The John A. Widtsoe Foundation Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Robert Millet is joined today by Craig Blomberg, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary. The pair discussed what the book of Acts is about, and spoke about the Day of Pentecost and the story of Ananias as found in Acts 1-2, and 5, which is covered in the New Testament Come, Follow Me curriculum on 7/3-9. 

Speaker Bios: 

Conversation host Robert L. Millet is Professor Emeritus of Ancient Scripture at Brigham University. He received his Bachelors and Masters degrees from BYU in Psychology and his PhD from Florida State University in Religious Studies. During his 31 years at BYU, he served as Chair of the department of Ancient Scripture, Dean of Religious Education, and Richard L. Evans Professor of Religious Understanding, a chair that focuses on interfaith relations. During the last thirty years he has been involved in academic dialogues with Evangelical Christians, the Church of the Nazarene, and Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). He is the author or editor of many books and articles dealing with the doctrine and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its relationship to other faiths.

Guest Dr. Craig Blomberg is Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary in Littleton, Colorado. He holds a B.A. from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, the M.A. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and the Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Craig is the author of twenty books and has co-authored or co-edited ten more, along with more than 150 journal articles or chapters in multi-author works.

The John A. Widtsoe Foundation's events, podcast, and programs are made possible by the generous contributions of people just like you. If you've enjoyed any of our offerings, please consider helping us continue to offer high-quality, free events and resources by making a tax-deductible donation on The John A. Widtsoe Foundation website: https://www.widtsoefoundation.org/support-us

Robert Millet is joined today by Peter Huff, Roman Catholic Professor of Religious Studies and Chief Missions Officer at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois. The pair discussed Latter-day Saint and Catholic perspectives on the Resurrection, in Luke 24 and John 20-21, which is covered in the New Testament Come, Follow Me curriculum on 6/26-July 2. 

Speaker Bios: 

Conversation host Robert L. Millet is Professor Emeritus of Ancient Scripture at Brigham University. He received his Bachelors and Masters degrees from BYU in Psychology and his PhD from Florida State University in Religious Studies. During his 31 years at BYU, he served as Chair of the department of Ancient Scripture, Dean of Religious Education, and Richard L. Evans Professor of Religious Understanding, a chair that focuses on interfaith relations. During the last thirty years he has been involved in academic dialogues with Evangelical Christians, the Church of the Nazarene, and Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). He is the author or editor of many books and articles dealing with the doctrine and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its relationship to other faiths.

Guest Peter Huff is Chief Mission Officer at Benedictine University in the Chicago area. He earned his M.Div. at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. in historical theology from Saint Louis University. He is the author or editor of seven books on Christian thought, religious pluralism in the United States, and dialogue among world religions.

Our events, podcast, and programs are made possible by the generous contributions of people just like you. If you've enjoyed any of our offerings, please consider helping us continue to offer high-quality, free events and resources by making a tax-deductible donation on The John A. Widtsoe Foundation website: https://www.widtsoefoundation.org/support-us

The John A. Widtsoe Foundation is deeply committed to elevating dialogue between members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other religious communities. This year's Church-wide study of the Old Testament presented a unique opportunity for members to better understand and learn from our Jewish neighbors, who have engaged with these scriptures for thousands of years. Each month, a Widtsoe Foundation board member or friend hosted a live online conversation and Q&A with a leader or scholar from the Jewish community about an upcoming topic from the Church's Come, Follow Me curriculum. We hope that this series has served to educate Latter-day Saints about the rich history of Jewish scriptural interpretation and application, while at the same time modeling meaningful interfaith conversations and empowering Latter-day Saints to do the same in their own communities.   In this conversation, we talked about Malachi with our returning special guest, Rabbi Robbie Harris.

The John A. Widtsoe Foundation is deeply committed to elevating dialogue between members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other religious communities. This year's Church-wide study of the Old Testament presents a unique opportunity for members to better understand and learn from our Jewish neighbors, who have engaged with these scriptures for thousands of years. Each month, a Widtsoe Foundation board member will  host a live online conversation and Q&A with a leader or scholar from the Jewish community about an upcoming topic from the Church's Come, Follow Me curriculum. This series will serve to educate Latter-day Saints about the rich history of Jewish scriptural interpretation and application, while at the same time modeling meaningful interfaith conversations and empowering Latter-day Saints to do the same in their own communities. These events will be made available on The Widtsoe Foundation YouTube Channel and podcast soon after the live event.

