Jonah is one of the greatest little stories in the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) and it’s also one of the most-popularly-misunderstood stories. So, how exactly is the common interpretation of Jonah so off-base? What is a better, more faithful way to read this wild little book? And what in the world could a story of a man getting swallowed by a fish have to say to us in our cultural moment today? Listen to find out.

I’m taking a slightly different approach in today’s episode, in engaging with a prominent current event. A group of pastors, some of whom are quite well-known, led by John MacArthur, recently released a “statement on social justice” that is making quite a stir in Evangelical-Christian circles. I take this slightly-longer-than-normal episode to engage with it.

Spoiler alert: I think it’s a disaster.

In the previous episode, I spent time explaining some of my background and putting forward a helpful definition of the term 'evangelical.' In this episode, I do a deep-dive into my personal wrestling match. It's an honest back-and-forth discussion, in an attempt to highlight compelling arguments on both sides of the debate, and I finally reveal where exactly I have landed. Hopefully this discussion is enlightening, and even personally helpful to those of you with similar struggles.

In this first of a 2-part discussion, I wrestle openly and honestly with the term 'Evangelical.' Since the 2016 election, the discussion around the relevance of the term 'evangelical' has been raging in Christian circles, and it has provoked deep soul-searching for me. In this episode, I briefly explain some of my personal background, my own discovery of the term, and lay some groundwork for a definition of it that I've found helpful.

In this (slightly) longer-than-normal episode, I'm concluding the discussion started last week, on responding to the skeptical question, "How can you trust the Bible??" While the previous discussion was centered on the presuppositions and tensions smuggled into this question, this episode will put forward positive responses to the trustworthiness of these texts. As examples, I wrangle with history, science, and faith. Hopefully this is helpful and encouraging to you. Enjoy!

In this second installment of the "for skeptics" series, I'm tackling the common question from modern, skeptical people: "How can you trust the Bible??" A seemingly simple question actually contains a myriad of complicated questions and issues, and positive progress will only happen if we can start to untangle what's going on when someone asks this. This complicated topic will take 2 full episodes to begin to unravel...

In this final discussion of Genesis 4, we come to a bleak portrait of human history. And it's a portrait the comports quite well with our own modern understanding of our roots in agriculture and urbanization. As with all sections of scripture, there are surprising insights everywhere, even if they aren't exactly the insights we like to be confronted with. Join me for a closing discussion of this amazing mini-story within Genesis.

In part 2 (of 3) of our discussion through Genesis 4, we come to the epicenter, the "beating heart" of the story of Cain and Abel: A CHOICE. It's a powerful scene, and actually is extremely relate-able to every honest person today. Don't believe me?? Then listen in and decide for yourself...

Here we have yet another famous Biblical story, and one that is so misunderstood. The narrative of Cain and Abel has SO MUCH packed into it, that it will take 3 whole episodes to even begin to untangle. Join me for this initial discussion, in which I begin to tease out some of the high-level themes that we are approaching when we read this story.....

In this introduction to a new series called "For Skeptics," I tackle one of the most frequent questions/challenges I get from skeptical people: The Reality of God. How can you know that God is real? What does that even mean? What are we *actually* talking about here?

So basically, I'm trying to take on one of the most historically complex philosophical/theological ideas in 10 minutes....

And here it is, everyone's favorite Bible passage, the part that you couldn't wait to analyze: THE CURSE. We finally get a glimpse of the outcome of the human's disobedience. And today, this passage is relentlessly pointed at by atheists/skeptics as evidence that we need to ditch the Bible (it's so savage and primitive!) and by fundamentalist Christians as evidence that God approves of things like patriarchy. But might there be something deeper going on?? Spoiler alert: there is!

Join for a brief exploration of what the writer of Genesis is REALLY trying to capture in this famous passage. You just might find yourself respecting it.....

In part 3 of this exploration of the Genesis 3 story, I examine God's response to the transgression of the humans. If you are even passingly familiar with this story (or the Old Testament in general) you probably imagine God as a Zeus-like, bearded sky-man, ready to smite at a moment's notice. And what better smiting opportunity than immediately after the first humans disobey the one and only command they were given?? But what we see instead is quite surprising, especially given the ancient context within which this story was written.

So join me for a brief exploration of God's surprising character, even in this old, old story.

Continuing our exploration (and untangling) of Genesis 3, we turn to one of the central symbols of the whole story: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Have you ever stopped and wondering why God made this one of the trees in the garden? And why was it the only one they couldn't eat from? And what exactly made them break that rule? And why was it such a big deal in the first place? And why......? OK, so there are a ton of questions you could ask about this....

Listen for a brief exploration of what Genesis is claiming about humans, God, the world, and evil as symbolized in this tree.

In this next episode, I finally dive into one of the most widely-known (and probably widely-misunderstood, honestly) scripture passages of all time: the fall of Adam and Eve!! **cue dramatic music** This chapter is so dense, so insightful, and yet so radically misunderstood, that it's going to take 4 whole episodes to even begin to untangle it.

