Today I interview Professor Rikk Watts. You can access his bio from the link below. Here's an outline of the episode:

4:58 - What is the Bible?

9:12 - Why are there so many translations of the Bible?  Which is best?

12:30 - How confident are we that the Bible we have is the Bible that was originally written? 

16:10 - Is it God’s book and is it a good book?

25:40 - How do we know what the Bible means?

27:09 - How should an average person read the bible?

30:00 - Can the average person really understand - Rikk talks about practical approaches to greater understanding

33:04 - How do we balance the tension between the need for expertise/hard work to understand Scripture with the fact that everyone can read it and understand it?

35:22 - Two angels or one? What do we do when the Bible seems to contradict itself?

42:42 - The widows mite and how to handle different interpretations of the same text 

49:40 - The first verses in Mark and the significance of cross-references.

 59:15 - What’s the difference between citations, allusions, and echoes?

1:02:43 - What is proof-texting?  Is Paul proof texting in Galatians chapter 3?  

1:07:00 - How do we handle difficult texts?  Is God an abusive Father in Isaiah 9?

1:11:00 - What is the role of the Spirit of God in reading and understanding the Bible?

1:13:00 - Final advice on reading the Bible.

Rikk's Bio:

https://www.regent-college.edu/faculty/research-faculty/rikk-watts