Currents in Religion

This episode is a rerun from November 2022.

In this episode, I speak with Dave Nelson, who is the director of Baylor University Press. We speak specifically about AAR/SBL from a publishers perspective. Dave offers honest advice about networking and discusses why he enjoys conferences like this one.

AAR/SBL discount: Get 30% off and, if you're in the US, free shipping on all orders from BaylorPress.com by entering the code 17AARSBL23 at checkout.

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In this episode, Zen speaks with Philip Jenkins about his new book A Storm of Images: Iconoclasm and Religious Reformation in the Byzantine World, recently published by Baylor University Press.

Dr. Philip Jenkins is Distinguished Professor of History & Director of the Program on Historical Studies of Religion at Baylor University.

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In this episode, Zen speaks with Laine Scales and João Chaves about the Baptist Scholars International Roundtable and their new book Baptists and the Kingdom of God (Baylor University Press, 2023).

BSIR Call for Papers

https://religion.artsandsciences.baylor.edu/sites/g/files/ecbvkj1166/files/2023-10/BSIR_Call%20for%20Proposals%202024%20%282%29.pdf

Giveaway

Enter to win a free copy of A Storm of Images by Philip Jenkins: https://bit.ly/40mnfbj

Related Episodes:

Hearing History: Mandy McMichael on Interviewing Baptist Women in Ministry: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hearing-history-mandy-mcmichael-on-interviewing-baptist/id1648052085?i=1000619951034

Baptists in 2022 with Elizabeth Flowers and Doug Weaver: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/baptists-in-2022-with-elizabeth-flowers-and-doug-weaver/id1648052085?i=1000591685324

In this episode, Zen speaks with Neil Messer, who has recently come to Baylor as Professor of Theological Bioethics. The discussion considers Neil's work in neuroethics.

The episode also includes a plug for Autism and Worship: A Liturgical Theology by Armand Léon van Ommen. This new book is out now from Baylor University Press.

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Are you applying to PhD programs in religion? Or thinking about it? This episode is for you.

In this episode, Zen shares about the process for applying to Baylor's graduate program in religion. He speaks with currents, Lanie Walkup and Tyler Fulcher, and Carlos Cardoza-Orlandi, a graduate faculty member. They discuss how to write a strong application and how to survive the process.

The episode also includes a promo for "The End of Civility" by Ryan Andrew Newson, a new book from Baylor University Press. Learn more here.

Welcome to our Fall 2023 season!

In this episode, Zen speaks with Amy Carr and Christine Helmer about their brand new Baylor University Press book Ordinary Faith in Polarized Times: Justification and the Pursuit of Justice.

Amy Carr is Professor of Religious Studies at Western Illinois University.

Christine Helmer is Peter B. Ritzma Professor of Humanities at Northwestern University.

Want to get a free copy of the book?

Enter our giveaway by visiting us on X/Twitter and following the directions on our pinned post (https://twitter.com/cirbaylor). The winner will be announced October 27th!

Here's some of the book's blurb:

Christians in the United States and around the world are politically polarized today, unable to speak to one another across deep divisions regarding urgent social issues. Ordinary Faith in Polarized Times: Justification and the Pursuit of Justice addresses this dire reality by offering a theological framework for Christian justice-seeking. Amy Carr and Christine Helmer draw on Paul’s theology to center the idea of justification by faith in Christ as the primary ground of Christian belonging and community.

This approach yields a theology of ordinary faith that resists the temptation to equate Christian identity with the performance of a heroic "here I stand" posture against moral and political positions felt to be inimical to a properly Christian life...

Carr and Helmer articulate ways that justification by faith grounds Christian practices of affective listening and storytelling, even on the most contentious ethical questions today, with the hope that mutual conversation in and through the Beloved Community can get Christians who disagree oriented towards each other again for the good of the world.

Summary: How might Paul help Christians today live faithfully in light of the ecological crisis? In this episode, Zen speaks with Julien C. H. Smith and Cherryl Hunt about how Paul’s writings are relevant to living faithfully today, with a specific focus on the ecological crisis.

Themes: New Testament studies; environmental ethics; virtue theory; Pauline theology; creation care; ecotheology

Additional Resources:

Grove Booklets (https://grovebooks.co.uk/) provide short introductions to issues

• B 50 The Earth is the Lord's: A Biblical Response to Environmental Issues (2008)

• E 184 An Introduction to Environmental Ethics (2017)

• MEv 127 Forest Church: Earthed Perspectives on the Gospel (2019)

• MEv 134 Climate Action as Mission: How to Link the Gospel with Safeguarding Creation (2021)

Scientifically trained ‘ordinary’ Christians: Christians in Science (https://www.cis.org.uk/about-cis/)

Relevant Baylor University Press Books:

• Julien C. H. Smith, Paul and the Good Life (https://www.baylorpress.com/9781481313100/paul-and-the-good-life/)

• David G. Horrell, Cherryl Hunt and Christopher Southgate, Greening Paul (https://www.baylorpress.com/9781602582903/greening-paul/)

• Jennifer R. Ayres, Good Food (https://www.baylorpress.com/9781602589858/good-food/)

Summary: Do you ever wish you knew how other writers come up with ideas, research for essays, or write their books? In this episode, Zen speaks with Alicia Myers, Amos Yong, and Christopher Hoklotubbe about how they approach writing, from generating ideas to organizing research to putting words on the page.

Themes: Writing habits, writing style, research habits

Additional Resources:

• Helen Sword, Stylish Academic Writing

• Eric Barreto, Writing Theologically

• Paul Silvia, How to Write a Lot

• Joseph Bizup and Joseph M. Williams, Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace

Summary: In this episode, Zen speaks with the Primary and Co-Investigators of “Illuminating Theological Inquiry and Christian Ethics Through Training in Psychological Science,” a 2.5 million dollar John Templeton Foundation grant. Sarah Schnitker, Devan Stahl, Natalie Carnes, and Anne Jeffrey—who are Baylor faculty—share about grant and how its already helping to cultivate connections between the scholars of religion and the psychological sciences.

Themes: interdisciplinary research, psychology and religion, research methods

Additional Resources:

• Information on the grant: https://ethics.web.baylor.edu/project-overview

Relevant Baylor Press Books:

• Devan Stahl, Bioenhancement Technologies and the Vulnerable Body (https://www.baylorpress.com/9781481318273/bioenhancement-technologies-and-the-vulnerable-body/)

• Drew Collins and Matthew Croasmun (eds.), What Is the Good Life? Perspectives from Religion, Philosophy, and Psychology (https://www.baylorpress.com/9781481318013/what-is-the-good-life/)

Summary: In this episode, Zen speaks with Mandy McMichael about her project on Baptist Women in Ministry and the art of interviewing for historical research.

Themes: Baptists, women in ministry, oral history, historical research methods

Additional Resources:

• Baptist Women in Ministry (https://bwim.info/)

• Baylor Institute for Oral History (https://www.baylor.edu/library/index.php?id=974108)

Relevant Baylor Press Books:

• Mandy McMichael, Miss America’s God (https://www.baylorpress.com/9781481311977/miss-americas-god/)