The Bible For Normal People

A weekly podcast talk show having serious talks about the sacred book. Hosted by Peter Enns and Jared Byas.

Religion & Spirituality
Christianity
251
Episode 130: Drew Hart - The Bible, Race, & Whi...
We’re revisiting an episode from Season 1 in which Dr. Drew G. I. Hart shares about the Bible and white supremacy. We get into what exactly white supremacy is and how it has influenced how we read the Bible and our theology.  Show Notes →   
43 min
252
Episode 129: Brooke Prentis - Reading the Bibl...
Brooke Prentis is an Aboriginal leader and CEO of a Christian organization in Australia called Common Grace. On this episode, she shares with us some Aboriginal perspectives on the Bible and how the Bible speaks to the injustices that Aboriginal people h...
43 min
253
Episode 128: Matthias Henze - The Bible & Seco...
What happened during the time the writings of the Old Testament stopped and the New Testament writings began? People didn’t stop writing and what they wrote helps us better understand the context of the Bible. On this episode we talk with Dr. Matthias He...
48 min
254
Episode 127: Miguel De La Torre - Diverse Voic...
Many of us believe that our interpretations of the Bible are generally the same as everyone else's. But does that make them them good? On this podcast episode, we talk with Professor of Social Ethics and Latinx Studies, Miguel De La Torre about why we a...
50 min
255
Episode 126: Kirsten Powers - The Journey To Grace
In this episode, Jared and Pete are joined by political correspondent Kirsten Powers, to talk about her journey of faith, her openness to the mystery of God, and how she’s learning to treat others with a higher level of grace.Show Notes → 
56 min
256
Episode 125: Pete Enns - Big Ideas that Shaped ...
Biblical scholarship has grown a lot over the centuries but there are some ideas that are just so good they never go away! On this episode of the podcast, Pete looks at one of those foundational ideas: Julius Wellhausen’s documentary hypothesis. Wellhaus...
48 min
257
Episode 124: Yii-Jan Lin - Immigration & the Bo...
Under the hood of America, we see an interesting history of using the book of Revelation to talk about immigration. Our guest, NT scholar Yii-Jan Lin walks us through the profound impact the book of Revelation has had on the US dialogue about people comi...
46 min
258
Episode 123: Jared Byas - Rediscovering Jonah -...
In this episode Jared begins to tackle the book of Jonah by asking, “What kind of book is this?” as well as introducing the first chapter. Just because Jesus mentions Jonah does that mean we have to believe it’s historical? What is the historical context...
43 min
259
Episode 122: Emerson Powery - The Bible as a So...
The writings of formerly enslaved people tell us a lot about how they viewed the Bible. We sat down with Professor Emerson Powery to talk about how the Bible was used around the institution of slavery and how it can be both a book of oppression and a boo...
46 min
260
Episode 121: Pete and Jared - Pete and Jared Ta...
On this week's episode, Pete and Jared are talking about the afterlife. What is it and what does the Bible say about it? Show Notes → 
41 min
261
Episode 120: Jack Levison - The Spirit, Wind, &...
If we look under the surface, we find a fascinating conversation about the Spirit of God in the Bible. Considering the word for Spirit, Wind, and Breath of God is often the same in the Bible, how are we to understand the relationship between them? We tal...
39 min
262
Episode 119: Xavier Ramey - Diversity, Social J...
Dr. Martin Luther King says “All people are caught in an Inescapable network of mutuality.” So what does that mean when it comes to the gospel, the Bible, and how we navigate racial equality? In this episode, we talk to Xavier Ramey about diversity, incl...
53 min
263
Episode 118: Meghan Henning - Does Hell Exist?
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 →  
49 min
264
Episode 117: Pete Enns - Reading the Old Testam...
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 Isr...
96 min
265
Episode 116: Sarah Ruden - Getting Inside the H...
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...
46 min
266
Episode 115: Alison Cook - Your Emotions Are No...
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 Ali...
48 min
267
Episode 114: Pete and Jared - How to Read the B...
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 ne...
51 min
268
Episode 113: James Martin - The Gift of Imagina...
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...
44 min
269
Season 4 Teaser
Here's what's coming up in Season 4 of The Bible For Normal People podcast
4 min
270
Episode 112: Pete and Jared - How “How the Bibl...
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 →
46 min
271
Episode 111: Tom Oord - Uncontrolling Love of God
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 → 
45 min
272
Episode 110: Pete Enns - Pete Ruins Exodus (Par...
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’...
51 min
273
Episode 109: Megan DeFranza - The Bible and Int...
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 a...
48 min
274
Episode 108: Pete Wehner - Faith, Politics, & P...
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 ...
53 min
275
Episode 107: Cindy Wang Brandt - Raising Childr...
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...
46 min