OnScript

Episode: Nathan MacDonald argues that four versions of the Tabernacle can be traced through ancient versions of the Old Testament. This episode explores those versions, the significance of Aaron’s garments, priestly […]

Episode: In this three-part series – Chris and Kyle discuss the year’s top ten archaeological discoveries and stories related to the Bible. Part 1 discusses the most important finds related […]

Episode: Recorded live in San Antonio at the Little Rhein Prost Haus with Sandra Glahn, Dru and Erin discuss the cult of Artemis in Ephesus and the way it transforms our […]

Episode: Lynn Cohick speaks with Jason Staples about concepts of Israel, Judaism, and Jewishness that emerged in the Second Temple period, and their implications for understanding the early Judaism. Staples […]

Episode: Matt speaks with Carmen about her latest book Being God’s Image, why “being” (not necessarily “bearing”) matters to this subject, what we often misunderstand about the Image of God, and […]

Episode: What do we know about children in ancient Israel, about who they were, the lives they led, and the people in their lives? Kristine Garroway is at the forefront of […]

Episode: What happens if you read Ruth and Judges together? What might Ruth say to the violence against women in Judges? Jenny Matheny discusses these questions and more (like how not […]

Episode: Lisa Powell discusses the Trinity and eschatological body through the lens of disability. The episode discusses insights from her book The Disabled God Revisited (T&T Clark). Guest: Lisa Powell is Professor […]

Episode: In this episode, co-host Amy Hughes speaks with Erin Raffety about her ethnographic and practical theological research into what it looks like for congregations to move away from an “inclusion” model for people with […]

Episode: Erin sits down with Matthew Novenson for a lively conversation on the weirdness of Paul, theological and historical approaches, first-century Judaism, and a range of other topics covered in […]

Episode: Gruner’s work explores the lives of ordinary Jewish people who lived in Nazi Germany and resisted persecution. From defacing Nazi symbols to bold defiance Gruner explores the complex and fraught […]

Episode: Chris Tilling talks with Matt Lynch about Old Testament violence. They take a deep dive into … the flood story in Genesis then traverse the Promised Land to consider the […]

Episode: Who is this man? Questions about Jesus are fascinating and perennial. Stanley Porter and Bryan Dyer team up to explore how the New Testament deployed diverse traditions–Jesus as passover […]

Episode: “We’re in the midst of an unraveling”. So argues Ted Smith about the shift in the ways that people relate and the end of theological education as it’s typically conceived. […]

Episode: Revelation is a mysterious book, shrouded in symbol and rich in Old Testament allusions. What does it mean for our present and future? And more importantly, what does it […]

Episode: Biblical World co-host Kyle Keimer discusses his research on King Hezekiah’s preparations for the Assyrian attack in 701 BCE. How do archaeologists determine the nature and extent of Hezekiah’s defensive […]

Episode: Is it anachronistic to call Jesus a refugee? Does the story of Jesus’ family fleeing persecution carry modern political relevance? Would the holy family receive protection in modern society? Listen […]

Episode: In this episode, Erin sits down with David Moffitt and a live audience at Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford to talk about David’s latest book on the atonement. This was […]

Episode: In this episode Chris Tilling interviews Jonathan Lyonhart about his new book, MonoThreeism: An Absurdly Arrogant Attempt to Answer All the Problems of the Last 2000 Years in One […]

Episode: Brent Strawn is back for the 4th time, to discuss his new book The Incomparable God. This book is rich, rangey, and full of biblical-theological insight. The discussion is also rangey, […]

Episode: This episode covers a wide swathe of the Torah’s terrain, including reading the Torah as a story (even Leviticus), reading laws that come into conflict with each other, The Cat […]

Episode: This wide-ranging conversation follows this wide-ranging book, covering topics such as the “is God the same as Allah” question to Filipino views of reciprocity to Thai philosophical views informing aniconism. From the publisher: “Christianity is […]

Episode: This episode is the final installment in the 3-part archaeology of Passion Week discussion. Chris and Kyle take a detailed look at how archaeological finds in Jerusalem can help […]

Episode: This episode is part two of the three-part series on the archaeology of Passion Week. Chris and Kyle take a detailed look at how archaeological finds in Jerusalem can […]

Episode: This episode is the first of a three-part series on the archaeology of the Passion week. Chris and Kyle take a detailed look at how archaeological finds in Jerusalem […]

Episode: What is a life living theologically? Prof. Dr. Ervine Sheblazm has walked through life with theology on his mind for over 25 years. Hear him unload a ton of theological […]

Episode: In this episode Chris Tilling interviews Father Isaac Morales about his book, The Bible and Baptism: The Fountain of Salvation (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic 2022), published as part of […]

Episode: In this episode, we discuss the god Moses. Yes, you heard that right! It’s there in Exod 7:1. But what does this mean? How can we make sense of the […]

Episode: Michael Bird turns the well-rehearsed scholarly tale about how Jesus came to be described as divine on its head. Jesus didn’t become God through the application of Greek metaphysical […]

Episode: Here’s the full version of the convo with Collin Cornell, where we discuss Elephantine, divine aggression (beginning at 34:18), and more, including his work on divine look-alikes. If you’ve already […]

Episode: The book we’re talking about today is Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church with IVP Academic. In this episode, we explore the data about women […]

Episode: Elephantine continues to fascinate scholars of Second Temple Judaism, in part, because it shows that there wasn’t just one Jewish temple after the return from exile. In this episode, which is […]

Episode: In this episode Chris Tilling interviews Steven Nemes about his forthcoming book, Theological Authority in the Church (Eugene, Or.: Cascade, forthcoming [2023]). This new book by Steven Nemes argues, […]

Episode: Erin speaks with Caryn Reeder about the Samaritan Woman, the reception history of John 4, and its impact on the experiences of women in the church today, which Caryn treats […]

Episode: In this episode, Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich takes us on an exciting tour of Second Temple Literature, giving us a sense of the stories, personalities, and history that shaped this […]

Episode: In this episode, co-host Amy Hughes talks with Han-Iuen Kantzer Komline about all things Augustine! We covered it all! Just kidding, we barely scratched the surface of everyone’s favorite […]

Episode: Erin speaks with Rev. Dr. Andy Byers about John’s Gospel, Jewish Relations, and the “sectarian hermeneutic” that dominates Johannine studies. Andy’s newest book on John’s Gospel, John and the Others, […]

Episode: How can the way of the kingdom be the way of the dove? How can the way of subversion come through submission? How can the way of the lion […]

Episode: (Republish) Has the Chalcedonian Definition stood the test of time and theological challenge? Ian McFarland thinks so and advocates for a “Chalcedonianism without reserve” in his newest book, The […]

Episode: Is God more male than female? Most theologians have hastened to say ‘no’, but still many theologians have urged that the male analogy is more suitable in speaking about […]

Episode: This episode takes you to the wilds of Alaska and Florida’s byways to talk about our denial of death as a species. Guest: Dr. Timothy Beal is Distinguished University Professor […]

Episode: Erin speaks with Dr. Katie Marcar about metaphors of divine regeneration in 1 Peter, metaphors of generation in other Jewish texts from the Second Temple period, seed metaphors, breastmilk metaphors, […]

Episode: Erin Heim speaks with Dr. Angela Parker about White Christianity’s tendency to conflate biblical authority with inerrancy and infallibility, gaslighting and women in the Gospels, the Galatians’ experience, and Tobe […]

Episode: In this episode Chris Tilling interviews Marty Folsom about his new book, Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics for Everyone  (Zondervan Academic). What is it about Barth’s Church Dogmatics that is […]

Episode: In this episode, Dru Johnson talks with Australian scholar Christopher Seglenieks about why Greco-Roman devotion practices must be included in discussions about “faith” and “belief” in the Johannine corpus. […]

