Have you ever wondered why early Jesus-followers called each other siblings, holy ones, or beloved? Norman Hubbard sits down with Matt and Nick to discuss the early church’s use of normal language in surprising ways to express and shape their unique relationships. He describes how these unique relationships were an expression of the gospel of Jesus, and considers ways our church tradition has been teaching an incomplete gospel when it prioritizes justification at the expense of reconciliation and redemption. Check out this conversation about Norm’s book, “More than Christians: Practicing Gospel-Shaped Community with the Language of the Early Church”.

Theme Song: Believe by Posthumorous

Connect with Us: Website Youtube Instagram Email

Greek translations of the Hebrew Scriptures helped prepare the way for the message of Jesus and the spread of Christianity. These translations (the Septuagint) were the Scriptures used by the earliest churches, and help us understand connections between our Old and New Testaments. Nick and Matt take a look at some of the interesting and significant differences between the Septuagint and the Masoretic text like the inclusion of Apocryphal writings. They consider the disagreement between Augustine and Jerome around which version to use when developing the Vulgate, Finally they discuss the multiple text forms present in the Dead Sea Scrolls which raise important questions for Bible translators considering the importance of the Septuagint.

Resources Referenced: Invitation to the Septuagint by Karen Jobes and Moises Silva, The Septuagint, What is is and Why it Matters by Gregory Lanier and William Ross, When God Spoke Greek: the Septuagint and the Making of the Christian Bible by Timothy Michael Law, Koine Greek Reader, Selections from the New Testament, Septuagint, and Early Christian Writers by Rodney Decker, A Plea for the Septuagint by Mogens Muller, Was There only ONE Version of the Old Testament In Ancient Times? by Michael Heiser

Interlude Music: Between Moments by Amber Glow, After the Fight by Cherry the Penguin

Theme Song: Believe by Posthumorous

Connect with Us: Website Youtube Instagram Email

When astronomers like Copernicus and Galileo challenged conventional beliefs, Christians held to their understanding of Scripture’s plain teachings against the dangerous new ideas. Today we look back at those who stuck to their Biblical convictions and we celebrate … the astronomers. In this episode Nick and Matt reflect on the church’s response to heliocentrism and compare modern approaches to reading the Bible’s cosmology, and how understanding strange (to us) ancient cosmology can help us read the Bible better.

Resources Referenced: The Firmament and the Water Above by Paul Seely, The Hebrew Conception of the World: A Philological and Literary Study by Stadelmann, Luis, Ancient Near Eastern thought and the Old Testament by John Walton, John Calvin on Nicolaus Copernicus and Heliocentrism by Wyatt Houtz, Adam and the Genome: Reading Scripture After Genetic Science by Scot McKnight and Dennis Venema, Reality is Not What it Seems by Carlo Rovelli, The Faith and Reason of Father George Lemaître by Joseph R. Laracy, Geocentrism: History and Background by Danny R. Faulkner, NET Bible Translation Notes

Interlude Music: On a Stroller by Harry Edvino, Space Waves by Ben Elson

Theme Song: Believe by Posthumorous

Connect with Us: Website Youtube Instagram Email

The Bible doesn’t sound very Christian when it talks about the soul… Wait that didn’t sound right. Could it be that Christians don’t sound very Biblical when they  talk about it? In this episode, Matt and Nick do a thorough lexical study of the most common Hebrew and Greek words translated into English Bible’s as soul. What they find is surprising, and it makes them think that maybe (just maybe), Christians are yet again more influenced by Greek and Enlightenment-era philosophers than they are by the Bible itself.

Resources Referenced: The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament by Ludwig Koehler et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature by William Arndt et al., Body, Soul, and Human Life: The Nature of Humanity in the Bible by Joel B. Green, The Case for the Reality of the Traditional Christian Soul by Peter Gordziejko.

Interlude Music: Turning Over a New Leaf by Auxjack, In Foam by Lama House

Theme Song: Believe by Posthumorous

Connect with Us: Website Youtube Instagram Email

Heaven and Earth - Resurrection Ep 3

Do humans have souls? What is the difference between spirit and flesh? Will the earth be turned into a giant zoo free from humans? Where do the dead go until the resurrection? What is heaven? Matt and Nick discuss the importance of creation in the Biblical story, the mixing of platonism with Christianity, and some of the strange readings of the Bible that occur when we lose sight of God’s plans for restoration.

Resources Referenced: Four Views on Heaven Edited by Michael Eugene Wittmer and Stanley, From Plato to Christ by Louis Markos, The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Interlude Music: Somewhat Elegant by Dye O, A Tiny Spark by Edgar Hopp

Theme Song: Believe by Posthumorous

Connect with Us: Website Youtube Instagram Email

The resurrection of the Messiah before the end of the age was a surprising event. What does it mean to be living between the start and the end of the resurrection? Death is defeated but our bodies are still mortal. New creation is here but we’re still so sinful! The New Testament puts Jesus' resurrection at the center of Christian identity, hope, and ethics. Nick and Matt discuss the importance of resurrection within the Biblical story of redemption for humanity and for the cosmos.

Resources Referenced: Paul and Time by Ann L Jervis, Jesus and the Forces of Death by Matthew Thiessen, A New Heaven and a New Earth by Richard Middleton

Interlude Music: Dreaming at Night by Heyson

Theme Song: Believe by Posthumorous

Connect with Us: Website Youtube Instagram Email

Many Christians hope to leave earth and spend eternity in a disembodied bliss, but the Hebrew Bible describes God’s good creation and his purpose for image bearing humanity within that creation. Has God abandoned his plans for creation? Did death win? Nick and Matt discuss death’s invasion into the Biblical story, God’s work to limit the effects of death, and Hebrew Bible hope that one day, the creator God will swallow up death.

Resources Referenced: A New Heaven and a New Earth by Richard Middleton, The Rationale of the Laws of Clean and Unclean in the Old Testament by Joe M. Sprinkle, Jesus and the Forces of Death by Matthew Thiessen, The Resurrection of the Son of God by N.T. Wright.

Interlude Music: Hopeful by Nebulae, Mountain Top by Marc Torch

Theme Song: Believe by Posthumorous

Connect with Us: Website Youtube Instagram Email

Dr. J. Richard Middleton joins the podcast to discuss “A New Heaven and a New Earth”, his book exploring the future hope of Jesus-followers according to the Bible. Nick presses Dr. Middleton on what the Bible has to say about the Image of God and culture creation, the “sacred/secular” divide, the joy of God’s world, the earthy future hope of believers, the intermediate state, the resurrection of animals, and finally, the politics of others-centered love and the importance of social engagement while we await Jesus’ restoration of all things.

Resources: A New Heaven and a New Earth by J. Richard Middleton

Theme Song: Believe by Posthumorous

Connect with Us: Website Youtube Instagram Email

The expectation that believers will be raptured away from earth before the apocalypse has inspired imagination, lots of fiction, and some strange readings of the Bible. Matt and Nick investigate a key rapture passage within its original context, trying to understand how 1st century cultural practices illuminate this passage. Why does this provide comfort regarding those who’ve died? Why would anyone travel out to meet an arriving official? Does anyone know where Matt can get a veloci-rapture shirt? Try not to get left behind during this dive into 1 Thessalonians 4.

Resources Referenced: A New Heaven and a New Earth by J. Richard Middleton, The Ballot and the Bible by Kaitlyn Schiess, The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsay, The Left Behind Series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins.

Interlude Music: Dreamday by Autohacker, Angels and Stardust by Squiid

Theme Song: Believe by Posthumorous

Connect with Us: Website Youtube Instagram Email

“When will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus’ answer to these questions has been a hotbed of debate. Is Jesus speaking about events that occurred in Rome’s sacking Jerusalem, or further beyond to another day of judgment? How can Jesus be certain that “this generation” won’t pass away until these things have happened, and say that no one knows the hour or the day that it will occur, not even the son? Nick and Matt discuss some ways people have tried to make sense of his answer. Although the specifics of his "coming" are tricky, the most important truths about the Son of Man are made crystal clear in the New Testament: he’s already been vindicated as the true ruler of the world. To recognize this reality and to live in light of it is all that is left to do.

Resources: Reflections on the ‘Son of Man’: Implications for a Christian Transformational Worldview by Randal Bush, Church History by Eusebius of Caesaria (c. 263 – c. 339 CE), The Jewish War by Flavius Josephus (c. 37 – c. 100 CE),  The New Testament and the People of God, Jesus and the Victory of God by N.T. Wright.

Interlude Music: Breaths by AGST

Theme Song: Believe by Posthumorous

Connect with Us: Website Youtube Instagram