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The Bible and Beyond podcast has been created for everyone who would like to sit down with scholars and ask them about their latest research in the world of the earliest Jesus followers.
The podcast explores historical and spiritual questions about Jesus, gender, women, salvation, healing, and the meaning of life in a series of interviews with scholars who are able to unlock mysteries from extra-canonical books, forgotten scriptures, so-called ‘gnostic’ gospels, and the Bible. In some cases, their discoveries leave us feeling somewhat uneasy, because they don’t fit with what we’ve been told through the ages. On the other hand, the scholars keep uncovering a kind of deep intimacy with Jesus — his love for humanity and his love for God. It’s a liberating message, inspiring us to let go of some heavy, unnecessary church-baggage and consider what these texts might mean for modern-day followers of Jesus.
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What Kind of Person Was Judas Really?
Jesus is explaining it’s not a good thing that you’re going to have to do, Judas. But it’s part of what must happen for God to set the universe right. An interview with Dr. David Brakke.
How Illness and Heresy Became Entangled in Christianity
From then on, illness is associated with heresy, mostly because of the way it spreads. Diseases spread [when] you talk to somebody, and the ancients were aware of that type of dissemination. An interview with Dr. Jennifer Barry.
Thecla’s Fight for Independence
Thecla is willing to die, but she doesn’t patiently endure violence toward her. … So that’s a very different dynamic than what is often presented as the pattern that a good submissive woman should follow. An interview with Dr. Deborah Niederer Saxon.
Noncanonical Texts Illuminate the Bible
"This is the biggest thrust from After Jesus Before Christianity. How will we end up talking about those first two centuries, now that you’ve exposed that these words don’t work right?" An interview with Dr. Shirley Paulson.
Finding Depth in Jesus’s Farmer Parables
"There are long traditions in Greek and Roman and Judaean writing, using farming to think about important aspects of life like morality, wisdom, virtue, and education." An Interview with Dr. Ian Brown.
More Answers to the Question “Where is God When Things Go Wrong?”
"When you come to the point where you encounter powers that are antithetical to God, then the question of how this could have happened becomes a pressing one." An Interview with Dr. James McGrath.
Marcion Answers “Where Is God When Things Go Wrong?”
When you have a God that is very different, you get very different human possibilities... An Interview with Dr. Stephen A. Cooper
Early Christians Answer “Where Is God When Things Go Wrong?”
The modern world is so impoverished in its ideas. We have such a narrow range of ways of responding to situations and issues compared to all the ideas that people had before. An interview with Dr. Jason BeDuhn.
What Is the Apocrypha and Why Read It?
Apocrypha give us some real insights into beliefs and practices across Judaism and Christianity, across many cultures and thousands of years. An interview with Dr. Brandon Hawk.
Was Adam the Original Sinner?
Who actually is the culprit in the book of Genesis? Is it Adam? Is it Eve? Is it God himself? The main story is in Genesis. An Interview with Dr. Lance Jenott.
Who Are All the Marys in the New Testament?
I can say that there are at least seven Marys, depending on how you count them. I’ll start off with those seven and explain how we get to that seven. An Interview with Anna Cwikla
Christian Heresy: Is the Idea Still Relevant?
So they feel there’s a need to say, 'OK, we know this is a time of crisis, so we need to know who counts in our group and who doesn’t.' An Interview with Chance Bonar.
Charles Hedrick and Nag Hammadi Manuscripts
"One of my hobbies was to read things from antiquity that nobody else had ever read before. … Preparing a translation for publication is separate from translating as you put it together." An interview with Dr. Charles Hedrick.
What the Apostles Did after the Resurrection
"Christian believers for the past two millennia haven’t distinguished between canonical and noncanonical sources. Lots of stories in noncanonical texts have been just as much true stories for believers as canonical texts. Lots of stories in noncanonical texts have been just as much true stories for believers as canonical texts." An interview with Dr. Janet Spittler.
Shapira Deuteronomy Fragments: Forgery or Authentic?
"I would suggest keeping a cool head and reserving judgment. Good scholarship takes time—thinking about … all the stuff that comes out on the internet very, very rapidly." An interview about the Shapira Scroll with Dr. Tony Burke.
The Gospel of Matthew’s Problematic Prophecies
"Looking at contemporary writers helped me understand how Matthew was quoting the Old Testament—which ... turned out to be pretty much the common practice of the day." An Interview with Robert J. Miller.
How the Beautiful Odes of Solomon Enhance Jewish-Christian Dialogue
"Some think these Odes of Solomon are words of praise to Jesus. … But these are Jesus's praises of God, not the worship of Jesus." An Interview with Samuel Zinner, PhD, and Mark M. Mattison.
Did Paul Really Say That?
"I might say [Paul]’s working out a theology. Maybe in all of the letters. Trying to explain… what it is to be in Christ, or in the body of Christ." An Interview with Dr. Nina Livesey
Is Practical Theology a Contradiction in Terms?
"Sometimes people think theology is some kind of criticism, but it’s about seeing the world more richly and fully." An interview with Dr. Stephen Pattison.
Conservative Christian Finds Biblical Egalitarianism
"I really believe the Holy Spirit fosters equality. You know the Holy Spirit is the great Energizer, but also the great Equalizer." An interview with Margaret Mowczko.
Jesus Learned from Women, Seriously!
"If we simply say we don’t have the voices in our ancient sources which were written by men, about men, … we’re actually contributing to the perpetuation of the silencing of those women." An interview with Dr. James McGrath.
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