Biblical World

Jason Borges - Christian Life in the Greco-Roman City

Episode: In this episode, Chris McKinny interviews Jason Borges about his latest book — Christian Life in the Greco-Roman City — a unique guide to the foreign sites, sounds, and structures that defined the Biblical World of the emerging early Church.

Guest: Dr. Jason Borges (Ph.D. Durham University) is the Associate Director of the Asia Minor Research Centre in Antalya, Türkiye. He lived in Avanos, Cappadocia 2017–2021, but now lives in Antalya, Turkey and works at the Asia Minor Research Center, doing research and teaching on Christian History. He has published two books—Travel among Early Christians (Brill, 2025) and Christian Life in the Greco-Roman City (Baker, 2026).

Give: Help support OnScript HERE. Thanks to all of you who have supported us!

Best Archaeological Finds of 2025 (Part 2)

Episode: We're back with the second (of 2) episodes on the best archaeological finds of 2025. They're so significant, we're still talking about them in April 2026. In this episode, hear about Lamassu, Apkallu, and cuneiform, oh my!

Legends of the Lost Ark: To learn more about Chris’ new movie and to find how to buy tickets … https://www.legendsofthelostark.com/

Hosts: Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer

Give: Visit our Donate Page if you want to help Biblical World and OnScript continue by becoming a regular donor.

 

Best Archaeological Finds of 2025 (Part 1)

Episode: Back by popular demand is our Best Archaeological Finds series, and this one for 2025 (we’re well into 2026, we know, but if you listen, it'll all make sense!). Enjoy this first of our series on these 2025 finds, where we discuss some really cool discoveries!

Legends of the Lost Ark: To learn more about Chris' new movie and to find how to buy tickets ... https://www.legendsofthelostark.com/

Hosts: Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer

Give: Visit our Donate Page if you want to help Biblical World and OnScript continue by becoming a regular donor.

Image Attribution: Santorini Island, Greece By NASA - http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02673Transferred from English Wikipedia ;, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=188759

Amy and Chris - The Great Flood Tablet (Epic of Gilgamesh)

Episode: It's go time for Amy's favorite tablet, tablet 11 of the Epic of Gilgamesh!! It's flood time, or at least, it's time to learn about the great flood, caused by Enlil. This episode will cover the events related to the great flood, as reported by Utnapishtim. Gilgamesh seeks immortality, but ultimately, learns about his human limitations and the need for a good nap. 

Hosts: Chris McKinny and Amy Balogh

Resources: We've been reading from the Penguin Classic edition of the Epic of Gilgamesh. 

Image Attribution: 7th century version of the 11th Tablet. Wikimedia Commons, accessed 1/21/2026 - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tablet_XI_or_the_Flood_Tablet_of_the_Epic_of_Gilgamesh,_currently_housed_in_the_British_Museum_in_London.jpg

Stephen Carlson - Mary, Joseph, and the so-called "Inn"

Episode: Jason Staples and Stephen Carlson try to ruin your Nativity! Jason discusses Stephen's essay "The Accommodations of Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem: Κατάλυμα in Luke 2:7." They also discuss when and how Mary and Joseph get married, the census in Luke 2:2, and ... (wait for it) ... the Spanish Inquisition. 

Guest: Dr. Stephen Carlson is Associate Professor in the Biblical and Early Christian Studies program at the Australian Catholic University. He's the author of three books, The Gospel Hoax: Morton Smith's Invention of Secret Mark (Baylor, 2007), which debunked the "Secret Gospel of Mark"; The Text of Galatians and its History (Mohr Siebeck, 2014), which applied state-of-the-art computer phylogenetic software he wrote himself to produce a family tree of ninety-two manuscripts and witnesses of Galatians; and Papias of Hierapolis' Exposition of Dominical Oracles (Oxford, 2021), the most complete edition of the fragments of Papias of Hierapolis, a second-century Christian commentator. He is also the author of numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, including his article on the so-called "inn" in Luke's infancy account (under discussion in this episode) and essays on the donkeys in Matthew's triumphal entry:

Stephen C. Carlson, “‘The Jenny and the Colt’ in Matthew’s Messianic Entry, Part 1: Matthew 21:5 as a Reading of Zechariah 9:9 in Light of Mark 11:1-10,” in the Catholic Biblical Quarterly, volume 81, number 1 (January 2019), pages 62-84 (link).

