Category: Podcast

2022 Resource List

Here are the resources that I leveraged in 2022 to help shape my thinking and understanding of the world.

Books

This was a year of friends making book recommendations to me. I tend to stay more technical in my reading, so these recommendations were, in my opinion, a necessary departure from my normal patterns and provided some much needed perspective.

Extra-Biblical Sources

Part of my research this year included Jude and 2 Peter. The Assumption of Moses and the Testimony of Moses were two sources referenced in the research. I read the Assumption of Moses, which is a short document that sort of provides some context.

Journal Articles

Courses

Podcasts I keep current with – these are all 5-star

  • Ask NT Wright Anything – This podcast gives me so many research ideas and well-thought-out perspective. Wright is a New Testament scholar, and that includes a thorough grasp of the Old Testament prophets which serve as the foundation of the New Testament. If you don’t know your prophets you’re only getting about 20% of the New Testament.
  • BEMA – The Jewish understanding of the scriptures. This is a refreshing look at God’s word, especially if you are steeped in the Enlightenment / Reformation worldview that can hamstring your ability to see God’s word for what it is. If you don’t know if this is your worldview, it is. It’s the default. You need to intentionally work at dismantling this. Marty is great, esp Seasons 1-5. The introduction of Elle Grover Fricks (and YouTube) and Josh Bosse to the fray brings a level of scholarship in parallel with rabbis and academics.
  • Reasonable Faith – William Lane Craig is quantifiably in the list of top living philosophers as a measure of the times his work is cited by other researchers. I spent many years studying apologetics and have moved away from the value there and am spending more time in theology. The Reasonable Faith podcast allows me to keep a toe in the apologetics world while also providing access to a mind that thinks deeply and chooses words carefully. These skills have helped me hone my ability to think clearly. Craig also publishes a Defenders podcast, which is a 3-year systematic theology in lecture form. While I’m not a huge fan of systematics, I’ve worked through this series twice and can assure you you’ll learn a ton if you are new to bible study or systematics.
  • Naked Bible – Michael Heiser made my mind explode a half-decade ago and showed me just how little I knew about my bible. He’s very technical and makes academic research available to his audience. If you are looking for more than just devotional or personal character development and are willing to spend the effort wading through difficult topics that you won’t understand, knowing that someday you will, this podcast will push you to levels you didn’t know could be attained.
  • Israel Bible Podcast – Cyndi Parker, the host, is an instructor at the Israel Bible Center. She publishes a weekly podcast interviewing other instructors at IBC about their courses. It’s a taste of what is available in their courses. This is another podcast that has provided a number of research ideas. While I’m not a student yet, I’m pretty sure I’ll be signing up in 2023. I think it’s $300 annually for full access to their course catalog, round table discussions with scholars, and articles.
  • The Bible Project – This is probably a familiar name to most people who have gone past bible reading and are trying to understand more about their bibles. If you’ve only watch the BP YouTube videos, letting Tim and Jon talk to you about the content more comprehensively may be your next step in bible study. Tim Mackie is probably the most accessible and well-rounded theologian I’ve studied with. Tons of book recommendations made in this podcast.

Honorable Mention Podcast

  • The Bible for Normal People – Pete Enns is a well-known and controversial scholar referenced by Wright, Heiser, and others from time to time. I don’t stay current with this one, but will listen from time to time to make sure I challenge my own comfortability in my biblical understanding. If you are rigid in your faith, don’t listen to this one. It could shake you. Or make you more rigid. Neither of which are good options.

Thinking about the ICOC

Truth Trauma Theology Podcast, Patreon, and YouTube – Kyle Spears provides valuable mental health content with a focus on healing. An aspect of his work provides access to influential thought leadership in the International Churches of Christ where an internal ongoing conversation about trauma and healing is taking place. Some of the ICOC and Theology content is available on Kyle’s public YouTube channel and podcast. Some of the more sensitive content is available through his Patreon behind a very low cost paywall – enough to require effort on your part to demonstrate a willingness to engage.

Here are the important non-paywalled discussions that interact with ICOC cultural dynamics and, with the John Mark Hicks discussion, the traditional COC approach to theology and hermeneutics:

Wander through Kyle’s YouTube channel and you’ll find interviews with John Louis, Ed & Deb Anton, Steve & Lisa Johnson, Steve Kinnard, Daren Overstreet, Todd Asaad, Tammy Fleming, Jeanie Shaw, Wade Cook, Gordon Ferguson, Robert Carillo, Michael Burns, Vince Hawkins, and Steve Saindon.

On Kyle’s Patreon feed you’ll also find an Andy Fleming interview that sheds light on his paper I referenced above along with more personal “Off The Record” commentary by his guests not publicly available.

Building Brittle Faith Through Proof-Texting: Hebrews 10:24-25

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:24-25, ESV

Mike Heiser points out in his podcast on Hebrews 10 (transcript) that common use of Hebrews 10:24-25 isn’t too damaging, and can be beneficial, but its use usually misses the critical point.

In my experience, I hear this from the pulpit when midweek attendance is down, or in a one-on-one conversation when someone hasn’t been at church for a few weeks. The gist is that you need to be at all the meetings of the church. And the implication is that if you miss a few for no good reason, or if you miss consistently, then you’re not doing too well spiritually. I’m not sure too many people could define “not doing well spiritually,” but it sounds like you really know what you’re talking about when you use the phrase.

Heiser points out that ecclesia – the word translated as church – isn’t used in this passage. He then identifies the two uses of ecclesia in Hebrews. First in Hebrews 2:11-12 where ecclesia is translated “congregation”:

That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 1saying, 

“I will tell of your name to my brothers;

in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”

Hebrews 2:11-12

and then in Hebrews 12:23 where it’s translated “assembly”:

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Hebrews 12:22-24

In the context of chapters 2 and 12, ecclesia describes the brothers and sisters who have made it – they’ve fought the good fight and are glorified. The author is not referencing the church on earth or its meetings.

I like how Heiser describes the point of the passage:

The point here in this passage (Hebrews 10:25)… The writer is afraid for those who habitually refuse community. It is a present active participle. “Neglecting” there is present active in Greek. The reference is to some activity that is ongoing and that is probably even habitual. Why is he worried about that? Is he worried that believers won’t get the correct number of hours in a week to keep God happy? No. He’s worried about that because the community can help encourage them to keep believing. They’re under persecution. Life is hard. It has nothing to do with meeting a quota of hours per week to keep God happy. Honestly, that is a wicked legalizing of something that’s really important, that just far and away transcends that kind of thinking, especially if you appreciate the context here. This was a big deal. Because as people would drift away and they would doubt and think, “Should I go back to Judaism?”… This is the whole focus of the book— the superiority of Christ! It would be spiritual insanity to want to go back to this.

The passage is framed in the context of the entire book of Hebrews – Jesus is superior to the Torah. Hold on to your faith! When your faith is challenged, stay plugged in to the faith community. Don’t drift away.

When the passage is used to mandate physical presence and attendance at church meetings it misses the point that being in community can strengthen your hold on your faith during persecution and the difficulties of life. If you’re bored, uncommitted, distracted, kids soccer on Wednesday night … meh … this passage isn’t the one you’re looking for. You have different issues.

The real harm in using this passage to support church meeting attendance is that it sets members up not for the intended encouragement, but for failure. The standard is no longer being in a community that strengthens you, but how many services have I missed. Or having a pastor or friend question you about your spiritual well being. You might question your ability to live up to the standard and even question your own faith. There may be guilt that keeps you away. Rigid standards are brittle. They may be strong, but when they fail they shatter and fail completely.