In this episode, we talk with Mike Bird about how ancient Jewish and Greco-Roman folks thought about what makes a god a god. We also talk about how the New Testament writings portray Jesus as a God, and what the creeds from the fourth century and onward have to do with all of this. These are subjects Mike explores in detail in his new book Jesus Among the Gods.

Michael F. Bird is the Academic Dean and Lecturer in Theology and New Testament at Ridley College.

In this episode, Bill Bellinger joins us to discuss the literary shape of the psalms, and how the psalms have given people of faith a grammar for their faith and prayer. 

Bill Bellinger was the W. Marshall and Lulie Craig Chairholder in Bible and the Chair of the Department of Religion at Baylor University before his recent retirement (though, he is returning this spring to teach a course on the psalms once again). Bill has also published several books with Baylor University Press, including Psalms as a Grammar for Faith and the Baylor Annotated Study Bible.

In this episode, Dave Nelson discusses what AAR/SBL is like for a publisher, the importance of relationships, and the way COVID might change the role of major annual meetings.

Dr. Dave Nelson is Director of Baylor University Press.

The Elevator Speech for this episode introduces Daryl Ireland's recent book Visions of Salvation.

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Cynthia Shafer-Elliott about her archaeological and historical research, and how she thinks it matters for reading the Hebrew Bible. Dr. Shafer-Elliott's scholarship explores homes and households, food and hospitality, and the importance of domestic ritual in ancient religious life. Listen now to hear more about her work, and why she thinks it matters for reading the Hebrew Bible .

Dr. Cynthia Shafer-Elliott is Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament at Baylor University.

This week's Elevator Speech comes from Paul DeHart, author of Unspeakable Cults, a new Baylor University Press book.

In this episode, Dr. Jessica Wai-Fong Wong and Dr. Jonathan Tran discuss race, racism, and the work of antiracism in relation to Christian theology. 

Dr. Jessica Wai-Fong Wong is associate professor of systematic theology at Azusa Pacific University and authored Disordered: The Holy Icon and the Racial Myth

Dr. Jonathan Tran is Associate Professor of Philosophical Theology and George W. Baines Chair of Religion at Baylor University and authored Asian Americans and the Spirit of Racial Captialism.

After more than forty years as a New Testament professor, Dr. Beverly Gaventa joins us to discuss the way things have changed over her career, what excites her in New Testament studies today, and what might need to change going forward. (Also, she gives us a little about her forthcoming Romans commentary!)

Beverly Gaventa served as the Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Baylor University, having taught previously at Princeton Theological Seminary. She is the author of numerous books, including a forthcoming New Testament Library commentary on Romans. In 2020, she was awarded the Burkitt Medal for Biblical Studies from the British from the British Academy.

In this episode, Dr. Amy Marga describes the diverse ways Christians have imagined motherhood throughout the church's life. From Origen's mother to modern day, there is no singular image of the Christian mother. What is more, does looking carefully at the stories of mothers in the Christian tradition inform theology today? She explores these topics in her new book with Baylor University Press, In the Image of Her: Recovering Motherhood in the Christian Tradition.

Amy Marga is Professor of Systematic Theology at Luther Seminary.

In this episode, Dr. Natalie Carnes discusses the relationship between feminist theology and the arts, and what the arts offer feminist theology going forward. This is the topic of a book she is currently writing.

Natalie Carnes is Associate Professor of Theology at Baylor University.

In this episode, Dr. Trevor Laurence wrestles with how Christians ought to pray the imprecatory psalms, which call on God to judge, destroy, or otherwise punish the enemies of the one praying. Should Christians pray these prayers or do they run counter to Christ's call to love enemies and to pray for those who persecute? And if they should, how? This is the topic of Laurence's new book with Baylor University Press, Cursing With God: The Imprecatory Psalms and the Ethics of Christian Prayer.

Trevor Laurence is the executive director of the Cateclesia Institute and Lecturer of Biblical Studies at The King's College. Follow him on Twitter: @trevorilaurence