OnScript

Mark Smith – Where the Gods Are

Episode: The polymathic Mark S. Smith joins OnScript to discuss his book on God’s body, and the way Hebrew and Ugaritic literature present divine embodiment in human space. Along the way we discuss Mark’s scholarly mentors and his passion for early Israelite religion, the Hebrew Bible, Ugaritic, and yes, even footnotes. Toward the end of the episode we do a ‘lightning round’ on a bunch of Hebrew Bible and ancient Israelite stuff.

Guest: Mark S. Smith is the Helena Professor of Old Testament Literature and Exegesis at Princeton Theological Seminary. He’s the author of over 15 books, including Poetic Heroes (Eerdmans, 2014), God in Translation (Eerdmans 2008), The Origins of Biblical Monotheism (Oxford University Press, 2001), The Early History of God (Eerdmans, 1990; 2nd ed., 2002), and our book for this episode, Where the Gods Are: Spatial Dimensions of Anthropomorphism in the Biblical World (Yale, 2016). Mark previously held the Skirball Chair of Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies in the Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at NYU.

Book: In this episode we discuss Mark’s most recent book, Where the Gods Are: Spatial Dimensions of Anthropomorphism in the Biblical World (Yale, 2016). This book draws together several previous studies on the way texts represent gods (like Israel’s god) interacting with human space. In the first programmatic section of the book Mark discusses God’s body in the Hebrew Bible, focusing on human-like, ‘super-sized,’ and cosmic representations of God. He then proceeds to discuss animal representations of divinity, and the way that deities interact with temples and cities.

Larry W. Hurtado – Destroyer of the Gods

Episode:  Larry Hurtado and OnScript host Matthew Bates smash gods. Well, actually Larry is the one who brings the heavy artillery, drawing from his recent Destroyer of the Gods (Baylor University Press, 2016). What does a typical day look like in the life of Larry Hurtado? How does he come up with new scholarly ideas? What made earliest Christianity distinctive?–and why does that matter today? What should we make of Richard Bauckham’s “Christology of Divine Identity”? In his characteristically lucid style, Hurtado answers these questions and more. Join the conversation and find your sensibilities about religion turned upside down.

Guest: Larry Hurtado is a world-renowned expert on Christian origins, the New Testament, and early christology. Born in Kansas City (Missouri), in 1996 Larry Hurtado accepted the professorial chair in New Testament in the University of Edinburgh, where he founded the Centre for the Study of Christian Origins. Since his retirement in 2011, he remains active in research and publications dealing with various questions concerning the origins of Christianity. Arguably his most influential book is One God, One Lord (1988; 3rd ed., Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2015), which culminated in his magisterial, Lord Jesus Christ:  Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity (Eerdmans, 2003). He has also written a pioneering study of the physical features of earliest Christian manuscripts, The Earliest Christian Artifacts (Eerdmans, 2005). In addition to the book under discussion here, Destroyer of the Gods, he has also recently penned Why on Earth did Anyone Become a Christian in the First Three Centuries? (Marquette University Press, 2016).

Book: Larry W. Hurtado, Destroyer of the Gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World (Baylor University Press, 2016). Christianity thrived despite its new and distinctive features and opposition to them. Unlike nearly all other religious groups, Christianity utterly rejected the traditional gods of the Roman world. Christianity also offered a new and different kind of religious identity, one not based on ethnicity. Christianity was distinctively a “bookish” religion, with the production, copying, distribution, and reading of texts as central to its faith, even preferring a distinctive book-form, the codex. Christianity insisted that its adherents behave differently: unlike the simple ritual observances characteristic of the pagan religious environment, embracing Christian faith meant a behavioral transformation, with particular and novel ethical demands for men. Unquestionably, to the Roman world, Christianity was both new and different, and, to a good many, it threatened social and religious conventions of the day. Christianity’s novelty was no badge of honor. Called atheists and suspected of political subversion, Christians earned Roman disdain and suspicion in equal amounts. Yet, as Destroyer of the gods demonstrates, in an irony of history the very features of early Christianity that rendered it distinctive and objectionable in Roman eyes have now become so commonplace in Western culture as to go unnoticed. Christianity helped destroy one world and create another.

