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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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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.
A Womanist Preacher Inspires Her Congregations with Extracanonical Texts
"I saw that I was womanish. I saw myself in it…. In the feminist movement, it was about being a woman. In the womanist tradition, it’s about being a woman in community." An interview with Rev. Stephanie A. Duzant.
Ancient Roman Families and Household Models Elucidate the Biblical Book of Philemon
"It’s interesting to read (Paul’s) letter to Philemon and imagine yourself hearing it as Onesimus. We do not often imagine life from the viewpoint of the slaves in the ancient world. " An interview with Elli Elliott, PhD.
Why You Should Read New Testament Apocrypha
"There are some strange things in these texts, and even Thomas’s skin is one of them. But … there’s plenty of strangeness in the New Testament as well. " An interview with Dr. Tony Burke.
Odes of Solomon: Contemporary Musical Settings
Wow! Those are some really important words, and they went by so quickly. So, how can I (a composer) stretch them, so they have more weight to them than the textual space allows? An Interview with Natalie Perkins and Deborah Saxon.
A New Translation for the Odes of Solomon
These spectacular extant texts are from an era right when there's the so-called parting of the ways between Judaism and Christianity. An Interview with Samuel Zinner, PhD, and Mark M. Mattison
Re-thinking the Meaning of Jesus’s Passion
In the second century we have images of Jesus as a healer, as a teacher, as a good shepherd, but we have no image of Jesus on the cross. An Interview with Dr. Arthur Dewey
What We Can Learn from Imperial Ancient Rome and Its Rape Narrative
I might actually call her [Eve] a female Christ figure. She’s violated like Christ on the cross. There is a healing or a resurrection that happens. An interview with Dr. Celene Lillie.
Jesus Taught Us that Women Are as Valuable as Men in Q
“It’s not like Jesus is the only person in antiquity to think of women as people. But I do think that he innovated this style of teaching: these parable pairs.” An interview with Sara Parks, PhD.
What’s at Stake When Heresy Sells?
"Orthodoxy glorifies martyrs. So the stories of women martyrs are lifted up, but women who speak up or stand up in any other way are criticized and challenged." An Interview with Deb Saxon, PhD.
Biblical Violence Can Be Helpful or Harmful According to the Way You Read It
A singular reading is often done from a dominant position. People with power are the ones who have their story told…But I have found these multiple readings have strengthened my faith." An Interview with Karri Whipple, PhD.
What the Mandaeans know about John the Baptist
“So many people are not aware that there is a group that has survived from ancient times down to the present day that…has sacred texts in a dialect of Aramaic.” An Interview with Dr. James McGrath.
Is Martha the Sister of Mary Magdalene?
"Mary Magdalene seems to have the most prominence in the Gospel of John, and I wondered if it’s possible if that early controversy could have affected the text of the Bible." An Interview with Elizabeth Schrader.
Protevangelium of James: New/Old Views of Mary
I was trained in traditional texts, but drawn to non-normative books and what they can reveal about gender and the construction of one’s identity. Franҫois Bovon considers the Protevangelium of James to be “useful for the soul.” An Interview with Dr. Lily Vuong.
Shepherd of Hermas: Ancient and Modern Respect for the Poor
In Shepherd of Hermas, Elliott finds distinguishing Christian feature: the poor are to be honored. All of us – slaves and masters – should be servants to God. An Interview with Elli Elliott, PhD.
Justice and Peace for Christians and Jews in the Hebrew Bible
Barry’s deep love of both the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) and New Testament inspires us to listen in new ways to familiar texts as well as the ones we’re not so aware of. An interview with Dr. Barry R. Huff.
Making the Mysterious ‘Dialogue of the Savior’ Not So Mysterious
... the strange-sounding Dialogue of the Savior is much more down-to-earth than people realize ... the characters in the story [seem like] people we’d enjoy talking to today. An interview with Anna Cwikla.
The Nag Hammadi Collection
Talking to Celene Lillie about the Nag Hammadi collection helps us understand how these ancient writers made such important connections with their own readers, and then why that makes them so valuable for us today. An Interview with Dr. Celene Lillie.
Reading the ‘Other’ Gospels
In this interview, Mark M. Mattison explains that the dozens of Gospels written in antiquity shed light not just on the meaning of Jesus, but also on the communities that produced them. An interview with Mark M. Mattison.
It’s Ok to Look at Extracanonical Texts!
Dr. Hal Taussig walks with us, step by step to a realization that lesser known biblical texts are vitally important, beautiful, vibrant, and valid today for both scholars and the public. An interview with Dr. Hal Taussig.
The Power of Self-Control in Early Christian Community
Dr. Deborah Saxon, teacher of religion at Butler University in Indianapolis, explains in this interview why the practice of self-control was so important to early Jesus followers. An interview with Deborah Saxon, PhD.
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