A History of Christian Theology

Today we talk with Dr. Scot McKnight professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary about his recently released book Revelation for the Rest of Us: A Prophetic Call to Follow Jesus as a Dissident Disciple (Zondervan, 2023). We talk about his own background with Revelation as well as our mutual love for baseball. I hope you will enjoy this episode.

Dr. Paul Hinlicky is Professor Emeritus of Theology at Roanoke College in Virginia. Dr. Hinlicky talks with us about early Christian reception of the Greek philosophical tradition in a work entitled Divine Complexity (Fortress Press, 2010). We also delve into his work in Slovakia and his connection to Robert Jenson.

This week we do a deep dive into Augustine's rhetorical theology. We talk about the ways Augustine as a rhetorician framed his theology in different ways using the tools he learned from his particular trade. Dr. Gronewoller's book, Rhetorical Economy in Augustine's Theology (Oxford University Press, 2021) has many fascinating elements, but we focus mainly on how rhetoric helps Augustine better explain the problem of evil.

In this episode, Tom, Trevor, and Chad rejoin forces to discuss St. Augustine's Enchiridion and his definition of hope. Trevor is currently writing his PhD thesis on hope in the field of philosophical theology, so we are certainly in for an apt and in-depth conversation on this important aspect of the Christian life and theology. We hope you enjoy the conversation!

We sat down this week with Hannah Nation to discuss her recently published book under Intervarsity Press, '"Faithful Disobedience". Nation speaks on leaders of the faith in an environment that is growing increasingly hostile toward Christianity. We hope you enjoy the interview!

In this episode, we talk with Brad East whose book The Church's Book (Eerdmans Press, 2022) explores the relationship between the church and scripture. It was an illuminating book and conversation where Dr. East expounds upon the book and how Robert Jenson, among other theologians, can help us understand what the bible is.

In this final episode on the Christological Controversies, Tom, Trevor, and Chad work their way through the Chalcedonian definition and what that means for how Christians understand the two natures of Christ.

Tom, Trevor, and Chad continue their conversation over the Christological Controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries. In this episode, we cover the question over the name “theotokos” for Mary and why this was such a hot topic for Nestorius and Cyril. This is the second of three in the series on this important topic of early Christianity.

Dr. Benjamin Wheaton comes on the podcast to explore his thesis in Suffering Not Power: Atonement in the Middle Ages (Lexham Press). Although many have thought since Gustav Aulen that a kind of Christus Victor was the predominate view, Wheaton explains why we should nuance that view and see other ways of viewing the atonement in Dante, and several other early preachers and commentators. *A technical issue occurred in the recording of this episode, but much of the content was able to be retained*

Jordan Daniel Wood discusses his recently released monograph The Whole Mystery of Christ: Creation as Incarnation in Maximus the Confessor (University of Notre Dame Press, 2022). Dr. Wood talks us through some the controversial aspects of his thesis, but why it can still be understood as an orthodox perspective. We even cover a little bit of Hegel and his role in Dr. Wood’s work.

Ross McCullough comes on the show to discuss his new book Freedom and Sin: Evil in a World Created by God (Eerdmans Press). Although a bit more on the philosophical theology side, this podcast follows his argument of an asymmetrical approach to God's causality and human responsibility. I found his thesis very thought provoking. Thanks to Eerdmans Press for providing a copy of the book and suggesting such a great interview!

In this episode, Tom, Trevor, and Chad return to the format of earlier podcasts and discuss a few texts from early Christian thinkers. In this case, we are talking about Apollinaris of Laodicea and Theodore of Mopsuestia. They represent early christological thinking from an Alexandrian and Antiochene point of view. Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy these episodes

Dr. Jacob Wood returns with a more earthy description of nature and grace. In this episode, we have a brief discussion of the doctrine of analogy which then moves into a conversation about how farming has shaped Dr. Wood's academic research. Thanks for listening!

Dr. Benjamin Quinn shares with us a little about the importance of Augustine in contemporary thought and education. We also learn more about how Augustine understood wisdom and how that fits with the wisdom tradition in the Old Testament. His new book Christ the Way is now out with Lexham Press.

Today's episode is a bucket-list episode. We interview Dr. Stanley Hauerwas! Dr. Hauerwas has recently published Fully Alive: the Apocalyptic Humanism of Karl Barth with the University of Virginia Press. We talk about this work and a little about how Hauerwas understands the task of theology.

We are pleased to welcome back Dr. Myk Habets. We discuss Dr. Habets books Heaven: An Inkling of What's To Come. Dr. Habets provides some insight into why we should look forward to heaven and how to talk about heaven with your family.

Is even the Devil redeemed? We talk through this question with Dr. Michael McClymond whose book The Devil's Redemption (Baker Academic) has received multiple awards, including the Gospel Coalition's Book of the Year.

Hannah Nation comes on to talk about Faith in the Wilderness: Words of Exhortation from the Chinese Church (Kirkdale Press). Our conversation gives some background to the Chinese house church pastors who preached these sermons and the history of the House Church movement in China. We have much to learn about how to suffer well from these Chinese brothers and sisters in the faith. As Hannah said in closing, "Our call is what to walk with Christ and reminds ourselves that he is our suffering Lord and he is with us.”

In today's episode we talk about Ambrose of Milan and his famous hymns. Music in church has not always been a given. We have Ambrose to thank for this great blessing.

It was a pleasure to speak with Dr. Jonathan Tran about his new book Asian Americans and the Spirit of Racial Capitalism. Dr. Tran begins with some fascinating engagement with political theory and a history of Delta Chinese, before moving into the metaphysical and theological underpinnings of his positive proposal in the latter chapters. Our conversation focuses on the more theological chapters, but the entire work is very thought provoking.

We are back with our old format in this episode. Tom, Trevor, and Chad discuss Basil of Caesarea's Against Eunomius Books 2 and 3. The conversation centers on how to speak about God given what we know from scripture. It is a conversation that includes philosophy of naming and language broadly. This touches on some of the most foundational issues in theology, how does one speak about God at all. Hope you enjoy this episode.

Dr. Hart comes on to discuss his new book Tradition and Apocalypse with Baker Academic Press. We discuss the theological nature of tradition, why analytics are destroying baseball, and his translation of the New Testament. Check out our Pattern at www.patreon.com/ahoct, Twitter @theologyxian, and Facebook at www.facebook.com/ahistoryofchristiantheology.

Dr. Kelly Kapic comes on the show to discuss his new book You're Only Human with Brazos Press. We bring his work into conversation with historical theologians, like Tertullian and Augustine.

Greetings all! The conversations with Tom and Trevor are back. We begin with a discussion about why we think about the Trinity and difficult topics like this at all, and then launch into a conversation about the unbegotten Father and the begotten Son. We are grateful any and all support, whether it is a like on twitter or Facebook, or a donation: https://www.patreon.com/AHOCT. Thanks for listening!

in this long overdue interview, Dr. Charles Kim interviews Dr. Myk Habets, head of the school of theology at Laidlaw College in New Zealand. Dr. Habets has done much of his academic work on T F Torrance, the great Scottish Reformed theologian and specifically on the doctrine of Thesis. The recording became corrupted after the conversation. Our apologies for the delay.

We continue our series of conversations on the overlap of philosophy and theology with Dr. Jonathan T. Pennington's book Jesus the Great Philosopher: Rediscovering the Wisdom Needed for the Good Life (Brazos Press). Dr. Pennington brings the bible into conversation with the philosophies of ancient Greece and offers a constructive proposal for how the bible can be read philosophically. Thanks for listening!

Continuing in our conversations over the overlap between philosophy and theology, we welcome Dr. Dru Johnson to discuss his recent book Biblical Philosophy: A Hebraic Approach to the Old and New Testaments (Cambridge University Press). Dr. Johnson's challenge in the book is to consider the bible as a philosophical text, not just a religious or theological one.

Continuing in our conversations over the overlap between philosophy and theology, we welcome Dr. Dru Johnson to discuss his recent book Biblical Philosophy: A Hebraic Approach to the Old and New Testaments (Cambridge University Press). Dr. Johnson's challenge in the book is to consider the bible as a philosophical text, not just a religious or theological one.

We return to Aquinas and the nature of grace in this interview with Jacob W. Wood. Dr. Wood is the author of To Stir a Restless Heart with Catholic University Press (2019) which was just released in paperback. Among many topics, we touch on what it means to bring Aristotelian philosophy into conversation with Christian theology. We have been having a continual conversation about philosophical influences in Christian thought and Dr. Wood warns against an overly simplistic understanding of these influences.

Tom and Trevor are back! In this episode, we welcome back Tom and Trevor to discuss our theme question for guests, what are various ideas we have changed our minds about. I hope you enjoy it!

Dr. Houck talks with us about original sin, original justice, and how St. Thomas can help us think through these critical doctrines. His book Aquinas, Original Sin, and the Challenge of Evolution (Cambridge University Press) is the definitive treatment of the topic in addition to incorporating conversations on evolution. Dr. Houck discusses the univocity of language, why original sin is a humane doctrine, and much more.

We are pleased to welcome our friend and historical theologian, Dr. Ben Heidgerken. Dr. Heidgerken recently published Salvation through Temptation: Maximus the Confessor and Thomas Aquinas on Christ's Victory over the Devil with Catholic University Press. We discuss his work, comparing the Western emphasis on grace in anthropology and salvation to the Eastern with writings of Maximus the Confessor. We hope yo uwill enjoy this conversation as much as we did. Thanks for listening!

In this episode, we discuss Mysteries of the Lord's Prayer: Wisdom from the Early Church (Catholic University Press) with Fr. Gavin. Our conversation covers the origins of the prayer, some difficult translations, and its power in prayer. Fr. Gavin also describes the 'strangeness' of the prayer after much study.

Dr. Boersma of the Nashatoah House comes on the show to talk about his book Seeing God: The Beatific Vision in Christian Tradition. In the episode, Dr. Boersma explores Christian Platonism (if that is the right term), Sacramental Theology, and the Creator-Creation Distinction. It was a pleasure to have Dr. Boersma on and we hope you enjoy this episode.

