The Bible Geek Show

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The Bible Geek Podcast 21-005 May 04, 2021

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If the "Neapolitan Ice Cream" analogy for the Trinity actually Modalism? How about attempts to analogize the Trinity with Quantum Physics? Mustn’t the Genesis Flood be inspired by an actual world flood in ages past? Was Mary made pregnant by a Roman soldier, by her husband Joseph, or an angelic sex act? Do the Paulicians represent a continuation of original Gnostic Christian faith, or a revival? And might there be a real connection with a/the Gnostic Paul? Do you have any idea what Mary might have meant in Luke 1:34 when she asks the angel Gabriel, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” I would appreciate your advice for what translations or versions of the Bible might clarify the meaning of certain rare or ambiguous words in the text.

The Bible Geek Podcast 21-004 Apr 16, 2021

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Can we surmise that Marcion is a possible candidate for the author of Mark? He was in Rome during the 130s and I understand his name translates to “little Mark”. Why would a Roman author, whoever he was, choose to edit the Little Apocalypse from the ostensible time of Jesus to appeal to the current circumstances of the Bar Kokhba revolt? Do you have any speculation on who the "Teacher of Righteousness" might be? Could the story of Genesis 3:17b-19b go back ten thousand years to the Agricultural Revolution, perhaps a prescient warning to the people of the time of the dangers of urbanization? In Jubilees 5:12ff, what is the "place of darkness which is not judged"? What do you think about this Epictetus quote: "No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me you desire a fig, I will answer that there must be time to blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen." Could it be the Devil's rejoinder to Christ's desire for instant figs? Was Thomas Hobbes correct that the Bible depicts God as a material body? Is Matthew 12:31 a rejoinder to those who deny the personality of the Holy Spirit?

The Bible Geek Podcast 21-003 Mar 12, 2021

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Is there any biblical basis for the insistence of some that only humans go to heaven, not animals? What do you make of the baptism for the dead described in 1 Corinthians 15:29? Why would a Roman author, whoever he was (Marcion?), choose to edit the Little Apocalypse from the ostensible time of Jesus to remove references to the current circumstances of the Bar Kokhba revolt? Do you have any speculation on who the "Teacher of Righteousness" might be? Thomas Hobbes was such a complete materialist that he denied the existence of spirit and said that everything in the universe including God himself was entirely corporeal, that nowhere in the Bible did it explicitly say that angels and over heavenly beings were not material. Think so? Was Mathew 12:31 inserted to threaten “heretics” who denied the personhood of the Holy Spirit?

The Bible Geek Podcast 21-002 Feb 21, 2021

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"And heard (this) King Herod openly for his name / authority became manifest. And he said, "Because John the Baptist was risen from the dead and, by this, operates / works this Power ["dynamis"] in him”. Is Herod referring to Jesus or John? Is it possible that he means a docetic Christ spirit who appears here and there to do his feats? What was your translation philosophy in your Pre-Nicene New Testament? Luke 8:1-3 mentions a group of women who traveled with Jesus and the 12. Why does Luke include them? And who were Susanna and Joanna? Greek scholars recognize that when the plural form is used without a qualifying number, it’s be understood as meaning the minimum plural amount, two. Is this correct? Were Daniel chapters 7-12 a contributor to the Jewish revolt? I was hoping you could speak to the changing of the tax collectors name from Levi, son of Alpheus, to Matthew. One of the main foundations of Christianity, as I understand it, is the fact that God sacrificed his only son for our sins. But how much of a sacrifice was it?

