Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 34: End of Year Reflections December 31, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall Thanks for listening. We’ve accomplished a lot in the first 6-months of the podcast. We introduced what Rethinking Scripture is all about. It’s about rethinking what we thought we already knew about the Bible. It’s about taking those things that have become entrenched in our mindset, and bringing them back to the table for a little chat. I’m taking a couple of weeks off to do some planni...
Jan 01, 2022•6 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 33: Rethinking Advent - The Story December 24, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall Join me for a special rendition of the story of the advent of Jesus Christ. I've incorporated some of the details we've discussed in this series into the well known story of the birth. Gather your family around... turn up the volume... and let's start a new Christmas tradition. Let's rethink the advent story. Referenced Resources: Opening Question - "Isn't there anyone who knows wh...
Dec 24, 2021•14 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 32: Rethinking Advent - The Gifts December 23, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall When we think of the advent of the Christ, many of our perceptions are based on the scene at the nativity. We have come to expect three kings, or wise men, bearing small gifts for a King. In this episode, we attempt to tie the reasons why the magi brought gold, and frankincense and myrrh back to the Old Testament book of Isaiah. Referenced Resources: Opening Question - "Isn't there...
Dec 23, 2021•9 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 31: Rethinking Advent - The Magi December 22, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall When we think of the advent of the Christ, many of our perceptions are based scene at the nativity. We have come to expect three kings, or wise men, with the baby Jesus shortly after His birth. In this episode we look into the origin of these mysterious visitors. Referenced Resources: Opening Question - "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?" posed by Charlie Bro...
Dec 22, 2021•14 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 30: Rethinking Advent - The Nativity December 21, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall When we think of the advent of the Christ, many of our perceptions are based scene at the nativity. We in the Western culture often picture a barn housing the family that night. In the east, they prefer a cave setting. But does the text, and recent archeology give us any clues as to a different possibility? Referenced Resources: Opening Question - "Isn't there anyone who knows w...
Dec 21, 2021•14 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 29: Rethinking Advent - The Timing December 20, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall When we think of the advent of the Christ, some of our perceptions are based in the timing of the events. While we celebrate in the middle of the winter season, that’s likely not the time when the events actually happened. We also have some assumptions as to the timing of Mary’s pregnancy. In this episode we examine the timing of the advent. Referenced Resources: Opening Question ...
Dec 20, 2021•12 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 28: Rethinking Advent - The Family December 19, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall We celebrate the birth of Jesus every year. It’s a story we know well, but how much of our version of the story truly reflects what actually happened? How well do our pageants, movies, nativity sets, and other icons represent what the Scriptures actually say? This Christmas season, won’t you join me as we seek to clarify the season by rethinking advent. In this episode we look int...
Dec 19, 2021•17 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 27: The Restoration of Peter - Pt. 2 (John 21) December 16, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall At the end of John’s gospel there’s a funny little sentence that suggests that the world could not contain the books that could be written about the many other things which Jesus did. I’ve always taken that as a bit of an exaggeration… but what if its not? What If we’ve misunderstood what John was trying to say? John chapter 21 is all about restoration. The disciples l...
Dec 16, 2021•33 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 26: The Restoration of Peter (John 21) December 9, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall John chapter 21 is all about restoration. The disciples limped their way through events in the garden of Gethsemane and then disbursed and deflected their connection with Jesus through the rest of that weekend. This would have left all of them, but especially Peter, with some traumatic wounds that needed to be healed. That’s what we see Jesus doing here… healing the broken hear...
Dec 09, 2021•32 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 25: The Fulfillment of First Fruits (John 20) December 3, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall John 20 features the empty tomb. The resurrection of Jesus is the capstone of the good news. And there’s a subtle statement in the first verse that you’ve likely passed right by. Why haven’t you noticed it? Because you’re not from around there... and today we’ll take a closer look at a cultural more that’s no longer understood without being said. Referenced Resources: Ri...
