Is theology more like an umbrella or a colander? Travel plans over the long weekend made it difficult to schedule a recording. Instead, here is a tasty morsel of contemplation that emerged during our post-recording "cool-down" conversation. Luckily it was captured in our backup recording, and we hope you enjoy this episode even though it is rather brief. This will make the most sense if you listen to the previous episode first, or at least take a look at Ezekial 28....
Oct 07, 2022•15 min•Season 11Ep. 2
We consider the origin of evil, and wonder how much can be learnt of this story from old testament metaphor. To launch a new season on death, dying, and the future hope, we dive into a malediction given to Ezekial about the King of Tyre. There is a bunch of imagery here from the Creation story, so is it valid or useful to read Satan into this passage. After a robust conversation we stumble on a gem: maybe the point is not just that Lucifer fell, but that he is always falling - and perhaps we mig...
Sep 30, 2022•48 min•Season 11Ep. 1
Wilderness temptations are a crucible for Christ. These are recorded in both Matthew and Luke (with an interesting difference of sequence), and immediately precede the beginning of Jesus's ministry. The story seems to link back to Edenic temptations and also prefigure aspects of the struggle in Gethsemane before the crucifixion. We ponder the ways in which these clearly labelled "temptations" match that term, and some subtle ways in which faithful Christians might be tempted.
Sep 23, 2022•47 min•Season 10Ep. 13
We help Cameron write a sermon about responding to people in crucibles. Luke 8 has featured previously (season 2), but Cameron wants to preach on it and so we do an experiment in this episode: can a podcast discussion and sermon preparation be combined into a single activity?
Sep 16, 2022•50 min•Season 10Ep. 12
Waiting is never easy, but it is often unavoidable. We start with the story of David being anointed king in 1 Samuel 16 David - well before he actually takes the throne. So many of our favourite stories actually come from this long period of waiting. Cameron refers back to Season 2 Episode 8 for some examples of Jesus not wanting to make people wait , and we end up pondering the parables in Matthew 25. It seems important that we should be at least ready for a long wait....
Sep 09, 2022•38 min•Season 10Ep. 11
A rough time for Ezekial has us wondering about meekness in suffering. The story of Ezekial being instructed by God not to mourn after his wife suddenly dies is not so well known, and takes us in a few directions. The Sabbath School lesson refers to this passage as it muses about meekness, which is an attitude not always associated with life's crucibles.
Sep 02, 2022•38 min•Season 10Ep. 10
Not every army has an array of singers praising the Lord! It is not always easy to see how God's actions all fit together, and sometimes praise doesn't feel quite honest. This story in 2 Chronicles has a very prominent military positioning of the "designated praisers", and the outcome is a good one. But sometimes the outcome is not so good - what do we do in these situations?
Aug 26, 2022•42 min•Season 10Ep. 9
Elisha's servant got to see chariots of fire, but where does that leave faith? The Sabbath School lesson talks about "Seeing the Invisible", especially when times are bad. This sounds a bit like a call to persevere in faith, but it seems that actually seeing the invisible realm might provide additional evidence that diminishes the role of faith. What does it mean to have a strong faith even when times are tough?
Aug 19, 2022•35 min•Season 10Ep. 8
Baruch's scrolls give us an opportunity to explore the idea of hope.
Aug 12, 2022•48 min•Season 10Ep. 7
How does self-control come into our consideration of life's crucibles? This part of the Sermon on the Mount is well known, and is often puzzling. Cutting off hands and gouging out eyes sounds extremely draconian at first - but is this passage even talking about hands and eyes? We explore the idea of self-control, and some things that are not self-control.
Aug 05, 2022•41 min•Season 10Ep. 6
Job is challenging and perhaps comforting for those in the crucible. The lesson places a bit of attention on Job chapter 1, but we feel it is necessary to explore the whole book to arrive at anything like a balanced perspective on challenges and crucibles.
Jul 29, 2022•50 min•Season 10Ep. 5
The wonderful theme of "image" turns up Immediately following last week's verse in Romans 8. What does it mean for us to be "conformed to the image of His Son", and how does this relate to crucibles and life experiences of refinement? We meander a bit through some hurdles in this part of Romans, but find a resonance with the way Peterson expresses this concept as the "intended shape of our lives" revealed in Jesus.
Jul 22, 2022•37 min•Season 10Ep. 4
What do we say and do for people who have difficulties in life that challenge faith? This episode comes to you from a shack on the north west coast of Tasmania, where Cameron and Lachlan ponder the variety of biblical advice for people experiencing crucibles in life. Christians reach a wide range of conclusions about these situations, and there seems to be an equally varied set of perspectives present in the Bible.
Jul 15, 2022•32 min•Season 10Ep. 3
If crucibles can be like a roaring lion, what exactly is a lion like? We push the metaphor here in 1 Peter slightly too far to explore what it might mean for us to have an adversary prowling around like a lion. The conclusion surprises us, but comes directly from the text itself!
Jul 08, 2022•41 min•Season 10Ep. 2
The theme of "crucibles" takes us back to ponder the valley of the shadow of death. For the first time ever, we turn back to a chapter that we've already discussed. That was way back in Season 1, and our world has changed enough in 2 years that we have new questions to ask of the text.
