Welcome to Episode 20 of Season 3 with Thomas Bolin, who joined me to discuss his important new book An Inspired Word in Season: Reading the Bible Responsibly in a Polarized World, and the always fascinating questions related to how we interpret texts, especially significant texts like those that make up the Bible.

Thomas Bolin is a professor of theology and religious studies. Most recently he was a professor of Theology and Religious Studies at St. Norbert College, a small, Catholic, Liberal Arts college sponsored by the Norbertine Order in the heart of Green Bay, Wisconsin. He teaches courses in the languages, history and culture of the Hebrew Bible and related ancient cultures. He is the author of four books and numerous articles, including Ecclesiastes and The Riddle of Authorship (Routledge, 2017) and Ezra-Nehemiah (Liturgical Press, 2012). Bolin researches the literary and religious histories of ancient Israel and early Judaism, and the history of Christian biblical interpretation. He is a recipient of the Leonard Ledvina Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Donald B. King Distinguished Scholar Award from SNC.

I spoke with him on June 11, 2025, from his home in Wisconsin. I loved my conversation with my friend Tom Bolin. My only regret is not asking even more questions about the history of biblical interpretation and the process of biblical interpretation because I enjoy nerding out in that way and I loved both of those chapters in Tom’s book An Inspired Word in Season: Reading the Bible Responsibly in a Polarized World. But this book is important not just for wrestling with the perennial problems of how we interpret texts and what counts as a valid or good interpretation, but for its relevance for our polarized world right now. Whether you think the Bible ought to influence the political world as it does today, the reality is that it does influence us in profound ways, and from my perspective in some highly negative ways. Reading the Bible well is important for a healthy society. Reading the Bible poorly has helped to create justification for some evil practices not just in the past but today.

Join us as we discuss reading the Bible in a polarized time.

What Matters Most is produced by the Centre for Christian Engagement at St Mark’s College, the Catholic college at UBC. The CCE is a centre at St. Mark’s College that explores the Christian and Catholic intellectual tradition and seek to learn from others, other Christians, members of other religious traditions, and from those who do not claim any particular or formal religious affiliation. Our goal, then, is to talk to a lot of people, to learn from them, to listen to them, and to find out what motivates them, what gives them hope, what gives them peace, and what allows them to go out into the world to love their neighbors.

A few thanks are in order. To Martin Strong, to Kevin Eng, and to Fang Fang Chandra, the team who helps me bring this podcast to you, but also makes the CCE run so much more smoothly.

I also want to thank our donors to the Centre, whose generosity enables this work to take place at all: Peter Bull, Angus Reid, and Andy Szocs. We are thankful to their commitment to the life of the academic world and of the work of the Church in the world by funding the work of the CCE. I am also thankful to the Cullen family, Mark and Barbara, for their support of the ongoing work of the CCE through financial donations that allow us to bring speakers to the local and international arenas.

If you are enjoying the podcast, please let your friends know. It’s the free gift that you can give to all of your friends! And also let people know by rating and reviewing What Matters Most on your favourite podcasting platform. And subscribe to the podcast. If you are listening, please subscribe. It’s free!

Thanks again for listening and remember what matters most.

John W. Martens

Director, Centre for Christian Engagement

Welcome to Episode 19 of Season 3 with Michael W. Higgins, who joined me to discuss Pope Francis and our new Pope Leo XIV. We discussed his newest book, a portrait of Pope Francis, titled the Jesuit Disruptor.

Michael W. Higgins is a distinguished educator, media commentator, and author, and he shows no sign of slowing down! In 1999 Dr. Higgins was appointed President and Vice-Chancellor of St. Jerome's University. He served as President until 2006 when he became President and Vice-Chancellor of St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick. While at St. Thomas he also taught English and Religious Studies. He was also President at St. Mark’s College in Vancouver and hired me for my present position, for which I am grateful!

In addition to his academic career, Michael W. Higgins is the author or editor of over a dozen books and has been a regular columnist for the Toronto Star, the Kitchener-Waterloo Record, the Catholic Register and the Canadian Correspondent for The Tablet (London).

I spoke with him on May 9, 2025, from his home in Guelph, Ontario. I wanted to speak to Michael because of his great knowledge of the papacy and of ecclesial politics and I wanted to get some initial thoughts on what it means to have another Pope from the Americas, the US and Peruvian Pope Leo.

Join us as we discuss Pope Francis, Pope Leo, and the nature of the modern papacy.

What Matters Most is produced by the Centre for Christian Engagement at St Mark’s College, the Catholic college at UBC. The CCE is a centre at St. Mark’s College that explores the Christian and Catholic intellectual tradition and seek to learn from others, other Christians, members of other religious traditions, and from those who do not claim any particular or formal religious affiliation. Our goal, then, is to talk to a lot of people, to learn from them, to listen to them, and to find out what motivates them, what gives them hope, what gives them peace, and what allows them to go out into the world to love their neighbors.

