The Bible For Normal People

Bekah McNeel joins Jared and co-host Jennifer Garcia Bashaw in this episode of Faith for Normal People to talk candidly about the challenges of parenting in the midst of a shifting faith—the good, the bad, and the cussing—and how parents can navigate tough conversations with their kids. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hold onto your communion wafers, folks! In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Meredith J. C. Warren guides Pete and Jared through eight weird verses in John 6:51-58, exploring whether or not the passage refers to the Eucharist, and how Hellenistic hero literature could have influenced John’s storytelling arc.  Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoi...

In this episode of Faith for Normal People, cognitive neuroscientist Anil Seth leaves no brain region unused as he joins Pete and Jared to talk about consciousness, experience, perception, what it means to be a self, and the ways a life of faith is impacted by being…well, a conscious being.  Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, our beloved book ruiner Pete brings the gavel down on Judges, examining the historical and literary context of the book and revealing the driving force of the narrative: Israel needs a king. Show Notes → ADVERTISEMENT: This episode was sponsored by Lumi Microdosing. To learn more about microdosing THC, go to Microdose.com and use code NORMALPEOPLE to...

In this episode of Faith for Normal People, Pete and Jared are joined by Rhett and Jessie McLaughlin to talk about their own journey of shifting faith as individuals and as a married couple, what it was like navigating a religious transition in the public eye, and what it looks like to embrace a curious faith. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with David Lambert about how scholars define “scripture,” how communities throughout history have changed the meaning and nature of biblical texts, and whether or not the Bible can ever be universally understood as scripture. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Faith for Normal People, the only other God-ordained podcast on the internet—brought to you by Pete Enns and Jared Byas of The Bible for Normal People. In this episode, Pete and Jared introduce the show and reflect on how their own experiences of faith evolution led to the vision for Faith for Normal People.  Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoi...

We’re back for the seventh season of The Bible for Normal People and we’re kicking things off with Beth Allison Barr! In this episode, Beth joins Pete and Jared to talk about the historical and cultural development of biblical womanhood in white American evangelicalism and how she has navigated the backlash against her bestselling book The Making of Biblical Womanhood. Show Notes → Learn more abou...

We’re bringing a little bah and a little humbug to the Christmas pageant in this episode of The Bible for Normal People as Pete and Jared do their very best to ruin Christmas! Find out what Christmas means to them, whether Jesus really is the reason for the season, and how your Nativity set is probably lying to you. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Joel Marcus breaks down the history and intricacies of how, when, and why the Christian religion broke away from Judaism, and how that turn toward independence shaped the New Testament. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Pete and Jared talk with Emilie Townes about womanist ethics, interpreting the Bible, and hope. Show Notes → This episode was sponsored by Lumi. To learn more about microdosing THC, go to Microdose.com and use code NORMALPEOPLE to get free shipping & 30% off your first order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoice...

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete ruins the book of Joshua and evangelical home décor in one fell swoop by examining the historicity of the conquest narrative and the theological consequences of a warrior God who condones violence.  Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Meredith Riedel gives an overview of Byzantine Christianity—what it is, when it happened, how it evolved, and why Western Christians should care about it.  Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Daniel Kirk joins Pete and Jared to explain the major themes in the book of Romans, why the Romans Road view of salvation is insufficient, and how a focus on God’s righteousness through Jesus Christ shaped Paul's vision of harmony between Jews and Gentiles. Show Notes → This episode was sponsored by Lumi. To learn more about microdosing THC, go to Mi...

Happy Halloween! Pete and Jared embrace spooky season in this episode of The Bible for Normal People as Gregory Mobley discusses the biblical roots, origin stories, and cultural myths surrounding the Satan figure. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Jared explains the philosophical concept of deconstruction, where it came from, and three misconceptions about deconstruction as related to the Bible. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared are joined by Jewish New Testament scholar Pamela Eisenbaum to talk about the many misunderstandings surrounding Paul, one of the most complicated figures of the New Testament, and the lens through which he viewed the concept of salvation. Show Notes → This episode was sponsored by Lumi. To learn more about microdosing THC, go to Micro...

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared reflect on all the ruining they’ve been doing, what it means for how we read and connect with the Bible going forward, and how they’ve been personally affected by an evolving view of Scripture. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are the stories written about the biblical character David fact or fiction? Find out in this episode of The Bible for Normal People as Jared, Pete, and professor Joel Baden pull back the curtain to reveal how stories about the infamous King David were spun to make him out as a hero.  Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Jemar Tisby joins Jared and Pete to talk about the legacy of systemic racism in the white American evangelical church, and how white Christians can practice anti-racism in their personal lives and in their communities.  Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete ruins Deuteronomy by explaining the influence of ancient Near Eastern culture on the laws and the historical narrative of the time, while also exploring the authorship, structure, and core themes of the book.  Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hold onto your thinking cap, because this episode of The Bible for Normal People is going to get really, really nerdy. Pete and Jared are joined by psychologist, professor, and priest Jonathan Jong to talk about the psychology of religious experiences, how scientists approach truth, and how engaging the Bible is an inherently communal experience.  Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Rev. Dr. Angela N. Parker joins Pete and Jared to talk about the impact of white supremacy in the field of biblical interpretation, whether we can truly read the Bible objectively, and how a womanist interpretation of the Bible can lead to liberation for all. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared unpack the centrality of the monarchy in the Hebrew Bible, the function of monarchy within the biblical narrative arc, and how not every story or book of the Bible is meant to be used as a devotional for our modern times. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Jared and Pete talk with Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg about the practice of repentance and the pursuit of repair in Judaism based on five steps from the medieval philosopher Maimonides. Show Notes → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices