I BELIEVE

Dr. Joseph Clair joins us for a rousing lecture on POETRY in the Bible, following his lecture on this very topic. Why does God seem to love poetry so much? We discuss, with a close reading of Psalms 1 and 2.

There are prophets in the Bible—many of them. Christians today claim the Bible is their authoritative book, setting a pattern for life and practice. However: Are there prophets today, in the Biblical sense of the word “prophet”? How would we know? Why would there be? Why would there not be? Some Christians think yes, others, no. Our artifact for discussion: A story in the Washington Post from 2020 featuring a man who claims he is, in fact, a “prophet” today. If you browse around on the internet for a while, you can find many more examples, too.
***Episode note: For reasons we don’t understand, this episode gets cut off at the end, just before Dr. Doak reveals his true view! We have no clue how it happened and our original recording file itself gets cut off at this point. Super weird, and we apologize. For the record, Dr. Doak’s view on this is similar to (even if not exactly like) the view he argued in the debate portion.

Following up on Dr. Doak’s lecture, KINGDOM, we take another shot at summarizing and discussing this wide range of materials, all telling the story of Israel once they enter the land in 1 Samuel all the way through the demise of the kingship and the nation at the end of 2 Kings. And then there are a lot of books authored or spoken by “prophets,” also. Our close reading engages with a classic prophetic scene. Join us.

Does God have a favorite place on earth? Are some places more holy than others? Is the land of Israel still God’s “chosen land,” today? Join us for a civil discussion. Our artifact—which we failed to mention in the podcast itself!—is: Basically any story about the land of Israel over the past several decades! You can easily find all kinds of material about this all over YouTube, the news, etc. So we’re going to let you fill that in on your own. You can do it.

Your professors gather around the podcasting table to discuss this week’s topic, LAND (please watch the lecture on this topic before listening to this podcast!). We ask Dr. Edwards to say more about some specific points in the lecture, Dr. Doak offers alternate ways to think about the justifications for war in the book of Joshua, and we engage in a close reading of a strange little story.

This week we’re tackling two topics and lectures! First, the EXODUS, the story of Moses and the freeing of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. Second, the LAW, the set of commandments the people receive at Mt. Sinai. Dr. Payne and Dr. Doak engage in an extended close reading of a strange ritual. Here is the lecture on the EXODUS that you need to watch first, and here is the one on LAW.

Should the 10 Commandments from Exodus ch. 20 be displayed in public spaces in America today? WE DEBATE.
This week’s artifact: The story of a Montana man who took down the 10 Commandments.
Here is one version of the story
And here is another

This week we bring Dr. Sarita Edwards into the studio to discuss the ANCESTORS in Genesis chs. 12-50. How do we feel about the notion that God chooses some people…and not others? Do you have more sympathy for Sarah or Hagar in their dispute in Genesis chs. 16 and 21?

This week we’re discussing one of the most dreaded and revered concepts at Christian colleges: the “ring by spring” phenomenon. Students talk about it at George Fox. They talk about it at Gonzaga. And it is apparently also the title of a Hallmark movie. We use the concept as a bridge to thinking about the romantic relationships between the ancestors in Genesis chs. 12–50: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel and Leah, Joseph and Asenath. And…others. Were these marriages “good” marriages? What should we make of their methods of engagement (often in arranged marriages)? Dr. Doak and Dr. Payne debate.

Dr. Doak and Dr. Payne follow up on this week’s lecture, which covers Genesis chs. 1-11. In particular, they read Genesis ch 3, verses 1-7, in search of knowledge about the snake, gender, and who is at fault for humanity’s first sin.