Maxwell Institute Podcast

Latter-day Saint scholar Terryl L. Givens is back with us again. Dr. Givens spent the summer here at the Institute as a Neal A. Maxwell fellow. It was a real treat to have Terryl here in the building, and he sat down with MIPodcast host Blair Hodges to talk about the second and final book in his “Foundations of Mormon Thought” series from Oxford University Press. The book is called Feeding the Flock, focusing on Church and Praxis. The first volume covered LDS theology, while this volume zeroes in on LDS church sacraments and structure. About the Guest Terryl L. Givens holds the Jabez A. Bostwick Chair of English at the University of Richmond. He was a 2017 Neal A. Maxwell Fellow at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship where he co-directed the Summer Seminar on Mormon Culture. Terryl is one of the most prolific authors of books on Mormonism, including People of Paradox, By the Hand of Mormon, Wrestling the Angel, and Feeding the Flock: The Foundations of Mormon Thought: Church and Praxis. Together with his wife Fiona he’s also written a number of books for LDS audiences including The God Who Weeps, The Crucible of Doubt, and their latest, The Christ Who Heals. He’s currently working on a biography of Mormon intellectual Eugene England. The post Feeding the Flock, with Terryl L. Givens [MIPodcast #74] appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

If you’re familiar with African American religious history, you know that black women outnumber black men in the church. There are a lot of theories about why, too. Author Zora Neale Hurston, for example, said that black women were “the mules of the world,” and that the church gave them a place to lay their burdens down. But what if there’s something more to it than that? What if women go to church for empowerment? To wield power in sometimes subversive but spiritual ways? Subversive, because in many black denominations only men can be ordained to the clergy, but women have found ways to lead nevertheless. Anthea Butler joins us to talk about her book, Women in the Church of God in Christ: Making A Sanctified World. The Church of God in Christ, or COGIC, is a Pentecostal denomination that began around the turn of the twentieth century. Women have played crucial parts in the development and growth of the church, despite not being ordained. Butler also recently delivered a Maxwell Institute Guest Lecture here at Brigham Young University on Baptist missionaries who came to Utah to save Mormons. You can find that lecture here. About the Guest Anthea Butler is graduate chair and associate professor of Religious Studies and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Butler’s research and writing spans religion and politics, religion and gender, African American religion, sexuality, media, religion, and popular culture. She has appeared on MSNBC, CNN, in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other media outlets. She is the author of Women in the Church of God in Christ: Making A Sanctified World. The post Women and power in the Church of God in Christ, with Anthea Butler [MIPodcast #73] appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

When the Qur’an was revealed to the prophet Muhammad, it arrived in the language of his place and time—Arabic. To this day, for virtually all Muslims whether Arab or not, the Qur’an only truly exists in Arabic. You can read an English translation, there are many to choose from, but the Qur’an is said to defy translation. In this episode, Bruce B. Lawrence of Duke University joins us to talk about his latest book, The Koran in English: A Biography. It’s part of Princeton University Press’s Lives of Great Religious Books series. We’re also joined in this episode by Dr. David D. Peck from BYU-Idaho. Dr. Peck was a Maxwell Institute visiting scholar this summer. Bruce and David tell us all about the history of the English translation of one of the world’s most renowned scriptures, the Koran. Is it possible to render God’s words in human language? For Muslims, is it possible to do that in any other language than Arabic? Special Episodes: “Lives of Great Religious Books” This ongoing series of MIPodcast episodes features interviews with authors of volumes in Princeton University Press’s “Lives of Great Religious Books” series. Leading experts examine the origins of books like the Book of Mormon, the Bhagavad Gita, Augustine’s Confessions, and C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity. They trace shifts in the reception, influence, and interpretation of these landmark texts. About the Guests Bruce B. Lawrence is the Nancy and Jeffrey Marcus Humanities Professor Emeritus of Religion at Duke University. His many books include Who Is Allah?; and Shattering the Myth: Islam Beyond Violence. He is the author of The Koran in English: A Biography, part of Princeton University Press’s Lives of Great Religious Books series. David D. Peck is a professor of history at Brigham Young University-Idaho. He specializes in the history of the Middle East and Islamic Civilization. His current research focuses on comparative theology, particularly shared concepts of pre-mortal existence and ontological progression found in Mormonism and Sufism. Dr. Peck was a visiting scholar at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship during the summer of 2017. The post The Koran in English, with Bruce Lawrence and David Peck [MIPodcast #72] appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

