Theology in the Raw

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Dr. Ellie Paley received her Ph.D. from Cambridge University, where she studied the book of Job, and she’s currently pursuing a post-doc at Bar-Illan University in Israel. Ellie literally memorized the entire book—in Hebrew…in 6 months! Job is her gig and she knows more about the book than anyone I know. In this episode, Ellie gives a master class on the book of Job, discussing its date, the setting, the meaning of “The Adversary” (hasatan, or Satan?), the purpose of the prologue (Job 1-2), the content of purpose of the dialogue cycle of Job’s 3 friends, the purpose of the transitionary wisdom poem of Job 28, the role and function of Elihu’s speech and why she thinks he’s a rather presumptuous young buck who thinks he knows better than he really does, God’s response to Job, and how the book resolves in the latter chapters. We end by reflecting on Job’s contribution to the question of theodicy and the problem of evil. To follow Ellie’s work, check out her Substack “Compulsively Contemplative” here.

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Dr. Ellie Paley received her Ph.D. from Cambridge University, where she studied the book of Job, and she’s currently pursuing a post-doc at Bar-Illan University in Israel. Ellie literally memorized the entire book—in Hebrew…in 6 months! Job is her gig and she knows more about the book than anyone I know. In this episode, Ellie gives a master class on the book of Job, discussing its date, the setting, the meaning of “The Adversary” (hasatan, or Satan?), the purpose of the prologue (Job 1-2), the content of purpose of the dialogue cycle of Job’s 3 friends, the purpose of the transitionary wisdom poem of Job 28, the role and function of Elihu’s speech and why she thinks he’s a rather presumptuous young buck who thinks he knows better than he really does, God’s response to Job, and how the book resolves in the latter chapters. We end by reflecting on Job’s contribution to the question of theodicy and the problem of evil. To follow Ellie’s work, check out her Substack “Compulsively Contemplative.”
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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In today’s episode, I’m working through some of the top upvoted questions from my conversation with Sandy Richter at Exiles 26 about women in leadership and my new book, From Genesis to Junia. If you haven’t listened to that conversation yet, I’d encourage you to go back and start there, since this episode really picks up where that one left off.
Thanks so much for all the thoughtful questions—and sorry it took me a month to get to them. I’m grateful for how engaged you all were in this conversation, and I hope this follow-up is helpful.
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Here's the questions answered in the full episode:
0:46 You mentioned you have a complicated relationship with church. However, as a trained Bible scholar, what do you view your responsibility is to the local church?
8:52 Is regular sexual intimacy necessary for marriage? I am thinking about a mixed orientation marriage or a marriage where one or both partners are asexual.
14:04 Thoughts on lay people going to seminary? If we can’t find good theological training/space to discuss from local church, where to get it in person(not online)?
19:03 What Bible verses would you reference when a Christian college student asks why it's sinful to have sex before marriage?
28:24 Most churches lack women leaders and training for women— how do we collectively get more female pov heard and taught at church?
34:22 What do you think of IVF and egg freezing?
35:40 What do you think makes a healthy church? ( from your experience being exposed to so many different churches)
45:37 Fiscal conservatism is a hallmark of the political Right. Is a conservative financial approach consistent with the bible as it describes how we relate to money?
54:20 What are your thoughts on usage of social media as Christian— with the rise of Christian contents/pastors on social media using as platform?
58:55 What has your experience been like or thoughts on building community or friendships— in church or outside of church/faith community that felt flourishing?
1:01:25 Whose job is it to gatekeep a closed communion? Should clergy stop people from taking communion, or is it up to the individual?
01:05:30 Thoughts, insight or advice? I sometimes feel more drawn to read about the Bible than read the Bible or more drawn to those drawn to Jesus than Jesus himself.
01:09:19 Matthew Vines referenced your discussion on the Hebrew word "kenegdo" in a conversational debate with David Bennet: how would you respond to his pushback?
01:13:58 Hypothetically, with humility about our own blind spots, what warning can we give about what Jesus might say on Judgment Day to supporters of the Gaza genocide?
01:17:46 Is there anything uniquely troubling to you about Trump, or do you see him as just another flawed leader of a flawed Babylon?

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Watch the full Exiles Conference On Demand and get access to the entire conference—including all breakout sessions—for just $49.
At Exiles 26, my friend Dr. Sandy Richter joined me for a panel discussion and Q&A about my new book, From Genesis to Junia: An Honest Search for What the Bible Actually Says about Women in Leadership. Once we got going, we ended up talking longer than expected and only had about three minutes left for audience questions.
So to make up for it, we’re releasing the full conversation here, along with a follow-up episode where I respond to the top upvoted questions from the event. That follow-up episode drops on Thursday. In the meantime, enjoy this conversation.
You can find more from Dr. Richter at sandyrichter.org.
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