Theology In The Raw

 Dr. Russell Moore is Public Theologian at Christianity Today and Director of Christianity Today’s Public Theology Project. Dr. Moore is the author of several books, including The Courage to Stand: Facing Your Fear Without Losing Your Soul, Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel and The Storm-Tossed Family: How the Cross Reshapes the Home. A native Mississippian, he and his wife Maria are the parents of five sons.Russ has been very public about addressing the crisis of sexual abuse scandals in the church. In this episode, we talk about what leads to such scandals, why and how they are covered up, how the church needs to move forward in addressing such scandals (and abuse in general), and how we should think about the otherwise good content produced by Christian leaders (books, sermons, music) who later come out as abusers. We also talk about the polarized cultural moment we’re living in and what the future holds. Theology in the Raw Conference - Exiles in Babylon At the Theology in the R

In this fourth and final episode in our “scandal of Christmas” series, New Testament scholar Dr. Joey Dodson walks us through parallel birth narratives in the Greco-Roman and Jewish environment of the New Testament. Reading the biblical birth narratives in these contexts helps us read the story in HD, or through a 3D lens, so that we can better understand the author’s intention in how he’s telling the story. Dr. Joseph (Joey) Dodson is associate professor of New Testament. He studied at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and the University of Tübingen in Germany. In addition to many academic and devotional essays, he has written a number of articles for top-tier, peer review journals such as Harvard Theological Review, Novum Testamentum, the Journal for Jewish Studies, and Catholic Biblical Quarterly,. His most recent books include The Things I Want to Do: Romans 7 Revisited (forthcoming), A Little Book for New Bible Scholars with E. Randolph Richards (2017) and a co-edited volume with David E. Brion

In this third part of our four part series, New Testament scholar Dr. Lynn Cohick walks us through the significance of women in the birth narratives. We talk a lot about Mary, Elizabeth, Jesus’s genealogy (which contains 5 women), how the appearance of women in the genealogy has been misunderstood, and we also discuss the woman at the well in John 4 and how she was not a sexually promiscuous woman.Lynn currently serves as as Provost and Dean of Academic Affairs of Northern Seminary in Lisle, Illinois. Lynn received her bachelor’s degree from Messiah College in Grantham, PA, and her Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. After 18 years as professor of New Testament and Biblical Studies at Wheaton College (serving as department chair and dean toward the end of her time there), Lynn accepted the invitation to join Denver Seminary as their Provost / Dean. She also taught at Messiah College (Grantham, PA), and Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of The

We often think of Luke 1-2 and Matthew 1-2 when we think about the Christmas story. But what about Revelation 12? Is this angle a strange, fringe way of looking at the birth of Jesus, or is a primarily lens? In this episode, Dr. Bird and I look at this less-than-familar way of reading the Christmas story. It’s an angle where the bird of a peasant-King is a battle against the socio-political powers to be, powers that are demonically influenced and stand opposed to the upside down kingdom of God on earth. Michael Bird graduated with a BMin from Malyon College (2001) and Honours and PhD from the University of Queensland (2002, 2005). Michael taught New Testament at the Highland Theological College in Scotland (2005-9) before joining Brisbane School of Theology as lecturer in Theology (2010-12). He joined the faculty at Ridley as lecturer in Theology in 2013. He is the author of 30 books, including the volumes The Gospel of Lord: How the Early Church Wrote the Story of Jesus, Evangelical Theology, and with N

I’ve invited 4 different New Testament scholars on the podcast to talk about the Christmas story. In this opening episode, I talk with world renown NT scholar Dr. Craig Keener about Luke 1-2, the politics and sociological scandal of Christ’s birth, his earthly vocation (as a tekton...woodworker? mason? None of the above?), the location of Christ’s birth, Matthew 1-2 (and the differences between Luke and Matthew), the problem of genealogies, and much, much more. Dr. Keener did his Ph.D. work in New Testament and Christian Origins at Duke University and is known for his work as a New Testament scholar on Bible background (commentaries on the New Testament in its early Jewish and Greco-Roman settings). Well over a million of his thirty-plus books are in circulation and have won thirteen national and international awards. His award-winning, popular-level IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (now in its second edition [2014], and available in a number of languages) has sold over half a million

Aaron is gay and so is Liz. They’ve been married for over 15 years and have had an interesting journey. Both are solid Jesus followers and have done a fantastic job helping the church engage LGBTQ related issues with truth and grace. In this podcast conversation, Liz and Aaron share their story and talk about what it’s like being in a queer marriage--a term they prefer over “mixed orientation marriage,” since their orientations aren’t really mixed. Links talked about on todays showhttps://revoice.us/community-groups/https://indyoasis.orgSponsor linksivpress.com/TITRUpcoming EventsTheology in the Raw Conference - Exiles in Babylon At the Theology in the Raw conference, we will be challenged to think like exiles about race, sexuality, gender, critical race theory, hell, transgender identities, climate change, creation care, American politics, and what it means to love your democratic or republican neighbor as yourself. Different views will be presented. No question is off limits. No political party will be

Okay, so if you’re easily offended (and white), then you might want to change the channel. Dr. Tim Gombis is a no-holds-barred honest scholar, who’s not afraid to go to the hard places and challenge the status quo. And that’s exactly what we do in this episode. We discuss the undiscussables; say the quiet things out loud, and push over sacred cows as we seek to get to know Jesus all over again. This episode is a mix of exegetical exploration and cultural analysis (or critique). Tim is a long-time friend, a fellow biblical scholar with a Ph.D. in New Testament from St. Andrews University in Scotland, and an all around great dude. He’s written tons of books including the Story of God Commentary on Mark and the recently released Power in Weakness. He’s been a professor of Bible and Theology at Cedarville University and Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and he currently hosts the Faith Improvised podcast. Theology in the Raw Conference - Exiles in Babylon At the Theology in the Raw conference, we will

Jay Stringer is is a therapist, author, and speaker who guides men and women to outgrow unwanted sexual behaviors. He’s the author of Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing, a book that is based on Stringer’s groundbreaking research on over 3,800 men and women addressing the key drivers of unwanted sexual behavior, be that the use of pornography, infidelity, or buying sex. If you want to find freedom from sexual brokenness, it begins by identifying the unique reasons that bring you to it.In this episode, Jay and I talk about the source of sexual brokenness--what causes people to watch porn or have an affiar. There are deeper, more complex, issues at work, and until those issues are addressed, we’ll only be putting out the the fires of behavior management. We also talk about the prevalence of sexual abuse--nearly ⅓ of people have been sexually abused and most have not healed from this trauma in healthy ways. This is a huge discipleship issue. And then you have the perpetrators of this sin--

In the midst of polarized conversations about race, Dr. George Yancey is a breath of fresh air. He’s a huge proponent of active listening--being genuinely curious about another another person’s perspective and getting outside your echo chamber to consider other points of view. In this podcast episode, we talk a lot about his forthcoming book: Beyond Racial Division: A Unifying Alternative to Colorblindness and Antiracism, which published by IVP (March 2022). Dr. George Yancey (PhD, University of Texas) is a Professor of Sociology at the Baylor University. He has published several research articles on the topics of institutional racial diversity, racial identity, academic bias, progressive Christians and anti-Christian hostility. His books include Compromising Scholarship (Baylor University Press) a book that explores religious and political biases in academia, What Motivates Cultural Progressives (Baylor University Press) a book that examines activists who oppose the Christian Right, There is no God (Rowman a

Greg gave a killer talk at this year’s Revoice conference. If you missed it--here it is! Here’s the blurb: What does it mean to adore Jesus in a world that sees our adoration as scandalous? Taking our cues from a few of the Bible’s most notorious worshippers, we’ll celebrate together the stabilizing power of worship — a power no one can take from us.Greg is the author of Single, Gay, Christian (InterVarsity Press, 2017) and No Longer Strangers (InterVarsity Press, 2021). He holds a PhD in English from Penn State and lives in Idaho's Treasure Valley, where he works as a writer and speaker. Greg is a Senior Research Fellow at The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender and curates most of his creative activities at gregorycoles.com.Interested in designing the conference T-shirt for the Theology in the Raw “Exiles in Babylon Conference?” Submit your design to chris@theologyintheraw.com The top 3 designs will get free access to the conference (in person or virtual) and the #1 selected design will get free access

