TheoDisc Podcast

On this episode of TheoDisc, Kenny is joined by Dr Amy Brown Hughes, who talks about early Christian martyrs, particularly a woman called Blandina. She helps us see that not only did these martyrs identify with Christ in their sacrifice, but Christ also identifies with them. Blandina shows us that, in our sufferings for Christ, He identifies so closely with us that people see him when they look at our faithfulness. Enjoy!

SHOW NOTES

Purchase Amy's book, Christian Women in the Patristic World: HERE

Listen to OnScript podcast: HERE

Preston Sprinkle's latest book, From Genesis to Junia: An Honest Search For What The Bible Really Says About Women In Leadership takes an exegetical journey through the Scriptures, and Preston’s consequent change of mind from a default complementarian position to the belief that women can lead and teach in the church without restriction. Some women responding have offered critique while remaining thankful for Preston’s overall work in the book, including Beth Allison Barr, who published a response on her Substack which Preston has engaged with. We wanted to invite both of them onto TheoDisc to have a scholarly conversation where agreements and disagreements could be aired, and Preston could respond and clarify. That’s the conversation we have on this episode of TheoDisc. Enjoy!

SHOW NOTES

Get Preston’s books, including ‘From Genesis to Junia’: HERE

Theology in the Raw podcast: HERE

Get Beth’s books: HERE

Watch our previous interview with Beth: HERE

The Christian world is awash with ideas around Spiritual Formation and what it means to live life as a Christian. Often, these ideas focus on our initiation of disciplines, practices and rhythms of life in order see Christ at work in our everyday living. But our guest on this episode, Kelly Kapic, says that our life in Christ must ultimately be grounded in the life of the Trinity, a life we are invited to share in through our union with Him. This is, Kelly claims, how Christian life, no matter your denomination or tradition, is sustained.

SHOW NOTES

Buy Kelly's books: HERE

Visit Kelly’s website: HERE

On this episode, Kenny speaks with Dr David C Wang about Trauma, the Holy Spirit, and Spiritual Formation. How does Trauma affect us as whole beings, and how does the Holy Spirit offer us hope for spiritual formation when we experience its long term effects? What if those effects include spiritual trauma that damage our relationship with the church and with God? May this episode be helpful to you.

Read David's paper 'Trauma, the Holy Spirit, and Spiritual Formation': HERE

Find out more about David and his work: HERE

Jesus’ incarnation, death and resurrection are core to our understanding of the gospel. But his ascension can often be treated as a postscript, or even a kind of sad ending to the gospel narratives where Jesus disappears–to where we’re not entirely sure–and we are left with the hope he will one day return. Our guest on this episode, Ross Hastings, has observed that the ascension is not often taught or preached about, and consequently, we miss the magnitude and implications of all that it consummates in Jesus’ kingdom mission, all that it continues to mean for us now, and all that it promises in the future. His book, The Glory of the Ascension, threads numerous theological themes through this event in an attempt to reclaim its importance for Christian communities. Enjoy!

SHOW NOTES

Find Ross’ books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Ross-Hastings/author/B00DWG2L3I

Follow Ross on Social Media: https://x.com/WRossHastings

Terror and dread are often how we can still feel about Jesus’ return. Talk of the end times sounds either like the world’s worst conspiracy theory, or feels just too complex to figure out. And yet, the Scriptures talk about the coming day of the Lord... Kenny's guest on this episode of TheoDisc is Dr Sydney Tooth, and she says that 1 & 2 Thessalonians have a particularly rich message of hope in the coming of Christ, and that they are texts that should be opened more by the church. So they have been talking about Paul, Thessalonians, and the return of Jesus. Enjoy!

Show Notes

Read Sydney’s Thesis: https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/36797

The Two Cities Podcast: https://thetwocities.com

Wine isn’t instantaneous, and neither is our spiritual formation. This is why Jesus describes us as branches connected to him as our vine and our source. If Jesus uses this metaphor for our discipleship, then perhaps we should invest a little bit of time in learning how vine branches bear healthy fruit that is in season. That’s the focus of the latest book from Bette Dickinson, who has written The Art of Vinemaking: Spiritual Flourishing in a Productivity-Driven Culture as a call to disciples of Christ to discover or return to the rhythms and cycles that God intends for us to blossom in fullness of life. Her ultimate goal is to create safe and sacred spaces for people to encounter the boundless love of God, and that is evident from her chat with Kenny in this episode of TheoDisc. Enjoy!

SHOW NOTES

Bette’s website: https://www.bettedickinson.com/

Get Bette’s books: https://bit.ly/3MSa3YV 

How do we love our enemies in a polarised world? It’s difficult to engage with those we have deep disagreements with, and doing so can often feel like compromising on our own convictions. This is particularly true with religious or political groups, and Christians can often become entrenched in their positions and unable to meaningfully connect with those we disagree with. On this episode, Kenny is speaking to Dr David Stuart about his Doctoral thesis entitled: Learning to Love - a Theological Response to our Polarised World. He proposes a way to love our enemies as Christ commands us to, and open ourselves to seeing them and ourselves in a new, more clear light - even becoming more faithful to our own commitment to Christ in the process. Enjoy!

SHOW NOTES

Read David’s thesis: https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/handle/10023/32013

Find out more about David: https://wtctheology.org.uk/locations/scotland/ 

Contact David: [email protected] 

On this episode of TheoDisc, Kenny's guest is Mary Thomason, who is currently engaged in doctoral work about re-establishing a trust in the divine voice within Scripture which undoes the common ways women have been made to feel less than men, and by telling a redeeming narrative of women who are chosen and trusted by God. Her heart is that women and men would be released to be empowered by God without the burden of harmful interpretation which harms both women and men. We know you will enjoy this episode!

Kenny's guest on this episode of TheoDisc is Revd Dr Hugh Osgood, who has been working to bring about unity between African, Caribbean, and majority-white congregations since the 1980’s. His book, Evangelical And African Pentecostal Unity, details the challenges and successes of such efforts up until the year 2005. Kenny and Hugh spoke about what has happened in the intervening years, and Hugh’s sense of next steps for a united church across the UK. Enjoy!

SHOW NOTES

Hugh’s website: hughosgood.com

‘Evangelical and African Pentecostal Unity’: amzn.eu/d/4AGfcyg

Hugh’s books: hughosgood.com/books

Churches in Communities International: cicinternational.org/