OnScript

Chris Seglenieks - Johannine Belief and Graeco-Roman Devotion

Episode: In this episode, Dru Johnson talks with Australian scholar Christopher Seglenieks about why Greco-Roman devotion practices must be included in discussions about "faith" and "belief" in the Johannine corpus.

Guest: Chris is the author of Johannine Belief and Graeco-Roman Devotion (Mohr Siebeck, 2020). He studies and teaches biblical studies (NT and Greek), and has interests in the Gospel of John, faith, the Synoptic Gospels, and the Graeco-Roman religious world.

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Christian Eberhart - The Sacrifice of Jesus

Episode: What was the sacrifice of Jesus for the NT Jewish authors? A barbaric execution? A violent bloodletting of a scapegoat? Christian Eberhart claims that the NT authors did not conceive or talk about the crucifixion as a primarily violent act. Rather, they conceptualized it as a sacrifice, in the same conceptual world of oil, wheat, salt, and livestock. Dru Johnson and Christian Eberhart discuss Eberhart's work more generally on this question, specifically his book The Sacrifice of Jesus: Understanding Atonement Biblically. 

Guest:  (from faculty page) "Dr. Chris Eberhart is from Hanover, Germany. His research interests are ritual, concepts of reconciliation and atonement, biblical texts and manuscripts, literature and culture of Second Temple Judaism, the history of biblical interpretation, the Qumran fragments/Dead Sea Scrolls, biblical archeology and topography, early Christian literature, and interreligious dialogue. To date he has published more than 10 books as well as multiple journal essays, book chapters, and encyclopedia articles in these areas. He is currently working on a commentary volume on Paul’s Letter to the Romans for the academic series Wisdom Commentary (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press).

Dr. Chris Eberhart is the founder of the Annual Congress Section “Sacrifice, Cult, and Atonement” for the Society of Biblical Literature and the co-founder and co-convener of the “Hebrews” Seminar for the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (Society of New Testament Studies; SNTS)."

He is the editor of several academic volumes (see below)

Dr. Chris Eberhart is the founder of the Annual Congress Section “Sacrifice, Cult, and Atonement” for the Society of Biblical Literature and the co-founder and co-convener of the “Hebrews” Seminar for the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (Society of New Testament Studies; SNTS).

His recent books include:

• Christian A. Eber­hart e.a. (eds.), Tempel, Lehrhaus, Synagoge: Orte jüdischen Lernens und Lebens (Festschrift für Wolfgang Kraus), Paderborn: Brill/Ferdinand Schö­ningh, 2020.
• Christian Eberhart/Thomas Hieke (eds.), Writing a Commentary on Leviticus (FRLANT 276), Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2019.
• Christian A. Eberhart, The Sacrifice of Jesus: Understanding Atonement Biblically, Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, second edition 2018.
• Christian A. Eberhart/Henrietta L. Wiley (eds.), Sacrifice, Cult, and Atonement in Early Judaism and Christianity: Constituents and Critique, (Resources for Biblical Study 85), Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature Press, 2017.
• Christian A. Eberhart, What a Difference a Meal Makes: The Last Supper in the Bible and in the Christian Church, Houston: Lucid Books, 2016.

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J. Richard Middleton - Abraham’s Silence

Episode: Richard Middleton thinks that Abraham should've talked back to God when he asked him to sacrifice his son. Today we discuss lament, the example of Job, and Abraham as a counterexample to Job (and himself in Gen 18).

Guest: J. Richard Middleton is Professor of Biblical Worldview and Exegesis at Roberts Wesleyan College. He's the author of:

• Abraham's Silence: The Binding of Isaac, The Suffering of God, and How to Talk Back to God (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2021).
• A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2014).
• The Liberating Image: The Imago Dei in Genesis 1 (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2005).
• With Brian Walsh, Truth Is Stranger Than It Used to Be: Biblical Faith in a Postmodern Age (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 1995).
• Ed. with Garnett Roper, A Kairos Moment for Caribbean Theology: Ecumenical Voices in Dialogue (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2013).
• The Advent of Justice: A Book of Meditations, ed. Sylvia Keesmaat (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2014).

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Mark Scarlata - The World of Leviticus

Episode: Leviticus might be the only book in the Bible that many Christians will openly and casually admit that they do not like (or, it’s their “least favorite). Dru Johnson and Mark Scarlata discuss his recent book, A Journey Through the World of Leviticus: Holiness, Sacrifice, and the Rock Badger, making Leviticus accessible to Christians. Scarlata also gives some insights into his forthcoming Cambridge volume The Theology of the Book of Leviticus in the OT Theology series.

