New Books Network

About Franklin Rauch

NBN Episodes hosted by Franklin:

Christian Studies December 14, 2017

The Land Shall be Deluged in Blood

A New History of the Nat Turner Revolt

Patrick H. Breen

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
How did African-American slaves react to slavery? What factors, particularly religion, might shape those reactions, even making them violent? Patrick Breen, in his carefully researched and cogently written The Land …
Christian Studies November 17, 2017

Augustine and the Mystery of the Church

James K. Lee

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
When teaching the first half of world history, I always do a little section on Augustine. My focus is on how he was an important theologian who shaped Christian understandings …
Christian Studies October 6, 2017

The Bible Cause

A History of the American Bible Society

John Fea

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
I own many Bibles, but curiously, I didn't purchase any of them. They were all given to me, almost all by Protestant Christians. And, considering the history of Protestant Christianity …
Christian Studies August 26, 2017

Hell and the Mercy of God

Adrian Reimers

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
A central theological and philosophical problem facing Christians is the question "How could a merciful God damn people to hell?" It is tempting to solve this issue by developing an …
Christian Studies May 30, 2017

Thomas Aquinas on War and Peace

Gregory Reichberg

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
When is war justified? What makes a just war? These are difficult questions to answer, but particularly so for Christians, followers of Jesus, who suffered violence without responding in kind …
Christian Studies May 16, 2017

Catholics and Anti-Catholicism in Choson Korea

Don Baker

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
Shortly after the introduction of Catholicism into Korea in the late 18th century, Korea's Confucian government began to persecute Catholics. Why would a Confucian government torture and kill the people …
Christian Studies March 16, 2017

The Valiant Woman

The Virgin Mary in Nineteenth-Century American Culture

Elizabeth Hayes Alvarez

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
When people think of the Virgin Mary in terms of American religious history, there is a tendency to focus on opposition. For instance, Catholic devotion to Mary on the one …
Christian Studies January 5, 2017

Priestly Celibacy

Theological Foundations

Fr. Gary Selin

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
One of the particular markers of the Latin rite of the Catholic Church is priestly celibacy. How did this discipline develop there? Why did it develop? What does it mean …
Christian Studies December 13, 2016

Moral Commerce

Quakers and the Transatlantic Boycott of the Slave Labor Economy

Julie Holcomb

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
The question of how we should act when facing something gravely immoral is a difficult one. This is particularly true when that immorality touches upon our everyday life. Such was …
Christian Studies October 8, 2016

Christian Historiography

Five Rival Versions

Jay Green

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
What does it mean to be a Christian historian? Can there be such a thing as Christian history? In his new book, Christian Historiography: Five Rival Versions (Baylor University Press …
Christian Studies September 11, 2016

The Visitor

Andre Palmeiro and the Jesuits in Asia

Liam Brockey

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
The transmission of a religion closely connected to a particular culture into a very different religious and cultural environment is a difficult act of translation in which a balance must …
Christian Studies June 6, 2016

Catholic Vietnam

A Church from Empire to Nation

Charles Keith

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
The relationship between religion, imperialism, and national identity can be quite complex. At the same time, nationalist readings of history, particularly when they are combined with other ideological perspectives, can …
Christian Studies April 30, 2016

Religious Lessons

Catholic Sisters and the Captured Schools Crisis in New Mexico

Kathleen Holscher

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
In New Mexico, before World War Two, Catholic sisters in full habits routinely taught in public schools. In her fascinating new book, Religious Lessons: Catholic Sisters and the Captured Schools …
Christian Studies March 30, 2016

Madness

American Protestant Responses to Mental Illness

Heather Vacek

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
Should the member of a Christian congregation be injured in a car accident, that person will likely be the subject of public prayers and hospitality. But if that same person …
Christian Studies February 22, 2016

Inventing George Whitefield

Race, Revivalism, and the Making of a Religious Icon

Jessica Parr

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
George Whitefield was a complex man driven by a simple idea, the new birth that brought salvation. Because of such passion, Whitefield received both enthusiastic support, preaching to audiences numbering …
Christian Studies January 22, 2016

Irenaeus, Joseph Smith and God-Making Heresy

Adam J. Powell

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
At first glance, second-century bishop Irenaeus of Lyon and Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints don't seem to have much in common …
Christian Studies December 30, 2015

We Gather Together

The Religious Right and the Problem of Interfaith Politics

Neil J. Young

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
In his new book, We Gather Together: The Religious Right and the Problem of Interfaith Politics (Oxford University Press, 2015), Dr. Neil J. Young questions the historical view that post-World …
Christian Studies December 12, 2015

Identity, Youth, and Gender in the Korean American Church

Christine Hong

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
In her new book, Identity, Youth, and Gender in the Korean American Church (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), Dr. Christine Hong explores the lives of female Korean American Mainline Christian adolescents. Hong's …
Christian Studies November 3, 2015

Pathways in Theodicy

An Introduction to the Problem of Evil

Mark S. M. Scott

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
In his new book, Pathways in Theodicy: An Introduction to the Problem of Evil (Fortress Press, 2015), Dr. Mark S. M. Scott explores how people, largely within the Christian tradition …
Christian Studies October 8, 2015

Playing for God

Evangelical Women and the Unintended Consequences of Sports Ministry

Annie Blazer

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
In her new book, Playing for God: Evangelical Women and the Unintended Consequences of Sports Ministry (NYU Press, 2015), Annie Blazer shows through archival research and participant-observation how the paradigm …
Christian Studies August 10, 2015

The Nativist Movement in America

Religious Conflict in the Nineteenth Century

Katie Oxx

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
Narratives of American history are often centered around the idea of oppression and liberation, with groups such as ethnic minorities, women, and workers struggling with, and (at least to some …
Christian Studies July 26, 2015

A History of Korean Christianity

Sebastian C. H. Kim and Kirsteen Kim

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
Korea presents a fascinating chapter in the history of Christianity. For instance, the first continuous Christian community in the peninsula was founded by Koreans themselves without any missionaries coming into …
Christian Studies June 23, 2015

Weird John Brown

Divine Violence and the Limits of Ethics

Ted A. Smith

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
People living in the modern west generally have no problem criticizing religiously-justified violence. It's therefore always interesting when I discuss John Brown, a man who legitimized anti-slavery violence Biblically. My …
Christian Studies May 22, 2015

An Introduction to Catholic Ethics Since Vatican II

Andrew Kim

Hosted by Franklin Rauch
Dealing with moral issues in a fair and balanced way is never easy. This is especially true since many contemporary moral questions are of such a highly personal nature. However …