OnScript

Isaac Morales - The Bible and Baptism

Episode: In this episode Chris Tilling interviews Father Isaac Morales about his book, The Bible and Baptism: The Fountain of Salvation (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic 2022), published as part of the new series, A Catholic Biblical Theology of the Sacraments. This new book by Fr. Morales presents a biblical theology of baptism via an exploration of directly associated themes throughout scripture (water, exodus, invocation “in the name”, etc.). This enables a presentation of baptism that takes more seriously relevant topics in both testaments, not just the pages of the New. In a unique way, then, Fr. Morales develops a truly biblical theology, not just a New Testament one. He also weaves in themes as they develop into the Church Fathers as well as the Church’s liturgy. The work remains sensitive to the (false) lenses readers use to warp a theology of baptism and ably navigates important texts exegetically. OT texts, Paul, the Gospels, the Petrines and many other passages are examined in this highly instructive and generously spirited work. Chris and Fr. Morales discuss this and many other issues together in this episode!

Guest: Father Isaac Morales was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. He received a Master of Theological Studies degree with a concentration in biblical studies from the University of Notre Dame in 2002 and a doctorate in New Testament from Duke University in 2007. After serving as an assistant professor of theology at Marquette University for around five years, he felt a call to join the Order of Preachers (aka the Dominicans). He's the author of The Bible and Baptism: The Fountain of Salvation (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic 2022). He was ordained to the priesthood in 2018 and since then has taught in the department of theology at Providence College. Before this call he was called Rodrigo Morales and published his PhD, The Spirit and the Restoration of Israel: New Exodus and New Creation Motifs in Galatians with Mohr Siebeck (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck , 2010).

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Amy Balogh - Moses among the Idols

Episode: In this episode, we discuss the god Moses. Yes, you heard that right! It's there in Exod 7:1. But what does this mean? How can we make sense of the transformation of Moses from a man of "uncircumcised lips" to a god? What happens if we read this story in its ancient Near Eastern context? How is Moses also like an idol? We explore this and many other intriguing aspects of the character Moses in this episode with new Biblical World co-host Amy Balogh. This ep is cross-listed with the OnScript podcast.

Guest: Amy L. Balogh, Ph.D., is Lead Lecturer of the Humanities for the Department of Liberal Arts at Regis University’s School for Professional Advancement. She is also founder and co-chair of the new Society of Biblical Literature program unit Comparative Method in Biblical Studies, and Assistant Editor of the forthcoming Lexham Geographic Commentary on the Historical Books (2 vols., Lexham Press). In December 2022, Balogh also became the founding president of the newly formed Religion & Bible Society of the Rocky Mountain Great Plains Region, a 501(c)3 professional organization dedicated to the academic study of the Bible and religion. She's the author of Moses among the Idols: Mediators of the Divine in the Ancient Near East (Lexington Books, 2018). Her forthcoming book uses comparison and myth theory to examine the tension between humankind and nature as expressed in the Hebrew Bible and other ancient Near Eastern literatures. She now joins as a new co-host on the Biblical World podcast!

Hosts: Matt Lynch and Chris McKinny

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Michael Bird - Jesus Among the Gods

Episode: Michael Bird turns the well-rehearsed scholarly tale about how Jesus came to be described as divine on its head. Jesus didn't become God through the application of Greek metaphysical categories in the third and fourth centuries. Rather, Jesus was depicted as divine within our earliest sources on the basis of first-century categories of ontology. Co-hosted by Matt Lynch and Matt Bates.

The Book: Michael F. Bird, Jesus Among the Gods: Early Christology in the Greco-Roman World (Waco, Tex.: Baylor University Press, 2022). After several centuries of controversy, the early church came to an uneasy consensus that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. In his divinity, orthodox Christianity claimed, he shared fully in the nature of the uncreated creator God. But was this doctrinal position crafted from whole cloth in the era of the great ecumenical councils? How did earlier Christ-followers understand Jesus in light of their convictions about the one supreme deity and in the context of a cultural milieu saturated with gods? In Jesus among the gods, Michael Bird gives renewed attention to divine ontology―what a god is―in relation to literary representations of Jesus. Through comparison with representative authors such as Philo and Plutarch, and a comprehensive analysis of Jesus and various intermediary figures from Greco-Roman religion and ancient Judaism, Bird demonstrates how early accounts of Jesus both overlapped with and diverged from existing forms of religious expression. Among the gods, Jesus stood in clear relief, a conviction that may have been refined over time but that belongs to the emerging heart of Christian confession. (Publisher's description, abridged).

Guest: Michael Bird is Academic Dean and lecturer in theology at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia. Mike has published in both New Testament Studies and in Systematic Theology, and his many publications include Jesus the Eternal Son: Answering Adoptionist Christology, Evangelical Theology, and The Saving Righteousness of God. Mike runs a popular theological studies blog called “Euangelion” and can be followed on twitter @mbird12. Mike and his wife Naomi have have four children.

OnScript's Review: When we say "Jesus is God," who and what we mean by "God" matters. Contrary to merely functional accounts of Jesus's divinity, Bird shows that the first-century world had a robust ontology of the divine. Jesus is indeed a very specific God: the one God who revealed himself to be the eternal creator, the life-giver, and the promise-keeper within ancient Israel. A masterwork of historically informed theology, Bird's Jesus Among the Gods will compel scholars to revise the standard narrative of how Christology developed. -- Matthew W. Bates, author of The Birth of the Trinity; Professor of Theology, Quincy University

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Collin Cornell - Divine Aggression (and other Old Testament matters)

Episode: Here's the full version of the convo with Collin Cornell, where we discuss Elephantine, divine aggression (beginning at 34:18), and more, including his work on divine look-alikes. If you've already listened to our short Elephantine episode with Collin, you can skip ahead to 34:18 to hear the rest of the interview here. It's a wide-ranging and fun discussion!

Guest: Collin Cornell is Office of the Provost-Candler School of Theology Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at Candler School of Theology (at Emory University). Before returning to Emory, he taught for three years as a visiting assistant professor of biblical studies in the School of Theology at the University of the South (Sewanee). For one year he managed Sewanee’s Center for Religion and Environment, coordinated Sewanee’s Indigenous Engagement initiative, taught Old Testament for Duke Divinity School’s hybrid MDiv program, and served as academic dean of the Stevenson School for Ministry, a local formation project of the Episcopal Church. Collin is author of one book, Divine Aggression in Psalms and Inscriptions (Cambridge University Press, 2020), editor of two, Divine Doppelgängers: YHWH's Ancient Look-Alikes (Penn State University Press, 2020) and The Incomparable God: Readings in Biblical Theology (Eerdmans, 2023), and co-translator of a third, Biblical ABCs: The Basics of Christian Resistance (Lexington Books, 2021). He is currently working on a book entitled, Monotheism and Divine Aggression, for Cambridge University Press. He is also working on The Lords that Never Were: Early Judaism and the Gods of the Hellenistic Levant. He has also written several articles on Elephantine. (adapted from the Candler School of Theology Website)

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Nijay Gupta - Tell Her Story: Women in the Early Church

Episode: The book we’re talking about today is Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church with IVP Academic. In this episode, we explore the data about women in Scripture and antiquity including ideas such as women's leadership is an exception that relies upon the norm of male leadership, persistent myths about women in the Roman empire, and the hotly contested passages in Paul. 

 

Guest: Dr. Nijay Gupta is Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary. He has written over 21 books, including commentaries on Colossians, Thessalonians, and Philippians. He's written 15 New Testament Words of Life: A New Testament Theology for Real Life (Zondervan), A Beginner's Guide to New Testament Studies: Understanding Key Debates (Baker Academic), and Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church (IVP Academic), discussed in this episode. He has also written several books helping scholars research, write, and get a sense of the field of NT studies. These include The Writer: A Guide to Researching, Writing, and Publishing in Biblical Studies (Cascade) and Prepare, Succeed, Advance: A Guidebook for Getting a PhD in Biblical Studies and Beyond (2nd ed.; Cascade).

