Context Matters

By Dr. Cyndi ParkerSociety & Culture Documentary Religion & Spirituality Christianity Education

Context Matters episodes

September 23, 2021 What Violence in the Old Testament?
Dr. Lawson Stone is a Professor of Old Testament at Asbury Seminary. He specialized in early Israelite history and religion, and he wrote a commentary on the book of Judges, making him an excellent scholar to help us understand stories about violence. How should we read these problematic texts?
Find out more about Dr. Stone HERE
Watch his video series on Violence in the Old Testament HERE
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place
Learn more about me and sign up for upcoming tours of Israel/Palestine.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!

34 min
September 16, 2021 Agriculture, Slaves, and the Church's Identity
Last week we talked about the command "Do not to take the name of the Lord your God in vain" that can be more accurately translated “You shall not bear the name of Yahweh your God in vain.” This week we discuss how Sinai still matters to a modern church. How doe we interpret some tricky laws so that we still Bear God's Name?
Find Dr. Imes' book Bearing God's Name: Why Sinai Still Matters
Find Torah Tuesdays HERE
Read more about Dr. Carmen Imes and connect to her blog HERE
Listen to the Previous Context Matters episodes about biblical law and jazz. Start HERE and then listen to the next 5 episodes
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place
Learn more about me and sign up for upcoming tours of Israel/Palestine.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!

26 min
September 09, 2021 Do Not Bear God's Name in Vain
Dr. Imes' thesis is that the command "Do not to take the name of the Lord your God in vain" can be more accurately translated “You shall not bear the name of Yahweh your God in vain.” Dr. Imes then explains the logic behind Bearing God’s Name (also the title of her book) and what that means for the modern church today.
Find Dr. Imes' book Bearing God's Name: Why Sinai Still Matters
Find Torah Tuesdays HERE
Read more about Dr. Carmen Imes and connect to her blog HERE
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place
Learn more about me and sign up for upcoming tours of Israel/Palestine.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!

27 min
September 02, 2021 Is the Exodus Event Historical?
Dr. Longman has written prolifically about the context of the Old Testament, but this week we get to talk about the Exodus account. Can we read "the simple meaning" of the text? Is this history or is it figurative language? What happens to the rest of our theology if we decide the Exodus is figurative? Overall, I think it is exciting to have a chance to talk about "controversies" while holding space for others and still having one's own thoughts.
Find out more about Dr. Tremper Longman III and read his book Confronting Old Testament Controversies or his book The Bible and the Ballot.
Contact me through Narrative of Place
Learn more about me and sign up for upcoming tours of Israel/Palestine.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!

22 min
August 26, 2021 Old Testament Controversies
Dr. Longman has written prolifically about the book of Genesis, but there is an ongoing rub in Christian communities about how to handle the creation narratives in Genesis 1–2. Can we read "the simple meaning" of the text? Is it enough to "just have the Bible" and not take the time to dig deeper in the ancient Near Eastern text? Plus, the New Testament mentions figures like Adam and Eve, so is that proof of the literal first humans?
Find out more about Dr. Tremper Longman III and read his book Confronting Old Testament Controversies.
Contact me through Narrative of Place
Learn more about me and sign up for upcoming tours of Israel/Palestine.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!

36 min
June 24, 2021 Jesus in His Real World
Dr. Yeshaya Gruber is my colleague at the Israel Bible Center where I developed a course that roughly follows the content of my book. He sits in the interviewer chair to ask me questions about why this book is necessary for the Christian audience.
The book is available here (or through your local bookstore) Encountering Jesus in Real World of the Gospels. It is also available as an audio or eBook! And please leave a review!
Contact me through Narrative of Place
Learn more about me and sign up for upcoming tours of Israel/Palestine.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!

29 min
June 17, 2021 Encountering Jesus in Place
Dr. Yeshaya Gruber is my colleague at the Israel Bible Center where I developed a course that roughly follows the content of my book. He sits in the interviewer chair to ask me questions about why this book is necessary for the Christian audience.
The book is available here (or through your local bookstore) Encountering Jesus in Real World of the Gospels. It is also available as an audio or eBook! And please leave a review!
Contact me through Narrative of Place
Learn more about me and sign up for upcoming tours of Israel/Palestine.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!

27 min
June 10, 2021 Womanist Midrash is What Again?
Dr. Gafney and I also discuss why the original Hebrew language is important and how the bias (intentional or invisible) of the interpreters will influence how YOU read the text and think about God.
Learn more about Dr. Gafney HERE
Buy her book Womanist Midrash and look at her upcoming book The Women’s Lectionary: Preaching the Women of the Bible Throughout the Year.
Contact me through Narrative of Place
Other resources:
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
Learn more about me and sign up for upcoming tours of Israel/Palestine.
Buy my new book Encountering Jesus in Real World of the Gospels or listen to the audio or read the eBook! And please leave a review!

38 min
June 03, 2021 Questions That Come from Grief
Catherine Ricketts is an essayist and songwriter whose nonfiction centers on the arts, grief, joy, and spirituality. Her artistic and thoughtful skill is evident in her writing. Her openness about personal challenges is an invitation to readers. To those who have courage, here is the path. It is hard. But come.
Find out more about Catherine Ricketts and sign up for her newsletter HERE.
Read her essay My Brother Beside Me
Follow her on Instagram (@bycatherinericketts)
Contact me through Narrative of Place
Other resources:
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
Learn more about me and sign up for upcoming tours of Israel/Palestine.
Buy my new book Encountering Jesus in Real World of the Gospels or listen to the audio or read the eBook! And please leave a review!

22 min
May 27, 2021 Silence and Imagination
Catherine Ricketts is an essayist and songwriter. Her nonfiction focuses on the arts, grief, joy, and spirituality. Her beautifully crafted words usher her readers into difficult places and then she stays to point readers towards the beauty and the light.
Find out more about Catherine Ricketts and sign up for her newsletter HERE.
Follow her on Instagram (@bycatherinericketts)
Contact me through Narrative of Place
Other resources:
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
Learn more about me and sign up for Food and Wine Tours of Israel/Palestine.
Buy my new book Encountering Jesus in Real World of the Gospels or listen to the audio or read the eBook! And please leave a review!

28 min

About Context Matters

From the publisher's feed

This podcast is for people who are curious about the ancient context that influenced the final shape of the Bible…AND ALSO…how our modern context influences the way we understand the Bible and God and…