The Biblical Mind

Many American Christians assume an over-familiarity with the Bible. Whether because we were raised in the church, or because we think we have it all figured out, or because of sheer laziness, we rarely turn to Scripture with diligent and curious eyes, guided by a community of other Bible-readers. At the same time, we often erect barriers between our faith and work or between the state of our souls and the state of our bodies. Perhaps the two issues are connected: we see the Bible and our...

Since the 19th century, the term "wisdom literature" has been associated specifically with the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job. When we look for wisdom in the Bible, then, we will often turn to these books. However, to divorce these works from the larger biblical corpus may have blinded us to their fuller narrative context and prevented us from seeing wisdom in other stories, poetry, and laws of Scripture. Will Kynes, Associate Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies at Samford...

As we've already discussed on The Biblical Mind podcast, the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) is more than just a bunch of old stories with some laws thrown in. Instead, it is an interwoven collection of literature, carefully crafted to shape the Israelites into the people of YHWH. However, many people still regard the the Old Testament laws as inapplicable to modern Christianity. They may see the Israelite religion as a "religion of works" while seeing Christianity as a...

Author and speaker Aimee Byrd believes that a close and careful reading of the biblical texts should inform the church's view on sex and gender. Instead of resorting to 21st-century (or 20th-century) Western models of gender and sex or going with our gut instincts, perhaps the church can craft a biblical theology of gender that both preserves the categories of man and women while affirming their active and necessary roles in creation. In this episode, Aimee Byrd and Dr. Johnson discuss a...

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 guidance and practice reading Scripture to become biblically literate. In this episode, Dr. Dru...

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 Western ways of thinking, but also to understand other cultures, from those of China to India to...

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 Exodus was written, or if the story even took place? Is there evidence from the biblical texts or...

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 based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He believes that provocative, visually fascinating pieces are...

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 psychology of PTSD and how Christians should respond to psychological suffering. From there, they...

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. In this episode, Dr. Dru Johnson talks with Dr. Berman about his new book, Ani Ma’amin:...

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: 1:284:00 7:48 15:20 23:04 36:02 38:47 Show notes by Micah Long.

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 like to call himself an atheist —How he went from disliking Old Testament studies to...

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 ancient philosophical questions about, for example, the nature of true happiness and the good...

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, and how that's helpful for dealing with anxiety today. Read Dr. White's article in Christianity...

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: Much of this discussion also references his book written with Brian Fikkert and Robbie Holt: Practicing the King's Economy Honoring Jesus in How We Work, Earn, Spend, Save, and Give.

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.