Language of God

For an episode released during Holy Week, it seemed appropriate to have a conversation with the theologian who has written what many consider to be the seminal work on Jesus’ resurrection, The Resurrection of the Son of God. N.T. Wright is a New Testament scholar of high regard and we talk to him about the resurrection: this miraculous, earth shattering event which changed the course of history. We also hear a bit about how he came to be a theologian and writer who has split his time between academia and ministry. 

Find N.T. Wrights free ebook, Preaching the Cross in Dark Times here. 

The music in this episode is by Joseph McDade

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In this episode, Jim Stump is joined by Tim Mackie, one of the founders of BibleProject. Tim’s transformation from West Coast skateboarder, to Bible student, to video producer may seem surprising, but his unorthodox journey to faith has given him a unique perspective and passion for the Bible. Tim discusses the history of the Bible, explores the context in which it was written, and demonstrates what it looks like to bring the Bible into relevance for people today.

Tim Mackie is a writer and creative director for BibleProject, an animation studio that produces videos to help make the story of the Bible accessible to everyone. He has ahis Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

BibleProject YouTube Channel
BibleProject Website

This episode was originally aired on September 17th, 2020.

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Makoto Fujimura is a world-renowned artist often counted among the preeminent figures in the “slow art” movement. Yet Fujimura also has a deep connection to the sciences: he double majored in animal behavior and art during his undergraduate degree at Bucknell University and his father Osamu Fujimura was an influential speech scientist. In this live episode recorded at the 2022 BioLogos Faith & Science Conference, Fujimura reminisces on the roles of art, faith, and science in his childhood; discusses the relationship between these practices today; and presents his vision on how caring for culture can help revive our sense of enchantment with the world by bringing together disparate ways of knowing God’s world. 

Images from the live recording are available at our website.

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The problem of evil has confounded people of faith as far back as Job. And the knowledge of the world that has been brought about by science has not made it any easier to answer the question of why a good and powerful God would let bad things happen. Tish Harrison Warren confronts the problem of evil in her book, Prayer in the Night. In the book she asks the question, how can we trust God at all when we can’t trust that God will keep bad things from happening to us? In the episode, we talk about how praying the compline prayer helped her to find an answer to that question and we talk about what prayer is and what it does. We also discuss COVID 19, broaching the topic of returning to in-person church, which she has written about in some recent newsletters in the New York Times.

Original music in this episode is from Carp.

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Our best scientific models make it clear that society needs a big change at a global scale in order to limit irreversible damage—what good can individual actions and attitudes do in the face of this immense problem? Today’s guest, Debra Rienstra, argues that the right relationship with the Earth can actually make all the difference and that new worlds of hope are built in hidden refuges amidst the surrounding devastation. Genuine lament and grief help reorient us toward the beauty and majesty of creation. Only once this groundwork has been laid can we truly repent for what we have done—and begin the work of hope for a better future.

Learn more about Debra’s new book

Read April Maskiewicz Cordero’s article on climate conversations

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Leslie Wickman first witnessed the expanse and majesty of creation through a telescope as a young child on one of those rare cloudless nights in the Pacific Northwest. She never could have guessed that it would lead her to working on parts of the Hubble telescope, training in space simulations and becoming designated as a corporate astronaut. In the episode, Leslie talks about her path through her many scientific endeavors and the development of her understanding of faith in relation to that science. We discuss the new Webb telescope, the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe, the multiverse, and the significance of fine-tuning as a pointer to God. 

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A common refrain at BioLogos is “you don’t have to choose,” and usually it is in the context of the Bible and science. Esau McCaulley, assistant professor of New Testament at Wheaton College, was presented with a different choice, one between the Bible and racial justice. But this too is a false dichotomy. 

The Bible is a good place to turn in times of confusion or questioning, but whether it is science or issues of injustice, it is important that a reading of the Bible be informed by the perspectives of other people and other cultures. McCaulley’s book, Reading While Black lays out the case for a Black Ecclesial interpretive tradition. He shows how asking questions of the text that grow out of the reality of being Black in America, helps to give us a fuller perspective on what the Bible has to say about things like race, governing authorities, and justice. 

This episode was originally aired on Feb 4, 2021.

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In Dr. Joseph Graves’ recent book, Racism, Not Race: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, he and his co-author build a case that our concept of biological races was brought about because of the racism that was a part of the fabric of our lives, not the other way around, as is often assumed. In a previous series of episodes, Dr Graves helped us to understand the nuances of why race is not a biological concept. In this episode, we build on that, talking about institutional racism, the myth that athletic ability is tied to race, and the church’s inaction, so far, on following the call to love our neighbors and enact justice. 

Listen to episodes 48 and 49 of Language of God to hear Joseph Graves on the genetics of race.

Find books mentioned in this episode:

Race, not Racism by Joseph Graves and Alan Goodman
Becoming an Anti Racist Church by Joseph Barndt
New Jim Crow by MIchelle Alexander
White Too Long by Robert Jones

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On his return to the podcast, Bishop Claude Alexander talks with Jim about his new book, Required: God’s Call to Justice, Mercy, and Humility to Overcome Racial Division. Co-authored by Bishop Claude and Mac Pierre, the book explores what the Bible calls us to do in the face of racial injustice. While Protestantism often prefers to emphasize the importance of grace in being saved rather than works, the authors make a strong, Biblically centered case for how we as Christians should love our broken world. 

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Regina McCurdy loved science as a child and also took her faith really seriously, which eventually led to a conflict. But when she was eventually told by a pastor that she didn’t have to choose between science and faith, her world opened up. Now she spends her days teaching teachers how to teach science. In the episode we hear her story and then talk about some different aspects of science teaching including the importance of bringing empathy into the classroom and the role race and ethnicity plays in the science classroom.

Read Regina's story on the BioLogos website here

Learn about Integrate Science and Faith Curriculum

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