OnScript

(Biblical World) Mary Buck - Ugarit and the Bible

Episode: After being forgotten for over 3000 years, the ancient city of Ugarit was rediscovered by archaeologists in 1929. Perhaps the greatest find from the site was the stash of over 2500 texts written in the ancient language of Ugaritic, texts which illuminated the history of the ancient world and the life of the local inhabitants.  Join hosts Mary Buck and Chris McKinny as they discuss the ancient site of Ugarit which ruled over the Northern Levant from 1800 BCE to 1200 BCE.

Hosts: Mary Buck (Shepherds Theological Seminary) and Chris McKinny (Gesher Media) 

Summary: In this episode, Chris and Mary discuss the following:
- The accidental discovery of Ugarit (Ras Shamra) and the expedition
- An overview of the city of Ugarit, the finds, and its significance in the 2nd millennium BC
- Potential connections between Ugarit and the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible.

Additional Resources: 2019 - Buck, Mary - Amorite Dynasty of Ugarit; 2019 - Buck, Mary - The Canaanites; Their History and Culture from Texts and Artifacts.

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(Biblical World) Karnak - Mark Janzen

Episode: This episode discusses whether it's possible to recover scenes from the Israel/Merneptah Stele, as well as cutting edge technology at Karnak, Egypt.

Hosts: Chris McKinny (Gesher Media) and Mark Janzen (Louisiana College) 

Summary: In this episode, Chris and Mark discuss the following:
becoming an Egyptologist and the role of Egyptology in biblical studies;
Karnak Temple - the most impressive surviving building of the ancient world;
the Karnak Great Hypostyle Hall Project;
imaging and epigraphy on the exterior of the west wall of the Cour de la Cachette (Merneptah's battle scenes);
the relationship between the wall reliefs of Cour de la Cachette and the Israel/Merneptah Stele (c. 1208 BC)

Additional Resources: Great Hypostyle Hall Project; Discussion of Cour de la Cachette (Merneptah); Digital Karnak UCLA; BiblePlaces Karnak Temple; Israelite Origins article 2020 by Rendsburg; Battle of Kadesh and World’s First Peace Treaty

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(Biblical World) Archaeology in the Time of Kings: Hezekiah's Reform

Episode: This inaugural Biblical World episode takes a deep dive into the archaeological background of King Hezekiah’s religious reform (2 Kgs 18:4).

Hosts: Chris McKinny (Gesher Media) and Oliver Hersey (Jerusalem University College) 

Episode Summary: 

In this episode, Chris and Oliver discuss the following: 

The historical background of Assyrian interactions with Israel and Judah in the late 8th century BC;
The destruction of Israel by the Assyrians;
The campaign of Sennacherib to Judah in 701 BC;
The archaeological evidence at Tel Sheba (decommissioned altar);
The archaeological evidence at Arad (decommissioned shrine).
The archaeological evidence at Tel Moza (reformed “temple”)
The archaeological evidence at the Lachish gate shrine (decommissioned and defiled)

Additional Resources: 

Jerusalem University College (JUC); JUC Summer Institute; JUC Online; Context of Scripture in Accordance Bible Software; BAS Article on Lachish and BASOR article on same subject; Moulis 2019 “Hezekiah’s Cultic Reforms according to the Archaeological Evidence”

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Gene Green - Peter, The Lost Theologian

Episode: Though Peter was the rock of the early church, why has Paul dominated New Testament scholarship? Part of the answer lies in the controversies surrounding the Gospels' portrayals of Peter, questions about the authenticity of his epistles, and the specious reception of his speeches in Acts. Yet, despite those problems, Gene Green believes that Peter's voice, his theological and influence, are not lost to us. Green suggests that a coherent cluster of theological concerns populate the Petrine corpus loudly enough for us to discern and map them.

Guest: Dr. Gene L. Green is Dean of Trinity International University in Florida. He is also Emeritus Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College and Graduate School. He previously served as Professor of New Testament, Dean, and Rector of the Seminario ESEPA in San José, Costa Rica. In addition to Spanish commentaries on the Petrine epistles and Thessalonian letters, his publications include The Letters to the Thessalonians and Jude and 2 Peter and Vox Petri: A Theology of Peter. (Adapted from publisher's website).

The Book (from the publisher): "Peter stands at the beginning of Christian theology. Christianity's central confessions regarding the person of Jesus, the cross, salvation, the inclusive nature of the people of God, and the end of all things come to us through the apostle who was not only the church's leader but also its first theologian. Peter is the apostle for the whole church and the whole church resonates with his theology. We sing his song, though we may not have glanced at the bottom of the page in the hymnbook to see who wrote the words and composed the tune. Peter is the "lost boy" of Christian theology, a person overlooked as a theological innovator and pillar, but his rightful place is at the head of the table. If we look closely, however, we may recognize that he has been seated there all along."

