Episode: Imagine the writers of Scripture around a table discussing, sometimes arguing about, and ultimately seeking deeper wisdom about God, humanity, and the world. In his recent book, Voices of the Sages, Brian Toews helps us grasp the conversation between sages in the "Writings," the third major division of the Hebrew Bible. And then imagine a conversation about that conversation ...

Guest: Dr. Brian Toews is retired Professor of Bible at Cairn University in Philadelphia, where he also served as Provost. He earned his BA in Linguistics from UCLA, ThM and MDiv from the Talbot School of Theology (Biola University), and PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from UCLA. He's the author of Voices of the Sages: Old Testament Wisdom in Dialogue (McGahan, 2025).

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Check out the new song from our producer Jason Stark! -

Episode: Matt L. talks with Carmen about the third in her "Bearing" > "Being" > "Becoming" series with IVP academic. Her subtitle, "Why the Church Still Matters" explains the (ambitious) goal of the book ... to make a case for the ongoing importance of the church in an age of disillusionment. The book offers a rich theology of God's family, and the interview covers everything from flawed characters, purity language, brutality in Judges, the latest Chicken Run movie, Jesus dissing his family (Matt 12:48-50), and more!

Guest: Dr. Carmen Imes is an associate professor of Old Testament at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. She is the author of Bearing God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters (IVP Academic), Being God’s Image: Why Creation Still Matters (IVP Academic), and Becoming God’s Family: Why the Church Still Matters (IVP Academic), as well as several other academic works. Her primary areas of expertise are Exodus and the Psalms. Carmen has a YouTube channel where she releases weekly Torah Tuesday videos and other videos, and she also writes on several popular level sites including Christianity Today, Substack, The Well, and The Politics of Scripture blog.

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Episode: In this third conversation with Marty Folsom, we turn to the Doctrine of Creation in Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics for Everyone, Volume 3. Having explored Barth’s theological method and doctrine of God in the earlier episodes, this instalment brings us to what many readers find the most surprising and pastorally rich section of the Church Dogmatics. Marty introduces us to Barth’s distinctive vision of creation as an act of divine hospitality, the world as God’s house, and creation itself as the space and time in which covenant fellowship with the triune God is enacted. We explore Barth’s claim that creation is the “external basis” of the covenant, and much more besides!

This episode is part three of an ongoing series with Marty Folsom on making Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics accessible to “everyone”, without domesticating its theological depth or imaginative force. See HERE for vol. 1, and HERE for vol. 2.

Guest: Marty Folsom has been Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies for over 30 years in New Zealand and Seattle. He is most famous for his “Face to Face” trilogy on relational theology, which emphasizes “personal relationship”. Apart from authoring numerous articles, he has also been a therapist for 24 years. Today we discuss his new book, Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics for Everyone Vol 3 (Zondervan Academic). This is the third volume of five in total.

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