Vacation Bible School Podcast

By Jason Kirk, Emily KirkReligion & Spirituality

Vacation Bible School Podcast episodes

February 03, 2022JOSHUA: Jericho was an inside job
WAR DADS AND LADY WAR DADS ASSEMBLE. It's a new Bible section!
Joshua is the dude version of LIVE LAUGH LOVE, but also somehow the most feminist book yet.

Rahab, the Bible character whose job is most ignored by church, and also a military mastermind.

THE WALLS OF JERICHO: pretty cool, but mostly for reasons besides those made up by Sunday school, Carman, and Joel Osteen.

How can believers explain this awful book of murder being in the Bible? There's actually a pretty simple way!

What we're talking about when we talk about "history in the Bible."

And setting up the map for three more books of general Game of Thrones behavior!
As always, support for this program is greatly appreciated on Patreon, you can follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and please consider leaving a review on the podcast app of your choice!
58 min
November 30, 2021DEUUUTERONOMY: Actually super important and mostly really good??
The final book of the Torah, the one we NEVER talked about in church, actually ... kinda rules at times?

In the story, at the edge of Canaan, Moses reframes everything that's happened to this point, retconning the horrors of Numbers and synthesizing the Bible's competing God ideas into one coherent theology that more or less works for everyone on earth (except the despicable Jebusites).

Upgraded lore, now including IRON GHOST GIANTS (and way less murder).

Talmud rabbis vs. Oprah's collected life advice: who ya got?

You want some more weird penis rules? Say less.

God and Moses perform their finale duet, VeggieTales-style.

There are patriarchal parts that really suck, because this was written ~2,600 years ago by a guy with specific bad ideas, and we'll try to talk context.

But for the most part, this is the most coherent and best-written book of the Bible so far. It's also possibly just about the most historically important book in the entire Bible. Yep!

Thank you to scholar friends Brad Haggard, Mike Altman, and Jason Smith for taking a look at our notes. Any errors are the fault of Jason (host Jason, not Smith Jason) and nobody else.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, maybe send us a dollar or few on Patreon (with monthly Discord book club, bonus episodes, and a sticker for offer).
1 hr 26 min
September 13, 2021NUMBERS: Maybe the Bible's worst book!
The fourth book of the Bible! As always, remember the Bible has been written, edited, and interpreted by LOTS of people, and we're under no obligation to treat its angriest voices as definitive of the entire thing.
The actual story resumes! Things are finally happening!

Numbers gives us phrases like "wandering in the wilderness," "land of milk and honey," and "eww girls have cooties!"

There's a reason Sunday school teachers steer WAY clear of all Numbers content besides Talking Donkey and Brave Caleb. Meanwhile, other Christians have used Numbers to justify all sorts of horrendous things!

Aaron asks God the most pertinent question Aaron could ever ask God!

Mommy God and Daddy Moses are fighting again, the Israelites are constantly griping about needing luxuries like food and water, and this is the worst road trip ever!

This is a Miriam stan podcast!
And your support is very appreciated on Twitter, Instagram, and Patreon!
1 hr 3 min
July 12, 2021Q&A: Heresy reviews, salvation fear, and animal souls
Hi pals! Taking a break from the main Bible storyline to hit some listener questions, such as:
What's the Protestant holiday calendar like?

Which Bible verse most contradicts its own book?

There's a Toad the Wet Sprocket song about the apostles being sick of Paul lol.

What are the Bible's best name meanings?

Every Catholic heresy, given a thumbs up or thumbs down!

Do animals have souls?

Do Christians, um, like, kinda, you know, wish for death, um, so they can go to Heaven, welp?

What's the Bible's scariest verse?

A light round of Calvinism vs. Arminianism!

Is it fun or bad when Pop Culture makes versions of Bible stories?

Well, Jason's making a book, how's that going?
As always, support is appreciated by following @VBSPodcast on Twitter and Instagram, leaving us a rating/review on your podcast app, and sliding us a $ amount on Patreon!
1 hr 27 min
May 17, 2021LEVITICUS: Fight fundie with fundie
Our first attempt at doing an entire book in one episode, and it happens to be one of the weirdest, grossest, narrative-lightest books. Yay!

Spending as little time as possible on the chapters about bodily discharges, we promise.

Leviticus has Bad Verses! Drown the Bad Verses in dorky red tape ...