Dec 03, 2021•28 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 24: My God, My God... (John 19) November 25, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall John 19 includes John’s account of Jesus’ time on the cross. And it includes a cryptic aside that helps us understand what Jesus may have meant when He said, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Did you know he was quoting scripture when He said that? Referenced Resources: The Garden Tomb - Wikapedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Garden_Tomb Dumb And Dumber Movie...
Nov 25, 2021•39 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 23: God in a Garden (John 18) November 19, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall In John 18, we get to see God in a garden. It’s the night of Jesus’ betrayal and arrest. During all the commotion Jesus makes a request of those arresting him that you may not have noticed. He asks the Roman cohort to let his disciples go their way. Surprisingly, this request gives us a unique insight into the nature and development of faith. Referenced Resources: Thatcher, Tom. (1994)...
Nov 19, 2021•37 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 22: The Tabernacle of God (John 17) November 11, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall In his gospel, John the disciple introduces several themes that run the entire length of the story. There’s wedding theme, a water theme, light and dark motif. But you may not have noticed how John also weaved a temple theme into the good news. He did this because, Behold… the tabernacle of God was among men...” Referenced Resources: Gage, W. A. (2013). There Is No Greater Love: ...
Nov 12, 2021•47 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 21: The World’s Hour vs. the Day of the Lord (John 16) November 4, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall John chapter 15 has a unique distinction... it is entirely red letters. The entire chapter is Jesus’ dialogue with his disciples. No other chapter in this gospel has that distinction. So what does Jesus talk about in all those red letters? Well, among other things… he gives a lesson on how to grow and care for grapes… and that’s because Jesus is Di Vine. Referen...
Nov 05, 2021•27 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 20: Di Vine... and Da Branches (John 15) October 28, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall John chapter 15 has a unique distinction... it is entirely red letters. The entire chapter is Jesus’ dialogue with his disciples. No other chapter in this gospel has that distinction. So what does Jesus talk about in all those red letters? Well, among other things… he gives a lesson on how to grow and care for grapes… and that’s because Jesus is Di Vine. Referenced Resources:...
Oct 29, 2021•35 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 19: My Father's House (John 14) October 21, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall John chapter 14 is often referred to as Jesus’ farewell discourse. In it, He talks of his coming and going and his intent to prepare a mansion for each and every believer. But, as much as I hate to say it, we’ve likely come to a bit of a misunderstanding about that. As it turns out, the dwelling Jesus is talking about might actually be a little more like a mobile home. Referenced Reso...
Oct 22, 2021•33 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 18: Washing Up Before Dinner (John 13) October 14, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall In this episode, we begin looking at a series of chapters in John’s gospel where Jesus and the disciples share a meal in the upper room. Much of the content is in red letters, and its confusing material for the disciples to process. We’ll examine that context in a little more detail, and focus in on what Jesus said about washing people’s feet. Referenced Resources: Asumang, A. ...
Oct 14, 2021•29 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 17: A Voice from Heaven (John 12) October 7, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall Chapter 12 is a turning point in the gospel of John. It’s in this chapter that the author describes the end of Jesus’ public ministry. But before Jesus ducts out of the public eye, John ties together several of the themes he’s developed thus far in his gospel. It’s a continuation of Jesus calling his sheep away from the temple ministry, and a further identification of his other flock...
Oct 08, 2021•31 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 16: The Resuscitation of Lazarus (John 11) September 27, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall In John chapter 11, several questions arise out of how Jesus handles the death of his good friend, Lazarus. But a logical look at the assumptions we have, about this chapter, may cause us to rethink what we thought we already knew about Lazarus’ new lease on life. Referenced Resources: Links to Jewish thoughts on lingering souls: https://reformjudaism.org/glimpses-afterli...
Sep 27, 2021•26 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 15: The Good Shepherd (John 10) September 20, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall John 10 is all about sheep and shepherds… and recently the church has tried to make this passage all about our modern-day context. But what if John 10 isn’t speaking about the 21st-century at all? What if Jesus was just describing His ministry within the religious context of His day? Well… that type of reading might cause us to rethink this entire passage. Referenced Resources: Horn...
