It's a big, scary topic, but it's one that you can't avoid if you want to talk honestly about the the Bible and its contents: does the Bible contain genocide? And if so, does it condone the genocide it contains? On this week's show we're looking at mass destruction, and wrestling with what it is, and what it means in a biblical context. Is the story of the ordered annihilation of the Amalekites genocide, or is it something else? What about God destroying Sodom and Gomorrah? Or the flooding of th...
Feb 19, 2024•1 hr 8 min
You've probably heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but how much do you really know about them? Where did they come from, when were they discovered, and what can they tell us about the Bible as it was handed down to us? Also, are all the scrolls and fragments that have found their way into private collections and museums legitimate? This week we talk to expert Dr. Kipp Davis, who gives us the skinny on the scrolls. It's all the history and mystery surrounding what some have called the most significan...
Feb 12, 2024•1 hr 15 min
One man, one woman. That's what many pastors, priests, and politicians claim the Bible prescribes for marriage. Are they right? Can it be actually be boiled down to that one simple dynamic? Well, if you've been listening to our show, you know how completely unlikely that is. But don't just take our word for it, we've brought in a ringer on the subject! Dr. Jennifer Bird is the author of Marriage in the Bible, What Do the Texts Say? Dr. Bird is going to set us straight on biblical conceptions of ...
Feb 05, 2024•1 hr 7 min
It's one of the most baffling moments of the new testament. Jesus talks to, and kills, foliage. Because he was hungry, and it was out of season, so it didn't have fruit. Dr. Dan does his best to make it make sense. Then we get into some really fascinating textual analysis! Don't let the fancy name intimidate you, this dive into deutero-Isaiah is super interesting. What do you think? Do you buy the hypothesis? Many have challenged the idea, but the Deut abides. For early access to an ad-free vers...
Jan 29, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Hooooo boy. This week, we're asking one of the biggest questions in Christianity. Is Jesus God? Specifically, we'll be looking at two questions. First, we examine the gospel most frequently cited to support the idea: the gospel of John. Literally, the first verse of John says "The Word was with God, and the Word was God", doesn't that kind of end the debate? Well, if you know this show, you KNOW it's going to be more complicated than that! We'll go verse by verse discussing why what you've alway...
Jan 22, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Brace yourselves, friends, 'cause this week's episode is getting racy! First, we're uncovering Noah in his tent, and his poor son Ham is going to regret going in there! It seems unfair, but apparently seeing your dad naked is a really big deal in the book of Genesis. Is it big enough to curse an entire lineage forever? Maybe. Hopefully Dr. Dan can help us figure out what's going on there. Next, we're kicking the Biblical legs out from under the pernicious cultural phenomenon of "modesty culture"...
Jan 15, 2024•1 hr 7 min
That's right, kids. We got an honest-to-goodness celebrity to come talk to us. Joel McHale, the dashing star of hit shows like Community, The Soup, and Animal Control has inexplicably decided to join us this week to talk about his experience as a believing Christian in Hollywood, and what it means to him to hear Bible scholarship like what we have here on Data Over Dogma. We also spend some time talking about one of the wilder stories from the Bible: the necromancer of Endor! Sadly, this is not ...
Jan 08, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Beasts! Dragons! Blood! This week, we're talking about the last book of the New Testament, that wacky troublemaker of a book, Revelation. Who wrote it and why? Was it a fever dream? What era is it talking about? IS ARMAGEDDON COMING TO CLAIM US ALL TOMORROW? For the definitive answers to these questions... well, you'd have to ask a time traveler or sorcerer. But if you want the best answers modern scholarship has to offer, this is the place! For early access to an ad-free version of the show, ex...
Jan 01, 2024•1 hr
Magi- they're the gift that keeps on giving! Last week we talked about a star, this week we're unpacking the mysteries of the fellas who followed that star. We've all seen them represented in nativity scenes: three men in elaborate dress, each bearing a different gift for the infant king, but is any of that actually biblical? What do we actually know about the Magi? What role did they play in the story? Fortunately, we have Dr. Eric Vanden Eykel with us to unpack it all. He literally wrote the b...
Dec 25, 2023•1 hr 3 min
A physicist? On a Bible podcast? At Christmas time? Well, there are a couple of ways that could go! This week, we welcome Dr. Aaron Adair onto the show. Dr. Adair's book, The Star of Bethlehem: A Skeptical View, discusses the famous star that led the wise men to baby Jesus in the book of Matthew. What could such a star have been? Is there a known heavenly body that could be used to guide someone to a specific place? How did it appear? Well, we got the guy who wrote the book on the subject, so bu...
