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Lord Jesus Christ, with Dan Treier

To hear the podcast click here.

Recently, David Capes was on the campus of Wheaton College in Wheaton IL.  He had the chance to sit down with Dr. Dan Treier, head of the PhD program in Biblical and Theological Studies at Wheaton College. 

Dr. Treier has written a terrific new book entitled Lord Jesus Christ in a new series by Zondervan Academic. The series is called New Studies in Dogmatics. We welcome Dan for his first appearance on The Stone Chapel Podcasts.

Who Is Dan Treier? 

Dan Treier grew up on a farm in Ohio and memorized thirteen books of the Bible in his teenage years.  Not little books mind you.  But big ones like Romans, John, Matthew and 1 Corinthians.  Dan confesses that this one discipline has been formative in his life. 

His did his PhD under Kevin VanHoozer at Trinity Evangelical Theological Seminary in Deerfield IL.  For twenty-three years he has taught Theology at Wheaton College.  He’s the author of other books, which you can find under “More Resources” below. 

Lord Jesus Christ

Like any good book, this one has been in process for several years.  It is a contemporary, reformed reading of biblical Christology. 

So Dan begins with exegesis.  He selects ten of the most important passages for Christology in the New Testament. He reads them through the church fathers, the reformation, and theological insights of the church. 

Dan writes this book for pastors, students, and anyone interested in understanding how we arrived at the Orthodox Christology of Nicea and beyond. 

Though Dan did not hear much emphasis on Christology in preaching in his early years, he is convinced that Christology is very “preachable.” 

He is concerned that many evangelical churches today have a deficient understanding of Jesus’ person and work.  When that is lacking, so many other aspects of Christian faith will be lacking as well. 

Scholars review Lord Jesus Christ

Here is what Daniel Hill of Truett Seminary, Baylor University, has to say about Dr. Treier’s book:

“Christian theology, if it is worth anything at all, must continually return to the scandalous claim that Jesus Christ is Lord. Daniel J. Treier’s Lord Jesus Christ is an outstanding and illuminating examination of Christology in light of Holy Scripture’s dramatic arc from God’s life in himself to creation’s eschatological communion with God.

Rooted in a series of characteristically brilliant theological expositions of the names of Christ, this is a book you will find yourself reading and rereading to great benefit. It is a book that will drive you to the text of Holy Writ to hear anew its affirmation of the risen Lord. One would expect nothing less from a theologian of his caliber.”

More Resources

Click here for a transcript of this podcast.

See Dan’s award winning (2020) book Introducing Evangelical Theology.

With Dr. David Lauber Dan wrote Trinitarian Theology for the Church: Scripture, Community, Worship

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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Mary’s Voice: Advent Readings with Amy Orr-Ewing

Amy Orr-Ewing is on a book tour across the USA regarding her new book, Mary’s Voice: Advent Reflections to Contemplate the Coming of Christ. She joined us at the Lanier Theological Library during the lecture weekend featuring Ed Stetzer (10-12 November 2023). 

While here, she joined David Capes to speak to a group of scholars and friends about her book. We created a podcast for the Stone Chapel Podcasts from the first half hour of the conversation.

Who Is Amy Orr-Ewing? 

Amy is a British theologian, speaker, and author who lives with her husband, an Anglican minister, not far from London.  She did her DPhil at the University of Oxford in theology at Christ’s College. 

Amy lectures all over the world and writes on the trustworthiness of Scripture, the problem of suffering, and other topics. 

Mark Lanier heard her speak at the Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast in London in 2023 and wanted her to come and speak at the library.  She is scheduled to return in September 2024 as a featured lecturer.

Mary’s Voice

Mary’s Voice is a Christmas devotional for the Advent Season.  Dr. Orr-Ewing wanted to amplify Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a key witness to the incarnation. 

Too often Protestants ignore Mary because some others appear to elevate her too highly.   The net effect is that she is side-lined. 

But women are key witnesses to both the incarnation and the resurrection, two key doctrines of the Christian faith.  In fact, without these women as witnesses, we’d know little of them.  Amy wants us to hear afresh the voice of Mary. 

The book includes elegant prose and insightful commentary.  It also includes model prayers and beautiful art depicting aspects of the incarnation. You will want this to be your next Advent devotional. 

More Resources

To see a video of a panel discussion featuring Amy, Timothy Dalrymple, Nicole Martin, and Ed Stetzer click here.

For Amy’s  website click here.

Here’s the link for more books by Amy Orr-Ewing 

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

What’s more, you can get information on upcoming lectures at Lanier Theological Library by clicking here.

To hear the podcast click here.

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Why the Gospel? with Matthew Bates

Dr. Bates has been on the Stone Chapel Podcasts before to talk about his book Gospel Allegiance.  He has also been on another podcast we do with Wheaton College called “Exegetically Speaking.”

See the notes below for a link to some of his insights on Romans 1:3-4. In this podcast he and David Capes talk about his recent book, Why the Gospel? Living the Good News of King Jesus with Purpose

Who is Matthew Bates? 

Matthew W. Bates is Professor of Theology at Quincy University. A Protestant who enjoys the challenge of teaching in a Catholic context, Bates holds an M.C.S. from Regent College in biblical studies.

And a PhD from University of Notre Dame  in theology, and New Testament. He is cofounder of the OnScript podcast.

Bates’s books include Salvation by Allegiance Alone, The Gospel Precisely, Gospel Allegiance, and The Birth of the Trinity.  

Why the Gospel? 

Matthew Bates has been deeply invested in the question, what is the gospel?, along with other scholars like N. T. Wright and Scot McKnight. 

But in this book, Dr. Bates is more interested in a prior question: why the gospel?  Why did God give the gospel to the church?  Dr. Bates thinks that if it’s just to deal with our sin problem, then that is not the complete story.

This is what Scot McKnight of Northern Seminary says about the book in his forward:

“Matthew Bates’s Why the Gospel? will help you discover God’s fullest gospel purposes, so that you and others can more thoroughly embrace a lifestyle of loyal discipleship.”

And Lisa Bowens  of Princeton Theological Seminary says,

“In Why the Gospel?, Matthew Bates seeks to demonstrate that the kingship of Christ is central to the gospel and is the reason for the gospel… The underlying aim of the book is apropos for this historic moment in the church—it challenges the reader to think again about what the gospel is and why the gospel matters for our time. A provocative read.”

Some great insights are coming your way in this book and podcast.  Thanks for listening.

To hear the podcast click here.

More resources

Here’s a link to Dr Capes and Dr Bates discussion on Romans. Click here.

For the OnScript Podcast click here.

You can read a transcript of this podcast by clicking here.

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

What’s more, you can get information on upcoming lectures at Lanier Theological Library by clicking here.

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Jesus among the Gods with Mike Bird

To hear the podcast click here.

David Capes and Michael Bird have been friends for many years.  And they share some common academic interests.  Recently, Mike released an important new book.  He joined David Capes from his home in Australia to talk about it on the Stone Chapel Podcasts.

Who is Michael Bird? 

Michael (Mike) Bird is a New Testament scholar, an Anglican priest, and he is Deputy Principal at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia. 

He loves the Bible and takes delight in calling himself a Bible nerd.  Mike has a wonderful sense of humor, and he knows more about American politics than most Americans. 

He loves tennis, and he hates coffee.  Mike is the author of lots of books.  You can find many of them at the Lanier Theological Library.

Jesus among the Gods

Jesus among the Gods: Early Christology in the Greco-Roman World (Baylor University Press, 2022) is one of Michael’s newest books. 

He dedicated it to David for the years of friendship and his contributions to Christology. 

In the book Mike looks at the question: what does it mean to call Jesus “God” or “god”?  That may seem self-evident 2000 later, but the question is more complex. 

Bart Ehrman’s work encouraged Mike to look into this question. What he found is a spectrum of divinity from unbegotten and absolute gods. To begotten gods, who were often people elevated to some divine status or deity, like Caesar or Heracles. 

So did this way of thinking influence early Christians as they were struggling to express the significance of Jesus?

More topics in the discussion

The conversation weaves through a number of topics including whether monotheism is a term that is useful or should it be retired.

And the depth of Hellenistic culture in the Bible, and the unlikely prospects that Judaism and Hellenism are petitioned off and did not influence one another. 

The book is fascinating and a must read for anyone interested in understanding the earliest Jesus communities. 

Jesus among the God endorsed by Capes

David Capes endorsed the book before he knew Michael was going to dedicate it to him:

With his characteristic good humor and judicious attention to detail, Michael Bird pushes the conversation regarding early Christologies in new and constructive directions. 

Having an ear attuned to both Jewish and Greco-Roman voices, Bird offers a straightforward taxonomy of what constituted ‘divinity’ in the ancient world and makes a serious case that elements of early Christologies are inherently ontological.

David B. Capes, Director, Lanier Theological Library

Additional Resources

You can watch Michael Bird’s lecture, An Invasive Story: Paul’s Theology Between Messianic Event and Salvation History at the Lanier Theological Library in 2016 by clicking here.

To learn more about Michael Bird click here.

For a transcript of this podcast, click here.

More resources

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

What’s more, you can get information on upcoming lectures at Lanier Theological Library by clicking here.

To hear the podcast click here.

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Marriage Relations according to Aristotle and Paul with Lynn Cohick

In his teaching about family relations (e.g. Eph. 5:21–6:9), Paul is echoing descriptions of a household that had been formalized by Aristotle, but in so doing Paul turns Aristotle’s teaching on its head. Dr. Lynn Cohick is Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Director of Houston Theological Seminary at Houston Christian University. Among her many publications are The Letter to the Ephesians (NICNT) and (with Amy Brown Hughes) Christian Women in the Patristic World: Their Influence, Authority, and Legacy in the Second through Fifth Centuries.

To hear the podcast (10 minutes) click here.

“Exegetically Speaking” is a weekly podcast of the friends and faculty of Wheaton College, IL and The Lanier Theological Library. Hosted by Dr. David Capes, it features language experts who discuss the importance of learning the biblical languages—Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek—and show how reading the Bible in the original languages “pays off.” Each podcast lasts between seven and eleven minutes and covers a different topic for those who want to read the Bible for all it is worth.

If you’re interested in going deeper, learn more about Wheaton’s undergraduate degree in Classical Languages (Greek, Hebrew, and Latin) and our MA in Biblical Exegesis. 

You can hear Exegetically Speaking on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. If you have questions or comments, please contact us at exegetically.speaking@wheaton.edu. And keep listening.