Deconstructing the Bible

Deconstructing the Bible

By Jason SteffenhagenReligion & Spirituality
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Deconstructing the Bible episodes

  • Faith Development Theory | How we develop impacts how we read the Bible

    In this episode, Jason explores James Fowler's faith development theory from the book Stages of Faith (book link below). At each stage of our development we engage the Bible differently. As faith becomes our own (stage 4), we sometimes need to read the Bible with different lenses as we explore what we believe and how it shapes who we are becoming.


    Stages of Faith (by James Fowler)

    18 min
  • Stephanie Spencer Invites Us To Wrestle (part 3)

    Assoc. Minister Jason sits down with Stephanie Spencer, founder and director of 40 Orchards, a non-profit that invites people to explore the Scriptures in community through the practice of midrash. She is a kind friend and an incredibly smart and gifted Bible teacher.


    This episode is part 3 (the final part) of the conversation.

    In part 3, Stephanie and Jason talk about the journey of faith that Abraham encountered in contrast to the way that Solomon handled the power and authority he was given as king. Are we the type of people who are discovering ourselves and our calling with God, or are we protecting our position and privilege to the detriment of others?

    For more information about 40 Orchards, check out the website below...

    https://40orchards.org/

    23 min
  • Stephanie Spencer Invites Us To Wrestle (part 2)

    Assoc. Minister Jason sits down with Stephanie Spencer, founder and director of 40 Orchards, a non-profit that invites people to explore the Scriptures in community through the practice of midrash. She is a kind friend and an incredibly smart and gifted Bible teacher.


    This episode is part 2 of the conversation.

    In part 2, Stephanie and Jason dive into the story of Jacob, whose name is changed to Israel. How can this story transform how we understand our relationship with God? They also talk about Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Mark 12, and what it means to love God with the entirety of our being.

    For more information about 40 Orchards, check out the website below...

    https://40orchards.org/

    30 min
  • Stephanie Spencer Invites Us To Wrestle (part 1)

    "AHHH! This is the episode that I've been waiting for!!" 

    Assoc. Minister Jason sits down with Stephanie Spencer, founder and director of 40 Orchards, a non-profit that invites people to explore the Scriptures in community through the practice of midrash. She is a kind friend and an incredibly smart and gifted Bible teacher.

    This episode is only part 1 of the conversation, and they barely scratch the surface.

    In part 1, Stephanie and Jason get a little background on Stephanie and how she was invited to explore the Bible in the tradition of the Jewish Rabbi's. They talk about how Jesus invited questions and discussion, and how that could impact the way we learn and grow in our own faith.

    For more information about 40 Orchards, check out the website below...

    https://40orchards.org/

    21 min
  • The Hebrew Scriptures | How we look at history

    In Episode 4 of Deconstructing the Bible, we look at the Old Testament (or the Hebrew Scriptures) and how it has traditionally been constructed and taught. When observed as simply Israelite history (as most Christian traditions have done), we vastly limit what the text can teach us. But, when observed as part of the Prophetic section (as most Jewish traditions have done...and as Jesus would likely have done), the narrative of God's people can become transformative for us and how we learn what it means to be human.

    16 min
  • The Beginning and the End

    In Episode 3 we ask two questions.... What is the beginning? What is the end? Knowing where the story began and where the story is headed can help us navigate the middle...where we all find ourselves. It can also help us hold onto hope when Justice and Love seem so far from our reality.

    18 min
  • Midrash | How we read, interpret, and find meaning in the Bible

    In Episode 2, Associate Minister Jason Steffenhagen explores different ways of reading, interpreting, and finding meaning in the Bible. Often, we've been told to read what the Bible says, to understand a singular meaning, and to apply the teaching in a singular way. But what if there are other ways to read the Bible? What if we learned from Jewish Rabbi's, who have been engaging the Scriptures for 1,000's of years?


    References for this episode:

    * Midrash: Reading the Bible with Question Marks (Sandy Eisenberg Sasso)
    * Daily Meditations - January 7, 2019: Jesus and the Bible (Richard Rohr)

    18 min
  • ’Deconstructing’ the ’Bible’

    Welcome to Deconstructing the Bible! In this opening episode, Associate Minister Jason Steffenhagen explores what is meant by 'deconstruction' and 'Bible'. This foundation will help us understand the direction for this podcast.  

    15 min
  • Advent: Peace | Not going back to the Garden

    Peace might not be as simple as you think.

    How might our lives change if peace was a more dynamic and complicated idea?

    If we explore how and when it is used in the Bible...and the context of some of the passages in which it is used...we might see that it has an amazing amount to teach us about God and about what it means to be human.

    In this episode, we read from Dear White Peacemakers by Osheta Moore: https://osheta.com/dear-white-peacemakers/

    Enjoy the episode.

    Deconstructing the Bible is going to take a little break. We will be back with a new season at the beginning of February.


    17 min

About Deconstructing the Bible

From the publisher's feed

The B.I.B.L.E. Have you been reading all your life, been teaching or preaching from its passages, or is it new and you are curious? This podcast will seek to reimagine how we approach this sacred text and how it applies to our shared life.