Reverend Dr. Christopher R. J. Holmes is associate professor in systematic theology and head of the theology program at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. He is the author of over 50 book chapters and journal articles, along with 6 books. Dr. Holmes is a systematic theologian from the Anglican tradition, and today’s episode focuses on his doctrine of Scripture, or the Bible. More specifically, what is the Bible, and who wrote it? How can it be written by humans and also inspired by God? At TheologyU, we’re always trying to keep theology accessible for regular people. If you don’t understand every word or theological term in this episode, don’t be discouraged, but listen for Dr. Holmes high respect for both God and the Bible.

Dr. Adam Howell is associate professor of Old Testament Interpretation at Boyce College, the undergraduate school at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he earned an MDiv and a PhD in Old Testament Interpretation.As an undergraduate he earned a double major in microbiology and chemistry while playing division I football at Eastern Tennessee State before his work in Biblical studies. He’s the author of several books, including “Ruth: A Guide to Reading Biblical Hebrew” an d “Hebrew for Life: Strategies for Learning, Retaining, and Reviving Biblical Hebrew,” and others. He’s published articles in several journals and also hosts the Daily Dose of Hebrew podcast. Dr. Howell dives into the book of Ruth in its original language, revealing things we miss in the English and sharing his reflections. If you’re new to the show, thanks for being here, and check us out on Youtube for full video recordings of every episode and on social media.

What is the church, and why should Christians go?

Dr. Brad East is associate professor at Abilene Christian University. He earned an MDiv from Emory University and a Phd from Yale. 

Dr. East is the author of several books, including “Letters to a Future Saint” and “The Church: A guide to the people of God.”

He’s also written many essays and articles for Christianity Today, the Christian Century, and many other popular publications. 

If you’re new to the show, please leave a rating on Spotify or Apple podcasts and follow us on social media. 

Video recordings of every episode are also available on Youtube if you want to see the faces behind the voice. 

Dr. Mac Loftin (PhD, Harvard University) is a frequent contributor to The Christian Century, where he recently wrote an article called “The new Bonhoeffer movie isn’t just bad. It’s dangerous.” 

In this episode, Mac explains his concerns with the movie’s portrayal of Bonhoeffer and the ethical themes which misrepresent what Bonhoeffer actually believed and wrote about. 

It turns out, a lot of people who write about Bonhoeffer, including Eric Metaxas, get his theology wrong. Unfortunately, the movie is no exception. 

Bonhoeffer is a popular name in Christian discourse these days, so it’s worth taking the time to understand the kind of ethics for which he actually advocated.

If you’re new to the show, please leave a rating on Spotify or Apple podcasts, and don’t forget to check out full video recordings of every episode on Youtube. 

Dr. James Barker is associate professor of New Testament at Western Kentucky university. He earned his Phd in New Testament and early Christianity from Vanderbilt University. 

Dr. Barker recently published his third book called "Writing and rewriting the gospels: John and the Synoptics" (2025, Eerdmans) in which he proposes a "snowball effect." He argues the gospel of mark was written first, and that the ensuing gospels built off of eachother as they wrote their accounts. 

In this episode, we talk about how the Gospels were really written. Did the gospel writers know Jesus? Did they know each other? Are they historically reliable? What sources did they use?

Dr. James McGrath is the Clarence L. Goodwin chair in New Testament language and literature at Butler University. He earned his degree in religious studies from the university of Cambridge in 1993 before earning a Phd in philosophy from the university of Durham. Dr. McGrath has written many books surrounding the life of Jesus and New Testament history, and has also written about the show "Dr. Who," Theology and science fiction, and created "Canon: The card game."Today, we talk about his recent book John of History, Baptist of Faith: The Quest for the Historical Baptizer. It’s a historical investigation into the life and words of John the Baptist.

Dr. Frank Thielman is the presbyterian chair of divinity at Beeson Divinity School. He’s also an ordained PCA minister. 

Dr. Thielman is the author of many books and commentaries. His academic work is broad but focuses most on the New Testament and the apostle Paul. 

In March of this year he published a new book, “Paul Apostle of Grace.” In it, he follows Paul’s entire life in a detailed historical study, constructing a vivid picture of culture in the early church period and of Paul’s life and ministry. 

Throughout the book, he answers questions like, What drove Paul to endure treacherous missionary journeys? What kept him on task even when he wound up in prison? And what prompted him to write the letters many Christians still rely on today? What was the thorn in Paul's side or flesh?

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Dr. Adam Mabry is the senior pastor of Aletheia Church in Cambridge, MA.

Adam earned a masters from Reformed Theological Seminary, a DMin from Gordon-Connell theological seminary and a PhD from the University of Aberdeen. He now serves on the faculty of Every Nation Seminary.

Adam has written several books, including "When God Seems Gone: Finding Hope when Nothing Makes Sense."

Rev. Willie Dwayne Francois III is associate professor of theology, director of the master of professional studies program, and co-faculty director of the doctor of ministry program at Union Theological seminary.

He’s also the senior pastor of fountain Baptist church in summit, New Jersey, and president of the black church center for justice and equality- a national think tank and policy advocacy organization. 

He has degrees from Morehouse College and Harvard Divinity school, and a Doctor of Ministry from Emory University. 

He’s written several books including “Silencing White Noise: Six Practices to Overcome our inaction on race,” published in 2022. 

This week, Will talks with Drs. Christy Cobb and Katherine Shaner about what the New testament has to say about slavery and what it looked like in the surrounding world. They also talk about how to read those difficult passages in the New Testament which don’t condemn slavery in the way we might like. 

Dr. Christy Cobb is Associate professor of Christianity at University of Denver. She has a masters from wake forest, an mdiv from campbell university divinity school, and a phd from drew university, and her scholarship focuses on slavery, gender, and sexuality in antiquity. 

Dr. Katherine Shaner is Associate professor of new testament at wake forest university. She earned an MDiv and ThD from Harvard Divinity school and teaches courses across new testament and early Christian history. She’s also an ordained pastor in the evangelical Lutheran church in America. 

If you’re new to the podcast, please leave a rating on spotify or apple podcasts and follow us on social media. This is theologyU, episode 20.