Almost Heretical
Are you ready to rethink the Bible and challenge easy answers? Join guests like Neil deGrasse Tyson, Marianne Williamson, Tim Mackie (BibleProject), Jon Foreman (Switchfoot), Rainn Wilson (The Office), and Rob Bell as we dive into complex conversations about faith, moving beyond conservative and liberal camps. If you don’t fit neatly into either space, you’ll fit in just fine here. Hosted by Nate Hanson (former Crazy Love pastor) and Shelby Hanson (MA Biblical Studies & Dead Sea Scrolls), Almost Heretical invites you to explore Christianity without subscribing to tribal ideologies. With over 2 million downloads, this is a space for those asking tough questions and seeking honest answers. You’re not alone.
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126
#45 – Why Seams & Stitching Matter
All the talk about stitching and literary complexity got Nate and Tim talking about why this stuff even matters. What does thinking of the Bible as a literary mosaic change? How does paying attention to redaction and arrangement affect our views of Christianity and how we relate to one another?
25 min
127
#44 – Ancient Scroll Technology
Ancient scroll technology led to literary binding techniques evident in the Bible. Collections of texts were stitched together through canonical seams and enclosed within literary introductions and conclusions. This seam work is how we got a Bible.
30 min
128
#43 – Literary Layers & Ananias and Sapphira
Collectively, the Bible consists of complex literary layers stacked atop one another. Stories and motifs are recycled and re-used. When we read any individual story, we must read it as a single layer of a greater whole. The strange story of Ananias and Sapphira, for example, is written in conversation with a series of Old Testament stories as well as at least one other Ananias story in the Book of Acts. We aren’t reading it well unless we learn to read it as a literary layer.
30 min
129
#42 – Copy, Paste & Psalm 108
If the Bible is a mosaic, then the meaning is in the stitching. Nate and Tim look at how Psalm 108 is an example of clear editing and repurposing of texts within the Hebrew Bible, and how the Gospel of Luke is tracking with this literary mechanism at work.
25 min
130
#41 – How does the Bible work?
Nate and Tim open up a new series of conversations exploring how the Bible actually works. They introduce the idea of the Bible as a literary mosaic in which various texts are pieced together to form a kind of theological portrait. This episode is the first in what will be an ongoing series called How The Bible Works.
72 min
131
#40 – Lisa Sharon Harper - Brett Kavanaugh and ...
Lisa Sharon Harper talks about what Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court really means, how we got here, and what the gospel has to say about it.
65 min
132
#39 – Science Mike McHargue - Anger and Hope
Mike McHargue (Science Mike) sits down with Nate and Tim to talk about sexual assault, the Bible, why so many people are over church, finding hope amidst cynicism, and much more. The conversation happened on the heels of a long and emotional week relating to how our society and the church treats women and victims of sexual assault in light of Christine Beasley Ford's testimony at Brett Kavanaugh's hearing. It made for a raw and honest discussion.
75 min
133
#38 – How to Fix Gender Dynamics in the Church
Part 9 (conclusion) of the gender series. We talk about what we've learned, what we can do, and respond to your questions. Oh, and a poem from Tim set to music - you don't want to miss it!
69 min
134
#37 – What does Paul think about Women Elders? ...
Part 8 of the gender series. Nate and Tim discuss Paul’s words to Timothy concerning “elders” and “deacons”. Can women be elders? Or is Paul mandating male leadership? Is he even creating formal “church offices” at all? And what do these titles even mean? We seek to answer these questions and more while showing how and why we usually get Paul so wrong.
62 min
135
#36 – How Do Women Experience Gender Dynamics i...
Part 7 of the gender series. Nate and Tim host their moms as well as some friends and listeners for a round table discussion on the topic. If you only listen to one episode in the series, listen to this one. Hear our five guests - Molly, Julia, Emily, Ada and Julie Anne - as they share their perspectives on how gender ideologies play out in relationships, church and the broader culture. The conversation covers an array of view points and, in the end, answers the question, “What do Christian men and pastors really need to hear from women like you?”
86 min
136
#35 – Adam, then Eve (1 Timothy 2:11-15)
Part 6 in a series on gender, power and hierarchy. Nate and Tim wrap up the discussion on 1 Timothy 2, discussing Paul’s reference to Adam being created first and the concluding line about women being saved through childbirth. Is this Paul rooting patriarchy in “God’s creation order” or is Paul once again saying the exact opposite of what it sounds like he’s saying?
63 min
137
#34 – Authority over a man (1 Timothy 2:11-15)
Part 5 on Christianity and gender. Nate and Tim begin to tackle 1 Timothy 2 by considering the context of the letter, the significance of the goddess Artemis, and the Greek word translated as “exercise authority”. Once again we see that paying close attention to the gender passages in light of their original context opens up whole new avenues of interpretation.
