The Bible For Normal People

This week Pete & Jared talk to Meghan Henning about hell. She shares with us her knowledge of the ancient world Jesus and the New Testament writers were familiar with and how they might have understood hell. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

That 50 cent word describes something many Bible readers have noticed: the way the New Testament writers quote the Old often has little to do with what the Old Testament writers were actually trying to say. Jesus was in fact a surprise development in Israel’s story, but the New Testament writers nevertheless believed Jesus to be the true purpose or goal (Greek telos) of God purposes. And that belief led them to some pretty creative interpretive adventures that Christians today are still trying to wrap their heads around. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Translating the Bible is more than just about being woodenly accurate. We’re humans after all. In this episode, Pete and Jared talk to Sarah Ruden, who talks about using our imaginations to put ourselves in the place of the biblical writers, emotions and aesthetics and all. With a background in translating classical literature, she helps us read the Bible within a fuller context, both humanly and literarily. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sometimes it can be easy to forget the psychological ramifications of our faith. The way our faith shapes the language we use to talk about tragedies and sadnesses in our life can be life-giving or it can really mess us up. In this episode we talk to Alison Cook, an expert on the intersection of faith and psychology, about some of the ways, as Christians, our views on our emotions can be harmful and better ways to frame our feelings. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s hard to know where the Bible fits into our political views, our ethical stances, and how we live out life. Pete and Jared point out how many of us might be using the Bible in disrespectful and irresponsible ways as well as parsing out why we even need to bother with the Bible at all in 2020. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Christianity is diverse and so are all the ways Christians have read the Bible through the centuries. James Martin helps us understand a Jesuit practice of reading Scripture that engages both the head and heart. Also, he’s met with the Pope. So of course he has good things to say. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Here's what's coming up in Season 4 of The Bible For Normal People podcast. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Here in our last episode for Season 3, Pete & Jared take a deeper dive into Pete’s latest book and how we can further answer these questions, “What is the Bible and what do we do with it?” Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Pete & Jared sit down with Tom Oord and discuss the things God can and cannot do and how that affects our view of the world, the Bible, and salvation. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this final episode of the Dundee Award Winning series, Pete looks at the significance and symbolism of the tabernacle, which takes up a whopping 13 chapters, and the Golden Calf episode, which threatens to derail the entire plan—were it not for Moses’s quick intervention. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode of the Bible For Normal People, we look back to Season 1 when Pete and Jared talked with theologian Megan DeFranza on a topic that deeply affects the lives of many, but that few Christians are even aware of. And Megan might surprise you about what the Bible and church history have to say about it. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You may have noticed that we’re in a political season with a lot of charged rhetoric, so we decided to bring on someone who isn’t like that. Like at all. We have Pete Wehner, political commentator and columnist joining us to talk about this deep problem of polarization and how we might allow our faith to better fuel our political conversations. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A lot of parents who no longer hold to the same beliefs about the Bible and God they did when they were children are left wondering, “But how do we raise our kids?” Author and speaker Cindy Wang Brandt helps us with the question: How can our kids hold to the Christian faith without going through some of the more painful parts of an evolving faith? Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When we ask, “What does this passage mean?” the answer is a little more complicated than we might expect. Jared looks at some basic principles of biblical interpretation and how they might help us better read our Bibles. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode originally aired as Episode 46 on April 23, 2018 This week, Jared & Pete talk to Wil Gafney about womanist interpretation of the Bible. In their discussion, Wil brings up fascinating nuances in the text and challenges the predominantly patriarchal interpretation of the past. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest is Jeff Chu—author, journalist, advocate, co-creator of Evolving Faith—and our topic is grief, a universal experience that is often difficult to talk about it. We experience grief when confronted with death, of course, but grief is also a presence whenever we go through changes and upheavals in life where we mourn the past as we face an uncertain future. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pete continues his award-winning, mind-bending—almost surreal—series on the book of Exodus. In this episode he looks the laws in chapters 20-24, namely the 10 Commandments and the so-called “Book of the Covenant.” What were these laws about back in the day and what do we do with them now? Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Pete and Jared talk with Jonathan Martin about the beauty of Pentecostalism, the value of being taught to listen to the Holy Spirit from a young age, and the importance of experiencing other Christian traditions. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Pete and Jared talk with Andrew Perriman about the eschatology found in the Bible and how history helps us understand these apocalyptic texts. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Pete and Jared talk about the themes in their newly upgraded book: Genesis for Normal People! They give us a taste of the multifaceted nature of Genesis. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week Pete & Jared talk with Jennifer Knust. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, actor, comedian, and enlightened guru Pete Holmes joins Pete & Jared to talk about his interesting journey of faith and the importance of moving from reading the Bible with your head to reading it with your heart. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Pete continues his deep dive into the book of Exodus covering chapters 14-19: the departure from Egypt and three-month journey to Mt. Sinai. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Jared responds to Skillet lead singer, John Copper, and his public statement, "What in God's Name is Happening in Christianity?" Jared unpacks Christian ethics and the origins of our collective concept of right and wrong. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Pete and Jared talk with theologian and professor Dr. Cheryl Bridges Johns about how feminism has changed over the years and the importance of both being rooted in your own traditions and staying open to "the other." Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Pete and Jared tackle the question: Do we know God is good from the Bible? If you have a question for Pete & Jared, submit it on the Ask Pete page of the website and it might be featured on an upcoming blog post or podcast episode. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week Biblical Scholar Dr. Sylvia Keesmaat and Theologian Dr. Brian Walsh talk about what Paul was up to in the book of Romans. We visit topics like salvation and politics and how maybe those words don’t mean what we thought when it comes to the New Testament. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, we look back to our time with Dr. Amy-Jill Levine on understanding Jesus is his Jewish context. Levine is University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and the author of a number of books including Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pete continues his award-winning (his cat seems to like it) and mind-altering series on Exodus by diving into chapters 5-13: Moses and Aaron’s first confrontation with Pharaoh (which did and did not go well) and the story of the plagues, which are loaded with all sorts of symbolic, theological, and mythic meaning. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Pete and Jared talk with Richard Rohr about the (biblical) universal Christ and how this concept of Christ can expand our understanding of ourselves, the world, and God. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Pete and Jared take a close look at the call of David and the battle with Goliath (1 Samuel 16-17) to show how these biblical stories already portray David as a morally complex character from the beginning. These stories also tell us something of the intricate and layered nature of biblical storytelling. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s episode with Rachel Held Evans is among her last podcast interviews, recorded 2 months before her untimely passing on May 4. We offer this episode, unedited, in Rachel’s honor and as a testimony to her humor, insight, power, gentleness, and courage. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: "Inspired" by Rachel Held Evans "Searching For Sunday" by Rachel Held Evans "A Year of Biblical Womanhood" by Rachel Held Evans "Faith Unraveled" by Rachel Held Evans. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robert Alter has spent most of his life committed to studying the Bible and the last two decades creating an entirely new translation of the Old Testament. Pete and Jared talk about some of the insights he has gained from seeing the Bible as a literary masterpiece. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pete continues his series in Exodus chapters 3 and 4. God reveals his plan to use Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egypt and Moses does everything he can think of to get out of it. He finally gets on board with the program, but not without a last minute bizarre twist and close call. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Austen Hartke shares his journey of being a transgender Christian and discusses how the Bible might speak to the inclusion of all people into the people of God. Show Notes→ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why does Paul say there are no longer slaves but then turns around and tells slaves to obey their masters? What gives? Do wives need to submit to their husbands just because Paul says so? Geez, Paul can be so frustrating. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is Matthew all about? Why does it look the way it does? In this episode Judy Stack takes us to school and helps us to see the Gospel in a new light. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Having grown up being told her body was bad, Linda Kay Klein was on a mission to hear from women about their own experiences with Purity Culture. In this episode we talk about what the Bible has to say about sexual purity and maybe more importantly, what it doesn’t. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When people find out that the Bible is ancient, ambiguous, and diverse, they often ask, "Is the Bible true then?" Pete and Jared dive into the topic and talk about how truth–in the Bible–is subjective. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does it mean to remain faithful to the Bible but also have a moral imagination that might extend beyond the Bible? How can that be done? We talk with Jonathan Walton about how he connects those dots and why he feels it’s the way to remain faithful to the Bible. "A Lens Of Love" by Jonathan Walton. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on The Bible for Normal People, we have Austin Channing Brown as our guest. She shares about her experience growing up in various churches and what we can learn from black churches - especially when it comes to preaching the Bible. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There’s a lot more going on in the book of Exodus than what you’ve seen on the big screen or heard in church. More than a story of deliverance, Exodus is a subtle literary creation that contains many surprises when we read it closely. Join Pete here for Part 1 of this series where he looks at some big picture issues (like “did it happen?”) before walking us through the themes of chapters 1 and 2. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anxiety in the life of faith is a conversation that needs to happen more often. Elizabeth Enns Petters talks with us about her journey and how her old views on the Bible contributed to her anxiety and how her new views on God and faith have given her a new perspective on life. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Pete & Jared talk to Xavier Pickett about the Bible and slavery, the Bible and race, and the importance of theologian James Cone. RESOURCES Reformed Blacks of America "The Civil War as a Theological Crisis" by Mark Knoll "Stony The Road We Trod" by Dr. Cain Hope Felder "How The Bible Actually Works" by Pete Enns. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We talk often about how the Bible isn’t opposed to culture but is deeply embedded in it. Rhonda Burnette-Bletsch shows us how true that is in film by walking us through a few popular movies and how they relate to the Bible. You can find Rhonda's list of movies at the end of this blog post. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All human beings are encultured creatures and limited by their humanity—as were the Biblical writers, and evidence for that jumps out at us at every page. The raw and limiting humanity of Scripture is to be embraced and celebrated rather than explained away. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hip Hop artist Propaganda joins Pete and Jared for the season 3 opener and shares some deep—and we mean deep—thoughts about the music industry, artistic integrity, and what being Christian in all that means and doesn’t mean. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Here's a sneak peek of what's coming in Season 3 of The Bible For Normal People podcast. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Jared and Pete look back at all of their guests in Season 2 to talk about language, history, and how personal experiences can't help but affect how we read the Bible. All in the effort to ask that perennial set of questions: What is the Bible and What do We Do With It? Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Jared & Pete talk to Brad Jersak about how Orthodoxy views the Bible, and some other things, and how those differ from Evangelicalism. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices