Context Matters
by Dr. Cyndi ParkerThis podcast is for people who are curious about the ancient context that influenced the final shape of the Bible…AND ALSO…how our modern context influences the way we understand the Bible and God and all things spiritual.
Copyright: 2020 Narrative of Place, LLC
Episodes
Early Christians did not Wear Halos!
22m · PublishedDr. Nadya Williams is a Classics Historian who brings her knowledge of the culture and writings generated in the Greco-Roman world to bear on the early church. While modern people in their struggle against institutionalized church tend to look back at the earliest Christians as those who wear halos, Dr. Williams says, "Not so fast." In this conversation, Dr. Williams introduces us to her own multi-country, multi-lingual, and multi-faith context growing up and how that shaped her view of God today. Then we dive into the types of Greco-Roman cultural norms that proved challenging for the earliest Christians to shed.
Explore the book Cultural Christians in the Early Church
Read other articles by Dr. Nadya Williams HERE
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Deuteronomy: A Challenge to the Modern Church
32m · PublishedPart 2 of the conversation with Dr. Myrto Theocharous takes us into new perspectives on Deuteronomy. How do we think about Imago Dei, not in the faces of those around us, but reflected in our own actions? What does the book say about becoming complacent in a good economy? What responsibility do we have for communal care?
Find out more about Dr. Theocharous HERE
Find out about New Zoi
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Deuteronomy in Action
27m · PublishedIn part 1 of our conversation, Dr. Myrto Theocharous explains her love for connecting Deuteronomy’s theology with the practical actions in the world. There is so much this book still has to teach us!
Find out more about Dr. Theocharous HERE
Find out about New Zoi
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place.
Learn more about me and sign up for upcoming tours of Israel/Palestine.
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Centering Discipleship with E K Strawser
24m · PublishedRev. Dr. Eun Strawser describes her journey as a church leader transforming small discipleship group into multiple communities. How did they do it? They focused on intentional discipleship, community engagement, and the markers of mature disciples. How can these practices be adopted by other churches?
Find out more about the book here: www.centeringdiscipleship.com
Explore the 4-week online training program for Centering Discipleship HERE
Follow Dr. Strawser on Instagram: @ekstrawser
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place.
Learn more about me and sign up for upcoming tours of Israel/Palestine.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
Rethinking Church around Discipleship
28m · PublishedRev. Dr. Eun Strawser joins us to talk about what it means for churches to think about discipleship. What is it? How do you do it? Can you design a church structure around discipleship? Dr. Strawser was faced with all of these questions when she started a new church plant. After some experimentation, she discovered that when discipleship becomes central to your leadership and community, then discipleship becomes central to congregational mission and cultural renewal.
Find out more about the book here: www.centeringdiscipleship.com
Explore the 4-week online training program for Centering Discipleship HERE
Follow Dr. Strawser on Instagram: @ekstrawser
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place.
Learn more about me and sign up for upcoming tours of Israel/Palestine.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
Revelation for the Modern Church: Avoiding the Babylon Creep
25m · PublishedWhat does the book of Revelation have to say to the modern church? In Part 2 of the conversation with Dr. Scot McKnight, we examine the visual propaganda machine of the Roman empire and how the author of Revelation makes great use of those images to mock the arrogance of Rome. But this is also a book about becoming dissident disciples. When we read this book as a letter to the churches who were dangerously close to allowing the "Babylon Creep" into the church, we hear a strong warning to the Western Church.
Find out more about Dr. McKnight HERE
Subscribe to his Substack HERE
Follow him on X [Twitter] https://twitter.com/scotmcknight
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place.
Learn more about me and sign up for upcoming tours of Israel/Palestine.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
Paving the Way to Understand Revelation
27m · PublishedDr. Scot McKnight recently published a book called Revelation for the Rest of Us. But it is the subtitle that is intriguing: A Prophetic Call to Follow Jesus as a Dissident Disciple. Dissident disciples? The book of Revelation? Politics and theology coming together in one episode? In part 1 of our conversation we learn about why Dr. McKnight felt like he needed to write this particular book in this time in history. And he throws in an amazing comment about the author, John, when describing how many allusions he makes to Old Testament imagery: "[John's] soul inebriated with Scripture that he can't speak without describing things in biblical ways."
Find out more about Dr. McKnight HERE
Subscribe to his Substack HERE
Follow him on X [Twitter] https://twitter.com/scotmcknight
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place.
Learn more about me and sign up for upcoming tours of Israel/Palestine.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
Discipled in Justice Today
29m · PublishedThis is Part 2 of the conversation with Dr. Michael Rhodes. He is a professor in Old Testament at Carey Baptist College in Aukland, New Zealand, and we are discussing his book Just Discipleship. If we are to people concerned about Justice and concerned about BECOMING people of justice, what does that say about the topic of reparations? Can the biblical concept of Jubilee shed light on how modern countries can name and identify the sins of the previous generation, and where appropriate, identify your continuity with them? We even get to talk about the relevance of some very random laws in the Old Testament! We conclude talking about what happens to the application of these laws about justice when you are living within someone else's kingdom?
Find more information on his other books: Formative Feasting and Practicing the King's Economy.
Discover his book Just Discipleship HERE.
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place.
Learn more about me and sign up for upcoming tours of Israel/Palestine.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
Becoming People Who Do Justice
37m · PublishedIs it possible that Western Christianity and modern American life is shaping us to become people who are NOT good at doing justice, and loving mercy, and showing kindness? We know of such concepts but do we embody such concepts in the world around us? This week kicks off a several week conversation with scholars about different aspects of discipleship. We start today with a fellow Old Testament scholar, Dr. Michael Rhodes. He is a professor in Old Testament at Carey Baptist College in Aukland, New Zealand. He is the author of Formative Feasting and Practicing the King's Economy.
We start with the impetus for his new book Just Discipleship, which you can find HERE.
What is biblical justice? Is it different from other forms of justice?
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place.
Learn more about me and sign up for upcoming tours of Israel/Palestine.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
Blessed are the Peacemakers
29m · PublishedThis is Part 2 of a conversation with Rev. Dr. Helen Paynter about her new book titled: Blessed are the Peacemakers: A Biblical Theology of Human Violence. Today we discuss what to do when it seems like God is calling his people to violence, or what happens when the Israelites are violent with one another. How does the Bible give voice to those who suffer from violent attacks? And for those who study violence, where do they find a type of hope that can sustain them and their work?
Find out more about Dr. Paynter HERE
Some of the resources and links mentioned on this episode:
https://www.facebook.com/CSBVBristolBaptistCollege/
Twitter @CSBibleViolence
Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@CSBibleViolence
https://www.amazon.com/Bible-Doesnt-Tell-Me-So/dp/0857469894
https://www.amazon.com/Cursing-God-Imprecatory-Psalms-Christian/dp/1481316362
https://www.amazon.com/Bloody-Brutal-Barbaric-Wrestling-Troubling/dp/0830852492
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place.
Learn more about me and sign up for upcoming tours of Israel/Palestine.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
Context Matters has 165 episodes in total of non- explicit content. Total playtime is 81:44:50. The language of the podcast is English. This podcast has been added on November 23rd 2022. It might contain more episodes than the ones shown here. It was last updated on May 7th, 2024 04:10.