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M. Daniel Carroll Rodas - The Bible and Borders

Episode: 
I was leaving the South
to fling myself into the unknown...
I was taking a part of the South
to transplant in alien soil,
to see if it could grow differently,
if it could drink of new and cool rains,
bend in strange winds,
respond to the warmth of other suns
and, perhaps, to bloom. (Richard Wright, Black Boy)

The sentiment of Wright's words is one that resonates deeply with immigrants everywhere. Immigration brings an acute awareness of our connections to land, to food, to culture––things we all take for granted until we uproot and transplant ourselves, and then attempt to bloom in foreign soil. In this episode, M. Daniel Carroll R. guides us through what the Bible has to say about immigration as he and Erin discuss his new book, The Bible and Borders. Carroll Rodas has been speaking and writing about immigration for the better part of the past twenty years, and brings a wealth of personal experience and scholarly wisdom to the conversation.

Guest: M. Daniel Carroll Rodas is the Scripture Press Ministries Chair of Biblical Studies and Pedagogy at Wheaton College, where he was previously Blanchard Professor of Old Testament. Prior to his time at Wheaton he was a Professor of Old Testament for many years at Denver Seminary, and he also taught at El Seminario Teológico Centroamericano (SETECA). Carroll is half-Guatemalan and was raised in a bilingual and bicultural household, and spent many summers in Guatemala in his youth. The realities and challenges of politics, poverty, and war in Central America fostered his passion for the Old Testament texts and Old Testament social ethics. Carroll is also the author of the NICOT commentary on Amos (Eerdmans, 2020), and an earlier book on immigration, Christians at the Border (Baker, 2008).

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OnScript was voted one of the top 20 theology podcasts! https://blog.feedspot.com/theology_podcasts/

 

J. Todd Billings - The End of the Christian Life

Episode: Christians in the West go to great lengths to avoid direct contact with death, and as a result of this death avoidance, we avoid the hope and fullness of life. J. Todd Billings argues that "true hope does not involve closing over the wound of death," but instead, facing death and human mortality directly. In this episode Todd discusses his own confrontation with mortality through a cancer diagnosis, as well as the deep Christian tradition of embracing the good of death (and lamenting its horror). We talk through personal stories about death, including the death of pets, sociological and historical insights, prosperity Gospel in the cancer community, and much more from Todd's new book The End of the Christian Life (Brazos).

Guest: J. Todd Billings is the Gordon H. Girod Research Professor of Reformed Theology at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, MI. He’s an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America, and received his M.Div. from Fuller Seminary and his Th.D. from Harvard. He’s the author of 7 books, including The Word of God for the People of God: An Entryway to the Theological Interpretation of Scripture, Calvin’s Theology and Its Reception, Rejoicing in Lament, and The End of the Christian Life: How Embracing Our Mortality Frees Us to Truly Live (Brazos, 2020).

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OnScript was voted one of the top 20 theology podcasts! https://blog.feedspot.com/theology_podcasts/

Mari Joerstad - The Hebrew Bible and Environmental Ethics

Episode: Trees are people too! While this claim may come as a surprise to many listeners, it's familiar territory for biblical authors. Trees, mountains, skies, plants ... all of these bear the capacity for relationships of responsiveness with humans, animals, and most significantly, God. Dr. Mari Joerstad explores the rich array of texts in the Hebrew Bible that express the land's personhood, it's capacity for a reciprocal relationship. The land can "give" its produce and fruit, mourn, bear moral and cultic responsibilities, participate in warfare, praise God, and much more. Moreover, God and humans are in a (sometimes complicated) relationship with non-human/non-animal persons throughout the Hebrew Bible. This carries significant spiritual and environmental implications that Mari Joerstad explores in her new book The Hebrew Bible and Environmental Ethics, and that we discuss in this episode!

Guest: Dr. Mari Joerstad is a research associate at the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University, where she’s working on a project called “Facing the Anthropocene.” She graduated with a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible from Duke Divinity School, and is the author of The Hebrew Bible and Environmental Ethics: Humans, Non-Humans, and the Living Landscape (Cambridge, 2020). She has recently been appointed as Dean of the Vancouver School of Theology, a post that will commence in the summer of 2021.

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OnScript was voted one of the top 20 theology podcasts! https://blog.feedspot.com/theology_podcasts/

Makoto Fujimura - Art + Faith: A Theology of Making

Windrider Productions

Episode: Generativity over usefulness and efficiency. Making versus fixing. The "new newness" of Redemption and New Creation. In this episode artist, writer, and speaker Makoto Fujimura joins co-host Amy Hughes to discuss his new book Art + Faith: A Theology of Making. Depending on one's church tradition, the role of art in the theological endeavor can span the range from fundamental to antagonistic. Fujimura builds upon his earlier work on culture care to offer a theological vision that offers coherence and beauty to truncated versions of the gospel.