Dec 18, 2023•1 hr 6 min
This week we're joined by Dr. Jacob Wright of Emory University. His new book Why the Bible Began leaves aside the questions of who wrote the Bible, what it is, when it was written, and how the Bible came to us, and instead focuses on the why. Why did the writings of this one small group of people survive and persist, when the records of much larger and more successful empires were often buried, forgotten, or lost to time? For early access to an ad-free version of the show, exclusive content, and...
Dec 11, 2023•1 hr 7 min
Will the real authors of the Bible please stand up? This week on Data Over Dogma, we dig deep into who wrote what and why we know what we know. Did someone named Matthew write the gospel of Matthew? Did Paul actually write ALL the Pauline epistles? Authorship is a big question when it comes to the Bible, and it can be a very contentious topic. But don't worry. We'll get through this together. For early access to an ad-free version of the show, exclusive content, and an opportunity to support our...
Dec 04, 2023•59 min
This week, Dan and Dan discuss Dan! That's right, it's time to discuss the book of Daniel, and hoo boy- it's a doozy! If you thought being chucked in with a bunch of lions is all there is to this book, you're in for a wild ride. Sure, the first half of the book is some fun stories about dream interpretation and lions and furnaces, but then things take a turn for the apocalyptic! Will the Dans survive this descent into madness? Will the Biblical book of Daniel survive Data Over Dogma? Who is Belt...
Nov 27, 2023•1 hr 2 min
Was the apostle Paul disabled? His letters may well point in that direction. But the more interesting question is: how much would it matter if he had been? This week, we welcome Dr. Isaac Soon to discuss disability--both now and in the ancient world--and how the lens of disability can provide stunning insights into the Bible, theology, and our own outlooks in our daily lives. For early access to an ad-free version of the show, exclusive content, and an opportunity to support our work, please con...
Nov 20, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Is the second coming... coming? This week we're exploring the end. Not the end of the Bible, but the end of us! It's eschatology time, baby, and we're digging deep. Is the apocalypse described in the New Testament upon us? How will we know when it's coming? DID IT ALREADY HAPPEN? If you're anxious that current events might bring about the end of the world, don't be. But if you're not convinced, check out this episode. And then relax. And be kind to your neighbors. For early access to an ad-free ...
Nov 13, 2023•58 min
How well do you know the ten commandments? Could you list them out in order? Which number is “You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk?" This week we're tackling the decalogue (decalogues?), and if you think that is a simple topic, you're in for a crazy ride. We explore the multiple lists of laws that have been called "The Ten Commandments" (you'll be surprised by which one is actually called that in the Bible), and we'll go over differences of opinion even in the most famous ten words. Str...
Nov 06, 2023•1 hr 7 min
This week Data Over Dogma gets political as we welcome Dr. Andrew Whitehead. Dr. Whitehead is an Associate Professor of Sociology at IUPUI, director of the Association of Religion Data Archives, and author of the incredibly timely book American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church. As a sociologist, Whitehead is bringing receipts as he discusses the current rise of racist, xenophobic power-seekers within American Christianity, and why that rise is... yo...
Oct 30, 2023•1 hr 5 min
Is it possible for God to lie? The Bible says no. Multiple times, actually. But this is the Bible we're talking about, so even when it says no, yes might also be true... We start this week with the famous story of the Bible's worst mariner, Jonah. Why was he running away from God? Why did he spend some time in a fish? What did he smell like after? Then things get a little dicey as we dive into whether the God of the Bible might tell the odd fib (spoiler alert... yup) For an ad-free version of th...
Oct 23, 2023•58 min
Do you find yourself worried about a demon-haunted world? Do you look to angels for protection? This week, we're going to the source to see what the Bible actually says about all that. Forget the adorable winged toddlers your mother in law has hanging in her kitchen, because biblical angels are a whole 'nother type of celestial being! And as for demons... well, maybe you don't have to worry quite as much as certain megachurch pastors want you to believe you do. For an ad-free version of the show...
Oct 16, 2023•1 hr
Welp, armageddon is coming. Again. At least according to people who are watching for signs in the Euphrates river. This week the internet is taking biblical stories and really running with them, and we're here to check the facts and do the math. First, it's the great escape as angels attempt to free themselves from from their fluvial Alcatraz. Then, we fee-fi-fo-fum our way through the story of the Nephilim. Did divine beings really have sex with human women? What did they have to talk about? Fo...
Oct 09, 2023•1 hr
This week we welcome scholar and author Matthew Thiessen to talk about his new book A Jewish Paul: the Messiah's Herald to the Gentiles. Thiessen goes into the hotly contested realm of Pauline interpretation, and discusses how deeply problematic (read: antisemitic) some of those interpretations can be. You can find Dr. Thiessen's books wherever you find your great books. Go follow him on Twitter https://twitter.com/MattThiessenNT For an ad-free version of the show, exclusive content, and an oppo...
Oct 02, 2023•56 min
Jordan Peterson is a monster. Or at least he wants to be, and he wants you to be one too! This week on Data Over Dogma, we discuss the most famous sermon given by Jesus, and incredibly inaccurate (and frankly disgusting) way that J.P. decided to interpret it. We'll go through the sermon on the mount beatitude-by-beatitude, to explicate what each of them mean. We'll learn about how Jesus valued kindness and gentleness and yes, meekness. And then we'll learn that Dr. Peterson absolutely HATES that...
Sep 25, 2023•1 hr 7 min
This week we say shalom to TikToker and self-proclaimed "massive Jewish nerd" Miriam Anzovin. Miriam has delighted many and enraged others in the Jewish world with her unorthodox (in all the ways) take on important Jewish texts. In her TikTok series "Daf Reactions" Miriam goes through the Daf Yomi, a page-a-day cycle of Talmudic study, tying the Talmud in to her daily life as a milennial in modern society. Her videos take a critical look at the writings of the ancient sages, and connect the stor...
Sep 18, 2023•1 hr 5 min
It's one of the big issues of our time. A great dividing line in our society. In fact, at this point it's almost impossible not to have big feelings about the issue of abortion. And one of the big weapons used in galvanizing people in the culture war is the Bible. But does it actually say what people on both sides of the issue claim it says? This week, Data Over Dogma dives into the deep end of this controversial pool to explore whether the Bible actually takes a stance on abortion. Many in the ...
Sep 11, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Want to know why the first two books of the Bible conflict with each other? Confused by the story of Joseph that seems to keep switching its narrative mid-stream? Looking for an explanation for why the pentateuch (that's the first five books of the Bible) seems like it's a bunch of different traditions all smashed together? Well, this week on D>D, we've brought in Princeton University's Dr. Liane M. Feldman to talk about--brace yourself--neodocumentarianism! That's right, neodocumentarianism. Th...
Sep 04, 2023•1 hr 7 min
Look out, Cecil B. DeMille, because the Dans are coming for you! That's right--making absolutely zero apologies to Messrs DeMille, Heston, or even Kilmer (for all you Dreamworks fans), we're letting the data run roughshod over the story of the biblical exodus. The tale is beloved: a man of lowly birth but raised among royalty returns to his roots to save his enslaved people from bondage, but did any of it actually happen? How much do we actually know, and how do we know it? Then we dive deep int...
Aug 28, 2023•1 hr 6 min
How old was he? Well, he was so old that Dr. Dan is sick of getting asked about him all the time! That's right, this week we're starting the show discussing the ages of the patriarchs. Did Noah and his ancestors really live over nine hundred years each? Could Adam actually have celebrated his great, great, great, great, great, great grandson's 50th birthday with him? If not, why would the Bible say that? Then we move on to another tricky topic: the apocrypha! Why were some books kept in the Bibl...
Aug 21, 2023•1 hr
You're not going to want to miss this one! This week, the Dans are resurrected as star stuff when they interview scholar and friend David A. Burnett. You're not going to want to miss this one, as David connects Paul's ideas of the afterlife with the deposing of the divine council, and a new arrangement in the firmament. Will you make the cut as a celestial body? They'll also dig deep into the scholarship to discover whether monotheism was ever actually a thing in ancient southwest Asia, or if th...
Aug 14, 2023•1 hr 18 min
Move over Shrek, because Data Over Dogma got their own talking donkey. That said, this is D>D, so you won't be surprised to learn that the verbose ass may be the least interesting thing about the story of Balaam. You'll have to listen to find out what twists and turns the discussion takes, but you know you're in for some fun when we tell you that at some point, God might be labeled "satan". Speaking of... what's up with the devil anyway? In our second segment "Could it be... SATAN?" (you're welc...
Aug 07, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 18
First off this week, we're talking KJV. Where did the King James version of the Bible come from? Why is it a "version" and not a "translation"? Why did King James decide a new version was necessary, and was he actually involved in its creation? Is there-gasp-more than one King James Version? Then, the Dan's grab their magnifying glasses and deerstalker caps to investigate why some versions of the Bible seem to have missing verses. Is foul play afoot? Tune in to find out! If you want to support o...
Jul 31, 2023•59 min
