Theology in the Raw

Russ has been very public about addressing the crisis of sexual abuse scandals in the church. In this episode, we talk about what leads to such scandals, why and how they are covered up, how the church needs to move forward in addressing such scandals (and abuse in general), and how we should think about the otherwise good content produced by Christian leaders (books, sermons, music) who later come out as abusers. We also talk about the polarized cultural moment we’re living in and what the future holds.

In this fourth and final episode in our “scandal of Christmas” series, New Testament scholar Dr. Joey Dodson walks us through parallel birth narratives in the Greco-Roman and Jewish environment of the New Testament. Reading the biblical birth narratives in these contexts helps us read the story in HD, or through a 3D lens, so that we can better understand the author’s intention in how he’s telling the story. 

In this third part of our four part series, New Testament scholar Dr. Lynn Cohick walks us through the significance of women in the birth narratives.

We often think of Luke 1-2 and Matthew 1-2 when we think about the Christmas story. But what about Revelation 12? Is this angle a strange, fringe way of looking at the birth of Jesus, or is a primarily lens?

I talk with world renown NT scholar Dr. Craig Keener about Luke 1-2, the politics and sociological scandal of Christ’s birth, his earthly vocation (as a tekton...woodworker? mason? None of the above?), the location of Christ’s birth, Matthew 1-2 (and the differences between Luke and Matthew), the problem of genealogies, and much, much more.

In this podcast conversation, Liz and Aaron share their story and talk about what it’s like being in a queer marriage--a term they prefer over “mixed orientation marriage,” since their orientations aren’t really mixed.

Dr. Tim Gombis is a no-holds-barred honest scholar, who’s not afraid to go to the hard places and challenge the status quo. And that’s exactly what we do in this episode. We discuss the undiscussables; say the quiet things out loud, and push over sacred cows as we seek to get to know Jesus all over again. This episode is a mix of exegetical exploration and cultural analysis (or critique).

Jay and I talk about the source of sexual brokenness--what causes people to watch porn or have an affiar. There are deeper, more complex, issues at work, and until those issues are addressed, we’ll only be putting out the the fires of behavior management. We also talk about the prevalence of sexual abuse--nearly ⅓ of people have been sexually abused and most have not healed from this trauma in healthy ways. This is a huge discipleship issue. And then you have the perpetrators of this sin--perhaps 5-10% of the people we preach to each week are the abusers. Have you ever thought about this? (The ⅓ have...probably every week.)

In the midst of polarized conversations about race, Dr. George Yancey is a breath of fresh air. He’s a huge proponent of active listening--being genuinely curious about another another person’s perspective and getting outside your echo chamber to consider other points of view.

What does it mean to adore Jesus in a world that sees our adoration as scandalous? Taking our cues from a few of the Bible’s most notorious worshippers, we’ll celebrate together the stabilizing power of worship — a power no one can take from us.

Strap on your seatbelts, folks. We’re going for a wild ride through Josh Proctor’s beautifully complex and honest journey.

This podcast is a recording of a talk I gave at this year’s Revoice conference in Plano, TX. In it, I talk about why LGBTQ people are not just needy but needed in the church. Specifically, there are four major things I’ve learned about Jesus and the Christian way of life from my LGBTQ friends: 1) friendship, 2) marriage, 3) faithfulness, and 4) masculinity.

Constantine Campbell's doctorate is in ancient Greek language and linguistics (Macquarie University, 2006). He was a professor of New Testament studies for 14 years, having taught at Moore College in Sydney and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago. Campbell is the author of 15 books, with focus on biblical Greek, New Testament interpretation, and the apostle Paul. His book Paul and Union with Christ was the 2014 Christianity Today Book of the Year in Biblical Studies. His latest releases are The Perfect Storm (with Buist M. Fanning & Stanley E. Porter; Peter Lang, 2021), Reading the New Testament as Christian Scripture (with Jonathan T. Pennington; Baker Academic, 2020), and Paul and the Hope of Glory (Zondervan Academic, 2020). Campbell was co-chair of the Biblical Greek Language and Linguistics section of the Society of Biblical Literature, and is an Associate Editor of the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary series. He is an elected member of the preeminent scholarly guild, Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas. Campbell is also a highly regarded jazz saxophonist and is a visiting instructor at The Australian National University's School of Music. He is the presenter of two documentary series on the apostles Paul and Peter. Campbell lives in Canberra, Australia.Interested in designing the conference T-shirt for the Theology in the Raw “Exiles in Babylon Conference?” Submit your design to chris@theologyintheraw.com The top 3 designs will get free access to the conference (in person or virtual) and the #1 selected design will get free access to the conference and the afterparty and dinner at my house.  Designs must be submitted to Chris by November 26th. Feel free to use various slogans like “Exiles in Babylon,” “Exiled,” “Theology in the Raw,” “Raw Theology,” or other one-liners like “Allegiance to a kingdom not a political party,” “Jesus is political not partisan” or whatever. Or use no wording at all. Theology in the Raw Conference - Exiles in Babylon At the Theology in the Raw conference, we will be challenged to think like exiles about race, sexuality, gender, critical race theory, hell, transgender identities, climate change, creation care, American politics, and what it means to love your democratic or republican neighbor as yourself. Different views will be presented. No question is off limits. No political party will be praised. Everyone will be challenged to think. And Jesus will be upheld as supreme. Support Preston Support Preston by going to patreon.com Venmo: @Preston-Sprinkle-1Connect with Preston Twitter | @PrestonSprinkle Instagram | @preston.sprinkle Youtube | Preston Sprinkle Check out Dr. Sprinkle’s website prestonsprinkle.com Stay Up to Date with the Podcast Twitter | @RawTheology Instagram | @TheologyintheRawIf you enjoy the podcast, be sure to leave a review.

Cameron reached out to me a few weeks ago thanking me for my ministry and he told me a bit of his story. He’s a male to female back to male formerly trans-identified SSA Christian who has been a pastor/chaplain, and he’s married to a female to male back to female formerly trans-identified bisexual Christian. Let’s just say, I was beyond curious to hear more! This podcast episode is me “hearing more!”

Jarvis is a friend and an incredible scholar. He has written and spoken extensively on issues related to race, ethnic reconciliation, and the gospel--which is the focus of our conversation.