Strap on your seatbelts, folks. We’re going for a wild ride through Josh Proctor’s beautifully complex and honest journey. He’s been through more ex-gay therapy sessionss than anyone I’ve ever met. He then fell into sex work. He then fell into Jesus’ arms and maintained an affirming theology. And then he changed this theological view to one that holds to a traditional sexual ethic. Josh is a beautiful human being with a fascinating story! Josh serves as Director of Social Media & Spanish Translation at Posture Shift. Josh is also a Certified Posture Shift Instructor in Latin America. Josh works with the La Alianza (The Christian & Missionary Alliance of Colombia) in International Relations and equipping its campuses to reach LGBT+ people. Josh also hosts a popular podcast called “Life on Side B” with several other awesome people. Josh holds an M.A. in Biblical Literature, and his greatest passion is help people grow in their relationship with Jesus.https://www.postureshift.com/about/team/Interest

This podcast is a recording of a talk I gave at this year’s Revoice conference in Plano, TX. In it, I talk about why LGBTQ people are not just needy but needed in the church. Specifically, there are four major things I’ve learned about Jesus and the Christian way of life from my LGBTQ friends: 1) friendship, 2) marriage, 3) faithfulness, and 4) masculinity.Interested in designing the conference T-shirt for the Theology in the Raw “Exiles in Babylon Conference?” Submit your design to chris@theologyintheraw.com The top 3 designs will get free access to the conference (in person or virtual) and the #1 selected design will get free access to the conference and the afterparty and dinner at my house. Designs must be submitted to Chris by November 26th. Feel free to use various slogans like “Exiles in Babylon,” “Exiled,” “Theology in the Raw,” “Raw Theology,” or other one-liners like “Allegiance to a kingdom not a political party,” “Jesus is political not partisan” or whatever. Or use no wording at all. Theolog

Constantine Campbell's doctorate is in ancient Greek language and linguistics (Macquarie University, 2006). He was a professor of New Testament studies for 14 years, having taught at Moore College in Sydney and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago. Campbell is the author of 15 books, with focus on biblical Greek, New Testament interpretation, and the apostle Paul. His book Paul and Union with Christ was the 2014 Christianity Today Book of the Year in Biblical Studies. His latest releases are The Perfect Storm (with Buist M. Fanning & Stanley E. Porter; Peter Lang, 2021), Reading the New Testament as Christian Scripture (with Jonathan T. Pennington; Baker Academic, 2020), and Paul and the Hope of Glory (Zondervan Academic, 2020). Campbell was co-chair of the Biblical Greek Language and Linguistics section of the Society of Biblical Literature, and is an Associate Editor of the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary series. He is an elected member of the preeminent scholarly guild, Studiorum Novi Te

Cameron reached out to me a few weeks ago thanking me for my ministry and he told me a bit of his story. He’s a male to female back to male formerly trans-identified SSA Christian who has been a pastor/chaplain, and he’s married to a female to male back to female formerly trans-identified bisexual Christian. Let’s just say, I was beyond curious to hear more! This podcast episode is me “hearing more!”Interested in designing the conference T-shirt for the Theology in the Raw “Exiles in Babylon Conference?” Submit your design to chris@theologyintheraw.com The top 3 designs will get free access to the conference (in person or virtual) and the #1 selected design will get free access to the conference and the afterparty and dinner at my house. Designs must be submitted to Chris by November 26th. Feel free to use various slogans like “Exiles in Babylon,” “Exiled,” “Theology in the Raw,” “Raw Theology,” or other one-liners like “Allegiance to a kingdom not a political party,” “Jesus is political not partisan” or

Jarvis is a friend and an incredible scholar. He has written and spoken extensively on issues related to race, ethnic reconciliation, and the gospel--which is the focus of our conversation. Jarvis is Associate Professor of New Testament Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he’s taught since 2013. He has published numerous books, including Christ Redeemed ‘Us’ from the Curse of the Law: A Jewish Martyrological Reading of Galatians 3:13 in the Library of New Testament Studies Monograph Series (T&T Clark, 2019), his commentary on Galatians in the New Covenant Commentary Series (Cascade, 2020), a commentary on Romans (IVP Academic, Submitted and Forthcoming 2021 or 2022), and his most recent book Redemptive Kingdom Diversity: A Biblical Theology of the People of God (Baker Academic, September 2021), which is the focus of our attention in this podcast. Interested in designing the conference T-shirt for the Theology in the Raw “Exiles in Babylon Conference?” Submit your d

