OnScript

Episode: "What is love? (Baby, don't hurt me)." These song lyrics--juxtaposing love and hurt--remind us that 'love' is used so frequently and flexibily in our culture that it is in danger of losing all meaning. Enter Nijay Gupta and his new book The Affections of Christ Jesus ! In this episode he helps rescue 'love' by deftly unpacking its biblical meanings and by correcting common misunderstandin...

Episode: Timothy Brookins wants to challenge the scholarly consensus about the conflict behind the book of 1 Corinthians. Listen in as Brookins discusses with Chris Tilling the importance of Stoicism for understanding the rhetoric and message of this crucial Pauline letter! Guest: Timothy Brookins is Professor of Early Christianity at the University of St. Thomas, Houston. In addition to the book...

Episode: Artists and Christ followers walk a similar path, as those who discern the truth about the world. The artistic gift of intuitive discernment, of expressing reality with clarity and soul, relates to the Christian gospel. In this syndicated episode of the Blue Note Theology podcast, Mark explores a woven kinship between artists and Christ followers while playing the grand piano. Guest Host:...

Episode: In this episode we welcome back Fr John Behr! Long-time listeners will be familiar with Fr John's delightful live two-part episode on Origen of Alexandria ( Part 1 & Part 2 ).  In this episode co-host Amy Hughes speaks with Fr John about his new translation of Gregory of Nyssa's On the Human Image of God  (aka On the Making of Humanity). The conversation ranges from discussing what it...

Episode: We're sharing another great podcast with you this week that we hope you'll enjoy. Blue Note Theology is hosted by Mark Glanville (visit HERE ). This may be the only podcast in the world hosted from a grand piano! The Blue Note Theology podcast offers a fresh vision for the church in post-Christian neighbourhoods. Blue notes in jazz and blues music create tension and some of the deepest cr...

In this episode, co-host Amy Hughes talks with Daniela Augustine about her book The Spirit of the Common Good: Shared Flourishing in the Image of God. Her work is a perfect example of theology helping us parse large, complex, and weighty issues with high stakes: How do we engage with violence in our world? How do we live with one another as neighbors when terrible things divide us? How do we move...

Episode: Jesus did not claim to be God. That is the verdict delivered by the preponderance of historical Jesus scholarship. Meanwhile many scholars of early Christianity--including luminaries such as Larry Hurtado, Richard Bauckham, and N.T. Wright--have contended that the evidence overwhelming shows that Jesus was immediately worshipped as divine after his death. That is, they affirm an early hig...

Episode: In this episode, Chris Tilling interviews Crispin Fletcher-Louis about his new book,  The Divine Heartset: Paul’s Philippians Christ Hymn, Metaphysical Affections, and Civic Virtues (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2023) . This work combines keen theological insight with rigorous scholarship to explore one of the most significant questions in Christian theology—the identity of Jesus Christ. Fl...

Episode: Dru and Shai have a wide-ranging conversation about the use of Jewish sages in theology, gratuitous suffering, Jesus's interpretation of Torah, and more on love. Shai Held's work innovatively explores non-romanticized realities of love, including the practicalities and theologies of loving the stranger. Guest: Rabbi Shai Held is a philosopher, theologian, and Bible scholar, and is Preside...

Episode: Matt and Dru go on a myth-busting spree of Josianic proportions. The topic? Sacrifice in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and several ways that modern readers "butcher" the subject. Enjoy the host-only back-and-forth discussion of sacrifice, decoding Leviticus, ritual, Girard, law, and more! Hosts: Matthew Lynch (Ph. D., Emory University) is  Associate Professor of Old Testament at Regent...

Episode: In this episode Chris Tilling interviews Jonny Rowlands about his new book,  The Metaphysics of Historical Jesus Research . In many ways it builds on earlier discussions with Seth Heringer, Austine Stevenson, and others here on OnScript. We dive into his fascinating thesis and his take on some big questions in historical Jesus studies, challenging secular approaches that are often taken t...

Episode: We are culturally embedded and socially embodied, and this impacts how we interpret Scripture. Esau McCaulley and Amy Peeler, who form part of the editorial team for The New Testament in Color: A Multiethnic Bible Commentary , answer questions about the book's origins, scope, and unique features. They also anticipate possible objections to the project and speak of its power to transform t...

Episode: In this episode, Dru Johnson explores Arthur Keefer's comparative work between wisdom and philosophical traditions.  The Book of Proverbs and Virtue Ethics  (Cambridge University Press) examines Proverbs alongside later Greek virtue development in moral philosophy, including recent iterations of virtue ethics. His most recent work— Ecclesiastes and the Meaning of Life in the Ancient World...

Episode: Michael Rhodes joins Matt L and Dru to discuss the Bible's justice-oriented discipleship and its significance for the church today. We explore the importance of Deuteronomy for understanding biblical concepts of justice, including the triennial tithe, 7th year release of debts and slaves, and formative feasting. Discussion also takes us into places like the books of Leviticus, Job, Psalms...

Episode: How did Paul understand time? Was it an adaptation of the "two ages" of Judaism? Is there really an "already-not-yet" in Paul's letters? To the last two questions, Ann Jervis answers an emphatic "no." Join Erin and Ann Jervis for a conversation about Ann's groundbreaking book,  Paul and Time ,  to hear Ann's unique take on how Christ relates to time in Paul's letters, and how those in Chr...

Episode: In this episode Chris Tilling interviews Marty Folsom about his second volume in the series,  Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics for Everyone (Vol. 2 - The Doctrine of God)  (Zondervan Academic). What is it about Barth’s Church Dogmatics that is considered so important? What’s the “big deal”? And how to approach such a massive set of volumes? How to navigate around the highways and byways of t...

Episode: New Biblical World co-host Jason Staples speaks with Jodi Magness, Kenan Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill about her new book, J erusalem Through the Ages: From Its Beginnings to the Crusades (Oxford University Press, 2024), the spectacular synagogue mosaic her team discovered at Huqoq, why specializing in pottery is an advantage for archaeologists...

Episode: In this episode, we delve into the rich and erudite book The Consciousness of the Historical Jesus  by Austin Stevenson. This fine work tackles the intricate topics of epistemology, ontology, and their related historical and theological perspectives, drawing heavily on the ideas of Thomas Aquinas. In Part I of his book, Stevenson begins by emphasizing the necessity of a metaphysical frame...

Episode: Ready to get exegetical? We had so much fun discussing Jason Staples's important new book, Paul and the Resurrection of Israel , that we couldn't resist a second episode. Episode one focused on the theology and broader message of the book. This second episode exposes how the book's theology emerges from a close reading of Paul's letters. Cohosted by Matthew Bates and Erin Heim. The Book:...

Episode: When the Spirit blows over the bones, flesh forms, and they rattle back to life. But the bones are Israel, all twelve tribes. Did the partial return of several tribes from Babylon satisfy God's promises for all Israel? Or was a broader return expected? In his important and influential new book, Paul and the Resurrection of Israel , Jason Staples shows that Paul believed God was raising th...

Episode: What might Scripture have to contribute to contemporary discussions about criminal justice (esp. as practiced in the United States)? In this episode, Matt Lynch speaks with trial lawyer and author Matthew T. Martens about ways that the Bible can shape our thinking about criminal justice today. Topics range from biblical-theological principles to plea bargaining, jury selection, judges, wi...

Episode: Has the quest for the historical Jesus been plagued by an anti-liturgical sentiment? Michael Barber joins OnScript to discuss the historical Jesus, best method, and Jesus's mysterious engagement with the temple and its system. Cohosted by Matthew Bates and Chris Tilling. The Book: Michael Patrick Barber, The Historical Jesus and the Temple: Memory, Methodology, and the Gospel of Matthew (...

Episode: Fighting statues? Mystery cults? Roman religion was strange. Yet in many ways Christianity was even stranger. Nijay Gupta's Strange Religion explores how Christianity was oddly attractive to Romans. If we "keep it weird," Christianity can remain compelling today. Co-hosted by Matthew Bates. The Book: Nijay K. Gupta, Strange Religion: How the First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous, and Com...

Episode: Strawn argues that keeping secrets makes us sick, and the Old Testament offers a way to speak honestly about the BIG things like sin, suffering, and violence. Guest:  Brent Strawn is D. Moody Smith Distinguished Professor of Old Testament and Law at Duke Divinity and Duke University. He’s the author of numerous books, including  The Old Testament is Dying  (Baker)  Honest to God Preaching...

Episode: In this episode, Dru Johnson talks with Garrick Allen about how paratexts (i.e., all the things around and between the biblical texts) have shaped our notions of canon, Gospel, and our reading practices of the biblical literature. His forthcoming Eerdmans book— Words Are Not Enough: Paratexts, Manuscripts, and the Real New Testament —argues that paratexts might hold the most sway over our...