Bible Feed

In this episode, instead of a high level overview, we delve deep into one specific passage, the "in the form of God" verse in Philippians 2, to explore the possible nuanced interpretations. Josh Dean and Dan Weatherall consider this complex and much debated passage. Focusing on what it means for Jesus to be "in the form of God", they navigate through various translations, interpretations, and biblical contexts to uncover the essence of this pivotal scripture. Join them as they attempt to demystify one of the most important and challenging sections in the letter to the Philippians, shedding light on its implications for understanding Jesus and the message of personal service it conveys to believers.

In this episode Dan and Paul embark on an exploration of John's Gospel, unraveling its sense of majesty and mystery right from the opening verses. They discuss the unique structure and content of John's Gospel, comparing it to the Synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—highlighting its distinct opening, key themes, and the explicit purpose stated in John's narrative. They delve into the significance of belief, the role of witnessing, and the powerful symbolism of water and blood, offering a compelling argument for understanding John’s Gospel as a carefully selected collection of events aimed at strengthening the reader's faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Tune in to this episode for an insightful high-level overview of one of the most profound texts in the New Testament.

Dan and Jon discuss the relevance and impact of Christianity in the modern world. They delve into how aspects of Christianity have influenced society, not only in superficial ways like our calendar, but in deeper things such as values, moral codes, and societal norms. The hosts reference various sources, including notable historians and authors like Tom Holland and Yuval Noah Harari, asserting that many fundamental beliefs and values in Western society, such as the sanctity of life and the concept of equality, have their roots in Christian teachings. That may make Christianity relevant in modern society, but does it make it true?

In our first episode of 2024 Paul and Dan talk about "intertextuality" - basically, how the meaning of a text is influenced by references to other texts. The Bible (not surprisingly) is full of links between its 66 books. But how far can we take this? Can we go too far and see patterns where there are none (like seeing the face of Jesus in a slice of toast)?! What guardrails might we have to make sure we read responsibly?

Relaunching the podcast, Dan and Laurence celebrate by pondering a lesser known Christmas story. They encounter Simeon, Anna and a community of people in the temple at Jerusalem "waiting for the consolation of Israel". As the baby is held high by Simeon, they realise that the birth of Jesus is not only deeply rooted in a backstory, but is the climax of a centuries old narrative. Complete with mystery deaths and incomplete sentences, this is an invitation to have yourself a lesser known Christmas story!

Paul and Dan continue their exploration of the Divine Council worldview by looking at claims made about verses in Deuteronomy 32, the introduction to the book of Job and Psalm 82. In summary, they conclude that while it is useful to understand the cultural background to the text of the Bible, it is also important to avoid being distracted by relatively speculative ideas from the main thrust of the Bible message - that Jesus died to reconcile humans to God. Let us know what you think!

Having explored how the Bible uses the terms 'devil', 'satan' and 'demons', Paul and Dan now turn to the whole subject of whether the Bible talks about fallen angels. Is the phrase 'sons of God' used to refer to angels? If so, does that include spiritual beings with independent power to oppose God and his people? Using the framework of Michael Heiser's book, Unseen Realm, they start to examine what is termed the 'Divine Council' worldview. This involves grappling with some of the most mystifying parts of the Bible text - but hey, we're just ordinary people trying to understand the Bible better!

Dan and Laurence step into the New Testament for an introduction to the three letters of John. After exploring the stark contrasts and Torah references in the first letter they then see how the second and third letters apply the theory from the first letter to two opposite situations. And finally, little children, keep yourselves from idols...uh?

Laurence and Paul finish our series on the 5 books of Moses, the Torah by looking at Deuteronomy. It turns out that this section doesn't conclude with the people of Israel reaching their destination, then the main character dies (sorry for the spoiler...)! Instead they find that this book acts as a stage-setter, defining how leaders of this ancient people will be described for the next 600 years. Remarkably, they also find Deuteronomy making a surprise appearance at the end of that history, just before Israel were exiled to Babylon.

In this 3rd episode in the series, Paul and Dan go off on a tangent to think about demons. They start by looking at where they appear in the Old Testament and find them linked to the idols worshipped by the peoples around the ancient Israelites and presented as having no real existence or power. When they come to the Gospels they explore why they suddenly appear so often there and why they are linked with certain types of illness. They conclude with the overriding point that God is the only source of power and so Christians have no need to fear them and can safely ignore them while embracing the love of God expressed through his Son.

Paul and Dan continue their exploration of how these 'characters' appear in the Bible. In part 1 they reached a preliminary conclusion that they are used as terms to personify our inherent tendency to want to go our own way rather than God's way. In this episode they look at many more of the biblical passages that refer to the devil and satan and try to categorise them to get a comprehensive view of what they mean.

This episode was recorded just before Easter 2023 and Dan welcomes a guest, John Launchbury, to discuss the vital question: why did Jesus have to die? They explore the meaning of the word atonement and consider the pros and cons of some, so-called atonement theories that theologians have proposed over history. As they explore the key scriptural passages involved they find that the impact of the death of Jesus can be just as profound today as it was in the 1st century - and it's all about changing us rather than changing God!

Josh and Paul continue our series of book introductions, taking on the next of the five books of the Torah - Numbers, which is actually not just about counting things, it's about a journey through the wilderness. As they work through the sections of the narrative, they find a pattern that has already been repeated several times in previous books and has its roots in Genesis. They also look at the purpose of the two censuses and conclude that it says more about God's overarching care for his people to protect, preserve and remain true to his promises. Listen in to find out where the journey ends!

Paul and Dan embark on a multi-part exploration of the terms devil and satan and how they are used through the Bible. They aim to lay some foundations here by thinking about how our worldview might affect how we read the Bible and the importance of taking notice of how Jesus interpreted his Bible. They do (eventually) start to explore some verses that talk about the devil and satan and draw an initial conclusion that they may not be referring to a supernatural being... but there's so much more still to cover!

Jordan and Dan continue working through the 'books' within the Psalms. This time they look at books three, four and five and find that they can be seen to follow a spiritual journey. They find that some Psalms express doubts and uncertainties and deeply question what God is doing. But by remembering what God has done in the past the Psalmist is led back to peace of mind and trust in God, ending with a call for "everything that has breath to praise the LORD"!

For the next of our Bible book introductions, Jordan Walton and Dan Weatherall tackle the Psalms. As there are 150 of them we thought they deserved two episodes! So here is part 1, with part 2 to follow in a couple of weeks. Dan and Jordan consider whether the Psalter is just a random collection of prayers and songs or whether there is some structure to it. Having identified a five book structure, they start to delve into the focus of books one and two.

For the next of our Bible book introductions, Paul and Laurence take a look at the smallest of Paul's letters, his letter to Philemon. After clearing up the centuries old debate about how to pronounce his name, they proceed to explore why a personal letter about fixing a very personal relationship should be included in the scriptures. They find that it is, in fact, an incredibly revealing case study into how being a Christian should change the way we view society and people around us.

The Bible Feed core team of Paul, Dan, Josh and Laurence get together to reflect on some serious, and some less serious, themes from 2022 and look forward to our plans for 2023. We thank all our listeners for their support in 2022 and wish you all the best for 2023, may it see the full realisation of the kingdom of God in the earth.

In keeping with the season, Paul and Dan consider the concept of "the Son of God". They consider examples of that phrase throughout the Bible, but concentrate on what it means for Jesus to be the only son of the Father. How can Jesus uniquely be called the Son of God? Does calling him the Son of God make him Deity in any sense? What is Jesus claiming when he says he is the Son of God? All these questions and more are considered - including which are Paul and Dan's favourite carols!

We continue our introductions to the books of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, with Paul and Laurence covering the book of Leviticus. This is maybe not the most appealing read, after all, what does how long you remain unclean if you touch a dead body, have to do with a Christian today? But as Paul and Laurence scratch the surface they find that the careful structure of this book points to something, or rather someone, who is so much greater than the law (no prizes for guessing who!)