The Biblical Mind

Lament, Moral Injury, and the Dark Parts of Scripture (Dr. Jill Firth)

"Moral injury" has been associated with groups like wounded soldiers and sexually abused women, but it can also affect those who have simply learned about something incredibly painful or violent, whether it be in the media or in Scripture. Dr. Jill Firth has a PhD in the psalms of lament and a particular interest in suffering. In this episode, Dru Johnson and Dr. Firth discuss the issue of moral injury and its relation to the Bible.
Throughout the conversation, Dr. Firth references the prophet Jeremiah and the lament psalms to address this heavy topic. We shouldn't shy way from studying the dark and violent parts of Scripture. These can help foster our imagination for the horrific parts of life, so that we can better understand others' experiences of suffering and our own.
People often seek easy answers or comforting verses in the Bible when they are struggling, for similar reasons that they turn to food, Netflix, or friends. But what we really need is to trust God with our pain and give Him a chance to be our Living Water—even if that means we must experience the pain and not quickly numb or resolve it.
Want to learn more? You can check out Dr. Firth's "Journey Through the Psalms" project.
Show notes:
0:00 The field of moral injury
6:55 Why are people uncomfortable with lament in Scripture?
13:34 Cultivating your imagination for suffering
17:05 Responding to real stories of real people
21:00 The length of the moral injury metaphor
25:44 Needing to know God is with us
30:32 Missing the element of lament in worship
Show notes by Serena Tuomi.
Credits for the music used in TBM podcast can be found at: hebraicthought.org/credits.
 

Until All the Psalms Are Sung Again (Poor Bishop Hooper)

We all need God’s word, and we need it desperately––this is why Jesse and Leah Roberts embarked on EveryPsalm.
Jesse and Leah are parents, pastors, and musicians living in Kansas City, MO. They began their EveryPsalm project on January 1, 2020, after years of talking about the idea. They explain, “EveryPsalm is a three-year long musical journey consisting of simple, meditative songs based on the psalms. Starting with Psalm 1 and ending at Psalm 150.” Each song is based on a psalm, and almost all of their lyrics are taken word-for-word from the Bible. Their goal with this project is to help their listeners interact with Scripture in new ways and to make God’s Word applicable to any circumstances people might face.
In this episode, Jesse and Leah talk with Dru Johnson about their project thus far (they're up to Psalm 75) and their goals for the rest of the songs to come. They discuss the songwriting process and how putting Scripture to music aids memorization and deeper engagement.
You can check out their Youtube channel to listen to every song of the EveryPsalm project along with their other free music. You can also check out their website for more information and to subscribe to their weekly song release.
Show notes:
0:00 How Jesse and Leah use the Psalms to write songs
6:39 How they pick their tone for each piece
10:02 What they’ve learned about the Psalms as they’ve worked through them
11:40 The role of lament
16:07 How they safely interpret each Psalm
22:10 Putting words to music
26:50 How they avoid “telling others how to feel"
Show notes by Serena Tuomi.
The music featured in this episode was used with permission from Poor Bishop Hooper. The audio clips are from "Psalm 7," "Psalm 13," "Psalm 16," and "Psalm 40."

Listen to an Article: Recovering the Political Teachings of the Hebrew Bible

Heather Cate reads "Recovering the Political Teachings of the Hebrew Bible," by Joshua Berman, published March 3, 2020.

If Christians Read Scripture Like Jews Do (Ari Lamm)

Christians who feel uneasy with tricky texts in Scripture have something to learn from Jewish Bible readers. Jews actually seek out challenges in the Bible, because they believe these are God’s invitation to develop and use wisdom.  
In this episode, Dru Johnson interviews Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm, a “historian of religion who is interested in the role of religion, religious values, and tradition in shaping the global moral discourse.” His Orthodox Jewish upbringing taught him to embrace the view of the Hebrew Bible as layered, complex, and challenging—for, the very idea of God suggests that He has complex and layered ideas to communicate with His creation. Dr. Lamm encourages Christians to be similarly comfortable with questioning biblical stories on a deeper level.
Don’t forget to check out Dr. Lamm’s podcast Good Faith Effort, where he “speaks with thinkers, writers, artists, and faith leaders to explore how the Bible continues to inform our lives today, from politics to psychology to pop culture, bringing Americans of different traditions and persuasions closer together as so much else threatens to pull us apart.”
Show notes:
5:56 Humans can partner with God to extend the work of creation.
7:33 Hermeneutic of suspicion: Why doesn’t Joseph contact his father?
15:38 Is it typical for Jewish interpretation to ask questions that are constrained to the text?
17:35 The rabbis’ legends.
22:35 What made Joseph resilient?
26:04 The permission to ask questions of Scripture
29:32 Using one character to interpret another: Why does God choose Abraham?
Show notes by Serena Tuomi
Credits for the music used in TBM podcast can be found at: hebraicthought.org/credits.

