The Belfast Podcast

Reading the Bible as Fiction | How ”IT” can Help us Understand Biblical Narrative | BP Ep. 27

*Explicit Content Warning* (For the Bible too)

In this episode, I attempt to frame how reading the Biblical Narrative like we read fiction can be helpful in understanding how smart stories work. I start with Stephen King's "IT", using the story of Beverly Marsh, how her childhood affects her as an adult, and how those allusions can aid in understanding the stories of Judah in Genesis 37 and 38. 

C.S. Lewis on Hell, Integration of the Shadow, and Self-Control | BP Ep. 26

I read from "The Problem of Pain" and more of C.S. Lewis's thoughts on hell in this episode. Daniel and I then discuss what it means to be a monster and control it, the art of self-discipline.

Being Given a New Heart | A Conversation with Rich | BP Ep. 25

I was blessed to have a conversation with an old friend from boarding school who is now a pastor. We discussed a lot about the reality of being given a new heart by God at salvation, and I read from "Waking the Dead" and "The Divine Conspiracy".

Becoming a Heretic | Talking about the Problems with Original Sin and Hell | BP Ep. 24

Daniel and I discuss some things I have been thinking about recently, Original sin and Hell. I have run across scholarships against the usual Augustinian conceptions of original sin common in evangelicalism and reformed circles. The typical Augustinian view also has major Christological issues, which I address. Second, Daniel and I discuss conscious eternal Torment (the majority conception of hell) versus annihilationism or conditional immortality. This section is mainly me thinking aloud as I press the major narrative issues CET has with the Bible, along with a little help from Lewis.

Resources: Michael Heiser Blog Posts: https://drmsh.com/romans-512/

Michael Heiser on Original Sin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M97gjvIH8vA&t=1s Pete Enns on Jesus and Paul: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlfV-rQfycQ&t=30s

Pete Enns on Jesus and Paul: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlfV-rQfycQ&t=30s

Jon Wesley on Sin: https://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/5/5-1/BETS_5-1_18-24_Cox.pdf

Tim Mackie Hell Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLAhk0Cvqa4&t=1809s

Bible Project on Hell: I lied. I cannot find the series I thought I saw. If anyone knows what I'm referring to, please tell me where to find it. I may also just be crazy.  Belfast email: belfastpodcast@gmail.com

 

Genesis, Jonah, and Jesus | How Jonah could be the most Challenging Story for Us Today | BP Ep. 23

In this emotional, challenging, and convicting episode, Daniel and I walk through the story of Jonah, how it parallels with Genesis imagery and is used by Jesus.

Timestamps:

0:00 introduction

11:48 Jonah in Genesis

23:55 The story of Jonah

1:15:00 Jesus and Jonah

1:37:00 The Challenge of Jonah

Resources: Tim Mackie's Sermon series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah1RRqQg2fM

Heiser's interview about Adam and Eve: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Z5gH0SNdrpcHsa1UuFbnR?si=eb185aab4c394eb0

Adam and Eve, The Dangers of Proclamation Preaching, and What Inspiration Is |BP Episode 22 |

This one went in a different direction than initially intended. The conversation starts off with me talking again about Adam and Eve and morphed into a conversation then about how to stay humble around those who may not have as much knowledge. The humility conversation leads to a discussion about my issues with proclamation preaching that happens. We ended the episode with a discussion on inspiration because how you look at inspiration affects how you think about inerrancy. Timestamps below.

