The Bible Uncut and Unfiltered

Philosophy fans, this one's for you! In this episode, Qoheleth presents some majorly controversial statements about the value of death's solace over life's stress, and we’re delving deep into his arguments alongside Albert Camus's existentialism. We also cover how the ancient Israelite perception of the afterlife differs from ours and some possible hidden connections to Genesis 1-3...

Word nerds, this episode is for you! This week, we jump back into Ecclesiastes and tackle some of the trickiest verses to translate and interpret in the entire book. And if you're here looking for practical wisdom, Qoheleth delivers applicable insights that resonate deeply with our modern workaholic lives. There's something for everyone in these dense yet profound verses. Let's get stu...

Join us this week as we delve into one of modern Christianity's most hotly debated topics: deconstruction. What does it entail, and how should we respond when those close to us (or maybe even we ourselves) undergo this complicated process? Dr. Thomas Oord is back to unpack his latest collaboration with Tripp Fuller, God After Deconstruction . In this must-listen episode, we explore the implica...

Mother's Day is a time when many communities celebrate the hardworking moms in their midst, but for some, it's also one of the most painful days on the calendar. Stories from the other side of Mother's Day have been shared for years now, but male-led churches continue to push these special services and activities on an overwhelmingly unwilling congregation. It's time we change that...

When I (Colin) was a teenager, I wrote a short book and even had it printed. I was so confident that the church at large was complacent and that it desperately needed my message of revival. Ten years later, Janna and I reevaluate one of the last surviving copies of the book and talk through everything I got wrong. We cover what type of music you should listen to, why just going to church makes you...

Christianity began as a Jewish sect, but its relationship to Judaism since then has been rocky to say the least. As we enter the sixth month of the Israel-Hamas War, Christians find themselves at odds with each other in their stances on the issue. Within the pages of the Bible, we encounter narratives where God commands the utter destruction of Israel's adversaries. Can we assume these ancient...

Christianity began as a Jewish sect, but its relationship to Judaism since then has been rocky to say the least. As we enter the sixth month of the Israel-Hamas War, Christians find themselves at odds with each other in their stances on the issue. Within the pages of the Bible, we encounter narratives where God commands the utter destruction of Israel's adversaries. Can we assume these ancient...

If God is not the author of confusion, how can we listen to and coexist with all these other views of the Bible? How does baptism relate to salvation? Did God kill an animal in the garden in place of Adam and Eve? Could God have coded the creation week to match events throughout human history? And how can someone who has been hurt by the Bible learn to love it again? You asked; we responded! Time...

On this week's episode, we time travel Qoheleth into a modern day pub and sit down for a few drinks with the ancient sage and our friends, Randy and Kyle from the A Pastor and a Philosopher Walk into a Bar podcast. We consider what questions we would ask Qoheleth if we could and philosophize on the meaning of life. Nice, easy topics this week lol. In all seriousness, we loved talking with thes...

What do dreams and prayer have in common? According to Qoheleth, they are both as out of touch with reality as the ramblings of a fool. As our ever-controversial guide through this introspective journey on life's meaning, Qoheleth challenges the significance of our religious rituals. In his world, the gods (including Yahweh) were real, distant, and capricious. Seeking their favor was perilous,...

In the last couple chapters, Qoheleth has urged us to cherish the small joys in life, advocating for meaningful connections with loved ones. This week, he confronts the harsh realities faced by those who are denied such simple pleasures due to injustice and exploitation. Then he shifts his focus to the plight of workaholics trapped in a relentless pursuit of career advancement, as well as the chal...

So many of us long for something more out of life, something that feels just beyond our reach. Qoheleth sympathizes with us, and he thinks he knows who's to blame for our inability to find lasting happiness — God. God has prevented us from finding deeper meaning in life, and what's more, he's done it for the purpose of making us realize our own delusions of grandeur. At the end of the...

And so we arrive at Ecclesiastes' most well-known passage — Chapter 3's time poem. But what exactly does this list of contrasting times mean? Must these verses only be referenced during periods of transition in life, or do they have a deeper practical wisdom for every day? As you've likely guessed, there's a lot more to this poem than just what's on the surface. Qoheleth has a...

