Bible Feed

In this episode Dan and Paul embark on an exploration of John's Gospel, unraveling its sense of majesty and mystery right from the opening verses. They discuss the unique structure and content of John's Gospel, comparing it to the Synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—highlighting its distinct opening, key themes, and the explicit purpose stated in John's narrative. They delve into the significance of belief, the role of witnessing, and the powerful symbolism of water and blood, offering a compelling argument for understanding John’s Gospel as a carefully selected collection of events aimed at strengthening the reader's faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Tune in to this episode for an insightful high-level overview of one of the most profound texts in the New Testament.

Dan and Jon discuss the relevance and impact of Christianity in the modern world. They delve into how aspects of Christianity have influenced society, not only in superficial ways like our calendar, but in deeper things such as values, moral codes, and societal norms. The hosts reference various sources, including notable historians and authors like Tom Holland and Yuval Noah Harari, asserting that many fundamental beliefs and values in Western society, such as the sanctity of life and the concept of equality, have their roots in Christian teachings. That may make Christianity relevant in modern society, but does it make it true?

Relaunching the podcast, Dan and Laurence celebrate by pondering a lesser known Christmas story. They encounter Simeon, Anna and a community of people in the temple at Jerusalem "waiting for the consolation of Israel". As the baby is held high by Simeon, they realise that the birth of Jesus is not only deeply rooted in a backstory, but is the climax of a centuries old narrative. Complete with mystery deaths and incomplete sentences, this is an invitation to have yourself a lesser known Christmas story!

Paul and Dan continue their exploration of the Divine Council worldview by looking at claims made about verses in Deuteronomy 32, the introduction to the book of Job and Psalm 82.  In summary, they conclude that while it is useful to understand the cultural background to the text of the Bible, it is also important to avoid being distracted by relatively speculative ideas from the main thrust of the Bible message - that Jesus died to reconcile humans to God.  Let us know what you think!

Having explored how the Bible uses the terms 'devil', 'satan' and 'demons', Paul and Dan now turn to the whole subject of whether the Bible talks about fallen angels.  Is the phrase 'sons of God' used to refer to angels?  If so, does that include spiritual beings with independent power to oppose God and his people?  Using the framework of Michael Heiser's book, Unseen Realm, they start to examine what is termed the 'Divine Council' worldview.  This involves grappling with some of the most mystifying parts of the Bible text - but hey, we're just ordinary people trying to understand the Bible better!

Dan and Laurence step into the New Testament for an introduction to the three letters of John.  After exploring the stark contrasts and Torah references in the first letter they then see how the second and third letters apply the theory from the first letter to two opposite situations. And finally, little children, keep yourselves from idols...uh?

Laurence and Paul finish our series on the 5 books of Moses, the Torah by looking at Deuteronomy.  It turns out that this section doesn't conclude with the people of Israel reaching their destination, then the main character dies (sorry for the spoiler...)! Instead they find that this book acts as a stage-setter, defining how leaders of this ancient people will be described for the next 600 years.  Remarkably, they also find Deuteronomy making a surprise appearance at the end of that history, just before Israel were exiled to Babylon. 

In this 3rd episode in the series, Paul and Dan go off on a tangent to think about demons.  They start by looking at where they appear in the Old Testament and find them linked to the idols worshipped by the peoples around the ancient Israelites and presented as having no real existence or power.  When they come to the Gospels they explore why they suddenly appear so often there and why they are linked with certain types of illness.  They conclude with the overriding point that God is the only source of power and so Christians have no need to fear them and can safely ignore them while embracing the love of God expressed through his Son.

Paul and Dan continue their exploration of how these 'characters' appear in the Bible.  In part 1 they reached a preliminary conclusion that they are used as terms to personify our inherent tendency to want to go our own way rather than God's way.  In this episode they look at many more of the biblical passages that refer to the devil and satan and try to categorise them to get a comprehensive view of what they mean.