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“Surprised by Oxford”

To hear the podcast (20 min.) click here.

Carolyn Weber is a unique woman.  A portion of her life was made into a feature length film.  It is titled Surprised by Oxford after her book of the same title published by Thomas Nelson.  Links are below.

Dr. Carolyn Weber joined David Capes on The Stone Chapel Podcast.

Who Is Carolyn Weber? 

Carolyn is originally from Canada, but she and her husband, Kent, children, chickens, and dogs live near Nashville TN.  She grew up nominally Catholic but describes herself before college as “agnostic.” 

Dr. Weber went on to earn an MPhil and DPhil at Oxford, specializing in English literature.  She also went on to fall in love and by the end of her first year at Oxford, she became a follower of Jesus.

Carolyn was helped along the way by the fellow she would marry, Kent, and by numerous other students, staff, and faculty at Oxford.  C. S. Lewis and his writings became a mainstay for her as she transitioned to faith.

Today, Carolyn teaches at a Christian classical school, New College in Franklin Tennessee.  She comes to that position with quite an academic pedigree.

Surprised by Oxford

Surprised by Oxford is a memoir of one year in Carolyn Weber’s life.  The book is thoughtfully organized according to the academic calendar of Oxford. 

It is beautifully written and carefully presented.  Like C. S. Lewis, Carolyn was a “reluctant convert.”  She came kicking and screaming into the family.  But it was those conversations, those friendships, those relationships that became key.

In this podcast Carolyn deals with the big picture of that year.  So many more details await you in the book or in the movie.  Or both!  You will enjoy this podcast.

Resources

Here is a link to her book Surprised by Oxford.

You can check out Weber’s other books here.

To watch a video on the imagination of C.S. Lewis, given by Jerry Root at The Lanier Theological Library, click here.

More Resources

For a transcript of this podcast, click here.

Want more Stone Chapel Podcasts on some great topics? Just click here.

You can get information on upcoming lectures at Lanier Theological Library by clicking here

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Lament-Shaped Perseverance

James 5:11 refers to the “patience of Job” (KJV). If we take a detour through the book of Job and notice how the Greek vocabulary of perseverance (the KJV’s “patience”) is used in James’ letter, we gain insight into human suffering as something properly to lament. Dr. Grant Flynn is Visiting Assistant Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College. His Ph.D. (Wheaton Graduate School) dealt with lament in the Epistle of James.

Check out related programs at Wheaton College:

B.A. in Classical Languages (Greek, Latin, Hebrew): https://bit.ly/3TeXZAD

M.A. in Biblical Exegesis: https://bit.ly/4ceHg9q

To hear the podcast click here.

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Conquerors Not Captives with Joseph (Joey) Dodson

To hear the podcast (20 min) click here.

Dr. Joey Dodson is a good friend and a former student of mine. He was traveling through Houston and I grabbed him, forced him to each lunch, and asked him to be a part of this podcast.

Who Is Joey Dodson? 

Joey Dodson is the Craig L. Blomberg Chair of New Testament at Denver Seminary.  He married his first-grade sweetheart . . . seriously.  They have five children, two grandchildren and one grandchild on the way. 

Dodson attended Ouachita Baptist University, and then came to Houston where he studied under David Capes at Houston Baptist University. 

He then moved overseas to do his PhD at the University of Aberdeen with Simon Gathercole and Francis Watson.  From there he studied at the University of Tubingen.

After his PhD Dodson taught for a time at Houston Baptist University.  Later at Ouachita Baptist University.  For the last five years he and his family have made their home in Denver where Joey learned the secret to contentment: move to Colorado.  He loves hiking and the outdoors. 

Conquerors Not Captives

Conquerors Not Captives: Reframing Romans 7 for the Christian Life (Lexham, 2024) is Joey Dodson’s latest book. He co-wrote it with his daughter, Mattie Mae Motl.  It’s part of a series by Lexham Press whose goal is to take what is standard in the academy to the church.

His basic argument is that we must read Romans 7 in context, thus as part of Romans 6-8.  It must not be read in isolation. 

Nor should it be read over against our experience.  It’s Exegesis not Narci-gesis.  Accordingly, the “I” of Romans 7 is not the normative Christian Life.

Other Resources by Joseph Dodson

Paul and the Giants of Philosophy: Reading the Apostle in Greco-Roman Context 

A Little Book for New Bible Scholars (Little Books), E.R. Richards

Want more on Romans? Here’s a link to N. T. Wright’s Podcast on the Romans Road.

And here’s a link to Wright’s lecture at LTL on Romans.

Click here for a transcript of this podcast.

More Resources

Want more Stone Chapel Podcasts on some great topics? Just click here.

You can get information on upcoming lectures at Lanier Theological Library by clicking here

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C. S. Lewis and Spirituality with Alister McGrath

To hear the podcast click here.

Alister McGrath is a famous theologian.  He has lectured several times at the Lanier Theological Library in Houston. 

You can find links to those lectures below.  Dr. McGrath is coming again March 1-3, 2024. He will  discuss one of his favorite topics, C. S. Lewis. 

He joined David Capes on The Stone Chapel Podcasts to talk about his life and his upcoming lecture.

Who Is Alister McGrath?  

Alister McGrath is a scientist and a theologian.  Earlier in his life he was an atheist, but he became a Christian. 

So, now he loves to talk to atheists.  He knows why he is a Christian.  Along the way he discovered C. S. Lewis.  And Lewis, who was also an atheist who became a Christian, became a guide for Alister in his journey of faith. 

Professor McGrath is the author of many books on aspects of theology, science, faith, and C. S. Lewis.

C.S. Lewis and the Spiritual Life

For many people C. S. Lewis has been an important part of their spiritual lives.  Although he lived and flourished in the middle of the 20th century, he continues to inspire people to think deeply and intelligently about their Christian faith. 

McGrath explores some of those avenues in this podcast.  Lewis is one of the best communicators, story tellers, and apologists of recent memory.  

Individuals, pastors and teachers can use his writings to fire the imagination and help people grow in their faiths.

Resources, C.S. Lewis and Alister McGrath

Here are links to view Dr. McGraths lectures at LTL.

The Lord Is My Light: How the Christian Faith Makes Sense Of Things

C.S. Lewis and the Post Modern Generation: His Message 50 Years Later

The Big Questions: Richard Dawkins vs. C. S. Lewis: the Meaning of Life

A Seminar on C.S. Lewis, with Alister McGrath

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Moses Didn’t Know He Was Jewish

The Hebrew term yehudim in modern Hebrew can be straightforwardly translated as “Jews,” but when it occurs in the Hebrew Bible this is not the best translation. Remarkably, more than half the occurrences in the OT are in one book: Esther. The question can be extended into the NT as well. Rabbi Steven Bob, who has contributed several episodes to this podcast series, is Rabbi Emeritus at Congregation Etz Chaim in Lombard, Il and guest faculty at Wheaton College. He is currently working on a commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah.

To hear the podcast (11 min) click here.

Check out related programs at Wheaton College:

B.A. in Classical Languages (Greek, Latin, Hebrew): https://bit.ly/3uyqT6B

M.A. in Biblical Exegesis: https://bit.ly/48hluhX