Welcome to Think Biblically, Conversations on Faith and Culture, a podcast from Taubal School Theology

Biola University. I'm your host, Sean McDowell, Professor of Christian Apologetics.

And I'm your co-host, Scott Ray, Dean of Faculty and Professor of Christian Ethics.

Today we've got a guest, Dr. Greg Allison, who's a professor at Southern Seminary,

where I did my doctorate, by the way.

And he's written a fascinating new book

that's both timely and timeless called Embodied,

living as whole people in a fractured world.

Dr. Allison really appreciate you joining us.

I want to jump in and ask you, you start the book with a story about Drake.

Can you share that story with us

and how it motivated writing embodied?

Sean and Scott, thank you for having me on this podcast

and I'm glad to share this story of Drake who was a student of mine toward the beginning of my teaching career at Western Seminary.

He came into my office one day complaining of many physical problems, some gastrointestinal problems.

He was lethargic, couldn't concentrate.

He would read books for his classes and wouldn't remember anything, often nauseous, couldn't sleep, things like that.

And he asked me, so, Doc, what are the spiritual problems at the heart of my physical problems?

And so I began to kind of apply him with questions about his physical being, like what is he eating how is he resting and sleeping is he exercising and

basically he had a cavalier attitude just dismissing this line of question questioning because he wanted a spiritual solution to his physical problems and I was thinking his physical problems were due to physical problems and he didn't like that.

So very displeased with my question. and he got up from

very displeased with my questions he got up from his seat and with a huff just

...