New Books in Christian Studies

In Predestination in Early Modern Reformed Theology (Reformation Heritage Books, 2024), Dr. Richard A. Muller delves into one of the most controversial doctrines of Reformed Theology: predestination. Muller carefully investigates key incidents that illustrate the doctrine's complexity and development by surveying Reformed thought on predestination in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Along the way, Muller challenges distorted ideas about the placement of predestination in theological systems, naïve readings of Calvin based solely on his Institutes, simplistic representations of supra- and infralapsarian debates, and uncharitable views of Reformed theologians as hyper-dogmatists obsessed with their own tradition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Eufrasia Burlamacchi (Getty Publications, 2025) by Dr. Loretta Vandi is a timely exploration of the skilful illuminated manuscripts of Sister Eufrasia Burlamacchi (1478–1548) demonstrates her artistry within this sometime neglected artistic medium. Within the convent walls of San Domenico in Lucca where she lived and worked, Burlamacchi attained high levels of artistic proficiency through her knowledge of drawing and colour technique, composition, treatment of space and proportions.This book highlights that Sister Eufrasia was aware of the progress illumination underwent in contact with the artists we now include in the High Renaissance. She quickly established a style which she then passed on to younger sisters to establish a convent workshop where mutual exchange was the norm. Here, for the first time, Eufrasia Burlamacchi is recognized and discussed as an influential and gifted artist in her own right.This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s episodes on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

“What is truth?” Pontius Pilate scoffed at Jesus (Jn 18:38), and that’s how we think about matters today in our culture—subjectively: my truth, your truth, etc. To make the argument that there is a knowable Truth (with a capital T) that is written in the world and in our bones, theologians Deborah Savage and Robert Fastiggi examine a selection of autobiographical accounts of ‘lived experience.’ They take a number of personal essays written by those who have erred from the path of Catholic social teaching and sexual morality—in the dark forest of the world, to borrow from Dante—and their subsequent disappointments and suffering. They examine these narratives through the anthropology of John Paul II and the authority of the physical and social sciences, including medical doctors. So, there is Good News for all of us: if we find ourselves lost and unhappy in our errant meanderings, the Church can bring us home. We can always choose, as God reminded Cain gently (Gen 4:7), “sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you may overcome it.” Here is the book on the En Route Books website (which includes video links)here is the book on Amazon.com. Deborah Savage’s website. Robert Fastiggi’s website (as a theology professor at Sacred Heart Major Seminary). The article we refer to by Leah Fessler, “A Lot of Women Don’t Enjoy Hookup Culture—So Why Do We Force Ourselves to Participate?” Quartz Online, May 17, 2016. Humanae Vitae by Pope Paul VI on Wikipedia and on the Vatican website. Robert Fastiggi’s previous appearance on Almost Good Catholics, three years ago (recorded in February of 2022, on the eve of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine):Robert Fastiggi on Almost Good Catholics, episode 7: Mother of All Nations: Immaculate Conception, Virgin Birth, Assumption, and Coronation of Mary An episode of Almost Good Catholics on the same theme:Garrett Johnson on Almost Good Catholics, episode 42: Who Do You Think You Are? Thorny Questions about Sex, Identity, and Catholic Doctrine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Today I’m speaking with Jonathan Rauch, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution and a contributing editor of The Atlantic. We are discussing his latest book, Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy (Yale UP, 2025). The enmity between secular liberals and religious conservatives is a source of chaos in American democracy. Religious conservatives blame secular liberals for creating a decadent society without traditional norms. Secular liberals accuse religious conservatives of intolerance and hatred. Both sides want to do away with the other, when we actually need to try to understand each other. Jonathan’s book offers a powerful critique of our uncompromising ways.Caleb Zakarin is editor at the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Together, the adherents of Christianity and Islam make up over half of the world's population, and their numbers are expected to keep growing. The influence of these two faiths—and their relations with each other—is seen in politics, economics, and social interactions. Religious identity and aspirations remain powerful and appealing to people around the world. Understanding global realities today requires understanding the histories and dynamics of the world’s largest religions.This book provides a comprehensive overview of Christianity and Islam, covering three interrelated areas: historical developments and encounters, the influence of religion on politics, and religious beliefs and worldviews. Wafik W. Wahba highlights key points of similarity and difference and particular factors that contributed to divergence between the Western world and the Muslim world. Exploring the various narratives that have shaped both Christianity and Islam, he argues, is crucial to understanding current trends in Christian-Muslim interactions and their impact on future relations between the two communities globally.Drawing from decades of experience teaching around the world, Wahba clarifies core beliefs that influence the actions of Muslims and Christians and their attitudes toward the other faith. Global Christianity and Islam: Exploring History, Politics, and Beliefs (InterVarsity Press, 2025) demonstrates how learning from the past should help us avoid repeating mistakes in interactions between religious communities.Dave Broucek, retired missionary, mission educator and mission administrator, is a lifelong learner in the field of global mission. He values authors who provide critical reflection on the history, theology and practice of Christian mission and considers it a privilege to host author interviews to disseminate their work to a wider public. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Murder in a cathedral, horrific illnesses and deformities, narrow escapes from injury and death, a vengeful dragon, a wandering eyeball, a bawdy monk and other sinners redeemed—the accounts of miracles performed by the Virgin Mary gathered and translated in The Miracles of Mary in Twelfth-Century France (Cornell UP, 2024) provide vivid glimpses into medieval life and beliefs. Bruce L. Venarde provides fluent translations of the first five collections of Marian miracle narratives from France, written in the second quarter of the twelfth century and never before available in English.The stories recorded in these collections—by Herman of Tournai; Hugh Farsit; Haimo of Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives; John, son of Peter; and Gautier of Compiègne—offer descriptions of travel, living conditions, medical knowledge, conflict between and among lay and religious authorities, and the burgeoning cult of the Virgin Mary, which had only recently become important in Western Europe. Including notes, tables, and maps that orient and illuminate the texts, The Miracles of Mary in Twelfth-Century France makes these riveting tales available to readers seeking a view into the medieval past. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

