TheologyU

TheologyU hosts Christian academics and authors to talk about their professional work in a way that anyone can understand. Dr. Mark Moore is a teaching pastor at Christ’s Church of the Valley in Arizona. He previously spent 20 years as a New Testament professor at Ozark Christian College in Missouri, and in 2019 he wrote the enormously popular Core 52 15 minute daily guide for understanding the Bible. Now, he’s partnered with megachurch pastor Kyle Idleman to write his newest book: The Missing Messiah: The Jesus We Can No Longer Ignore Today we talk about what a Messiah actually is and where the idea came from. Dr. Moore really leans into the revolutionary nature of Jesus’ identity, leaving this episode with a clear slogan: Jesus is Lord. Is Jesus Messiah?Can we prove who Jesus is?Does Jesus fulfill Old Testament prophecy?What does Messiah mean?Who is Jesus?

TheologyU hosts Christian academics and authors to discuss their professional work in a way that anyone can understand. Dr. Mac Loftin (PhD, Harvard University) joins the show for the second time to discuss his recent book, “In the Twilight of the Christian West: A Theology of Mourning and Resistance.”Church attendance in the US continues to decline, and Mac wants to help Christians make sense of this unfortunate reality. His focus is on mourning, resilience, and living with change, rejecting the idea that Christians need to fight back to reclaim the way things were. Is the Christian West in decline?How should Christians respond to changes in America? How should Christians respond to immigration? Cultural change? Secularization?

TheologyU hosts Christian academics and authors to discuss their professional work in a way that anyone can understand. Rev. Dr. Richard Kannwischer is the senior pastor of the largest Presbyterian church in the US, Peachtree Presbyterian in Atlanta, Georgia.He studied business before studying at Princeton theological seminary and earning his doctorate from Fuller Theological seminary. Dr. Kannwischer's first book "Cultivate: How God Grows the Fruit of the Spirit Within Us" is available now: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Cultivate/Richard-Kannwischer/9781637635308What is the fruit of the Spirit?How can I grow spiritually?

TheologyU hosts Christian academics and authors to talk about their professional work in a way that anyone can understand. This week, Drs. Katherine M Douglass and Brittany M Tausen join us to talk about their new book called, “Love Your Neighbor: How Psychology Can Enliven Faith and Transform Community” Dr. Douglass is associate professor of educational ministry and practical theology at Seattle Pacific University. Her PhD is from Princeton Theological Seminary and she’s ordained in the Presbyterian church. She also directs the Confirmation Project, a $1.1 million grant from the Lily Endowment.  Dr. Tausen is assistant professor of social psychology in the Baylor University Interdisciplinary Core. Her Phd is from the university of Aberdeen in Scotland and her research spans several branches of social cognition and virtue science. She also directs an initiative called Classrooms that Cultivate Character which leverages science to help young adults grow in virtue. 

Rebecca Poe Hays is associate professor of Christian Scriptures at Baylor University and the George W. Truett Theological Seminary. She earned her MDiv from Samford University and her PhD from Baylor. Dr. Poe Hays is an ordained Baptist minister and has served in churches in Tennessee, Alabama, and Texas. She’s published articles about the Psalms in several academic journals after writing a book, “The Function of Story in the Hebrew Psalter” in 2021. She joins the podcast today to talk about the book and the Psalms more generally. What are the Psalms, where do they come from, and how should we read them?

Dr. Joel Muddamalle (‪@Muddamalle‬) is the director of theology and research at Proverbs 31 Ministries and cohost of the Therapy & Theology podcast with Lysa TerKeurst and Jim Cress. Dr. Muddamalle's PhD is from Midwestern Baptist Seminary where he studied with Dr. Michael Heiser. He’s written several books and joins the show to talk about his newest title, "The Unseen Battle: Spiritual Warfare, the three rebellions, and Christ’s Victory over Dark Powers," available for pre-order and publishing on January 27th. Joel discusses:What are the Nephilim?Where do evil powers come from? Where did Satan come from?What is the divine council?Why does God say "Let us" when creating the world in Genesis 1?TheologyU hosts Christian academics and authors to discuss their work in a way than anybody can understand.

Melissa Spoelstra is a Bible teacher and has written study guides for many books of the Bible. She's also written about hope, spiritual stamina, and more. She recently published a study, "Angels: Finding Hope in God Who Reign Over Heaven and Earth," and joins the show to talk about it: https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/angels-bible-study-book-with-video-access-P005850829Melissa discusses:What are angels?What can angels do?What is a guardian angel? What is the angel of the Lord?

Dr. Teubner (PhD, University of Cambridge) is research faculty at the program on Human Flourishing in the Institute of Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University, where he leads the AI and Flourishing Initiative. He also currently runs a data analytics startup called Filterlabs.AI. Dr. Teubner’s early career focused not on AI and technology but on theology. In addition to his technical interests, he’s written several books about theology, focusing on Augustine, Gustave Gutierrez, and more.   In this conversation, Will Bennink (MDiv Candidate, Harvard Divinity School) asks Dr. Teubner about how Christians should approach AI and emerging technologies.  Should we be afraid of AI? Is AI a positive or a negative force?Is AI evil? Is Peter Thiel right about the anti-Christ? Dr. Teubner’s website: https://jonathanteubner.comPrayer after Augustine: https://www.amazon.com/Prayer-After-Augustine-Development-Historical/dp/019876717XHuman Flourishing Project: https://hfh.fas.harvard.edu

Gary Thomas is a bestselling author and international speaker and joins the show today for the second time.He has a master’s degree in systematic theology from Regent College in Vancouver and is currently a teaching pastor at Cherry Hills Community Church in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Gary recently released a new book, called The Life You Were Reborn to Live Dismantling 12 Lies that Rob Your Intimacy with God. Among these lies are the need for control, entitlement, apathy towards church, and others and I think contains some real wisdom for grappling with these kinds of problems which Christians face every day. 

Dr. Roger Finke is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Religious Studies at Penn State University and Founder of the Association of Religion Data Archives.His PhD is from the University of Washington and his current work is a series of projects that explore the relationship between religion and the state. Dr. Finke co-wrote a widely read with Dr. Rodney Starke called “The Churching of America, 1776-1990: Winners and Losers in our Religious Economy.” This book is the focus of today’s episode and remains an incredibly valuable resource for tracing the history of Christianity in North America. It’s popular for many people to look back at America’s past with rose-colored glasses and to imagine a time where everyone went to church and cared deeply about Christian values. This, it turns out, is simply wrong. Finke and Stark used archives, census data, church denomination reports, and other primary sources to reveal a much different picture. The truth is that in America’s early days, very few people were involved with organized religion at all, and church attendance steadily grew for most of American history, peaking in the 1980s.

Dr. Adam Miglio is professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College and makes his second appearance on TheologyU. His PhD is from the University of Chicago and his research focuses on the Old Testament, Ancient Mesopotamia, and the places where those two interact. Dr. Miglio recently published a book I had the honor of reading the manuscript for when I was Dr. Miglio’s student, called “The Gilgamesh Epic in Genesis 1-11: Peering into the Deep.”Dr. Miglio has already talked about the Gilgamesh epic on this show.Today, we focus on the creation story and its counterpart from the Ancient Near East, the Babylonian Creation Epic “Enuma Elish.”There seems to be 2 creation stories in Genesis. What’s going on there?What is Enuma Elish? When was this written?What are similarities with the Genesis account? What are the differences?Did the authors of Genesis know this other story? Were the Babylonians right about some things?#theology #genesis #enumaelish

Dr. Greg Carey is professor of New Testament at Lancaster Theological Seminary and a pastor at Life Church in Lancaster, PA. Dr. Carey has an MDiv from the southern Baptist theological seminary and a PhD from Vanderbilt. He’s written or co-edited 12 books, including the recently published “rereading Revelation: Theology, Ethics, and Resistance.” In this episode, Will asks Dr. Carey what he thinks about the rapture, what it means to call Revelation an apocalypse, and what he thinks Revelation and John, its author, is actually trying to communicate. What is Revelation about?What is the rapture? Is the rapture happening soon?How do I read the book of Revelation?

Dr. Andrew Remington Rillera (PhD, Duke University) is assistant professor of Biblical studies and Theology at the King’s University in Edmonton, Alberta. Dr. Rillera is the author of a very influential book which came out last year called “Lamb of the Free: Recovering the Varied Sacrificial Understandings of Jesus’s Death.” It’s generated significant buzz, particularly after John Mark Comer recently called it a final biblical exegetical knockout blow to penal substitutionary atonement. Penal substitutionary atonement is the idea that Jesus bore the penalty of our sins when he died on the cross as a substitute, or in our place. Dr. Rillera argues against this atonement theory and argues it lacks solid Biblical evidence. Penal substitution remains a popular atonement theory, endorsed by Dr. Gavin Ortlund @TruthUnites , William Lane Craig, and many others. TheologyU, hosted by Will Bennink (BA, Wheaton College, Mdiv, Harvard University), hosts conversations with Christian academics and authors to discuss their work for a general audience. How does sacrifice in the Old Testament work? How does Jesus relate to the Levitical system? Is Passover a sacrifice?Is Penal Substitution a helpful atonement theory?

Dr. Aubrey Buster is associate professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College. She earned PhD from Emory University and focuses most of her research on the Psalms, Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, Daniel, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Dr. Buster's forthcoming commentary on the book of Daniel, co-authored with Dr. John Walton, "The Book of Daniel, Chapters 1-6" releases in November 2025. Is the book of Daniel historically accurate? When did Daniel live? Who is the Son of Man? Who wrote the book of Daniel?

Dr. Wesley Hill is associate professor of New Testament at Western Theological Seminary. He earned a BA from Wheaton College before earning a PhD from Durham University in England. Dr. Hill is an Episcopal priest and is the author of several books, along with regular contributions to Christianity Today, the Living Church, and other publications. In this episode, we focus on “Why Can’t Men Be Friends?” from Christianity Today and Dr. Hill's book “Spiritual Friendship: Finding Love in the Church as a Celibate Gay Christian.”

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?