The Bible Geek Podcast 19-016
Saturday, June 1st 2019, m
1 Timothy 4:3,4 says, "the inspired word clearly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith...  They forbid marriage and command people to abstain from foods that God created to be partaken of with thanksgiving ... " (New World Translation) . Who is the author talking about? And, what "inspired word" does he have in mind (I can't find one that says this)?  Could you speak about the earliest state adoption(s) of Christianity and the impact this had on the development and trajectory of the faith? What is your opinion on the historicity of Mary? What is ?Abraham?s bosom? as found in Luke 16:22-23? What is the historical context and background reasoning for why Jesus is depicted as using Psalm 82 as a proof text in John 10?  Do you have any book/article recommendations on calendars in the ancient world? Is the contradiction between Acts 9:7 and Acts 22:9 simply a problem of the KJV translation? We speak of Christian borrowing from pagan sources, but are there cases where pagans borrowed Christian elements? Is there a clear verse or agreed upon interpretation in Christianity that states that if an ?hidden? sinner or unrepentant person exists in the congregation, the Holy Spirit will leave til he is gone?

The Bible Geek Podcast 19-015
Tuesday, May 28th 2019, m
Do you think the Bible teaches a literal burning hell, or is it more a metaphor like outer darkness? Matthew reads this way in this NIV, "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it." Does this refer to the rapid expansion of the gospel faith or to the persecution of its preachers? Matt 10:23 says, ?truly I say to you, you will by no means complete the circuit of the cities of Israel until the Son of man arrives.? Does this mean that the preaching work will not be completed before Jesus comes back to judge everyone? If so, it seems unfair to those who didn?t get the chance to hear it. You?ve explained that the bible is a patchwork of various authors writing in different times, different styles, and for various purposes using the same characters, or variations on similar themes. This is just like the reboots, retcons, and contradictions in superhero comics, right Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." (KJV) seems to me to be a rather ingenious bit of priestcraft, as on the surface, it admonishes believers not to think things through for themselves, so by inference, they ought to leave that to the ecclesiastical authorities. Think so? What is going on with the connections in the gospels between Jonah, John the Baptist, Oannes, and Peter?and the waters? Can you remind me, what is the historical context and meaning of the prohibitions listed in Acts 15:19-20? MythVision Podcast video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSJ64C7dk0k

The Bible Geek Podcast 19-014
Wednesday, May 1st 2019, m
What does the Geek think? Is Canaan the victim of some mixed up sources, a hidden castration story, or some other possibility that I?m missing? We see a historical pattern of vilification of a wartime enemy, the vanquishing of that enemy, and the subsequent romanticization, extolment, and assimilation of the subdued culture by the victor. Don?t we also find it in the Bible? Would you please comment on how shifting attitudes toward Jews and Jewish culture are reflected in the new testament, its development, and early Christian history?  How and why does the new testament both vilify and extol Jews?  A listener asked about Paul?s ?thorn in the flesh?. Your interpretation of bar-wielding angels inspired me to a slightly different interpretation. A skolops can be any pointed thing from a splinter to a thorn to a pike to a palisade log. In between those extremes, it could also be a spear. We have Paul, speaking of journeying to the Heavens, Satan afflicting him, asking Kyrios (?Lord?) thrice that it might pass from him, and Kyrios refusing to lift the burden. That sounds to me a little like a condensed version of the Garden of Gethsemane with the Longinus spearing from John. Is it possible that John and Paul took this concept from a common (now lost) motif of the suffering servant? How can you reconcile the work of Robert Eisenman, Charles Cutler Torrey and the mythicism movement? Can you list any books, chapters, or portions of the New and Old Testament that are likely borrowings from texts from older civilizations?

The Bible Geek Podcast 19-013
Saturday, April 13th 2019, m
Does 1 Corinthians 12:3 mean that no one can come to believe in Christ apart from a special revelation direct from God? Are there Gnostic and/or Calvinist implications? Is it impossible for God to exist? Are there any good alternative theories to the single authorship of Luke-Acts?  I notice that John the Baptist was executed by Herod, while Jesus was executed by Roman authority, why the difference?

The Bible Geek Podcast 19-012
Monday, April 1st 2019, m
Is it true that "by Hebrew tradition when the day of the month is not specifically stated, it is given to be the first day of that month"?  April 6th 32 A.D. is a Sunday, and not even Nisan 14 but Nisan 6? Given that Jesus died on a Friday, and Nisan 14 in 32 A.D. is on a Monday, how can Misler claim 32 A.D. is an "exact" fulfillment of the prediction in Daniel 9?  Ever read Asimov?s Guide to the Bible? Is Deuteronomy 22:28-29 talking about rape or seduction? Is it possible that the original "Jesus" was not called Jesus and that was the name they gave him later, as was the case wirh many many OT Hebrew characters have their names changed to fit meanings, including Jacob (Israel) Esau (Red), Abram, Sarah.  After the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, who do Lot?s daughters think they?re the only ones left alive on Earth? Why would we Gentile Christians have to keep the Ten Commandments when, according to James & Co. in Acts, all we had to do was avoid bloody meat, fornication, animals that had been strangled, and food sacrificed to idols? I?d be interested to hear your current thinking on Gnosticism and it?s place in the world.