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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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Tell Her Story with Nijay Gupta

Nijay Gupta joined David Capes recently from his home in Portland via Zoom to talk about a new book he has written: Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught and Ministered in the Early Church.

Who is Nijay Gupta? 

Nijay Gupta is Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Chicago.  He’s the author of a number of books on faith and the gospel.  He has been with us before on the Stone Chapel Podcasts. 

See the show notes below to listen to them. He writes a regular blog for Patheos called “Crux Sola: Formed by Scripture to Live Like Christ.”

What’s the Big Idea of Tell Her Story?  

Dr. Gupta grew up in a conservative church where all the leaders were men.  During his education, he came across gifted women from other denominations. 

They were leaders, ministers, and teachers.  Ironically, one of his first papers in graduate school argued that women must not be leaders.  His last paper in systematic theology made the case that women must be pastors.

Dr. Gupta’s current book explores the stories and contributions of women in the earliest churches.  We know about them from the New Testament, and in particular the letters of Paul. 

Romans 16 is one of those places where Paul names Jews, Gentiles, men, women, slave, and free.  Andrew Clark says that Paul puts flesh on his admonition in Gal 3:26-29. 

Paul commends women right alongside men as fellow workers, apostles, deacons, and fellow prisoner.

More Resources

To hear Nijay’s earlier podcasts on 15 New Testament Words, click here.

And click here for his podcast on Paul and the Language of Faith.

To hear the podcast click here.

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AWKNG School of Theology with Karla Adcox

Recently David Capes taught a course for the AWKNG School of Theology. 

While in Jacksonville, he sat down with Karla Adcox to talk about the history and mission of the school.  In a few short years they have created some quality courses digging deeply in the Scriptures, and today they have an impressive number of students.

To hear the podcast click here.

Who is Karla Adcox? 

Karla Adcox is the President and CEO of AWKNG School of Theology.  She’s served in ministry for 17 years, but she’s always been hard-wired for business. She’s a mom, a wife, and she works with their family business as an interior designer.

What is the AWKNG School of Theology? 

The AWKNG School of Theology started in 2019 and held its first class in spring 2020.  That was the year the COVID pandemic started, and it changed the business model and delivery model radically. 

Dr. Michael Heiser founded the school.  Tragically, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer about this same time.  Also, his provost Dr. John Phelps was diagnosed with another form of cancer. 

Unfortunately, Dr. Heiser died in February 2023 after a long fight.  But even in the midst of his treatments he kept creating content and working to add courses to the menu of offerings. 

Karla tells a touching story of how deeply he remained engaged despite the damage the cancer was doing to his body.  He had this clever idea of putting “Seminary on a Flash Drive.” 

What is the mission of AWKNG School of Theology?

The mission of the AWKNG School of Theology is to awaken Christians to a deeper understanding of the Bible. 

They would like to bridge the gaps between the academy and the church.  And they make getting an education as easy and inexpensive as possible.  They are creating certificates with some of their courses. 

Those courses are being taken by nearly 2000 students around the world, many in the majority world.  And they are growing quickly.

Resources

For the AWKNG School of Theology website click here.

To hear Michael Heiser’s “The Naked Bible Podcast” 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. Just click here.

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The Surprising Rebirth of Belief with Justin Brierley

Justin Brierley, a broadcaster, author, and speaker, will join us September 22, 2023 at 7.00 pm in the Stone Chapel. He will offer a talk on his book, The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God. The subtitle of the book is actually the big idea of the book: Why New Atheism Grew Old and Secular Thinkers Are Considering Christianity Again. 

Who is Justin Brierley? 

Justin lives in London.  For decades he has been hosting conversations between atheists and believers on his popular show, The Unbelieveable Show.  His show has been at the cutting edge of what is happening in culture. 

A few years ago, he had Mark Lanier as a guest on his show, and he recently came into our Houston orbit.  He is an amazing thinker, a gifted communicator, and hospitable host for people with differing worldviews.

To hear the podcast click here.

About Brierley’s first book

After hosting his show for ten years, he wrote his first book: Unbelievable: Why After Ten Years of Talking with Atheists I’m Still a Christian.  He shares some of that story here, in this podcast.

Here is what Philip Yancey has said of Justin’s upcoming book:

“[T]his wide-ranging and stimulating book sounds a hopeful note… a fearless engagement with the most daunting issues of our time.”

And John Lennox:

“Eminently readable… Brierley has done us a huge service… This is a first-rate book: get it, read it, and give it to others.”

The Surprising Rebirth of Belief podcast

This is a great podcast, one you will not want to miss.  He is addressing very pressing issues of our time. 

More Resources including The Surprising Rebirth of Belief book

For a link to his first book click here: Unbelievable: Why After Ten Years of Talking with Atheists I’m Still a Christian.

 For a link to his newest book (2023) click here: The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God: Why New Atheism Grew Old and Secular Thinkers Are Considering Christianity Again.

To hear the podcast click here.

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The Visual Museum of Women in Christian Art

Sandra Glahn

Lynn Cohick and Sandra Glahn recently joined David Capes on The Stone Chapel Podcasts to talk about a new initiative and project, The Visual Museum.

Dr. Lynn Cohick is Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Director of the Houston Theological Seminary at Houston Christian University.  Dr. Sandra Glahn is Professor of Media Arts and Worship at Dallas Theological Seminary.

To hear the podcast click here.

What is the Visual Museum?

This project began with Sandra Glahn taking students to Europe to study medieval art and spirituality.  What she and her students noticed in the artwork were images of women taking on leadership positions in the church. 

Often the written record does not tell much about this, but the art does.  It is a lost part of the church’s history. 

So, Sandra, Lynn and her team have created a website to tell that part of the story.  You can find it in Beta version at visualmuseum.gallery. 

Lynn Cohick

Women in art and the early Christian church

Not only do you see good quality images of this artwork, you also are introduced to the stories of these remarkable women. 

Not all can be identified, but the art is clear in representing women at high levels of leadership. Now this is true not only in the medieval era; it was evident in earlier centuries as well. 

The Visual Museum is about gathering these images and telling these stories.  Others who are traveling to Europe are taking photographs and doing some research for them. 

Students are researching and writing.  In addition, to learning something of art history, they are learning about their own history.  Make sure you hear the two touching stories at the end.

More Resources

Lynn Cohick (with Amy Brown Hughes), Christian Women in the Patristic World: Their Influence, Authority, and Legacy in the Second through Fifth Centuries (2017)

Sandra Glahn, Nobody’s Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament (2023)

To hear the podcast 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. Just click here.