Jul 01, 2022•44 min•Season 10Ep. 1
Tamar is yet another somewhat troubling parenthetical side story. Awareness of some of the cultural expectations around marriage, descendants, and inheritance does help make sense of the story of Tamar, but it remains quite unusual to our culture-shifted ears. Tamar regains substantial agency in a fraught and powerless situation, and it seems she gives Judah a live-changing lesson. It is remarkable to observe how significantly Joseph and Judah both grow in character as they go on to feature in t...
Jun 24, 2022•55 min•Season 9Ep. 13
Joseph's story begins a few chapters before his famous childhood dreams. Jacobs wives, Rachel and Leah, compete in some "competitive childbearing" that echoes all the conflict between Jacob and his brother Esau. This beginning of Joseph's story has many strange details and may help us understand this character that will dominate the remainder of Genesis.
Jun 17, 2022•42 min•Season 9Ep. 12
We revisit Sarah to ponder the paucity of particularity in God's plan. This episode is a step back into the story of Abraham in response to a bit of a theme that seems to be emerging in Genesis. God clearly has a plan, but often it seems rather opaque. Abraham and Sarah take a long time to grasp what God has in mind, but when we dig a bit more at the story it seems that God didn't go out of his way to make the particulars all that clear from the start. Fascinatingly, it seems the morality of an ...
Jun 10, 2022•23 min•Season 9Ep. 11
It seems nobody is particularly good in this troubling story. Genesis 34 tells the difficult story of Dinah, which certainly contains adult themes and unpleasant behaviour. In fact, it is hard to see anyone who acts in the right. After some comparatively strong women of agency (Hagar and Rebecca), Dinah has her voice almost entirely suppressed by the narrator - and we are left very curious about her opinions and perspectives on the events that unfold.
Jun 03, 2022•34 min•Season 9Ep. 10
The story of Rebecca is refreshingly pleasant after the foibles of Abraham. A number of remarkable things happen when Abraham's servant travels to find a wife for Isaac, who is only a minor character in the story. Rebecca gets most of the agency, and has much of the dialogue. We are drawn to this story because it has wholesome characters and a cheerful ending - although there are some hints that Laban might yet have a few spanners to throw in the works.
May 27, 2022•37 min•Season 9Ep. 9
Abraham lies about his wife, and fails to recognise that others respect God. A remarkable detail in the story of Abraham is that he lies about Sarah being his wife twice ! The text clearly implies this is out of self-preservation, and we discuss what this shows about Abraham as a person. There are some sharp critiques of his attitudes towards and treatment of the women in his life, but it is valuable to recognise the "impossible possibility of salvation" even for us.
May 20, 2022•45 min•Season 9Ep. 8
We come back to Lot and ponder some alternative histories. In the previous episode our exploration of Abram and Lot drifted off course, and so this week we come back to discuss how it is that Lot ends up off course. It is particularly fascinating that God reiterates his promise to Abram "after Lot had gone" down to settle near Sodom and Gomorrah. Are there other ways his story could have gone?
May 13, 2022•48 min•Season 9Ep. 7
A curious phrase leads us to discuss worship. We set out to discuss Abraham's nephew Lot, but the phrase "Called on the name of the Lord" leads to an exploration of worship. There are a number of fresh perspectives on some of the activities that dominate "worship" and a few more novel activities which might fit the category.
May 06, 2022•52 min•Season 9Ep. 6
The Tower of Babel has many echos of the story of Cain. We notice a number of interesting details linking this story to that of Cain (Gen 4) and of "the Fall" (Gen 3). It is remarkable how specifically the Babel story seems to be undone in the New Testament, and we ponder how the story might best be valued today.
Apr 29, 2022•45 min•Season 9Ep. 5
Our favourite repentance recipes are remarkably absent from Genesis. This conversation follows on from last week's episode about Cain, because many of the themes from that story overlap with the story of Noah and the flood. It is fascinating to explore what is missing from these stories, especially given that we've heard them told and retold so many times.
Apr 22, 2022•39 min•Season 9Ep. 4
Cain causes quite a few interesting things go wrong with the story. There are many ways to read the story of Cain and Abel: a test of true worship, an allegory of agricultural society displacing nomadic herdsmen, the progression of sin, or an example of family disfunction. Its inescapably a "dead end" story no matter how you read it, and there are many useful challenges to ponder.
Apr 15, 2022•48 min•Season 9Ep. 3
The "fall" reminds us that falls are all too common. Perhaps the story in Genesis 3 is most important not because "it happened", but because "it is always happening". We take a look at some other falls recorded in the Old Testament.
Apr 08, 2022•42 min•Season 9Ep. 2
We explore the importance of stories as we start a quarter on Genesis. Stories are essential to the way we communicate, and most human societies have found stories to be one of the best ways to transmit meaning and significance. We think of some examples and uncover helpful insights about the ways that Genesis can have impact on our lives.
Apr 01, 2022•50 min•Season 9Ep. 1
Powerful ideas continue right up to this last chapter. We notice a few passages here that seem almost to be ideas the author forgot to include when outlining arguments in previous chapters, and dwell particularly on the theme of "doing good and sharing with those in need".
Mar 25, 2022•45 min•Season 8Ep. 13
A comparison with parental discipline is troubling at first, and we find what might be the pinnacle of Hebrews. The idea of "the Lord disciplining those he loves" is a delicate one, and there are some ideas here perhaps to unlearn. We explore this concept from a few angles. The author seems again to be trying to encourage and uplift the audience, calling for perseverance in the face of persecution.
Mar 18, 2022•41 min•Season 8Ep. 12
