In this week’s episode of Faith for Normal People, Jared talks with Roberto de la Noval and Jordan Wood about the church fathers, the development of doctrine, and how early Christians approached the Bible. They explore how figures like Augustine and Origen understood Scripture as something meant to transform people rather than simply provide literal answers, and why “problem passages” were often seen as invitations to think more deeply. Together, they invite listeners to see Christian tradition not as static or simplistic, but as a long, creative conversation about how to make sense of God, Scripture, and human experience.

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Jared takes listeners on a tour through the history of modern biblical scholarship, tracing key “aha moments” that changed how scholars understand the Bible. From source criticism and the Documentary Hypothesis to oral tradition and the rise of fundamentalism, he explores how new questions about the Bible’s origins reshaped both academia and the church. Together, these developments invite listeners to see the Bible not as a static text dropped from heaven, but as a deeply human collection of traditions formed over time.

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with Vanessa Lovelace about the Deuteronomistic history and why Deuteronomy plays such a central role in shaping Israel’s story. They explore how biblical writers interpreted Israel’s history through the lens of covenant, exile, and identity formation, and how these themes continue to influence modern readings of the Bible. Together, they invite listeners to see ancient texts not as a flat narrative, but as a rich conversation about God, justice, failure, and hope.

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with Andrew Tobolowsky about what scholars mean by “myth” and how that idea applies to the Bible. They explore the origins of the 12 tribes of Israel, examining the historical and textual evidence and why this tradition may be less straightforward than it seems. Together, they discuss how these stories developed over time and how they helped shape Israel’s identity, inviting listeners to think more critically about how the Bible tells its story of the past.

On this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete talks with archaeologist Cynthia Shafer-Elliott about what archaeology can—and can’t—tell us about the Bible. Cynthia explains how archaeologists excavate ancient sites, highlights key discoveries like the Tel Dan Stele and the Lachish reliefs, and explores what everyday artifacts reveal about life in ancient Israel and Judah. Together they discuss how material culture complicates simple claims that archaeology either proves or disproves the Bible, offering instead a richer picture of the ancient world behind the text.

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with Chris Hoklotubbe and Danny Zacharias about biblical interpretation through an Indigenous American perspective. They explore how cultural identity, history, and social location shape the way people read Scripture, and why Indigenous perspectives challenge assumptions many Christians take for granted. Together, they invite listeners to read the Bible more thoughtfully, remaining aware of their own context and open to voices that have too often been overlooked.

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete has another go at ruining something. This week, he’s unpacking the book of Jeremiah and its interlocking themes of anguish, confusion, and hope. Along the way, Pete picks out some of the iconic Jeremiah verses commonly quoted in churches and Facebook posts and puts them back in the context of the text. It might make those verses less applicable to a high school graduation card, but it also helps readers participate in the ongoing journey to search for God’s promises in the face of crisis.

This is a teaser of our February 2026 bonus episode! In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared are joined by longtime friends of the podcast Jennifer Garcia Bashaw and Aaron Higashi for a lively conversation about, of all things, interpreting the Bible. Together, they explore metaphors that celebrate the diversity of biblical interpretation, wrestle with the complexities of relativism, and invite listeners to move beyond inerrancy toward a more expansive, life-giving view of Scripture.

On this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared are joined by Kent Sparks to unpack the early religious history of ancient Israel. Kent explores how ancient Israelites first gave God the name Yahweh, how Israelites understood Yahweh in relation to other ancient Near Eastern deities, and how the roots of monotheism emerge from a far more diverse and evolving set of beliefs than many assume.

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete Enns and Anna Sieges Beal sit down with Shayna Sheinfeld to talk about the Second Temple period, spanning from 586 BCE to 70 CE. Shayna presents texts from that time that illuminate events glossed over by most Bibles, and explores the often-overlooked roles played by women wielding power in those communities.

In the final Pete Ruins episode of 2025, Pete Enns speaks to everyone who has ever read Song of Songs and wondered “why the heck is this in the Bible?”

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Jared sits down with Sarah Emanuel to discuss the concept of “Messiah” from a Jewish theological perspective. Sarah explores what post-exilic Israelites might have thought and meant when they talked about a deliverer, what shapes those beliefs took near the time of Jesus’s life, and what sorts of misconceptions people have today when they use the word “Messiah.”

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared are joined by professor Chauncey Diego Francisco Handy to discuss the conquest narrative in the book of Joshua. Delving into what the themes of empire, displacement, a “promised land,” and identity meant to ancient peoples throughout Israel’s history, the conversation offers insight into what the preservation of these narratives can mean for people today navigating their own complicated relationships with empire.

In this reissue of The Bible for Normal People episode 56, Pete gets to the heart of the somber book of Ecclesiastes. He cautions against an optimistic reading as the author intends to question everything, even God; and explains why Ecclesiastes is his favorite book of the Bible. This episode originally aired in June of 2018.

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Nerd-in-Residence Cynthia are joined by Bill Schniedewind to discuss who really wrote the Bible. Bill explains how different scribal communities each left their own mark on the texts they were writing, and how the diversity of the Bible’s human authors reflects the beauty and richness of the text itself.

In this reissue of The Bible for Normal People episode 36, Pete works through some big-picture issues that help us see what Proverbs is all about, such as the complexities of wisdom, the nature of folly, and how this ancient text is supposed to help us navigate life in the present day. This episode originally aired as “7 Things You Need to Know about How the Book of Proverbs Works” in February 2018.

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete is joined by our Nerds-in-Residence to tackle some of your biggest questions about the Old Testament. They discuss contradictions in Ecclesiastes, the influence of ancient Near Eastern literature, the meaning and function of sacrifice, and the formation of the Hebrew Bible.

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete takes a deep dive into the Psalms—who really wrote them, how they were edited, and why they’ve endured for thousands of years. He explores how these ancient prayers reflect the full range of human experience with God—raw lament, joyful praise, and everything in between.