The First Letter to the Corinthians begins with an admonishment of the church over their internal division and reliance on human wisdom. What exactly occasioned Paul’s advice has perennially troubled New Testament scholars. Many scholars have asserted that Paul disapproved of the Corinthians’ infatuation with rhetoric. Yet careful exegesis of the epistle problematizes this consensus. In Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Corinthians (Eerdmans, 2024), Timothy A. Brookins unsettles common assumptions about the Corinthian conflict in this innovative monograph. His close reading of 1 Corinthians 1–4 presents evidence that the Corinthian problem had roots in Stoicism. The wisdom Paul alludes to is not sophistry, but a Stoic-inspired understanding of natural hierarchy, in which the wise put themselves above believers they considered spiritually underdeveloped. Moreover, Paul’s followers saw themselves as a philosophical school in rivalry with other Christians, engendering divisions in the church. Combining scriptural exegesis and investigation of Greco-Roman philosophical culture, Brookins reconstructs the social sphere of Corinth that Paul addresses in his letter. His masterful analysis provides much needed clarity on the context of a major epistle and on Pauline theology more broadly.Timothy A. Brookins is Professor of Early Christianity at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. His research interests include the Pauline epistles and the Greco-Roman philosophical and rhetorical traditions. He is the author of Reading 1 Corinthians: A Literary and Theological Commentary and Ancient Rhetoric and the Style of Paul's Letters.Jonathon Lookadoo is Associate Professor at the Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary in Seoul, South Korea. While his interests range widely over the world of early Christianity, he is the author of books on the Epistle of Barnabas, Ignatius of Antioch, and the Shepherd of Hermas, including The Christology of Ignatius of Antioch (Cascade, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

What is the connection between the Sonship of Christ and his ascension in the book of Hebrews? You can find out by tuning in as we speak with Timothy Bertolet about his recent book, The Obedience of Sonship.Timothy J. Betolet is Director of Theological Education for ABWE International. He also serves as adjunct professor at Lancaster Bible College. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

For generations, American Catholics went faithfully to confession, admitting their sins to a priest and accepting through him God’s forgiveness. The sacrament served as a distinctive marker of Catholic identity, shaping parishioners’ views of their relationship to God, their neighbors, and the wider world. But starting in the 1970s, many abandoned confession altogether. Focusing on the experiences of both laypeople and priests, in For I Have Sinned: The Rise and Fall of Catholic Confession in America (Harvard University Press, 2025) Dr. James M. O’Toole reconstructs the history of confession’s steady rise—and dramatic fall—among American Catholics.In the early United States, the Catholic Church grew rapidly—and with it, confession’s centrality. Although the sacrament was practiced unevenly for much of the nineteenth century, frequent confession became common by the early twentieth. Both priests and parishioners understood confession as a ritual crucial for the soul, while on a social level, it established Catholic distinctiveness within a largely Protestant country. Today, however, even faithful Catholics seldom confess. The reasons for this change, Dr. O’Toole reveals, include the emergence of psychology and other forms of counseling; the Church’s stance against contraception, which alienated many parishioners; and a growing sense of confession’s inability to confront social problems like structural racism, poverty, and sexism. Meanwhile, increasing recognition of sexual abuse within the Church further undermined trust in clergy as confessors.Sensitively attuned to the historical importance of confession, For I Have Sinned also suggests that, if the sacrament no longer serves the needs of US Catholics, the Church and its members might find new ways to express their ideals in the twenty-first century.This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s episodes on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

In his most recent book, Human Rights in a Divided World: Catholicism as a Living Tradition (Georgetown UP, 2024), Jesuit scholar and Georgetown professor, Fr David Hollenbach explains the Judeo-Christian roots of our concept of human rights and the contributions of secular institutions like the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). He explains further when it is right for a country to intervene in the affairs of its neighbors, codified by the UN in 2005 as the Responsibility to Protect in answer to the 1994 Rwandan Genocide that gave lie to the world’s promise of “never again” after the horrors of the Holocaust. He contrasts the doctrine of R2P with the tragic case of a homicide in Kew Gardens in 1964 where 38 witnesses, all law-abiding “good people,” failed to intervene because they assumed someone else would do it. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Cain asked God (Gen 4:9). “Who is my neighbor?” The lawyer asked Jesus (Lk 10:29), to which Our Lord told the parable of the Good Samaritan. Perhaps these questions are a little more complicated between sovereign nations than they are between travelers on a dangerous road, but Fr. David guides us through the Catholic Church’s moral teachings, the principles of proportionality and of just war, and the ability and desire to do something even when we can’t do everything. Fr David’s book: Human Rights in a Divided World. Fr David’s faculty website at Georgetown. Responsibility to Protect, the R2P doctrine at the UN website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies