The Two Cities

In this episode we're joined by Dr. Winn Collier (@winncollier), Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Christian Imagination and Director of the Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination at Western Theological Seminary (@westernsem) and author of A Burning in My Bones: The Authorized Biography of Eugene Peterson (@authenticmedia). In this episode, we talk about the life of Eugene Pet...

In this episode we're joined by Lucy S. R. Austen (@LucySRAusten) writer, editor, and author of the biography Elisabeth Elliot: A Life (@crossway). Over the course of our conversation, we discuss the process of biography writing and how one seeks to tell the story of a complex and influential person like Elisabeth Elliot. We explore the various cultural and relational influences on Elliot’s life a...

CW: suicide and mental health In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Charles Marsh, Commonwealth Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Project on Lived Theology (@LivedTheology) at the University of Virginia and author of Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (@AAKnopf) and Evangelical Anxiety: A Memoir (@HarperOneBooks). In this conversation we discuss the art of life-writing, e...

In this episode we’re joined by Jeremiah Gibson and Julia Postema, licensed psychotherapists and certified sex therapists based in Utrecht, The Netherlands, hosts a podcast called Sexvangelicals. As we talk about in our discussion with them, their specialization as therapists is helping couples coming out of negative religious backgrounds. In our conversation we talk about their perspective on top...

In this episode we’re joined by Prof. James McGrath, who is the Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University and the author of the book that we’re discussing here, Christmaker: A Life of John the Baptist (published by Eerdmans). Over the course of our conversation, we talk about biographical details that we can glean about John the Baptist, whether and ho...

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Scott Coley, who is Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at Mount St. Mary’s University, and the author of the book we’re discussing in this episode: Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power, and the Ideology of the Religious Right (published by Eerdmans). Over the course of our conversation, we talk about the inner workings of the religious right and the kinds...

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Sean McGever, who is Area Director for Young Life in Phoenix and teaches at Grand Canyon University, and who is the author of Ownership: The Evangelical Legacy of Slavery in Edwards, Wesley, and Whitefield (published by IVP). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. McGever informs us about the relationship that three prominent evangelists from the 18th century...

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Matthew Elia, who is assistant professor of theology, race, and environment at Saint Louis University, and the author of The Problem of the Christian Master: Augustine in the Afterlife of Slavery (published by Yale University Press). Over the course of our conversation we talk about what Augustine had to say about slavery, as well as how Augustine relates to the...

In this episode we’re joined by Prof. David Pechansky, who is Professor Emeritus at the University of St. Thomas, and the author of the book we’re discussing in this episode, Solomon and the Ant: The Qu’ran in Conversation with the Bible (published with Cascade). Over the course of our conversation we talk about various thematic parallels that emerge when the Bible is intentionally juxtaposed with...

In this episode we’re joined by Aimee Byrd, who is the author of a number of books, including the one we’re discussing on this episode, The Hope in Our Scars: Finding the Bride of Christ in the Underground of Disillusionment (published with Zondervan). In our conversation, Aimee points to the hope that she has in the midst of the negativity that she has experienced in her church context, and we ta...

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. John Inazu, who is the Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law and Religion at Washington University in St. Louis, and the author of the book that we discuss in this episode, Learning to Disagree: The Surprising Path to Navigating Differences with Empathy and Respect  (published by Zondervan). Over the course of our conversation we talk about what...

CW: sexual and physical abuse, spiritual abuse, grooming, molestation, childhood trauma   In this episode we're joined by Ryan George, who is the author of Hurt and Healed by the Church: Redemption and Reconstruction After Spiritual Abuse. During our conversation, Ryan tells us his story, which centers on how his father was an abusive pastor in the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist context,...

In this episode we’re joined by Gabriel Gordon, who is a master’s student in Theology at Marquette University and the author of the book that we discuss in this episode, The Fundamentals of a Recovering Fundamentalist: Reorienting towards the True, Good, and Beautiful (Wipf & Stock). In our conversation, Gabriel talks about how he deconstructed his fundamentalist upbringing in favor of an indi...

