Podcast: First Reading

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15, with Carol Newsom

Hope in the Face of Certain Disaster

Lectionary Date: September 29, 2019 [16th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]

This week, Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Carol Newsom. One of the giants of modern biblical scholarship, Carol recently retired from her post as the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Old Testament at Candler and a senior fellow at Emory’s Center for the Study of Law and Religion. Carol came to Candler in 1980, only the second woman to hold a tenure-track position. In 2005, she became a C.H. Candler Professor, a university-based endowed chair. Her research focuses on the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Wisdom tradition, the book of Daniel, and apocalyptic literature. She has written and edited 13 books and scores of articles, book chapters, translations, encyclopedia articles and reviews. She co-edited the acclaimed Women’s Bible Commentary, which explores the implications of and challenges long-held assumptions about the Bible’s portrayal of women and other marginalized groups. We also recommend her superb commentary on the book of Job, in the New Interpreter’s Bible.

Jeremiah 1:4–10, with Brent Strawn

A Prophet’s Call

Lectionary Date: August 25, 2019 [11th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]

This week, Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Brent Strawn. Brent joined the Duke Divinity School faculty as Professor of Old Testament in 2019 after teaching for eighteen years at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, where he was the William Ragsdale Cannon Distinguished Professor of Old Testament. Brent is a prolific author, but we would highly recommend to our audience one of his most recent books, The Old Testament Is Dying: A Diagnosis and Recommended Treatment (Baker Academic, 2017). Brent is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and regularly speaks and preaches at churches across the country. He has appeared on CNN on matters ranging from Easter celebrations to Pope Francis to gun violence, and served as both translator and member of the editorial board for The Common English Bible.