Guest: Revd Dr Mark Scarlata is Tutor and Lecturer in Old Testament Studies at St Mellitus College. Mark is also the Vicar-Chaplain at St. Edward, King and Martyr, Cambridge where he serves as priest in one of the oldest churches in Cambridge that was also integral in the English Reformation. Mark is married to Bettina and they have three children. He is the author of the following books:

• Outside of Eden: Cain in the Ancient Versions of Gen. 4.1-16 (T & T Clark, 2012).
• Am I my Brother’s Keeper?: Christian Citizenship in a Globalized Society (Cascade)
• Sabbath Rest: The Beauty of God's Rhythm for a Digital Age (SCM Press, 2019)
• The Abiding Presence: A Theological Commentary on Exodus (SCM Press, 2018).
• A Journey Through the World of Leviticus: Holiness, Sacrifice, and the Rock Badger (Cascade)
• The Theology of the Book of Leviticus (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming).

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Paul Spilsbury - Understanding Josephus

Episode: Paul Spilsbury knew Josephus personally ... or at least he's spent so much time with him that it's almost as if he did. In this episode we talk about Josephus' writings, identity, and how understanding Josephus helps us understand the New Testament. We also discuss Christianity in Turkey, the book of Acts, and much more!

Guest: Dr. Paul Spilsbury (PhD, Cambridge) is Academic Dean and Professor of New Testament at Regent College. Paul’s teaching covers the full range of the New Testament, with a particular focus on Paul and the Book of Revelation. His research has been supported by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Leverhulme Trust (UK) and has resulted in four authored or co-authored books: The Image of the Jew in Flavius Josephus’ Paraphrase of the Bible (Mohr Siebeck, 1998), The Throne, the Lamb and the Dragon: A Reader’s Guide to the Book of Revelation (IVP, 2002), Flavius Josephus, Judean Antiquities 8–10: Translation and Commentary (Brill, 2005—with C. Begg), and Flavius Josephus, Judean Antiquities 11: Translation and Commentary (Brill, 2017—with C. Seeman). He has also published numerous book chapters, articles, and reviews, and has traveled extensively throughout the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries associated with the ancient church. Paul is a frequent speaker at churches, retreats, and conferences. He is also a juried member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, working primarily in watercolours. (adapted from the Regent College website)

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Enoch Okode - Christ the Gift and the Giver

Episode: If you've appreciated John Barclay's monumental work on grace, Paul and the Gift, then you'll be delighted to see how Enoch Okode's work presses beyond Barclay into new territory. Drawing on ancient ideals regarding royal benefaction, Okode shows that the Christ is both the gift and the giver. What emerges is a more cohesive way to read Paul's letter to the Romans Co-hosted by Matt Bates and a top-secret special guest.

The Book: Enoch O. Okode, Christ the Gift and the Giver: Paul’s Portrait of Jesus as the Supreme Royal Benefactor in Romans 5:1-11 (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2022). Foreword by Joshua W. Jipp. This book provides a close look at how Paul uses the Greco-Roman royal benefaction system in Romans 5:1–11 as well as 5:12—8:39 to accomplish his theological purpose of portraying Jesus Christ as the supreme royal benefactor so that the Roman believers might faithfully respond to his reign now even as they anticipate glorification. This study makes at least three significant contributions. First, at the lexical level, it provides a reading that accounts for the benefaction motifs that permeate Romans 5:1–11 and Romans 5:12—8:39. Second, it looks at the relationship between χάρις as used in Romans 5:2 and the Messiah’s sacrifice as described in Romans 5:6–10 even as it asserts that Paul portrays Christ as a royal benefactor in ways that surprise the Greco-Roman notion of brokerage and the expectation that a beneficiary would be willing to die for the sake of his benefactor. Third, the study demonstrates that the Messiah’s supreme benefaction demands appropriate reciprocity or fitting response. (Publisher's description).

Guest: Enoch Okode (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is Lecturer and dean of the School of Theology at Scott Christian University in Kenya.

OnScript's Review (backcover endorsement): "Timely, important, and rewarding. Enoch Okode brings a new coherence to Paul's logic in Romans by situating the gospel, grace, and loyalty in the context of ideal kingship and benefaction. Our understanding of Paul's theology of salvation has been greatly enriched." --Matthew W. Bates, Professor of Theology at Quincy University and author of Salvation by Allegiance Alone

Aaron Sherwood - Romans

Episode: Matt discusses Romans with Aaron Sherwood, who has written a whopping huge Romans commentary. They discuss the book's rhetorical aims and literary flow, the troubling "hardening" of Israel in Rom 9-11, and why the real deal is in Romans 12-16.

Guest: Aaron Sherwood (Ph.D. Durham University) served as a biblical studies professor in Virginia, The Bahamas, and New York, between 2011-2016. Since then, he has been an independent researcher, an at-home father, and a part time administrative assistant at a legal firm. In addition to Romans: A Structural, Thematic, and Exegetical Commentary (Lexham: 2020), he’s the author of The Word of God has not Failed: Paul’s Use of the Old Testament in Romans 9:6–29 (Lexham, 2015), and Paul and the Restoration of Humanity in Light of Ancient Jewish Traditions (Leiden: Brill, 2012).

