This is On Script, bringing you conversations about current scholarship on scripture.

Warrior host, Matt and Matt. Thanks for listening.

Anyone who is not crazy readily acknowledges that Jesus of Nazareth was a real flesh and blood historical person that lived some 2,000 years ago. The ultimate question, the question that is divided history, is whether or not this Jesus was at the same time God.

Christian theologians have been eager to affirm that yes, Jesus the human was God.

But at the same time, this affirmation forces us to rethink what we mean and what the ancients

meant when we use the terms God and human, as these words are forced to assume new content.

This is Matthew Bates, and I'm your host for OnScript.

Today we are speaking with Crispin Fletcher-Lewis about his excitingly bold new book,

Jesus Monotheism, published by Cascade Books, and simultaneously available for digital

purchase on Wymanity.com.

Welcome to Onscript, Crispin. Hi, Matt. Good to be with you. Dr. Crispin Fletcher-Lewis studied at Keeble College, Oxford, under Biblical Studies luminaries such as E.P. Sanders, N.T. Wright, and Christopher Roland. He has taught in the theology and religious studies departments of King's College, Durham University, and Nottingham University. He was also resident theologian at St. Mary's Bryan's Bryan's Square, a church in central London. Now, Crispin, this doesn't really have any of the book, but I wanted to do just a few more preliminaries with you, is this is something they actually really interested me as I was reading through your bio.

And that's that you were instrumental in founding Westminster Theological Center.

And this is actually where, as you well know, my on-script co-host, Matt Lynch is in fact a dean and teaches Old Testament.

And I wanted to hear a little bit more about that.

What led you to found that or to be involved in the founding of that?

And how does that impact your ongoing work here in terms of theology, history of Christian origins?

Okay, yeah.

Most of my experience growing up and as a young adult in the church scene in the UK has been

in charismatic networks of churches. That word charismatic means something specific in the UK,

perhaps doesn't mean exactly what it might mean in the US, but we were all very influenced by

people like John Wimber and there wasn't really a school,

a seminary or an institution that served that that new constituency of evangelicals who

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