The History of Christianity Podcast: Recent Episodes
The History of Christianity Podcast
Making church history cool again. Or at least trying to. On this podcast Erik, Anna, and Skylar talk with leading historians of the Christian faith about their own journeys into studying the history of Christianity, as well as the relevance of their work for the church and Christian faith today. We also occasionally discuss life as a graduate student, especially thorny or interesting bits of church history, and whatever else comes to mind.
This is the second half of our conversation with Dr. John Maiden of The Open University. We continue discussing the global nature of charismatic Christianity, hear a favorite anecdote from his work Age of the Spirit , and learn about some of his favorite books on this topic.
This is the first half of our conversation with Dr. John Maiden of The Open University. We discuss the story behind his new book, Age of the Spirit (Oxford University Press), the distinction between charismatics and pentecostals, and the advantages of a transnational approach to studying these movements.
Jump in for the second half of our conversation with Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg where we discuss how dance shows us continuity and discontinuity between the medieval and early modern periods, the dancing of Herodias's daughter, the possible sin of birthday parties, and lots of book recommendations.
This is the first half of our conversation with Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg of Anderson University. We learn about her academic journey, advice for doing a PhD, and then jump into our main topic: the fraught relationship between Christianity and dance, and how a niche topic like this actually opens a window into broader questions of lived religion, gender, and the church's relationship to women.
In this second half of our discussion, Dr. Samantha Kelly of Rutgers University describes what contact was like between medieval and early modern Ethiopian and European Christians. She invites us to consider ways that studying non-Western forms of Christianity can expand our understanding of the faith, and gives us insight into a fascinating book project she's working on involving Ethiopian pilgrims in the early modern period.
Join us as we talk to Dr. Samantha Kelly of Rutgers University, a leading scholar in late medieval and early modern Ethiopian Christianity and Ethiopia-Europe contact during this period. In the first half of our discussion, Dr. Kelly tells her fascinating story of pivoting mid-career to study Ethiopia, including why she was drawn to this shift and the various opportunities that made such a shift possible.
In part two of this introductory conversation to Season 2, we talk about how the 'expanded narrative' of Christian history has shaped our own teaching, research, and faith. We then give an overview of the upcoming episodes and guests we'll be interviewing.
In this episode we introduce our second season, themed around "Expanding the Narrative" of the history of Christianity. We discuss the 'traditional' narrative, how we each imbibed it, and how we came to realize that it was too small to fit the reality of church history.
This is part 2 of our conversation with Justo González. We begin by discussing the metaphor of theological education as a series of irrigation holes rather than a pipeline. We then talk about writing scholarship for the church and the changing needs of the laity in theological education. Our conversation concludes with Dr. González explaining some of the ways in which studying church history has changed and deepened his own faith, as well as advice he would give to young scholars of Christian history.
This is the first half of our conversation with Justo González, one of the most prolific church historians and theological scholars of our time. We discuss how Dr. González's interests in church history developed through his interest in theology, his work in promoting Hispanic theological education, the role of church history in global theological education, and how to write and present church history for a popular audience.
Books mentioned on this episode:
Justo González, The Story of Christianity, volume 1 & volume 2
Justo González, A History of Christian Thought
This episode features Part 2 of our conversation with Nick Pruitt. We continue our discussion of his recent book, Open Hearts, Closed Doors: Immigration Reform and the Waning of Mainline Protestantism. We talk about how the mainline Protestant relationship to immigration changes over the 20th century, how early 20th c. mainliners incorporated features both of the social gospel and fundamentalism, and about the history of Christian responses to refugee crises and immigration legislation. Enjoy!
This episode features the first half of our conversation with Nick Pruitt, Assistant Professor at Eastern Nazarene College. We talk about Nick's academic journey through grad school, the travails and serendipity of finding a dissertation topic, and begin a discussion of the mainline Protestant relationship to immigration in the early and mid-twentieth century. Nick's new book is titled Open Hearts, Closed Doors: Immigration Reform and the Waning of Mainline Protestantism.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
David Hollinger, After Cloven Tongues of Fire: Protestant Liberalism in Modern American History
This is the second half of our conversation with Dr. Carlos Cardoza-Orlandi. We discuss the historical relationship of Christianity to primal religions, Christianity and colonialism, and world Christianity studies as a discipline. We also talk a bit about his book, co-authored with Justo Gonzales, To All Nations From All Nations: A History of the Christian Missionary Movement.
Other books mentioned on this episode:
Sebastian Kim & Kirsteen Kim, Christianity as a World Religion
This is the first half of our conversation with Dr. Carlos Cardoza-Orlandi, the Frederick E. Roach Professor of World Christianity at Baylor University. In it, we widen our lens to taken in Christian history as a global discipline. We discuss mission as a lens to rethink the history of Christianity, his studies at Princeton Theological Seminary, what it means to pursue missions in 'Christianized' nations, and the role that personal biography plays in good historical scholarship.
This is the second half of our conversation with Beth Allison Barr. We hear about her new book, The Making of Biblical Womanhood, and about the stories of women that we forget to tell. She also shares about the value for Protestants of reading saints' lives, gives some recommendations on where to begin reading in women's history, and lets us in on the fiction books she's always wanted to write.
Book recommended on this episode:
Larissa Tracy, Women of the Gilte Legend
Lisa Bitel, Women in Early Medieval Europe, 400-1100
Sarah Pomeroy, The Murder of Regilla
Dorothy Sayers, Are Women Human?
This episode is the first half of our conversation with Beth Allison Barr, author, professor and associate dean at Baylor University. We learn a bit about Dr. Barr and how she became interested in the history of Christianity, particularly through studying women in late medieval sermons. She then shares sage advice on getting into graduate school before introducing us to her new book, The Making of Biblical Womanhood.
This is the second half of our conversation with Jennifer Powell McNutt. We learn about the romance of "secularization" (listen to find out!), McNuttshell ministries, church history as family history, bridging the gap between the church and the academy, and some recommended reading on Reformation history.
This is the first half of a conversation with Jennifer Powell McNutt, professor at Wheaton College and specialist on Calvin, the French Reformation, and the history of the Reformed tradition. We learn about Dr. McNutt's early life, how she was drawn to church history, her academic journey, research on Enlightenment-era Geneva, and the relevance of Calvin as a refugee.
What on earth is this podcast about? Well, we tell you. We (Erik, Anna, & Skylar) talk about the history of Christianity, its relevance for the Christian faith today, and give you a preview of some of the scholars and historians we'll be speaking with on future episodes. We also introduce one another and try to accurately describe each others' research without destroying our friendship in the process. Enjoy!