The Bible Geek Podcast 21-001 Jan 22, 2021

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In Mark 6:15 Herod wonders if Jesus might be John the Baptist raised from the dead. Could it be that this doesn't refer to Jesus as sorcerer but to Jesus (or several people in a movement) manifesting the Celestial Christ to participants in a pentecostal-like movement (as per Stevan Davies)? I am wondering what your translation philosophy was for the Pre-Nicene New Testament. What purpose do you think Luke 8:1-3 serve? Also, I find the "afterward he went on through cities and villages." Why the sudden vagueness of cities and villages? Finally, what do you make of the mention of the women traveling with Jesus and the twelve? What of Joanna and Susanna (who appear only in Luke)? I have read that Greek scholars recognize that when the plural form is used without a qualifying number, it’s understood as meaning the minimum plural amount, dual. For example, John A. Bengel said: “The plural, kairous, times, denotes two times. The plural number is to be taken most strictly.” Is this correct? Hence in Revelation 12:14/Dan. 7:25; 12:7 (Septuagint) “time, times and half a time” the “times” is two times, hence 3 1/2 times in total. Is that correct? Were many Jews inspired by the book of Daniel: was the book of Daniel a contributor to the Jewish revolt, leading to the diaspora? I was hoping you could speak to the changing of the tax collectors name from Levi, son of Alpheus, to Matthew. One of the main foundations of Christianity, as I understand it, is the fact that God sacrificed his only son for our sins. But how much of a sacrifice was it? Thomas Hobbes was such a complete materialist that he denied the existence of spirit and said that God himself was entirely corporeal, that nowhere in the Bible did it explicitly say that angels and over heavenly beings were not material. I am starting to think that Hobbes would have found a lot of scriptural support for his views, or was he wrong? Re Mathew 12:31: So what exactly is the Spirit, and why would his or its rejection be a greater mortal sin than that of God the Father or the Son? I've found certain apologists weirdly insistent that only humans go to heaven, not animals. It seems to me these apologists must never have had a pet, or they'd know it can't be heaven if your pets aren't there too. Is there any biblical basis for their insistence? What do you make of the baptism for the dead mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:29?

The Bible Geek Podcast 20-023 Dec 29, 2020

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What is the word for "church" in the original Greek, and what did it mean before Christianity? If "Messiah" and "Christ" are terms rather than proper names, might not any group of people following a Messiah be called Christians by a disinterested third party such as a Roman historian of the time? Could Mark be hinting that the scattering of the twelve disciples shows that the original Petrine Christianity failed. But it was carried forward by Paul (as Simon of Cyrene) picking up the cross and walking with Jesus? Doesn't the paraclete in the Gospel of John have to be Paul? Matt 25:41 seems to explicitly state that Satan and his gang will join us heathens in Hell's torments. If that's so, where did we get the notion that they will not be the tormented, but rather the tormentors? Where did the horned, red-tailed, pitchfork-wielding imagery come from? And do you think there's a particular reason no angels are described as having female attributes? You have me convinced that Polycarp was the author/redactor of Luke/ Acts and the author of the Pastorals. Luke/Acts seems empathetic and respectable of woman, but the Pastorals seem to be the exact opposite. Do you have an opinion on why this may be?

The Bible Geek Podcast 20-022 Dec 24, 2020

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You asked listeners to suggest a mythical or legendary character who could potentially be historicized by clever apologetics. Here is my humble suggestion: Ned Ludd. I'm interested in any thoughts you might have on the Branch Davidians, Koresh, or the sectarian politics within the Adventist movement which gave rise to the group. What do you make of the thesis that the Greek word AEON should be translated as "AGE" or "EON" everywhere it appears, and "AEONIAN" as "Pertaining to the age" which has no English equivalent. Not “eternal.” Can you speculate on the possibility of a text or scroll lying in a cave or tomb that could change or alter our understanding of Jesus and the early church? Please comment on the idea that Mark was written first was promoted by Bismarck as part of the anti-Catholic Kulturkampf. His goal was to diminish Matthew which is the Gospel which includes the Peter-the-Rock verse which is the biblical basis for papal authority. I was wondering if you could comment on Galatians 6:17. Was Paul a stigmatic? Or what? A simple solution to the riddle in Rev 2:9 and 3:9 is that it is referring to the Herodians who were not ethnic Judahites but Idumeans who also collaborated with their Roman masters. I've always found the episode with Pilate in John 18:37-38, where Pilate asks "What is truth?" to be very poetic and compelling. It reads as a glib dismissal of Jesus as the one who bears witness to "the truth," but I can't shake the feeling there's more to it than that. It strikes me as subtly evil, the kind of moral relativism that is so easy to slip into, certainly for a jaded politician, but also for any of us. I'd love for you talk about this passage, the sitz im leben, and any thoughts you have on its relevance to the rest of story. How come Stephen got lynched by the Sanhedrin, but the same group had to get Roman permission to execute Jesus? You’ve suggested the idea of a personal relationship with God has its origin in 17th-century German Pietism. Can you say some more about this? Do you think the idea of a personal relationship with God or Jesus is a modern idea? Is it a Western idea? Do non-Christian religions have this concept?

