Faith Seeking Understanding

By Faith Seeking Understanding

Deep dives into theology and philosophy, helping Christians develop an anti-fragile faith

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FAQs about Faith Seeking Understanding:

How many episodes does Faith Seeking Understanding have?

The podcast currently has 20 episodes available.

Faith Seeking Understanding episodes:

August 10, 2023 Hevel and Happiness
In our tenth episode on Wisdom in the Old Testament, we turn our attention to the book of Ecclesiastes. We start our journey through this book by analyzing the concept that is expressed throughout, captured by the Hebrew word “hevel”. We discuss the best way to think about it, as well as what it seems to get in the way of.
00:00 - Introduction
07:51 - The importance of hevel to Ecclesiastes
10:45 - Qoheleth vs Teacher, Preacher, Congregationalist
13:40 - Qoheleth’s hevel (vapor) and Aristotle’s hyle (wood)
15:56 - Hevel vs insubstantial or transient
20:40 - Hevel vs vain or futile
26:33 - Hevel vs diverse translations
28:18 - Hevel vs meaningless or absurd
32:38 - Hevel as intractable or elusive
37:12 - Hevel frustrates our pursuit of happiness
41:27 - Conclusion
The Faith Seeking Understanding podcast is also available on the following platforms:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKz8PlM8nC5Vnwvx_e2HmESdKBQq2exoe
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/faith-seeking-understanding/id1681648478
Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZmFpdGhzZWVraW5ndW5kZXJzdGFuZGluZy5jby56YS9wb2RjYXN0P2Zvcm1hdD1yc3M
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7cjo4np6hobnCjm2cuPkKk
Faith Seeking Understanding is a ministry aimed at providing deep dives into theology. To find out more, visit our website or follow us on social media:
Website: https://www.faithseekingunderstanding.co.za
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fsu_southafrica
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fsu.southafrica
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fsu_southafrica
...more
43min
July 26, 2023 Wisdom From Unexpected Places
In our ninth episode on Wisdom in the Old Testament, we close our time with Proverbs by looking at the later chapters in the book and thinking through the implications of their usage and similarities with non-Israelite sources of wisdom. This leads us into discussions about divine inspiration and the internal consistency of Proverbs.
00:00 - Introduction
02:01 - Agur and King Lemuel in Proverbs 30–31
09:10 - The Sayings of the Wise in Proverbs 22–24 and Amenemope
14:44 - The Questions This Raises
16:29 - What This Means for Divine Inspiration of Scripture
19:33 - What This Means for Proverb’s Own Arguments
26:04 - Agur’s Take on Poverty and Riches
27:58 - Returning to the Proverbs of Solomon?
29:01 - Closing With The Wife of Noble Character in Proverbs 31
The Faith Seeking Understanding podcast is also available on the following platforms:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKz8PlM8nC5Vnwvx_e2HmESdKBQq2exoe
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/faith-seeking-understanding/id1681648478
Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZmFpdGhzZWVraW5ndW5kZXJzdGFuZGluZy5jby56YS9wb2RjYXN0P2Zvcm1hdD1yc3M
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7cjo4np6hobnCjm2cuPkKk
Faith Seeking Understanding is a ministry aimed at providing deep dives into theology. To find out more, visit our website or follow us on social media:
Website: https://www.faithseekingunderstanding.co.za
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fsu_southafrica
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fsu.southafrica
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fsu_southafrica
...more
35min
July 12, 2023 Proverbs as Polysemous
In our eighth episode on Wisdom in the Old Testament, we continue our exploration of Proverbs and how Christians should read them. In particular, we discuss how individual proverbs can have a wide range of applications, and how the book of Proverbs leverages this property (called “polysemy”) in its organization and repetition of them.
00:00 - Introduction
02:54 - Should Proverbs Be Read Individually or in Groups?
06:18 - Dealing With Particularity and Universality in Ethics
09:37 - Example 1: Using Your Words
16:17 - The Polysemy of Proverbs as Key To Reading Them
22:07 - Example 2: Divine Providence and Human Action
26:31 - Reading Proverbs Through Multiple Layers
30:34 - Concluding Thoughts
The Faith Seeking Understanding podcast is also available on the following platforms:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKz8PlM8nC5Vnwvx_e2HmESdKBQq2exoe
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/faith-seeking-understanding/id1681648478
Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZmFpdGhzZWVraW5ndW5kZXJzdGFuZGluZy5jby56YS9wb2RjYXN0P2Zvcm1hdD1yc3M
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7cjo4np6hobnCjm2cuPkKk
Faith Seeking Understanding is a ministry aimed at providing deep dives into theology. To find out more, visit our website or follow us on social media:
Website: https://www.faithseekingunderstanding.co.za
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fsu_southafrica
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fsu.southafrica
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fsu_southafrica
...more
35min
June 28, 2023 How to Read Proverbs
