Queen of the Sciences

A counterpart to our earlier episode on Bible to Doctrine (and Back Again), this one has us discussing Dad's forthcoming book, which is a theology of theology and an exegesis of exegesis! In particular we discuss the difference between starting with the incarnation vs. starting with the resurrection in christology, and all the downstream consequences of the respective decisions.

We're in our SEVENTH year!

Notes:

1. Related episodes: Ellul, Tillich, Lindbeck, Jenson

2. Ziegler, Militant Grace

3. Mattes, Martin Luther's Theology of Beauty

4. Dahl, Jesus the Christ

5. Zahl, The Holy Spirit and Christian Experience

6. Zachhuber, Theology as Science in Nineteenth-Century Germany

Or, how God took a burned, unwilling, and fearful pastor, and turned her into a joyful one. With, of course, a few bumps along the way. In this episode Dad and I reflect together on my six and a half years of missionary ministry in the world's biggest megalopolis, and what the very specific circumstances of church life here can teach us about renewing the church in the U.S. and elsewhere.

We're in our SEVENTH year!

Related episodes: Japanese Theologian Kazoh Kitamori, Holy Communion: Discipline, Virtual Communion, The Inhumanity of Lockdown

Also, if you haven't ever signed up for my e-newsletter, Theology & a Recipe, now's a good time to do so! I have recommendations for Japan-related books, and some upcoming main issues on Japan-related themes.

Dad gets interviewed on Wipf & Stock's Theology Mill podcast to talk about his book, Lutheran Theology: A Critical Introduction!

Sarah once again joins Kemper on the All About Agatha podcast to discuss Agatha Christie's very Christian (though also very weird) short story, "In the Cool of the Evening" ... and theology abounds!

We are theologians who read the Bible. That is not a self-evident statement. But let's back up further... why does Christianity have a Bible at all? And now that we have it, how do we read it? In this episode we explore how we as theologians depend on the discipline of biblical studies, our appreciations and critiques thereof, and how Bible gives rise to doctrine... or is it maybe the other way around?!

We're in our SEVENTH year!

Notes:

1. Check out Sarah's Seven Ways of Looking at the Transfiguration

2. And Dad's Before Auschwitz and commentary on Joshua

3. As well as Dad's related articles: “Scripture as Matrix, Christ as Content: A response to Johannes Zachhuber and Anna Case-Winters” in Luther Refracted; “Prima Scriptura: Saving Sola Scriptura from Itself,” Dialog 55/3 (2016) 223-230; “The Lutheran Dilemma,” Pro Ecclesia VIII/4 (1999): 391-422.

4. Levy, Introducing Medieval Biblical Exegesis

5. Juel, Messianic Exegesis

6. Hill, Paul and the Trinity

7. Wright, Surprised by Hope

The first facet of my new book, Forty Facets of the Ascension!

It's live on Kickstarter right now, so hop on over to back the book and get your copy in time to read forty facets over the forty days from Easter to Ascension!

Dad and I continue our discussion of the Ascension of Jesus in the New Testament: how John's entire Gospel is a cosmic parabola of descent and ascent, with a twist; why the Ascension is the crux of the matter for Hebrews's Day of Atonement interpretation of Jesus' sacrifice; and the apostle Paul's apocalyptic orientation to the ascended Lord.

From there we look at the presence, not absence of the ascended Jesus in our midst: in the preached word, in the Lord's Supper, and in the very bodies of his baptized believers.

Notes:

1. Torrance, Space, Time, and Resurrection

2. Barfield, Poetic Diction and Saving the Appearances

3. Luther, Confession Concerning Christ's Supper in Luther's Works 37

4. Moffitt, Rethinking the Atonement

5. Related episodes: Ascension in Luke and Acts, Holy Communion: Discipline, Holy Communion: Doctrine, Brain Mind Soul

Forty Facets of the Ascension, Sarah's new book, is coming to Kickstarter in mid-March! Sign up now to be notified the moment it launches.

In this episode, Dad and I discuss whether Jesus was a rocket ship, a hot air balloon, a cosmonaut... or maybe just the risen Lord whose bodily existence is integral to gospel proclamation! We look at some of the differences between Luke 24 and Acts 1's version of the Ascension (be prepared for some surprises) and the many things Luke had to argue against in order to argue for Jesus. If the Ascension has left you perpetually perplexed or scientifically stressed, fear not! This episode is for you.

Notes:

1. Once again, folks, that's Forty Facets of the Ascension coming to you on Kickstarter in mid-Marcy 2025!

2. Also, Transfiguration is sneaking up on you soon (March 2)! If you didn't already get Seven Ways of Looking at the Transfiguration, you can get it instantly in ebook or audiobook, or order a print copy right now.

3. If you count among that exalted elite who need good fiction and good theology at the same time, you'll be raptured over my novel A-Tumblin' Down. You can also sign up for my Substack for more theologically luminous storytelling.

4. Related episodes: Luke Part 1, Luke Part 2, The First Two-Thirds of Acts, The Last Third of Acts

5. Hans Frei, The Eclipse of Biblical Narrative

We're in our SEVENTH year!

From Seven Ways of Looking at the Transfiguration, Sarah reads the first chapter, "Metamorphosis : Jesus." Keep listening, or read by getting your copy at Thornbush Press, Audible, Amazon, or Bookshop.org!

How often do you celebrate the 1700th anniversary of anything? 2025 marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, which gave us most (though not quite all) of the Nicene Creed (completed and perfected at the Council of Constantinople in 381, but frankly, nobody wants to say "The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed"). Dad and I talk you through what's at stake in the trinitarian assertions of this Creed, compare and contrast it with the Apostles' Creed, and strongly urge you to make it a centerpiece of your preaching and teaching in this year of grace!

We're in our SEVENTH year!

Notes:

1. Phillip Cary, The Nicene Creed (if you read only one theology book this year, make it this one)

2. Hinlicky, Divine Complexity (this is your second theology book of the year: tracing the movement of New Testament witness to conciliar trinitarian confession)

3. Related episodes: Baptism, Infant and Otherwise; Athanasius Against the World; Gregory of Nazianzus; Islam