For this live event, we'll talk about the book of Jonah from a Jewish perspective with our special guest Marvin Sweeney, Professor of Hebrew Bible at Claremont University, and Jared Ludlow, BYU Religious Studies Center Director.

Widtsoe Foundation Chairman Larry Eastland recently sat down with Church Historian Keith Erekson, and discussed several of the most influential events in modern Church history, and why understanding Church history is important.   Keith A. Erekson is an award-winning author, teacher, and public historian who currently serves as the director of historical research and outreach for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He also sits on the editorial board of the Church Historian’s Press.  Learn more about Keith Erekson at https://www.keitherekson.com/about/

The John A. Widtsoe Foundation is deeply committed to elevating dialogue between members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other religious communities. This year's Church-wide study of the Old Testament presents a unique opportunity for members to better understand and learn from our Jewish neighbors, who have engaged with these scriptures for thousands of years. Each month, the Widtsoe Foundation will host a live online conversation and Q&A with a leader or scholar from the Jewish community about an upcoming topic from the Church's Come, Follow Me curriculum. . This series will serve to educate Latter-day Saints about the rich history of Jewish scriptural interpretation and application, while at the same time modeling meaningful interfaith conversations and empowering Latter-day Saints to do the same in their own communities. These events will be made available on The Widtsoe Foundation YouTube Channel and podcast soon after the live event.

For this live event, we'll talk about Isaiah's message of comfort and victory (Isaiah 40-45) from a Jewish perspective with special guest Rabbi Josh Garroway, and Widtsoe Foundation Board Member Laura Redford.

Dr. Rabbi Joshua Garroway is the Sol and Arlene Bronstein Professor of Judaeo-Christian Studies at HUC-JIR in Los Angeles. He holds a Ph.D. from the Religious Studies Department at Yale and an ordination from HUC-JIR in Cincinnati. He is the author of, The Beginning of the Gospel: Paul, Philippi, and the Origins of Christianity.

The John A. Widtsoe Foundation is deeply committed to elevating dialogue between members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other religious communities. This year's Church-wide study of the Old Testament presents a unique opportunity for members to better understand and learn from our Jewish neighbors, who have engaged with these scriptures for thousands of years. Each month, Widtsoe Foundation Director Dr. Jacob Rennaker will host a live online conversation and Q&A with a leader or scholar from the Jewish community about an upcoming topic from the Church's Come, Follow Me curriculum. . This series will serve to educate Latter-day Saints about the rich history of Jewish scriptural interpretation and application, while at the same time modeling meaningful interfaith conversations and empowering Latter-day Saints to do the same in their own communities. These events will be made available on The Widtsoe Foundation YouTube Channel and podcast soon after the live event.    

For this live event, we talked about the book of Job (Job 1-3, 38-40) from a Jewish perspective with Dr. Shon Hopkin, Chair of Religious Studies at BYU, and Dr. Sarah Emanuel, Professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University. 

Dr. Sarah Emanuel is Assistant Professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Sarah holds a PhD with distinction in biblical studies from Drew University’s Graduate Division of Religion, with foci in New Testament, ancient Jewish-Christian encounters, and contemporary critical theory. In addition to writing a number of peer reviewed articles, book chapters, and public-facing works, she has published two books: Trauma Theory, Trauma Story: A Narration of Biblical Studies and the World of Trauma, with Brill's Research Perspectives in Biblical Interpretation short-monograph series; and Humor, Resistance, and Jewish Cultural Persistence in the Book of Revelation: Roasting Rome, with Cambridge University Press. Her third book, Left Behind: The Apostle Paul on Jews, Gentiles, and Who Gets Saved is under contract with Fortress Press, with an expected publication year of 2024.  

