Ask NT Wright Anything — Episode Summary

Podcast: Ask NT Wright Anything
Host: Mike Bird (B), Guest: NT Wright (Tom) (C)
Date: April 13, 2026
Episode Topics:

• Can Protestants Attend Catholic Churches?
• "Jews" vs. "Judeans" in New Testament Translation
• Why Did Paul Circumcise Timothy but not Titus?

Main Theme & Purpose

In this episode, Mike Bird and Tom Wright tackle significant and sometimes contentious questions from listeners about church practice, biblical translation, and Pauline theology. The discussion moves from ecumenical concerns (attending Catholic churches as a Protestant), through the complexities of translating the New Testament’s ethnic terms, to a nuanced historical reading of Paul’s missionary practices regarding circumcision. Each segment showcases Wright’s blend of ecclesial sensitivity, historical insight, and scholarly rigor, with Bird providing probing questions and lively moderation.

1. Can Protestants Attend Catholic Churches?

Listener Question: John from Atlanta asks if, as a Reformed Protestant, it would be theologically acceptable to attend the local Catholic parish, given dissatisfaction with local Protestant options and concerns about doctrinal differences (justification, Mary, saints, etc.).

Key Discussion Points

• Historical Perspective on Ecumenism

  • Tom recounts a personal story about a Catholic friend forbidden to even walk through a Protestant churchyard (04:40). He notes:
    “We have come a long way in 70 years and thank God for that long distance that we've traveled.” (04:51)
  • There are still areas of disagreement (Marian dogmas, purgatory), but much common ground has been found, especially on justification.

• Doctrinal Differences & Common Ground

  • Tom references Hans Küng’s work uniting Catholic and Protestant views on justification and notes recent Pauline scholarship suggests the Reformation debates may have mischaracterized Paul.
  • Some issues remain unresolved (Immaculate Conception, Assumption of Mary, purgatory), but not all Catholics consider them deal-breakers.

• Contemporary Church Culture

  • Tom observes that Catholic parishes can sometimes feel more Christ-centered than some Protestant settings, referencing seeing an Alpha Course advertised at a Catholic church but not at an Anglican church (08:30).
  • He laments how denominational divides reduce the church’s witness, especially in the culture wars context:
    “If we simply split off each time. Then we become the kind of disunited church to whom nobody outside the favored few would want to listen at all.” (11:38)
    “Part of the point of the church is to witness together to the glory of God in Christ. That's why Paul says...’That you may with one heart and voice glorify God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.’” (11:54)

• Practical Wisdom

  • No church is perfect; discomfort is part of the Christian journey.
  • Attending Catholic worship, if more nourishing than local options, may be wise. Engage in dialogue and prayer with Christians from other traditions.

Notable Quotes

• “I would say, please, there are many, many wise, prayerful Roman Catholics who don't regard those things as absolute deal breakers...emphasize the love of God in Christ by the Spirit working through the Gospel.” (07:36)
• “I'm not sure that we ought ever to feel totally at home in any church, because no churches are perfect and we all ought to feel slightly uncomfortable at some points.” (10:46)

2. "Jews" vs. "Judeans" in New Testament Translation

Listener Question: Brandon from Louisville observes that Tom sometimes translates "Ioudaioi" as "Judeans" rather than "Jews". Why? Is it a response to scholarship (like Jason Staples) on Jewish/Israelite identity?

Key Discussion Points

• Textual Nuance in Translation

  • In John’s gospel, Tom often renders "Ioudaioi" as "Judeans" to reflect a geographical rather than ethnic distinction:
    “In John's Gospel particularly … if we understand it in terms of the Jews ethnically, as a racial characteristic, then we've got John polarizing the Jews over against Jesus and the disciples, which makes no sense at all.” (15:29)
  • The term often refers specifically to the Jerusalem leadership, not to Jews in a global or ethnic sense.

• Avoiding Anachronism & Antisemitism

  • Awareness that, historically, misreading phrases like “the Jews killed Jesus” fueled centuries of antisemitism:
    “What we in the modern world mean when we say the word Jew or Jewish may well not be the same as what people in the first century meant when they said ho udaioi.” (19:53)
  • Attempts to force the term into a modern ethnic/racial category can perpetuate dangerous misunderstandings.

• Translation Challenges & Scholarly Input

  • Tom admits inconsistency in application across his own works, but prefers “Judeans” in narrative contexts, and occasionally uses “Jews” in more general expressions (21:51).
  • Cites Steve Mason’s historical work and Tom Holland’s preface in Dominion as influences.
  • Mike counters that “Judean” might overemphasize geography, as some Ioudaioi never lived in Judea, and diaspora Jews were still called Ioudaioi (22:00).
  • Tom accepts the fluidity but insists making modern readers aware of the complexities is vital.