56 min
138
#33– Silencing women (1 Cor 14:34-35)
Part 4 in a series on gender. Nate and Tim discuss some of the more infuriating ways complementation theology affects Christian women and explore the frustrating passage where Paul seems to tell women to sit down and shut up. But what is Paul really saying? And how could he tell women to be silent while simultaneously encouraging them to preach and prophecy in the church gatherings?
59 min
139
#32 – Husbands and slave masters (Eph 5:22-6:9,...
Part 3 in a series on Christianity and gender. Nate and Tim discuss two more key passages related to gender, trying to understand why Paul grouped husbands & wives, children & fathers, and slaves & masters. What do wives, children and slaves have in common? And what does Paul say to them? And how does he address husbands, fathers and slave masters? Listen to see how Paul’s theology of power makes surprising sense of it all and shows how these passages mean the exact opposite of what many claim they mean.
42 min
140
#31 – Authority over her own damn head (1 Cor 1...
Part 2 in a series on gender and the Bible. Nate and Tim discuss the first of six key New Testament passages pertaining to gender that have traditionally been used to support male authority. What is Paul really getting at about women covering their heads? Does “the head of the woman is man” really mean men are supposed to be in charge? Who gets authority over women’s bodies? And what in the world do angels have to do with any of this? All this and more as Nate and Tim take a closer look and show how most of us were taught that Paul was saying the exact opposite of what he really meant.
30 min
141
#30 – Jesus ended hierarchy
Part 1 in a series on Jesus and gender: Nate and Tim discuss some prerequisites to looking at New Testament texts pertaining to gender. Jesus explicitly taught that his disciples were to follow his example and abandon all sense of status, power and hierarchy. This was Christianity 101 to the apostles and early church and therefore any interpretation of the gender passages that today seem so offensive to women must acknowledge this overarching Christian ethic. If Jesus said there weren’t even supposed to be positions of status in the church, and Paul believed every Christian was to lay down their power over others, how could the New Testament possibly “teach” that men are supposed to have authority and women are supposed to submit?
28 min
142
#29 – Why Can't Women Teach in Church?
Episode 1 of the Gender series. The church has a long history of oppressing and silencing women, and using the Bible and Paul to justify that. We are going to push back on that and show that Paul thought the opposite. Tell your friends, tell you dad, tell your mom.
15 min
143
#28 – Jeff Sessions used the Bible to justify s...
Last week Jeff Sessions used the Bible to justify kidnapping children, separating families, and continuing one of the cruelest immigration policies in US history. We're sickened, so we put out an impromptu episode calling BS on that. Our theology matters because it can lead to death or life. Which will you choose?
52 min
144
#27 – Kaepernick, #churchtoo, and Christian nat...
What is the connection between rampant pastoral abuse in evangelical churches and evangelicalism’s collusion with conservative politics? Nate and Tim discuss how American slaveholder religion instilled a reverence for authority that is the root of both these issues. Listen in as they touch on #churchtoo, Colin Kaepernick, protecting the status quo, the notion that we’re all just supposed to be grateful for authorities, and more.
59 min
145
#26 – Jesus and Self Defense
Tragically, school shootings happen seemingly every week in America these days, and every time they do a debate breaks out over guns and the right to bear arms. Many believe it’s “a God-given right” to own and use a gun, and many think that Jesus affirmed and even commanded armed self-defense. Others insist that Christianity is inherently pacifist and that following Jesus means giving up one’s right to bear arms. This week Tim finally went out to the shed to record an episode looking at where Jesus really stood on self-defense.
28 min
146
#25 – Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove - Slaveholder R...
Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove reflects on the painful reality that much of white American Christianity is more akin to slaveholder religion than the Christianity of Christ. He discusses how to distinguish between the two and shares some of his own journey of reconstructing the gospel.
51 min
147
#24 – Post Traumatic History Disorder
Acknowledging the truth of our history can be painful, overwhelming and even traumatic. The history itself is also one of traumatization. Nate and Tim continue the conversation about the tragic truth of American church history by reflecting on last week’s discussion with Mark Charles and more.
49 min
148
#23 – Mark Charles: Is America a Christian Nation?
Mark Charles retells the founding of America to expose political, social and spiritual implications. You may need to sit and process for a while after this episode. What if we're remembering Abraham Lincoln and our founding all wrong? What if the systemic issues of our national history are still unresolved today?
78 min
149
#22 – The risk of believing differently
Is it worth losing the certainty you once had to pursue a better picture of God? What if God becomes harder to believe in? Tim and Nate talk about doing better and deeper theology and how that might make for a harder story to believe.
27 min
150
#21 – Brian Zahnd - Making Christianity possibl...
Brian Zahnd joins us to talk about how to make Christianity viable for this generation and generations to come.
62 min