The Biblical Mind

We at the CHT and TBM are curious about your thoughts and questions regarding the intellectual world of the Bible! We’re now inviting listeners to send us questions, and we’ll start answering them in upcoming Q&A episodes. You can email us your questions at cht_administrator@tkc.edu .  Have you ever wanted to jump into a conversation between Dru and one of our guests? Do you want to probe more dee...

This week, Jeff Jacoby, op-ed columnist for The Boston Globe since February 1994, joined Dru to discuss his essay in Sapir, " Jewish Study for Non-Jewish Clergy ." He proposes a project of study with deep historical roots that would benefit clergy and anyone who takes religion seriously, not just as an abstract intellectual exercise. He writes, "Imagine that it were possible for non-Jewish clergy ...

Certain modern stereotypes and gender roles influence how women and men in the church understand their humanity and sexuality. When people fall short of these expectations, they can feel inadequate. An idea that has pervaded church history is that men and women are polar opposites. Famous theologians have called women inferior. Regarding gender, what is actually "biblical," and what is merely cult...

This episode was originally published on January 1, 2021. We thought it was worth a reissue for our newer listeners. Why do many Christians elevate the practice of "quiet time": isolated, often hurried and brief daily Bible-reading? Jen Wilkin—author, speaker, and leader of many Bible studies—challenges this practice. She believes that, rather than instilling deep Bible literacy, the typical "quie...

To find your place in the story of Scripture, you have to understand the story and then how the story continues into our world today. Many Christians haven't learned a method for reaching sound theological conclusions, and end up being more defensive than constructive. Some Christians are also content to lack Bible knowledge as long as the pastor or another leader has it, instead of becoming knowl...

Rituals aren't mechanistic activities that may or may not produce a direct, isolated result. Rather, rituals shape a person over time. What distinguishes mundane rituals such as brushing your teeth or drinking coffee from sacred rituals such as baptism? In Scripture, sacred rituals are formative for particular purposes, separating God’s people from the rest of the world, while simultaneously provi...

For many people, the stress of the pandemic has amplified what would otherwise be small tensions and concerns. This tensions can eventually cause or manifest as creeping religious doubt, which may be interpreted, rightly or wrongly, as a sign of a larger underlying spiritual problem. Dr. Matthew A. LaPine , pastor of Theological Development at Cornerstone Church of Ames and author of The Logic of...

The Jewish and Christian faiths exist because of the events that happened in a particular place and time. To understand biblical texts—including issues of justice and loving strangers and enemies—we should learn something about the places where the events they describe occurred. Danielle Parish , pastor of Spark Church in Palo Alto, CA, who leads study tours in Israel, discusses the importance of...

One of the most countercultural sentences comes from the Heidelberg Catechism: our only comfort in life and death is that "I am not my own, but but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ." The loudest voices in the contemporary West seem to tell us that we belong to ourselves, that we author our own destinies and create our own identities. This is not the wa...

Where you are situated in time and space affects how you interpret the world. This cultural, geographical, and historical consciousness likewise forms a hermeneutical lens whereby we read and understand Scripture. Professor Liz Mburu, a Kenyan theologian and author of African Hermeneutics , joins us this week on the podcast to discuss how she views Scripture through an African hermeneutical lens....

In the latter half of 20th century, the evangelical community's developing attitudes toward crime and punishment overlapped with the increasingly punitive approach of the American criminal justice system. Faith leaders such as Billy Graham and James Dobson cast crime as an issue of the criminal's heart, deemphasizing its enmeshment with broader social structures and ills. On this episode, Aaron Gr...

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been afflicted by war and violence. The people are not always ready for reconciliation, because they are busy seeking justice. Dr. Jacob Onyumbe Wenyi, a professor and a Roman Catholic priest of the diocese of Tshumbe (D.R. Congo), discusses his book on Nahum, " Piles of Slain, Heaps of Corpses ." The violence in the book of Nahum connects directly to the e...

Reconciliation in practice involves local communities acknowledging the wrongs of their particular pasts and figuring out how to move forward— what the responsibilities are and how to live together in peace. In the area of racial reconciliation, we focus a lot on justice and the responsibilities of the offenders. But biblical reconciliation also requires the injured party to show mercy and eventua...