Is it a sin to be gay? Would you attend a church that has a gay pastor? What does it mean to be gay? There is still a lot of misunderstanding surrounding the term gay and what it means to be a gay Christian. I discuss these issues at length, which leads into Misty Irons’ incredible talk she gave at this year’s Revoice Conference. Misty Irons is a graduate of Westminster Seminary California (M.A., Biblical Studies) and a member of the Presbyterian Church in America. She has maintained a blog on faith and sexuality since 2000. Over the years Misty has served the LGBT Christian community in various capacities, as conference speaker, seminar leader, and podcast guest, representing a straight ally perspective.Check out Revoice: revoice.us Here’s their statement on sexual ethics: https://revoice.us/about/our-beliefs/statements-of-conviction/statement-on-sexual-ethics-and-christian-obedience/Theology in the Raw Conference - Exiles in Babylon At the Theology in the Raw conference, we will be challenged to t

Martin Kulldorff was born in 1962 in Lund, Sweden. He received his Ph.D. from Cornell University and is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a biostatistician at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. He serves on scientific advisory committees to the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control. In this podcast, we talk about the efficacy of the vaccine, the concept of herd immunity, the efficacy of natural immunity, the Great Barrington Declaration, who’s at risk of dying from Covid, and many other things related to the pandemic. Theology in the Raw Conference - Exiles in Babylon At the Theology in the Raw conference, we will be challenged to think like exiles about race, sexuality, gender, critical race theory, hell, transgender identities, climate change, creation care, American politics, and what it means to love your democratic or republican neighbor as yourself. Different views will be presented. No question is off limits. No political party will be praised. Everyon

Elyse holds a certificate in biblical counseling from CCEF (San Diego) and an M.A. in Biblical Counseling from Trinity Theological Seminary. She has authored 23 books on daily living and the Christian life including the recently released Worthy: Celebrating the Value of Women and the forthcoming Jesus and Gender.In this conversation, we talk about her (or our) journey into a fuller understanding of grace, along with her perspective on the biblical counseling movement. We then discuss various issues related to women in the church, including the so-called Billy Graham rule.Theology in the Raw Conference - Exiles in Babylon At the Theology in the Raw conference, we will be challenged to think like exiles about race, sexuality, gender, critical race theory, hell, transgender identities, climate change, creation care, American politics, and what it means to love your democratic or republican neighbor as yourself. Different views will be presented. No question is off limits. No political party will be praised. Ever

John Mark Comer is the founding pastor of Bridgetown Church, right in the center of the city (by Powell's Books if you've ever been to Portland) and is the author of six books: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, God has a Name, Garden City, Loveology, My Name is Hope, and the recently released Live No Lies, which is the topic of our conversation. He’s also currently starting a non-profit called Practicing the Way, which aims to create resources for discipleship and formation in local churches in post-Christian contexts (coming in Fall 2022).Theology in the Raw Conference - Exiles in Babylon At the Theology in the Raw conference, we will be challenged to think like exiles about race, sexuality, gender, critical race theory, hell, transgender identities, climate change, creation care, American politics, and what it means to love your democratic or republican neighbor as yourself. Different views will be presented. No question is off limits. No political party will be praised. Everyone will be challenged to thin

Yup, we go there. Vaccines. I didn’t even intend to go here, but our conversation sort of spilled over into a conversations about the efficacy of vaccines, why there’s “vaccine hesitancy,” and how the unvaccinated are potentially enabling the creation of new variants that could be more deadly. We also talk about what the advent of the Covid pandemic means for the future world. Basically, our future will look vastly different and the church will need to make some serious changes.Mark is the senior leader of Red Church in Melbourne, Australia. He is passionate about spiritual renewal and the future of the church. Mark is the author of a number of books including Strange Days and Reappearing Church.  Mark lives in Melbourne with his wife, Trudi, his daughter, Grace, and twin boys, Hudson and Billy.Theology in the Raw Conference - Exiles in Babylon At the Theology in the Raw conference, we will be challenged to think like exiles about race, sexuality, gender, critical race theory, hell, transgender identitie