Episode: In this episode, Chris Tilling interviews Crispin Fletcher-Louis about his new book, The Divine Heartset: Paul’s Philippians Christ Hymn, Metaphysical Affections, and Civic Virtues (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2023). This work combines keen theological insight with rigorous scholarship to explore one of the most significant questions in Christian theology—the identity of Jesus Christ. Fletcher-Louis takes us on a remarkable journey through Paul’s Christ Hymn in Philippians 2:6–11, engaging with both Greco-Roman literature and Second Temple Jewish texts to craft an entirely new reading of this key text. The book is large, but surprisingly accessible—not to mention daring, filled with one original insight after another.

In our conversation, we delve into Crispin’s background, from his studies at Oxford during the heady days of E. P. Sanders, N. T. Wright, and Rowan Williams, to his teaching roles at Durham, King’s College London, and Nottingham, and his founding of Westminster Theological Centre. Now focused almost entirely on research and writing, Crispin is at the cutting edge of discussions relating to early Christology. We discuss why Philippians 2:6–11 became a thousand-page exploration, the wider textual frame of the letter, and Crispin’s navigation of Paul as a Jewish thinker within the broader Mediterranean world. Topics include Christ as a divine shape-shifter, the metaphysical implications of to einai isa theō, Paul’s innovative reworking of Greco-Roman concepts of divinity and virtue, and much more besides.

Crispin’s book has a dedicated website: www.divineheartset.com. There you can buy a digital copy, find reviews and additional resources, including links to videos in which Crispin summarises the book by chapter and section.

Guest: Dr. Crispin Fletcher-Louis completed his doctoral work on angels in Luke and Acts and has taught at Durham, King’s College London, and Nottingham. As the founder of Westminster Theological Centre and a postgraduate supervisor at the University of Gloucestershire, Crispin has spent decades researching and writing early Christology, publishing numerous important books and essays.

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