Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Getting Started with the Bible, Episode 2.
In this episode, we cover an introduction to the Bible and suggestions for translations and types of Bibles. We also discuss how to start reading it for yourself including tips for how to best read it and pitfalls to avoid. While the episode covers basics, it also covers important information on how best to approach the Bible as a whole….something that is important for new readers and those who’ve been reading it for a while.
Resources
My Favorite Translations:
The Message – Eugene Peterson
Kingdom New Testament – NT Wright
Books:
One. Life – Scot McKnight
Scripture and the Authority of God – NT Wright
The Mission of God – Christopher Wright
Learn to Read New Testament Greek – David Alan Black
Basics of Biblical Greek – William Mounce
Videos:
These videos are an excellent overview of how we can best read the Bible
The Whole Sweep of Scripture – NT Wright (Short – 7 min) Highly Recommended!
Why Bible Background Matters, Seven Minute Seminary – Dr. Ben Witherington III (Short – 7 min)
Gordon Fee: How Should We Read the Bible? – Gordon Fee (Medium – 30 min)
What is the Gospel? – Scot McKnight (Short – 7 min)
What is the Gospel? – NT Wright (Short – 13 min)
Reading the Old Testament: The Ancient Origins and Authority of Scripture – Veritas Forum (including John Walton) (Very Long – 2 hours, 15 BUT it is Excellent!)
Blogs/Articles:
Both of these are short, good overviews of how to read the Bible (Good for All Levels of Learners)
Hermaneutics, What is It and Why Do Bible Readers Need It? – Ben Witherington III
Heisler’s Laws for Bible Study – Michael Heisler
This is a more in-depth article discussing best practices and some pitfalls at reading the Bible
How Can the Bible Be Authoritative?– NT Wright
For the More Advanced and Serious Bible Reader:
Have you been reading the Bible for some time and are ready to go deeper? Have you been a serious Bible student and are ready to go to the next level? Here’s what every serious Bible reader should know – Dig Deeper materials.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Sources of Confusion, Episode 3
This time we learn about some of sources of confusion for those who are checking out Christianity, are new to Christianity, and even those who’ve been a Christian for some time. Is Christianity really about a new life right now? Or is it about something that happens when we die? Do you agree with Gandhi’s observation….”I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike Christ”? Are you a Christian but think there has to be more to the Christian life than going to church or doing certain things? We talk about these things as well as the confusion that new learners may have when learning from different Bible teachers and pastors.
Resources
Books:
The Divine Conspiracy – Dallas Willard (One of my top 10 books to recommend!)
Videos:
Spiritual Formation as a Natural Part of Salvation, Wheaton College Talk – Dallas Willard (Highly Recommended – Must Watch!)
The entire Divine Conspiracy video collection is great, but start by watching video 5, Salvation Confusion and video 6, Kingdom Salvation.
Divine Conspiracy 01: Jesus & Culture – Dallas Willard
Divine Conspiracy 02: Human Nature – Dallas Willard
Divine Conspiracy 03: God and His Kingdom – Dallas Willard
Divine Conspiracy 04: Kingdom Gospel – Dallas Willard
Divine Conspiracy 05: Salvation Confusion -Dallas Willard (Highly Recommended!)
Divine Conspiracy 06: Kingdom Salvation – Dallas Willard (Highly Recommended!)
Divine Conspiracy 07: The Beatitudes – Dallas Willard
Divine Conspiracy 08: Transformation -Dallas Willard
Divine Conspiracy 09: Church Communities – Dallas Willard
Divine Conspiracy 10: Kingdom Living – Dallas Willard
Divine Conspiracy 11: Living Without Anger – Dallas Willard
Divine Conspiracy 12: Prayer – Dallas Willard
What Happened on the Cross? – N T Wright (Short – 3 min)
Why I Reject An Angry God – N T Wright (Short – 2 min)
Blogs/ Articles:
Can Tom Wright Save Christianity?
Narrative Theology Explained – Roger Olson
NT Wright on the Phil Vischer Podcast – Starting at 17 minutes in.
Podcast:
NT Wright on The Eric Metaxas Podcast (Both Highly Recommended!)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The Grand Narrative of the Bible, episode 4
In the previous episodes, we’ve talked a little about the Grand Narrative of the Bible and how it is fundamental to understanding what the Bible is saying. Well, what is it? That’s what we cover in this episode. The story of the Bible is one big story from beginning to end – from Genesis to Revelation. And, we discuss how Jesus is an important part of this overall story.
Resources
Videos:
Seeing the Proper Grand Narrative
The Creation Will Be Saved – N T Wright (Short – 1 min)
Surprised By Hope Group Bible Study – N T Wright (Short – 16 min)
A Conversation with NT Wright (Long – 1 hour 40 min) Highly Recommended!
