The Bible For Normal People

In this week’s episode of Faith for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with writer and scholar Grace Hamman about Julian of Norwich, her mystical visions, and her radically intimate understanding of God’s love. They explore Julian’s depiction of Jesus as a mother, her approach to suffering and hope in the aftermath of the Black Death, and her insistence that “all shall be well” is not a simplistic promise that everything will turn out fine, but a hard-won hope in the midst of suffering. They also consider what Julian’s example can teach those navigating deconstruction, questions of authority, and the tension between personal spiritual experience and institutional tradition, inviting listeners to embrace a more nuanced way of engaging faith, Scripture, and the wisdom of the past. Show Notes →https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episode-74-grace-hamman-a-medieval-mystics-vision-of-gods-love Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/hM_gyj-r-UM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete explores the book of Lamentations and what it can teach us about faith in the midst of suffering. He examines the book’s historical setting in the aftermath of Jerusalem’s destruction, its raw and unsettling portrayals of grief, anger, and God’s apparent absence, and the ways its carefully structured poetry gives shape to experiences of trauma and loss. He also considers how Lamentations challenges modern Christian assumptions that faith requires certainty, optimism, or resolution. Together, these themes invite listeners to see lament not as a failure of faith, but as a deeply faithful way of remaining in relationship with God when life falls apart. Show Notes → thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-336-pete-ruins-everything-on-lamentations-with-pete-enns Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/LC-OVkFKdLM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with Phillip Lasater about how ancient Israelite and Jewish writers understood the self, personal agency, emotion, and human flourishing in ways that can be very different from modern assumptions. They explore how concepts like fear, the heart, and individuality function in the Hebrew Bible, how texts such as Ruth and Genesis 22 invite readers to engage the interior lives of biblical characters, and how ancient Jewish traditions understood human beings as having the capacity for godlikeness and ethical transformation. Together, they invite listeners to recognize the distance between modern ideas of the autonomous self and ancient biblical conceptions of identity, challenge assumptions readers unconsciously bring to Scripture, and consider how the Bible’s diverse perspectives on human agency and flourishing might reshape the way people understand themselves. Show Notes → thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-335-phillip-lasater-the-self-phillip-and-personal-agency-in-the-hebrew-bible Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/wn2wKoJ_L5Q Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with Rony Kozman about how the New Testament interprets the Hebrew Bible, and why the apostles’ approach to Scripture often looks very different from the historical-grammatical method many readers have been taught. They explore how Matthew creatively reads the story of Jesus alongside Israel’s story, how Paul rereads Scripture in light of his encounter with Christ, and how New Testament authors draw on the interpretive traditions of their Second Temple Jewish context. Together, they invite listeners to embrace the Bible’s historical complexity, recognize the creativity at work in its interpretation, and reconsider what it means to read Scripture faithfully in light of the ways the biblical authors themselves read their sacred texts. Show Notes → thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-334-rony-kozman-the-weird-ways-the-nt-interprets-the-ot Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/retgmlRbccQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s episode of Faith for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with theologian and ethicist Ciarra Jones about who gets to decide what the Bible means and how our identities, experiences, and social locations shape the ways we interpret Scripture. Drawing on her own journey from Pentecostal Christianity to Black, queer, womanist, and liberation theology, Ciarra explores how dominant interpretations of the Bible have been used to justify slavery, white supremacy, sexism, and the marginalization of LGBTQ+ people. She also introduces the practices of biblical refusal and biblical reversal, challenging the idea that some interpretations are objective while others are merely subjective, and invites listeners to see deconstruction not as abandoning faith but as a process of reorientation, reconstruction, and discovering a more expansive and intimate understanding of God. Show Notes →https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-73-ciarra-jones-who-gets-to-decide-what-the-bible-means Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/eb5oZ_q-uII ********** This episode is brought to you by Brooklyn Bedding, which knows sleep isn’t one-size-fits-all. That’s why they offer mattresses for every body, every sleep style – even in hard-to-find sizes. Go to brooklynbedding.com and use promo code BIBLE at checkout to get 30% off sitewide. This offer is not available anywhere else. ********** This episode is sponsored by Factor. Head to factormeals.com/normalpeople50off and use code normalpeople50off to get 50 percent off and 1 free breakfast item per box for 1 year, while supplies last until 10/31/2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with Nathan MacDonald about the origins of Israel’s priesthood, the role of the Levites, and why the Bible’s accounts of priests are far more complex than they first appear. They explore how biblical texts often function less as straightforward historical records and more as theological interpretations that seek to explain, shape, and reconcile Israel’s traditions. Together, they invite listeners to reconsider familiar assumptions about the priesthood, the development of the Torah, and how the Bible constructs meaning through its ongoing conversation with its own past. Show Notes → thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-333-nathan-macdonald-the-messy-history-of-the-priesthood Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/dBGX5hiPadg ********** This episode is brought to you by Brooklyn Bedding, which knows sleep isn’t one-size-fits-all. That’s why they offer mattresses for every body, every sleep style – even in hard-to-find sizes. Go to brooklynbedding.com and use promo code BIBLE