Sep 20, 2021•36 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 14: A... Problem, of Punctuation? (John 9) September 13, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall Before Jesus heals a blind man, in John 9, the disciples ask Him a very strange question. “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Unfortunately, our English translations may be misguiding us in regards to Jesus’ response. So let’s move some punctuation around and rethink what Jesus might have been saying about sin, work… and the sabbath....
Sep 14, 2021•31 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 13: The Adulterous Variant September 1, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall You may have heard a someone say, “The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it”... implying, at least in part, that every word in their version of the Bible came directly from of the original text. But nothing could be further from the truth, and today we’ll look at a popular passage, in your Bible, that likely wasn’t originally included in John’s gospel. Referenced Resources: Wa...
Sep 01, 2021•23 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 12: Was Jesus a Jew? Aug 23, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall In John’s gospel, there’s one group of people that keeps popping up. And we find them in the very first verse of Chapter 7. which says “the Jews” were seeking to kill Jesus. But wasn’t Jesus a Jew? Well… in one sense He was certainly Jewish… but according to the gospels, He definitely didn’t fit into this one particular group. And today, we’ll attempt to unpack the gospel's complicated category know...
Aug 23, 2021•26 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 11: All That the Father Gives Aug 16, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall Modern discussions about the last part of John 6 have become a hotbed of controversy. Those who self-describe as Calvinists and Arminians have been at battle over this passage for decades. And I, unknowingly, jumped into the middle of that mess back in the fall of 2003. I was in my masters program, I thought I understood what the passage said, but then one of my professors challenged me to ...
Aug 16, 2021•26 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 10: Barley Loaves, Wind and Waves Aug 9, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall Only about 8% of the book of John repeats events from the other three gospels. That means most of John’s gospel is new material. But in John 6, there are two events that are included in that 8%. The Feeding of the 5000 is found in all four gospels… Jesus walking on water is found in Matthew and Mark (but not in Luke). So the question is, what is it about these events that caused John to ...
Aug 09, 2021•25 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 9: The Healing Waters (John 5) Aug 2, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall There’s a water theme in the book of John. In each of the first 7 chapters of John’s gospel… there are significant events/conversations involving water. In each of these, Jesus is shown to not only have control over the water, but also offer a better alternative... the Holy Spirit. Referenced Resources: Chariots of Fire Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chariots_of_Fire Show Music: I...
Aug 02, 2021•21 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 8: A Well in a Foreign Land (John 4) July 26, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall In John chapter 4, Jesus has a meeting with a woman at a well. What kind of person was this woman? We’ve been lead to believe she was a social outcast, possibly a prostitute, someone with an immoral past, who was shunned by her own community. You might have come to see her as a misfit. But from where do these conclusions come? There are two details from this story that have been tak...
Jul 26, 2021•36 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 7: The Voice of the Bride and the Bridegroom July 19, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall At the end of John 3, there are some verses that you probably didn’t know were there. You’ll find them right after the Nicodemus conversation, and they’re right before the well-known encounter with the woman at the well. So let’s slow down and not get too far ahead of ourselves… there’s a lot to rethink in this section about the words of John the Baptist, and just how far ba...
Jul 19, 2021•22 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 6: The Curious Case of Nick at Night - Part 2 July 12, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall Nicodemus is a complicated character, and his conversation with Jesus in John chapter 3 gives several clues about his spiritual condition. Today, we’ll be rethinking what you thought you already knew about this man... and by the time we’re done, we might even change the color of the some of the letters in your Bible. Referenced Resources: Blomberg, Craig L. The Globalizatio...
Jul 12, 2021•30 min
Rethinking Scripture Podcast - Episode 5: The Curious Case of Nick at Night - Part 1 July 5, 2021 - Host: Dr. Gregory Hall Nicodemus is a well known character in John’s gospel. He comes to Jesus at night. He has lots of questions… and he often doesn’t seem to follow the conversation very well. But I think Nicodemus has been completely misunderstood. Who exactly is this mysterious man? There’s a lot to rethink in this week’s episode and I invite you to join me outside the box? Referenced Resource...
Jul 05, 2021•28 min
