The Art of Biblical Performance

Dr. Travis West is a teacher, preacher, writer, speaker, and Sabbath-seeker whose deepest desire is to spread joy, defend delight, promote play, and help people reconnect with their truest selves. He serves as Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at Western Theological Seminary, where his passion for Scripture and the Hebrew language helps students encounter God through both intellect and imagination.An ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America, Travis writes and teaches about the embodied practice of Sabbath, the performance of Scripture, and the transformative power of delight in a hurried world. His recent book, The Sabbath Way: Making Room in Your Life for Rest, Connection, and Delight, explores how Sabbath can become a way of living with greater presence and freedom.

https://www.travis-west.com/#biblicaltruth #biblicalperformancecriticism #bible

In this video, I share a heartfelt and biblical reflection on why the church’s unwavering political commitment to the modern state of Israel is not faithful to Scripture.For generations, much of American evangelicalism has been shaped by prophecy charts, dispensational teaching, and political alliances that merge faith with nationalism. But is this really consistent with biblical teaching, like in Romans 9–11? Does Revelation give any nation—ancient or modern—a privileged role in ushering in God’s kingdom?Together, we’ll walk through:The history of dispensationalism and why it’s a modern innovation, not historic Christian teaching.Paul’s teaching in Romans (especially 1–4 and 9–11)—that there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile, and salvation comes only through Christ.Why phrases like “all Israel will be saved” (Rom. 11:26) don’t point to geopolitics, but to the mystery of salvation through the Messiah.How Christian nationalism distorts the gospel and ties our faith to earthly powers instead of the kingdom of God.This is not a political attack, but a pastoral plea: to loosen our grip on speculative prophecy frameworks, to refuse to confuse nationalism with the gospel, and to re-center our allegiance on Christ alone.If you’ve wrestled with questions about Israel, prophecy, and Christian nationalism, I invite you to listen with an open Bible and an open heart.#Israel #Dispensationalism #endtimes #Romans #rapture #EndTimes

We had a few issues with the audio on this one.

Dr. Tom Steffen is Professor Emeritus of Intercultural Studies at the Cook School of Intercultural Studies, Biola University. He served with New Tribes Mission (now Ethnos360) for 20 years, including 15 years in the Philippines, where he focused on church planting and cross-cultural ministry. Dr. Steffen specializes in church multiplication, orality, honor-shame dynamics, and business as mission. He is a leading voice in the Orality Movement, contributing to its development and application in missions and theological education. His publications include Reconnecting God's Story to Ministry, The Facilitator Era, Worldview-based Storying, and New and Old Horizons in the Orality Movement.

Dr. Susan Niditch is the Samuel Green Professor of Religion at Amherst College, where she has taught since 1978. She earned her Ph.D. from Harvard University’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations in 1977. Her scholarship focuses on ancient Israelite literature and early Judaism, with particular interests in oral traditions, folklore, gender and sexuality, material religion, and comparative religious ethics. Dr. Niditch's notable publications include Underdogs and Tricksters: A Prelude to Biblical Folklore, War in the Hebrew Bible: A Study in the Ethics of Violence, Oral World and Written Word: Ancient Israelite Literature, My Brother Esau Is a Hairy Man: Hair and Identity in Ancient Israel, and The Responsive Self: Personal Religion in Biblical Literature of the Neo-Babylonian and Persian Periods. Her recent works are a commentary on Jonah in the Hermeneia Series (2023) and Ethics in the Hebrew Bible and Beyond (Oxford University Press, 2024).Dr. Niditch's interdisciplinary approach has significantly influenced the study of the Hebrew Bible, particularly in understanding the interplay between oral and written traditions and the ethical dimensions of biblical narratives.

Dr. Raymond F. Person Jr. is Professor of Religion at Ohio Northern University. He holds a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible and Semitic Studies from Duke University and is widely known for his interdisciplinary work at the intersection of biblical studies, oral tradition, and conversation analysis.Dr. Person’s research explores how oral culture and cognitive-linguistic processes shaped the transmission of biblical texts in ancient Israel. His writing has helped many rethink how we understand the formation of Scripture—especially in communities where spoken tradition played a central role.Some of his key publications include The Deuteronomic History and the Book of Chronicles: Scribal Works in an Oral World, From Conversation to Oral Tradition, and most recently, Scribal Memory and Word Selection: The Text Criticism of the Hebrew Bible. He’s also co-edited volumes like Empirical Models Challenging Biblical Criticism and Deuteronomy in the Pentateuch, Hexateuch, and the Deuteronomistic History.

Paul Rhodes Eddy (PhD, Marquette University) is Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Bethel University in St. Paul, MN. He has authored, co-authored, or co-edited a dozen books, including: John Hick's Pluralist Philosophy of World Religions (Ashgate); Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology (with G. A. Boyd, Baker);Divine Foreknowledge: Four Views (with James Beilby IVP); Understanding Transgender Identities: Four Views (Baker Academic, 2019); and The Jesus Legend (Baker Academic, 2007). He is also a Teaching Pastor at Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, MN. He lives in White Bear Township, MN with his wife Kelly and their two sons.Find out more at https://www.centerforfaith.com/

Here is a crash course on the history of orality studies and its interaction with biblical studies. This video is meant to provide context for the interviews I will continue to upload in the coming months.

Be sure to check out UnwritingTheBible.com

What does the Bible say about the rulers and authorities, powers and principalities of the world? How should Christians guard their devotions in this life? How should we engage the rulers and authorities in this life?

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/amOIgmasQ0A

See more from Scott: samonaz.org

The stories we believe shape who we are and how we live. This episode explores how Scripture invites us beyond the pursuit of mere knowledge into a deeper, relational identity with God. From the garden of Delight to modern struggles with faith, let's reflect on the tension between knowing apart from God and being known by Him.

Exegeting Orality is available on Amazon and at Wipf and Stock.