Stephen C. Carlson, “‘The Jenny and the Colt’ in Matthew’s Messianic Entry, Part 2: Matthew 21:7 as a Reading of Mark 11:7 in Light of Zechariah 9:9,” in the Catholic Biblical Quarterly, volume 81, number 2 (April 2019), pages 235-251 (link).

HERE is a link to the article "Luke 2:2 and the Census."

 

David DeSilva - Archaeology, Jesus, and Paul

Episode: In this episode, Kyle sits down for a chat with David deSilva about his two new volumes, Archaeology and the Ministry of Paul: A Visual Guide and Archaeology and the World of Jesus: A Visual Guide (Baker Academic, 2025). The two chat about the importance of material culture for understanding the New Testament, discerning between good church traditions and "other" church traditions, and whether or not it is important to get one's historical details right as a part of one's theology. Kyle also recounts his unique baptism experience, and David gushes about the Via Dolorosa. 

Guest: David DeSilva is is Trustees’ Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek at Ashland Theological Seminary, and an ordained elder in the Global Methodist Church. He is the author of over 35 books, including Day of Atonement: A Novel of the Maccabean Revolt (Kregel, 2015), The Jewish Teachers of Jesus, James, and Jude: What Earliest Christianity Learned from the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha (Oxford, 2012), An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation (InterVarsity, 2004), Introducing the Apocrypha (Baker Academic, 2002), Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture (InterVarsity, 2000), A Week in the Life of Ephesus (IVP Academic, 2020), and the two books in this interview here, Archaeology and the Ministry of Paul: A Visual Guide and Archaeology and the World of Jesus: A Visual Guide (Baker Academic, 2025). He was involved in several major Bible translation projects, serving as the Apocrypha Editor for the Common English Bible and working on the revision of the Apocrypha for the English Standard Version. (Adapted from the ATS website).

 

Give: Visit our Donate Page if you want to help Biblical World and OnScript continue by becoming a regular donor.

 

Mary Buck - The Achaemenid Period

Episode: Mary Buck continues her study of the Second Temple period by focusing on the Persian Period, and especially, the Achaemenid Empire. Learn about this incredibly powerful yet lesser-known period of history, and figures like Cyrus, Darius, and others who shaped biblical history.

Host: Learn about Mary Buck HERE.

Image Attribution: Map, By Cattette - CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=113179532; Cyrus the Great's Tomb - By Bernd81 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63225153

Previous Episodes. This is our third installment in our Second Temple series hosted by Mary Buck. Listen to previous episodes on the Assyrian Period and the Babylonian Period.

Give: Visit our Donate Page if you want to help Biblical World and OnScript continue by becoming a regular donor.

 

Amy and Chris - Epic of Gilgamesh (Part 11)

Episode: We’re back with Tablet X of the Epic of Gilgamesh! Enjoy this next installment with Amy and Chris as Gilgamesh goes in search of Utnapishtim! Click to listen back to PART 1,  PART 2, PART 3, PART 4, PART 5, PART 6, PART 7, PART 8, PART 9, and PART 10.

Hosts: Chris McKinny and Amy Balogh

Image Attribution: Item CBS7771 at Penn Museum - https://www.penn.museum/collections/object_images.php?irn=245958#image1

Chris and Kyle – Biblical Archaeology Rising (Part 2)

Episode: In part II of our intro to Biblical Archaeology, Kyle and Chris explore the contributions of W. F. Albright (who knew over 20 languages) and G. E. Wright, Kathleen Kenyon and others, and the emergence of New Archaeology, regional approaches, and other new methods. They also consider questions of faith and history, theology and archaeology, and text and the past. They discuss how archaeology is ill-suited to "slay the dragon of theological liberalism," but also how it contributes to faith. How can we grapple well with the intersection of these fields that often seem so far apart?

Hosts: Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer

Give: Visit our Donate Page if you want to help Biblical World and OnScript continue by becoming a regular donor.

Image Attribution: Beit Shemesh, By David Bena - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=126071700

Chris and Kyle - Biblical Archaeology Rising (Part 1)

Episode: In this two-part series, Kyle and Chris delve deeply into the history of "biblical" archaeology. What is this field? How did we get to where we are today? Who are some of the characters that shaped the field along the way? If you've ever pondered these (or related) questions, then this mini-series is for you.

Hosts: Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer

Give: Visit our Donate Page if you want to help Biblical World and OnScript continue by becoming a regular donor.

Image Attribution: By NASA, earthobservatory, http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/ - http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/Images/modis_near_east_lrg.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=176941