In our seventh episode on Wisdom in the Old Testament, we start to think about how we should read the proverbs found throughout the book of Proverbs. We explore the way in which a common modern way of thinking about morality gets in the way of letting Proverbs speak to us today, and suggest a more helpful alternative that connects morality, wisdom, and the many mundane choices we make daily.
00:00 - Introduction
01:29 - The Relationship Between Wisdom and Ethics
06:58 - Ethics in the Grey Areas
13:20 - Ethics and Wisdom are Pervasive in Life
18:07 - Proverbs and the Ethics of the Mundane
26:23 - Wisdom Looks Different for Different People
32:25 - Conclusion
The Faith Seeking Understanding podcast is also available on the following platforms:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKz8PlM8nC5Vnwvx_e2HmESdKBQq2exoe
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/faith-seeking-understanding/id1681648478
Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZmFpdGhzZWVraW5ndW5kZXJzdGFuZGluZy5jby56YS9wb2RjYXN0P2Zvcm1hdD1yc3M
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7cjo4np6hobnCjm2cuPkKk
Faith Seeking Understanding is a ministry aimed at providing deep dives into theology. To find out more, visit our website or follow us on social media:
Website: https://www.faithseekingunderstanding.co.za
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fsu_southafrica
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fsu.southafrica
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fsu_southafrica
...more
37min
June 15, 2023 Woman Wisdom and Woman Folly
In our sixth episode on Wisdom in the Old Testament, we close off our journey through Proverbs 1–9 by considering the two figures of Woman Wisdom and Woman Folly. Who are they, and how do they relate to the characters we encountered in the previous episode?
00:00 - Introduction and Recap
01:26 - Introducing Woman Wisdom
13:24 - Woman Wisdom as The First of God’s Works
15:16 - Who Is Woman Wisdom?
23:24 - The Relation Between Woman Wisdom And The Parents and The Lord
29:14 - Woman Folly
36:27 - Conclusion
Works mentioned:
- Christine Roy Yoder, Wisdom as a Woman of Substance: A Socioeconomic Reading of Proverbs 1–9 and 31:10–31
- John H Walton, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament
- William McKane, Proverbs: A New Approach
The Faith Seeking Understanding podcast is also available on the following platforms:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKz8PlM8nC5Vnwvx_e2HmESdKBQq2exoe
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/faith-seeking-understanding/id1681648478
Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZmFpdGhzZWVraW5ndW5kZXJzdGFuZGluZy5jby56YS9wb2RjYXN0P2Zvcm1hdD1yc3M
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7cjo4np6hobnCjm2cuPkKk
Faith Seeking Understanding is a ministry aimed at providing deep dives into theology. To find out more, visit our website or follow us on social media:
Website: https://www.faithseekingunderstanding.co.za
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fsu_southafrica
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fsu.southafrica
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fsu_southafrica
...more
39min
May 31, 2023 The Characters in Proverbs 1–9
In our fifth episode on Wisdom in the Old Testament, we continue our journey through Proverbs 1–9 and think about two of the characters we see there: the evil men and the foreign woman. We discuss some of the translational difficulties with these terms, as well as the post-exilic backdrop that informs them.
00:00 - Introduction and Recap
01:25 - Our Focus This Episode: The Evil Men and the Foreign Woman
03:03 - Post-exilic Authorship and Setting of Proverbs 1–9
08:06 - First Character: The Evil Men, Extortionists for Ill-gotten Gain
19:06 - The Motivation for Avoiding the Evil Men
20:58 - Second Character: “Foreign Woman” Rather Than “Adulteress”
32:14 - Wisdom, A Tough Pill To Swallow
34:16 - Why Prov 5 Doesn’t Imply “Adulteress” Is a Better Translation
38:29 - Conclusion
Resources: - William P. Brown, Wisdom's Wonder: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ICLAGVW
The Faith Seeking Understanding podcast is also available on the following platforms:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKz8PlM8nC5Vnwvx_e2HmESdKBQq2exoe
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/faith-seeking-understanding/id1681648478
Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZmFpdGhzZWVraW5ndW5kZXJzdGFuZGluZy5jby56YS9wb2RjYXN0P2Zvcm1hdD1yc3M
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7cjo4np6hobnCjm2cuPkKk
Faith Seeking Understanding is a ministry aimed at providing deep dives into theology. To find out more, visit our website or follow us on social media:
Website: https://www.faithseekingunderstanding.co.za
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fsu_southafrica
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fsu.southafrica
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fsu_southafrica
...more
43min
May 17, 2023 Wisdom in Proverbs 1–9
In our fourth episode on Wisdom in the Old Testament, we start our journey in Proverbs by looking at what the opening chapters say about wisdom, and how it relates to Torah and fear of the Lord.
00:00 - Introduction and Recap
02:37 - Starting with Proverbs 1–9: Fear of the Lord as the Beginning of Wisdom
07:30 - How Proverbs 1–9 Understands Wisdom
09:00 - Wisdom Needs to be Learned, and from the Right Sources
14:28 - Wisdom Goes Hand-in-hand with Torah
24:42 - Wisdom and the Fear of the Lord
40:31 - Conclusion
The Faith Seeking Understanding podcast is also available on the following platforms:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKz8PlM8nC5Vnwvx_e2HmESdKBQq2exoe
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/faith-seeking-understanding/id1681648478
Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZmFpdGhzZWVraW5ndW5kZXJzdGFuZGluZy5jby56YS9wb2RjYXN0P2Zvcm1hdD1yc3M
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7cjo4np6hobnCjm2cuPkKk
Faith Seeking Understanding is a ministry aimed at providing deep dives into theology. To find out more, visit our website or follow us on social media:
Website: https://www.faithseekingunderstanding.co.za
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fsu_southafrica
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fsu.southafrica
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fsu_southafrica
...more
42min
May 03, 2023 Fear of the Lord
In our third episode on Wisdom in the Old Testament, we delve into what it means to fear God. Unsatisfied with the typical explanations, we give an account of fear in general before looking at how this works itself out in our relationship with God for our good.
00:00 - Introduction and Recap
02:00 - Our Focus in this Episode: The Fear of the Lord
03:34 - How Fear is Typically (But Unhelpfully) Explained
05:49 - Fear as “Awareness of Possible Bad”
11:00 - Exodus 20: Fear that Draws Us Towards God
24:29 - Deuteronomy 10: Fear and Love Work Together 31:40 - Deuteronomy 6: Fear and Love Complete Each Other
37:11 - Ecclesiastes: Fear of the Immensity of God
39:41 - Conclusion
Works mentioned in this episode: -
Henry M. Whitney, “The Place of Fear Among the Motives of Religion” (1906) https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/bsac/1906_227.pdf
- Bill T. Arnold, “The Love-Fear Antimony in Deuteronomy 5–11” (2011) https://www.academia.edu/2701215/The_Love_Fear_Antinomy_in_Deuteronomy_5_11
Other resources:
- Roland’s recent blog post on fear of the Lord: https://thinkingthoughtout.com/2023/04/10/fear-of-the-lord-2
The Faith Seeking Understanding podcast is also available on the following platforms:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKz8PlM8nC5Vnwvx_e2HmESdKBQq2exoe
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/faith-seeking-understanding/id1681648478
Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZmFpdGhzZWVraW5ndW5kZXJzdGFuZGluZy5jby56YS9wb2RjYXN0P2Zvcm1hdD1yc3M
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7cjo4np6hobnCjm2cuPkKk
Faith Seeking Understanding is a ministry aimed at providing deep dives into theology. To find out more, visit our website or follow us on social media:
Website: https://www.faithseekingunderstanding.co.za
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fsu_southafrica
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fsu.southafrica Twitter: https://twitter.com/fsu_southafrica
...more
41min
April 19, 2023 Wisdom in Solomon’s Story
In our second episode on Wisdom in the Old Testament, we take a look at the figure of Solomon and the way wisdom is portrayed in his story. We see that the standard way of thinking about Solomon’s story doesn’t actually fit very well with the biblical story, and consider what this then means for the relationship between wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
00:00 - Introduction and Recap
01:04 - A Common Understanding of Solomon‘s Story
04:28 - Questioning This Common Understanding
06:46 - Kingly Criteria in Deuteronomy 17
08:46 - Overview of Solomon vs Kingly Criteria
12:54 - Solomon‘s Horses and Chariots
15:10 - Building the Temple and Solomon‘s House
16:58 - Solomon‘s Blunders, Wisdom, and Fear of the Lord
20:12 - What, Then, is Wisdom?
25:49 - Where We're Going Next
The Faith Seeking Understanding podcast is available on the following platforms:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKz8PlM8nC5Vnwvx_e2HmESdKBQq2exoe
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/faith-seeking-understanding/id1681648478
Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZmFpdGhzZWVraW5ndW5kZXJzdGFuZGluZy5jby56YS9wb2RjYXN0P2Zvcm1hdD1yc3M
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7cjo4np6hobnCjm2cuPkKk
Faith Seeking Understanding is a ministry aimed at providing deep dives into theology. To find out more, visit our website or follow us on social media:
Website: https://www.faithseekingunderstanding.co.za
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fsu_southafrica
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fsu.southafrica
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fsu_southafrica
...more
28min
April 10, 2023 Is “Wisdom Literature” a Helpful Category?
In this first episode of our new podcast, we question whether “Wisdom Literature” is a helpful category when it comes to exploring what the Old Testament has to say about wisdom, and then outline the path we'll take in future episodes.
Works mentioned in this episode:
- Will Kynes, An Obituary for “Wisdom Literature” (2019)
- John H Walton & J Harvey Walton, The Lost World of the Torah (2019)
- Katharine J Dell, The Solomonic Corpus of “Wisdom” and Its Influence (2020)
View on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAbTud51_XA
...more
28min

FAQs about Faith Seeking Understanding:

How many episodes does Faith Seeking Understanding have?

The podcast currently has 20 episodes available.