In this conversation, Gillian Chu, an assistant professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, shares her journey from a career in accounting to academia, focusing on Hong Kong Christianity. She discusses her experiences at the Baptist Scholars International Roundtable, the global perspective of Hong Kong Christianity, and her research on migration and family dynamics. GIllian emphasizes the role of technology in community building and the importance of qualitative research in understanding faith identity. She also reflects on her future goals in scholarship and her engagement with students.

What if our well-intentioned efforts to promote mental health inadvertently perpetuate systems that cause mental unwellness? What if the resilience we encourage only equips individuals to endure rather than challenge structures detrimental to their well-being? Why do mental health experiences vary so drastically across cultures, with Western societies seemingly posing the greatest challenges for certain conditions? Against the backdrop of escalating ecological dramas that devastate our world and its climate, do we ever wonder what ecological suffering might imply for our mental health? With this poignant, impassioned book Seeking Sanctuary, Finding Shalom, John Swinton invites us to begin exploring avenues toward addressing these daunting and interrelated issues.

John Swinton is a consulting faculty member at Duke Divinity and professor in practical theology and pastoral care and chair in divinity and religious studies at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. For more than a decade he worked as a registered mental health nurse. He also worked for a number of years as a hospital and community mental health chaplain alongside of people with severe mental health challenges who were moving from the hospital into the community. In 2004, he founded the University of Aberdeen's Centre for Spirituality, Health, and Disability. He has published widely within the area of mental health, dementia, disability theology, spirituality and healthcare, end-of-life care, qualitative research, and pastoral care. Swinton is the author of a number of monographs including a previous book, Finding Jesus in the Storm: The Spiritual Lives of People With Mental Health Challenges (Eerdmans 2020), which won the Aldersgate book price for interdisciplinary theological research, and his book Dementia: Living in the Memories of God, which won the Archbishop of Canterbury's Ramsey Prize for excellence in theological writing. Swinton is a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and was recently elected as a fellow of the British Academy.

In today's episode, Philip Ziegler joins the podcast to talk about his new Baylor Press book God's Adversary and Ours. Ziegler leads us on a cautious but determined biblical-theological exploration of the identity, ontology, and agency of "that old serpent," the Enemy, whose image becomes most discernible and salient in direct contact with the person and work of the Savior. Fixing attention upon the figure of the devil in a soteriological context confronts us with what the devil does; what the devil might be trails behind. Treating diabolical temptation, demonic possession, and devilish falsehood in turn, Ziegler demonstrates what resistance to—and faithful disbelief of—these three aspects of the devil’s business might mean for the shape of a Christian life.Professor Philip G. Ziegler is a theologian specializing in systematic theology, historical theology, and ethics. He holds the personal chair of Professor of Christian Dogmatics at the University of Aberdeen's School of Divinity, History, Philosophy & Art History. Previously, he taught at the Atlantic School of Theology in Canada and held postdoctoral fellowships at Princeton University. Ordained in the United Church of Canada since 1996, he also serves as an associated elder at St Machar Cathedral and Trustee of the Church of Scotland's General Assembly. His research focuses on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Karl Barth, and apocalyptic theology, with recent work exploring Christology, ethical responsibility, and divine freedom.