Data Over Dogma

When people say they've read "the Bible," what do they mean? Well generally what they DON'T mean is that they read source texts in their original languages. Most of us don't have the time or desire to learn how to read ancient Hebrew or Greek, so we're at the mercy of other people to figure out how to render the two thousand plus year old writings into our language. That leaves us with a problem: how do we know which translation to use?

This week, Dr Dan is going to give the low-down on the many, many translations and version we have. We'll talk about why different versions popped up, and what the biases and goals of the various translators might have been. And we'll give specific examples of the differences between versions, exploring the massive difference a small word choice can have.

For early access to an ad-free version of every episode of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and an opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's perhaps the most surprising conspiracy theory to pop up in this century. Humans have known that our planet is a sphere for literally thousands of years. Why, in a day of more advanced science than ever before, would people suddenly abandon that knowledge? Well, before our collective eyeballs all get too strained from rolling them, let's all pause to look at the probable origin of the flat-Earth insistence: The Bible.

Does the Bible actually say that the Earth is flat? If it does, are readers meant to take that claim seriously? Are Bible-believing Christians obligated to deny the sphere?

Then, it's Mea Culpa time! Dan McClellan has been convinced that a position he has espoused on social media and on this very podcast was incorrect. It's a minor thing with very little theological importance, but it actually has some interesting implications. It's to do with two jackasses. Or maybe three, if you count Dan.

For early access to an ad-free version of every episode of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and an opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you've been listening to the show for any length of time, you know that the Bible did not come from any single source, nor does it speak with one voice. This week, we have Dr. David Carr with us to discuss "the primeval history" of Genesis 1-11, and and the sources from which those chapters sprung.

Were these stories taken and modified from other myths and legends in that part of the world? Were they actual history? What should we think when the stories repeat/conflict with themselves? Join us for a fascinating journey through the origin story of the origin story.

For early access to an ad-free version of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and an opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we're going to point out a blatant contradiction in the Bible, and if you don't like it... you'll just have to forgive us!

In our first segment we'll talk about the epic end(s) of the the reign of king Ahaziah. There are two stories, and boy howdy- they do NOT line up!

Then, we're talking new-testament forgiveness. Does Jesus have the right to forgive sins? The rabbis say no. He says yes. The disabled guy who was lowered into Jesus' house through a hole in the roof would just like to make it out of there in one piece. Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion!

For early access to an ad-free version of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and an opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You ever wonder if nefarious scientists are feverishly working to open a portal to allow demons out to begin the apocalypse? Well don't. That's silly. Nevertheless, some people ARE worried about that. And so many other silly things!

This week, we look at the hysteria brought on by the recent total solar eclipse here in the U.S. and what Biblical implications (if any) it might have had.

Also, we talk about the Jerusalem council in the book of Acts, and the impact it had on the formation of early Christianity. As the early followers of Jesus sorted out what it means to allow gentiles into the fold, they had some decisions to make about what rules all the new kids had to follow. They had no idea how big an impact they were going to have! To all the Christians who love bacon- they say "you're welcome."

For early access to an ad-free version of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and an opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, it's a deep dive into the Biblical ideas of spirits, souls, trinitarian thought, evolutionary agency detection, demons... and that's just the first segment! What is a spirit or a soul, anyway? Where did that idea come from? And after we answer ALL those questions, who or what is the Holy Spirit?

And then, you know, we talk about Elisha and the bears murdering a bunch of kids.

For early access to an ad-free version of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and an opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a big question these days. A deeply personal issue for many, a wedge issue for politicians (and that doofus Matt Walsh), and a point of A LOT of misinformation when it comes to the position of the Bible. Well, we're not qualified to talk about the personal or the political much, but on this week's show, we'll definitely be able to dive head-first into what the Bible has to say about the question of "what is a woman"?

But before we get to that, we're diving into a murder mystery! An actual Biblical whodunnit. We all remember the story of when David killed Goliath, right? Well, what if that's not right? What if the giant Philistine was killed by someone else entirely, and David is just taking the credit? It's an episode of Law and Order: Bible Unit, and we're on the case. *Dun Dun*

For early access to an ad-free version of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and an opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It doesn't sound very nice, but this week we're asking the question: is religious belief the same as factual knowledge, or is closer to imagination? Cognitive scientist and philosopher Neil Van Leeuwen is here to walk us through the theory he puts forward in his book Religion as Make-Believe A Theory of Belief, Imagination, and Group Identity. And it is fascinating!

Dr. Van Leeuwen dives deep into how our minds relate to the world around us. What distinguishes our understanding of what's in the room next to us from our ideas about who or what controls the universe? Is there a difference between what he calls a "religious credence" that God is present in your life and the factual belief that you're currently sitting on a soft brown sofa? What's going on in our brains when we believe something versus when we know it?

Find the book here (or ask your local bookshop to order it for you): https://www.amazon.com/-/he/Neil-Van-Leeuwen/dp/067429033X

For early access to an ad-free version of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and an opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time for bunnies and chocolate, and recounting stories of brutal murder! For Christians around the world, Holy Week is an incredibly important time. But how well do you actually know the good, the bad, and the ugly of the last days of Jesus? But also... they weren't the last days, were they?

This week, we're going through the Holy Week timeline and events to get some perspective on it all. Then, it's all about re-enlivening. Where did the idea of resurrection come from? What's its history? And did ancient Jewish people think of it the way we do now?

For early access to an ad-free version of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and an opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did Paul use slave labor to help him write his epistles? Would we even have a Bible without the work of enslaved people? This week, we welcome New Testament scholar Candida Moss, whose new book, God's Ghostwriters: Enslaved Christians and the Making of the Bible comes out later this month. In this book, Dr. Moss explores the widespread use of highly skilled enslaved people, not only as scribes or human dictation machines, but likely in much more creative capacities. Was your favorite passage of the Bible actually written or edited by an enslaved person?

You can pre-order the book here:

https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Ghostwriters-Enslaved-Christians-Making-ebook/dp/B0C9ZP7FB8

For early access to an ad-free version of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and an opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices