christian theology? Joseph K. Gordon joins OnScript host Matthew Bates to talk about Joe's exciting new book, Divine Scripture in Human Understanding. Guest: Joseph K. Go...

Theology Track Episode: Live from Nashotah House, WI (3rd year running), here's part 2 of our interview with Fr John Behr. Amy Brown Hughes talks with Fr John Behr about Origen and all things Patristic. In addition to more of the interview, we've got some Q&A in this episode. If you missed Part 1, visit HERE . Guest:  The Very Reverend Dr John Behr is a British Eastern Orthodox priest and theologi...

Theology Track Episode: Live from Nashotah House, WI (3rd year running), we've got a two-part interview. Amy Brown Hughes talks with Fr John Behr about Origen and all things Patristic. This episode requires theological safety gear, helmet, orange cones, ... everything. Enjoy part 1! More next week.  Guest:  The Very Reverend Dr John Behr is a British Eastern Orthodox priest and theologian.  He is...

Episode: Erin Heim and Chris Tilling interview Darren Sarisky about his recent book  Reading the Bible Theologically  (Cambridge). Guest: Darren Sarisky is Departmental Lecturer in Modern Theology at the University of Oxford (Trinity College). He works in the area of Christian doctrine or systematic theology.  His primary research specialization is theological hermeneutics of the Bible, that is, t...

Episode: This week's ep features a public talk from OnScript's Dru Johnson on his recent book Human Rites: The Power of Rituals, Habits, and Sacraments  (Eerdmans, 2018). Special thanks to Christ Church Jerusalem who recorded this event , and let us re-post it here. Enjoy! Guest:  Dru Johnson (Ph. D., University of St Andrews) is Associate Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at  The King...

Episode: Jonathan Greer joins the show to talk about a big project he just co-edited on the history, context, archaeology, culture, and world of the Old Testament. Jonathan shares from his own work digging at Tel Dan, a very significant site for understanding the Jerusalem Temple and worship in ancient Israel. They discuss major archaeologists, the historicity of events in the Bible, the interacti...

Episode: Matt Lynch has been eagerly awaiting this book ( Opening Israel's Scriptures ), and the chance to talk with one of his favorite OT scholars. That day has come! Matt speaks with Ellen Davis about the intersection of critical and theological biblical interpretation, the manna economy in Exodus, ecology and the Bible, Wendell Berry, violence in the Old Testament, lament, & more! Guest: Profe...

Episode: Ryan O'Dowd is the rare combination of Anglican Priest and scholar of the wisdom literature (though he agrees with Will Kynes's critique of the wisdom genre ). In this episode, Dru and Ryan talk about his recent commentary on Proverbs in the Story of God series, his life as a pastor-scholar, and how being an academic is like being a model. Guest: Ryan O'Dowd is a pastor of Bread of Life A...

Episode: Kelly Murphy joins OnScript to talk about about Gideon in scripture and tradition, and about how various biblical and post-biblical writers portray the Tuba Warrior as a 'real man' or not. This episode features discussion about editing the Bible, the book of Judges, Gideon, Zombies, and more. Guest: Kelly is associate professor in the department of philosophy and religion at Central Michi...

Episode: The Pentecostals are taking over OnScript! Amy talks to Dr. Ivan Satyavrata, pastor and theologian about the necessity of the "traditioning" of Pentecostalism, the incongruence of Pentecostalism not being completely on board with women in ministry or engaging extensively with the poor, and a discussion of the transformation of the Holy Spirit. Guest: Ivan holds a Ph. D from Oxford Centre...

  Episode: We see but a poor reflection, dimly. How does social-memory theory change how we think about the New Testament? In Rafael Rodríguez's Jesus Darkly, the Jesus that emerges from the shadows is surprisingly bright and relevant. Yet even when he remains mysterious, the darkness helps us anticipate the ultimate face-to-face encounter. Rodriguez talks candidly about how a foot-washing ceremon...

Episode: Super-fan Brent Strawn is back on the podcast to talk about why he thinks the 'Bible-as-story' paradigm needs to die, Andy Stanley's book Irresistible, and the idea that problems with violence in the Old Testament are often projections. Guest: Brent A. Strawn is William Ragsdale Cannon Distinguished Professor of Old Testament at Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He's the aut...

  Episode: Matt's been wrestling with the topic of violence in Scripture for a while, and has returned to Dan Hawk's Berit Olam commentary on the book of Joshua. It was a pleasure to talk with Dan about his new book on violence in the Bible. He takes a literary approach that deserves serious attention. Guest: L. Daniel Hawk is Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Ashland Theological Seminary....

Episode: Scott has a riveting biography, from growing up as a missionary kid in South America to entering the Goth and underground music scene to thinking about the effects of horrors and traumas on the body of Christ. You won’t want to miss Scott’s insights here, as he discusses his book God of All Comfort .  Guest: Scott is an Anglican theologian, historian and moral philosopher, and an Associat...

  Episode: Is the Holy Spirit properly called God? Yes, Christians are eager to say. But how and when did this development take place? The early church sensed the Spirit's full divinity, but struggled for centuries to find a grammar. Kyle Hughes, The Trinitarian Testimony of the Spirit , advances an exciting new argument. He shows that the key is the Spirit's role as a divine person who could bear...

Episode: In this wide-ranging episode Amy Brown Hughes talks with Sameer Yadav about the 'promiscuous' nature of theology, his book The Problem of Perception and the Experience of God: Toward a Theological Empiricism , his recent work on apophaticism in the Christian mystical tradition, and race in the philosophy of religion.  Guest: Sameer Yadav graduated from Boise State University with a bachel...

Episode: He’s back! And this time with ideas about science, theology, and philosophy that will blow your mind! Prof. Ervine Sheblatzm has been “rethinking everything” and “sequencing out” several innovative new theories that he believes will usher in “encounters of the fourth kind” in the study of Paul’s letters and in science. Listen in as Matt talks with Ervine about his groundbreaking new book ...

Episode: Dru Johnson and Matt Lynch talk to Robert Alter about his new Princeton University Press book The Art of Bible Translation and his newly released translation of the Hebrew Bible into English. Robert explains how the translation came about and how The Art of Bible Translation acts as a methodological introduction to his translation of the Hebrew Bible. Guest: Dr. Robert Alter is the “Class...

Episode: Chris Tilling chats with Jeff McSwain about his new book Simul Sanctification: Barth's Hidden Vision for Human Transformation (Wipf & Stock, 2018). Guest: Jeff McSwain is Founder and Director of Ministry formation at Reality Ministries , a community-based non-profit that offers a variety of opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities to work, play, learn and grow togethe...

Episode: Jon Levenson's Resurrection and the Restoration of Israel (Yale, 2006) is one of the books I (Matt) most recommend to my students and colleagues. It models biblical scholarship that is exegetically adept, holds the big picture, understands the history of interpretation, and is genuinely creative and convincing. Dru and I had the privilege of sitting down with Jon Levenson--a favorite on t...

Episode: In our latest Theology Stream episode, Amy Hughes talks with practical theologian Michael Bruner about Flannery O'Connor, a "theology of the grotesque," and why literature and art in church isn't elitist. Michael has some great stories to tell and is one of probably a very few theologians who can talk about what it's like to write a screenplay.  The conversation stems from discuss his lat...