Episode: Did Jesus offer a radical reworking of the law? Did he subvert the Jewish law of his day? Was he exposing legalism, nationalism, or ritualism in favor of compassion? Paul Sloan thinks not. But ... you might be thinking, what about all those critiques and arguments between Jesus and religious leaders of his time? Sloan's book Jesus and the Law of Moses offers a rich and thoughtful reflection on Jesus, the law, and Israel's restoration in the context of Second Temple Judaism (including other NT writings).

Author: Paul Sloan is Associate Professor of Early Christianity at Houston Christian University. He received his PhD in New Testament from The University of St Andrews. His research interests include Leviticus, the sacrificial system, sacred space, and the reception of those motifs in 2nd Temple texts. He's the author of Jesus and the Law of Moses: The Gospels and the Restoration of Israel within First-Century Judaism (Baker Academic, 2025).

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Episode: Dru suggests that biblical law is something to think with and not just about. Matt and Dru discuss this idea and its many implications that were articulated in Dru's recent book Understanding Biblical Law: Skills for Thinking With and Through Torah (Baker, 2025). And as a throw-back to an old OnScript interview practice, Dru and Matt cold-call another guest.

Guest: Dr. Dru Johnson is the Templeton senior research fellow at Wycliffe Hall (University of Oxford), adjunct professor of religion at Hope College in Holland, MI (previously a professor at The King’s College in New York City), director of the Abrahamic Theistic Origins Project, director of the Center for Hebraic Thought, editor at The Biblical Mind, host of The Biblical Mind podcast, and co-host of the OnScript Podcast. He’s written a bunch of books, including Human Rites, Knowledge By Ritual, Scripture's Knowing, and What Hath Darwin to do with Scripture?

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Episode: In this episode Chris Tilling interviews Cor Bennema about his new book, Imitation in Early Christianity: Mimesis and Religious-Ethical Formation (Eerdmans, 2023). What does it mean to say that early Christians imitated God, Christ, Paul, and even one another? Cor takes us on a tour through the world of Jewish and Greco-Roman antiquity, then shows how imitation became a central—if often overlooked—thread running through the New Testament and into the Apostolic Fathers. Along the way we talk Synoptics, John, Paul, Hebrews, martyrdom, character formation, and the role of the Spirit. This is a book that manages to be both comprehensive and illuminating, offering a conceptual framework that will change how you think about discipleship, ethics, and participation in the life of God.

Guest: Cor Bennema teaches New Testament and heads the research department at London School of Theology. Prior to this he taught for 11 years in India. His research focuses on the Johannine writings, the canonical Gospels, character in biblical narrative, and early Christian ethics. He has published widely for both the church and the academy.

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