Episode: What was the sacrifice of Jesus for the NT Jewish authors? A barbaric execution? A violent bloodletting of a scapegoat? Christian Eberhart claims that the NT authors did not conceive […]

Episode: Richard Middleton thinks that Abraham should’ve talked back to God when he asked him to sacrifice his son. Today we discuss lament, the example of Job, and Abraham as a […]

Episode: Leviticus might be the only book in the Bible that many Christians will openly and casually admit that they do not like (or, it’s their “least favorite). Dru Johnson […]

Episode: Paul Spilsbury knew Josephus personally … or at least he’s spent so much time with him that it’s almost as if he did. In this episode we talk about Josephus’ writings, […]

Episode: If you’ve appreciated John Barclay’s monumental work on grace, Paul and the Gift, then you’ll be delighted to see how Enoch Okode’s work presses beyond Barclay into new territory. […]

Episode: Matt discusses Aaron’s whopping huge Romans commentary, discussing the book’s rhetorical aims and literary flow, the troubling “hardening” of Israel in Rom 9-11, and why the real deal is in […]

Episode: These are times of deep division and disruption. Saying so is almost as obvious as saying, “The sky is blue.” But finding a way to dialogue through division and disruption […]

Episode: What happens to us as we read violent stories in the Bible? How do violent stories form us ethically? Amy Cottrill discusses everything from overly violent stories, to places where […]

Episode: Dru and Erin chat with Lisa Bowens about her groundbreaking work on African American reception of the Pauline epistles from the early 18th to the mid-20th century. In her book, […]

Episode: Michael Gorman, renowned Pauline scholar, has now penned a commentary on Romans. The commentary is for a diverse audience, including pastors and students. So OnScript co-host Matthew Bates, who is […]

Episode: Matt talks with Reed Carlson about conceptions of the person in the Old Testament and Second Temple literature, and specifically, the significance of the spirit/Spirit when thinking about the […]

Episode: In this episode, co-host Amy Hughes talks with Karen O‘Donnell about her new book, The Dark Womb: Reconceiving Theology Through Reproductive Loss. There are books that re-evaluate or re-imagine or re-invigorate theology, and then […]

In this episode Chris Tilling interviews Justus Geilhufe about his book, the Gnade als trinitarisches Sein: Bruce McCormacks Theologie in ihrer Entwicklung aus analytischer und konstruktiver Barthrezeption. Yes, I think this is our first interview about a German language book, but Geilhufe is up to the job and waxes lyrical in conversation with prose many English-only speakers would envy. In this rich episode, we explore Geilhufe’s original account of the development and driving themes of Bruce McCormack’s work, from Karl Barth’s Critically Realistic Dialectical Theology (1995), through “Grace and Being”, and the resultant controversies, to McCormack’s most recent work. It was a lot of fun to hear Geilhufe’s insights first-hand, and all we need now is someone who will commit to translating his book into English …

This episode involves a rich discussion with Brittany Kim and Charlie Trimm about three book's they've written. We first discuss their co-authored book about the discipline of Old Testament theology, including the challenges of relating the two testaments and descriptive vs. normative theology. Then we discuss Brittany's book on Isaiah's familial and servant metaphors, including gendered language for God as well as the way that metaphors can help us wrestle with challenging prophetic texts. Finally, we talk about Charlie's recent work on approaches to violence in the Canaanite conquest, which maps some of the benefits and drawbacks to various proposals for mitigating the challenges of violence in Joshua. And there's much more here!

Have you ever longed for a biblically-rooted theology of child-rearing but didn't know where to turn? Prof. Ervine Sheblazm understands the pain that parents feel as they try to rear their offspring in a complex and troubling postmodernistic society. He wrote this book for Dave, his colleague, but Dave isn't the only one who will benefit. Sheblazm's biblically nuanced, scientifically-based approach will give parents, caregivers, grandparents, aunties, uncles, and others some practical, envliating, and spirtographal ways to care for our unruly ones. Sheblazm draws from the deep wells of scholarship and observational science to bring you what he calls "nuggets of truth." Even those without children will see the Bible and world in a new way.

Guest: Prof. Ervine Sheblazm feels like Einstein, Aristotle,

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?' This is a republished episode. 

In this episode, Chris Tilling interviews David Artman, author of Grace Saves All: The Necessity of Christian Universalism (Wipf and Stock). Rich in exegetical claims, Artman boldly proposes that Christian Universalism isn’t simply a possible option, but a necessity to adequately account for the goodness of God. Artman is not defending – to quote Brad Jersak in his foreword – a “sloppy pop-universalism that fails to proclaim Christ alone, the necessity of a faith response, or the reality of judgement”. Instead, today’s guest aims to present something that is biblically compelling and theological orthodox. To teases out the claims, Chris Tilling walks through Artman’s chapters on the bible, judgment, grace, hell, Revelation and more besides.

In this episode we go back to theological basics. What is a creed? What is a creed for? Co-host Amy Hughes talks with Ben Myers about his book on the Apostles' Creed and it's companion children's book. We discuss what it was like to write theology for an adult audience and for children. This episode also features a short interview with the illustrator, Natasha Kennedy.

We're digging back into the archives to the very beginning to bring you this inaugural OnScript episode from 2016, which features Dr. Munther Isaac of Bethlehem Bible College in Bethlehem, Palestine. He discusses his book From Land to Lands, From Eden to the Renewed Earth: A Christ-Centered Biblical Theology of the Promised Land (Langham Monographs, 2015). I (Matt Lynch) met Munther in Bethlehem back in 2011, when we met to discuss the relationship between land in the Bible and the current strife over land in Israel/Palestine.

What lies beneath Jerusalem? Join Kyle and Chris as they interview Andrew Lawler about his excellent and exciting new book Under Jerusalem: the Buried History of the World’s Most Contested City (also available via Audible.com as an audio book). In this interview, we discuss a variety of issues that Lawler covers in his book - he also gives some personal reflections on the writing and research involved with a book on Jerusalem’s complicated history (and present).

Andy Abernethy talks about finding new ways of reading Isaiah, his new book Discovering Isaiah, as well as life in the academy, his dad's career in the NBA, influential figures in his life, and much more.

In this episode, Chris Tilling chats with Prof. Douglas Harink about his new book, Resurrecting Justice: Reading Romans for the Life of the World (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2020). The book presents a complete reading of Romans in light of the justice revealed in the gospel. So Harink’s book covers a lot of hotly debated ground relating to definitions of the “good news”, the Holy Trinity, justification, politics, the role of law, the nature of faith and much more besides. This discussion was particularly rich, then, and only begins to skim the surface of the issues discussed in the book.

A meditation on Song of Song 8:6-7, a poem about love and death, written and narrated by Brent Strawn. This is from our podcast In Parallel. For future episodes, please subscribe wherever you listen (Apple Podcasts, Spotify). In Parallel is a new podcast that explores biblical and contemporary poetry.

Episode:  We’re thrilled to introduce our first episode of In Parallel, a new podcast that explores biblical and contemporary poetry. Our first episode is a poetic reflection on Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 […]

What role does art play in the forming of our theological imagination about Christ? What does it mean to respond to the cross as witness instead of spectator? In this interview, Chris Green joins co-host Amy Hughes to talk about his new book on art, beauty, and Christology. The topics range widely from the role of story, art, and liturgy in formation to quite the discussion about Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. 

Episode: Charles Halton joins to discuss divine embodiment and its theological implications. We discuss the role of tensions and diversity in Scripture, Old Testament antecedents to the incarnation, theological method, and […]

Episode: Biblical World hosts Chris and Kyle talk about the archaeology and historical context of Christmas. They try not to be Grinches. This is part 1 of a two part […]

Erin and Matt join Vince Bantu for a live recording in San Antonio. At this IVP Academic event, we cover all things early Christianity as it took root and developed in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. We talk about the (often) untold stories of early Christianity, the weaponization of doctrine, Miaphysite and Diaphysite controversies, Vince's Old Nubian studies, and much more!

