The Bible For Normal People

By Peter Enns and Jared Byas

Religion & Spirituality Christianity

What's The Bible For Normal People about?

The Bible for Normal People is hosted by Peter Enns and Jared Byas.

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Episode 110: Pete Enns - Pe...

12.02.2019

In this final episode of the Dundee Award Winning series, Pete looks at the significance and symbolism of the tabernacle, which takes up a whopping 13 chapters, and the Golden Calf episode, which threatens to derail the entire plan—were it ...

The Bible For Normal People episodes:

12.02.2019 Episode 110: Pete Enns - Pete Ruins Exodus (Part 6) In this final episode of the Dundee Award Winning series, Pete looks at the significance and symbolism of the tabernacle, which takes up a whopping 13 chapters, and the Golden Calf episode, which threatens to derail the entire plan—were it ...
11.25.2019 Episode 109: Megan DeFranza - The Bible and Intersex Believers On this episode of the Bible For Normal People, we look back to Season 1 when Pete and Jared talked with theologian Megan DeFranza on a topic that deeply affects the lives of many, but that few Christians are even ...
11.18.2019 Episode 108: Pete Wehner - Faith, Politics, & Polarization You may have noticed that we’re in a political season with a lot of charged rhetoric, so we decided to bring on someone who isn’t like that. Like at all. We have Pete Wehner, political commentator and columnist joining us ...
11.11.2019 Episode 107: Cindy Wang Brandt - Raising Children in the Faith A lot of parents who no longer hold to the same beliefs about the Bible and God they did when they were children are left wondering, “But how do we raise our kids?” Author and speaker Cindy Wang Brandt helps ...
11.04.2019 Episode 106: Jared Byas - 5 Principles for Biblical Interpretation When we ask, “What does this passage mean?” the answer is a little more complicated than we might expect. Jared looks at some basic principles of biblical interpretation and how they might help us better read our Bibles. Show Notes ...
10.28.2019 Episode 105: Wil Gafney - Womanist Midrash (Reissue) This episode originally aired as Episode 46 on April 23, 2018 This week, Jared & Pete talk to Wil Gafney about womanist interpretation of the Bible. In their discussion, Wil brings up fascinating nuances in the text and challenges the ...
10.21.2019 Episode 104: Jeff Chu - Grief As A Biblical Practice This week’s guest is Jeff Chu—author, journalist, advocate, co-creator of Evolving Faith—and our topic is grief, a universal experience that is often difficult to talk about it. We experience grief when confronted with death, of course, but grief is also ...
10.14.2019 Episode 103: Pete Enns - Pete Ruins Exodus (Part 5) Pete continues his award-winning, mind-bending—almost surreal—series on the book of Exodus. In this episode he looks the laws in chapters 20-24, namely the 10 Commandments and the so-called “Book of the Covenant.” What were these laws about back in the ...
10.07.2019 Episode 102: Jonathan Martin - Pentecostalism as Mysticism In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Pete and Jared talk with Jonathan Martin about the beauty of Pentecostalism, the value of being taught to listen to the Holy Spirit from a young age, and the importance ...
09.30.2019 Episode 101: Andrew Perriman - Does the New Testament Predict the Future? In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Pete and Jared talk with Andrew Perriman about the eschatology found in the Bible and how history helps us understand these apocalyptic texts. Show Notes →
09.23.2019 Episode 100: Pete & Jared on Genesis In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Pete and Jared talk about the themes in their newly upgraded book: Genesis for Normal People! They give us a taste of the multifaceted nature of Genesis. Show Notes →
09.16.2019 Episode 99: Jennifer Knust - The Bible As A Living Document This week Pete & Jared talk with Jennifer Knust. Show Notes →
09.09.2019 Episode 98: Pete Holmes - Pete Holmes Talks About Comedy, Sex, & God In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, actor, comedian, and enlightened guru Pete Holmes joins Pete & Jared to talk about his interesting journey of faith and the importance of moving from reading the Bible with your ...
09.02.2019 Episode 97: Pete Enns - Pete Ruins Exodus: Part 4 In this episode, Pete continues his deep dive into the book of Exodus covering chapters 14-19: the departure from Egypt and three-month journey to Mt. Sinai. Show Notes →
08.26.2019 Episode 96: Jared Byas - Christian Ethics In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Jared responds to Skillet lead singer, John Copper, and his public statement, "What in God's Name is Happening in Christianity?" Jared unpacks Christian ethics and the origins of our collective ...
08.12.2019 Episode 95: Cheryl Bridges Johns - The Bible & Women’s Spirituality In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Pete and Jared talk with theologian and professor Dr. Cheryl Bridges Johns about how feminism has changed over the years and the importance of both being rooted in your own ...
07.29.2019 Episode 94: Pete & Jared - Do We Know God is Good From the Bible? In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Pete and Jared tackle the question: Do we know God is good from the Bible? If you have a question for Pete & Jared, submit it on the Ask Pete ...
07.15.2019 Episode 93: Keesmaat & Walsh - Resisting Empire in the Book of Romans This week Biblical Scholar Dr. Sylvia Keesmaat and Theologian Dr. Brian Walsh talk about what Paul was up to in the book of Romans. We visit topics like salvation and politics and how maybe those words don’t mean what we ...
07.01.2019 Episode 92: AJ Levine - Jesus, Judaism, & Christianity (REISSUE) On this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, we look back to our time with Dr. Amy-Jill Levine on understanding Jesus is his Jewish context. Levine is University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity ...
06.17.2019 Episode 91: Pete Enns - Pete Ruins Exodus (Part 3) Pete continues his award-winning (his cat seems to like it) and mind-altering series on Exodus by diving into chapters 5-13: Moses and Aaron’s first confrontation with Pharaoh (which did and did not go well) and the story of the plagues, ...
06.03.2019 Episode 90: Richard Rohr - The (Biblical) Universal Christ In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Pete and Jared talk with Richard Rohr about the (biblical) universal Christ and how this concept of Christ can expand our understanding of ourselves, the world, and God. Show Notes ...
05.27.2019 Episode 89: Pete and Jared - David’s Sordid Past: This Ain’t No Kids Story In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Pete and Jared take a close look at the call of David and the battle with Goliath (1 Samuel 16-17) to show how these biblical stories already portray David as ...
05.20.2019 Episode 88: Rachel Held Evans - Reading The Bible Creatively This week’s episode with Rachel Held Evans is among her last podcast interviews, recorded 2 months before her untimely passing on May 4. We offer this episode, unedited, in Rachel’s honor and as a testimony to her humor, insight, power, ...
05.13.2019 Episode 87: Robert Alter - The Art of Translating the Bible Robert Alter has spent most of his life committed to studying the Bible and the last two decades creating an entirely new translation of the Old Testament. Pete and Jared talk about some of the insights he has gained from ...
05.07.2019 Episode 86: Pete Enns - Pete Ruins Exodus (Part 2) Pete continues his series in Exodus chapters 3 and 4. God reveals his plan to use Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egypt and Moses does everything he can think of to get out of it. He finally gets on ...
04.29.2019 Episode 85: Austen Hartke - The Bible & The Lives of Transgender Christians Austen Hartke shares his journey of being a transgender Christian and discusses how the Bible might speak to the inclusion of all people into the people of God. LINKS "Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians" by Austen ...
04.22.2019 Episode 84: Jared Byas - Paul is Frustrating: On Fornication & Wives Obeying Husbands in Colossians Why does Paul say there are no longer slaves but then turns around and tells slaves to obey their masters? What gives? Do wives need to submit to their husbands just because Paul says so? Geez, Paul can be so ...
04.15.2019 Episode 83: Judy Stack - The Gospel of Matthew on Integrity & Hypocrisy What is Matthew all about? Why does it look the way it does? In this episode Judy Stack takes us to school and helps us to see the Gospel in a new light. www.thebiblefornormalpeople.com www.peteenns.com www.patreon.com/thebiblefornormalpeople
04.08.2019 Episode 82: Linda Kay Klein - Breaking Free From Purity Culture Having grown up being told her body was bad, Linda Kay Klein was on a mission to hear from women about their own experiences with Purity Culture. In this episode we talk about what the Bible has to say about ...
04.01.2019 Episode 81: Pete & Jared - Truth is Subjective . . . Even in the Bible When people find out that the Bible is ancient, ambiguous, and diverse, they often ask, "Is the Bible true then?" Pete and Jared dive into the topic and talk about how truth–in the Bible–is subjective. Resources mentioned in this episode: ...
03.25.2019 Episode 80: Jonathan Walton - Reading the Bible Through the Lens of Love What does it mean to remain faithful to the Bible but also have a moral imagination that might extend beyond the Bible? How can that be done? We talk with Jonathan Walton about how he connects those dots and why ...
03.18.2019 Episode 79: Austin Channing Brown - Preaching the Bible in the Black Church This week on The Bible for Normal People, we have Austin Channing Brown as our guest. She shares about her experience growing up in various churches and what we can learn from black churches - especially when it comes to ...
03.11.2019 Episode 78: Pete Enns - Pete Ruins Exodus (Part 1) There’s a lot more going on in the book of Exodus than what you’ve seen on the big screen or heard in church. More than a story of deliverance, Exodus is a subtle literary creation that contains many surprises when ...
03.04.2019 Episode 77: Elizabeth Enns Petters - Anxiety in the Life of Faith Anxiety in the life of faith is a conversation that needs to happen more often. Elizabeth Enns Petters talks with us about her journey and how her old views on the Bible contributed to her anxiety and how her new ...
