Faith Improvised

Latest Episodes:

The Narrative Sub-Structure of Romans Aug 03, 2021

Show notes

I recommend Beverly Roberts Gaventa's wonderful book, When In Romans: An Invitation to Linger with the Gospel According to Paul (Baker Academic), and I start talking about Paul's opening rhetorical move in Romans 1:18-32.

I also mention the following podcasts and books:

"The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill"

"The Ezra Klein Show"

Stanley Stowers, A Rereading of Romans: Justice, Jews, and Gentiles (Yale University Press).

Sigve K. Tonstad, The Letter to the Romans: Paul Among the Ecologists (Sheffield Phoenix Press).

Paul Greets The Romans Jul 27, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, I recommend Chuck DeGroat's timely and wonderful book, When Narcissism Comes to Church: Healing Your Community from Emotional and Spiritual Abuse, and I talk about the introduction of Paul's letter to the Romans.

I also talk a bit about identity politics, responding to Charles Murray's article, “Identity Crisis: How the Politics of Race Will Wreck America,” published this month in The Spectator.

An Overview of Romans Jul 20, 2021

Show notes

In this episode I recommend David Fromkin's masterful and fascinating work, A Peace To End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East, and I give an overview of how I see the major movements of Paul's argument in his letter to the Roman house churches.

Wandering Through Romans Jul 13, 2021

Show notes

I recommend Lisa Bowens's compelling new book, African American Readings of Paul: Reception, Resistance, and Transformation (Eerdmans), and I talk about where I intend to go with the podcast in this third season (and beyond), reporting on my research in Paul's letter to the Romans.

The Church Is God's Social Justice Jun 08, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, I recommend a great new book by Brian Brock called, Disability: Living Into The Diversity Of Christ's Body, and I talk about social justice, the gospel, and how the church does not merely have some kind of relationship to social justice, but rather, according to Paul, the church is God’s social justice.

Death of God, Etc. Jun 01, 2021

Show notes

I have a discussion with my friend Steve Watkins about a load of stuff, but especially about some of the impulses behind death of God thinkers, which I find really fascinating.

The Grammar of the Gospel May 25, 2021

Show notes

I recommend an excellent new book, Reparations: A Call for Repentance and Repair, by Duke L. Kwon and Gregory Thompson, and I talk about the grammar of the gospel and compare that to the grammar of evangelicalism.

The Problem of Men in Ministry May 18, 2021

Show notes

I recommend Ijeoma Oluo’s new book, Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America, and I respond to a question about women in ministry by sort of flipping the script and reflecting on the problem of men in ministry.

I also recommend Nijay Gupta's excellent blog series, "Why I Believe in Women in Ministry," an index to which is found here (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/cruxsola/2019/06/why-i-believe-in-women-in-ministry-gupta/).

Love the Evangelical, Hate the Evangelicalism May 11, 2021

Show notes

I recommend a magisterial work by Frances FitzGerald, The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America, and I reflect a bit on some recent articles on the cultural dynamics of evangelicalism.

I refer to these three articles:

Timothy Dalrymple, "The Splintering of the Evangelical Soul: Why We're Coming Apart, and How We Might Come Together Again," Christianity Today, April 16, 2021.

J. Kameron Carter, "Behind Christianity Today’s Editorial is a Deeper Crisis of America’s Religion of Whiteness," Religion News Service, December 24, 2019.

Isaac B. Sharp, "Race, Gender, and the Limits of Evangelical Identity," Berkeley Forum, April 22, 2021.

I also refer to these books:

Pankaj Mishra, Age of Anger: A History of the Present.

George Marsden, Reforming Fundamentalism: Fuller Seminary and the New Evangelicalism.

Christian Smith, The Bible Made Impossible: Why Biblicism Is Not a Truly Evangelical Reading of Scripture.

John A. D'Elia, A Place at the Table: George Eldon Ladd and the Rehabilitation of Evangelical Scholarship in America.

Thinking Again, Again May 04, 2021

Show notes

I recommend Ta-Nehisi Coates's brilliant book, Between the World and Me, an absolutely powerful memoir that’s a personal letter to his son, and I intended to talk about a few recent articles on the contemporary state of American evangelicalism, but ended up extending some thoughts on the sorts of things I routinely re-think.

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