The Bible and Beyond

An Interview with Dr. Candida Moss

Who helped make the Bible we read today? Professor Candida Moss brings overlooked enslaved workers into view, from the secretaries behind Paul's letters to the copyists and readers who preserved and interpreted Christian texts. Discussing her book, God's Ghostwriters, she explores how slavery shaped early Christianity, including stories about Jesus, martyrdom, and hell. This compelling conversation invites us to read familiar texts differently and give credit to people whose contributions have remained largely invisible.

Candida Moss is the Edward Cadbury Professor of Theology at the University of Birmingham and a prominent public scholar of the New Testament and early Christianity. Her research explores martyrdom, ancient slavery, and the relationship between bodies and power. Her book, God's Ghostwriters: Enslaved Christians and the Making of the Bible, won the 2026 Grawemeyer Award in Religion. It brings attention to the enslaved secretaries, copyists, and readers whose overlooked labor helped shape Christian scripture. She also contributes to major media outlets, including CBS, BBC, and National Geographic.

A complete transcript is available on the show notes page at: https://earlychristiantexts.com/candida-moss-enslaved-workers/

The category of "Gnosticism" has shaped how generations of scholars have understood a remarkably diverse collection of ancient writings. Michael A. Williams, author of the influential Rethinking Gnosticism, joins Shirley Paulson to trace the history of that category, reconsider assumptions about the Nag Hammadi writings, and explore what emerges when we read the texts individually. Their conversation offers a more nuanced picture of ancient readers, diverse interpretations, and the surprisingly hopeful worlds some of these writings reveal.

Michael Williams is Professor Emeritus of Comparative Religion and Near Eastern Languages and Civilization at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he was a faculty member since 1976. His PhD is from Harvard University, and his two highly important and influential books are The Immovable Race: A Gnostic Designation and the Theme of Stability in Late Antiquity and Rethinking Gnosticism: An Argument for Dismantling a Problematic Category. He's the author and coeditor of several other books and articles, including two volumes of essays: Charisma and Sacred Biography and Innovation in Religious Traditions.

His work has led him to an increasing suspicion of many conventional generalizations about "gnosticism." Related research interests have included scribal practices and ancient book manufacture and the cultural significance witnessed in the selection and arrangement of content in codex manuscripts that contain multiple writings.

A complete transcript is available on the shownotes page at https://earlychristiantexts.com/beyond-gnosticism/

An Interview with Dr. David Franfurter

What did people in the ancient world mean by "magic"? And why might some have viewed Jesus as a magos—a healer who used sacred words, gestures, and ritual power? In this fascinating conversation, Dr. David Frankfurter helps us move beyond modern assumptions about magic and religion. Together we explore healing, exorcism, sacred names, vowel incantations, and the ways ordinary people sought help, hope, and power in the world of early Christianity.

Dr. David Frankfurter is the William Goodwin Aurelio Chair of the Appreciation of Scripture at Boston University and one of the world's leading scholars of ancient Mediterranean religions. His research focuses on Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature, ancient magical texts, popular religion, and religious life in Roman and late antique Egypt. Particularly known for his work on the relationship between religion, magic, violence, and cultural change, Frankfurter has helped reshape scholarly understanding of how ordinary people practiced religion in the ancient world.

He is the author of numerous influential books, including Religion in Roman Egypt, Evil Incarnate, and Christianizing Egypt, as well as editor of the landmark Guide to the Study of Ancient Magic. His award-winning scholarship has been recognized by both the American Academy of Religion and the American Society of Church History.

An Interview with Dr. Karen Winell

Is the Kingdom of God a place, a rule, a future hope—or something more? Dr. Karen Wenell challenges familiar assumptions by exploring the Kingdom as sacred space that is lived, performed, and experienced among people. Through a rich discussion of biblical texts, embodiment, ethics, and community, she offers fresh ways of understanding one of Jesus's central teachings and why it continues to matter in everyday life today.

Dr. Karen Wenell is a Senior Lecturer in New Testament and Theology in the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Birmingham, UK. Her research centers on biblical texts and their reception, particularly where texts become resources for ethical reflection and action. Of her three books, Locating the Kingdom of God: Performing Sacred Boundaries (The Library of New Testament Studies, Bloomsbury Publishing) is the focus of this Bible and Beyond podcast interview. Her most recent articles have appeared in the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion and Biblical Interpretation: A Journal of Contemporary Approaches.

A complete transcript is available on the shownotes page, https://earlychristiantexts.com/kingdom-of-god

An Interview with Dr. M. David Litwa

What did ancient Hermetic spirituality have in common with early Christianity? In this conversation, Dr. M. David Litwa introduces the Hermetica—ancient Egyptian spiritual writings centered on Hermes Trismegistus—and explores their influence on concepts such as spiritual rebirth, divine consciousness, salvation through gnosis, and humanity's relationship to the divine. Shirley Paulson and Litwa discuss why early Christians found these writings compelling and how Hermetic ideas still speak to modern seekers interested in spiritual progress, self-knowledge, and transcendence.

David Litwa, PhD, is an American scholar of ancient Mediterranean religions and early Christianity. His research examines deification in early Christian thought, the gospels in Greco-Roman literary contexts, and alternative Christian movements in the second and third centuries. Of the many books, the newest one, Heremetica I, is featured in this podcast interview. He has served as an organizer with the North American Patristics Society and a referee with the Journal of Early Christian Studies.

