Faith at the Frontiers

Everyone has heard of the Spanish Inquisition. But how accurate is the popular understanding of it? What really happened and how does it reflect on Christianity? Is this an episode Christians should repent of? What lessons can we learn for the modern day?

These questions and others are discussed in today’s episode. Austin and Barney are joined by Dr. Dennis Castillo who teaches Church History at St. Mary’s Seminary and University.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound engineering!

Continuing our “Faith and the challenges of history” series, we turn from biblical history to later history. First of all we want to tackle the crusades, one of the most frequently mentioned in debates about the authenticity of Christian claims to bring peace and justice.

We have invited Dr. Mike Horswell to join us in this discussion. He has spent many years studying not only the crusades, but common perceptions of the crusades in the modern era. He is ideally suited to help us unpack: (1) what the crusades actually were? (2) How do people think of the crusades today? (3) How should Christians think of this episode in their history?

Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound engineering!

It's a big event: our own podcast co-host's first published book: Austin Stevenson, The Consciousness of the Historical Jesus (T&T Clark: 2024).

The book discusses questions like:

Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound engineering!

Is our New Testament the same as the original texts written in the first century? How do we know which manuscripts to trust, and who does the work of deciding? What are the implications of the fact that the biblical text itself has a history?

In this episode, we discuss these questions and more with Dr Jesse Grenz, Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at Palm Beach Atlantic University.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound editing!

Does the Bible value women? Does it make sense to call God ‘Father’ from a feminist perspective? Why did God create gender difference in the first place?

These questions and many more are tackled by Dr. Amy Peeler, New Testament Professor at Wheaton College. Dr. Peeler has recently published Women and the Gender of God which goes into these issues in more depth.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound editing!

In this episode we talk with Prof Michael J Gorman, New Testament Scholar and author of nearly twenty books including several major works on Paul. In this discussion, Prof Gorman draws a distinction between historical criticism and the historical critical method. He argues that understanding the original context is necessary, but not sufficient when it comes to interpreting the Bible today.

Austin and Barney go back over the last few episodes and share our thoughts. What did we learn? What did we disagree with? How do we compare and contrast the Bible scholars and theologians we've interviewed so far?

What do YOU think though? Email us your thoughts at

So many Bible scholars and methods claim to be ‘historical’, but are they all the same? In this episode, Barney and Austin interview Professor Matthew J Thomas, who has come up with a taxonomy of FOUR methods for reading the Bible that are currently prevalent in scholarship:

Tune in to hear Prof. Thomas unpack these four categories and their relevance for our faith today!

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound engineering!

Austin and Barney interview theologian Dr Seth Heringer, who describes the development of modern historical methods and how these methods have impacted theology. We consider the ways in which not only the results of historical research, but the principles of the historical method themselves might stand at odds with theology. If history isn't as neutral a discipline as it seems, does that open up possibilities for fruitful dialogue with faith?

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing!

Barney and Austin interview Old Testament Professor Iain Provan, who takes a different view to our previous guests on the historical reliability of the Bible. For him, there is every reason to trust the Bible's authors, and no reason not to trust them. Provan also suggests that:

Tune in for more insights on a developing conversation.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing!