The Two Cities

CW: References to self-harm. In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Isaac T. Soon, who is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Crandall University in New Brunswick, and the author of A Disabled Apostle: Impairment and Disability in the Letters of Paul (published by Oxford University Press). Drawing upon the cultural model of disability, Dr. Soon explains that Paul likely had three kinds of disabilities, in terms of how these conditions were stigmatized in the ancient world, including: demonic oppression, circumcision, and dwarfism. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, and Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Matthew Thiessen, who is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and he’s the author of the new book that we discuss in this episode, A Jewish Paul: The Messiah’s Herald to the Gentiles (published by Baker). Over the course of our discussion we talk about where the Paul within Judaism reading fits within other readings of Paul, how Acts fits into our understanding of Paul, and why we should aim to make Paul weird again. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, Jennifer Guo, Dr. Kris Song, and Dr. Logan Williams. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. J. Christopher Edwards, who is Professor of Religious Studies at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York, to talk about his new book, Crucified: The Christian Invention of the Jewish Executioners of Jesus (published by Fortress Press). The present conversation addresses a very difficult topic, but an important one, about how early Christians came to blame the execution of Jesus on the Jewish people. Dr. Edwards traces this history, arguing that it is a wrongheaded and lamentable part of the Christian tradition that needs to be understood but also vigorously rejected. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Sean McGever, who is Area Director for Young Life in Arizona and an adjunct professor in theology at Grand Canyon University, to talk about his new book, Evangelism: For the Care of Souls (published by Lexham Press). Over the course of our conversation we talk about what is unique in a “care for souls” approach to evangelism over against other evangelistic methodologies. In particular, Dr. McGever stresses the need to listen to people above and all, and respond to the needs/concerns that come to the fore just like a doctor might. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Rev. Dr. Josh Carroll and Dr. John Anthony Dunne. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Tomas Bokedal, who is Lecturer in New Testament at University of Aberdeen (Scotland) and Associate Professor in New Testament at NLA University College (Bergen, Norway), and the author of the book that we discuss in this episode, Christ the Center: How the Rule of Faith, the Nomina Sacra, and Numerical Patterns Shape the Canon (published by Lexham Press). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Bokedal talks with us about how the NT canon was formed and shaped by intriguing patterns that all serve to highlight that Christ is the central focus of the New Testament collection. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Rev. Dr. Josh Carroll and Dr. John Anthony Dunne. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we’re talking about Artemis of the Ephesians with Dr. Sandra Glahn, who is Professor of Media Arts and Worship at Dallas Theological Seminary, and the author of the book that we’re excited to discuss on this episode, Nobody’s Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament (published by IVP). Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Glahn talks with us about how scholarship on Artemis of the Ephesians has had a paradigm shift away from viewing her as a fertility deity, which has implications for how we think about the influence of her cult on biblical texts like 1 Timothy, which says that women will be saved through childbearing. The conversation is a fascinating one about the significance of biblical backgrounds in general, and specifically for interpreting one of the most esoteric passages in the Pauline corpus. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Josh Carroll and Dr. John Anthony Dunne. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Bryan Dyer, who is senior acquisitions editor at Baker Academic and the co-author with Stanley Porter of the book that we’re excited to discuss today—Origins of New TestamentChristology: An Introduction to the Traditions and Titles Applied to Jesus (published with Baker Academic). Over the course of our conversation, we discuss where this book fits within broaderscholarship of New Testament scholarship. In particular, Dr. Dyer notes how their work extends beyond a “titles approach” that merely identifiesChristological titles as the starting point for Christological treatment. They expand their scope to include various traditions in addition to titles, toprovide a rich and helpful entry point to New Testament Christology. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Madison Pierce. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Joshua Jipp to talk about PaulineTheology as a Way of Life. Professor Jipp is Professor of New Testament and Director of the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Deerfield, IL), and the author of the book that we’re excited to talk about in this episode, Pauline Theology as a Way of Life: A Vision of Human Flourishing in Christ (published by BakerAcademic). Over the course of our conversation Professor Jipp talks with us about how his new book is a Pauline Theology, but one that is focused on the practical outworkings of Paul’s thought, which allows him to avoid abstraction and conflation of Paul’s ad hoc pastoral responses to his congregations. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Madison Pierce, and Dr. Logan Williams. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we are joined by Professor Kevin Hector, who is Naomi Shenstone Donnelley Professor of Theology and of the Philosophy of Religions at the University of Chicago Divinity School, to talk about his new book, Christianity as a Way of Life: A Systematic Theology (published by Yale University Press). Over the course of our conversation, Prof. Hector explains how his systematic theology is fairly unique because it attempts to account for Christianity as it is lived out in the lives of everyday Christians. As such, we talk at length about some of the key practices that are central to understanding Christianity as a way of life, including eating together, singing together, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we are joined by Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne, who is priest-in-charge at St. Paul Episcopal Church in Mishawaka, Indiana, to talk about his new book, Josef Pieper on the Spiritual Life: Creation, Contemplation, and Human Flourishing (published by Notre Dame University Press). Rev. Dr. Warne explains that he came to the work of Pieper, a scholar of Thomas Aquinas, by way of his own research on eudaimonia in Thomistic thought. In the process of gleaning from Pieper for his work on Thomas, he became deeply influenced by Pieper’s reflections on the spiritual life and his approach to spiritual practices as rooted in quite mundane activities. In this book Rev. Dr. Warne draws together various threads in Pieper’s writings into a systematic articulation of his views on spirituality as it pertains to his theology of creation, contemplation, and what it looks like to have a thriving human existence. Team members from The Two Cities include: Dr. Amber Bowen, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, and Dr. Madison Pierce.If you are interested in purchasing Rev. Dr. Warne’s book, there is a special code from the publisher for 40% off:  14CTSA23 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.