Data Over Dogma

Brace yourself, because your favorite Bible scholarship show is going to talk politics. It's not that we're veering out of our lane, though. Unfortunately, the politics have come careening out of their lane, and smashed headlong into us. It's not our fault!

So yes, we're going to talk about the recent giant Christian nationalist piety performance that was "America Reads the Bible". This was an event where dozens of prominent members of the Christian right took turns reading bits of the Bible until they had gotten through the whole thing. A week worth of saying words, but was there any comprehension?

Then, it's a sensitive subject, but an important one: suicide. King Saul dies in the Bible by purposefully falling on his own sword. It was an act designed to rob his enemies of the satisfaction of killing him. But was it a sin? Certainly, Christian tradition has held the act of taking one's own life as a sin for centuries, but is this theology biblically supported, or a later innovation? Is it possible that the labeling of suicide as sinful is actually wrong?

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. You are not alone:

-- In the US and Canada: Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org to reach the 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. (Veterans, press 1).

-- In the UK: Call 111 (Non-emergency) or 999 (Emergency), or contact the Samaritans at 116 123.

-- International: To find a helpline in your country, visit the International Association for Suicide
Prevention at iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres or OpenCounseling's International Suicide Hotlines list at blog.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines/

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This week we're taking something beloved and ruining it! Ok, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but we're definitely going to ruffle some feathers.

The King James Version of the Bible is treasured for its poetic, often florid language. Many even believe it to be the most accurate, truest version available in English. Those people are wrong. Or at least, we'll show you why that's a problematic stance.

Then, when is God not actually God? Buckle up, because we're letting linguistic nerdom take us on a fascinating journey. There are instances in the old Greek manuscripts where the word for God isn't presented in the same way as others.

Could something as simple as the lack of a definite article ("the") actually change what the biblical authors were talking about entirely?
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The world of ancient holy texts is shrouded in mystery. Where did texts come from? How were they transmitted? Were they altered, and if so, by whom?

First this week, we'll be talking about 1 Esdras. It's a book you won't find in most Bibles these days, yet you will find most of the stories it contains. And if Esdras sounds a lot like the name of another Biblical book to you, that's not a coincidence. So what is Esdras? Why is it different from its biblical cousin, and why was one chosen over the other (unless you're in Ethiopia)?

Then: it's something we've mentioned many times on this show, and it's high time for the deeper dive. We're talking about the Masoretes, and the creation of the aptly (but perhaps too literally) named "Masoretic text".

This is a fascinating tale of dedicated scribes who had an enormous impact on how biblical texts were translated and transmitted. Their decisions and calculations affect how we read the Bible over a thousand years later. We'll explore their contributions, and the power wielded by this small group of meticulous ancient scholars.

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This week we're taking two topics that we've skimmed the surface of, and we're diving deep!

First, we're going to figure out what the heck a Maccabee is. That is, we're covering both history and a couple of books in the apocrypha. That's right: we're discussing the Maccabean revolt.

What do we know about the actual historical event? Who were the main players, and how did it all shake out? Is the story presented in the books of Maccabees true to the history? What's a Seleucid?

Then, we're breaking down the Prophetic Critique, but we're doing it with a twist! Has Dan McClellan been missing something in his discussions of this concept? He was called out by a listener--will he accept the criticism, or clap back?

Find Simone's critique of Dan's critique of the Prophetic Critique here:

https://simonereadstexts.substack.com/p/remembering-the-prophetic-critique

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This week, we're really into bondage, but not in a fun way.

First, we're talking about Hagar, the enslaved handmaiden of Sarai (and later of Sarah). Being enslaved is never a good thing, despite what some apologists might have you believe, but Hagar is done pretty dirty in a few ways. We'll explore not just her nonconsensual heir-making with Abraham, but also her ejection from their house leading to the almost-death of her and her... 17 year old toddler?

Next it's something that is in your Bible... but isn't. Multiple books of the New Testament make explicit references to this, and even quote it, but because first Enoch didn't make the canonical cut (with one exception), most readers would never know it. And yet, the idea that certain angels got chained up seems to be out there.

So who were these naughty angels? What did they do that was so bad that they deserved to be chained up? What kind of chains can even hold a divine being? And should we all be worried whenever the Euphrates river goes through a dry spell?

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