Genesis: Beginning the Right Story – Tim Mackie (Med – 44 min) Highly recommended!
The Story of the Bible – The Bible Project (Short – 5 min)
Plot in Biblical Narrative – The Bible Project (Short – 5 min)
Design Patterns in Biblical Narrative – The Bible Project (Short – 6 min)
How Jesus is Related to This Grand Narrative
What Happened on the Cross? – N T Wright (Short – 3 min)
Reviewing the history of how we got to the Gospel we have now and is it Biblical
Getting the Gospel Right – Scot McKnight (Long – 1 hour, 20 m)
How Paul Thought about This Narrative of Scripture
Paul’s Narrative Thought World – Ben Witherington III (Short – 5 min)
Blogs/Articles:
The Eastern Orthodox viewpoint on Sin which relates to this Grand Narrative
Sin is Not a Legal Problem – Ancient Faith (Short)
Eastern Orthodox Perspectives on the Western Ideas of the Bible and the History of their Development
Orthodox Problems with Penal Substitution (Medium)
Why I Deny Penal Substitutionary Atonement – Orthodox Reformed Bridge @ Ancient Faith(Long)
The Seat of Mercy and the End of the Legal View – Ancient Faith (Short)
A Biblical View of Christ’s Death – Orthodox Apologetics (Medium)
Atonement Between the Eastern and Western Traditions (Long – More In-Depth Treatment)
Background on Augustine
Augustine’s Mistake on Original Sin (Short)
Understanding the Character of God by Understanding the Right Narrative
“For God So Loved Himself? Is God a Narcissist? – Ben Witherington (Short)
Relationship of Jesus to the Grand Narrative
Summary of NT Wright’s The Day the Revolution Began – @ Jesus Creed (Short)
Early Church Writings:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Getting Started with Genesis 1-3, episode 5
Let’s dive into Genesis 1-3 beginning with the basics we need to know in order to best understand it. This includes, the author, the time of writing, and some of the typical problems with interpreting it.
Genesis Bible Study Questions – Download and use to prepare and take notes as you listen to the upcoming episodes
Resources
Books:
The Lost World of Genesis One – John Walton
The Lost World of Adam and Eve – John Walton
The NIV Application Commentary – Genesis by John Walton
The Five Books of Moses – Rober Alter
Genesis for Everyone, Part 1 – John Goldingay
Videos:
Overview of Genesis Narrative
Genesis: Beginning the Right Story – Tim Mackie (Medium – 44 min) Highly Recommended!
Read Scripture: Genesis Chaps 1-11 – The Bible Project (Short – 8 min) Highly Recommended! Beautifully illustrated explanation of the story!
The Lost World of Adam and Eve – John Walton (Long – 1 hour) Highly Recommended!
Eastern Orthodox Perspectives on Genesis
Be the Bee: Creation and Fall (Short – 5 min)
Eastern Orthodox Perspective as explained by a Protestant theologian/pastor who became Orthodox via Careful Study and includes the understanding in Genesis
On Being Orthodox (Protestant Who Carefully Studied the Bible, Now is Orthodox) (Long – 1 hour, 17 min)
Shows the difference between the Western church gospel and the Eastern church gospel which goes back to Genesis
The Gospel in Chairs (Short – 9 min)
NT Wright on the Creation Narratives (Short – 2 min)
NT Wright on Adam and Eve (Short – 5 min)
Interpreting the Creation Story – John Walton (Short – 7 min)
What is the Ancient Near East? – John Walton (Short – 7 min)
Reading Genesis 1 in Context, Part 1 – Sandra Richter (Short – 7 min)
Reading Genesis 1 in Context, Part 2 – Sandra Richter (Short – 7 min)
What Happened on the Cross? – N T Wright (Short – 2 min)
Why I Reject An Angry God – N T Wright (Short – 2 min)
Blogs/ Websites:
Is ‘adam “Adam”? – Michael Heiser
Eastern Orthodox Perspective
Sin is Not a Legal Problem – Ancient Faith (Short)
The Original Christian Gospel (Eastern Orthodox Perspective)
Justification – An Orthodox Perspective
How do the New Testament writers look at the Old Testament
Were the NT Writers Hermaneutical Hacks? – Michael Heiser (Short)
Jesus’ Death Does More Than Get Us Into Heaven – N T Wright (Christianity Today Article – Short)
Podcasts:
A fantastic overview of the whole Bible and what is happening with Jesus!
NT Wright on The Eric Metaxas Podcast (Highly Recommended!)
