OnScript

Christopher Rollston - The Alleged Isaiah Seal

(Photo Ouria Tadmor. Copyright Eilat Mazar)[/caption]

Episode: We discuss the alleged Isaiah Bulla (clay seal impression) with one of the finest epigraphers in the field. The seal was found by the Temple Mount in 2009 by Eilat Mazar, and first announced in Biblical Archaeology Review last month (February, 2018). Matt L. and Dru J. discuss the find with Prof. Christopher Rollston, who urges caution when making bold claims about the seal's link to the biblical prophet Isaiah. We also discuss our desire to make connections between archaeology and the bible, and for a material connection with the past.

Guest: Professor Rollston is Associate Professor of Northwest Semitic languages and literatures at George Washington University. Rollston works in more than a dozen ancient and modern languages, including various ancient Semitic languages (e.g., Hebrew, Phoenician, Aramaic, Palmyrene, Nabataean, Ammonite, Moabite, Edomite, Ugaritic, Akkadian), several ancient and modern Indo-European languages (e.g., Hellenistic Greek, Classical Latin; Modern German, French, Spanish, and Italian), as well as Sahidic Coptic. He is the author of Writing and Literacy in the World of Ancient Israel: Epigraphic Evidence from the Iron Age (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2010). This volume was selected by the American Schools of Oriental Research (in November 2011) as the recipient of the prestigious “Frank Moore Cross Prize for Northwest Semitic Epigraphy,” a prize named for the late Harvard University Professor Frank Cross. He has also edited several volumes. Needless to say, he's very accomplished in his field! (adapted from the GWU website).

Help Support OnScript: Click through one of the links above to purchase Rollston's book (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.

Paul Trebilco - Outsiders and Insiders in the New Testament

Episode: What can the language we use for “them” tell us about who “we” are? What do a group’s descriptions of outsiders tell us about the values and self-perceptions of the in-group? The New Testament uses a range of designations for outsiders and, at first blush, some of the terms, like “sinner,” “unbeliever,” and “unrighteous,” seem unusually harsh to our ears. In an age where inclusivity rules the day, the New Testament authors seem woefully out of step. Fortunately, Paul Trebilco’s new research sheds some much-needed light on this important topic. In this episode, Professor Paul Trebilco talks with Erin about outsider designations in the New Testament, New Zealand, being in a gang, jazz musicians, and more.

Guest: Paul Trebilco (PhD, University of Durham), is Professor of New Testament at the University of Otago. He has published work on the Jewish and Greco-Roman backgrounds to the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles, the apostle Paul, early Christians in Ephesus, the relationship of Scripture and Church tradition, and the Self-designations used by the earliest Christians in the New Testament. In 2017, Paul was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

 The Book: Paul Trebilco, Outsider Designations and Boundary Construction in the New Testament (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017). Publisher's Description: What terms did early Christians use for outsiders? How did they refer to non-members? In this book-length investigation of these questions, Paul Trebilco explores the outsider designations that the early Christians used in the New Testament. He examines a range of terms, including unbelievers, 'outsiders', sinners, Gentiles, Jews, among others. Drawing on insights from social identity theory, sociolinguistics, and the sociology of deviance, he investigates the usage and development of these terms across the New Testament, and also examines how these outsider designations function in boundary construction across several texts. Trebilco's analysis leads to new conclusions about the identity and character of the early Christian movement, the range of relations between early Christians and outsiders, and the theology of particular New Testament authors.

 

Joshua W. Jipp - Saved by Faith and Hospitality

Episode: OnScript welcomes one of its favorite guests, Joshua Jipp, back to the microphone. Host Matthew Bates asks Josh pointed questions that all OnScript listeners are dying to know. Like, "Why, Josh, didn't you title your book Salvation by Allegiance Alone (and Hospitality) rather than Saved by Faith and Hospitality?" And, "In light of your book's thesis, when I wanted to visit Chicago this past summer, and I asked if I could stay with you, why did you say 'no'"? They also get around to less important topics like xenophobia, the effects of Trumpism, immigration policy, and what an everyday Christian can do to be more hospitable.

Guest: Joshua W. Jipp (PhD, Emory) is Associate Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Josh also holds a ThM from Duke Divinity School, an MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a BA from Northwestern College. In addition to Saved by Faith and Hospitality, he is the author of Christ is King (Fortress, 2015) and Divine Visitations and Hospitality to Strangers in Luke-Acts (Brill, 2013).

