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No Inn in Which to Have No Room, with Ben Witherington III

Dr. Ben Witherington III argues passionately against burnishing the nativity stories of Luke and Matthew with unfounded speculation and mistranslations. He gives particular attention to the story of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2:7. Prof. Witherington is the Jean R. Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and is an emeritus professor of New Testament at St. Andrews University, Scotland. He has published widely including commentaries on every book of the New Testament. Two of his books won the Christianity Today annual top biblical studies book award: The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth and The Paul Quest: The Renewed Search for the Jew of Tarsus. His Biblical Theology; The Convergence of the Canon (Cambridge) won the Prose Prize National Book of the Year award in 2020 for books in religion and philosophy.

To hear the podcast (12 min) click here.

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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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“We Are All Evangelicals” with Vince Bacote

Vince Bacote

David Capes was recently at Wheaton College to record podcasts with their faculty for Exegetically Speaking.  While there, he managed to record a few segments with faculty who were working on interesting projects.

Vince Bacote joins him on The Stone Chapel Podcasts to discuss a documentary he is working on about black evangelicals, tentatively called We Are All Evangelicals.  It should release in 2024.

To hear the podcast (21 minutes) click here.

Who Is Vince Bacote?  

Dr. Vince Bacote is Professor of Theology and Director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL.

He has authored a number of books including Reckoning with Race and Performing the Good News: In Search of a Better Evangelical Theology (2020) and The Political Disciple: A Theology of Public Life (2015).

Now he adds another skill to his resume: documentary creator and presenter.

“We Are All Evangelicals”

A number of years ago Dr. Bacote came up with an important idea: an oral history of black evangelicals.

But over time the project has morphed to become a documentary film, co-sponsored by Wheaton College and Christianity Today.  

If you analyze the theology of black churches, it overlaps in many ways with evangelical theology.  But black “evangelicals” have had an uneasy relationship with white evangelicals, especially in the last decade.

Despite their similarities, both groups have been spiritually formed in separate arenas.

In this film, Dr. Bacote explores that story in a series of chapters which are designed to consider the past, present, and future of that relationship.

The film will likely debute in 2024.  So look for it!

Email Dr. Bacote at vincent.bacote@wheaton.edu and he will send you a link to the trailer.

Dr. Bacote was on an earlier Stone Chapel Podcasts. To hear that click here.

To watch Dr. Bacote on a panel discussion at the Lanier Theological Library, click here. The topic of the panel is How to Have Difficult Conversations When You Know You Disagree.

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.

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AI and the Future of Humanity

Episode 166 AI and the Future of Humanity

In October 2023, John Lennox gave the 3rd annual John Warwick Montgomery Lecture in Evidential Apologetics at the Lanier Theological Library in Houston. Watch the lecture by clicking on the link to our YouTube channel below.

His topic was 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity.  Today, in Houston he sits down with David Capes for an episode of The Stone Chapel Podcasts.

Who is John Lennox?

John Lennox is retired as Professor of Mathematics from Green Templeton College in Oxford.  In addition to his scientific expertise he is a skilled Christian apologist. 

He travels and lectures on college and university campuses all over the world.  Just google John and you will see he has debated some of the most significant atheists of our generation. 

In retirement he continues to research, think, speak, and write.  He and his wife Sally make their home a few miles north of Oxford, not far from Yarnton.

AI and the Future of Humanity 

Recent years have witnessed rapid advances in artificial intelligence.  Many futurists, entrepreneurs, and government officials are concerned that rampant artificial intelligence could do massive harm to lives and cultures around the planet.  Already, people are losing their jobs to artificial intelligence and there are not enough retraining options.

Moreover, the rapid advances in AI have outpaced any sort of ethical, moral, or legal reasoning on the topic. 

John Lennox tackles this tough topic and explains many unknown aspects of AI for lay people.  He does sound an alarm about its harmful potential, but he also sees it as benefiting humanity in some ways.

Resources

For a link to John’s website and a list of all his books click here or go to www.johnlennox.com.

See his recent book 2084: AI and the Future of Humanity

For a link to John’s earlier podcast on The Stone Chapel Podcasts, click here. 

To watch John recent lecture on artificial intelligence at the Lanier Theological Library click here.

Click here for a transcript of this podcast.

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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How the Synoptic Gospels Work with Darrell Bock

While the Gospel of John tells us, the readers, straight up what we’re meant to believe about Jesus, the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) tend to communicate these things indirectly. Dr. Darrell Bock isolates a few good illustrations of this method. Prof. Bock is Executive Director of Cultural Engagement and Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. His many publications include Luke (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) and Studying the Historical Jesus: A Guide to Sources and Methods. He also hosts the seminary’s Table Podcasts. We have heard from him before in the Exegetically Speaking podcast series.

To hear the podcast (8 min) click here.

Learn about related programs at Wheaton

BA in Classical Languages >

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