Christians who feel uneasy with tricky texts in Scripture have something to learn from Jewish Bible readers. Jews actually seek out challenges in the Bible, because they believe these are God’s invitation to develop and use wisdom.
In this episode, Dru Johnson interviews Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm, a “historian of religion who is interested in the role of religion, religious values, and tradition in shaping the global moral discourse.” His Orthodox Jewish upbringing taught him to embrace the view of the Hebrew Bible as layered, complex, and challenging—for, the very idea of God suggests that He has complex and layered ideas to communicate with His creation. Dr. Lamm encourages Christians to be similarly comfortable with questioning biblical stories on a deeper level.
Don’t forget to check out Dr. Lamm’s podcast Good Faith Effort, where he “speaks with thinkers, writers, artists, and faith leaders to explore how the Bible continues to inform our lives today, from politics to psychology to pop culture, bringing Americans of different traditions and persuasions closer together as so much else threatens to pull us apart.”
Show notes:
Show notes by Serena Tuomi
Credits for the music used in TBM podcast can be found at: hebraicthought.org/credits.
Revelation 101: Leaving Behind Left Behind (Jason Staples)
Would Moses Forgive Student Debt? (Michael Rhodes)
A Jewish View of the Afterlife in the Hebrew Bible (Jeremiah Unterman)
Thinking Biblically about Institutions (Ari Lamm)
The Bonhoeffer of Ethiopia (Abeneazer Urga)
ICYMI: What Is the Point of Prayer? Does It Change God’s Mind? (John C. Peckham)
The Dangers of Celebrity in the Church (Katelyn Beaty)
Forming Trauma-Safe Churches (Scott Harrower and Joshua Cockayne)
Repentance in Deed and Word (Shalom Carmy)
Q&A Series: Is There Marriage in Heaven? (Dru Johnson)
Discussing the New CHT Book on Gender in the Bible (Feat. 3 of the Contributors)
ICYMI: How the Translation of ’Faith’ in the Bible Falls Short (Matt Bates)
How the Early Church Engaged with Scripture (Brian J. Wright)
Entering the Hell and Heartbreak of the Grotesque Book of Judges (Daniel Stulac)
True Sabbath Isn’t Narcissism Disguised as Self-Care (Kelsey Osgood)
African Perspectives on Multiculturalism and Economic Justice (Gift Mtukwa)
Reissue: What Does Reconciliation Mean for Sexual Abuse Survivors? (Rachael and Jacob Denhollander)
Who Is the ’Foreigner’ We’re Supposed to Love? (M. Daniel Carroll R.)
Knowing God through Welcoming the Stranger (Mark Glanville)
Reissue: Violence in the Bible Isn’t What You Think It Is (Matt Lynch)
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