Thinking Biblically… and Beyond

The Third Letter of John: Historical Enigma

Though it’s the shortest book in the New Testament, the Third Letter of John is a fascinating enigma that gives us a little peek into early Christian conflict over hospitality and missionary work. In this episode, we’ll explore some of the major scholarly approaches to Third John, why they’re flawed in many ways, and how, by approaching the text with a Jewish perspective, we may be able to better understand Third John and read the text on its own terms.

Who Was Paul of Tarsus?

A long awaited episode... We'll be diving into an overview of some of what we can, and can't, know about the historical Paul and try to unravel some of the mystery around Paul as a (utterly and endlessly fascinating) historical figure. Should be a good one!

How Were Paul's Letters Collected?

In this episode, we'll cover the main theories that scholars propose for how Paul's letters may have been collected. Hint: It's complicated!

The Earliest “Christian” Text

Join us as we dive into the earliest document of the New Testament, Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians (~50 CE). In this episode, we will survey some of the big historical issues in the letter and explore some modern-day parallels.

Did Slaves Write the New Testament?

When we think about the authorship and production of the New Testament corpus, we often don't think about the people who were actually tasked with first writing down the text itself. Taking inspiration from the recent work done by Candida Moss on the subject (see her newly published 2024 book, "God's Ghostwriters"), this episode will explore the possibility that enslaved people were the ones who, by and large, were responsible for these monumental tasks.