Ep114. The Straight Mind in Corinth, Gillian Townsley

Ep114. The Straight Mind in Corinth, Gillian Townsley

I spoke with Gillian Townsley about queer reading across 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. We talk about attending to the ideology of reception and how reading across helps us move beyond the 'tired old debates'. I ask about how the work of Monique Wittig shapes her project (specifically about bringing men/masculinity back into focus). We also discuss her analysis of the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and Christians for Biblical Equality and how supposedly oppositional movements are bound by heteronormativity. We end by discussing the unique form/formatting of chapter 6 which involves two distinct thinkers battling for page space.

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Ep86. Appalling Bodies, Joseph A. Marchal

Ep86. Appalling Bodies, Joseph A. Marchal

"Paul is probably the least interesting thing about Paul’s letters." I sat down with Joseph Marchal to talk the way his book reaches past questions of what Paul 'thought' (or how his texts can be read in 'inclusive' ways) toward far more fascinating queer figures before and after his letters: "androgynes, eunuchs, slaves, and barbarians—each depicted as perversely gendered and strangely embodied figures in their own distinctive, though interrelated ways”. We discuss his intentionally anachronistic style of juxtaposition, and how this leads his work on 1 Corinthians 11 and Paul's concerns about the women prophesying, to considerations of ancient figures of androgyny and contemporary work on female masculinity. And much, much more!

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Ep58. Being Subordinate Men, Brian J Robinson

Ep58. Being Subordinate Men, Brian J Robinson

I sat down with Brian Robinson to talk about being beta for Jesus! (Or, as his book is more scholarly titled: Being Subordinate Men: Paul’s Rhetoric of Gender and Power in 1 Corinthians – out now with Lexington Books). Folks, this book is a game changer! A robust, bold, and ultimately convincing argument that through elevating femininity and misperforming masculinity, Paul consistently undermines first-century Roman norms of masculinity. Instead of toxic masculinity, Paul commands the men in his audience to embody a failed, or subordinate masculinity out of both faithfulness to Christ and in order to overcome factionalism in the community. We talk in-depth about the book and its surprisingly increasing relevance where Presidential hopefuls are challenging their incumbent opponent to push-up contests.

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Ep53. Participating in Christ, Michael Gorman

Ep53. Participating in Christ, Michael Gorman

I interviewed Michael J. Gorman about his book Participating in Christ: Explorations in Paul’s Theology and Spirituality (Baker Academic, 2019). I ask Michael how some common refrains stack up against Paul’s understanding of participation, how the cross not only reveals Christ and God, but also what it means to be human. We talk about co-resurrection and how that shapes how we speak of justification, how Michael’s work on theosis is more narrative than metaphysical, and if there’s a relationship between Paul’s union with Christ language and Matthew 25’s presence of Christ in the least of these. Finally we talk about his deuteron-Pauline letter to the contemporary church in North America.

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Ep35. The Big Story in Romans, Beverly Roberts Gaventa

Ep35. The Big Story in Romans, Beverly Roberts Gaventa

“A prolonged and careful study of Romans means finding that salvation is more complex, more cosmic, more challenging than we have usually imagined.”

I sat down with the esteemed New Testament scholar Beverly Roberts Gaventa to talk about her book "When in Romans: an invitation to linger with the Gospel according to Paul". We talk about why she was drawn (and remains drawn) to Paul, her big picture approach to Romans centring on the themes of salvation, Israel, ethics, and community. We also discuss connections between Paul’s letter and Terrence Malick’s film Tree of Life, taking seriously the "all" in conversations on salvation, writing on Romans in the shadow of Der Romerbrief, and why Phoebe goes to show that Pauline theology is not just a guy thing.

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