And first, we need to ask, "What in the world is up with that talking snake??"

The previous episode ended on the theme of "chaos" and "order," but what happens next? How does this process continue to unfold in the creation story? Is there truly anything worthy of our modern respect here?

This episode covers the remainder of chapter 1. In it, you will discover a radical, startling affirmation of human dignity, and a reminder of God's peaceful intentions for our world. It's a beautiful poem, and a beautiful vision. Enjoy!

In this (re)re-launch of Ten Minute Theology, I am tackling an entire new series and subject! The driving question is: "Can we respect ancient Scripture today??" And if so, how do we do that? What would it look like to take a fresh look at ancient words? Would we find life-giving wisdom, even for our modern existence?

Well, I think so! But I need to make the case for that in our jaded, cynical, post-modern age, and that's exactly what I'm planning to do, ten minutes at a time.

But how do we start to sift through all these influences? How can we evaluate our understanding, ensuring that it is orthodox and faithful to scriptures? Well, a survey of Greek and Hebrew thought is a good place to start. Join me for a brief discussion, opening up these worldviews.

Does the notion of the Trinity give you a headache? Does the idea of a 3-in-1 divine being make your brain spin? If so, you just might be a normal person.

Join me for part 2 of our discussion on "God." In this episode, I briefly survey the roots of the idea of Trinity, and more importantly, I discuss why it matters. Does this have any impact on our faith today? What about my daily life? Well, sit back and enjoy my thoughts about this...

Ten Minute theology is back, with a new mini-series. It may seem strange to focus on a topic as broad as "God" in a 10-minute podcast, but I think you'll find that the deeper you get into this topic, the more interesting in gets...

Up first: the Incarnation! Strap on your thinking cap and dive into the paradox of full humanity and full divinity in the person of Jesus. Why does this matter? Listen and see for yourself.

After a nearly-summer-long hiatus, Ten Minute Theology is back! Join me for an all-too-brief overview of two major theological options regarding God's relationship to the future: Process Theology and Open Theism. What is it that these views believe about God? Are they based in Scripture at all? What has all the controversy been about?

Take a listen, and possibly get (some) questions answered!

Join me for a brief discussion surrounding a heated controversy - is the Bible "inerrant?" Or, put more simply, "can the Bible be trusted?" What do we modern people do when we encounter seeming contradictions or scientific errors in the Biblical text? Is this cause to abandon faith altogether? How can Christians navigate this important discussion?

The "wrath of God" is a frequently-used phrase, especially in Evangelical popular theology. But what is God's wrath, exactly? What is it directed towards? How does it affect what you believe about God? Join me for a brief discussion of these questions and concepts, as what you believe about God's wrath actually has a huge impact on what you believe about Him in general.

A frequently-overlooked controversy raged in the early church: the question of using images in worship. Why would this be a concern? Why would scholars, emperors, and early theologians bother talking about it? Join me for an overview of the issue, as well as a conversation about the man who played a significant role in shaping its resolution, impacting even our worship practices to this day.

NOTE: Several times in this episode, I refer to the Byzantine Pope Leo III, but he was actually the Byzantine EMPEROR, not a pope. I apologize for the confusion.

Easter is the most important event in the Christian calendar - the resurrection of Jesus, the son of God! The stories of the resurrection are told and retold every year in Christian gatherings around the world, but what are the unique nuances of the Easter stories as told in the original Gospel documents? More importantly, does paying attention to these differences even matter? What can we learn from them? Join me for a brief reflection on how Mark, Matthew, Luke and John write about the resurrection of Christ.

This "crash course" is a special episode of "Ten Minute Theology." The audio is taken from a lecture I gave at a young adult gathering last week in Portland, Maine, in response to many questions about how to read and understand the Old Testament documents. It's a **bit** longer than 10 minutes, but if you are at all interested in the theology of the Old Testament, I think you will enjoy this discussion.

Throughout the talk, I refer to a worksheet that you can download here.

What do Nic Cage, some Puritan preachers, and the book of Revelation all have in common? Aside from a lot of confusion, they all are connected by a field of theology called "Eschatology," or the "study of the end." Join me for a discussion of various ways to interpret the end of the age. What are the important biblical verses? How have they been understood throughout history, what are we to make of them, and most importantly, why does it matter?

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Join me in this brief introduction to the controversy around creation, evolution, and the age of the earth. What are the scientific and theological ideas wrapped up in this debate? How are we supposed to talk about it, and what are we to make of the book of Genesis? 

Check out the first episode of "Ten Minute Theology," seeking to think rightly about God, scriptures, and the church....ten minutes at a time.

This inaugural episode is centered around a concept that garners much discussion in books, blogs, and sermons, and is something I am quite passionate about: atonement. How does Jesus' death and resurrection atone for the sins of humans? Did God need to punish someone? Does this matter to us today?