The Church's Alarming Neglect of the Old Testament (Brent Strawn)

Is the church gradually abandoning the Old Testament?
Surveys of Americans from all walks of life and church backgrounds show that we have grown less and less literate in the Hebrew Scriptures. This causes a host of problems, such as mistaken preconceptions of the text or belief that the Old Testament is outdated or unnecessary. Especially in a culture so far removed from the original world of the text, how can we learn to read the Bible empathetically and humbly?
In this episode, Dru Johnson interviews Dr. Brent Strawn, Professor of Old Testament and Law at Duke Divinity School. They discuss the church's widespread neglect of the Old Testament, and how to overcome the resulting problems. We should read the entire New Testament as situated within the conceptual world of the Old. They conclude with remarks about how the texts and art of other ancient Near Eastern cultures can help us understand Scripture.
Show notes:
0:00 The difficulties of reading the Hebrew Bible as modern people
3:54 Approaching texts with humility
7:17 Brent's book The Old Testament is Dying
11:14 Boosting Bible literacy
17:18 Using the Old Testament well
25:48 Avoiding "word pollution"
29:00 Reading the New Testament through the Old Testament
34:33 Ancient Near Eastern views of the divine
39:57 Art and iconography as a window into the text
Brent's book The Old Testament is Dying: A Diagnosis and Recommended Treatment
Show notes by Micah Long.
Credits for the music used in TBM podcast can be found at: hebraicthought.org/credits.
 

On Whether There Is Sacred Music (Delvyn Case)

Why do we think of some music as sacred music and some music as secular? Is it merely a lyrical or a historical distinction, or is there something about the style and genre that makes certain songs feel "spiritual"? Is the music of the ancient Hebrews more or less sacred than that of a modern Catholic mass or an evangelical megachurch? We are likely to distinguish between these different eras and genres to help categorize them as sacred or not; however, we should be more willing to challenge this distinction.
In this episode, Dru Johnson interviews Delvyn Case, an accomplished composer, scholar, and performer, about the way Christians view music. As they break down the boundaries between secular and sacred music, they discuss why certain types of music feel more spiritual (such as Gospel or hymns) than others. They talk about bad worship music and how it influences our emotions to teach us thin, wobbly theology. They then discuss religious imagery, especially the figure of Christ, in popular music. Is Jesus more like a punk rocker, a hippie, or a communist? Music has the power to educate us and draw us nearer to God; however, it also has the power to mold our emotions and thoughts in sneaky, subconscious ways. If we learn to listen more closely, we can not only grow shrewder in our understanding of its power, but also discover its excellencies and faults.
Show notes:
0:00 "Sacred music" versus "secular music"
3:56 Gospel music as transcendent
9:30 The role of music in church
14:12 Bad worship music
19:09 Spiritual and educational music
22:35 Popular music using church motifs
28:18 The view of Jesus in pop music
34:33 How to critically engage music
Read Delvyn's discussion of Jesus in pop music.
Show notes by Micah Long.
Credits for the music used in TBM podcast can be found at: hebraicthought.org/credits.

How to Enjoy Reading the Bible (Matthew Mullins)

