Episodes
Wednesday Aug 26, 2020
R. Alan Streett - Caesar and the Sacrament
Wednesday Aug 26, 2020
Wednesday Aug 26, 2020
Episode: Was baptism spiritual, political, or both? And to what degree was baptism seen as saving in the New Testament and early Christianity? Why? In his provocative and important new book Caesar and the Sacrament, R. Alan Streett shows that baptism was a politically subversive action that involved swearing an oath of allegiance to a new king. Co-hosted by Matt Bates.
The Book: R. Alan Streett, Caesar and the Sacrament: Baptism: A Rite of Resistance (Cascade, 2018). Foreword by Walter Brueggemann. When the earliest Christ-followers were baptized they participated in a politically subversive act. Rejecting the Empire's claim that it had a divine right to rule the world, they pledged their allegiance to a kingdom other than Rome and a king other than Caesar (Acts 17:7). Many books explore baptism from doctrinal or theological perspectives, and focus on issues such as the correct mode of baptism, the proper candidate for baptism, who has the authority to baptize, and whether or not baptism is a symbol or means of grace. By contrast, Caesar and the Sacrament investigates the political nature of baptism. Very few contemporary Christians consider baptism's original purpose or political significance. Only by studying baptism in its historical context, can we discover its impact on first-century believers and the adverse reaction it engendered among Roman and Jewish officials. Since baptism was initially a rite of non-violent resistance, what should its function be today? (Publisher’s description).
Guest: R. Alan Streett is Senior Research Professor of Biblical Theology at Criswell College. His other books include Subversive Meals: Eating the Lord’s Supper under Roman Domination during the First Century (Pickwick, 2013) and Heaven on Earth: Experiencing the Kingdom of God—Here and Now! (Harvest House, 2013).
OnScript's Review: When we recover the first-century context for Christian baptism, we discover its explosive sociopolitical power. Those who were baptized were rejecting Rome's empire built on coercive violence, instead pledging a sacrament (oath) of allegiance to a cruciform king. Caesar and the Sacrament is a must read for those investigating salvation in early Christianity. --Matthew W. Bates, author of Gospel Allegiance, for OnScript
Wednesday Aug 12, 2020
Jackson Wu - Reading Romans with Eastern Eyes
Wednesday Aug 12, 2020
Wednesday Aug 12, 2020
Episode: How does Jesus's death rescue not only humanity from its shame, but save God's face? The honor-shame framework changes how we think about the gospel, faith, sin, and glory. It challenges our individualistic readings and theologies. Biblical scholar and missiologist Jackson W. draws upon his years spent as a missionary in China in his award-winning book, Reading Romans with Eastern Eyes (IVP Academic, 2019). Co-hosted by Matt Bates.
Guest: Jackson W. also writes under the name Jackson Wu. These are pseudonyms that Jackson uses due to the sensitive nature of his cross-cultural mission work in China. Jackson W. is the theologian-in-residence for Mission One. He recently relocated to Arizona, having lived in East Asia since 2003, where he first served as a church planter before starting a seminary for Chinese house church leaders. He earned an MDiv from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary before getting a PhD from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a member of the Asian/Asian-American Theology steering committee within the Evangelical Theological Society. He serves as the book reviews editor for Themelios’ Mission and Culture section. His other books include Saving God’s Face and One Gospel for All Nations.
The Book: Jackson W., Reading Romans with Eastern Eyes: Honor and Shame in Paul's Message and Mission (IVP Academic, 2019). Christianity Today's 2020 Book of the Year Award of Merit - Biblical Studies. What does it mean to “read Romans with Eastern eyes”? Combining research from Asian scholars with his many years of experience living and working in East Asia, Jackson directs our attention to Paul's letter to the Romans. He argues that some traditional East Asian cultural values are closer to those of the first-century biblical world than common Western cultural values. When read this way, we see how honor and shame shape so much of Paul's message and mission. (Publisher’s description, abridged).
OnScript's Review: Jesus's death saves not only humanity from shame, but also God. Jackson W. provides a fresh framework for reading Romans. His detailed interpretative work reinvigorates our understanding of sin, faith, righteousness, glory, and much more. The result is theologically rich. Highly recommended. --Matthew W. Bates, author of Gospel Allegiance, for OnScript
Tuesday Aug 04, 2020
John Kincaid - Justification, Righteousness, and Divine Sonship in Paul
Tuesday Aug 04, 2020
Tuesday Aug 04, 2020
Episode: In a previous episode Chris Tilling and Matt Bates interviewed two of the co-authors (Barber and Pitre) of the book, Paul, A New Covenant Jew. The third co-author of this book, John Kincaid, talks with Chris Tilling about his own chapter on justification, divine sonship, and “cardiac righteousness”, as well as his own future work on justification more generally, and his forthcoming work for the series Lectio Sacra. This episode therefore looks at the cutting edge of cutting-edge scholarship by also talking about impending work and ideas not yet published!
Guest: John Kincaid, PhD is the Administrative Chair of University-Wide Programs at the University of Mary. He is the co-author of Paul, A New Covenant Jew: Rethinking Pauline Theology, with Brant Pitre and Michael P. Barber, Eerdmans, 2019. Originally from Pittsburgh, Dr. Kincaid received his PhD in theology from Ave Maria University in 2015. Before receiving his PhD, Kincaid received a ThM from Duke University, an MA in theology from Covenant Theological Seminary, and a BA in theology from Geneva College. Before arriving at the University of Mary in 2019, Kincaid was previously a member of the theology faculty at John Paul the Great Catholic University as well as Franciscan University of Steubenville. His research interests center on Pauline theology and its reception history, the soteriology of Augustine and Aquinas, and the challenge of contemporary biblical hermeneutics. Kincaid is currently finishing a manuscript on the theme of justification in the Pauline letters as well as working on a co-written manuscript on biblical interpretation with Michael Waldstein. He and his wife Kristen have six children.
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