Dr. Shon Hopkin is currently the Chair of the Ancient Scripture department at BYU and he has also served as Chair of the Book of Mormon Academy and as Chair of the BYU Religious Outreach Council. He is one of the principal organizers of the ongoing Jewish & Latter-day Saint Academic Interfaith Dialogue project. He has authored, co-authored, and edited numerous books and articles on Isaiah, the Hebrew Bible, Latter-day Saint beliefs, and medieval literature, including Opening Isaiah: A Harmony (with Ann Madsen); Abinadi: He Came Among them in Disguise (edited, Book of Mormon Academy); Mormonism: A Guide for the Perplexed (with Robert Millet, as part of Bloomberg Press’ Guide for the Perplexed series); and the forthcoming Understanding Our Jewish Neighbors (with Rabbi Mark Diamond, as part of The John A. Widtsoe Foundation’s upcoming series). He and his wife have four children and one grandchild.

The John A. Widtsoe Foundation is deeply committed to elevating dialogue between members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other religious communities. This year's Church-wide study of the Old Testament presents a unique opportunity for members to better understand and learn from our Jewish neighbors, who have engaged with these scriptures for thousands of years. Each month, a Widtsoe Foundation friend or board member will host a live online conversation and Q&A with a leader or scholar from the Jewish community about an upcoming topic from the Church's Come, Follow Me curriculum. This series will serve to educate Latter-day Saints about the rich history of Jewish scriptural interpretation and application, while at the same time modeling meaningful interfaith conversations and empowering Latter-day Saints to do the same in their own communities.

For this live event, we talked about the story of Elijah (1 Kings 18-19, 2 Kings 2) from a Jewish perspective with BYU Religious Studies Center Director Jared Ludlow and special guest Dr. Kristine Garroway.

The John A. Widtsoe Foundation is deeply committed to elevating dialogue between members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other religious communities. This year's Church-wide study of the Old Testament presents a unique opportunity for members to better understand and learn from our Jewish neighbors, who have engaged with these scriptures for thousands of years. Each month, a Widtsoe Foundation Board Member will host a live online conversation and Q&A with a leader or scholar from the Jewish community about an upcoming topic from the Church's Come, Follow Me curriculum. This series will serve to educate Latter-day Saints about the rich history of Jewish scriptural interpretation and application, while at the same time modeling meaningful interfaith conversations and empowering Latter-day Saints to do the same in their own communities. These events will be made available on The Widtsoe Foundation YouTube Channel and podcast soon after the live event.

For this live event, Widtsoe Foundation Board Member Laura Redford discussed the story of Ruth from a Jewish perspective with Dr. Ora Horn Prouser.

Ora Horn Prouser is Executive Vice President and Academic Dean at The Academy for Jewish Religion, a pluralistic rabbinical and cantorial school. After studying Bible, ancient Near Eastern Studies, and Education in college and graduate school, including receiving her PhD in Bible, she has been teaching Bible on the graduate school level for twenty five years. Her first book, Esau's Blessing: How the Bible Embraces Those with Special Needs brings together her love of Bible, and her ability to relate the biblical text to contemporary issues in our society. She lives in New York with her husband, and is the mother of three children.

The John A. Widtsoe Foundation is deeply committed to elevating dialogue between members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other religious communities. This year's Church-wide study of the Old Testament presents a unique opportunity for members to better understand and learn from our Jewish neighbors, who have engaged with these scriptures for thousands of years. Each month, Widtsoe Foundation Director Dr. Jacob Rennaker will host a live online conversation and Q&A with a leader or scholar from the Jewish community about an upcoming topic from the Church's Come, Follow Me curriculum. This series will serve to educate Latter-day Saints about the rich history of Jewish scriptural interpretation and application, while at the same time modeling meaningful interfaith conversations and empowering Latter-day Saints to do the same in their own communities.  For this live event, we talked about the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) from a Jewish perspective with special guest Rabbi Ilana Schwarzman.   Rabbi Ilana is a third-generation rabbi and serves Beth Haverim Shir Shalom in Mahwah, New Jersey. Before coming to BHSS, she spent 8 years at Congregation Kol Ami in Salt Lake City, Utah. She studied Hebrew at Ben Gurion University in Beer Sheva, Israel, and was ordained from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio. Rabbi Ilana views the contemporary synagogue as a home for prayer, spirituality, social action, study, leadership, and engagement. Her joy lies in the interplay between intellectual Judaism and personal relationships. She also believes that music is a powerful vehicle through which we can connect to each other and God. She resides in Hillsdale, NJ with her husband Art and their young daughter.