Dr. Hugo Mendez is Assistant Professor in Ancient Mediterranean Religions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, specializing in the New Testament and its early reception. Religion and spirituality always played a pivotal role in his life and he takes us through his trajectory in both academia and personal faith. We also had some fun banter about New York sports teams as Hugo is a native of the Big Apple. If you are enjoying the content, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/SultansandSneakers. Every dollar helps! In addition to Patreon, please continue to support Sultans and Sneakers by following me on my various social media channels, leaving a 5 star review and letting your friends know about the show. I have a website now as well and you can access that at: https://sultansandsneakers.com/ You can also follow the show on our respective social media: IG: www.instagram.com/SultansandSneakers Facebook: www.facebook.com/SultansandSneakers Twitter: https://twitter.com/SultansNSnkrs TikTok: @sultans_and_sneakers YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC8nN9RSnLs08M87yEZppwaA My personal social media links: IG: www.instagram.com/mahinthepodcaster Twitter: https://twitter.com/MahinDaPodcastr