Faith Improvised

I'm taking a little break from the podcast and plan to be back at it soon!

I recommend Tim Otto's beautiful and hope-filled book, Oriented to Faith: Transforming the Conflict Over Gay Relationships, and I talk about the final passage in the first major movement of Paul’s argument in Romans (Rom 5:1-11).

I recommend Rebekah Eklund's wonderful new book, The Beatitudes Throughout The Ages, and I talk about how Paul argues for the unity of the Roman Christians by citing Abraham in Romans 4.

I recommend The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race (Yale University Press), one of the most brilliant and breathtaking books I've ever read, and I talk about Paul's argument in Romans 3:21-31.

I recommend Spencer Ackerman's new book, Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump, and I talk about the conclusion to Paul's opening argument in Romans 3:1-20.

I recommend Michael Gormans excellent book Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship and Witness: Following the Lamb into the New Creation, and I talk about how Paul's argument progresses in Romans 2, in which he confronts the group in the Roman churches that is passing judgment from a sense of moral superiority.

I recommend an excellent work on the Book of Acts, Kavin Rowe's World Upside Down: Reading Acts in the Graeco-Roman Age (Oxford University Press), and I talk about Paul's opening rhetorical move in Romans 1:18-32.

I recommend Beverly Roberts Gaventa's wonderful book, When In Romans: An Invitation to Linger with the Gospel According to Paul (Baker Academic), and I start talking about Paul's opening rhetorical move in Romans 1:18-32. I also mention the following podcasts and books: "The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill" "The Ezra Klein Show" Stanley Stowers, A Rereading of Romans: Justice, Jews, and Gentiles (Yale University Press). Sigve K. Tonstad, The Letter to the Romans: Paul Among the Ecologists (Sheffield Phoenix Press).

In this episode, I recommend Chuck DeGroat's timely and wonderful book, When Narcissism Comes to Church: Healing Your Community from Emotional and Spiritual Abuse, and I talk about the introduction of Paul's letter to the Romans. I also talk a bit about identity politics, responding to Charles Murray's article, “Identity Crisis: How the Politics of Race Will Wreck America,” published this month in The Spectator.

In this episode I recommend David Fromkin's masterful and fascinating work, A Peace To End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East, and I give an overview of how I see the major movements of Paul's argument in his letter to the Roman house churches.