The Biblical Mind

When people assume that they are already familiar with the Bible, they may fail to read it with a critical or careful eye (if at all). The truth is that Western people's imaginations are usually far more shaped by social media and the entertainment industry, or by even the Greco-Roman world, than by the structures and styles of the Bible. Hence, even faithful churchgoers often need additional guid...

When most Westerners think of "philosophy," they are inclined to think of Greco-Roman arguments or Anglo-American academics. "Philosophy" as approached this way is really nothing more than one culture's philosophical tradition, rather than a global, multicultural collection of thinkers, ideas, and methods. If we expand our definition of philosophy, we have the chance not only to challenge our own...

Many modern people, in both the church and the academy, don't believe that the early narratives of the Hebrew people reflect historical events. They might consider the exodus account to be, for example, a collection of inchoate legends, or a 5th-century B.C.E. exilic invention of the Jews. Others simply regard the historicity of Scripture as a matter of "blind faith." Does it really matter when Ex...

How should Christians engage with the visual arts? Many forms of "Christian art" (films, children's Bibles, music) make in-your-face, moralistic claims. Other Christians condemn art because of its "bad messages." Still others believe that making art is nothing more than expressing yourself or your emotions. Ned Bustard possesses a very different perspective. Ned is an artist and graphic designer b...

Heather Cate reads " Why Poetic Imagination Is Necessary to Understand Biblical Prophecy ," by Malcolm Guite, published July 22, 2020.   Prefer to listen to articles? The CHT will publish recorded readings of more its top articles in the coming weeks.

How can Christians go beyond a "thoughts and prayers" perspective of trauma and suffering? Those who have experienced trauma, from soldiers to sexual assault survivors, often hesitate to trust members of their community.  In this episode, Dr. Dru Johnson interviews Dr. Scott Harrower of Ridley College, a former emergency department nurse, about the biblical response to trauma. Scott explains the p...

We may uncritically assume that biblical authors think of religion, law, and belief in the same way that we do. Dr. Joshua Berman, however, notes that the ancient Hebrews didn't have the contemporary Western concepts of religion and belief, which involve individualistic intellectual assent to the right propositions. Likewise, the concept of law in the Bible isn't a clear-cut list of dos and don’ts...

Dru Johnson and Celina Durgin talk about threads of teaching in Scripture regarding the use of force and systemic racism, as well as practical steps that the Torah and Jesus taught to bring justice into unjust communities.  Show notes: 1:28 How Torah protections for the vulnerable bear on our notion of justice 4:00 How the powerful/vulnerable dynamic plays out in state agency and police use of for...

For a first-ever joint episode with OnScript , Dru talked to Dr. Jaco Gericke of North-West University, South Africa about his journey to philosophical theology, and some of his current research, particularly his recent book, A Philosophical Theology of the Old Testament: A historical, experimental, comparative and analytic perspective . Among other things, they discuss:  —Why Dr. Gericke doesn't...

Dru Johnson and Dr. Jerry Unterman discuss his college years during the war in Israel, studying with Jacob Milgrom for his Ph. D., and his most recent work on the unique ethical contribution of the Bible in the ancient world. Plus, Dr. Unterman recalls his odd sighting while at UC Berkeley in the '70s.

The newest fellow of the CHT, Dr. Jonathan T. Pennington of Southern Seminary, joins Dr. Dru Johnson to discuss how Jesus' views interacted with the intellectual world of his day. This world was populated by both Jewish and Hellenistic ideas, as well as hybrids of the two traditions. In this context, Jesus' teachings, such as those in the Sermon on the Mount, generated sophisticated answers to anc...

Dr. Ben White, Assistant Professor of New Testament at The King's College, discusses with CHT Director Dr. Dru Johnson his article in Christianity Today called "Fighting Anxiety With the Old Testament" — written a year ago but exceptionally applicable in the context of the Coronavirus pandemic. They talk about the honesty across the Bible about the weakness and struggles of the human condition, an...

Dr. Michael Rhodes of Union University speaks about the radical economic principles begun in the Torah and worked out in the prophets and teaching Jesus and Paul. Topics include: The problem with objectifying "the poor". How our wealth corrupts our view of economics. The power of Jubilee. How the biblical authors use "inclusion" and economic leveling in response to sin. How Paul's letter to the Co...

On February 15, Rev. Dr. Peter Leithart joined the Center for Hebraic Thought and a group of about 20 professors, church-goers, and students for an all-day workshop on the Perfection of God. In the second session, Dr. Leithart discusses the idea of "deflating metaphysics" a bit in order to see how the biblical authors describe God. 

On February 15, Rev. Dr. Peter Leithart joined the Center for Hebraic Thought and a group of about 20 professors, church-goers, and students for an all-day workshop on the Perfection of God. This first session is on the primacy of Scripture in considering God's attributes.

This podcast is taken from the evening lecture of our February 14-15 workshop with the Rev. Dr. Peter Leithart from the Theopolis Institute. If you're interested in the content of the workshop that he refers to multiple times throughout the lecture, stay tuned for the recording of that, coming soon.

Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman (Bar-Ilan University, Israel) gave a talk at The King's College on January 31st on our modern notion of equality that was uniquely sculpted in the Hebrew Bible. Politics professors—Dr. Innes, and Dr. Griffin— and Center for Hebraic Thought fellow Dr. Shira Weiss offer responses and questions.

Rabbi Dr. Jeremiah Unterman delivers a public lecture for the CHT examining moral progress in the Hebrew Bible and more generally in the ancient Near East. 

Drs. Mary Hom and Dru Johnson discuss the impact of the baby Yoda story in the Christmas season, how the Star Wars stories and Yoda's poetic speech prime expectations, and how much these resemble aspects of the biblical narratives and style—especially Christmas!  

We think of Christmas as a New Testament Story, but does it start earlier? Hint: the story of a child changing the flow of cosmic events goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. The nativity isn't an isolated story, but it pulls together all of God's political ambitions for the world, to run it with righteousness, justice, and peace.

  Dru Johnson talks with Drs. Eric Smith and Scott Booth of Pillar Seminary about the notion of calling in Scripture and some of the problematic thinking about Christian vocation practiced in the church. They address the following questions:   What do Christians commonly misunderstand about calling? Is individual calling the same as a vocation/career? What are Christians called to do as a whole? H...

In this episode, Dru talks with Dr. Unterman about biblical teaching on ethics. They discuss ancient notions of justice, law-keeping, fickle gods, and the treatment of foreigners across the Near East. Unterman highlights the specific and unusual features of Hebraic thought that have also informed our modern Western ethics more than we might realize.  Jeremiah Unterman is a resident scholar at the...

Dru talks with Eric about how Hebrews reasoned through concepts in light of the ancient Near East. Eric is the founder and president of  The Pillar Seminary.  He started the seminary with 15 years of active ministry experience and a Ph. D. from Trinity College in Bristol, England. Along with education, he brings experience from serving on leadership teams with multiple churches in the midwest. He...

Robert talks about moving from antagonism towards Christians to being deeply impacted by the message of Scripture and the Church. This episode's topics range from his work with the CHT to Christian persecution in the Middle East.  Robert Nicholson is Founder and Executive Director of  The Philos Project . He holds a B.A. in Hebrew Studies from Binghamton University, and both a J.D. and M.A. in Mid...