Show Notes
In this episode Skyler shares some of his own research and questions on the Apocalyptic literature in the Bible following his interview with Dr. Shane Wood (Episode 13). He looks at questions such as "Why do churches shy away from Apocalyptic parts of the Bible? Where did this literature come from? What do people actually believe about it? and why did God speak in Apocalypses? Skyler is the pastor at the Christian Church of Litchfield in Litchfield, IL and a student at Lincoln Christian University where he is finishing up his Master in the New Testament.Links:My Strange Bible: Shane WoodThe Bible Project: Apocalypse SeriesBrent Sandy, Plowshares and Pruning Hooks: Rethinking the language of Biblical Prophecy and ApocalypticNotes:Apocalyptic Passages: Isaiah 24–27; 33; 34–35; Jeremiah 33:14–26; Ezekiel 38–39; Joel 3:9–17; Daniel 7-12; Zechariah 12–14; Matthew 24; Mark 13; 2 Thessalonians 2; Revelation.The Fall out of Apocalyptic preaching in America happened through three cultural movementsThe rise of Higher criticismComparative study of religionDarwinismWhat is an Apocalypse? The literature existed for about 700 years.Distinctly Jewish and Christian literature.Was seen with great skepticism after a heretical group used Revelation to espouse new teaching.SBL Definition: "a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework, in which a revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a transcendent reality which is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological salvation, and spacial insofar as it involves another, supernatural world."Skyler's paraphrase: "Apocalyptic literature is a writing style that reveals hidden truth in story form. Revealing future salvation and the supernatural world to humans by a heavenly messenger."Five theme of Apocalyptic literature:DualismSymbolismNarrativeCosmic EndFuture SalvationSix functions of ApocalypsesA call to worshipComfort that God is in controlInsight into cosmic issuesHope for the persecutedAssurance of God’s victoryCall to purity
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In this episode Skyler interview Dr. Tom Wright on his newly published book Into The heart of Romans: A Deep Dive Into Paul’s Greatest Letter. Dr. Wright brings his fresh perspective from over 50 years of studying the letter of Romans in this book. He is the former Bishop of Durham and has taught at various schools such as Oxford, Cambridge, and McGill University. Currently Dr. Wright is the research professor emeritus of New Testament and Early Christianity at at St Mary’s college and Senior research fellow at Wycliffe Hall at Oxford.
In this episode Skyler interview Dr. Sandra Glahn on her newly released book Nobody's Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament. Dr. Glahn brings her Biblical expertise and person experience to shed light on a misunderstood background and interpretation to what Paul means when he says, "women will be saved through childbearing" (1 Timothy 2:15). Dr. Glahn is professor of media arts and worship at Dallas Theological Seminary where she focuses a lot of her time teaching about first-century backgrounds.
In this episode Skyler interviews Peter Gurry on the ancient Bible manuscripts, common myths, objections, and the science behind the Greek New Testament used in our English Bibles. Peter serves as the Associate Professor of New Testament at Phoenix Seminary and the Director of the Text and Canon Institute. He holds a Ph.d from the University of Cambridge and is leading expert in the field of textual criticism. Notes:Phoenix Seminary Text and Canon Institute * Two Reasons There Are Variants in Our Copies of the Bible (article) Scribes and Scripture: The amazing story of how we got our Bible (book) Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism (book)
In this episode Skyler interviews John Marriott on the Christian deconversion. John serves on the research staff at the Center for Christian Thought at Biola University, and adjunct professor in the department of philosophy. John's dissertation focused on deconversion from Christianity to atheism making him a leading voice in the area of understanding deconversion and a helpful resource to pastors, parents, and churches in today's world. Notes:The Anatomy of Deconversion John Marriott website
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