By Joan C. McKinney, news and publications coordinator

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - Dr. Jarvis Williams, assistant professor of New Testament and Greek at Campbellsville University, will be featured on KET's show “Connections with Renee Shaw,” an interview series that gives voice to everyday heroes and sheds light on issues affecting women and minorities across Kentucky.

The show is scheduled to air on Friday, June 24 on KET 2 at 5 p.m., again on Sunday, June 26 at 1:30 p.m. on the regular KET network, and numerously throughout the next couple of weeks on various KET stations.

The interview focused on Williams' new book “One New Man: The Cross and Racial Reconciliation in Pauline Theology” (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2010).

Williams' interview focuses on the thesis of his book as follows: Racism is a universal problem; sin is the reason for racism; Jesus' death and resurrection are God's provision for racial reconciliation; Jesus actually accomplished racial reconciliation when he died on the cross; and Christians should participate in the work of racial reconciliation.

He and Shaw talked about the practical applications of racial reconciliation and Jesus' death and resurrection and how that relates to racial reconciliation as well as the difference between diversity and racial reconciliation.

Williams said they also discussed how he would respond to African-Americans who would perhaps be hesitant to embrace racial reconciliation in their churches, as he has laid it out due to the connection between African-American church life and civil rights and due to the fact that African-American Christians may feel like church is the only place where they're not the minority during the course of the week.

Williams said Shaw wants to also interview him when his book on Jesus' death is released in March 2012.

Williams said the interview went well and was a “great opportunity to bring even more attention to the work that's taking place at Campbellsville University and especially in the School of Theology.”

Williams is assistant professor of New Testament and Greek. He has served at CU since January 2008.

He is also the author of “Maccabean Martyr Traditions in Paul's Theology of Atonement: Did Martyr Theology Shape Paul's Conception of Jesus's Death” and of scholarly articles in his field.

Williams' research focuses exclusively on Paul's letter to the Romans, Pauline atonement theology and soteriology, and the atonement theology and

soteriology in Second Temple Judaism.

He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society, the Institute for Biblical Research and the Society of Biblical Literature.

Williams received a bachelor of science in biblical studies from The James P. Boyce College in 2000. Williams received his Ph.D. in 2007 from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Williams also has a master of theology and a master of divinity from SBTS and a bachelor of science from the James P. Boyce College

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with over 3,000 students offering 63 undergraduate programs, 17 master's degrees and five postgraduate areas. The website for complete information is Campbellsville.edu