02.25.2019 Episode 76: Xavier Pickett - So When Did White Christian America Lose Its Mind? In this episode, Pete & Jared talk to Xavier Pickett about the Bible and slavery, the Bible and race, and the importance of theologian James Cone. RESOURCES Reformed Blacks of America "The Civil War as a Theological Crisis" by Mark ...
02.18.2019 Episode 75: Rhonda Burnette-Bletsch - The Bible & Film We talk often about how the Bible isn’t opposed to culture but is deeply embedded in it. Rhonda Burnette-Bletsch shows us how true that is in film by walking us through a few popular movies and how they relate to ...
02.11.2019 Episode 74: Pete & Jared - God’s Children Tell the Story All human beings are encultured creatures and limited by their humanity—as were the Biblical writers, and evidence for that jumps out at us at every page. The raw and limiting humanity of Scripture is to be embraced and celebrated rather ...
02.04.2019 Episode 73: Propaganda - What Does Christian Art Even Mean? Hip Hop artist Propaganda joins Pete and Jared for the season 3 opener and shares some deep—and we mean deep—thoughts about the music industry, artistic integrity, and what being Christian in all that means and doesn’t mean. Download Propaganga's album, ...
01.28.2019 Season 3 Teaser Here's a sneak peek of what's coming in Season 3 of The Bible For Normal People podcast. http://www.thebiblefornormalpeople.com https://peteenns.com https://www.patreon.com/thebiblefornormalpeople
12.17.2018 Episode 72: What Is the Bible & What Do We Do with It: Season 2 Recap In this episode, Jared and Pete look back at all of their guests in Season 2 to talk about language, history, and how personal experiences can't help but affect how we read the Bible. All in the effort to ask ...
12.10.2018 Episode 71: Brad Jersak - The Bible And Orthodox Faith In this episode, Jared & Pete talk to Brad Jersak about how Orthodoxy views the Bible, and some other things, and how those differ from Evangelicalism. Resources mentioned in this episode: "The Mirror of Scripture" by Archbishop Lazar Puhalo "A ...
12.03.2018 Episode 70: Pete Enns - TGC Doesn’t Really Get Progressive Christianity and Atheism In this episode, Pete responds to an article from The Gospel Coalition entitled, "3 Beliefs Some Progressive Christians and Atheists Share." He takes issue with the harmful rhetoric that polarizes Evangelicalism creating an "us vs. them" mentality among brothers and ...
11.26.2018 Episode 69: Daniel Kirk - Five Things You Need to Know About the Gospel of Mark In this episode, Pete and Jared speak with Daniel Kirk about the Gospel of Mark. Mark's gospel goes to great lengths to provide unparalleled detail and symbolism that get more and more meaningful the deeper you traverse into the text. ...
11.19.2018 Episode 68: Trey Pearson - Hey Jesus In this episode, Pete & Jared speak with Trey Pearson, former lead singer of the popular Christian band Everyday Sunday. Two years ago, Trey came out publicly and lost the support of his record label, church and many friends. He ...
11.12.2018 Episode 67: Jonathan Merritt - Re-imagining Sacred Speech In this episode, Pete & Jared talk to Jonathan Merritt about the language of scripture, how it's changed over the years and how our interpretation and understanding must adapt to fully appreciate what the Bible has to say. links Learning ...
11.05.2018 Episode 66: Jared Byas - The Book of Jeremiah In this episode, Jared takes us into the book of Jeremiah and delves into some of the historical and cultural signifigance of the text. A Commentary on Jeremiah: Exile and Homecoming by Walter Bruggemann http://www.thebiblefornormalpeople.com https://peteenns.com https://www.patreon.com/thebiblefornormalpeople
10.29.2018 Episode 65: Kent Sparks - Where Did the Israelites Come From? In this episode from Season 1, Jared and Pete talk to Dr. Kent Sparks about the origins of the Israelites. Along the way they get into the nature of the Bible, the nature of the Christian faith, fundamental theological issues ...
10.22.2018 Episode 64: Kevin Makins - Reading the Bible Toward Unity Not Uniformity This week Pete & Jared sit down with Kevin Makins, founding pastor of Eucharist Church in Hamilton, Ontario. They talk about community, how he reads the Bible and how it informs the culture of his faith community. http://www.thebiblefornormalpeople.com https://peteenns.com https://www.patreon.com/thebiblefornormalpeople
10.15.2018 Episode 63: Pete Enns - What Does the Bible Have to Say about Politics—American or Otherwise? What does the Bible have to say about politics? Nothing, really. On the other hand, a lot—but not the way many tend to think. Rather than supporting a political agenda, the biblical story challenges us to hold those agendas to ...
10.08.2018 Episode 62: Brent Strawn - A Gentle Reminder that the Old Testament is Part of Our Bible and You Can't Avoid It This week, Jared & Pete talk to Brent Strawn about the Old Testament. They discuss some of the common criticisms of the Old Testament and how the modern Church has over-emphasized the New Testament much to its detriment. Follow Brent ...