The OnScript Quip (our review): Whether one applauds or disdains the values of contemporary Western culture, what we assume to be good, true, and normal has been shaped to a surprising degree by early Christianity. Demolishing taken-for-granted assumptions about what religion was, is, and can be, Hurtado’s provocative exploration deserves a broad audience. — Matthew W. Bates, Quincy University, OnScript

Nyasha Junior – An Introduction to Womanist Biblical Interpretation

Episode: Matt L. discusses womanist biblical interpretation with Nyasha Junior of Temple University. If this is a new subject to you, or you’re on the hunt for a great introduction to the subject, go no further. Matt discusses Nyasha’s journey into academic biblical studies and the story behind her book An Introduction to Womanist Biblical Interpretation, and also discusses sexism in the academy and more.

Guest: Nyasha Junior is Assistant Professor of Religion at Temple University in Philadelphia. She holds a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and has research interests in race, gender, and religion. She is currently writing a book on Hagar and Blackness. In addition to her research, Nyasha is a public speaker and lecturer, and can be found Tweeting at @NyashaJunior. For more information about Nyasha and her work, please visit nyashajunior.com.

Book:  An Introduction to Womanist Biblical Interpretation (Westminster John Knox Press, 2015) provides an engaging and informative introduction to womanist approaches to the Bible. Nyasha Junior situates Womanist Biblical interpretation in relation to feminist and womanist scholarship, and manages to cut through the complex range of ways that writers employ the term ‘womanism’ to offer a clear description and analysis of her subject. This book sits at the leading edge of a field in biblical studies that is already gaining ground.

Richard B. Hays – Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels

Episode:  Richard Hays joins us to talk about his recent book Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels. Richard speaks candidly about his recent battle with cancer, revealing how it has shaped his writing and theological outlook. After walking us through several of his own favorite scriptural “echoes,” Richard covers diverse topics, including figuration and early Christology. His reflections on best scriptural reading practices for the church are beautiful and  profound. In our follow-up afterwards, Richard remarked this was “the sort of good, stimulating conversation we might have over a couple of beers.” And although we regret to inform our listeners that no beer was consumed in the making of this episode, we assure you that the episode will be enhanced by an IPA. So grab a pint and pull up to table. It’s Richard Hays, along with your hosts Matt Bates and Matt Lynch.

Guest: Richard B. Hays is George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School. He is a world renowned scholar of the New Testament–widely cited, deeply admired, and greatly beloved for his creative yet faithful engagement with the Bible. Some of his most influential books include The Moral Vision of the New Testament, The Faith of Jesus Christ, and The Conversion of the Imagination. Two previous books deserve special mention: Reading Backwards and Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul, as these two books are closely related to the book under discussion.

Book: Richard B. Hays,  Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels (Baylor University Press, 2016). The claim that the events of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection took place “according to the Scriptures” stands at the heart of the New Testament’s message. All four canonical Gospels declare that the Torah and the Prophets and the Psalms mysteriously prefigure Jesus. Hays shows how the Evangelists summon readers to a conversion of their imagination. The Evangelists’ use of scriptural echo beckons readers to believe the extraordinary: that Jesus was Israel’s Messiah, that Jesus is Israel’s God, and that contemporary believers are still on mission. The Evangelists, according to Hays, are training our scriptural senses, calling readers to be better scriptural people by being better scriptural poets.

The OnScript Quip (our review): With ear bent to attend to the subtle voice of Scripture, Richard Hays is able to isolate, mix, and amplify so that our own listening is enhanced. This is not just scholarship, it is a beautiful concert. Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels will reverberate through academic lecture halls and church corridors for countless years. — Matthew J. Lynch and Matthew W. Bates, OnScript

Chris Tilling – Talking New Testament Christology

Episode: Matt & Matt finally co-host an episode! In this one we discuss the thriving field of New Testament Christology. Guest Chris Tilling joins us to help map the field of play, offering insights on Paul’s early divine Christology, Jesus’ divinity in the Gospels, and Richard Bauckham’s “Christology of Divine Identity” model. He also tells us what ideas (or scholars?) in NT studies need to die.

Guest: Dr Chris Tilling is Tutor and Senior Lecturer in New Testament Studies at St Mellitus College. He is also a visiting Lecturer in Theology at King’s College, London. Chris recently co-authored How God Became Jesus (Zondervan, 2014). He is also the editor of Beyond Old and New Perspectives on Paul (Cascade, 2014) and author of the critically acclaimed Paul’s Divine Christology. Chris has also published numerous articles on topics relating to the Apostle Paul, “Christology”, “justification”, the “historical Jesus” and the theology of Hans Küng. He is the New Testament editor for the exciting journal Syndicate, and he has appeared as a DVD media figure for Biologos, GCI and HTB’s School of Theology. He maintains his own personal blogging fiefdom, Chrisendom, which is popular and always worth a visit. He is married to Anja with one child, and he enjoys playing golf and chess.