Carol Newsom returns to OnScript to discuss her wide-ranging interests in anthropology, cognitive science, early Judaism, and the Old Testament. The discussion focuses on her recent research on developing conceptions of the person, including self and moral agency, in ancient Israel and early Judaism. We also go off script to discuss recent books of interest, the inferiority complex in academia, and much more. Our conversation relates to her recent book The Spirit Within Me (Yale University Press).

If you like conversations that sit on the awkward fence between systematic theology and biblical studies, this episode is for you. Tom McCall's wide-ranging expertise clarifies the limits of an apocalyptic reading of Galatians 2:20 ("I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live..."), the pistis Christou debate, social trinitarianism, and discussions in scholarship sparked by Karl Barth pertaining to the incarnation. Co-hosted by Matt Bates and Chris Tilling.

Join us in San Antonio for a live event with Dr. Vince Bantu in San Antonio, sponsored by IVP! When? Nov 22nd (2021), 8pm. Where? Little Rhein Prost Haus –https://www.littlerheinprosthaus.com/ What? Live recording with […]

Matt Lynch speaks with his former professor and friend Gary Schnittjer about his massive new book on the Old Testament's use of the Old Testament. They talk about exegetical updates to earlier texts, the rich networks of quotation and re-use that cluster around certain texts, and the ways that Gary's work on the OT use of the OT shapes his understanding of what the New Testament is doing.

In this special Halloween OnCrypt Biblical World episode Chris and Kyle speak with Matt Suriano about Israelite mortuary belief along with Matt’s work on the Jerusalem necropolis in Silwan (east, southeast of the Old City). Matt discusses elite and royal burial customs in ancient Israel as he articulates why ancestors were important and what this means in biblical literature.  This is cross-published from our other podcast, Biblical World.

Tired of gurus that have all the answers? Or those so zealous for deconstruction that the have none? We need a recalibrated theological imagination that can fuel faithful loyalty. In this wide-ranging interview featuring his new book Perhaps, Joshua McNall shows us that when Scripture and great literature are allowed to resonate, we are able to move beyond rigid dogmatism and endless doubt. Co-hosted by Matt Bates.

Episode: The prospect of stoning a rebellious son or adulterer, or turning over an unorthodox brother or sister for execution is revolting. But how should a Jewish or Christian believer […]

Kevin Grasso and Nick Messmer have pioneered a unique online platform for learning biblical languages, namely Biblingo. It incorporates methods and tools from second-language application theory, pedagogy and more besides. In this episode, Chris Tilling chats with Kevin, who has been on OnScript before to talk about his essay on the so-called πίστις Χριστοῦ debate. Among other things we discuss biblical language acquisition, the helpful influence of contemporary linguistics, what Biblingo offers, various pedagogical issues, and how Biblingo compares with related course.

Dru Johnson discusses Matt's recent book Portraying Violence in the Hebrew Bible. Matt discusses ways that the Old Testament depicts the problem of violence, some of the surprising ways that biblical writers portray violence, and ways that the Old Testament challenges modern ideas about violence. Also listen to Matt fail miserably in the speed round.

OnScript is launching a new podcast! Welcome to On Verse, a podcast that explores the intersections of biblical and contemporary poetry. This podcast is hosted by Brent Strawn of Duke Divinity School, and is produced by Keith Willis. Season 1 launches soon!

Scot McKnight and Hans Boersma have a spirited exchange in their Five Things books--and it becomes even more lively as they extend the conversation for OnScript. After a drink or two, where would the theologian Boersma still want to press the biblical scholar McKnight? A wide-ranging dialogue on the proper interfacing of Scripture, tradition, and philosophical framework, co-hosted by Matthew Bates and Erin Heim - that is, when they could get a word in edgewise.

Episode: Kicking off National Hispanic Heritage month (in the U.S.), Jules sits down with Robert Chao Romero to discuss his unique approach to history, the influence of Lauryn Hill, the […]

Episode: Willie James Jennings joins Erin for a challenging conversation on theological education. Jennings brings a wealth of experience to the topic, drawing from his expertise as a theologian and the […]

Episode: For this episode Mary Buck is joined by Dr. Leonard Greenspoon, the Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization at Creighton University. Dr. Greenspoon discusses his recently published book, “Jewish Bible […]

Episode: In this episode, Erin interviews Beverly Roberts Gaventa on Pauline theology, her thoughts on pedagogy, and on why Matt Bates is wrong about Karl Barth. This is a republished […]

We're back with our 5th annual "Live at Nashotah House" episode! Hosts Matt Lynch and Dru Johnson discussed Dru's book Biblical Philosophy: A Hebraic Approach to the Old and New Testaments (Cambridge, 2021). Topics covered include the distinctiveness of biblical thought, Sukkot, the Gospel of Mark's emphasis on knowing, the importance of ritual and embodiment, and much more. We even have a surprise (and first-ever-on-this-podcast) display of Dru's musical talent!

In this wide-ranging episode Amy Brown Hughes talks with Sameer Yadav about the 'promiscuous' nature of theology, his book The Problem of Perception and the Experience of God: Toward a Theological Empiricism, his recent work on apophaticism in the Christian mystical tradition, and race in the philosophy of religion. Enjoy this re-released episode!

This episode is designed to help Evangelicals, especially North American Evangelicals, to get out of their own heads. Bruce Hindmarsh traces the contours of early Evangelicalism as it emerged in Britain and America, and discusses how that historical perspective on Evangelicalism's "spirit" can help shape our interpretation of this present moment.

Philip Ziegler joins Erin Heim to discuss apocalyptic theology, Pauline literature, and the implications of both for Christian discipleship. They discuss Ziegler's new book, Militant Grace, which constitutes a serious theological engagement and response to the apocalyptic turn in Pauline studies. Along the way, Professor Ziegler shares with us the influence friends and mentors like J. Louis Martyn have had on him both personally and professionally. This is a rebroadcast of an episode originally published in Oct 2019.

For some of us the descriptor "systematic theology" evokes a sense of overwhelm or perhaps even carries negative connotations. Friends, it doesn't have to be this way! In this episode co-host Amy Hughes talks with Beth Felker Jones, professor of theology at Northern Seminary in Illinois about her book Practicing Christian Doctrine: An Introduction to Thinking and Living Theologically (Baker Academic, 2014) and gets a sneak peek at her upcoming work on a theology of conversion.

Episode: Brent Strawn is back for the 3rd time to discuss his new book on mistruths about the Old Testament. Discussion covers everything from divine violence and wrath, to the […]

Does God have a body? Did the New Testament writers think that God has a body? Brittany Wilson says, Yes! Her study of Luke-Acts challenges assumptions that God is inherently invisible and incorporeal, and draws multiple lines of connection between images of an embodied God from the Old Testament and similar images in the New Testament. This wide-ranging and engaging conversation draws from Wilson's groundbreaking new book The Embodied God (OUP, 2021).

How has the church's understanding of salvation grown and shifted over time? What are common misunderstandings that Catholics and Protestants have about salvation? How has this impacted the church? And what is the future of justification as that connects to ecumenical efforts? Eminent church historian Alister McGrath (University of Oxford) has been research and writing about the history of salvation in the church for over 40 years. In light of his freshly revised monograph, Iustitia Dei, McGrath leads us on a tour of the history of the Christian doctrine. Co-hosted by Matthew W. Bates.

Episode: In this episode we talk with Dr. Leopoldo A. Sánchez M. He is the Werner R.H. and Elizabeth R. Krause Professor of Hispanic Ministries at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, […]

OnScript is pleased to announce that we have a new theology co-host. Please welcome Jules Martínez-Olivieri to the podcast!

Episode: Proverbs is one of the most misunderstood books in the Old Testament. It’s often treated as a self-help guide or as a collection of promises. Dominick Hernández challenges us […]

Beth Allison Barr is on the show to talk about her new book, The Making of Biblical Womanhood.

Walter Brueggemann is on the show to talk about his life as a biblical scholar, as well as his recent book Delivered Out of Empire - Pivotal Moments in the Book of Exodus (WJK Press, 2021).

After being forgotten for over 3000 years, the ancient city of Ugarit was rediscovered by archaeologists in 1929. Perhaps the greatest find from the site was the stash of over 2500 texts written in the ancient language of Ugaritic, texts which illuminated the history of the ancient world and the life of the local inhabitants.  Join hosts Mary Buck and Chris McKinny as they discuss the ancient site of Ugarit which ruled over the Northern Levant from 1800 BCE to 1200 BCE.

Episode: This episode discusses whether it’s possible to recover scenes from the Israel/Merneptah Stele, as well as cutting edge technology at Karnak, Egypt. Hosts: Chris McKinny (Gesher Media) and Mark Janzen […]

This inaugural Biblical World episode takes a deep dive into the archaeological background of King Hezekiah’s religious reform (2 Kgs 18:4).

Announcement! OnScript is launching a new podcast focused on the history, archaeology, culture, and geography of the Bible. Hosted by Chris McKinny, Lynn Cohick, Oliver Hersey, Kyle Keimer, Mary Buck, […]

Episode: Though Peter was the rock of the early church, why has Paul dominated New Testament scholarship? Part of the answer lies in the controversies surrounding the Gospels’ portrayals of […]

Episode: I was leaving the South to fling myself into the unknown… I was taking a part of the South to transplant in alien soil, to see if it could […]

Episode: Christians in the West go to great lengths to avoid direct contact with death, and as a result of this death avoidance, we avoid the hope and fullness of […]

Episode: Trees are people too! While this claim may come as a surprise to many listeners, it’s familiar territory for biblical authors. Trees, mountains, skies, plants … all of these bear […]

Episode: Generativity over usefulness and efficiency. Making versus fixing. The “new newness” of Redemption and New Creation. In this episode artist, writer, and speaker Makoto Fujimura joins co-host Amy Hughes to discuss his […]

Episode: Paul’s missionary travels stopped in Rome, but is that where they should end? Dr. Ervine Sheblatzm is back on the show to give a firm “Nein!” Listen to a fascinating […]

Episode: What happens when Dallas Willard, Wendell Berry, and James K. A. Smith walk into a bar to discuss Paul and the Good Life? Join Julien C. H. Smith and […]

Episode: Dru Johnson talks with Clinton Bailey about how he ended up living with Bedouins in the Negev, their law, gender practices, and poetry. His most recent book, Bedouin Culture […]

Episode: Was there death and violence before the Fall? Was there cancer before? Did lions go after gazelles before the Fall? Bethany Sollereder says yes, yes, and yes. So what, […]

Episode: Returning to the theme of interviewing young and upcoming scholars, the cutting edge of the cutting edge, in this episode Chris Tilling talks with Andrew Rillera, a PhD candidate […]

Episode: This episode covers Paul, m/f, hermeneutics, theology, and all the things. Lucy Peppiatt helps us think through the challenging issues at play in 1 Corinthians 11, territory we covered […]

Episode: Was Jesus opposed to the purity system? Was he a revolutionary who challenged religious anxieties over uncleanness? Matthew Thiessen joins us to discuss these questions, and to help us rethink […]

Episode: In this episode, Jason A. Myers and Ben Witherington III will help orient you to some of the major perspectives on Paul within contemporary New Testament scholarship. Tune in for […]

What is salvation? What does it mean that Christ frees us? What is liberation theology? Why is there such a fuss about liberation theology anyway? In this episode, Dr. Jules Martinez-Olivieri joins co-host Amy Hughes to talk about his work on Christology and liberation and participation.

Episode: Mark and Luke Glanville bring their unique areas of expertise in biblical studies and international relations to bear on the pressing global refugee crisis. This episode covers everything from […]

Episode: While there is nothing new drama over the Trinity, there has been quite the kerfuffle in evangelical circles about the subordination of the Son in recent years. In this […]

There are 111 named women in the Old Testament. But they're often unknown and ignored. In this episode Wil Gafney reintroduces us to women we thought we knew and introduces those we never knew. We discuss the sanctified imagination, Midrashic interpretation, womanist approaches to scripture, Queen mothers, army chaplaincy, and much more from her book Womanist Midrash (WJK Press).

Live from Nashotah House, WI (3rd year running), here's part 2 of our interview with Fr John Behr. Amy Brown Hughes talks with Fr John Behr about Origen and all things Patristic. In addition to more of the interview, we've got some Q&A in this episode. If you missed Part 1, visit HERE. This is a re-broadcast from 2019. 

Live from Nashotah House, WI (3rd year running), we've got a two-part interview. Amy Brown Hughes talks with Fr John Behr about Origen and all things Patristic. This episode requires theological safety gear, helmet, orange cones, ... everything. This is a rebroadcast from 2019.

Episode: Dru Johnson talks with Garrick Allen about his ongoing research project to investigate the paratexts of biblical manuscripts, how these help us to understand reception and biblical theologies, and […]

Episode: In this episode Erin hosts Jemar Tisby, who is the founder and CEO of The Witness: A Black Christian Collective (thewitnessbcc.com) and author of the New York Times bestseller […]

Episode: Biblical Samson offered a powerful way of focusing and communicating the struggle, opportunities, and challenge of life for African Americans throughout U.S. history. From the prophesies of his parents […]

Episode: The upstart theological movement called open theism is coming of age. It’s time to reassess its possibilities, promises, and perils. One of the founders of open theism, Richard Rice, […]

The debate as to whether the phrase πίστiς Χριστοῦ should be translated as "faith in Christ" (objective genitive) or the faithfulness of the Christ (subjective genitive) seems interminable. In an important new journal article, Kevin Grasso claims to have entirely disproven the viability of the objective genitive as traditionally understood. Meanwhile, he claims that a third-way solution ("Christ-faith" is better evidenced grammatically, while it also makes good theological sense of aspects of the subjective interpretation.

Episode: Conversations on sanctification can often leave Christians feeling spiritually inadequate and discouraged about their lack of spiritual growth and maturity, but Don J. Payne insists that this arises from […]

Dru's discussion with Dr. Esau McCaulley spans across matters of biblical theology, NT interpretation, the hermeneutics of the Black Church in America, and how his own biography has played into his scholarship. Reading While Black is a forceful and encouraging message to the Black Church that McCaulley has written so that non-Black readers can listen in and learn. Sho Baraka's blurb captures this book well for the OnScript audience:
“Esau McCaulley is untying the Gordian knot that has kept Black Christians bound to theological ultimatums. This is a book for theologians who hope to play outside the trite sandboxes of their seminaries and for the practitioners who find themselves in need of a Black lexicon."

"Our Father, who is in heaven..." These words and the rest of the Lord's Prayer are so familiar. They remind us to seek God, draw us into communal prayer with the church, and bring comfort. However, while we repeat words we cherish, sometimes this familiarity becomes distance. In this episode, co-host Amy Hughes talks with Dr. Justo González about his new book Teach Us To Pray: The Lord’s Prayer in the Early Church and Today (Eerdmans, 2020). Let us come to the Lord's Prayer anew, without fear and with new understanding. 

Chris Green is on the show to talk about how God is not saving us from interpretation, but through it - a process that can be "soul harrowing and purgative." Chris talks about problematic and more helpful models of Scripture and its interpretation, his appreciation for George MacDonald, approaches to troublesome texts, and we even have a brief poetry reading from the poetry collection Bigly. All these things and more await you in this one jam-packed episode on the second edition of his Sanctifying Interpretation.

Episode: Erin Heim and Dru Johnson discuss part II of Erin’s paper “Resurrection and the #MeToo Movement,” which is part of a larger project that Erin is working on as […]

How is memory made and maintained in a community? Moreover, how can a community remember something they never witnessed? A. J. Culp walks us through recent turns in memory theory to explore how Deuteronomy, as a piece of literature, instantiates and reifies memory in Israel. We address misconceptions of memory as individualistic, how literature can form memory, and the use of memory for social identity. For Christians and Jews, the implications for their tradition's rituals and sacraments are manifest.

Episode: Unusually for OnScript, we held a debate. Or perhaps it is better called a friendly chat between two scholars who disagree. On what? On the question of divine simplicity […]

Episode: We're back with our fourth annual live-recorded podcast episode at Nashotah House Theological Seminary! Dr. Jeannine Brown joined us this year to discuss her book The Gospels as Stories(Baker Academic, 2020). Tune in for conversation about the importance of narrative thinking, intertextuality, and women among the disciples, and for a very special speed round. 

Episode: When you read a passage in Scripture or hear about someone’s experience with the supernatural (be it angelic, demonic, etc), what is your instinct? Explain it using specific hermeneutical tools? How? Do […]

Was baptism spiritual, political, or both? And to what degree was baptism seen as saving in the New Testament and early Christianity? Why? In his provocative and important new book Caesar and the Sacrament, R. Alan Streett shows that baptism was a politically subversive action that involved swearing an oath of allegiance to a new king. Co-hosted by Matt Bates.

Episode: How does Jesus’s death rescue not only humanity from its shame, but save God’s face? The honor-shame framework changes how we think about the gospel, faith, sin, and glory. […]

Episode: In a previous episode Chris Tilling and Matt Bates interviewed two of the co-authors (Barber and Pitre) of the book, Paul, A New Covenant Jew. The third co-author of this book, John Kincaid, […]

Episode: Carmen Imes has been on a podcast tour, and we’re thrilled that she joined us for this episode to discuss her book Bearing God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters. We […]

How should we read the Old Testament? Is there only one valid interpretation or a plurality of interpretations? If the latter, then how do we maintain intellectual humility and find valid methods for addressing the texts of Scripture? For a first-ever joint episode with the Center for Hebraic Thought, Dru talks to Dr. Jaco Gericke of North-West University, South Africa about his journey to philosophical theology, and some of his current research, particularly his recent book, A Philosophical Theology of the Old Testament: A historical, experimental, comparative and analytic perspective. Along the way, they discuss atheism, the necessity of bringing a philosophical perspective to biblical studies, developing reliable methods for reading Scripture, and even some terrible jokes.

Who was Paul? How might we understand him as a Jew? What type of Jew was he? How do our answers impact our interpretation of Paul’s theology of justification, Christology, the death of Christ, and more besides? In this episode, Matthew Bates and Chris Tilling talk to two of the co-authors of the new book, Paul, a New Covenant Jew: Rethinking Pauline Theology, by Brant Pitre, Michael P. Barber and John A. Kincaid (Eerdmans, 2019). After presenting a case for thinking about Paul as a new covenant Jew, the authors discuss Paul and apocalyptic, Pauline Christology, the cross and atonement theology, justification through divine sonship and the Lord’s Supper. Sparkling with fresh insights, this book contributes to numerous debates in exciting ways. This is, as one reviewer put it, “Paul the pop-up book”!

Episode: What am I? Why am I here? Why do I exist? In this episode, co-host Amy Hughes talks to Joshua R. Farris about the existential crisis-inducing subject of theological anthropology. Farris has written […]

Episode: Erin Heim and Dru Johnson discuss Erin’s paper “Resurrection and the #MeToo Movement,” which is part of a larger project that Erin is working on as she wrestles theologically […]

Christopher B. Hays sits down with Matt Lynch to discuss one of the most important and hotly contested sections of Isaiah. Among the only Old Testament texts to mention resurrection from the dead, Isaiah 24-27 have long perplexed and intrigued biblical scholars. In this episode, we talk all things Isaiah, corn whisky, colonizing Mars, and other important subjects related to Chris' recent book "The Origins of Isaiah 24-27."

Episode: In this episode we discuss Lincoln Harvey’s thrilling guide to the work of Robert W. Jenson (1930-2017). Jenson, arguably America’s most important theologian, is so because he thinks Jesus of Nazareth is always and for ever one of the Trinity. “Mary’s boy and Pilate’s victim” is the Father’s eternal Son, so there has never been an unfleshed Word. It follows from this that the God of the Gospel is much stranger than we imagine. Harvey’s book presents an astonishingly lucid and penetrating guide into Jenson’s remarkable proposal. Demonstrating Jenson’s signature moves, as well as his fundamental re-working of the dogmatic tradition, Harvey shows how only an evangelized metaphysics can make sense of the identity of Jesus Christ. Our discussion in this episode thus plunges into strange territory, raising odd questions and answers to such weighty matters as the nature of time, space, God’s act of creation, the centrality of Jesus, substance metaphysics and much more.

Episode: Environmental lawyer Gus Speth said, “I used to think that the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science […]

Episode: Nyasha Junior is back on the show to discuss her new book Reimagining Hagar: Blackness and the Bible. Matt Lynch hosts a discussion on race, ethnicity, and color in biblical […]

Episode: In this re-run of a 2018 episode, Matt Lynch interviews Christian Hofreiter (RZIM) on one of the most vexed issues in biblical studies … genocide in the Old Testament. […]

Episode: In this episode, Erin hosts Fleming Rutledge for a fireside chat before a live audience at Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford. Listen as Fleming shares pearls of wisdom from her […]

Episode: Triple-crown episode!! Sheblatzm is back for the 3rd time, and he’s not holding back. This episode will revolutionalize the way you think about theology, science, and yourself. But it’s not […]

Episode: Has the Chalcedonian Definition stood the test of time and theological challenge? Ian McFarland thinks so and advocates for a “Chalcedonianism without reserve” in his newest book, The Word Made […]

This episode takes you on a wild ride through the land of the Bible, the world of Josephus, into the ER after crashed planes, by the Dead Sea, and includes encounters with Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, and a fire-breathing dragon. Brace yourself!

Episode: In this third episode of a mini-series on "faith" (pistis), Jeanette Hagen Pifer brings a different method to bear on pistis, looking at what we might glean from wider conceptual categories related to "faith," like persuasion and boasting. And she was a missionary in the former Soviet Union before becoming a professor! Join her and OnScript co-host Matthew W. Bates, as they discuss Jeanette's new book, Faith as Participation.

Episode: After years of relative silence, conversations about “faith” (pistis) in the New Testament and early Christianity are suddenly blossoming. Pistis is essential. But because it’s multifaceted and can be […]

Episode: Dru Johnson talks with Jim Diamond about his long term project of thinking theologically with the biblical authors. Through close readings of key biblical texts and Jewish sages, Diamond […]

Episode: In this episode Matt Lynch sits down with Dan Pioske to talk about the way we know about ancient Israel. Most scholars have been so text-based in their assumptions about […]

Podcast interview of David J. Downs and Benjamin J. Lappenga by Matthew W. Bates and Erin Heim.

