The Biblical Mind

Why does Scripture so often portray women as central to God’s work of redemption—even in stories of deep dysfunction and failure? In this episode, Dr. Ingrid Faro, Old Testament scholar and interim president of Northern Seminary, joins Dru Johnson to explore her groundbreaking work in Redeeming Eden: How Women in the Bible Advance the Story of Salvation. Dr. Faro shares how her personal journey th...

Can you trust that viral “Bible connection” you just saw on TikTok? In this episode, Matt Swale, author of "Scripture’s Use of Scripture in the Old Testament," joins Dr. Dru Johnson to discuss how biblical allusions really work—and why we need better instincts and better tools when interpreting Scripture. Swale wrote the book to help lay readers and undergraduates navigate the exciting (and someti...

In this episode, Dru Johnson and Mike Tolliver reflect on the Center for Hebraic Thought’s evolving impact and expanding community. They revisit the promise made in 2025 to annually assess their work and celebrate how that commitment has borne fruit: from the flourishing Hebraic Thought Facebook community and its scripture reading groups, to the launch of a Michael Polanyi reading club. They annou...

What happens when an Australian butcher starts reading Leviticus—and finds it fun? In this unique episode, Dru Johnson speaks with Phil Bray, author of Leviticus on the Butcher’s Block, about how his day job cutting lambs and steaks helped him see the book of Leviticus in a whole new light. Phil traces his journey from casual Bible reader to Leviticus superfan, exploring how rituals, sacrifice, an...

In this episode, Old Testament scholar Dr. Carmen Imes unpacks widespread Christian misunderstandings of Torah and shows how the laws of the Old Testament were never meant as a means of salvation, but as a way of living out Israel’s covenant identity. Rather than a legalistic burden, Torah was a gift of freedom—a lifestyle for a people already redeemed. Dr. Imes explains how Jesus wasn’t raising t...

ICYMI: This episode is one of our earliest episodes, and originally aired on 5/14/2020   In this introductory conversation, Dr. Jonathan Pennington joins the Center for Hebraic Thought as its newest fellow and shares how his journey through philosophy and biblical scholarship led him to see the New Testament as part of a deeply sophisticated intellectual tradition. Pennington discusses how early C...

What happens when the tech elite of Silicon Valley use their skills to serve the church? In this episode, Kevin Kim, executive director of Crazy Love Ministries and founder of Basil Tech, joins Dr. Dru Johnson to explore a radical idea: that technology, creativity, and innovation can be spiritual gifts to build up the Body of Christ. Drawing from his experiences with venture capitalists, Stanford...

Are the ten plagues just divine punishment? Or are they intended to form a people? In this episode, Dr. Dru Johnson sits down with Dr. Rick Wadholm and Pastor Dalton Avery, co-authors of Plagued by Faith, to explore a more layered vision of the plague narratives in Exodus. Rather than merely acts of judgment, the plagues are portrayed as formative, disruptive events that unmake Egypt’s religious,...

What makes a movie biblical—even if it’s not about the Bible? In this episode, Dr. Dru Johnson explores that question with a curated list of films that reflect deep biblical structures—movies that “get what’s going on in Scripture” better than many that explicitly reference the Bible. These aren’t Sunday School adaptations—they’re gritty, layered, and emotionally raw. Dru walks through Tree of Lif...

In this special message to church leaders, Dr. Dru Johnson speaks directly to pastors, elders, and ministry teams preparing next year’s budget. As someone who has served as a full-time pastor, he knows how critical and crowded those budget conversations can be—and he makes a case for why the Center for Hebraic Thought deserves a place in your missions giving line. “If you’ve passed along our artic...

In this candid and heartfelt message, Dr. Dru Johnson steps out from behind the mic to speak directly to you—the listener, the learner, the potential donor. “I’m a recurring giver. I actually pay to do this work.” That’s how strongly he believes in the mission of the Center for Hebraic Thought. In this short but powerful donor appeal, Dru explains how the Center’s podcast, public resources, book s...

What actually happens when thousands of biblical scholars descend on a single convention center? In this unusual and behind-the-scenes episode, Dru Johnson roams the floor of the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting in Boston to ask a range of publishers and scholars—from Langham Publishing to Prairie College—what these conferences are really like. From the excitement of free books to the...

Where is God present—and how do believers describe it? In this thoughtful and poetic episode, Polish theologian Dr. Elżbieta Łazarewicz-Wyrzykowska joins Dru Johnson to reflect on theology, trauma, and spiritual presence. From her childhood in Warsaw—where bullet holes and tanks marked the legacy of war—to her academic path through Hebrew Bible, literary theory, and empirical psychology, Elżbieta...