The Book: Joshua W. Jipp, Saved by Faith and Hospitality (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017). Foreword by Christine D. Pohl. Publisher's description: Too few Christians today, says Joshua Jipp, understand hospitality to strangers and the marginalized as an essential part of the church's identity. In this book Jipp argues that God's relationship to his people is fundamentally an act of hospitality to strangers, and that divine and human hospitality together are thus at the very heart of Christian faith. Jipp first provides a thorough interpretation of the major biblical texts related to the practice of hospitality to strangers, considering especially how these texts portray Christ as the divine host who extends God's welcome to all people. Jipp then invites readers to consider how God's hospitality sets the pattern for human hospitality, offering suggestions on how the practice of welcoming strangers can guide the church in its engagement with current social challenges—immigration, incarceration, racism, and more.

The OnScript Quip (our review): I was a stranger and you invited me in. The stark clarity of Jesus' words slices through our confusion. Although the global reality is large-scale immigration, fear of the other remains an ominous cloud. What is urgently needed is a theological reflection on hospitality for the sake of church and world. Jipp's book is Christ-centered, wise, and timely. Read, and find yourself more welcoming to the stranger. -- Matthew W. Bates, Quincy University, OnScript

Carol Newsom - Creation, Anthropology, and Glass Beads

Episode: In this episode, Matt sits down with Carol Newsom to discuss the Dead Sea Scrolls, her research on the Bible and ecology, the development of the self in the Bible and other early Jewish literature, glass beading, weaving, and much more!

Guest: (from the Candler website) Carol Newsom is Charles Howard Candler Professor of Old Testament at Candler School of Theology and a senior fellow at Emory's Center for the Study of Law and Religion. Newsom came to Candler in 1980, only the second woman to hold a tenure-track position. In 2005, she became the first female faculty member appointed to a chaired professorship.

Newsom's research focuses on the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Wisdom tradition, the book of Daniel, and apocalyptic literature. She has written and edited 13 books and scores of articles, book chapters, translations, encyclopedia articles and reviews. She co-edited the acclaimed Women’s Bible Commentary (Westminster John Knox, 3^rd ed., 2012), now in its third edition, which explores the implications of and challenges long-held assumptions about the Bible’s portrayal of women and other marginalized groups. She has also written Job and the Contest of Moral Imaginations (Oxford, 2009), and recently, a commentary on Daniel (WJK, 2016) with contributions from Brennan Breed.

Newsom holds honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Copenhagen, Birmingham-Southern College, and Virginia Theological Seminary in recognition of her academic work, most notably her scholarship in Old Testament theology and her innovative work in transcribing, translating and providing commentary on the Dead Sea Scrolls.

She has received several prestigious research fellowships, including grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Henry Luce Foundation, and has won several awards for excellence in teaching and mentoring, including Emory University’s highest award for teaching, the Emory Williams Distinguished Teaching Award.

Help Support OnScript: Click through one of the links above to purchase one of Newsom'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.

Lynn Cohick & Amy Brown Hughes - Christian Women in the Patristic World

Episode: Gender is a hot-button topic. The validity and limits of "gender roles" remains a controversial issue in the church. Meanwhile early Christian theology is all about the church Fathers--at least this is the mindset in some circles. While it may be acknowledged that women were vital to the development of early Christianity, for those nurtured in such circles, any notion of women making lasting theological contributions is simply silly or wishful thinking. The period from 100-600 AD is called the Patristic era in common parlance for a reason. Lynn Cohick and Amy Brown Hughes bringing compelling contrary evidence and a balanced perspective, drawing from their recent book, Christian Women in the Patristic World. Join the discussion as they are welcomed by OnScript co-host Matthew Bates for a conversation about women, gender, and early Christianity.

Guests: Lynn Cohick (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania) is Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College. Prior to coming to Wheaton in 2000, Lynn taught for three years in Nairobi, Kenya. She researches the ways Jews and Christians lived out their faith in the ancient settings of Hellenism and the Roman Empire, and how Jews and Christians today can better appreciate and understand each other. Lynn also explores women’s lives in the ancient world. In addition to the present book, she has published Philippians (Zondervan, 2013); Ephesians (Cascade, 2010); and a book that might particularly interest our listeners, Women in the World of the Earliest Christians (Baker Academic, 2009).

