Episode 101: The Slave Bible

Christians have had a missionary zeal since the beginning. From the dawn of Christianity, the mandate to share the "good news" has been a central theme of Christian life. But what is a Christian to do when it is clear that the audience they want to share the gospel with would react poorly to much of what's in the Bible? Well, at least in one case, the solution was just redact the heck out of it.

On this week's show, we're talking about "The Slave Bible," a heavily truncated version of the good book, created for white enslavers to share with the black people they had enslaved. Why did they cut most of the book out? What parts did they see fit to leave in? And why did they want to preach Jesus' message to people whose humanity they clearly didn't honor or even acknowledge?

Then, inspired by a preacher who recently had a lot to say on the subject, we're diving into the question of wealth. Much is said in the Bible about money, and the having of it. Specifically the having of a lot of it. There are famous passages about camels going through the eyes of needles, for example. But maybe that part felt a little ambiguous... Did Jesus really say "blessed are the poor" or did he say "blessed are the poor in spirit"? Is that difference that even makes sense?

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