What is the meaning of life? Few questions strike at the core of human existence as succinctly as this. And the responses given will likely change drastically depending on who you ask. Some look for purpose in leaving a lasting legacy, accomplishing great feats, or giving their all for a religious cause. In Ecclesiastes Chapter 2, Qoheleth claims to have tried all that and found every possible end...

Imagine you were given unlimited time and resources to find the best restaurant in the country. How would you even begin your investigation? And how long until you tired of it? Ecclesiastes is this thought experiment on a much larger scale — What if someone who had it all tried to find the surest path to happiness in life? That's exactly what our anti-hero, Qoheleth, does; yet, in the end, he...

We all have stuff we don't know, but have you ever considered what information you don't know that you don't know? As we begin our Ecclesiastes study this week, we address the book's authorship, cultural context, themes, and key words. This is the launching point for seeing Ecclesiastes, the Bible, and life itself from a whole new angle. This is Ecclesiastes Uncut and Unfiltered. W...

January is spiritual abuse awareness month. Since many people have never even heard of spiritual abuse, we're dedicating a couple weeks of podcast episodes to the discussion. This week, we're honored to share the mic with our friends, Chris and Rachel Knobil. Their podcast, Finding Normal, documents their journey out of spiritually abusive churches into a healthier spirituality. We talk ab...

January is spiritual abuse awareness month. Since many people have never even heard of spiritual abuse, we want to dedicate the next two weeks of podcast episodes to this discussion. This week, we're honored to share the mic with Eric Skwarczynski of the Preacher Boys Podcast. Eric grew up Independent Fundamental Baptist and first confronted abuse in the church as a teenager. He's dedicate...

Few doctrinal beliefs are as widely accepted as God's ability to do anything and everything, also known as omnipotence. It's even in one of the first songs children learn in church — "My God is so big, so strong, and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do." But what if the song got it wrong? What if there are some things God actually can't do? In this week's epis...

The Christmas story is undoubtedly the most popular portion of the entire Bible. Even people who have never stepped foot inside a church could likely give you the highlights. But all that familiarity can lead to us to think we know more about the story than we actually do. If your idea of the Nativity is the virgin Mary giving birth to baby Jesus in a stable surrounded by animals, singing angels,...

Did anyone survive the Flood? How can we be more ethical in our treatment of animals, particularly those we raise to eat? Is there any way to do church without running the risk of creating an abusive system? And why is there so much incest in the Bible? You asked; we responded! Time for our second Question and Response session (Plus a quick study on Noah in the rest of the Bible!). Website: TheBib...

A story is only as good as its villains. Star Wars has Palpatine, Harry Potter has Voldemort, and the Bible has Babylon. Witness here the origin story of Babylon, a people whose hubris leads them to recreate Genesis 6 only to have Yahweh show up and foil their plans. But the narrative doesn't go quite how you remember hearing it taught before. Time for Genesis 11 Uncut and Unfiltered! Website:...

If ever there was a chapter of Genesis you'd be tempted to skip, it'd likely be this one. Genesis 10 swarms with names the average person has never even heard before let alone tried to pronounce. But don't change the channel yet! This chapter pivots us from the story of Noah into the story of our next protagonist — Abraham. The names you thought were just there to tie your tongue in kn...

Now that we've passed the crescendo of the Flood narrative, most versions of the story wrap up with the introduction of the rainbow and move on. But we're not quite done with Noah. As the new Adam in a new Creation, he plants himself a new Garden, and we wait to see if he can pass the Garden test or if he will fail like the humans before him. This week, discover the significance of the rai...

Question: What do the Psalms, the book of Esther, the conquest of Canaan in Joshua, and Jesus' baptism have in common? Answer: They all draw on imagery from the Flood story in Genesis 8. When biblical authors wanted to make a point about how chaotic life can be or how God is in control over that chaos, they'd often borrow language from the Flood account. Those words then form key hyperlink...