... and/or insist we simply become eco-socialists every seven years, as Leviticus clearly commands.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, if you please!

Show notes and other stuff available at patreon.com/vbspodcast.
1 hr
March 10, 2021TABERNACLE: I feel God in this Minecraft tailgate (with Rev. Chris Lee)
Pretty much the whole last half of Exodus, except for the Ten Commandments-adjacent rules and the Golden Calf chapter

Why yes, we DID have fun talking about quite arguably the most boring stretch of the whole Bible!

Why yes, you CAN recreate a very accurate Tabernacle in Minecraft

Let's talk high church "versus" low church

Featuring special guest pastor Reverend Chris Lee of St John's With St Mary's Mansfield

And! Let's! Finally! Wrap! Up! Exodus, a dude book also about ladies

Support the show by leaving us a rating/review on your podcast app!

You can also visit us on Twitter or Instagram or even Patreon!
52 min
January 25, 2021GOLDEN CALF: God's marshmallow test (with Jane Coaston)
Exodus 24, Exodus 32, and so forth (there's a whole lot of laws and blueprints mixed within the storyline) ...

Think the Bible itself is weird? Wait'll you get a load of church history!

Unchallenged faith: is that really even faith?

Aaron at Mount Sinai: total idiot, good cop, willing scapegoat, nepotism hire, anarcho-pacifist, retcon reclamation, or all the above?

By now, Moses and God are an old married couple ...

Oh no, the big dweebs who wrote Leviticus just did a murder spree (for the Lord) ...

Why a calf, anyway?

Follow @janecoaston and @vbspodcast on the social medias, patreon.com/vbspodcast to exchange blessings, Homefield Apparel for VBS shirts, and your favorite podcast app to leave us a review!

Next up: God's traveling tailgate rig, the Tabernacle
1 hr 5 min
December 17, 2020CHRISTMAS FELLOWSHIP: Jacksonville Jesus & Militant Mary
Taking a break from storyline order for some holiday spirit: Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2, plus some Mark!

Welcome aboard Richard Johnson, Matt Brown, Sara Cannon, and some of our Associate Pastors for an interdenominational exchange: what Christmas stuff did we set on fire as kids?

Lots of talk about rent-a-camels, prophecy-checklist donkeys, Christmastime sports, the pageants and musicals we've ruined, and that time New York City invented Santa (no, for real)

Reviews of three great Christmas history books: What Christmas stuff is ACTUALLY in the Bible? The "three" "kings" "at the Nativity," for example?

Show notes and other stuff available at patreon.com/vbspodcast. All VBS revenues from December 2020 (including new VBS shirts at Homefield Apparel) will go to Feeding America
1 hr 23 min
November 25, 2020TEN COMMANDMENTS: Wife Guy Moses and God's TOS page
Exodus 20! How many of these Ten do we agree to keep today? They all seem pretty simple, obvious, or outdated, right? Well!!

Tried something new: recorded a Zoom with a few of our Patreon Associate Pastors, plus Interfaith Council guests: Michael Elkon (@BravesAndBirds) and Hasan Masood (@hasmas)!

Let's hear it for idols!

Now Lord, when you say "murder," what do you mean by that?

Youth pastors turn every commandment into a rule against making out!

The 10th commandment sees what you're plotting and urges you to consider otherwise!

Also, bonus Fellowship Q&A episode from this recording on the Patreon Early Service feed!
57 min
November 02, 2020SINAI: What's the Bible about? (with Richard Elliott Friedman)
Exodus 19-20ish, the part about Moses leading the Israelites to meet Huge Loud Scary Firestorm God

Greatest pyro entrance of all time

Is monotheism having a moment?

We're joined by Dr. Friedman (author of Who Wrote the Bible and many other books) to talk Prince of Egypt (he did some work on it), the Bible's overall storyline (it has at least one!), "Old Testament God vs. New Testament God" (not really a thing), the origin of the Golden Rule (maybe the story that revolves around Sinai), and a lot more!

Support welcomed at patreon.com/vbspodcast! Got some merch and stuff there, and we might like to try out a monthly Zoom call. Let us know if you like that idea!

Follow @VBSpodcast on Twitter & Instagram, subscribe to jasonkirk.substack.com, review on your podcast app, and may the thunderfire speak to you softly
1 hr 11 min