Episode 214: Dr. Jessica Murdoch on Evangelization in the Modern World (September 3, 2021)

This week, panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Christopher Zehnder return to a theme central to the Christian life: evangelization. Our special and welcome guest is Jessica Murdoch, Ph.D. She is an Associate Professor of Systematic/Constructive Theology at Villanova University. Murdoch is a wife and mother who is active in parish ministry. We will ask her the following questions. As always, we invite you to suggest others!1. Prof. Murdoch, could you tell us a bit about yourself and your family?2. What were some of your initial steps in becoming an academic theologian?3. You were a student at Fordham. How would you compare Fordham and Villanova?4. How does philosophy contribute to theology?5. When is theology pastoral?6. What does it mean to do theology on one’s knees?7. How did you come to be active in pastoral outreach?8. What are some of the strengths and weaknesses in American Catholicism today?9. Karl Barth suggested that preachers should have the Bible in one hand and the day’s paper in the other hand. Was he on to something?10. Fast forward to 2031! What do you see yourself doing?