Many of us approach Scripture with an "intellectualist" lens: we're seeking clear ideas with straightforward moral application for our lives. Often we do so unconsciously, because of our church background or the way we were first introduced to the Bible. This way of reading Scripture, while not entirely bad, disassociates us from the text. We don't read novels or poems like this, so why would we apply this lens to some of the greatest literary works of all time?
In this episode, Dru Johnson interviews Dr. Matthew Mullins, Associate Professor of English and History of Ideas at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, about learning to love the Bible. Matthew Mullins wants to help us overcome our "Cartesian eyes" and read Scripture with our whole selves: emotion, rationality, and activity. They discuss Matthew's book, Enjoying the Bible: Literary Approaches to Loving the Scriptures, and how to read the Bible as literature instead of as a textbook. As we pursue more engaged reading of Scripture, we can understand the cares and concerns of the biblical authors, as well as transform the way we think and live.
Show notes:
0:00 Reading the Bible as literature
2:05 Avoiding an information-centric perspective of Scripture
6:25 Isolating reading and learning from emotion
13:32 Learning to love the Bible
17:24 Delighting in biblical wisdom
21:15 Returning to the text to with new eyes
24:00 "Reading at whim"
Matthew Mullins's talk: “You Can’t Understand the Bible If You Don’t Love Poetry”
Show notes by Micah Long.
Credits for the music used in TBM podcast can be found at: hebraicthought.org/credits.

Behind the Scenes: CHT Staff Tells All! (Dru, Amy, Celina)

Sometimes it's good to take a step back—so this week, the Center for Hebraic Thought staff switched things up. Instead of interviewing a scholar, Dru Johnson (CHT director), Amy Gabriel (CHT research associate), and Celina Durgin (CHT administrative director) chatted about the evolving mission and audience of the CHT, Bible literacy and Bible fluency, good and bad Bible-reading habits—in short, a smorgasbord of topics that lie at the heart of our organization.
Show notes:
00:30 The evolving mission of the Center for Hebraic Thought
02:33 Shifting the audience of the CHT
05:50 What is Hebraic thought, again?
10:38 How—and how not—to read the Bible
16:25 The origin and purpose of The Biblical Mind
19:00 Bible literacy vs. Bible fluency
34:41 What motivates people to read the Bible?
38:30 The goal of the CHT and TBM
43:55 Scripture's metaphors for itself
Credits for the music used in TBM podcast can be found at: hebraicthought.org/credits.

The Biblical Authors vs. Greek Philosophy (Joseph Dodson)

The Bible is full of references to other texts, containing a diverse range of cultural forces and ideas. The biblical authors engaged with Egyptian mythology, Babylonian theology, and Hellenistic philosophy with a discerning eye for what to keep, what to reject, and what to turn on its head.
In this episode, Dr. Joseph Dodson, Associate Professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary, joins Dru Johnson to discuss the interaction between Stoicism and Scripture. He describes the philosophical context within which the apostles wrote, including the Stoicism that was popular at the time. Then, they discuss how authors such as Paul and John appropriated (and sometimes contradicted) Stoic beliefs to articulate the gospel. They also talk about the diverse nature of the Hebraic intellectual world, the education of the apostles, and why we should read the Apocrypha.
Show notes:
0:00 The context of Scripture
2:42 Defining Stoicism
7:28 Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle
12:01 Blending Judaism with Hellenistic philosophy
20:05 The Hebraic intellectual world
24:45 John's integration of philosophy
28:30 Book recommendations on the context of the New Testament
A recommended book edited by Joseph Dodson: Paul and the Giants of Philosophy: Reading the Apostle in Greco-Roman Context
Show notes by Micah Long.
Credits for the music used in TBM podcast can be found at: hebraicthought.org/credits.

Understanding Slavery in the Old Testament—and Today (Myrto Theocharous)

Critics of Christianity, and even believers, point to the instances of slavery in the Old Testament as evidence of a cruel or careless God. However, a view of the ancient systems of slavery and the Torah's treatment of the oppressed reveals a very different picture. Far from being opposed to human dignity, the Hebrew Bible strives to humanize everyone, including those at the margins of society.
In this episode, Dr. Myrto Theocharous and Dr. Dru Johnson discuss slavery and care for the oppressed in the Hebrew Bible. They note how the Torah insists on protection and dignity for slaves to prevent exploitation. They identify how slavery in the Old Testament differs from more recent versions and how we should understand our own cultural experiences when approaching the text. From there, we can begin to understand other related issues, such as how Christians should respond to systems of human trafficking and how Deuteronomy teaches people to care for the vulnerable even if we haven't experienced their circumstances ourselves.
Show notes:
0:00 A God against slavery
4:02 Protections and humanization for slaves in the Torah
7:27 Using the metaphor of slavery today
10:55 Human trafficking and caring for the vulnerable
16:26 Learning care for the oppressed without experiencing oppression
21:08 A view of the American evangelical church
Learn more about Dr. Theocharous.
Show notes by Micah Long.