Amy Brown Hughes (Ph.D., Wheaton College) is Assistant Professor of Theology at Gordon College. She has co-authored the book under discussion today, Christian Women in the Patristic World, as well as editing and contributing to various essay volumes. Amy received an M.A. in history of Christianity from Wheaton College and her B.A. in theology and historical studies from Oral Roberts University. She enjoys highlighting the contributions of minority voices to theology, especially those of women.

Book: Lynn H. Cohick and Amy Brown Hughes, Christian Women in the Patristic World: Their Influence, Authority, and Lecacy in the Second through Fifth Centuries (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2017). Publisher's description: From facing wild beasts in the arena to governing the Roman Empire, Christian women--as preachers and philosophers, martyrs and empresses, virgins and mothers--influenced the shape of the church in its formative centuries. This book provides in a single volume a nearly complete compendium of extant evidence about Christian women in the second through fifth centuries. It highlights the social and theological contributions they made to shaping early Christian beliefs and practices, integrating their influence into the history of the patristic church and showing how their achievements can be edifying for contemporary Christians.

The OnScript Quip (our review): Nothing beautiful is ever a waste. But lovely things can be lost or corroded by time. The delightful story of the theological contribution of women to early Christianity had been tarnished by ugly neglect. Cohick and Hughes are masterful in their restorative craft. They strip way the layers of grime to showcase the story's original splendor and vivid hues. Scholars and students will be compelled to gaze intently at this work of art. -- Matthew W. Bates, Quincy University, OnScript

Iain Provan - The Reformation and the Right Reading of Scripture

Episode: Pour yourself a wee dram of whisky and tune in as Matt and Dru talk with Iain Provan about the perils and benefits of literal(istic) interpretation of Scripture and his new book The Reformation and the Right Reading of Scripture (Baylor, 2017). In addition to some great convo, in this episode you'll witness the special guest appearance of an Eastern European thought leader, and a new edition of 'How Scottish Are You?'

Guest: Iain Provan is Marshall Sheppard Professor of Biblical Studies at Regent College (no, not Regent University) in Vancouver, BC. Provan has written numerous essays and articles, and several books including commentaries on Lamentations, 1 and 2 Kings, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs, and co-authored with Phil Long and Tremper Longman A Biblical History of Israel (John Knox Press, 2nd edition, 2015). He has also published Against the Grain: Selected Essays (Regent College Publishing, 2015), Seriously Dangerous Religion: What the Old Testament Really Says and Why It Matters (Baylor University Press, 2014) and Convenient Myths: The Axial Age, Dark Green Religion, and the World that Never Was (Baylor University Press, 2013). His most recent book, and the topic of our interview, is The Reformation and the Right Reading of Scripture (Baylor, 2017).

Book: (from the publisher's website) The Reformation and the Right Reading of Scripture (Baylor, 2017). In 1517, Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of Wittenberg’s castle church. Luther’s seemingly inconsequential act ultimately launched the Reformation, a movement that forever transformed both the Church and Western culture. The repositioning of the Bible as beginning, middle, and end of Christian faith was crucial to the Reformation. Two words alone captured this emphasis on the Bible’s divine inspiration, its abiding authority, and its clarity, efficacy, and sufficiency: sola scriptura.

In the five centuries since the Reformation, the confidence Luther and the Reformers placed in the Bible has slowly eroded. Enlightened modernity came to treat the Bible like any other text, subjecting it to a near endless array of historical-critical methods derived from the sciences and philosophy. The result is that in many quarters of Protestantism today the Bible as word has ceased to be the Word.

In The Reformation and the Right Reading of Scripture, Iain Provan aims to restore a Reformation-like confidence in the Bible by recovering a Reformation-like reading strategy. To accomplish these aims Provan first acknowledges the value in the Church’s precritical appropriation of the Bible and, then, in a chastened use of modern and postmodern critical methods. But Provan resolutely returns to the Reformers’ affirmation of the centrality of the literal sense of the text, in the Bible’s original languages, for a right-minded biblical interpretation. In the end the volume shows that it is possible to arrive at an approach to biblical interpretation for the twenty-first century that does not simply replicate the Protestant hermeneutics of the sixteenth, but stands in fundamental continuity with them. Such lavish attention to, and importance placed upon, a seriously literal interpretation of Scripture is appropriate to the Christian confession of the word as Word—the one God’s Word for the one world.

Help Support OnScript: Click through The Reformation and the Right Reading of Scripture to purchase Provan's book (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.

Jon D. Levenson - Love of God

This is a re-release of episode #12 with Jon D. Levenson on his book 'The Love of God'

Episode: Jon Levenson joins OnScript to discuss his recent book The Love of God (Princeton, 2016). Jon and Matt L. discuss how the concept of ‘love’ differed in ancient Israel, whether Song of Songs can/should be read allegorically, and how understandings of love developed and changed throughout history.

Elaine James - Song of Songs (Biblical Poetry Pt. 2)

Episode: It's time for part 2 of our journey into biblical poetry, this time with the inimitable Elaine T. James. Matt L. talks with Elaine about the poetry of Song, the relationship between humans and the land, the absence of God from the book, conceptions of bodily beauty in the book & ... well ... you'll just have to listen! Our conversation springs from her book Landscapes of the Song of Songs: Poetry and Place (Oxford University Press, 2017).

 

!!Special Announcement!! & Short Interview Mix

Episode: Hey all, we've got a very special announcement. Listen in ... and also enjoy a mix of interviews from the annual Society of Biblical Literature geek fest in Boston. The OnScript team also sits down for its AGM & an important conversation on bats. Stay tuned for more good episodes coming your way soon!

Guests: We've got a mix this week, starting with ... J Richard Middleton, Professor of Biblical Worldview and Exegesis at Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, NY), and author of A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology (Baker Academic, 2014) among other books; Michael Heiser, author of The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible (Lexham, 2014), Supernatural (Lexham, 2016), and others; Adesola Akala, Lecturer in New Testament at Westminster Theological Centre, UK, and author of The Son-Father Relationship and Christological Symbolism in the Gospel of John (Bloomsbury, 2014); Christina Fetheroff, who received her PhD in Biblical Studies from the Graduate Theological Union, writing her dissertation on “Lamenting Abuse: Reading Psalm 22 as a Response to Intimate Partner Abuse”; Davis Hankins, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Appalachian State University, and author of The Book of Job and the Immanent Genesis of Transcendence (Northwestern University Press, 2015), among other works; Ayodeji Adewuja, Professor of Greek and New Testament at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary, and author of Holiness and Community in 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1 – A Study of Paul’s View of Communal Holiness in the Corinthians Correspondence (New York: Peter Lang, 2001), among other works; Zev Farber, fellow and editor at TheTorah.com, and author of Images of Joshua in the Bible and Their Reception (De Gruyter, 2016)

Help Support OnScript: Click through the links above to purchase 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.

John Walton - The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest

Episode: Matt L & Dru try to find the Lost world of the Israelite Conquest with John Walton, of Wheaton College, and they give it their best. This discussion dips into the various provocative claims of John's book, but also manages to cover important items like John's response to sombreroed penguins, good novels, and counting one's steps to ensure the closest route between two points. If you've ever wrestled with the ethics or theology of the conquest story, tune in.

Guest: John Walton is Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College, IL. John works at the intersection of biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies. He is the author of numerous monographs and commentaries, including the NIV Application Commentary on Genesis, the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary on Genesis, and the IVP 'Lost World' series, including The Lost World of Genesis 1: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate, The Lost World of Adam and Eve: Genesis 2-3 and The Human Origins Debate, and is co-author (with his son J. Harvey Walton) of the book under discussion today, The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest: Convenant, Retribution, and the Fate of the Canaanites (IVP, 2017).

Book: (From the Publisher's Site) Holy warfare is the festering wound on the conscience of Bible-believing Christians. Of all the problems the Old Testament poses for our modern age, this is the one we want to avoid in mixed company.

But do the so-called holy war texts of the Old Testament portray a divinely inspired genocide? Did Israel slaughter Canaanites at God's command? Were they enforcing divine retribution on an unholy people? These texts shock us. And we turn the page. But have we rightly understood them?

In The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest, John Walton and J. Harvey Walton take us on an archaeological dig, excavating the layers of translation and interpretation that over time have encrusted these texts and our perceptions. What happens when we take new approaches, frame new questions? When we weigh again their language and rhetoric? Were the Canaanites punished for sinning against the covenanting God? Does the Hebrew word herem mean "devote to destruction"? How are the Canaanites portrayed and why? And what happens when we backlight these texts with their ancient context?

The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest keenly recalibrates our perception and reframes our questions. While not attempting to provide all the answers, it offers surprising new insights and clears the ground for further understanding.

Help Support OnScript: Click through The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest to purchase Walton's book (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.