For decades, churches have built youth ministries around entertainment and behavior management. But what if all the data says that’s the wrong approach? In this powerful episode, Dr. Anthony Bradley joins Dru Johnson to reflect on 25 years of experience working with youth, revisiting the PBS documentary Raising Cain and what it reveals about the neglected emotional lives of boys. He shares stories...

Was Peter’s hometown ever really lost—and have we just found it? In this episode, archaeologist and scholar Dr. Jeffrey Arroyo García joins Dru Johnson to explore how archaeology reshapes our understanding of the Gospels, popular media like The Chosen, and the portrayal of first-century Judaism. Drawing on his years excavating at El-Araj—the site increasingly believed to be biblical Bethsaida—Jeff...

What if Genesis 1 wasn’t about the origin of matter—but the enthronement of God? And what if “rest” wasn’t the end of work, but the beginning of reign? In this episode, Rachel Booth Smith, author of Rest Assured, joins Dru Johnson to explore how the Genesis creation story contrasts with other ancient Near Eastern accounts. With a storyteller’s gift and a pastor’s heart, Smith explains how comparin...

What happens when a senior biblical scholar changes their mind—publicly? In this episode, Dr. John Walton returns to explain key shifts in his thinking, especially about Genesis, the temple, and covenant theology. He unpacks two major paradigm shifts: first, that Genesis creation isn’t about material origins, but about functional order; second, that Genesis 3 isn’t even about sin—it’s about humani...

In this thought-provoking episode, Walton explains his “cultural rivers” metaphor—how each culture swims in its own current of values, assumptions, and logic. We can’t read the Bible through modern, Western eyes without missing what mattered most to ancient audiences. Genesis, for example, isn’t about material origins but about God bringing order to a disordered world. From Genesis 1–11, which Wal...

What if the Bible was written with deep structural patterns designed to echo across generations—economically and theologically? In this riveting episode, Dr. Joshua Berman joins Dru Johnson to reveal how literary design, verbal repetition, and cultural continuity make the Bible not a patchwork, but a carefully composed unity. Through examples ranging from Genesis and Judges to Exodus and Samuel, B...

What does attachment theory have to do with discipleship, theology, or the church? According to Dr. Geoff Holsclaw, more than we realize. In this episode, Holsclaw—a pastor, theologian, and co-author of Landscapes of the Soul—joins Dru Johnson to explore how neuroscience and interpersonal attachment can illuminate both human development and the biblical story. From early childhood bonds to the way...

Did Jesus come to cancel the Law of Moses—or fulfill it? In this compelling episode, Dr. Paul Sloan joins Dru Johnson to challenge one of the most persistent misunderstandings in modern Christianity: the idea that Jesus and Paul opposed the Torah. Drawing from his book Jesus and the Law of Moses, Sloan explains how legalism, misunderstanding of impurity, and modern Christian readings of Paul have...

“Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.” We’ve all heard the phrase—but what does it actually mean in the Bible? In this episode, Mike Tolliver and Dr. Dru Johnson unpack the principle of Talion—Lex Talionis—and show why it’s one of the most misunderstood elements of biblical justice. They trace the concept across Leviticus, Exodus, and Deuteronomy, exploring how this principle wasn’t about vengeance...

Is communion just a symbolic snack—or a mysterious, formative act of grace? In this episode, Rev. Hannah King, an Anglican priest and author of the upcoming Feasting on a Hope: How God Sets a Table in the Wilderness, joins Dru Johnson to explore why the Lord’s Supper is essential for the Christian life. Hannah shares her journey from evangelical church spaces into Anglicanism, unpacking how the Eu...

What if the Bible isn’t something you read—but something you hear, memorize, and perform? In this groundbreaking episode, Dr. Fausto Liriano shares his work translating the Bible into indigenous languages without writing it down. Through oral Bible translation projects in Guatemala, Mexico, and the Philippines, Dr. Liriano helps communities internalize Scripture in their own languages—through perf...

Is AI intelligent—or just artificial? In this provocative episode, Dr. Noreen Herzfeld, a rare scholar of both computer science and theology, joins Dru Johnson to expose what most people overlook about artificial intelligence. Drawing from her recent book The Artifice of Intelligence, she challenges the mythology of AGI (artificial general intelligence) and critiques the environmental, social, and...