The nation of Israel was born into a world that was already culturally old and established. When the Torah appeared, the ancient Near East contained several law collections. CHT fellow Dr. Jerry Unterman explains that unlike other law codes of the ANE, the Torah is not a law book. Rather, its unique framework reveals it to be a treaty—a covenant between God and His people, embedded in a narrative....

People don't ask for or grant forgiveness in the Bible—at least, not in the way modern people are familiar with. Scripture is less focused on whether someone feels sorry or magnanimous than on practical reconciliation and restoration. Repeatedly in biblical narratives, characters demonstrate this reconciliation with a kiss. Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman discusses how forgiveness as we understand it is a...

Discussing her book African American Readings of Paul: Reception, Resistance, and Transformation , Dr. Lisa Bowens identifies how people twisted the Scriptures written by the Apostle Paul to promote slavery and justify it as a Christian practice. But at the same time, Dr. Bowens explains, Black Americans were interpreting Paul's writings for themselves, and throughout history, they still appealed...

When it comes to preaching, less is more. If you really understand a complex issue, you should be able to write it down on a postcard. In light of this, how does one avoid dumbing down their preaching while still clearly communicating a complex message? Dru and CHT fellow Dr. Jonathan Pennington discuss his book  Small Preaching: 25 Little Things You Can Do Now to Make You a Better Preacher , how...

It's that time of year again.  It's the time when those who hate eggnog, pretty lights, cheery music, presents, and joy itself crawl out of their dark, barren hovels, bent on ruining Christmas. Well, we aren't those people. Let us have our winter festival, says Dru. Let us have our (modest) presents, says Celina. Let us have our feasting, says Amy. But we all ask, what does the winter festival of...

There is a deep division between work and worship in the West. However, the worship of the ancient Israelites integrated the sanctuary into the streets. What are ways that our work today (even sending emails) can be celebrated and offered to God as a form of worship? With reference to his book Work and Worship , Matthew Kaemingk explains how the tasks we do every single day can be integrated into...

Pleas for justice in the book of Psalms—the imprecatory psalms—can make some Christians uncomfortable. They're often passed over in the psalter during worship. How do petitions for justice map onto the mission of Jesus? How are imprecatory prayers compatible with commands to love our neighbors? Though the Psalms contain many cries for vengeance, they also continually call readers back to a standar...

"Blackness is a part of American culture." Too often American Christianity is equated with white Christianity, while expressions of Black Christianity are overlooked. Continuing our series " By the Oppressed, to the Oppressed: How the Marginalized Church Reads Scripture ," Esau McCaulley , author of  Reading While Black , explains how American Black history has given Black Christians an important...

A couple of weeks ago, The Biblical Mind published an article by Michael LeFebvre titled Jesus Restored the Original Purpose of the Law in the New Testament . Some readers expressed concern that the article endorsed supersessionist views. Not intending to suggest supersessionism, Michael revised some language in the article to address the concerns. It was retitled Jesus' Concept of the Law in the...

Does the Torah mention wealth redistribution? What is the purpose of leaving the corners of your field unharvested? What economic system does the Torah advocate, and how would one live in accordance with it? Join us this week as Michael Eisenberg discusses these questions and more, covered his latest book, The Tree of Life and Prosperity .  Show notes: 0:26 Is the Torah capitalist or socialist? Or...

New CHT fellow Dr. Vince Bantu of Fuller Theological Seminary is back on the podcast, this time to discuss the how historically marginalized and oppressed parts of the church understand Scripture better than the dominant church does—from the early church to the African church to the Black church in the U.S. today. Dr. Bantu and Dru explore the interpretive advantages that the lack of political and...

Starting 10/22: "By the Oppressed to the Oppressed: How the Marginalized Church Reads the Bible," featuring Vince Bantu, Esau McCaulley, Lisa Bowens, and Anthony Bradley Upcoming Series on repentance and reconciliation, featuring Rachael and Jacob Denhollander, and others TBD