The first Christians were weird. Just how weird is often lost on us today. The first Christians believed unusual things, worshiped God in strange ways, and lived a unique lifestyle. Many in the ancient world saw it as bizarre, even dangerous, but some found this new religion attractive and compelling

Today we are interviewing Dr. Nijay K. Gupta. He is the Julius R. Mantey Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary. He is cohost of the Slow Theology podcast, and has written numerous books, including Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church, and recently, Strange Religion How the First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous, and Compelling.

Chapters:
00:53 Meet Nijay Gupta: Author and Scholar
01:31 Origins of 'Strange Religion'
05:19 The Concept of Believers
06:56 Roman Society and the Christian Challenge
16:39 Household of Faith: Early Christian Practices
24:35 The Radical Message of God's Love
31:55 Conclusion and Upcoming Works

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• NEED spiritual direction or coaching that aligns with this podcast? Connect with Cyd Holsclaw here.
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Everyone is talking about slowing down, slow food, a slow life. I have friends who host the “Slow Theology” podcast.

But is going slow the best to understand the SOUL? (What does that even mean?)

Recently, people like Jim Wilder have been specifically accused to talking too much about the brain, and not even about the soul. So much so that some believe Jim doesn't even believe in the soul.

(And Jim is a speaker at the Attaching to God Summit, talking about "Empathy, Enemy Mode, and Engaging Gen Z"...so register for free).

We have a long conversation, attempting to set the record straight about an overly philosophical-cognitivist view of the soul (the slow soul), and how that view needs to catch up to all the really fast things God has enabled us to do—brain, body, and soul.

We also talk about how broad and wide the field of neuroscience is, the streams that we pull from (which aren't nearly as reductionistic as some), and how the Bible uses many terms to discuss the spiritual part of us.

Resources: Check Jim's New Growing a More Human Community (3-book series)

• Growing Me: Becoming a Child
• Growing Us: Becoming an Adult
• Growing We the People

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Building Emotional & Spiritual Health by Attaching to God: Register Free NOW

Stay Connected:

• NEED spiritual direction or coaching that aligns with this podcast? Connect with Cyd Holsclaw here.
• Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources.
• Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

"Freedom appears very nearly the only value about which people still agree unanimously," says Jacques Philippe in his little book, Interior Freedom. But how does freedom connect to happiness, love, and our life with God and others?

These are the questions this little firecracker of a book examines, and that we talk about in this two-part series.

We look at the difference between "freedom from" and "freedom for", the ideas of locus of control, the constraints of everyday life, and what "inner freedom" might mean, and what it doesn't mean.

FREE Attaching to God Summit
Building Emotional & Spiritual Health by Attaching to God: Register Free NOW

Stay Connected:

• NEED spiritual direction or coaching that aligns with this podcast? Connect with Cyd Holsclaw here.
• Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources.
• Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).