0:00 introduction 5:20 More seminary struggles 11:23 Adam and Eve as Archetypes 24:30 Recommending N.T. Wright's "Paul" biography 28:15 How to be humble with knowledge 36:34 Lecture like Peterson, not a preacher 45:07 "The Chosen" and interpretation 47:04 The Problem with Proclamation Preaching 53:26 Approaching the Text with Humility 1:12:00 The Problems with Interpretation 1:18:00 Different Views of Inspiration 1:52:47 Pete Enn's Incarnational Analogy

Belfast Podcast Email: belfastpodcast@gmail.com

YouTube Channel Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtoDwdwERbyd7yNsY_vyXtw

Divine Marriage, Christian Art, and the Uselessness of Inerrancy| With Daniel#2 | BP Ep. 21|

Daniel came back for another episode, and this one was even more fun! We talked about the Bible as a story, the theme of Divine Marriage throughout the Bible, and the uselessness of inerrancy as an argument for the Bible's authority. Timestamps are bellow

Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-belfast-podcast/id1472441982

Spotify Podcast link: https://open.spotify.com/show/1s3aaP3pUkQKBVXbsP8Y34?si=t5vI-d0mRPShSF9ez8DI5g&dl_branch=1 Belfast Email:

belfastpodcast@gmail.com

0:00 Introduction

2:09 Podcast talk and trouble with seminary

22:20 Being like and unlike institutional Christianity

32:36 Why Tim Mackie and Jordan Peterson need to talk and the centrality of story

46:24 Why do Christians suck at storytelling?

51:24 God's Divine Marriage with His people throughout the Bible

1:29:40 Why Inerrancy is a Useless argument for Biblical authority

"The Facade" (by Michael Heiser) Book Review|Plus writing what you know with Stephen King|BP ep.20|

4 out of 5 flying saucers for Dr. Heiser's first science fiction novel. If you want to skip straight to the review, it starts at 10:33

I wanted to review this book because I have enjoyed much of Dr. Heiser's other work and was pleasantly surprised by his first fore into fiction. It is not perfect, but it was a delightful read!

I start the discussion with a link to a previous Gresham novel I read and some comments from Stephen King's book "On Writing" that helped me frame what Heiser is up to. I found it fun to talk about, but again, if you want to skip straight to the review, go to this timestamp: 10:33

Links:

"The Facade" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Fa%C3%A7ade-Saga-Book-ebook/dp/B00NBJKYN0/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=the+facade&qid=1624583834&sr=8-2

"The Portent" on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Portent-Fa%C3%A7ade-Saga-Book-ebook/dp/B00N41UDCM/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=the+portent&qid=1624583935&sr=8-2 Stephen King's

"On Writing":

https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Memoir-Craft-Stephen-King/dp/1439193630/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=on+writing&qid=1624583881&sr=8-1

Egyptian Stories in Genesis, Cosmic Geography, Faith, Works, and Reconstruction|A Conversation with Daniel|BP ep. 19

Daniel got in touch with me through a comment on my YouTube video about my hope for seminary. Because he has similar feelings, we thought it would be fun to sit down and have a conversation. We talked about various topics and had fun bouncing ideas off one another—time stamps below for the conversation.

my introduction to the conversation: 0:40

BEMA Podcast discussion: 2:30

How far to push literary interpretation: 9:30

How Daniel found my podcast:  18:12

Egyptian stories in Genesis: 33:15

Reading the Bible as a story: 43:20

Michael Heiser and JEDP: 1:04:30

Michael Heiser and cosmic geography: 1:19:30

Documenting my own changes: 2:07:30

Faith, works, and Shema: 2:28:33

Belfast email: belfastpodcast@gmail.com

Heiser on "sons of God" in Deuteronomy 32: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt8OoMLrAyo&t=93s

Heiser "Reversing Hermon": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggcDvZUG36c&t=7366s

My video on my hopes for seminary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wetrj521KpI&t=567s

 

 

 

John Piper and Tim Mackie Changed my Mind about Genesis|Genesis Series 1|BP Episode 18

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppaWVYGcK6g

I've done content about how I think about the Bible, the formation of the text, and more or less a certain approach to the book as a whole, but what about the stories in the Bible? What about the first stories that a rife with controversy? Well, my mind over the past few years has changed dramatically on these stories, and I wanted to walk through the principle content that helped shape my thinking. Welcome to part 1 with reactions to Tim Mackie and John Piper.