Bible Feed

We have a new guest for a new year! Becky Lewis discusses with Paul Davenport whether it's right to think of God as distant and unfeeling, as is often the portrayal in popular culture.  By drawing from the Bible from the creation narrative through to how Jesus treated people and on through to the final chapters of Revelation, we find God revealed as deeply invested in seeking close relationships with people and indeed connecting people together in a family.  Listen in to see how dominant this theme is in the Bible!

For our final podcast of 2020, we’re bringing you a discussion we recorded when lockdown started in the UK in March 2020.  It seems like an age ago but also like yesterday - when we were just getting to the point of that first lockdown haircut!  The subject is "Why read the Bible?" which seems just as relevant as we go into a new year in a world very much still in the grip of uncertainty.  And so, whatever 2020 has been like for you, whether it's given you sadness or joy or additional stress and strain, perhaps it's comforting to know that the still small voice of the divine, revealed through an ancient text, will always be there waiting for us to listen.  So we hope you enjoy this discussion and we wish you all the best for 2021. 

This episode is all about the new book "Founding a Faith" recently published by Tom Gaston.  Dan Weatherall asks Tom about some of the concepts explored in the book, such as whether we should build our faith like a tower with a foundation or as a flexible web of interconnected ideas - which is more resilient?  Also discussed is the whole perplexing issue of why God should be so hidden and what that means we should expect from the Bible as containing his revelation.  Listen in to hear Tom's perspective.

This conversation asks another big question - what is human nature really like?  Dan Weatherall and Stephen Blake, a professional counsellor, explore this topic and find that, although the Bible starts with the ideal of humans reflecting God's image, it more often paints a picture of struggle and failure.  Why is that and can anything be done about it?  Listen in to see where the conversation leads...

The question that lies at the foundation of everything else that we talk about at Bible Feed - Is there a God?  Paul Davenport and Sam Day explore three of the classic arguments for the existence of God and the common objections to them.  Do you find them compelling?  Which do you think is the most powerful?  Listen and enjoy!

As we've reached our 10th episode we thought we should explain a little bit about our aims and our plans for the coming months! Paul and Dan, as members of a lay community called the Christadelphians, discuss what unique perspectives they think the Bible Feed podcast can bring to the wider Christian debate.  You'll also discover how our approach is guided by the philosophy of Winnie the Pooh!!  Listen on... 

The title of this episode is a question from one of our listeners. Dan Weatherall and Jon Davies explore what's behind it and find that there are even bigger questions to consider, like why are there differences between the Gospels?  How we answer that gets to the heart of what the Gospels are for and how we read them.  Listen in and see what you think!

(Note: apologies for the audio quality, this was recorded over a well known video call service that does not begin with A!  We're working on improving it for future episodes).

There is so much baggage attached to the concepts of 'the Spirit of God' or 'the Holy Spirit' that it can be really difficult to know where to start in understanding what the concept means in scripture and in our daily lives.  Sam Thomas talks to Paul Davenport about how to unpick the basic concept and its meaning in scripture. Listen in to find out what it's all about!

The connection between the Bible and history is complicated... should the Bible be treated as objective, literal history or should we see it as all myths?  Is it possible to find the truth somewhere between those two extremes? Dan and Paul explore these questions by using one of the ancient kings of Judah - Hezekiah as a case study.

Paul Davenport and Josh Dean conclude a two part series about pride and how it is characterised in the Biblical narrative.  This section shows how the Bible, and especially Jesus, uses stories and parables to help us think deeper and challenge ourselves.