In this episode we’re talking about Dispensationalism with Dr. Daniel Hummel, who is the Director of the Lumen Center and Upper House in Madison, WI, a research fellow in the History Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the host of the UpWords podcast, and the author of The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism: How the Evangelical Battle Over the End Times Shaped a Nation  (Eerdma...

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Jason Staples, who is Asst Teaching Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at North Carolina State University, and the author of The Idea of Israel (CUP) as well as the more recent book that we’re discussing in this episode, Paul and the Resurrection of Israel (also with CUP). Over the course of our conversation, we talk about the impre...

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Nicholas Elder, who is Associate Professor of New Testament at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary and the author of the book that we discuss in this episode, Gospel Media: Reading, Writing, and Circulating Jesus Traditions (published by Eerdmans). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Elder talks about some major myths that are perpetuated in scho...

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Curtis Freeman, who is Ruth D. Duncan Director of the Baptist House of Studies and Research Professor of Theology and Baptist Studies at Duke Divinity School, and he’s the author of Pilgrim Letters , and the book that we’re excited to discuss in this episode, Pilgrim Journey . In our conversation we talk about the value of speaking Christianly about the wo...

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Jonathan Downie (PhD, Heriot-Watt University), who is a Consultant Interpreter and Researcher in Multilingual Churches, and the author of Multilingual Church: Strategies for Making Disciples in All Languages (w/ William Carey Publishing). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Downie articulates the importance of multilingualism as something that churches shou...

Dr. Barnabas Aspray is Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore, MD and the author of a recent article in the academic journal, Modern Theology , called "Jesus Was A Refugee: Unpacking the Theological Implications." In this episode Dr. Aspray addresses the topic of the refugee crisis around the world by building upon the notion of the Holy Famil...

CW: violence against children, assault, domestic partner violence, adverse religious experiences, suicide Rev. Dr. Scott Harrower is Lecturer in Christian Thought at Ridley College and an ordained minister in the Anglican Church. In this episode, Revd Dr. Harrower offers a theological response to trauma through the doctrine of the Trinity–reflected in large part in his book God of All Comfort . We...

CW: adverse religious experiences Dr. Charles Kiser is a pastor and theologian with Storyline Christian Community in Dallas, TX, and Dr. Elanie Heath is the former Dean of Duke Divinity School and the author of The Mystic Way of Evangelism and Loving the Hell Out of Ourselves (and Others) . In this episode, we talk about Dr. Kiser’s and Dr. Heath’s recent book Trauma-Informed Evangelism . In addit...

CW: murder, depression Dr. Matthew D. Kim is the Professor of Practical Theology; Holder of the Hubert H. and Gladys S. Raborn Chair of Pastoral Leadership at Truett Seminary at Baylor University. In this episode, Dr. Kim introduces us to his book Preaching to People in Pain (Baker Academic, 2021) and his broader philosophies around trauma informed preaching. He explains some of the ways that prea...

CW: adverse religious experiences, church-related trauma, narcissistic leaders Dr. Scot McKnight is Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary and Laura Barringer is an author and a Kindergarten Teacher. In this episode, they summarize their two recent books ( A Church Called Tov and Pivot ). In the first part, in the light of abuse related to Willow Creek Church and the Southern Baptist Conv...

CW: wartime violence, civilian casualities, suicide Dr. Brian Powers is Vann Fellow in Christianity and the Armed Forces and Executive Director of the International Centre for Moral Injury at Durham University. In this episode Dr. Powers defines the term “moral injury” and helps us to understand some of the applications of this term with respect to military personnel, veterans, and frontline healt...

CW: sexual assault, forced migration, intimate partner violence. Dr. Alexiana Fry is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Copenhagen and the author of Trauma Talks in the Hebrew Bible . In this episode, we talk about how she began working on this topic as well as several different texts that have or could be read in light of trauma (e.g., Judges 19; Lamentations). She offers helpful comp...