Episode: We’re going back to the dirt in this episode with Cynthia Shafer-Elliott. We talk about bee hives, the Daniel diet, Ezekiel bread, gender & archaeology, and why Cynthia is willing […]

Episode: In this week’s episode co-host Dru Johnson interviews co-host Matt Lynch, and there’s a surprise mystery guest! Guest: Matt Lynch is Academic Dean and Lecturer in Old Testament at Westminster Theological […]

Episode: In this episode, Willie James Jennings joins host Amy Hughes to talk about his The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race ten years after its publication. This compelling work […]

In this episode, Dru interviews scholars and publishers at the book tables and receptions at the annual meeting of the Society for Biblical Literature (which also includes the American Academy of Religion, Institute for Biblical Research, American Schools of Oriental Research, and more!). Order of appearance:
Robin "the rain in Spain" Parry (Wipf & Stock)
Marc Cortez (Wheaton)
Rodrigo de Sousa (Faculté Jean Calvin)
Nijay Gupta (George Fox University)
John Anthony Dunne (Bethel Seminary)
Jesse Myers/Miles Custis (Lexham Press)
Ela Lazarewicz-Wyrzykowska (Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology)
Heath Thomas (Oklahoma Baptist University)
Mary Katharine Hom (Independent Scholar/OnScript regular)
Anne-Marie Ellithorpe (Vancouver School of Theology)

Episode: Michael Bird speaks with Matt Bates and Erin Heim about his new joint venture with N.T. Wright, The New Testament in Its World (Zondervan, 2019). We discussed Mike’s take on […]

Episode: Benjamin Sommer speaks with Matt Lynch about Torah, Sinai, Jewish perspectives on the authority of the Hebrew Bible, Psalms, lament, and way more. Guest: Benjamin D. Sommer is Professor of […]

Episode: This is a re-release. Larry Hurtado passed away recently, and in memory of his contributions to biblical studies, we’re re-releasing this 2016 episode. Apologies for the sound quality. Larry […]

Episode: What hath penal substitution to do with recapitulation? Or Christus Victor with moral influence? Turns out, quite a lot. Of the making of many books and ideas on atonement there […]

Episode: Chris Tilling presents his work on Karl Barth’s Romans commentary. He argues that Barth’s reading of Romans is worth the attention of biblical scholars, even though Barth is a systematic theologian. […]

Episode: Chris Tilling presents his work on Karl Barth’s Romans commentary. He argues that Barth’s reading of Romans is worth the attention of biblical scholars, even though Barth is a systematic theologian. […]

Episode: Philip Ziegler joins Erin Heim to discuss apocalyptic theology, Pauline literature, and the implications of both for Christian discipleship. They discuss Ziegler’s new book, Militant Grace, which constitutes a […]

Seth Heringer's Uniting History and Theology (Fortress Press) argues that Christians do not need to use the historical-critical method to make historical claims but should instead write boldly Christian history. By using the historical method, grounded as it is in an incomplete understating of German historicism, they close off investigation of the past from the aesthetic and, importantly, from God. This is why 20th-century Christian scholarship has failed to unite history and theology. Instead of relying on the historical method as the primary way to think about past events, Christians need to reimage what historical work entails. Heringer thus presents a Christian approach to history that dialogues with recent developments in historical theory.

You've spoken. We've listened.  You've asked for more episodes giving a window into the secret lives of OnScript co-hosts. Or at least, you've asked us to allow more time for chat between hosts. So we'll try to do a bit more of that. In this episode, Matt Lynch and Matt Bates, the co-founders of OnScript, ask each other questions about Paul, hell, life, violence, divine-human appearances in the OT, faith as allegiance, Matt B.'s new book, books we've read, and more. Enjoy, and share the word!

What is the relationship between the individual Christian and the community of faith? How do we navigate the pendulum swings between an overemphasis on the individual at the expense of community and an overemphasis on community at the expense of the individual? In this episode, OnScript host Amy Brown Hughes talks with her colleague Sharon Ketcham about her new book Reciprocal Church: Becoming a Community Where Faith Flourishes Beyond High School, how often we talk about faith as a "product," what theological anthropology must undergird our ecclesiology, and where hope lies in the future of the church.

Episode: We all know that for Christians, Scripture is crucial–it’s the lifeblood of the church. But when we press deeper, what is it? What do words like authority and inspiration […]

Theology Track Episode: Live from Nashotah House, WI (3rd year running), here’s part 2 of our interview with Fr John Behr. Amy Brown Hughes talks with Fr John Behr about […]

Theology Track Episode: Live from Nashotah House, WI (3rd year running), we’ve got a two-part interview. Amy Brown Hughes talks with Fr John Behr about Origen and all things Patristic. […]

Episode: Erin Heim and Chris Tilling interview Darren Sarisky about his recent book Reading the Bible Theologically (Cambridge).

This week's ep features a public talk from OnScript's Dru Johnson on his recent book Human Rites: The Power of Rituals, Habits, and Sacraments  (Eerdmans, 2018). Special thanks to Christ Church Jerusalem who recorded this event, and let us re-post it here. Enjoy!

If you like this episode: Check out our original episode with Dru (before he was a host) on his book Knowledge by Ritual, and Dru's interview with Jonathan Pennington.

Episode: Jonathan Greer joins the show to talk about a big project he just co-edited on the history, context, archaeology, culture, and world of the Old Testament. Jonathan shares from his own work digging at Tel Dan, a very significant site for understanding the Jerusalem Temple and worship in ancient Israel. They discuss major archaeologists, the historicity of events in the Bible, the interaction of faith and critical study, and much more.

Guest: Jonathan Greer is Associate Professor of Old Testament and Director of the Hesse Memorial Archaeological Laboratory at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. He has written extensively on the history and context of the Bible. He's the author of Dinner at Dan: Biblical and Archaeological Evidence for Sacred Feasts at Iron Age II Tel Dan and Their Significance  (Brill, 2013) and the co-editor with John Hilber and John Walton of Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts (Baker Academic, 2019).

If you like this episode: Check out our episodes on the Isaiah Seal Impression, and The Ancient World of the Bible.

Matt Lynch has been eagerly awaiting this book (Opening Israel's Scriptures), and the chance to talk with one of his favorite OT scholars. That day has come! Matt speaks with Ellen Davis about the intersection of critical and theological biblical interpretation, the manna economy in Exodus, ecology and the Bible, Wendell Berry, violence in the Old Testament, lament, & more!

Ryan O'Dowd is the rare combination of Anglican Priest and scholar of the wisdom literature (though he agrees with Will Kynes's critique of the wisdom genre). In this episode, Dru and Ryan talk about his recent commentary on Proverbs in the Story of God series (Zondervan), his life as a pastor-scholar, and how being an academic is like being a model.

Episode: Kelly Murphy joins OnScript to talk about about Gideon in scripture and tradition, and about how various biblical and post-biblical writers portray the Tuba Warrior as a ‘real man’ […]

The Pentecostals are taking over OnScript! Amy talks to Dr. Ivan Satyavrata, pastor and theologian about the necessity of the "traditioning" of Pentecostalism, the incongruence of Pentecostalism not being completely on board with women in ministry or engaging extensively with the poor, and a discussion of the transformation of the Holy Spirit.

How does social-memory theory change how we think about the New Testament? In Rafael Rodríguez's Jesus Darkly, the Jesus that emerges from the shadows is surprisingly bright and relevant. Yet even when he remains mysterious, the darkness helps us anticipate the ultimate face-to-face encounter.

Super-fan Brent Strawn is back on the podcast to talk about why he thinks the 'Bible-as-story' paradigm needs to die, Andy Stanley's book Irresistible, how the Old Testament is still dying, and the idea that problems with violence in the Old Testament are often projections.

I (Matt L) have been wrestling with the topic of violence in Scripture for a while, and has returned to Dan Hawk's Berit Olam commentary on the book of Joshua. It was a pleasure to talk with Dan about his new book on violence in the Bible. He takes a literary approach that deserves serious attention.

Episode: Scott has a riveting biography, from growing up as a missionary kid in South America to entering the Goth and underground music scene to thinking about the effects of horrors and traumas on the body of Christ. You won't want to miss Scott's insights here.

Is the Holy Spirit properly called God? Yes, Christians are eager to say. But how and when did this development take place? The early church sensed the Spirit's full divinity, but struggled for centuries to find a grammar. Kyle Hughes, The Trinitarian Testimony of the Spirit, advances an exciting new argument. He shows that the key is the Spirit's role as a divine person who could bear witness to other divine persons. Everyone who is interested in bible and theology--take note!--and grab a listen. Trigger warning: we also dream of eating large quantities of smoked meat. If that is more than your stomach can handle, beware. Hosted by Matt Bates.

In this wide-ranging episode Amy Brown Hughes talks with Sameer Yadav about the 'promiscuous' nature of theology, his book 'The Problem of Perception and the Experience of God: Toward a Theological Empiricism,' his recent work on apophaticism in the Christian mystical tradition, and race in the philosophy of religion.

He's back! And this time with ideas about science, theology, and philosophy that will blow your mind! Prof. Ervine Sheblatzm has been "rethinking everything" and "sequencing out" several innovative new theories that he believes will usher in "encounters of the fourth kind" in the study of Paul's letters and in science. Listen in as Matt talks with Ervine about his groundbreaking new book Faultines in the Horizon: Paul's Dawning Age Marches On.

Dru Johnson and Matt Lynch talk to Robert Alter about his new Princeton University Press book The Art of Bible Translation and his newly released translation of the Hebrew Bible into English. Robert explains how the translation came about and how The Art of Bible Translation acts as a methodological introduction to his translation of the Hebrew Bible.

Chris Tilling chats with Jeff McSwain about his new book Simul Sanctification: Barth's Hidden Vision for Human Transformation (Wipf & Stock, 2018).

Jon Levenson's Resurrection and the Restoration of Israel (Yale, 2006) is one of the books I (Matt) most recommend to my students and colleagues. It models biblical scholarship that is exegetically adept, holds the big picture, understands the history of interpretation, and is genuinely creative. Dru and I had the privilege of sitting down with Jon Levenson--a favorite on the show--to talk through this theme of vital importance to Jews and Christians.

Episode: In our latest Theology Stream episode, Amy Hughes talks with practical theologian Michael Bruner about Flannery O’Connor, a “theology of the grotesque,” and why literature and art in church […]

In this episode, Michael Carasik (pronounced like "Jurassic") and I discuss the wonderful world of Jewish commentary and his translation of the medieval Jewish commentators.

Episode: New Perspective on Paul versus Old Perspective. The debate rages because a proper understanding of Christian salvation is at stake. Matthew Thomas has a novel angle that brings fresh evidence–the […]

Episode: Welcome to the inaugural episode of OnScript's new Theology Stream. OnScript's newest co-host Amy Brown Hughes talks with Natalie Carnes of Baylor University about icons, iconophilia, iconophobia, and iconoclasm. This topic has loomed large in church history, and carries important theological implications.

Sandra Richter discusses the Bible and ecology, her love for Deuteronomy, teaching the Old Testament, women in academia, and much more. We've also got a big announcement in this episode, so tune in!

OnScript Podcast interview with Lucy Peppiatt on Paul and Gender. We focus on all the troublesome issues in 1 Corinthians 11.

Episode: This is the first of a two part episode on gender and hermeneutics in the letters of Paul. Our focus text is 1 Cor 11, a text that poses […]

Episode: In this episode, Erin interviews Beverly Roberts Gaventa on Pauline theology, her thoughts on pedagogy, and on why Matt Bates is wrong about Karl Barth.  Guest:  Beverly Roberts Gaventa is Distinguished Professor of […]

Canon, theology, and Trinity are brought together in this episode featuring guest Chris Seitz

Episode: Matt, Matt, Erin, & Dru discuss your questions. And YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT THEY SAY NEXT! Listen to find out. Help Support OnScript: Visit our Donate Page if you want to join […]

Dru and Joshua Berman discuss his bold claims in his book—Inconsistency in the Torah—that suggest source-criticism might erroneously ignore cognate literary forms in the ancient Near East, favoring notoriously slippery histories behind each source in the Torah instead. Working through Egyptian and Mesopotamian parallels, Berman discusses how the old paradigm of sources might be insufficient in the face of other comparable literatures. We talk through the book's core arguments, krav maga, Judaism in Israel, Fijian vacations with Seventh Day Adventists, and more!

Episode:  Erin and Dru host Douglas Groothuis for an episode that breaks from our typical Onscript fare. Doug’s newest book, Walking through Twilight is a memoir about his journey alongside his […]

Episode: Tim Mackie and Jon Collins chat with Matt L. and Dru J. about how the Bible Project started, their thesis that the Bible is a unified story, P967, and a […]

Scot McKnight is back, bringing a cosmic Christological vision and wisdom about how the church should handle the topics of slavery and racial reconciliation. 

Episode: Live from Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Wisconsin! OnScript host Matt Lynch interviews Stephen Chester. We talk about how Luther & Calvin have taken a whipping by some proponents […]

Episode: Marc Turnage lives and breathes the world of the New Testament, through literature, archaeology, and geography. He’s an expert in biblical Galilee, and comes to us live from the Galilee, […]

Episode:  In this episode, Susan Eastman talks with Erin and Matt about her new book on Pauline Anthropology. The book is a fascinating three-way dialogue between the Apostle Paul, Epictetus, and […]

In this episode, Matthias Henze maps out how people approaching the biblical texts from the NT lens can hop into the world of Hellenistic Judaism to better understand the NT literature.

Episode: Dr. Mary Hom returns to the show to talk about her soon-to-be-released book The Characterization of an Empire: The Portrayal of the Assyrians in Kings and Chronicles (Wipf & Stock, 2018). But […]

Episode: It was half an hour before coffee and cake with the Campbell family, so Chris sits down with Douglas Campbell to interview him on his new book on the […]

Episode: Matt interviews Christian Hofreiter (RZIM) on one of the most vexed issues in biblical studies … genocide in the Old Testament. Christian Hofreiter has been pondering this question for […]

Episode: Matt & Mark get all exodusy in this episode, as they discuss Israel’s founding narrative and its ongoing significance. Topics range from Sabbath, to history, and from divine presence […]

Episode:  In this episode, we discuss the Mesopotamian texts about matters of children to deity relations, families roles, abandonment, child death, and more for the sake of understanding some of the […]

Episode:  In this episode, Cynthia Long Westfall talks with Erin about her new book on gender in Paul’s letters, which emphatically is not just a conversation about women’s issues in Paul’s letters. Tune in […]

Episode: Brace yourself for a celestial journey through the letters of Paul, the Multiverse, and the inner soul. Prof Ervine Sheblatzm sits down with OnScript host Matt Lynch to discuss his […]

These are your questions, so there are no reasons not to listen. And it gets even better, we've got Chris Tilling joining us as a co-host, and he's here to stay, we think. In this his inaugural episode as an official co-host, we introduce him with a head cold for extra effect. Topics range from violence in the Bible, toilet paper roll, combating cynicism, and more.

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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

Episode: Gender is a hot-button topic. The validity and limits of “gender roles” still remains a controversial issue in the church. Meanwhile early Christian theology is all about the church Fathers–at […]

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 […]

Episode: Happy New Year! Enjoy this rebroadcast of our 2016 interview with John Barclay about his monumental book Paul and the Gift (Eerdmans). Apologies for the sound quality here. This was one of […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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.

Biblical poetry can be tough going. It doesn't rhyme, doesn't have meter, and it comes from an ancient culture. But it makes up some 27% of the Bible! In this first of two episodes on biblical poetry, Matt L. talks with J. Blake Couey, who is a reliable guide through the challenging waters of ancient Hebrew poetry, and who brings listeners his infectious appreciation for the prophetic poetry of Isaiah 1-39.

Michael F. Bird OnScript Podcast Interview on Jesus the Eternal Son with Matthew W. Bates

If Jesus said, “pluck out your eye if it causes you to sin” shouldn’t all Christian men be cyclopsed? If he literally said, “Do not swear an oath,” can Christians no longer testify in court? The steep ethical teaching of the Sermon on the Mount forces more questions than it answers. Dr. Jonathan T. Pennington of Southern Seminary talks with Dru Johnson about how we should read the Sermon on the Mount and what it teaches.