NT Wright on the Phil Vischer Podcast – Starting at 17 minutes in. (Medium – 30 min)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Science Vs. The Bible, episode 6.
The modern day interpretations of Genesis and their relationship to science has dominated discussions for Genesis in recent times. So much so that the true narrative story that Genesis is telling is nearly lost to readers. We are regaining a fresh look at Genesis through careful study in future episodes and we’re going to come to see that Genesis itself, as it is written, is not a scientific account and does not stand in conflict with science. This episode is for anyone who is either caught up in the controversy of science vs the Bible or for anyone coming from a scientific perspective that has always found the Bible and maybe Genesis in particular a stumbling block to believing anything the Bible has to say. This episode may not interest people that aren’t really “into” the science vs the Bible debate. And if you aren’t interested in it, that’s totally fine….feel free to skip this episode.
Resources
Sites:
Videos:
America’s Culture Wars – N T Wright and Biologos (Short – 4 min)
What Do You Mean By Literal? – NT Wright and Biologos (Short – 4 min)
On Genesis – NT Wright and Biologos (Short – 3 min)
On Understanding Ancient Texts – NT Wright and Biologos (Short – 3 min)
How Our Worldview Impacts Our Reading of Scripture – NT Wright (Short – 3 min)
A Survey of Christian Options on Genesis – John Walton (Med – 42 min)
The Question of Science and God Part 1– John Lennox interviewed by Eric Metaxes (Long -48 min) Highly Recommended!
The Question of Science and God Part 2 – John Lennox interviewed by Eric Metaxes (Long – 1 hour) Highly Recommended!
Fine Tuning – Nobel Physicist Bill Phillips (Short – 3 min)
Fine Tuning – Physicist John Polkinghorne (Short – 3 min)
Quantum Physics Proves Something Can Come From Nothing? – William Lane Craig (Short – 4 min)
Reflecting on Stephen Hawking’s Life and Beliefs – John Lennox (Med – 25 min)
Scientists Can Be People of Faith – Nobel Physicist Bill Phillips (Short – 3 min)
Scientists At Top Universities Who Are Christians Talking About Faith in God – Veritas Forum (Short – 6 min)
Why It’s So Hard for Scientists to Believe in God? – Francis Collins (Short – 5 min)
Limits of Science (Short – 3 min)
Roger Penrose (Highly Regarded Mathemetician) on Multiverse Theory (Short – 3 min)
Generally speaking, debates are not a good format for weighing evidence. So, I’m usually not a fan of debates as they don’t promote the critical thinking through of what is being said. However, there are a number of good bits you can pick up from debates and investigate further. Just remember that labeling someone as “winning” a debate is more a matter of “feeling” than of critical analysis.
Has Science Buried God? – John Lennox Vs. Richard Dawkins (Long – 1 hour, 20 min)
Is There a God? – Peter Singer Vs. John Lennox (Long – 1 hour, 45 min)
Books:
God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God? – John Lennox
Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics – William Lane Craig (Requires an understanding of logical arguments)
The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief – Francis Collins
For those coming from a YEC Perspective:
How I Changed My Mind About Evolution
Beyond the Creation vs Evolution Debate – Denis Lamoureux
The Fallacy Detective – 38 Lessons on How To Recognize Bad Reasoning
It’s vital to understand logic, logical statements and logical proofs if you want to interact with philosophy and logical arguments. I would suggest an online course in logic or a book.
Introduction to Logic – Gensler
Blogs/Articles:
What is Evolution? – BioLogos
Is Lawrence Krauss a Physicist or just a bad Philosopher? – Scientific American
Review of Krauss’ A Universe From Nothing by Prof. of Philosophy – New York Times
A Brief History of the Multiverse Theory by Cosmologist Paul Davies– New York Times
On the Unexpected Applicability of Mathematics to Nature – William Lane Craig
The Unreasonable Effectivness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences – Wikipedia
A for Almighty – Fred Hoyle’s Cosmic Theology
Podcasts:
A Universe From Nothing – Reasonable Faith Podcast with William Lane Craig (Short – 20 min)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Genesis Study Part 1, episode 7
We begin our close look at Genesis 1-3 by reading the 3 chapters together and making some observations. In this episode, we take a look at what the narrative tells us about God, Sacred Space and Life and Death. Before you listen to the episode, you should download the Genesis Bible Study doc, read through Genesis 1-3 and write down your own observations. Then you can listen to the episode and learn more about the questions asked in the study document.