This special episode is a tribute and homage to LORE, by Aaron Mahnke. If you haven’t already, you should check it out. In 1888 a Mormon woman in the Southern States mission of the LDS Church requested a visit from the missionaries. She said she was possessed by the devil and asked the elders to help her by the laying on of hands. They were happy to comply and the evil spirit was summarily dismissed. Then things took a turn for the worse. This, and other stories of Mormon exorcism are featured in this special edition of the Maxwell Institute Podcast. Learn more about the history of Satan as he was understood before, during, and after the life of Jesus, through Catholicism and the Protestant Reformation, to the days of Mormon prophet Joseph Smith and beyond. About the Guest No one has done more research on dispossession in Mormonism than religious studies scholar Stephen C. Taysom, associate professor in the department of philosophy and comparative religion at Cleveland State University. He is author of Shakers, Mormons, and Religious Worlds: Conflicting Visions, Contested Boundaries. He edited Dimensions of Faith: Mormon Studies Reader. His article on Mormonism and exorcism was recently published in the journal Religion and American Culture. It’s called “‘Satan mourns naked upon the earth’: Locating Mormon Possession and Exorcism Rituals in the American Religious Landscape, 1830-1977.” The post Mormon exorcism lore, with Stephen Taysom [MIPodcast #71] appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

Who owns religion? Who gets to say what is right or wrong, fact or fiction about any religious tradition? Religious believers and scholars of religion don’t always see eye to eye on this question. In this episode, Dr. Ravi Gupta joins us to talk about where the academic study of religion meets the practice of religion. Gupta is a practicing Hindu, and a scholar of Hinduism. He was here at BYU’s Maxwell Institute on October 3rd delivering a lecture called “Who Owns Religion: A Hindu Perspective on Being a Disciple Scholarship.” If you’ve ever felt uncomfortable with academic approaches to religion, or if you’ve wondered as a scholar how best to interact with believers of the traditions you study, Dr. Gupta has much to offer you. About the Guest Ravi M. Gupta is the Charles Redd Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Religious Studies Program at Utah State University. He is the author or editor of four books, including an abridged translation of the Bhagavata Purana (with Kenneth Valpey), published in 2016 by Columbia University Press. Ravi completed his doctorate in Hindu Studies at Oxford University. He lectures around the world on topics related to Vaishnava philosophy and Hindu devotional traditions. The post A Hindu perspective on being a disciple-scholar, with Ravi Gupta [MIPodcast #70] appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

An estimated twelve million Africans were forced into slavery from the seventeenth century until Emancipation. Torn from their land, separated from family and kin, their bodies were stolen and their very identities were at risk of annihilation. So Africans became African Americans. Years before Reconstruction, they began reconstructing their own past. Many of them combined patriotism, racial lineage, and Christian scripture to tell their stories, to remember who they were. To save themselves. Laurie Maffly-Kipp joins us in this episode to talk about this history from her acclaimed book, Setting Down the Sacred Past: African American Race Histories. Maffly-Kipp recently visited Brigham Young University to present at our conference, “The Living Reformation.” Her presentation will be available to watch online in the coming weeks. About the Guest Laurie Maffly-Kipp is the Archer Alexander Distinguished Professor at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. She taught religious studies and American studies for twenty-four years at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and is a prior president of the Mormon History Association. She’s written and edited many books about topics including African American religions, Mormonism, and Protestantism. The post Setting down the sacred past of African Americans, with Laurie Maffly-Kipp [MIPodcast #69] appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

Martin Luther believed the Bible proved that the Catholic Church had gone astray. His efforts to bring reform to the church wound up leading to his excommunication and the Reformation was off and running. In the previous two episodes we heard from Craig Harline and Brad Gregory, talking about Martin Luther’s life and the Reformation more broadly. In this episode, Jennifer Powell McNutt talks about the Bible during the Reformation. If Protestants believed the Bible was the supreme source of doctrinal truth, they, like Catholics, were still left with the problem of how to interpret it. The “people’s book” was revered by different people with different ways of interpreting. McNutt has written about how Christians grappled with the Bible’s words about Christian sacraments like baptism, marriage, and ordination. She lays out some of that back-and-forth history here, and also talks about her experiences teaching Christian students at Wheaton College. About the Guest Jennifer Powell McNuttis associate professor of theology and history of Christianity at Wheaton College. She is the author of Calvin Meets Voltaire: The Clergy of Geneva in the Age of Enlightenment, and the co-editor of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of the Bible and the Reformation. Her most recent book is called The Peoples Book: The Reformation and the Bible. The post Reforming the sacraments, with Jennifer Powell McNutt [MIPodcast #68] appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

When Martin Luther published his 95 Theses in October of 1517 he had no intention of starting a revolution. But he became a rebel and the Reformation took off. And then the Reformation rebelled against Luther, and we’re still dealing with consequences that would have horrified the reformer five hundred years later. That’s how historian Brad S. Gregory tells the story in his new book, Rebel in the Ranks: Martin Luther, the Reformation, and the Conflicts that Continue to Shape Our World. His historical narrative shows how many of today’s most contentious issues are legacies of the Reformation. How did church separate from state? What should Christianity’s relationship be to political and social structures? What would the reformers think about the aftershocks of their courageous efforts to create a godly world? About the Guest Brad S. Gregory is a professor of European history at the University of Notre Dame and an award-winning author of books like Salvation at Stake and The Unintended Reformation: How a Religious Revolution Secularized Society. His latest book is called Rebel in the Ranks: Martin Luther, the Reformation, and the Conflicts that Continue to Shape Our World. He’ll be in Provo on September 15th at the Maxwell Institute’s “Living Reformation” conference, celebrating five hundred years of Martin Luther. Go to mi.byu.edu/Luther500 for details. The post How the Reformation rebelled against Luther, with Brad S. Gregory [MIPodcast #67] appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

What was Martin Luther trying to accomplish when he nailed his ninety-five theses to the Wittenburg church door? Would you believe he didn’t intend to start a new religious movement at all? Down the centuries Martin Luther has been lauded by some, lambasted by others. Was he an amazing hero or an arch heretic, or perhaps something different altogether? Craig Harline’s latest book peels back the layers of this history, taking us directly into the friar’s musty study to learn the truth about a contested historical figure. The book is called A World Ablaze: The Rise of Martin Luther and the Birth of the Reformation. About the Guest Craig Harline is a professor of history at Brigham Young University and an award-winning author of books including Sunday: A History of the First Day from Babylonia to the Super Bowl and Way Below the Angels, a memoir of his service as a Mormon missionary in Belgium. He specializes in Reformation-era Christianity. His latest book is called A World Ablaze: The Rise of Martin Luther and the Birth of the Reformation.The post Martin Luther and the birth of the Reformation, with Craig Harline [MIPodcast #66] appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

When you think about your religious beliefs, your theology, how much consideration have you given to your race? How has the color of your skin affected your understanding of God, of Jesus Christ, or of your religious community? Maybe you’ve never thought much about it. If you’re a black Latter-day Saint in America, you virtually can’t escape these kinds of questions. Many black American Latter-day Saints know that questions about the color of their skin and their faith are deeply intertwined. Add the component of gender and the questions multiply. Janan Graham-Russell visited the Maxwell Institute this summer to talk about womanist theology—thinking about God from the perspective of black women. In this episode, she discusses race, identity, and theology. About the Guest Janan Graham-Russell is a writer and graduate of the Howard University School of Divinity. Her research focuses on womanist theology in Mormonism, and identity formation in racial communities. Her work has been featured in two books: Mormon Feminism: Essential Writings, and A Book of Mormons, as well as The Atlantic. She will continue her research this fall within the PhD program in The Study of Religion department at Harvard University. This week Janan joined us here at the Maxwell Institute for a discussion on race, identity, and theology.The post Womanist theology and Mormonism, with Janan Graham-Russell [MIPodcast #65] appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.