With its messianic associations, pouring or smearing oil on the head is both foundational and divisive in Judaism and Christianity. Language about oil is—well, sorry—slippery. This is true in ancient contexts as well as modern. For instance, Trypho, a second-century Jew, is reported to have said: “The messiah, if he has indeed come and is somewhere, is incognito; he does not even know himself yet nor does he have any power until Elijah comes and anoints him and makes him manifest to everyone” (Dial. 8.4). Justin Martyr vociferously disagreed. In this episode, Matt Novenson helps us see that past analysis of "messiah" language has frequently contributed to the slipperiness, so new questions are needed. Listen in as OnScript host Matthew Bates and Matt Novenson work toward a more firm grip on messianic discourse.

When people say, “Well, that’s only a metaphor,” what exactly do they mean? A new book on metaphors in the NT takes on the literal versus metaphorical dichotomy, claiming that it is a false dichotomy.

Thomas Jay Oord OnScript Podcast Interview on The Uncontrolling Love of God with Matthew W. Bates

Episode: Grab a PBR (or craft beer) & get ready for a new perspective as Matt Lynch grills Gar Anderson (Professor of NT at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Wisconsin) on […]

Episode: What causes our sin? At some point, a first century Jewish teacher stumbles out of the Galilee saying things like, “If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw […]

[podbean resource=”episode=vkxnx-6d4c4a” type=”audio-rectangle” height=”100″ skin=”1″ btn-skin=”103″ share=”1″ fonts=”Helvetica” auto=”0″ download=”0″ rtl=”0″] Episode: Grab a beer & lawn chair as Matt Lynch & Dru Johnson discuss your questions at this sizzlin’ summer […]

J Richard Middleton discusses biblical eschatology, creation, heaven, hell, Elijah's escape of death, theology in Jamaica, whether our pets go to heaven, and much more in The Boston Tea Party, Cheltenham, during Richard's tour through the UK.

Matt & Matt discuss violence in the OT with Greg Boyd, who has devoted the last 10 years to researching and writing about this vexed topic. Our discussion ranges from the relationship between the cross and the conquest, Greg's theory of 'literary crucifixes' in the OT, how to relate the two Testaments, and more from Greg's monumental new book The Crucifixion of the Warrior God: Interpreting The Old Testament's Violent Portraits of God in Light of the Cross. And brace yourself ... there are two speed rounds in this episode.

Episode: The prospect of stoning a rebellious son or adulterer, or turning over an unorthodox brother or sister for execution is revolting. But how should a Jewish or Christian believer […]

Evangelicals, grab your Noah's ark replicas. Atheists, seize your Darwinian fish symbols. It's the mother of all culture wars. Except Dennis Venema and Scot McKnight, who both hold traditional evangelical Christian convictions, suggest that the war is needless. In their book 'Adam and the Genome' they suggest that It is okay to acknowledge the Jesus fish and to affirm that humans and fish descend from common ancestors. How did Dennis, an evolutionary biologist, and Scot, a New Testament scholar, come together to collaborate? What new evidence has emerged about the human genome in support of evolution? And the crux: How can we make sense of the Bible's description of Adam and Eve as the first humans in light of multiple strands of evidence that suggests humans evolved as a group of no less than 10,000? Hosted by Matthew W. Bates.

Episode: The story of German Christian anti-Semitism of the Nazi era is still being told. Susannah Heschel’s book The Aryan Jesus brings to light the archives of the ‘Institute for the Study and Eradication […]

Episode: What role has the Hebrew Bible played in shaping our modern views on ethics? Many Christians have casually believed that the radical ethics of the New Testament provide the moral […]

Episode: In this episode, Matt & Matt reflect back on the last year of OnScript-ing, answer some listener Q&A, and … make a big announcement. Yes, we have some exciting […]

Episode: Guest Brent Strawn unfurls his provocative thesis that The Old Testament is Dying with OnScript host Matt Lynch. Matt and Brent discuss the malaise of ignorance about, hostility toward, and success-driven re-packaging […]

Kevin Vanhoozer OnScript Podcast Interview on Biblical Authority After Babel with Matthew Bates

Episode: Matt L. and J. Daniel Kirk discuss the humanity of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels, and the idea that Jesus’ humanity meant much more than the fact that he […]

Episode: Matt L. discusses with Dru Johnson his claim that the Bible offers an epistemology, one where humans know by ritual. They discuss key influences on Dru’s work, the importance of […]

Episode: Fred Sanders and OnScript host Matthew Bates talk Trinitarian theology. Fred’s exciting book, The Triune God, is the launching point for the discussion. Discover why it is imperative that […]

Episode: Matt L. sits down with his former professor Iain Provan to discuss Discovering Genesis: Content, Interpretation, Reception. Their conversation ranges from fly fishing and salmon forests to the wilds of […]

Oliver Crisp brings his considerable philosophical acumen to bear on Scripture and tradition in order to break new ground in christology. Oliver and OnScript host Matthew Bates discuss Crisp's book 'The Word Enfleshed' (Baker, 2016), think through classical topics in christology, including the eternal generation of the Son and the Trinity, the incarnation, image of God, and the hypostatic union.

Episode: For this episode, Matt Lynch sits down with long time friend Mary Hom to talk about her longstanding interest in the Assyrians and the Old Testament. Matt asks questions […]

Episode:  Christians like to speak about letting Scripture interpret Scripture, but beyond using an easy passage to make sense out of a more difficult one, what does this mean? David […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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.

Co-hosted discussion of divine Christology in contemporary NT studies with Chris Tilling, author of 'Paul's Divine Christology.'

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 […]

OnScript host Matthew Bates welcomes David Downs to discuss the biblical and systematic implications of atoning almsgiving. Interviewing from Tanzania, David's reflections on charitable giving for the church today is multicultural and profound.

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 […]

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 […]

At a glance: 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.

  Episode Summary:  How does brain relate to mind?  To spirit  or soul?  And what does all of this have to do with conversion and Scripture?  OnScript host Matthew Bates […]

Episode Summary In this interview, Matt L. talks about This Strange and Sacred Scripture with author, Old Testament Scholar, and professor Matthew Schlimm. They discuss Matthew’s relationship with the Hardy Boys novels, […]

Pete and Matt L. discuss the uncertainties of faith, of life, and of life with the Bible. We also talk about how Pete has managed the challenge of losing control of his faith. Matt asks Pete his opinion on the ideal of 'knowing what you believe' and on 'always being prepared to give an answer ... about the hope that is in you' (1 Peter 3:15). Pete also talks about the 'slippery slope' of certainty. Finally, Pete addresses three of his favorite OT books for navigating the loss of certainty. And, by the way, Pete was swinging a baseball bat in his study during the interview. I'm glad it wasn't an in-person interview.

Guest:  John M. G. Barclay is Lightfoot Professor of Divinity at Durham University in England, one of the most highly regarded professorships in the theological world. Barclay is the author […]

Guest: Meghan Henning is Assistant Professor of Christian Origins at the University of Dayton. She specializes in New Testament and Early Christianity, and holds an undergraduate degree in Religion and […]

Guest:  Professor Michael J. Gorman holds the Raymond E. Brown Chair in Biblical Studies and Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Baltimore, Maryland.  A renowned New Testament scholar, he […]

  Guest: David Lambert is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He received his Ph.D., M.A., and A.B. from Harvard University. In […]

[View Episode] Guest: Joshua W. Jipp is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Josh did his Ph.D. in New Testament at Emory University, a ThM from Duke Divinity School, an MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a BA from Northwestern College. In addition to his recent book Christ is King, he is also the author of a book[Read More]

[View Episode] Guest: Dr. Munther Banayout Isaac is Academic Dean and Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at Bethlehem Bible College in Bethlehem, Palestine. He completed his Ph.D. at the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, and has an MA from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and Bachelor of Science from Birzeit University in [Read More]