 

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Steven Nemes - Theological Authority in the Church

Episode: In this episode Chris Tilling interviews Steven Nemes about his forthcoming book, Theological Authority in the Church (Eugene, Or.: Cascade, forthcoming [2023]). This new book by Steven Nemes argues, via an interpretation of the New Testament texts themselves, in favor of a “low” conception of ecclesial authority in theology. It maintains that no one in the Church has any further authority than that of derivatively, fallibly, and in principle reversibly relating and bearing witness to the teachings of Jesus and the works of God in Him. It concludes with an essay about the consequences of this thesis for the practice of Christian theology and the nature of Christian faith itself. It draws principally from the thought of Huldrych Zwingli and Adolf von Harnack.

Guest: Steven Nemes has a PhD in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, where he studied under Profs. Oliver Crisp and Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen. He is the author of Orthodoxy and Heresy, a volume in the Cambridge Elements in the Problems of God series, as well as of two forthcoming books, Theology of the Manifest: Christianity without Metaphysics, forthcoming with Lexington Press/Fortress Academic, and Theological Authority in the Church: Reconsidering Traditionalism and Hierarchy, forthcoming with Cascade Books. He currently works as an instructor of Latin and Greek at North Phoenix Preparatory Academy. He is happily married to Rachel, and they have a 6-month-old son named Cristian.

Steven appeared in a previous episode, debating divine simplicity here.

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Caryn Reeder – The Samaritan Woman’s Story after #ChurchToo

Episode: Erin speaks with Caryn Reeder about the Samaritan Woman, the reception history of John 4, and its impact on the experiences of women in the church today, which Caryn treats in her newest book: The Samaritan Woman's Story: Reconsidering John 4 after #ChurchToo, published by IVP Academic.

Guest (adapted from Westmont's website): Dr. Reeder earned a B.A. from Augustana College, an M.A. in biblical studies from Wheaton College, and an M.Phil. in Old Testament and Ph.D. in New Testament from the University of Cambridge. She came to Westmont in 2007. Her research interests include the household, gender, and violence in the Bible and biblical worlds. Her recent research addresses women, children, and warfare in the Gospel of Luke, and the interpretation of the story of the Samaritan woman in the context of women's lives in the church. She also teaches in the Gender Studies program. She's the author of The Enemy in the Household: Family Violence in Deuteronomy and Beyond (IVP Academic) and The Samaritan Woman's Story: Reconsidering John 4 after #ChurchToo (IVP Academic), discussed in this episode. 

Book (from the publisher's website): Most Christians have heard a familiar description of the Samaritan woman in John 4: she was a sinner, an adulteress, even a prostitute. Throughout church history, the woman at the well has been seen narrowly in terms of her gender and marital history. What are we missing in the story? And what difference does our interpretation of this passage make for women and men in the church?

Caryn A. Reeder calls us to see the Samaritan woman in a different light. Beginning with the reception history of John 4, she pulls back layers of interpretation entangled with readers' assumptions on women and sexuality. She then explores the story's original context, describing life for women and expectations regarding marriage and divorce in the first century. With this clarified lens, Reeder's exegesis of the passage yields refreshing insights on what the Gospel says—and does not say—about the woman at the well.

Throughout the book, Reeder draws connections between interpretations of this text and the life of the church. The sexual objectification of the Samaritan woman and minimization of her positive contribution has ongoing consequences for how women are seen and treated—including in the failure of many Christian communities to respond well to accusations of abuse. In the age of #MeToo and #ChurchToo, The Samaritan Woman's Story offers a bold challenge to teach the Bible in a way that truly honors the value and voices of women. 

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If you enjoyed this episode ... Check out our interview with Dr. Reeder about family violence in the Bible. 