Guest: Makoto Fujimura is an artist, writer, and speaker who is recognized worldwide as a cultural shaper. A Presidential appointee to the National Council on the Arts from 2003-2009, Fujimura served as an international advocate for the arts, speaking with decision makers and advising governmental policies on the arts. In 2014, the American Academy of Religion named Makoto Fujimura as its "2014 Religion and the Arts" award recipient. He has had numerous museum exhibits including Tikotin Museum in Israel and Gonzaga Jundt Museum. New York's Waterfall Mansion & Gallery, Asia's Artrue Gallery represents his works. New York Times colonist David Brooks has featured Fujimura's work and Culture Care as "a small rebellion against the quickening of time." His new book Art + Faith: A Theology of Making (Yale Press) has been called by poet Christian Wiman as “a tonic for our atomized time.”

Give: Help support OnScript as we grow and develop. Click HERE.

OnScript was voted one of the top 20 theology podcasts! https://blog.feedspot.com/theology_podcasts/

Credit to Windrider Production for Makoto Fujimura's photo.

 

Ervine Sheblazm - Paul's Theology of Universalism

Episode: Paul's missionary travels stopped in Rome, but is that where they should end? Dr. Ervine Sheblatzm is back on the show to give a firm "Nein!" Listen to a fascinating and wide-ranging discussion of the many ways that Paul's theology of universalism applies to all, and how Paul's work can be carried forward into the future. Dr. Sheblatzm claims that "Paul's theology may have surprises for us yet," but grasping them may require "donning the space suit of faith."

Guest:  Prof. Ervine Sheblazm is the author of numerous books, including Paul, Multiverse Theory and the Journey of the Inner Soul; Faultlines in the Horizon: Paul’s Dawning Age Marches On; Feathers on the Nose: Paul’s Radical Pastoral Theology for the Non-Anthropic World; and he’s here today to talk about his latest, Paul's Theology of Universalism: The Final Words: Paul's Voyage Must Go On. Prof. Sheblatzm has Ph.D.’s in theology and physics, and holds a distinguished chair in theology and physics at the Center For Excellence that he runs in the Lake District, in the UK. The CFE is a theological lab and farmstead whose mission is to “propagate philosophical consideration of the known world, and the unknown world, and observe experimentally the aforesaid.”

What readers are saying: Read what Sheblatzm's readers think (from the back cover)!

Give: Help support OnScript as we grow and develop. Click HERE.

OnScript was voted one of the top 20 theology podcasts! https://blog.feedspot.com/theology_podcasts/

 

Julien Smith - Paul and the Good Life

Episode: What happens when Dallas Willard, Wendell Berry, and James K. A. Smith walk into a bar to discuss Paul and the Good Life? Join Julien C. H. Smith and co-host Matt Bates as they explore the social and political world of Scripture, with a special eye for how Paul's vision of ideal kingship shaped his ideas about the gospel and salvation.

The Book: Julien C. H. Smith, Paul and the Good Life: Transformation and Citizenship in the Commonwealth of God (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2020). Salvation and human flourishing—a life marked by fulfillment and well-being—have often been divorced in the thinking and practice of the church. For the apostle Paul, however, the two were inseparable in the vision for the good life. Drawing on the revolutionary teachings and kingdom proclamation of Jesus, Paul and the early church issued a challenge to the ancient world’s dominant narratives of flourishing. Paul’s conviction of Jesus’ universal Lordship emboldened him to imagine not just another world, but this world as it might be when transformed. Ultimately, Paul and the Good Life invites us to imagine how citizens of this heavenly commonwealth might live in the in-between time, in which Jesus’s reign has been inaugurated but not consummated. (Publisher’s description, abridged).

US Orders (valid for as long as the deal happens to last): use code 17PGL at baylorpress.com receive 20% off + free shipping.

Guest: Julien C. H. Smith’s scholarly interests center on Biblical texts and traditions. He received his BA from the University of California at Berkeley in French and Slavic Languages and Literature, an MA in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a PhD in Religion from Baylor University. He has written on a variety of New Testament and apocryphal subjects, including Ephesians, Acts, and the Epistle of Barnabas. His first book, Christ the Ideal King: Cultural Context, Rhetorical Strategy, and the Power of Divine Monarchy in Ephesians, was published in 2011. Recent publications include “You are my witnesses: Walker Percy, Jacques Maritain, and the Jews,” in Religion and Literature, and “The Epistle of Barnabas and the Two Ways of Teaching Authority,” in Vigiliae Christianae. Smith teaches “Christian Tradition, ”seminars on Jesus, Paul, Theology & Ecology, and in the First-Year Program.

OnScript's Review (back cover endorsement): Headwaters are elusive. So, essential streams are navigated separately: the gospel, spiritual practices, politics, church life, philosophy. But in this exciting and important study, Julien Smith goes farther back and deeper in. He shows that the gospel invites us not merely to trust a savior, but to give allegiance to the ideal king for the sake of human flourishing. The separate streams are joined to the headwaters and mapped afresh. -- Matthew W. Bates, author of Salvation by Allegiance Alone; associate professor of theology, Quincy University

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OnScript was voted one of the top 20 theology podcasts! https://blog.feedspot.com/theology_podcasts/