Book: This episode ranges farther afield than one book, but nonetheless, we frequently found ourselves steering back in the direction of Chris Tilling’s book, Paul’s Divine Christology. (We couldn’t help ourselves–to be honest, it’s a great read). Originally published by Mohr Siebeck in 2012, Paul’s Divine Christology has recently been republished by Eerdmans (2015) with a foreword by Douglas Campbell. The book offers a new way of conceptualizing Paul’s divine Christology, one that takes seriously Paul’s own relational categories and ways of understanding the identity of Jesus.

 

Alison Joseph – Portrait of the Kings

Episode: Take a journey into the heart of the Deuteronomist to discover more about the king after God’s own heart through the eyes of the book of Kings. Matt Lynch interviews Alison Joseph about her Manfred Lautenschlaeger award-winning book Portrait of the Kings. As an intro bonus to this episode Matt gives a little 10-minute overview of the Deuteronomistic History, free of charge (but you can skip to get to the good stuff).

Guest: Alison Joseph is a visiting assistant professor of Jewish Studies at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. She received the prestigious Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise in 2016 for her work Portrait of the Kings. She earned her PhD in Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She also holds degrees from Emory University, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and Barnard College. She has taught at Haverford College, Towson University, Villanova University, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and Ursinus College.

Book: Alison’s Portrait of the Kings: The Davidic Prototype in Deuteronomistic Poetics is published by Fortress Press, 2016. Her book examines the rich literary texture of Kings, especially the use of the Davidic ‘prototype’ and its ‘antitype’ in the figure of Jeroboam.

The OnScript Quip (our review): Alison Joseph’s Portrait of the Kings bridges a divide rarely crossed in biblical studies – the divide between literary and historical critical studies. Drawing inspiration from Robert Alter’s ‘type scenes’ and Frank Moore Cross’ double redaction hypothesis, Joseph observes the importance of the ‘Davidic prototype’ and its Jeroboam ‘anti-type’ in the book of Kings, where each king receives evaluation in terms of his relationship to David’s cultic loyalty. Oddly, David looks different in Kings than in Samuel, leading Joseph to ask, ‘Is David like David?’ Her answer is both creative and convincing, and offers further support for a thesis that the Deuteronomistic History’s first edition hit the shelves during the reign of Josiah, or thereabouts. — Matthew J. Lynch, Westminster Theological Centre, OnScript

David J. Downs – Alms

Episode:  Martin Luther found the sale of indulgences objectionable, so he nailed 95 theses to the door of his bishop’s castle, launching the Protestant Reformation. But where did the idea that giving money could somehow alleviate the human sin problem originate? OnScript host Matthew Bates welcomes David Downs to discuss the biblical and systematic implications of atoning almsgiving. Interviewing from Tanzania (please forgive the occasional authentic Tanzanian background noise!), David’s reflections on charitable giving for the church today is multicultural and profound. His book Alms is certainly highly recommended. Listen. Share. Read.

Guest:  Dr. David J. Downs is Associate 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 Alms, David has also published The Offering of the Gentiles: Paul’s Collection for Jerusalem in Its Chronological, Cultural, and Cultic Contexts (Mohr Siebeck, 2008; repr. Eerdmans, 2016), as well as numerous journal articles.

Book:  David J. Downs, Alms: Charity, Reward, and Atonement in Early Christianity (Waco, Tex.: Baylor University Press, 2016). Christianity has often understood the death of Jesus on the cross as the sole means for forgiveness of sin. Despite this tradition, David Downs traces the early and sustained presence of yet another means by which Christians imagined atonement for sin: merciful care for the poor. Alms, in the end, illuminates the challenge of reading Scripture with the early church, for numerous patristic witnesses held together the conviction that salvation and atonement for sin come through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and the affirmation that the practice of mercifully caring for the needy cleanses or covers sin. Perhaps the ancient Christian integration of charity, reward, and atonement has the potential to reshape contemporary Christian traditions in which those spheres are separated.

