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.
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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?
Dr. James McGrath is the Clarence L. Goodwin chair in New Testament language and literature at Butler University. He earned his degree in religious studies from the university of Cambridge in 1993 before earning a Phd in philosophy from the university of Durham. Dr. McGrath has written many books surrounding the life of Jesus and New Testament history, and has also written about the show "Dr. Who," Theology and science fiction, and created "Canon: The card game."Today, we talk about his recent book John of History, Baptist of Faith: The Quest for the Historical Baptizer. It’s a historical investigation into the life and words of John the Baptist.
Dr. Frank Thielman is the presbyterian chair of divinity at Beeson Divinity School. He’s also an ordained PCA minister.
Dr. Thielman is the author of many books and commentaries. His academic work is broad but focuses most on the New Testament and the apostle Paul.
In March of this year he published a new book, “Paul Apostle of Grace.” In it, he follows Paul’s entire life in a detailed historical study, constructing a vivid picture of culture in the early church period and of Paul’s life and ministry.
Throughout the book, he answers questions like, What drove Paul to endure treacherous missionary journeys? What kept him on task even when he wound up in prison? And what prompted him to write the letters many Christians still rely on today? What was the thorn in Paul's side or flesh?
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Dr. Adam Mabry is the senior pastor of Aletheia Church in Cambridge, MA.
Adam earned a masters from Reformed Theological Seminary, a DMin from Gordon-Connell theological seminary and a PhD from the University of Aberdeen. He now serves on the faculty of Every Nation Seminary.
Adam has written several books, including "When God Seems Gone: Finding Hope when Nothing Makes Sense."
Rev. Willie Dwayne Francois III is associate professor of theology, director of the master of professional studies program, and co-faculty director of the doctor of ministry program at Union Theological seminary.
He’s also the senior pastor of fountain Baptist church in summit, New Jersey, and president of the black church center for justice and equality- a national think tank and policy advocacy organization.
He has degrees from Morehouse College and Harvard Divinity school, and a Doctor of Ministry from Emory University.
He’s written several books including “Silencing White Noise: Six Practices to Overcome our inaction on race,” published in 2022.
This week, Will talks with Drs. Christy Cobb and Katherine Shaner about what the New testament has to say about slavery and what it looked like in the surrounding world. They also talk about how to read those difficult passages in the New Testament which don’t condemn slavery in the way we might like.
Dr. Christy Cobb is Associate professor of Christianity at University of Denver. She has a masters from wake forest, an mdiv from campbell university divinity school, and a phd from drew university, and her scholarship focuses on slavery, gender, and sexuality in antiquity.
Dr. Katherine Shaner is Associate professor of new testament at wake forest university. She earned an MDiv and ThD from Harvard Divinity school and teaches courses across new testament and early Christian history. She’s also an ordained pastor in the evangelical Lutheran church in America.
If you’re new to the podcast, please leave a rating on spotify or apple podcasts and follow us on social media. This is theologyU, episode 20.
Dr. Dale Allison is a Christian historian whose areas of expertise include the historical Jesus, the Gospel of Matthew, Second Temple Jewish literature, and the history of the interpretation and reception of the Bible. Allison is the Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary (2013- ) and earned his PhD from Duke.
This recording is among the first discussion of his recent book Interpreting Jesus, published April 10, 2025 by Eerdmans. It's a collection of essays about Jesus with topics ranging from eschatology, connections to Moses, miracles, and more.
The focus of this episode is chapter 3, "Everywhere a Miracle," where Dr. Allison argues for a more nuanced and honest discussion of miracles in the academic world.
We discuss miracles from various religious traditions, Our lady of Zeitoun, and many of Jesus' miracles, like his telepathy, walking on water, and the resurrection.
Do miracles really happen? Were Jesus' miracles real?
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Dr. Bill Fullilove is an ordained minister at @McLeanPresbyterianChurch and the first professor of Reformed Theological Seminary in Manhattan where he is professor of Old Testament and dean of students.He earned a bachelors from Princeton, an MDiv at RTS Orlando and a PhD in Semitic and Egyptian Languages at the catholic university of America.Our topic for today is one of these articles, titled "Stop letting go and letting God."https://washingtoninst.org/stop-letting-go-and-letting-god/How can we know when to rest in God's promises and when we need to take action? Making decisions and knowing what God wants us to do can be really hard and often unclear- Dr. Fullilove gives some really helpful advice for making, and living with, big decisions in life while trusting God.God's providence? Does God know the future? Is God in control? How do I know God's will for my life? How do I make decisions with God?#theology #presbyterian #reformedtheology #providence #christianity #vocation
Gary Thomas is the author of numerous books that together have sold over two million copies, have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and won numerous awards, with emphasis on marriage, parenting, and spiritual formation. He's an adjunct faculty member at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon and is currently on the teaching team at Cherry Hills Community Church in Highlands Ranch, CO.
He has an MA in systematic theology from Regent College and an honorary doctor of Divinity from Western Seminary.
In this episode, we discuss one of his books: Sacred Pathways: Nine Ways to Connect with God.
Gary walks through 9 different "pathways" for connecting with God. While different people may connect more or less with one of the pathways, Gary encourages everyone to try them all, so as not to miss out on the fullness of a relationship with God.
Dr. David Hegg is the senior pastor at Grace baptist church in Santa Clarita California. He has a M.A. in theology from Western Baptist Seminary, and a D.Min from Westminster Theological Seminary in California.
He's written several books, including "The Obedience Option, Because God Knows What's Good for Us."
Our conversation focuses on the book and why it's important to obey God especially when it's hard or when we're stuck in a cycle of disobedience.
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