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Bill Brown - Psalms in Dialogue amidst Disruption

Episode: These are times of deep division and disruption. Saying so is almost as obvious as saying, "The sky is blue." But finding a way to dialogue through division and disruption is perplexing business, and can be dispiriting! However, the Psalms offer a profound model of holding tensions, diverse viewpoints, and conflicting ideas within one songbook, and also model creative dialogue with a wide range of Old Testament perspectives, so argues William P. Brown in his book Deep Calls to Deep: The Psalms in Dialogue Amidst Disruption (Abingdon, 2021). We discuss Psalms-as-dialogue and much more (including a discussion of the James Webb Space Telescope) in this episode!

Guest:  William P. Brown is William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. Bill has published numerous books, including

• Deep Calls to Deep: The Psalms in Dialogue and Disruption (Abingdon, 2021).
• A Handbook to Old Testament Exegesis (WJK 2017)
• Sacred Sense: Discovering the Wonder of God’s Word and World (Eerdmans 2015)
• The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder (Oxford 2010)
• Seeing the Psalms: A Theology of Metaphor (WJK 2002)
• The Ethos of the Cosmos: The Genesis of Moral Imagination in the Bible (Eerdmans, 1999)
• The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms (Oxford 2014)

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Amy Cottrill - Uncovering Violence in Biblical Stories

Episode: What happens to us as we read violent stories in the Bible? How do violent stories form us ethically? Amy Cottrill discusses everything from overly violent stories, to places where violence is "around the corner," about to emerge, to understand the complex moral reality of biblical stories. We discuss moral injury, violence against women, the tiresome performance of masculinity, immigration, and much more related to her recent book, Uncovering Violence: Reading Biblical Narratives as an Ethical Project (WJK). 

Guest: Dr. Amy C. Cottrill is Denson N. Franklin Professor of Religion at Birmingham-Southern College. Her research focuses on Psalms, biblical representations of pain, suffering, and violence, and the ethics of biblical interpretation. She's the author of Language, Power, and Identity in the Lament Psalms of the Individual (T&T Clark) and Uncovering Violence: Reading Biblical Narratives as an Ethical Project (WJK).

Mentioned in this episode: Carol Newsom's article, "Bakhtin, the Bible, and Dialogic Truth", Jacqueline Lapsley's book, Whispering the Word: Hearing Women's Stories in the Old Testament (WJK), Rob Nixon's book, Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor (Harvard).

If you enjoyed this episode ... Listen to our interview with Caryn Reeder about her book on family violence and the Bible. 

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Lisa Bowens - African American Readings of Paul

Episode: Dru and Erin chat with Lisa Bowens about her groundbreaking work on African American reception of the Pauline epistles from the early 18th to the mid-20th century. In her book, Lisa sets out to answer the question "What happens when African Americans are at the center of Pauline interpretation," and the results of her study are rich and rewarding. Join us for a conversation about this important book in the field of Pauline studies.

Guest: Lisa Bowens is Associate Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary. Her first book, An Apostle in Battle: Paul and Spiritual Warfare in 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, published by Mohr Siebeck, is an apocalyptic reading of Paul's heavenly ascent. She is the author of numerous articles and chapters, including “God and Time: Exploring Black Notions of Prophetic and Apocalyptic Eschatology” in T&T Clark Handbook of African American Theology," “Painting Hope: Formational Hues of Paul’s Spiritual Warfare Language in 2 Corinthians 10-13,” in Practicing with Paul: Reflections on Paul and the Practices of Ministry in Honor of Susan G. Eastman," and “Spirit-Shift: Paul, the Poor, and The Holy Spirit’s Ethic of Love and Impartiality in the Eucharist Celebration,” in The Holy Spirit and Social Justice Interdisciplinary Global Perspectives: Scripture and Theology."

Book (from the publisher's website): The letters of Paul—especially the verse in Ephesians directing slaves to obey their masters—played an enormous role in promoting slavery and justifying it as a Christian practice. Yet despite this reality African Americans throughout history still utilized Paul extensively in their own work to protest and resist oppression, responding to his theology and teachings in numerous—often starkly divergent and liberative—ways.

In the first book of its kind, Lisa Bowens' book African American Readings of Paul takes a historical, theological, and biblical approach to explore interpretations of Paul within African American communities over the past few centuries. She surveys a wealth of primary sources from the early 1700s to the mid-twentieth century, including sermons, conversion stories, slave petitions, and autobiographies of ex-slaves, many of which introduce readers to previously unknown names in the history of New Testament interpretation. Along with their hermeneutical value, these texts also provide fresh documentation of Black religious life through wide swaths of American history. African American Readings of Paul promises to change the landscape of Pauline studies and fill an important gap in the rising field of reception history.

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