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“Compared to the ancient world, 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. So I’ve always just kept going, looking farther and farther to find all of these rich ideas that have been forgotten but people thought of long ago.”
— Dr. Jason BeDuhn in “Early Christians Answer ‘Where Is God When Things Go Wrong?‘” (Episode 33)
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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Beyond “Gnosticism”: Michael Williams on Reading Nag Hammadi Anew
"There will be things that will be seen that I never saw. I’m sure that always goes on. I think they’re going to be around for a while. I would hope increasingly there will be … some humility about the texts." An interview with Dr. Michael Williams.
Jesus the Healer, Jesus the Magos? Rethinking Magic and Religion in Antiquity
"They would focus on the fact that he (Jesus) was Jewish, and so that would make him exotic. And they would also focus on some of the stories that he had knowledge of secret or foreign incantations to heal." An interview with Dr. David Frankfurter.
What Is the Kingdom of God? Rethinking Sacred Space
So I think it can be hugely shaping. And it makes it really kind of a perfect example of something with no physical structure that can still be very core to our identity and how we live our lives. An interview with Dr. Karen Winell.
What the Hermetica Reveal About Early Christianity
"But your true self, in the hermetic worldview, is trying to break out of the distractions, and it’s trying to awaken itself. It’s trying to think God and to see God in reality." An interview with Rev. M. David Litwa.
Simon Magus: Villain or Simply Misunderstood?
“On the basis of the Acts alone, we certainly cannot conclude that Simon is—as you mentioned—a scumbag, nor is he portrayed as an ally of evil, as he will be portrayed in later sources.” An interview with Dr. Benjamin DeVos.
Gnosis, a Roman Catholic Womanpriest, and Inner Awakening
“When I use the word ‘gnostic’ or ‘gnosis’… I’m speaking about gnosis in its original sense… an inner awakening to the divine presence already dwelling within us.” An interview with Rev. Dr. Bridget Mary Meehan.
Rethinking Eve: New Insights into the Genesis Story
“Eve is the protagonist. She’s the one who reasons; she weighs options; she acts, and she moves history forward. It’s a deliberate, reasoned choice.” An interview with Shawna Dolansky.
Two Fathers of Jesus: A New Perspective
It could be useful to read this text—to kind of really reflect on these human and divine identities and natures of Jesus and how to balance those, even if it's not in line with doctrinal teachings. An interview with Nathan Houston.
Karen King Discusses Mary Magdalene as a Leader in Early Christianity
The Gospel of Mary talks about spiritual life both in terms of space and something that happens after death, but it's also very much a spiritual path in this life as one prepares for that. An interview with Dr. Karen L. King.
How Later Anti-Jewish Readings Distort the New Testament
How have anti-Jewish ideas shaped readings of the New Testament? Meredith Warren explores “Judeophobia,” historical context, and responsible interpretation in this Bible and Beyond podcast conversation. An interview with Dr. Meredith J. C. Warren.
Why the Ancient Romans Destroyed the Jewish Temple
Dr. Ward Sanford discusses the early years leading to Rome’s destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. Drawing from his historical novel’s first book, he mixes careful research with fictional characters to illuminate the forces that erupted between 63 and 66 CE. An interview with Dr. Ward Sanford.
Beyond the Canon: Why Apocrypha Matters
Even if we may not like the text itself very much, it points us to questions we usually do not ask anymore. Maybe we should start thinking about these questions a little bit deeper. An interview with Dr. Tobias Nicklas
Heresies, Power, and the Forgotten Voices of Early Christianity
One of the reasons I'm really interested in the diversity of early Christianity is because it helps us be more tolerant of the other when you start seeing how diverse it was originally. An interview with Dr. Bart Ehrman
The Council of Nicaea at 1700 Years: Why It Still Matters
This is not only an entertaining story, but deeply significant in terms of the development of Christian thought going on in the second century, when so many things were happening, and in such a robust period of time. An interview with the Reverend Benjamin Wyatt
Is It Possible Paul Didn’t Write ANY of the New Testament Letters?
What were the letters supposed to accomplish? The letters permit an expansion of doctrine or teachings and moral exhortation from an authoritative figure of the faith rendered seemingly in his own voice. That is a one sentence synopsis. An interview with Dr. Nina Livesey
Thecla’s Challenge to Both Rome and the Early Christian World
This is not only an entertaining story, but deeply significant in terms of the development of Christian thought going on in the second century, when so many things were happening, and in such a robust period of time. An interview with Dr. Perry Kea
The Complicated Lives of Enslaved Women of the Bible
One of the things that I hope that comes out of my research is a centering of women's experience and a centering of these most marginalized of women in our readings of the text. An interview with Dr. Christy Cobb
More Connections Between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Library
Both the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi library made a big splash in the media in the forties and the fifties as giving us a new light on the secrets of early Christianity—each in different ways. An interview with Dr. Matthew Goff and Dr. Dylan Burns
Is There a Connection Between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Library?
You are bringing us back into antiquity in a way we've never seen before. Dylan, you're stretching our minds in terms of what we're calling Christian. Matthew, you're telling us we have more legitimacy in what we're looking at. An interview with Dr. Matthew Goff and Dr. Dylan Burns
Introducing the Gospel of Philip
One of the things that originally attracted me to this text was the fact that it is clearly extremely interested in the New Testament. It knows much of the New Testament really well. An interview with Dr. Kimberley Fowler
What Was Jesus’s Religious Life Like?
You should expect the unexpected. Be ready for a lot of diversity. Sometimes as scholars, we try to smooth away things that seem unusual to try to make them fit with the greater body of evidence. An interview with Dr. Meredith J. C. Warren
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