The OnScript Quip (our review): A broad yet deep study of the atoning power of merciful action in ancient Judaism, the New Testament, and early Christianity, Alms is beautifully written and persuasively argued. Deposit this book in your library’s treasury and generations of readers will be enriched. — Matthew W. Bates, Quincy University, OnScript

Jon Levenson – 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.

GUEST: Jon D. Levenson is Albert A. List Professor of Jewish Studies at Harvard Divinity School. He is the author of numerous books, including Resurrection and the Restoration of Israel: The Ultimate Victory of the God of Life (Yale University Press, 2006), which won a prestigious National Jewish Book Award, and also the Biblical Archaeology Society Publication Award in the category of Best Book Relating to the Hebrew Bible published in 2005 or 2006. Choice, a publication of the American Library Association, listed his book Inheriting Abraham: The Legacy of the Patriarch in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Princeton University Press, 2012) as one of the Outstanding Academic Titles for 2013.

BOOK: The Love of God: Divine Gift, Human Gratitude, and Mutual Faithfulness in Judaism (Princeton, 2016) takes up one of the most significant yet perplexing themes in the Bible and Judaism. ‘Love’ in the Bible is a command, yet also involved emotions. It was part of the legal contract binding God and Israel, yet also an expression of the intimacy between them. How do these ideas fit together, and how did they develop and change? These are just a few of the significant themes Levenson discusses with characteristic brilliance and elegance.

 

Crispin Fletcher-Louis — Jesus Monotheism, Volume 1

Episode: When speaking of Christian origins, what images and grammar could a first-century Jew use to say that Jesus of Nazareth was in some sense YHWH, the one God of Israel? And what might cause a Jew to say such a thing in the first place? Matthew Bates welcomes Crispin Fletcher-Louis to OnScript. Crispin’s exciting new book Jesus Monotheism offers a fresh theory of christological origins. Matt and Crispin navigate the so-called “early, high” christological theories of Larry Hurtado and Richard Bauckham. Crispin’s intensely incarnational model is stirring up some terrific conversation among biblical scholars and theologians–compelling all to reconsider how Adam, high priesthood, and divine identity connect to Christology. Join the conversation today.

Guest: Crispin Fletcher-Louis studied at Keble College, Oxford under biblical studies luminaries such as E.P. Sanders,  N.T. Wright, and Christopher Rowland.  He has taught in the Theology and Religious Studies departments of King’s College, Durham University, and Nottingham University. He was also Resident Theologian and at St Mary’s Bryanston Square, a church in Central London.

Book:  Crispin Fletcher-Louis, Jesus Monotheism: Volume 1: Christological Origins: The Emerging Consensus and Beyond (Eugene, Or.: Cascade, 2015). Published simultaneously in ebook format by Whymanity at Jesus Monotheism.com. This is the first of a four-volume groundbreaking study of Christological origins. The fruit of twenty years research, Jesus Monotheism lays out a new paradigm that goes beyond the now widely held view that Paul and others held to an unprecedented “Christological monotheism”.

Brennan Breed – Nomadic Text

 

AT A GLANCE: Relax in your Yurt and tune in as Brennan Breed joins us to discuss his recent book Nomadic Text: A Theory of Biblical Reception History (Indiana University Press, 2014). This episode is virtual road trip through the world of biblical studies, reception history, and beyond. Along the way, Breed discusses his run-in with a bear, theories about the end of the world, UFOs, and why he thinks biblical texts are more at home on the road.

GUEST: Dr. Brennan Breed is Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. In addition to his recently authored Nomadic Text, Breed contributed reception-historical commentary for the Old Testament Library Daniel commentary by Carol Newsom (WJK Press, 2014). Breed’s research interests also include Hebrew poetry, biblical theology, textual criticism, ancient and medieval visual art, and philosophy. He is currently working on an Ecclesiastes commentary with Davis Hankins.

BOOK: Nomadic Text was a winner of the 2016 Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise. In this book, Breed ‘claims that biblical interpretation should focus on the shifting capacities of the text, viewing it as a dynamic process rather than a static product. Rather than seeking to determine the original text and its meaning, Breed proposes that scholars approach the production, transmission, and interpretation of the biblical text as interwoven elements of its overarching reception history. Grounded in the insights of contemporary literary theory, this approach alters the framing questions of interpretation from “What does this text mean?” to “What can this text do?”’ (from the IUP website – http://bit.ly/22nGVXy)

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