Genesis Bible Study Questions – Download and use to prepare and take notes as you listen to the upcoming episodes
Resources
Videos:
What it Means to Be an Image Bearer – NT Wright (Short – 3 min)
Temple Theology and New Creation – NT Wright (Med – 35 min)
The Royal Revolution Fresh Perspectives on the Cross – NT Wright (Long – 1 hour) You can also read what is in this video. See the Articles section. The article has more info than the video.
Blogs/Articles:
The Royal Revolution Fresh Perspectives on the Cross – NT Wright
Temple Theology
Eden, The Temple and the Church’s Mission in the New Creation – G K Beale. The main part about Eden begins on page 7 with the title “The Garden of Eden was a Temple in the First Creation”
Books:
Hearing God – Dallas Willard (One of my favorite books of all time!) Highly Recommended!
The Practice of the Presence of God – Brother Lawrence
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Genesis Study Part 2, episode 8.
In this episode, we take a close look at the descriptions of humans in Genesis 1-3. How and why were the humans made? What tasks and purposes were they made for? How are male and female related to one another? Is there a hierarchy of men over women? What is the state of everything before the humans disobey God? And, of course, how does all of this relate to the Genuine Life today?
Resources
Books:
The Lost World of Adam and Eve – John Walton
The NIV Application Commentary on Genesis – John Walton
How I Changed My Mind About Women in Leadership
Blogs/Articles:
Is “adam” “Adam”? – Dr. Michael Heiser (Hebrew scholar)
A Suitable Helper (in Hebrew) – Marg Mowczyko
Ish & Ishah – Together Fully Human
God’s Original Intention for Man and Woman
Adam and the Genome – Jesus Creed (Blog of Scot McKnight)
Why Arguments Against Women In Ministry Aren’t Biblical – Ben Witherington III
Specific Interpretations on Proof-Texts of Women in Church – Marg Mowczko
Websites:
Christians for Biblical Equality
They include a variety of resources, but I like the careful, and deep treatments of the Bible in its original language. I particularly enjoyed.
Debate over the Greek word “kephale” (translated “head” in English) – CBE International
Information Regarding Adam and Eve and Genetics/Science (There are different viewpoints and opinions here)
Adam and Eve – BioLogos
Video:
Biblical Basis for Women’s Service in the Church – NT Wright (Long – 1 hour) Excellent Overview of the Topic!
Women in Leadership – NT Wright (Short – 4 min)
Women – Biblical Exegesis – 1 Timothy 2:11-15 – NT Wright (Short – 7 min)
An Overview of Genesis Including Questions of Hierarchy/Patriarchy (Entitled “Women and Their Roles in the NT”, but is mostly a talk about Genesis)
Women and Their Roles in the New Testament -Ben Witherington III (Long – 1 hour) Excellent – Recommended!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Genesis Study Part 3, episode 9.
Now, we get to the part of the story where things fall apart. What is going on with the two trees in this story? Are they real trees with real fruit that either gives life or causes death? Are they metaphorical in giving us an understanding of something bigger? Are they merely a moral test for Adam and Eve? In the midst of all of this a serpent enters the scene. What is going on with this serpent? Who or what is the serpent? How did he arrive on the scene? And, does this story tell us anything about our own lives….how is this story about Adam and Eve and these two trees related to us?
Resources
Books:
The NIV Application Commentary on Genesis – John Walton
The Lost World of Adam and Eve – John Walton
Podcasts:
Oneness and the Fall – Part 1 – Ancient Faith Ministries (Short – 13 min)
Oneness and the Fall – Part 2 – Ancient Faith Ministries (Short – 15 min)
Oneness and the Fall – Part 3 – Ancient Faith Ministries (Short – 18 min)
Oneness and the Fall – Part 4 – Ancient Faith Ministries (Short – 12 min)
Blogs:
The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil – Micah Redding
Early Church Writings:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Genesis Study Part 4, episode 10.
Now Adam and Eve have disobeyed regarding eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. What happens to them as a result? How does God treat them after the disobedience? Is He going to kill them or does He explain the natural consequences of their actions? We especially take a close look at the Hebrew words and the Old Testament Septuagint (Greek) words that God speaks to the woman in Genesis 3:16. It’s very likely not what you think from reading an English translation!
To aid in the close look at Genesis 3:16 and its translation, you may want to download this document and have it in front of you while listening to this episode.
Resources
Books:
The NIV Application Commentary on Genesis – John Walton
Blogs/Articles:
God’s Word to Women: The Fall of Humankind
Teshuqah: Timeline of Translation – God’s Word to Women
Teshuqah: The Woman’s Desire in Genesis 3:16 – Marg Mowczko
My Jewish Learning: Who was Eve?
Changing Genesis 3:16: About the ESV Translation
St. Irenaus on the Creation of Eve – Ancient Faith
Recent Comments