"Fostering the tradition of wisdom:" A Conversation with Dr. Paul Spilsbury

Welcome to Episode 3 of Season 4! In this episode I speak with Dr. Paul Spilsbury, recently appointed President of Regent College in July 2025. Paul came to Canada from South Africa in 1984 to attend Prairie Bible College in Alberta. As you will hear, he also graduated from Regent College and then completed a PhD at the University of Cambridge (Queens’ College) before returning to Canada to teach. 

Paul’s teaching is centered on the New Testament, with a particular focus on the Apostle Paul and the Book of Revelation, as seen in his book The Throne, the Lamb and the Dragon: A Reader’s Guide to the Book of Revelation (IVP, 2002),  but much of his research is on Second Temple or Hellenistic Judaism, such as  The Image of the Jew in Flavius Josephus’ Paraphrase of the Bible (Mohr Siebeck, 1998),  Flavius Josephus, Judean Antiquities 8–10: Translation and Commentary (Brill, 2005—with C. Begg), and Flavius Josephus, Judean Antiquities 11: Translation and Commentary (Brill, 2017—with C. Seeman).

He is modest about his painting, but he is a juried member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, working primarily in watercolours. Check out some of his paintings at https://www.schindellgallery.ca/artists/paul-spilsbury, or follow him on Instagram. I loved what Paul had to see about the physicality of painting. The life of the mind is a delight, but we are embodied people and we need to pick up a paintbrush, or a shovel, or a hammer, whatever it is, and connect to our bodies.

You must have gotten a sense of Paul Spilsbury’s joy as he takes on a significant role in the life of a significant theological college, a joy that springs from his falling in love with the Bible many years ago. But he also expressed his happiness that Regent is a community in which there is genuine shared governance and his role is as a faithful steward, a shepherd.   He is not on his own in this work. He also spoke of Regent College as a community connected and dedicated to the arts, to literature, to the world around them, but that all emerges from its grounding in Scripture and the biblical world,  as Paul’s own research is too.

This podcast emerges from the Centre for Christian Engagement at St Mark’s College, the Catholic college at UBC, a centre that explores the Christian and Catholic intellectual tradition and seek to learn from others, other Christians, other religious traditions, and those who do not claim any particular or formal religious affiliation. 

What Matters Most is produced by the Centre for Christian Engagement at St Mark’s College, the Catholic college at UBC. The CCE is a centre at St. Mark’s College that explores the Christian and Catholic intellectual tradition and seek to learn from others, other Christians, members of other religious traditions, and from those who do not claim any particular or formal religious affiliation. Our goal, then, is to talk to a lot of people, to learn from them, to listen to them, and to find out what motivates them, what gives them hope, what gives them peace, and what allows them to go out into the world to love their neighbors.

A few thanks are in order. To Martin Strong, to Kevin Eng, and to Fang Fang Chandra, the team who helps me bring this podcast to you, but also makes the CCE run so much more smoothly. 

I also want to thank our donors to the Centre, whose generosity enables this work to take place at all: Peter Bull, Angus Reid, and Andy Szocs. We are thankful to their commitment to the life of the academic world and of the work of the Church in the world by funding the work of the CCE. I am also thankful to the Cullen family, Mark and Barbara, for their support of the ongoing work of the CCE through financial donations that allow us to bring speakers to the local and international arenas.

If you are enjoying the podcast, please let your friends know. It’s the free gift that you can give to all of your friends! And also let people know by rating and reviewing What Matters Most on your favourite podcasting platform. And subscribe to the podcast. If you are listening, please subscribe. It’s free!

Thanks again for listening and remember what matters most.   

John W. Martens

Director, Centre for Christian Engagement