Faith Lab
Faith Lab takes serious biblical scholarship out of academic conferences and dense books and makes it accessible to everyday listeners.
Hosted by Nate and Shelby Hanson, the show features conversations with historians, biblical scholars, and experts who study the origins of Christianity, the New Testament, and the world of the Bible. Nate and Shelby serve as curious guides, asking honest questions and pressing guests to explain their research clearly.
After 10 years of deconstruction, Nate’s journey through pastoral ministry and work alongside Francis Chan led him back to Christian faith through serious engagement with biblical scholarship.
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#119 – Sarah Bessey: Evolving Faith
What does it mean to have a faith that evolves, and are there any limits to that change? How did Rachel Held Evans influence Sarah Bessey's own faith journey, and what might we be missing from Rachel's voice today? What challenges do people face when their faith changes and evolves, and how can we navigate those challenges with grace and community?
65 min
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#118 – Deconstructing Worship Music
How can you write worship music when you're questioning your faith? What role does doubt play in the creative process of writing worship music? How can you reconcile your doubts and struggles with the lyrics of traditional worship songs?
76 min
53
#117 – William Matthews: The Evolution of Worship
Exploring the intersection of music, deconstruction, and faith with former Bethel worship leader William Matthews
75 min
54
#116 – Worship: Revisiting the Melodies of Our ...
Embark on a musical journey as we revisit cherished worship songs, exploring how our evolving faith and feelings have reshaped our connection to these melodies.
65 min
55
#115 – Name the Women of the Bible: 16 Notable ...
Exploring the Stories of Women Named in the Bible—Both Famous and Forgotten
54 min
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#114 – Teaching Your Kids While Deconstructing ...
What if I still want to pass on faith to my children, but I'm not sure what I believe? What do kids need to be learning about Christianity at different stages? What do kids have to teach us about holding uncertainty. We talk with Sarah Swartzendruber, a pastor passionate about empowering parents in deconstruction to create spiritual practices for their kids.
74 min
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#113 – Cindy Wang Brandt: Raising Children Duri...
Do formerly fundamentalist parents project their own trauma on their children? What kind of “stability” do kids of deconstructing parents actually need? Is it okay to not ever get community back?
62 min
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#112 – From Outreach to Outsider: Katherine's S...
In this episode, we hear from listener Katherine about her disillusionment with Christianity due to Trump, hell, and bad biblical interpretations on women. What was your breaking point? Join us as we discuss the cracks in our experience of Christianity and explore how to move forward.
35 min
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#111 – Canon: Extra-Canonical Text
What kinds of texts were rejected from the New Testament canon? Are extra-canonical texts as dangerous and bad as we used to think? How does history and archaeology affect how we read the Bible today?
56 min
60
#110 – Canon: The Criteria of the New Testament
How did the early church determine which texts would go into the canon and which would not? Are all texts outside the New Testament heretical or dangerous? Does the truth of the canon formation process change how we think about the Bible we have?
65 min
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#109 – Canon: Is the Bible Inspired, Inerrant a...
Is the Bible the inspired words of God? What does it mean for the Bible to be infallible? If the Bible isn't inerrant, is it worthless?
58 min
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#108 – Canon: Timeline of New Testament Writings
When were the documents of the New Testament written? Does it matter that details of the Gospels changed over time? What did “Bible,” “scripture,” or “canon” even mean in the first century?
50 min
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#107 – The January 6th intersection of politics...
On January 6, thousands of people breeched the US Capitol. While in the Senate chamber, the said a prayer. The words of the prayer shocked us.
45 min
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#106 – Barbara Brown Taylor: Religious Pluralism
Is there a way for Christianity to exist without rejecting other religions? Is the Bible actually against religious pluralism? What can we learn from people of other faiths to help us be better humans, or even better Christians?
67 min
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#105 – Matt Chandler's Views on Deconstruction
What are pastors getting wrong about deconstruction? Do we need more grace for church abuse? Is there ever a good reason to leave church?
56 min
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#104 – Woman: Jesus, Paul and Mary Magdalene
Was Jesus a perfect example of how to treat women? Did Paul actually tell women to be silent in church? Why did Mary Magdalene disappear after the four gospels?
77 min
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#103 – Woman: Sexual violence and God's silence
Why is the rate of sexual violence the same inside and outside the Church? Does God condone rape in the Old Testament? What has the Bible taught us about the value of women's bodies?
70 min
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#102 – Woman: Silenced voices of the Bible
How can the Dead Sea Scrolls help us recover women's voices? What are the implications of women's voices making up 1% of the Bible? Was the first #MeToo movement really 2,000 years ago?
58 min
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#101 – What Bible translation should I use? (Bo...
Is there a translation of the Bible that most accurately reflects the original texts? What even are the original texts? Did Jesus actually say the words in red? Why do Bible translations have to be approved by a committee, and who is on the committee? Are there things that simply cannot be translated?
13 min
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#100 – Woman: Men wrote the Bible
What does it change knowing that the authors of the Bible were men? What about gender-neutral translations? Have we missed a foundational part of Jesus' gospel?
67 min
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#99 – Woman: The Gender of God
Why do we call God "He"? What if Paul was wrong about women having authority over men? What do we lose by treating God like a single father?
48 min
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#98 – Audrey Assad - Psychedelics, Christian Mu...
What does it feel like to change your beliefs? What can we teach our children when we're not sure what we believe? Nate talks to Audrey Assad who was part of creating and then leaving the evangelical culture through conservative Christian music.
49 min
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#97 – Dr. Mario Livio - Galileo and science den...
Why is science denialism more prominent in the Christian church? What are the consequences of the Church suppressing scientific curiosity? How do we have conversations with friends and family who deny scientific findings and new information?
60 min
74
#96 – Krispin and D.L. Mayfield: Mister Rogers,...
Why is Mister Rogers' message to children better than Sunday school? How did Dave Ramsey make the accusation of money a christian value? How can Attachment Theory shine a light on shame-filled messages we often hear in the church? Nate chats with Danielle and Krispin Mayfield.
93 min
75
#95 – Julie Anne Smith - Spiritual and Sexual A...
In light of the sexual abuse scandal involving Ravi Zacharias, Nate talks with Julie Anne Smith about Lori Anne Thompson's survivor story and power structures in the Church that allow for both sexual and spiritual abuse.
72 min