Christian Studies

Christian Studies

episodes

Interviews with scholars of Christianity about their new books.

Alister E. McGrath, "The Nature of Christian Doctrine: Its Origins, Development, and Function" (Oxford UP, 2024)

October 28, 2024

The Nature of Christian Doctrine

Alister E. McGrath

The Nature of Christian Doctrine: Its Origins, Development, and Function (Oxford UP, 2024) offers a groundbreaking account of the origins, development…

Toni Alimi, "Slaves of God: Augustine and Other Romans on Religion and Politics" (Princeton UP, 2024)

October 28, 2024

Slaves of God

Toni Alimi
Hosted by Michael Motia

Augustine believed that slavery is permissible, but to understand why, we must situate him in his late antique Roman intellectual context. Slaves of G…

Dominick Hernández, "The Prosperity of the Wicked: A Theological Challenge in the Book of Job and in Ancient Near Eastern Literature" (Gorgias Press, 2022)

October 24, 2024

The Prosperity of the Wicked

Dominick Hernández
Hosted by Michael Morales

Does Job convincingly argue against a fixed system of just retribution by proclaiming the prosperity of the wicked, an argument that runs contrary to …

Religion and Republic: A Conversation with Miles Smith

October 23, 2024

Religion and Republic

Miles Smith
Hosted by Laura Laurent

In our latest podcast episode, we sat down with historian Miles Smith, who teaches at Hillsdale College, to discuss his new book, Religion and Republi…

Bruce Gordon, "The Bible: A Global History" (Basic Books, 2024)

October 19, 2024

The Bible

Bruce Gordon
Hosted by Roland Clark

A “wonderful…highly comprehensive” (John Barton, author of A History of the Bible) global history of the world’s best-known and most influential book …

Peter Joshua Atkins, "The Animalising Affliction of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4: Reading Across the Human-Animal Boundary" (Bloomsbury, 2022)

October 16, 2024

The Animalising Affliction of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4

Peter Joshua Atkins
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

The Animalising Affliction of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4: Reading Across the Human-Animal Boundary (Bloomsbury, 2022) is a detailed investigation into…

Luke Clossey, "Jesus and the Making of the Modern Mind, 1380-1520" (Open Book, 2024)

October 9, 2024

Jesus and the Making of the Modern Mind, 1380-1520

Luke Clossey
Hosted by Roland Clark

For his fifteenth-century followers, Jesus was everywhere – from baptism to bloodcults to bowling. This sweeping and unconventional investigation look…

Risa Cromer, "Conceiving Christian America: Embryo Adoption and Reproductive Politics" (NYU Press, 2023)

October 9, 2024

Conceiving Christian America

Risa Cromer
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In 1997, a group of white pro-life evangelical Christians in the United States created the nation’s first embryo adoption program to “save” the thousa…

William Cook Miller, "The Enthusiast: Anatomy of the Fanatic in Seventeenth-Century British Culture" (Cornell UP, 2023)

October 3, 2024

The Enthusiast

William Cook Miller

The Enthusiast: Anatomy of the Fanatic in Seventeenth-Century British Culture (Cornell UP, 2023) tells the story of a character type that was develope…

Harrison Perkins, "Reformed Covenant Theology: A Systematic Introduction" (Lexham Academic, 2024)

October 1, 2024

Reformed Covenant Theology

Harrison Perkins
Hosted by Crawford Gribben

Covenant shapes our life with God. In Reformed Covenant Theology: A Systematic Introduction (Lexham Academic, 2024), Harrison Perkins shows how Christ…

Mercy Ships (with Reanne Newquist)

October 1, 2024

Mercy Ships

Reanne Newquist

Reanne Newquist tells me about her voyage on Mercy Ships bringing healthcare to some of the poorest people in the world, a mission started by Don Step…

Jerome E. Copulsky, "American Heretics: Religious Adversaries of Liberal Order" (Yale UP, 2024)

October 1, 2024

American Heretics

Jerome E. Copulsky
Hosted by Meghan Cochran

A question has long hung over the the United States regarding the proper role of religion in public life. Those who long for a Christian America claim…

Darlene L. Brooks Hedstrom, "Desert Ascetics of Egypt" (ARC Humanities Press, 2020)

September 30, 2024

Desert Ascetics of Egypt

Darlene L. Brooks Hedstrom
Hosted by Michael Motia

Egypt is revered as the home of the famous Desert Ascetics, who first embraced a monastic life and established homosocial communities on the borders o…

Uroš Kovač, "The Precarity of Masculinity: Football, Pentecostalism, and Transnational Aspirations in Cameroon" (Berghahn Books, 2022)

September 30, 2024

The Precarity of Masculinity

Uroš Kovač
Hosted by Yadong Li

A compelling work that explores the lives and aspirations of young footballers with deep nuance and insight, The Precarity of Masculinity: Football, P…

Courtney Ann Irby, "Guiding God's Marriage: Faith and Social Change in Premarital Counseling" (NYU Press, 2024)

September 27, 2024

Guiding God's Marriage

Courtney Ann Irby
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

It is well-known that the institution of marriage has changed dramatically in the past few decades. However, very little research has focused on the r…

Steve Tibble, "Crusader Criminals: The Knights Who Went Rogue in the Holy Land" (Yale UP, 2024)

September 24, 2024

Crusader Criminals

Steve Tibble
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In Crusader Criminals: The Knights Who Went Rogue in the Holy Land (Yale University Press, 2024), Dr. Steve Tibble presents a vivid new history of the…

Tone Bleie, "A New Testament: Scandinavian Missionaries and Santal Chiefs from Company and British Crown Rule to Independence" (Solum Bokvennen, 2023)

September 20, 2024

A New Testament

Tone Bleie

In this episode, we are joined by the anthropologist Tone Bleie for a discussion of her book A New Testament: Scandinavian Missionaries and Santal Chi…

Iemima Ploscariu, "Alternative Evangelicals: Challenging Nationalism in Interwar Romania's Multi-ethnic Borderlands" (Brill, 2024)

September 19, 2024

Alternative Evangelicals

Iemima Ploscariu
Hosted by Roland Clark

Today I talked to Iemima Ploscariu about Alternative Evangelicals: Challenging Nationalism in Interwar Romania's Multi-ethnic Borderlands (Brill, 2024…

Jason Ramsey, "Reckoning with Change in Yucatán: Histories of Care and Threat on a Former Hacienda" (Routledge, 2023)

September 17, 2024

Reckoning with Change in Yucatán

Jason Ramsey
Hosted by Yadong Li

A perpetual tension exists between history and change, which is an issue long explored by historians and social scientists. Reckoning with Change in Y…

Philip Freeman, "Julian: Rome's Last Pagan Emperor" (Yale UP, 2023)

September 16, 2024

Julian

Philip Freeman
Hosted by Michael Motia

Today I talked to Philip Freeman about his new book Julian: Rome’s Last Pagan Emperor (Yale UP, 2023). Flavius Claudius Julianus, or Julian the Apost…