Episodes
Monday Jan 27, 2020
David Downs & Benjamin Lappenga - The Faithfulness of the Risen Christ
Monday Jan 27, 2020
Monday Jan 27, 2020
Episode: Jesus was faithful to us in dying on the cross. But how does this inform faith? And does Jesus' faithfulness stop at the cross, or does it extend into his on-going life as the resurrected and exalted one? What might all of this say about the disputed pistis Christou phrase? And did you know that in addition to coauthoring a book, David Downs and Benjamin Lappenga have run a marathon? Or that Lappenga fronted a Seattle rock band? OnScript co-hosts Matthew Bates and Erin Heim welcome guests David Downs and Benjamin Lappenga to speak about their new book, The Faithfulness of the Risen Christ.
Guests: Dr. David J. Downs is Clarendon-Laing Associate Professor in New Testament Studies at Oxford University’s Keble College. Previously he was a professor of Biblical Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. He holds degrees from Clemson, Fuller, and Princeton, having served as a teaching fellow at Princeton and a visiting professor at Holy Cross. In addition to the book we are discussing today, The Faithfulness of the Risen Christ (Baylor University Press, 2019), David has also published Alms (Baylor University Press, 2016) and The Offering of the Gentiles (Mohr Siebeck, 2008; repr. Eerdmans, 2016), as well as numerous journal articles.
Dr. Benjamin Lappenga holds a PhD. From Fuller Seminary in theology (New Testament). He was previously Associate Professor of Theology and Department Chair at Dordt College near Sioux City, Iowa. He is also the author of Paul’s Language of Ζῆλος: Monosemy and the Rhetoric of Identity and Practice (Leiden: Brill, 2016).
The Book: David J. Downs and Benjamin J. Lappenga, The Faithfulness of the Risen Christ: Pistis and the Exalted Lord in the Pauline Letters (Baylor University Press, 2019). The pistis Christou construction in Paul’s letters has ignited heated debates among Pauline scholars and theologians. On the one side, some claim that the phrase denotes human faith placed in Christ. Others, however, contend that pistis Christou in Paul alludes to the faithfulness of Christ himself, with Christ’s pistis chiefly demonstrated in his willingness to suffer and die upon the cross. Yet both sides of this debate overlook Paul’s emphasis on the faithfulness and continuing work of the risen and exalted Christ. Downs and Lappenga effectively reframe any future consideration of the pistis Christou construction for both New Testament scholars and theologians by showing that the story of Jesus in the letters of Paul extends to the faithfulness of the exalted Christ Jesus, who will remain faithful to those justified through union with Christ. (Publisher’s description, abridged).
The OnScript Quip (our review): Downs and Lappenga open the shutters and remove the blinds. Once we see the that "the faith of Christ" includes the faithfulness of the risen and exalted Christ, Paul's letters will never look the same. The Faithfulness of the Risen Christ is an enlightening and energetic contribution that is sure to reshape academic and pastoral conversations about how "faith" and "faithfulness" interface in salvation. — Matthew W. Bates, Quincy University, OnScript
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Monday Jan 20, 2020
Cynthia Shafer-Elliott - Digging Up Israel's Past
Monday Jan 20, 2020
Monday Jan 20, 2020
Episode: We're going back to the dirt in this episode with Cynthia Shafer-Elliott. We talk about bee hives, the Daniel diet, Ezekiel bread, gender & archaeology, and why Cynthia is willing to get up at 4am for weeks at a time each summer.
Guest: Cynthia Shafer-Elliott is Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Biblical Studies in the The Faculty of Theology and School of Christian Leadership at William Jessup University. Did her Ph.D. at the University of Sheffield in the UK. Dr. Shafer Elliott. is an experienced field archaeologist in Israel and is currently part of the archaeological excavation team at Tell Halif, Israel. She’s the author of The Five Minute Archaeologist in the Southern Levant which is a user-friendly exploration of basic concepts within archaeology and the techniques and methods used by archaeologists in the field. She’s also written Food in Ancient Judah: Domestic Cooking in the Time of the Hebrew Bible (Equinox).
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If you like this: Check out our episode with Jonathan Greer about his co-edited book Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament (Baker).
Monday Jan 13, 2020
Dru Johnson interviews Matt Lynch
Monday Jan 13, 2020
Monday Jan 13, 2020
Episode: In this week's episode co-host Dru Johnson interviews co-host Matt Lynch, and there's a surprise mystery guest!
Guest: Matt Lynch is Academic Dean and Lecturer in Old Testament at Westminster Theological Centre, UK, where he's served for the last 7 years. He's also the co-founder of OnScript with Matt Bates. He completed his Ph.D. at Emory University in 2012, and worked for two years as a post-doctoral researcher in Germany. He's the author of Monotheism and Institutions in the Book of Chronicles (Mohr Siebeck, 2014) and his Portraying Violence in the Hebrew Bible: A Literary and Cultural Study (Cambridge, 2020) will release this summer. Matt will be moving to Vancouver, BC, to teach at Regent College beginning in August, 2020. He's married to Abi and has two kids.
Give: Help support OnScript as we grow and develop. Click HERE.
Monday Jan 06, 2020
Willie Jennings - Race and Christian Theology
Monday Jan 06, 2020
Monday Jan 06, 2020
Episode: In this episode, Willie James Jennings joins host Amy Hughes to talk about his The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race ten years after its publication. This compelling work is indispensable for current theological and cultural conversations about race, colonization, Scripture, supersessionism, and the relationship between humans and land.
Guest: The Reverend Dr. Willie James Jennings is currently Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies at Yale University Divinity School.
Dr. Jennings was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Dr. Jennings received his B.A. in Religion and Theological Studies from Calvin College (1984), his M.Div. (Master of Divinity degree) from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena California, and his Ph.D. degree from Duke University. Dr. Jennings who is a systematic theologian teaches in the areas of theology, black church and Africana studies, as well as post-colonial and race theory. Dr. Jennings is the author of The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race published by Yale University Press. It is one of the most important books in theology written in the last 25 years and is now a standard text read in colleges, seminaries, and universities. Dr. Jennings is also the recipient of the 2015 Grawemeyer Award in Religion for his groundbreaking work on race and Christianity. Dr. Jennings recently authored commentary on the Book of Acts has won the Reference Book of the Year Award, from The Academy of Parish Clergy. His book on theological education entitled, After Whiteness: Cultivating Erotic Souls, will be published in the fall of 2020. And now Dr. Jennings is hard at work on a book on the doctrine of creation, tentatively entitled, “Reframing the World.”
In addition to being a frequent lecturer at colleges, universities, and seminaries, Dr. Jennings is also a regular workshop leader at pastor conferences. He is also a consultant for the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion, and for the Association of Theological Schools. He served along with his wife, the Reverend Joanne L. Browne Jennings as associate ministers at the Mount Level Baptist Church in Durham, North Carolina, and for many years, they served together as interim pastors for several Presbyterian and Baptist churches in North Carolina. They are the parents of two wonderful daughters, Njeri and Safiya Jennings.
Give: Help support OnScript as we grow and develop. Click HERE.