This is thinking in public, a program dedicated to intelligent conversation about

front-line theological and cultural issues with the people who are shaping them.

I'm Albert Mowo, your host and president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville,

Kentucky.

Stephen D. Smith is the Warren Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of San Diego.

Since earning his law degree from Yale University,

Professor Smith has taught at numerous institutions, including the law schools of Notre Dame University and the University of Virginia.

Prior that he served as a law clerk for three years on the prestigious United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

He's a sought after legal authority, especially on issues of

religious freedom. His most recent book, Pagans and Christians in the city,

culture wars from the Tyber to the Potomac, makes an important argument about

the clash of worldviews playing out now in the public square.

That book is the topic of our conversation today.

For Stephen Smith, welcome to thinking in public.

Thank you.

It's really a pleasure to be with you. I have looked at your work

over the course of the last several years and I've read your books as they have come out.

It's a remarkable production by any measure and and your books generally published by major university publishers

So I want to turn to the content of the books, but let me just ask you as kind of a background

question.

How do you approach writing your books, such as your newest book, which is going to be the main topic

of our conversation, pagans and Christians? as your

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