Theology in the Raw
Theology in the Raw
Theology in the Raw
Helping believers think Christianly about theological and cultural issues by engaging in curious conversations with a diverse range of thoughtful people.
Reading the Gospels as Narratives and Depictions of Jesus in Film: Dr. Jeannine Brown
Dr. Jeannine Brown is The David Price Professor of Biblical and Theological Foundations at Bethel Seminary, where she has taught for 26 years. She focuses her research on the New Testament, hermeneutics, and integration. She’s written a bunch of books and commentaries, including Scripture as Communication, Becoming Whole and Holy, Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (editor), commentaries on Matthew, Philippians, and 1 Peter (forthcoming), and a couple books most pertinent to our conversation: Gospels as Stories and The Greatest Story Ever Retold (with John Anthony Dunne). Jeannine is a member of the NIV translation committee. In this podcast conversation, we talk about reading the gospels as narratives versus harmonizing the 4 Gospels, and we also talk about the portrayal of Jesus in film, including the popular The Chosen series. Time Stamps:00:00 Introduction02:57 Why Read the Gospels as Narrative?07:36 Are the Gospel Differences Contradictions?11:45 Ancient Biography and the Gospels21:45 Why John's Gospel Is Different33:44 How Each Gospel Presents Jesus39:15 How to Read the Gospels Well44:15 Bible Movies and Portraying Jesus54:20 The Chosen: Creative License and Biblical Faithfulness See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jul 20
1 hr 3 min
Sexual Desire, Singleness and the Beauty of Christian Sexual Ethics: Andrew Bunt
If you want to access our extra innings conversation, become a member of the TITR community here Request a free copy of Heroic Faith here: Andrew Bunt is the Content Director at Living Out, a UK based ministry that equips the church in matters related to sexuality and gender from biblical perspective. (living out.org). Andrew is a pastor, speaker, and author who’s written several books including his latest book: Getting God’s Perspective: A Short Christian Introduction to Worldviews, Sexuality & Gender. In this conversation, we discuss questions about the Christian sexual ethic—is it beautiful or oppressive and harmful? Why a Christian worldview is essential for understanding the Christian sexuality ethic. How a Christian view of freedom and progress are important for understanding sexuality. And then, in our "extra innings" portion of this conversation, we discuss, once again, whether Christians should “identify” as gay (and what the term “identity” even means).Time Stamps00:00:00 Introduction00:02:12 The Beauty of Christian Sexuality & God's Design 00:06:33 Why the Secular Story About Sexuality Falls Short 00:14:17 Talking with Young People About LGBTQ Friends & Biblical Boundaries 00:22:58 Living with Unmet Sexual Desires and Spiritual Growth 00:27:15 Singleness, Loneliness, and the Community Jesus Envisioned 00:34:30 The Importance of Deep Friendship and Belonging in the Church 00:45:00 Why Worldview Matters for Conversations About Sexuality & Gender 00:55:00 A Christian Worldview of Progress and Living Faithfully in a Changing Culture  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jul 16
1 hr
Everything You Need to Know About the Book of Job: Dr. Ellie Paley
Click here for your free copy of When Faith is Forbidden by Todd NettletonDr. Ellie Paley received her Ph.D. from Cambridge University, where she studied the book of Job, and she’s currently pursuing a post-doc at Bar-Illan University in Israel. Ellie literally memorized the entire book—in Hebrew…in 6 months! Job is her gig and she knows more about the book than anyone I know. In this episode, Ellie gives a master class on the book of Job, discussing its date, the setting, the meaning of “The Adversary” (hasatan, or Satan?), the purpose of the prologue (Job 1-2), the content of purpose of the dialogue cycle of Job’s 3 friends, the purpose of the transitionary wisdom poem of Job 28, the role and function of Elihu’s speech and why she thinks he’s a rather presumptuous young buck who thinks he knows better than he really does, God’s response to Job, and how the book resolves in the latter chapters. We end by reflecting on Job’s contribution to the question of theodicy and the problem of evil. To follow Ellie’s work, check out her Substack “Compulsively Contemplative.” Time Stamps00:00:00 Introduction00:01:05 Why Memorize the Book of Job? (Hebrew, Theology & Spiritual Formation)00:12:30 Who Wrote Job? Date, Setting & Historical Background00:24:28 Is Job Historical? Debating the Origins of the Book of Job00:28:10 Satan in Job: Understanding the Divine Adversary00:38:42 God's Speeches & the Meaning of Suffering in Job00:43:57 What’s up with Job’s friends? Retribution Theology Explained00:55:14 Who Is Elihu? His Role in the Book of Job01:01:05 God Answers Job from the Whirlwind01:06:41 Job's Repentance, Restoration & the Ending Explained01:16:05 Theodicy: Job on the Problem of Evil, Suffering, and Trusting God01:23:17 Ellie Paley's Ministry, Writing & Substack.