In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with Amy-Jill Levine about misconceptions surrounding the Pharisees and how to understand them in their context. The conversation delves into the historical background of the Pharisees, their role in Jewish society, and how they have been stereotyped over time.

A tale as old as time…Pete is ruining the book of Genesis! In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete lovingly dissects Genesis 1-4 and the biblical story of “how things began.”

What makes biblical studies different from theology, and vice versa? Why does it matter? In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared ruminate on the goals, methods, and focus of each distinct field and why it’s important to understand the difference when engaging with the Bible and faith.

Who was really responsible for the execution of Jesus—Roman soldiers or Jewish leaders? In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, J. Christopher Edwards joins Pete and Jared to explore early Christian narratives that began shifting culpability for the crucifixion from Roman soldiers to Jewish leaders, and highlighting how these misconceptions rooted in the New Testament have contributed to anti-Judaism throughout Christian history.

What does Nehemiah have to teach us about the challenge of hermeneutics and theology today? In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete ruins the book of Nehemiah by illuminating the key concepts, overarching themes, character arcs, and sociopolitical context found in the text; plus gives some takeaways about biblical interpretation for our time and place.

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Jennifer Garcia Bashaw joins Pete and Jared to discuss how various atonement theories attempt to explain Jesus’s death. This is a reissue of The Bible for Normal People Episode 183 from October 2021.

Is the biblical author John the person we think he is? In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Hugo Méndez joins Jared and Jennifer Garcia Bashaw to talk about some of the theories on the authorship of the Gospel and Letters of John, diving into an alternative to the traditional ideas about who wrote the texts and the implications for how we approach the Bible as a whole.

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete ruins the book of Ezra by examining the themes, characters, issues, and connections found within the text; diving into the Moses-like leadership of Ezra, the historical context of the Persian empire, and Ezra’s seemingly strange opinions on intermarriage.

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Charles Halton joins Pete and Jared to discuss how the Bible portrays God as being humanlike, the origin of resistance to seeing humanlike characteristics of God, and the implications of embracing this perspective.

Cain is a cannibal, Eve tells her own version of the fall of man, and the Garden of Eden has a dividing wall? In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk to Jack Levison about the ancient text the Greek Life of Adam and Eve, also known as the Apocalypse of Moses, an intriguing and dramatic retelling of the stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Seth, and the origin of sin.

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete makes the case for why you shouldn’t skip 1 and 2 Chronicles after slogging through Samuel and Kings. He explores the Chronicler’s distinct theology, uncovers themes of hope and divine sovereignty, and explains what Chronicles reveals about ancient Israelites’ ideas about God.

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and co-host Cynthia Shafer-Elliott learn from Jamal-Dominique Hopkins about the history of sacrifice in the Qumran community and the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls in understanding Judaism during the Second Temple period, exploring the interplay of tradition and innovation in ancient Jewish communities.