The Bible Geek Podcast 20-021 Dec 04, 2020

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Might the Noah story be based on the recently discovered flooding of the originally dry Persian Gulf around 14,000 years ago? Did Simon Magus’ followers who still exist in Eusebius day? Was this a full-on religious sect? Deuteronomy 32:7 and Israelite polytheism. Could one write a book about a person of history, a mythical character, or a yet undecided person of history that may be a myth, that has similar amounts of evidence as Jesus? Could you use the same historical tools, apologetics, and guidelines (e.g. criterion of embarrassment) and "prove" they also exist? In Luke 23 Jesus tells the thief “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” There is an obvious contradiction with the three-day resurrection timeline with this quote, as Jesus isn't supposed to be in Paradise the same day. Unless, of course, you think in terms of Trinity where Jesus and Yahweh are the same being. In that scenario, Jesus has always been in Heaven and is there waiting for the thief to arrive. But if that is so, what is the point of the resurrection? If Jesus/Yahweh was in Heaven all this time, did he ever actually ascend to Paradise? Did he actually die? An Archbishop recently condemned Yoga because of its polytheistic, hence demonic origins. Isn’t this a classic genetic fallacy? Why did Matthew 12 omit Mark’s iconic phrase “The Sabbath was made for humankind, not humankind for the Sabbath”?

The Bible Geek Podcast 20-020 Nov 27, 2020

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On your latest podcast you were asked about the parallels between the controversies about Pauline and Shakespearean authorship. Since this is something I actually know about, I’d like to share my answer to the question. Have you ever heard of a Jewish sect that believed that directly talking to God was forbidden and blasphemous? Is it possible this Jesus/Metatron originally performed this role? Was the Copper Scroll (3Q15) a real list of buried treasures or some kind of hoax? Is the only thing preventing donkeys (or other animals) from talking some sort of physical limitation? Are they thinking coherent thoughts and complete phrases like the one in the Bible passage but are simply unable to express them verbally? Did Balaam’s donkey continue to talk? Why didn’t Balaam seem to be the least bit impressed that his donkey is talking to him? Do you feel that Mary was a mythical figure? Do you know of any early Christian commentary regarding the mechanics of how the Holy Ghost impregnated Mary? Does the Holy Ghost have a penis? Did they have intercourse or was holy semen magically implanted in Mary by the Holy Ghost? As you pointed out, several biblical figures relate to the cycle of "Day follows Night follows Day." My question is whether one or the other (sun or moon) is considered harmful or beneficial?

The Bible Geek Podcast 20-019 Nov 12, 2020

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In Acts, the writer mentions the apostles performing "signs and wonders", as well as miracles. If miracles are mentioned separately, it would seem that signs and wonders are something other than healings, resurrections, etc. What do you think the writer wanted the reader to imagine the apostles doing exactly? Parallel between scholars denying authenticity of some or all of Shakespeare’s plays and Dutch Radical Critics. Were Leviathan and Behemoth really a crocodile and an elephant? I wonder what consideration, if any, you have given to the creatures described in Job 40 to 41. Namely, the Behemoth and the Leviathan. If Marcion rejected the OT, why did his gospel contain Luke’s Central Section which is rewritten from Deuteronomy? Can you name any individuals who added or subtracted verses from scripture mss? In biblical times was it considered especially tragic to die in ones 30 since most people are supposed to have had a lifespan of 30-40 years? Could you address your thoughts on the historicity of The Buddha?

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