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jul 13
1 hr 25 min
Everything You Need to Know About the Book of Job: Dr. Ellie Paley
Request a free copy of When Faith is Forbidden here.Dr. Ellie Paley received her Ph.D. from Cambridge University, where she studied the book of Job, and she’s currently pursuing a post-doc at Bar-Illan University in Israel. Ellie literally memorized the entire book—in Hebrew…in 6 months! Job is her gig and she knows more about the book than anyone I know. In this episode, Ellie gives a master class on the book of Job, discussing its date, the setting, the meaning of “The Adversary” (hasatan, or Satan?), the purpose of the prologue (Job 1-2), the content of purpose of the dialogue cycle of Job’s 3 friends, the purpose of the transitionary wisdom poem of Job 28, the role and function of Elihu’s speech and why she thinks he’s a rather presumptuous young buck who thinks he knows better than he really does, God’s response to Job, and how the book resolves in the latter chapters. We end by reflecting on Job’s contribution to the question of theodicy and the problem of evil. To follow Ellie’s work, check out her Substack “Compulsively Contemplative” here.Time Stamps00:00:00 Introduction00:01:05 Why Memorize the Book of Job? (Hebrew, Theology & Spiritual Formation)00:12:30 Who Wrote Job? Date, Setting & Historical Background00:24:28 Is Job Historical? Debating the Origins of the Book of Job00:28:10 Satan in Job: Understanding the Divine Adversary00:38:42 God's Speeches & the Meaning of Suffering in Job00:43:57 What’s up with Job’s friends? Retribution Theology Explained00:55:14 Who Is Elihu? His Role in the Book of Job01:01:05 God Answers Job from the Whirlwind01:06:41 Job's Repentance, Restoration & the Ending Explained01:16:05 Theodicy: Job on the Problem of Evil, Suffering, and Trusting God01:23:17 Ellie Paley's Ministry, Writing & Substack.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jul 13
1 hr 25 min
Q&A on Women in Leadership and From Genesis to Junia
If you want to watch the full Exiles Conference on demand, you can get access to the whole thing—including all the breakout sessions—for just $49 here.In today’s episode, I’m working through some of the top upvoted questions from my conversation with Sandy Richter at Exiles 26 about women in leadership and my new book, From Genesis to Junia. If you haven’t listened to that conversation yet, I’d encourage you to go back and start there, since this episode really picks up where that one left off.Thanks so much for all the thoughtful questions—and sorry it took me a month to get to them. I’m grateful for how engaged you all were in this conversation, and I hope this follow-up is helpful. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jul 9
1 hr 4 min
Bonus Preview: Patreon Only Q&A for July
To listen to the full episode, join the Patreon Community for as little as 5 dollars a month! You'll also get access to Zoom chats, Live Q&A's, Exiles Content, and more!Here's the questions answered in the full episode:0:46 You mentioned you have a complicated relationship with church. However, as a trained Bible scholar, what do you view your responsibility is to the local church? 