Dr. Wittman studies the doctrine of God and teaches at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. We discuss baptists in theology, the role of theology in seminary education, and how to choose a college. Dr. Wittman's first book was published with Cambridge University Press, God and Creation in the Theology of Thomas Aquinas and Karl Barth, published with Cambridge University Press in 2018.

Despite the fact that this podcast has been around for 6 years, we have never discussed St. Bonaventure. We rectify that today in our conversation with Dr. Benjamin Winter. Dr. Winter wrote on Bonaventure for his dissertation at St. Louis University. He is Assistant Professor of Theology at Divine Word College and Editor-in-Chief at Conciliar Post.We discuss faith and reason, a little history of St. Bonaventure, freedom and responsibility, and the medieval transcendentals. Thanks for listening!

We are back with a discussion of Divine Humility with Dr. Matthew Wilcoxen. Dr. Wilcoxen's book Divine Humility was published with Baylor University Press. Dr. Wilcoxen was kind enough to talk with me for an hour about all things humility. He even has some advice for pastors on discussing deep theology with parishioners. Hope you enjoy it!

Today's guest is Dr. Emerson who is the Dean of the Hobbes College of Theology and Ministry at my alma mater Oklahoma Baptist University. He discusses with us his interest in the Great Tradition, the Doctrine of the Descent, hermeneutics and much more. He is also the founder of the Center for Baptist Renewal so check that out if you are Baptist and interested in the Great Tradition of the church.

How did a fragment of a text dubbed "the Gospel of Jesus Wife" make it past peer review and into the public conversation as possibly debunking the myth that Jesus was single? We discuss this, philosophies of history, and much more on this podcast.

This podcast continues two recent initiatives in the our work. We interview a scholar on the history of a particular location in the ancient world. Ross Twele, a doctoral student at Catholic University of America, gives the history of Christianity in Gaul, modern day France. Ross and I also talk about the shared history of protestant and Catholic Christians. Being looking out for future episodes on the Evangelical and Baptist retrieval of the Great Tradition.

This week's episode looks at something brand new for the podcast, the emergence of Islam from a Christian perspective. Laura Estes studies the period at Saint Louis University and is our guest. We focus on how Christians understood this new religious movement and what that meant for Syriac Christians in the 7th and 8th centuries. It is not exhaustive, but it is an important part of the history of the two major world religions.

Today's show is an interview Dr. Cary about his new book, "The Meaning of Protestant Theology: Augustine, Luther, and the Gospel which gives us Christ." This is a long awaited discussion after I first read this book over Christmas. We get into some deep theology and philosophy, but all in service of helping Christians understand the surety of their salvation.

Today we talk about the doctrine of creation in St. Augustine with Dr. Ortlund. Dr. Ortlund writes about theological retrieval for evangelicals and this work is a work of retrieval for the doctrine of creation. Our conversation sticks mostly to Augustine, his method of interpretation and understanding of humility. For more on how he can help us think about evolution, see https://www.ivpress.com/retrieving-augustine-s-doctrine-of-creation

Dr. Samantha Miller is our guest today. She recently published Chrysostom's Devil, Demons, the Will, and Virtue in Patristic Soteriology with InterVarsity Press. She gives us an introduction to John Chrysostom, how to say his name among other things. We then discuss his connection to Stoicism, virtue, demons, and death. Dr. Miller also gives us a preview of an upcoming book towards the end. Thanks for listening!

We have a packed show. We move from a discussion of the Hagia Sophia becoming a mosque, to the importance of almsgiving in Chrysostom, and end with a discussion of Chrysostom's understanding of repentance in light of Hebrews 6.

Dr. Wickes is the Associate Professor of Ancient Christianity at Saint Louis University. In this podcast, Dr. Wickes gives some background on Syriac Christianity; explores the import of poetry in this tradition; and even liken Ephrem the Syrian to DC Talk and Reliant K. He also goes into his own journey of how he came to love Ephrem and studying early Christian history.

This episode explores Gregory Nyssen's condemnation of slavery in his homily on Ecclesiastes 2. It is not super well known, in part because it was not translated into English in the NPNF series. We discuss why Nyssa rejects slavery and what makes his outlook so significant in the current climate of American Christianity.

In the second half of our conversation about On Duties, we talk about how Ambrose's notion of virtue matches ancient virtue theory. At the end of the podcast, we also talk about his proposal to buyback the captives and even his opposition to slavery. If you would like to consider supporting us, please do so on https://www.patreon.com/ahoct

This interview with Dr. Miller includes information about his background, how he came to study Barth and Augustine, and how he responds pastorally to COVID and Black Lives Matter. It was a pleasure talking with Dr. Miller and we hope you will check out his new book Seeing by the Light: Illumination in Augustine's and Barth's Readings of John. Please consider supporting the podcast here: http://www.patreon.com/ahoct

In this interview, Fr. Meconi talks about Augustine's role in his own academic studies, CS Lewis as an expositor of the Christian tradition, and why Augustine is not too "other-worldly." We hope you enjoy this conversation. It was one of the few times when I, Chad, just had a free flowing conversation with my doctoral advisor. I for one greatly enjoyed this conversation.