A few thanks are in order. To Martin Strong, to Kevin Eng, and to Fang Fang Chandra, the team who helps me bring this podcast to you, but also makes the CCE run so much more smoothly.

I also want to thank our donors to the Centre, whose generosity enables this work to take place at all: Peter Bull, Angus Reid, and Andy Szocs. We are thankful to their commitment to the life of the academic world and of the work of the Church in the world by funding the work of the CCE. I am also thankful to the Cullen family, Mark and Barbara, for their support of the ongoing work of the CCE through financial donations that allow us to bring speakers to the local and international arenas.

If you are enjoying the podcast, please let your friends know. It’s the free gift that you can give to all of your friends! And also let people know by rating and reviewing What Matters Most on your favourite podcasting platform. And subscribe to the podcast. If you are listening, please subscribe. It’s free!

Thanks again for listening and remember what matters most.

John W. Martens

Director, Centre for Christian Engagement

Welcome to Episode 18 of Season 3 with my colleagues from St. Mark's College: Dr. Fiona Li, inaugural Archbishop Michael Miller Chair in Catholic Studies, Fr. Nick Meisl, Profess at St. Mark's College, and Dr. Nick Olkovich, Marie Anne Blondin Chair in Catholic Theology.

In this episode we talk about a new Pope, Pope Leo XIV, a native of the United States and a naturalized citizen of Peru. It's an exciting time to see a new Pope no matter what, but as the immediate succcessor to Francis and as another Pope from the Americas, this papacy brings a lot of hope and many serious issues to confront within the Church. In the broader world, issues include the degradation of the environment, war in Gaza and Ukraine, rising poverty and wealth concentrated in fewer hands, and the emergence of autocratic nationalism that rejects immigrants.

This is the beginning of the discussion, so join us as we muse, discuss, and speculate!

What Matters Most is produced by the Centre for Christian Engagement at St Mark’s College, the Catholic college at UBC. The CCE is a centre at St. Mark’s College that explores the Christian and Catholic intellectual tradition and seek to learn from others, other Christians, members of other religious traditions, and from those who do not claim any particular or formal religious affiliation. Our goal, then, is to talk to a lot of people, to learn from them, to listen to them, and to find out what motivates them, what gives them hope, what gives them peace, and what allows them to go out into the world to love their neighbors.

A few thanks are in order. To Martin Strong, to Kevin Eng, and to Fang Fang Chandra, the team who helps me bring this podcast to you, but also makes the CCE run so much more smoothly.

I also want to thank our donors to the Centre, whose generosity enables this work to take place at all: Peter Bull, Angus Reid, and Andy Szocs. We are thankful to their commitment to the life of the academic world and of the work of the Church in the world by funding the work of the CCE. I am also thankful to the Cullen family, Mark and Barbara, for their support of the ongoing work of the CCE through financial donations that allow us to bring speakers to the local and international arenas.

If you are enjoying the podcast, please let your friends know. It’s the free gift that you can give to all of your friends! And also let people know by rating and reviewing What Matters Most on your favourite podcasting platform. And subscribe to the podcast. If you are listening, please subscribe. It’s free!

Thanks again for listening and remember what matters most.

John W. Martens

Director, Centre for Christian Engagement

Welcome to epsiode sixteen of season three, an episode recorded on April 21, 2025, the day on which Pope Francis died. I talk about Pope Francis in this episode and the first major interview he gave to Jesuit journals around the world including America Magazine in the USA. I have linked to the interview here: A Big Heart Open to God interview. I responded to that interview with a piece I wrote for America called The Pope's Interview and the Bible.

In this episode I read my analysis of the biblical foundations of that interview as I think the passages he referenced remained a guiding light for his papacy and for his encyclicals.

On the CCE Facebook page, I wrote:

The CCE mourns the passing of Pope Francis (1936-2025). Our Centre was established to further his outreach to and engagement with the world. Our website says this about his work:

“More than fifty years after the close of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Francis is leading a renewal of the Church that is deeply embedded within the Catholic Intellectual tradition, which emphasizes that learning means discovering and growing in the truth. It builds on his formation in the Argentinian “Theology of the People”, which understands “the honest and sincere love of God practiced by people at the local level might inform the theological understanding and religious behaviour of the global church.” Released shortly after his election, Francis’ first Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (2013) represents his blueprint for this renewal. It calls for the creation of a “culture of encounter”, and for the Church to become “a place of mercy freely given, where everyone can feel welcome, loved, forgiven and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel.”

In 2023 we held our first international conference to reflect upon the theology of Pope Francis. In that same year we offered our first Laudato Si' lecture, a lecture which is offered annually in honour of his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si'.

We are thankful for his life dedicated to sharing the Gospel of love with all people. His life challenges us to answer, what matters most to us, the love of power or the power of love? May he rest in peace and may we continue to witness to God’s love, here in Vancouver and throughout the world.

Peace to you all.

There will be further remembrances and reflections on Pope Francis and his papacy to come in the coming week.

John W. Martens,

Director, Centre for Christian Engagement