8:52 Is regular sexual intimacy necessary for marriage? I am thinking about a mixed orientation marriage or a marriage where one or both partners are asexual.14:04 Thoughts on lay people going to seminary? If we can’t find good theological training/space to discuss from local church, where to get it in person(not online)?19:03 What Bible verses would you reference when a Christian college student asks why it's sinful to have sex before marriage?28:24 Most churches lack women leaders and training for women— how do we collectively get more female pov heard and taught at church?34:22 What do you think of IVF and egg freezing?35:40 What do you think makes a healthy church? ( from your experience being exposed to so many different churches)45:37 Fiscal conservatism is a hallmark of the political Right. Is a conservative financial approach consistent with the bible as it describes how we relate to money?54:20 What are your thoughts on usage of social media as Christian— with the rise of Christian contents/pastors on social media using as platform?58:55 What has your experience been like or thoughts on building community or friendships— in church or outside of church/faith community that felt flourishing?1:01:25 Whose job is it to gatekeep a closed communion? Should clergy stop people from taking communion, or is it up to the individual?01:05:30 Thoughts, insight or advice? I sometimes feel more drawn to read about the Bible than read the Bible or more drawn to those drawn to Jesus than Jesus himself.01:09:19 Matthew Vines referenced your discussion on the Hebrew word "kenegdo" in a conversational debate with David Bennet: how would you respond to his pushback?01:13:58 Hypothetically, with humility about our own blind spots, what warning can we give about what Jesus might say on Judgment Day to supporters of the Gaza genocide?01:17:46 Is there anything uniquely troubling to you about Trump, or do you see him as just another flawed leader of a flawed Babylon? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jul 8
19 min
Women in Leadership: Live Dialogue from Exiles 26 with Dr. Sandy Richter
Watch the full Exiles Conference On Demand and get access to the entire conference—including all breakout sessions—for just $49.At Exiles 26, my friend Dr. Sandy Richter joined me for a panel discussion and Q&A about my new book, From Genesis to Junia: An Honest Search for What the Bible Actually Says about Women in Leadership. Once we got going, we ended up talking longer than expected and only had about three minutes left for audience questions.So to make up for it, we’re releasing the full conversation here, along with a follow-up episode where I respond to the top upvoted questions from the event. That follow-up episode drops on Thursday. In the meantime, enjoy this conversation.You can find more from Dr. Richter at sandyrichter.org. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jul 6
1 hr 13 min
How Should Christians Think about Sports and Fandom? Dr. Paul Putz
To listen to our extra-innnings conversation, where we talk about LGBTQ Pride Night at major league baseball games, become a member of the Theology in the Raw community at patreon.com/theologyintheraw.Dr. Paul Putz is Assistant professor of Christianity and sports and director of the Faith & Sports Institute at Baylor’s Truett Seminary. He's the author of The Spirit of the Game: American Christianity and Big-Time Sports (Oxford University Press, 2024), and the forthcoming Jesus and James Naismith: A History of Basketball and Christianity from Origins to the NBA (Eerdmans. 2027). See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jul 2
53 min
Work, Calling, and the Challenge of Leading as a Woman: Brittany Dicus
Brittany Dicus is a sales and marketing director for a beverage company, a master's student at Talbot School of Theology, and serves on the teaching team at Church of the Open Door in Maple Grove, MN. With one foot in the corporate world and another in the church world, Brittany has thought a lot about viewing her work as mission.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jun 29
1 hr
An Israeli Settler and Palestinian Christian Become Friends. Fares Abraham and Daniel Klein
Fares Abraham is a Palestinian Christian and Daniel Klein is a Jewish Christian. Both Fares and Daniel grew up minutes from each other in the West Bank, and yet they were worlds apart—Fares lived in occupied Palestine and Daniel live in an Israeli settlement. Both of them share about their very different journies, which end up in similar places, culminating in a friendship, which offers a glimpse of what peace between Israelis and Palestinians could look like: not through politics or slogans, but through the reconciling power of Christ, honest truth-telling, mutual dignity, and a shared commitment to justice, mutual flourishing, and peace for all who call the Holy Land home. Daniel is the author of My Freedom from Zionism and Fares leads Levant Ministries. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jun 25
1 hr 15 min
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