Older episodes

The Bible For Normal People

What's The Bible For Normal People about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Bible For Normal People episodes:

Episode 110: Pete Enns - Pete Ruins Exodus (Part 6)

Episode 109: Megan DeFranza - The Bible and Intersex Believers

Episode 108: Pete Wehner - Faith, Politics, & Polarization

Episode 107: Cindy Wang Brandt - Raising Children in the Faith

Episode 106: Jared Byas - 5 Principles for Biblical Interpretation

Episode 105: Wil Gafney - Womanist Midrash (Reissue)

Episode 104: Jeff Chu - Grief As A Biblical Practice

Episode 103: Pete Enns - Pete Ruins Exodus (Part 5)

Episode 102: Jonathan Martin - Pentecostalism as Mysticism

Episode 101: Andrew Perriman - Does the New Testament Predict the Future?

Episode 100: Pete & Jared on Genesis

Episode 99: Jennifer Knust - The Bible As A Living Document

Episode 98: Pete Holmes - Pete Holmes Talks About Comedy, Sex, & God

Episode 97: Pete Enns - Pete Ruins Exodus: Part 4

Episode 96: Jared Byas - Christian Ethics

Episode 95: Cheryl Bridges Johns - The Bible & Women’s Spirituality

Episode 94: Pete & Jared - Do We Know God is Good From the Bible?

Episode 93: Keesmaat & Walsh - Resisting Empire in the Book of Romans

Episode 92: AJ Levine - Jesus, Judaism, & Christianity (REISSUE)

Episode 91: Pete Enns - Pete Ruins Exodus (Part 3)

Episode 90: Richard Rohr - The (Biblical) Universal Christ

Episode 89: Pete and Jared - David’s Sordid Past: This Ain’t No Kids Story

Episode 88: Rachel Held Evans - Reading The Bible Creatively

Episode 87: Robert Alter - The Art of Translating the Bible

Episode 86: Pete Enns - Pete Ruins Exodus (Part 2)

Episode 85: Austen Hartke - The Bible & The Lives of Transgender Christians

Episode 84: Jared Byas - Paul is Frustrating: On Fornication & Wives Obeying Husbands in Colossians

Episode 83: Judy Stack - The Gospel of Matthew on Integrity & Hypocrisy

Episode 82: Linda Kay Klein - Breaking Free From Purity Culture

Episode 81: Pete & Jared - Truth is Subjective . . . Even in the Bible

Episode 80: Jonathan Walton - Reading the Bible Through the Lens of Love

Episode 79: Austin Channing Brown - Preaching the Bible in the Black Church

Episode 78: Pete Enns - Pete Ruins Exodus (Part 1)

Episode 77: Elizabeth Enns Petters - Anxiety in the Life of Faith

Episode 76: Xavier Pickett - So When Did White Christian America Lose Its Mind?

Episode 75: Rhonda Burnette-Bletsch - The Bible & Film

Episode 74: Pete & Jared - God’s Children Tell the Story

Episode 73: Propaganda - What Does Christian Art Even Mean?

Season 3 Teaser

Episode 72: What Is the Bible & What Do We Do with It: Season 2 Recap

Episode 71: Brad Jersak - The Bible And Orthodox Faith

Episode 70: Pete Enns - TGC Doesn’t Really Get Progressive Christianity and Atheism

Episode 69: Daniel Kirk - Five Things You Need to Know About the Gospel of Mark

Episode 68: Trey Pearson - Hey Jesus

Episode 67: Jonathan Merritt - Re-imagining Sacred Speech

Episode 66: Jared Byas - The Book of Jeremiah

Episode 65: Kent Sparks - Where Did the Israelites Come From?

Episode 64: Kevin Makins - Reading the Bible Toward Unity Not Uniformity

Episode 63: Pete Enns - What Does the Bible Have to Say about Politics—American or Otherwise?

Episode 62: Brent Strawn - A Gentle Reminder that the Old Testament is Part of Our Bible and You Can't Avoid It

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