• Parallel Translation Issues

  • Mike points out the analogous predicament with the Greek word "ethne" (Gentiles, nations, pagans), which is context-dependent (25:53).

Notable Quotes

• “If we read the New Testament and say the Jews this, the Jews that … that can fuel what people in today's world may say and think about the synagogue just down the road or about the present state of Israel or whatever. In other words, we don't want to have these worlds colliding and resulting in wickedness or muddle or just bad thinking and behavior.” (19:53)
• “I think in the same way you would get, you know, there were Judean communities in Spain, and I think Steve Mason would say they would still be identified as Judai in the synagogue there...because their mother city was Jerusalem.” (24:03)

3. Why Did Paul Circumcise Timothy but not Titus?

Listener Question: Joshua from Huxley asks why Paul circumcised Timothy (Acts 16) but not Titus (Galatians); is this inconsistent or does it reflect a deeper principle?

Key Discussion Points

• Historical Sequence & Context

  • Paul’s refusal to circumcise Titus was “a test case” for Gentile inclusion:
    “Titus is a Greek, Greek through and through, father and mother ... so Paul's whole point in having Titus with him is that if this is a test case, here's the answer. Titus does not need to be circumcised because neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters. What matters is new creation.” (31:19)
  • To have circumcised Titus would undermine the sufficiency of Christ’s death for Gentile believers.

• Missionary Pragmatism in Timothy’s Case

  • Timothy, unlike Titus, had a Jewish mother and Greek father. Circumcising Timothy was strategic, allowing Paul initial access to synagogues without unnecessary barriers: “Paul wants to put no obstacle in anybody's way ... the first hearing has got to be in the synagogue. So for himself and Silas and Timothy, they are going to be people who are bona fide accepted in the synagogue, even though then of course, once they tell them what they've come about, some people in the synagogue are going to want to kick them out. But Paul would rather they were kicked out because of the message about Jesus rather than because they've got somebody traveling under false colors.” (34:01)

• Principled Flexibility

  • Tom references 1 Corinthians 9 — “all things to all people” — as the underlying principle.
  • The difference is not confusion but “the kind [of inconsistency] which falls within the larger consistency of the logic of Paul's mission.” (36:01)

• Modern Misreadings

  • Our inclination toward abstract principles often blinds us to Paul’s practical context-driven decisions.

Notable Quotes

• “Our trouble is as modern readers, we tend to put this on a different plane. Instead of thinking historically about the different things, we want to think about principles. So should somebody get circumcised or shouldn't they? Oh, my goodness. Paul seems to be inconsistent. Well, there is a kind of inconsistency there, but it's the kind which falls within the larger consistency of the logic of Paul's mission.” (36:01)
• “Lay down the truth of the gospel very clearly…But there's also the reality of a messy world and sometimes for missional expediency.” — Mike Bird (36:37)

Memorable Moments & Quotes (with Timestamps)

• On Ecumenism and Christian Unity:
  “That's how all sorts of nonsense has been perpetrated. Doesn't mean that there aren't important doctrinal issues. There are. Please, as far as we can, let's address them together.” — NT Wright (11:18)

• On Translation and Antisemitism:
  “Please don't read John as anti Jewish, let alone anti Semitic.” — NT Wright (18:11)

• On Paul’s Approach to Ministry:
  “He becomes all things to all people, that he might by all means save some.” — NT Wright (29:38)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 04:40 — Tom Wright’s childhood story about ecumenical relationships; background to the Catholic/Protestant divide.
• 07:36 — Major doctrinal differences and areas of common ground.
• 11:54 — Paul’s vision for church unity, quoting Romans 15.
• 14:32 — Discussion begins on “Jews” vs “Judeans” in translation.
• 19:53 — The significance of language in relation to antisemitism and anachronism.
• 22:00 — Debating the limits of “Judeans” as a translation.
• 25:53 — Analogous debate with “ethne” (Gentile/nation/pagan).
• 29:28 — Introducing the question on circumcision of Timothy and Titus.
• 31:19 — Titus as a test case in the Jerusalem church.
• 34:01 — Why Timothy was circumcised for the sake of mission.
• 36:01 — Reconciling Paul’s “inconsistency” as missional flexibility.

Conclusion

This episode weaves together threads of denominational identity, translation challenges, and practical apostolic mission. Tom Wright encourages generosity and self-reflection in navigating denominational differences, urges sensitivity and historical awareness in reading Scripture, and demonstrates how Paul’s seemingly inconsistent acts in the early church stemmed from a pragmatic, gospel-centered logic. For those wrestling with church choices, translation controversies, or Pauline questions, the discussion offers a thoughtful, historically grounded perspective.

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