Malka Z. Simkovich - Discovering Second Temple Literature

Episode: In this episode, Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich takes us on an exciting tour of Second Temple Literature, giving us a sense of the stories, personalities, and history that shaped this remarkable and diverse body of literature. 

Guest: Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich is the Crown-Ryan Chair of Jewish Studies at Catholic Theological Union. She’s also the director of the Catholic-Jewish Studies Program at CTU. She is the author of The Making of Jewish Universalism: From Exile to Alexandria (2016) and Discovering Second Temple Literature: The Scriptures and Stories That Shaped Early Judaism (JPS 2018). 

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Han-luen Kantzer Komline - Augustine and Turning Points in Christian History

Episode: In this episode, co-host Amy Hughes talks with Han-Iuen Kantzer Komline about all things Augustine! We covered it all! Just kidding, we barely scratched the surface of everyone's favorite bishop from Hippo. We discuss her work on Augustine and the will, as well as her latest project, co-authoring the fourth edition of Turning Points with Mark Noll and David Komline.

Guest: Han-luen Kantzer Komline is Associate Professor of Church History and Theology at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan, USA and the author of Augustine on the Will: A Theological Account (Oxford University Press, 2020), which received the Lautenschläger Award for Theological Promise in 2020.  Her research focuses on early Christian theology.  Many of her publications concern topics in Augustine or his relationship to other thinkers, ranging from Ambrose and Cyprian to Karl Barth and Marilynne Robinson.  She has also published on more recent figures such as John Calvin, Jürgen Moltmann, and Erich Przywara, and serves as co-editor of the International Journal of Systematic Theology.  Kantzer Komline’s research has been supported by fellowships from the Fulbright Commission, the Louisville Institute, the Augustinian Institute at Villanova, and the Humboldt Foundation. Her current book project, The Idea of the New in Early Christian Thought, analyzes how Christians of late antiquity conceptualized and defended the innovative character of the Christian faith.

Kantzer Komline serves as co-editor of the International Journal of Systematic Theology, on the steering committee of the Development of Early Christian Theology section for the Society of Biblical Literature, and as an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Reformed Church in America.  She enjoys writing for both scholarly and popular venues, from Studia Patristica to Christianity Today, and is the co-author, with Mark Noll and David Komline, of Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity (4^th edition, Baker Academic, 2022). (adapted from the Western website)

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Andrew Byers - John and the Others

Episode: Erin speaks with Rev. Dr. Andy Byers about John's Gospel, Jewish Relations, and the "sectarian hermeneutic" that dominates Johannine studies. Andy's newest book on John's Gospel, John and the Others, published by Baylor University Press in 2021, advances the bold thesis that John's Gospel gives us a model of identity and alterity, an identity that is "other" without being "anti."

Guest: Rev. Dr. Andrew Byers is Tutor in New Testament at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. Before moving to Cambridge in 2021, he served as Director of the Free Church Track and Lecturer in New Testament at Cranmer Hall, St John's College, Durham University. Originally from the States, Andy has 13 years of pastoral ministry experience and he writes not only for the academy but also for wider audiences and the church. He studied Forestry at the University of Georgia, earned an MDiv at Beeson Divinity School of Samford University, and received a ThM at Duke Divinity School. He completed his PhD at Durham University; his thesis was on ecclesiology in John's Gospel.

Book (from the publisher's website): In John and the Others, Andrew Byers challenges the "sectarian hermeneutic" that has shaped much of the interpretation of the Gospel and Letters of John. Rather than "anti-Jewish," we should understand John as opposed to the exclusionary positioning of ethnicity as a soteriological category. Neither is this stream of early Christianity antagonistic towards the wider Christian movement. The Fourth Evangelist openly situates his work in a crowded field of alternative narratives about Jesus without seeking to supplant prior works. Though John is often regarded as a "low-church" theologian, Byers shows that the episcopal ecclesiology of Ignatius of Antioch is compatible with Johannine theology. John does not locate revelation solely within the personal authority of each believer under the power of the Spirit, and so does not undercut hierarchical leadership.

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