Close Encounters of the Catholic Kind

Dan Beecher (0:00)

You know, Dan, I don't know about you, but I have always had real trouble looking at my finances.

Dan McClellan (0:06)

Oh, don't get me started.

Dan Beecher (0:08)

It's just something I don't like to do. It's stressful, it scares me, I don't know. I feel like a lot of us have a sort of irrational relationship with finances, especially if you've been through some rough times. But if you have some money and you're now trying, you know, you're being responsible, you got your 401k in line, you got some investments, those of us who are still in bad habit land could use a little bit of help and that's where Monarch comes in. You can feel organized and confident in your finances with Monarch. It's an all-in-one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean interface on your laptop or your phone. And right now, just for our listeners, Monarch is offering 50% off your first year with code DOGMA at monarch.com.

Dan McClellan (1:00)

Now, Monarch is built for people like me who are busy. We have full-time jobs. We are bringing in money, and sometimes we get complacent. We don't pay attention to every dollar. Monarch does the heavy lifting that can link all of your accounts in minutes. You get clear data visuals. It categorizes your spending. You get real control of your money. You get a visualization of where it's all going. And if you're not on top of your money, you could be missing opportunities to save more, to invest smarter, to hit your financial goals faster, like buying a home, saving for retirement, getting those new golf clubs. For me, in my marriage, money has long been a source of stress. This can break couples, and having better control over our finances has certainly helped to reduce the stress in our household. It gives your partner full access to your shared dashboard, your linked accounts, budgets, goals, and spending activity. It reduces, fights about money, and there's no more guessing, no more hiding, no more, I didn't realize we spent that much. You can even give access to your financial advisor at no extra cost.

Dan Beecher (2:13)

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SPEAKER_3 (2:29)

Hola, mi gente. Turn up the Latin flavor with Café Bustelo Coffee. Choose light, medium, dark, and dulce de leche roasts. Whatever your vibe, we got you covered. Café Bustelo está aquí.

Dan Beecher (2:44)

For those of us who don't know, talk a bit about what that means.

Michael Peppard (2:46)

Oh, yeah, sure.

Dan McClellan (2:48)

Explain yourself.

Michael Peppard (2:49)

You have a very educated audience. I can't just say quasi-Marcianite and walk away.

Dan McClellan (2:58)

Hey, everybody, I'm Dan McClellan.

Dan Beecher (3:00)

And I'm Dan Beecher.

Dan McClellan (3:02)

And you're listening to the Data Over Dogma podcast, where we increase public access to the academic study of the Bible and religion and we combat the spread of misinformation about the same. How are things today, Dan?

Dan Beecher (3:15)

It's a good day. It's a good day because we're we get to interview somebody. And that's always fun, having a different voice on the show. It's always a nice time. So why don't you introduce our lovely guest?

Dan McClellan (3:27)

Happy to. Today, we have the pleasure and the privilege of talking with Dr. Michael Peppard, who is professor of theology at Fordham University, as well as associate director of the Curran Center for American Catholic Studies. Michael, thank you so much for being here. Welcome to the show.

Michael Peppard (3:46)

Thanks so much for having me. I'm excited to talk about some data and actually a little bit of dogma, maybe too.

Dan Beecher (3:52)

A little bit of dogma too. We'll get all of it. We'll just squeeze it all in. We'll figure out how.

Dan McClellan (3:58)

And there are actually two books that I hope we get to talk about a bit during the show today. I'm holding one up that doesn't have the dust cover because I am not pro dust cover, but this one is called The Son of God in the Roman World, which is, what, 14 years old, something like that by now?

Michael Peppard (4:16)

Yeah, that's right, that's right, 14

Dan McClellan (4:19)

Wonderful discussion of Christology in Mark, which I think does a wonderful job on some stuff we'll get to later, but much more recently and much more topically and relevant to today's show, How Catholics Encounter the Bible. Both of these are with Oxford, aren't they? Yes, they're both.