at checkout to get 30% off sitewide. This offer is not available anywhere else. ********** This episode is sponsored by Factor. Head to factormeals.com/normalpeople50off and use code normalpeople50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box, with new subscription only, while supplies last until 9/27/2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s episode of Pete Ruins Everything, Pete talks with Dale Allison about the strengths and limits of biblical scholarship. They explore what historical research can and cannot tell us about Jesus, the Bible, and the ancient world, while reflecting on the value of expertise, intellectual humility, and the challenges of interpreting the past. Together, they discuss why scholars often disagree, how new evidence and perspectives can change long-held conclusions, and why faith and curiosity can coexist with uncertainty. Throughout the conversation, they invite listeners to embrace the complexity of history and theology with honesty, openness, and humility. Show Notes → https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-332-pete-ruins-everything-with-dale-allison Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/DaHZU-JINiQ ********** This episode is brought to you by Brooklyn Bedding, which knows sleep isn’t one-size-fits-all. That’s why they offer mattresses for every body, every sleep style – even in hard-to-find sizes. Go to brooklynbedding.com and use promo code BIBLE at checkout to get 30% off sitewide. This offer is not available anywhere else. ********** This episode is sponsored by Factor. Head to factormeals.com/normalpeople50off and use code normalpeople50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box, with new subscription only, while supplies last until 9/27/2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Jared continues his tour through the history of modern biblical scholarship, exploring five (or six) more “aha moments” that transformed how scholars understand the Bible. From Rudolf Bultmann’s challenge to interpret ancient texts in a modern world and the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, to new insights about editorial shaping, literary criticism, and the role of readers themselves, he traces how scholarship increasingly revealed the Bible as a dynamic, evolving tradition. Along the way, Jared highlights the rise of feminist, liberationist, and postmodern approaches, as well as the New Perspective on Paul, showing how fresh historical evidence and diverse voices have reshaped long-held assumptions about scripture, interpretation, and faith. Together, these developments invite listeners to approach the Bible with greater historical awareness, intellectual humility, and curiosity about the communities that produced, preserved, and continue to interpret these sacred texts. Show Notes → www.thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/bible-episode-331-jared-byas-10-aha-moments-in-biblical-scholarship-part-two Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/9ON3DH-eGxk ********** This episode is brought to you by Brooklyn Bedding, which knows sleep isn’t one-size-fits-all. That’s why they offer mattresses for every body, every sleep style – even in hard-to-find sizes. Go to brooklynbedding.com and use promo code BIBLE at checkout to get 30% off sitewide. This offer is not available anywhere else. ********** This episode is sponsored by Garrett Theological Seminary. Whether you feel called to care and counsel, public service, prophetic arts, or non-profit management, there’s a program at Garrett Seminary that’s right for you. Apply by July 15th to begin a Master’s degree this fall. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠garrett.edu/normalpeople⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with Bruce Longenecker about Galatians, Paul’s understanding of the Torah, and the kind of community he believed the gospel creates. They explore how Paul reframes identity around participation in Christ rather than ethnic or religious hierarchy, and why Galatians is less about individual salvation and more about transformed relationships in a fractured world. Together, they invite listeners to see Paul’s vision as a radical challenge to systems of power, exclusion, and self-interest. Show Notes → thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-330-bruce-longenecker-the-vision-of-galatians Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/HLbV_EPfdhg ********** This episode is brought to you by Brooklyn Bedding, which knows sleep isn’t one-size-fits-all. That’s why they offer mattresses for every body, every sleep style – even in hard-to-find sizes. Go to brooklynbedding.com and use promo code BIBLE at checkout to get 30% off sitewide. This offer is not available anywhere else. ********** This episode is sponsored by Garrett Theological Seminary. Whether you feel called to care and counsel, public service, prophetic arts, or non-profit management, there’s a program at Garrett Seminary that’s right for you. Apply by July 15th to begin a Master’s degree this fall. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠garrett.edu/normalpeople⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s episode of Faith for Normal People, Jared talks with Roberto de la Noval and Jordan Wood about the church fathers, the development of doctrine, and how early Christians approached the Bible. They explore how figures like Augustine and Origen understood Scripture as something meant to transform people rather than simply provide literal answers, and why “problem passages” were often seen as invitations to think more deeply. Together, they invite listeners to see Christian tradition not as static or simplistic, but as a long, creative conversation about how to make sense of God, Scripture, and human experience. Show Notes → thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-72-roberto-de-la-noval-and-jordan-wood-how-the-early-church-read-the-bible Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/JukXifVwhQo ********** This episode is brought to you by Brooklyn Bedding, which knows sleep isn’t one-size-fits-all. That’s why they offer mattresses for every body, every sleep style – even in hard-to-find sizes. Go to brooklynbedding.com and use promo code BIBLE at checkout to get 30% off sitewide. This offer is not available anywhere else. ********** This episode is sponsored by Garrett Theological Seminary. Whether you feel called to care and counsel, public service, prophetic arts, or non-profit management, there’s a program at Garrett Seminary that’s right for you. Apply by July 15th to begin a Master’s degree this fall. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠garrett.edu/normalpeople⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices