New Creation Conversations Episode 053 - Dr. Christopher Hays on Reading the Old Testament in the Light of the Hidden Riches of the Ancient World and Reflecting Biblically on God and Guns

Welcome to episode fifty-three of New Creation Conversations. In today’s conversation I’m very happy to be joined by Dr. Christopher Hays. Chris is the D. Wilson Moore Professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary – where he has taught now for fourteen years. He’s an alum of Amherst College, has an MDiv degree from Princeton Seminary, and earned his PhD from Emory University.

Chris is one of those people who loves to study the ancient world. He has immersed himself in ancient languages like Akkadian and Ugaritic. The last time I was with Chris in person he was off with (friend of the podcast) Brent Strawn to translate some ancient tablets. Chris’ work frequently centers on helping us read the Scriptures – the Old Testament in particular- in the light of their ancient contexts. Along those lines, we will discuss his beautiful book, Hidden Riches: A Textbook for the Comparative Study of the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East as well as his in-depth research on Isaiah entitled, Death in the Iron Age II and in First Isaiah.

However, our primary reason for connecting is to talk about a book he recently co-edited with his former colleague Carly Crouch, God and Guns: The Bible Against American Gun Culture (from Westminster John Knox Press). It is a thoughtful and provocative set of essays from several significant biblical scholars and theologians – including Chris - addressing questions of faith and gun violence. (It also includes a Foreword from Stanley Hauerwas). Chris and I recorded this conversation a couple of weeks ago, just days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In just the handful of days since we recorded there have been three mass shooting in the U.S. So, although this topic can be both controversial and complicated, it is an important conversation for the church to have. I’m thankful for thoughtful friends, like Chris, Carly, and Brent, who are willing to bring their biblical expertise and wade into the troubling waters of this crucial conversation, and I’m glad I get to share this conversation with you.