The Bible For Normal People

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with biblical scholar Leslie Baynes about C.S. Lewis and the ways his literary background, imagination, and theological commitments shaped how he interpreted the Bible. They explore Lewis’s approach to biblical scholarship, his tendency to harmonize the Gospels, and the tension between his acceptance of biblical contradictions and his reluctance to recognize differences between the accounts of Jesus. Together, they consider what Lewis got right and wrong about Scripture, why the Bible should be read through a lens of love for God and neighbor, and how his understanding of myth, story, and faith can challenge familiar assumptions about biblical authority and interpretation. Show Notes →https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-342-leslie-baynes-cs-lewiss-surprising-takes-on-the-bible Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/aLx8KUCPiGA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s episode of Faith for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with Chelsea Kim Long about her journey of remaining rooted in Christianity while challenging the patriarchal structures and teachings that have shaped her faith. They explore how motherhood and embodied experience led her to question religious messages about women’s bodies, emotions, and intuition, and how a more expansive understanding of God and the Christian tradition helped her reclaim parts of herself she had been taught to suppress. Together, they consider what it means to be “faithfully dissident,” why Christian community should prioritize how people live over whether they hold the right beliefs, and how making room for diverse perspectives can lead to a more inclusive and life-giving faith. Show Notes → https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-76-chelsea-kim-long-reclaiming-christian-faith Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/H7W4lY7II-4 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s episode of Faith for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with Celene Ibrahim about how the Qur’an portrays women, the role of interpretation in understanding Islamic scripture, and the misconceptions that shape public perceptions of Islam. Exploring the Qur’an’s teachings on spiritual equality, women’s financial autonomy, and family rights, Celene examines the gap between religious ideals and social realities, explaining how historical context and interpretive traditions influence the application of scripture today. She also unpacks the meaning of Sharia, challenging the ways it has been politicized and associated with oppression and extremism, while highlighting the diversity of Muslim beliefs and practices. Through stories of Mary and the Queen of Sheba, Celene reveals unexpected connections between Islamic, Jewish, and Christian traditions and invites listeners to approach interfaith relationships with curiosity, generosity, and a willingness to learn from one another without sacrificing their own religious identities. Show Notes →https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-75-celene-ibrahim-women-in-sharia-law-and-the-quran Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/aA50LiO-EwE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete talks with biblical scholar Archie Wright about the development of the devil and how Jewish and Christian understandings of Satan have evolved over time. They explore why Satan does not appear in the Garden of Eden story as commonly assumed, how ancient Jewish texts like 1 Enoch helped shape ideas about evil spirits, and how later Christian traditions transformed Satan into the figure familiar today. Together, they invite listeners to reconsider familiar assumptions about the Bible, explore the historical development of theological ideas, and approach Scripture with fresh eyes by tracing traditions back to their earliest sources. Show Notes → thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-341-archie-wright-who-the-devil-is-satan Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/gkWUkdNunUA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete talks with biblical scholar Bill Schniedewind about where God is located in the Hebrew Bible and how different understandings of divine presence developed throughout ancient Israelite religion. They explore the archaeological and biblical evidence surrounding temples, sacred spaces, the Ark of the Covenant, and the centralization of worship in Jerusalem, challenging the idea that Israelite religion followed a simple progression toward one centralized system. Together, they consider the Bible’s competing visions of God’s presence, the tensions surrounding political and religious authority, and how those unresolved tensions reflect the complexity of both Scripture and the human search for God. Show Notes → https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-340-pete-ruins-everything-with-bill-schniedewind Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/Qb1pkjRH42Q Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with Mark Goodacre about the synoptic problem and what the striking similarities and differences between Matthew, Mark, and Luke reveal about how the Gospels were written. They explore why scholars think Matthew and Luke used Mark, the debate over the hypothetical source Q, and the evidence that Luke may have known Matthew. Together, they consider how Gospel writers intentionally revised and reshaped earlier accounts, what those disagreements reveal about the development of early Christian theology, and how recognizing these differences can change the way readers understand Scripture as a whole. Show Notes → thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-339-mark-goodacre-did-the-gospels-copy-each-other Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/kNpVD6o32Vk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Brian Recker and Tamice Spencer-Helms celebrate the podcast’s 10th anniversary by talking with Pete Enns and Jared Byas about how their relationships with the Bible, faith, and certainty have evolved over the past decade. They reflect on the costs of questioning evangelicalism, the ways The Bible for Normal People has helped people hold onto a love for Scripture while letting go of rigid interpretations, and how lived experiences from people of color and LGBTQ+ communities have expanded their understanding of what it means to read the Bible. Together, they explore Scripture as a “means of grace,” the freedom of admitting what they don’t know, and the possibility of having conviction without certainty.  Show Notes → thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-338-the-brian-recker-and-tamice-spencer-helms-takeover Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/gaZtio1Ue2I Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with James about how the Gospels were written, how Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John relate to one another, and what ancient writing practices can teach us about the formation of the New Testament. They explore why the Gospel writers may have intentionally adapted and reshaped earlier accounts, how John builds on the Synoptic Gospels, and how Paul’s theology may have influenced the Gospel writers in surprising ways. Together, they invite listeners to let each Gospel speak in its own distinct voice, reconsider assumptions about how the Bible was written, and appreciate the deeply human process through which these texts took shape. Show Notes → ⁠thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-337-james-barker-writing-and-rewriting-the-gospels⁠ Watch this episode on YouTube → ⁠https://youtu.be/zyw59hapKHA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s episode of Faith for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with writer and scholar Grace Hamman about Julian of Norwich, her mystical visions, and her radically intimate understanding of God’s love. They explore Julian’s depiction of Jesus as a mother, her approach to suffering and hope in the aftermath of the Black Death, and her insistence that “all shall be well” is not a simplistic promise that everything will turn out fine, but a hard-won hope in the midst of suffering. They also consider what Julian’s example can teach those navigating deconstruction, questions of authority, and the tension between personal spiritual experience and institutional tradition, inviting listeners to embrace a more nuanced way of engaging faith, Scripture, and the wisdom of the past. Show Notes →https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episode-74-grace-hamman-a-medieval-mystics-vision-of-gods-love Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/hM_gyj-r-UM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete explores the book of Lamentations and what it can teach us about faith in the midst of suffering. He examines the book’s historical setting in the aftermath of Jerusalem’s destruction, its raw and unsettling portrayals of grief, anger, and God’s apparent absence, and the ways its carefully structured poetry gives shape to experiences of trauma and loss. He also considers how Lamentations challenges modern Christian assumptions that faith requires certainty, optimism, or resolution. Together, these themes invite listeners to see lament not as a failure of faith, but as a deeply faithful way of remaining in relationship with God when life falls apart. Show Notes → thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-336-pete-ruins-everything-on-lamentations-with-pete-enns  Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/LC-OVkFKdLM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices