OnScript

Cynthia Long Westfall - Paul and Gender

Episode:  In this episode, Cynthia Long Westfall talks with Erin about her new book on gender in Paul's letters, which emphatically is not just a conversation about women's issues in Paul's letters. Tune in as Cindy and Erin discuss veiling, masculine and feminine stereotypes, what it's like to be a woman in the academy, and the superiority of Minnesota hockey.

Guest: (from the publisher's website) Cynthia Long Westfall (PhD, University of Surrey) is assistant professor of New Testament at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario. She is the author of A Discourse Analysis of the Letter to the Hebrews: The Relationship between Form and Meaning and has coedited several volumes, including The Bible and Social Justice. Westfall is currently on several steering committees: the SBL Biblical Greek Language and Linguistics section, the ETS Evangelicals and Gender section, and the ETS Hebrews section. She is also a member of the editorial board for the Common English Bible.

The Book: Cynthia Long Westfall, Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle's Vision for Men and Women in Christ (Baker Academic, 2016). Publisher's Description: In this volume, respected New Testament scholar Cynthia Long Westfall offers a coherent Pauline theology of gender. Westfall interprets passages on women and men together and places those passages in the context of the Pauline corpus as a whole. Her inclusion of the entire Pauline canon enables her to address the issues effectively, and she reads the texts in light of their own claims of authorship, recipient, and circumstances. She also gleans new insights by making sense of the passages in the context of the Greco-Roman culture.

Paul and Gender includes fresh perspectives on the most controverted texts, offering viable alternatives for some notorious interpretive problems in certain Pauline passages. The author reframes gender issues in a way that stimulates thinking, promotes discussion, and moves the conversation forward. As Westfall explores the significance of Paul's teaching on both genders, she seeks to support and equip males and females to serve in their area of gifting, regardless of social status, race, or gender.

Help Support OnScript: Click through one of the links above to purchase one of Cynthia's books (or others, while you're in there) and the OnScript Podcast gets a whopping 2.5% or so (at no loss to you). Each bit helps us keep this operation going. Or visit our Donate Page if you want to join the big leagues and become a regular donor. Don't let us stop you from doing both.

Ervine Sheblatzm - Paul, Multiverse Theory, & the Inner Soul

Episode: Brace yourself for a celestial journey through the letters of Paul, the Multiverse, and the inner soul. Prof Ervine Sheblatzm sits down with OnScript host Matt Lynch to discuss his recent book The Apostle Paul, Multiverse Theory, and the Journey of the Inner Soul (2018). If you enjoy science, biblical studies, or both, and want to learn how they all fit together in what Prof Sheblatzm calls 'the eternal conglomeration,' this episode is for you! As Ervine is so fond of saying, 'The way to your soul's song is in the givenness of multiversality, and no one understood this better than Paul.'

Guest: According to his website, Prof Sheblatzm holds doctorates in Physics and Theology from 'recognized institutions,' and has won awards of various sorts. He runs a research facility in the Lakes District in the UK with his friend Dave (and his cats), and caries out extensive research online. His primary areas of research include multiverse theory and the epistles of Paul, but he also conducts research in paleo-archaeology, cosmology, and metaphorism. He lists 'life coaching' and 'people watching' among his various hobbies.

Book: Prof Sheblatzm's recent publication The Apostle Paul, Multiverse Theory, and the Journey of the Inner Soul (2018) explores Paul's reference to 'the third heaven' (2 Cor 12:2), Multiverse Theory, and the 'inner human landscape.' His theory is at once simple and complex, and as he puts it, 'dazzles and delights' both 'scientist and theologist.' The book includes a number of endorsements.

Contributions: Special thanks to Ed Hatke for producing this episode, to Carl Palmer* for his creative contributions, and to Douglas Horch and Teegla for introducing us to Prof Sheblatzm. Thanks also to Tommy Moehlman for marketing and media assistance.

Donate: If, after ingesting and digesting this episode you wish to give to OnScript, more power to ya. Visit our Donate Page if you want to join the big leagues and become a regular donor. Don't let us stop you from doing both.

*Carl Palmer played Prof Sheblatzm for this April Fools' Day episode.