Find a complete transcript on the show notes page here: https://earlychristiantexts.com/hermetica

David will be presenting a live seminar on Hermetica I, Monday evenings. June 8 - August 10, 2026. Learn more and register here.

An Interview with Dr. Benjamin DeVos

This episode reexamines Simon Magus, a controversial figure from the book of Acts, and his evolving role in early Christian tradition. Moving beyond the familiar story, it explores how later texts—especially the Pseudo-Clementines—transform Simon into a complex philosophical rival to Peter. Along the way, the discussion uncovers themes of truth, rhetoric, power, and moral ambiguity, challenging simple labels of heresy and revealing a far more nuanced picture of early Christianity.

Dr. Benjamin De Vos is a researcher and teacher within the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy at Ghent University in Belgium and is affiliated with the University of Regensburg and the Beyond Canon project. His particular research interest is in the figure of Simon Magus. This involves Neoplatonic philosophy, concepts of truth, and important forms of communication, such as myth and dialogue. He is the author of a volume with Cambridge University Press, as well as several articles and book chapters and edited volumes (with Mohr Siebeck en Groningen University/Barkhuis (on Truth-dynamics in Early Christianity)).

An Interview with Rev. Dr. Bridget Mary Meehan

What is "gnosis," and does it belong within Catholic tradition? In this conversation, Rev. Dr. Bridget Mary Meehan—bishop in the Roman Catholic Womanpriests movement—shares how inner, experiential knowing of God has long shaped Christian mysticism. From the Gospel of Mary to Teresa of Ávila, she explores how forgotten voices and lived experience challenge hierarchy and renew faith, offering a vision of a more inclusive and Spirit-led church today.

Rev. Dr. Bridget Mary Meehan is a bishop in the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests (ARCWP) and a prophetic leader in the global movement for women's equality in the Church. She is also a certified minister in the Federation of Christian Ministries, co-founder of People's Catholic Seminary, and Dean of the Masters in Divinity and Doctor of Ministry programs at Global Ministries University. She was ordained in 2006 as one of the first eight Roman Catholic Women Priests in the U.S., and in 2024, she ordained three deacons and three priests at the historic "Ordination on the Tiber" in Rome, a landmark public witness for women's ordination.

Printed transcript is available on the show notes page: https://earlychristiantexts.com/gnosis-womanpriest-inner-awakening/

An Interview with Shawna Dolansky

Historian Shawna Dolansky invites listeners to rethink the story of Eve in Genesis. Rather than a villain responsible for humanity's fall, Eve may be the story's protagonist—reasoning, choosing, and moving history forward. Dolansky explores how ancient readers understood the Eden story, how later interpreters—from Ben Sira to Augustine and Milton—reshaped it, and why recovering the story's ancient Near Eastern context can change how we understand Genesis today.

Professor Shawna Dolansky is an historian who specializes in the emergence of the Hebrew Bible within its ancient Near Eastern context. Her work cuts across disciplinary boundaries of religious studies, literature, history, anthropology, and archaeology. Current research interests include a study of the history of Adam and Eve in popular culture and re-thinking the figure of Jezebel in the Hebrew Bible in light of historical and archaeological considerations. Both interests are part of a larger digital humanities graphic history project, "Women of the Ancient World," which is coming soon to woawhistory.com.

Dr. Dolansky will be presenting during the upcoming virtual conference "New Insights into the Hebrew Bible (NIHB)" offered by Bart Ehrman. NIHB is a three-day virtual conference (March 20-22, 2026) for people interested in serious biblical scholarship. The conference brings together leading experts to present focused, insightful talks on Genesis. Registration is open now. Click here for registration and more information.

An interview with Nathan Houstin

Nathan Houstin discusses the often-overlooked role of Joseph as the father of Jesus based on his reading of the New Testament, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Philip (which depicts Joseph as the carpenter of the cross!). Taken together, these texts illuminate Joseph's portrayal and significance in the context of Jesus' dual parentage. They highlight theological implications, the nature of fatherhood, and how these concepts resonate in contemporary understandings of family.

Nathan Houstin is a doctoral student in New Testament and Early Christianity at Loyola University Chicago. He holds a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Prior to his theological studies, Nathan worked in healthcare as a respiratory care practitioner, and he continues to practice this profession beside his doctoral work. His scholarly interests range from gender studies, health and medicine in Antiquity to infancy gospels and Nag Hammadi texts.

In this Bible and Beyond podcast episode, Shirley Paulson interviews Dr. Karen L. King, a prominent scholar of the early text, the Gospel of Mary. In this podcast, Shirley and Karen explore the portrayal of Mary Magdalene as a leader and the implications for women's roles in early Christianity. They also discuss themes of identity, the nature of sin, the journey of the soul, and the concept of the good in relation to ethical living. Dr. King's insights highlight the relevance of the ancient teachings in contemporary spiritual and social contexts.

Dr. Karen L. King is the Hollis Research Professor of Divinity, Harvard University's oldest endowed professorship (1721), and is the first woman to hold this chair. Her particular interests are in discourses of difference (orthodoxy and heresy), gender studies, and religion and violence. She completed her Ph.D. in History of Religions: Early Christianity at Brown University. She also studied in Berlin at the Free University (West) and with the Koptisch-Gnostische Arbeitskreis (Coptic-Gnostic Working Group) at Humboldt University (East). She has received numerous awards for excellence in teaching and research.

A written transcript is available on the show notes page here:

https://earlychristiantexts.com/karen-king-mary-magdalene