Bible Bard - English

The Bible describes the components of a failed, human culture in 2 Kings 23. The contrast in the text is between what was present in the local culture of that day and what was written in the Law of Moses that it should be. The expression usually attributed to Marshall McLuhan, states:

“One thing about which fish know exactly nothing is water, since they have no anti-environment which would enable them to perceive the element they live in.”

When Josiah became king, he was six years old and the culture of Judah had degenerated in comparison to the...

Bible Bard podcast BB-158 God’s Experiment on Human Being. We speak of God’s view of humanity as an experiment. Here are the texts that provide God’s intention toward humanity: God wants to dwell among and with human beings!

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Bible Bard podcast BB-157 Public and Private Human Events in the Bible. The literature of the Bible is filled with great, public events, wonderful dramas. But there are quieter stories also. Stories where private thoughts change secret ideas, where unspoken questions are answered by whispers, people make changes that are unnoticed by others, what is interior in the heart remains undisclosed and unpublished. Most human beings live here where feelings are unspoken, thoughts untold, and an anonymous person lives a private life. Today's episode discusses where most of us live and how the Bible addresses our private feelings and...

Bible Bard podcast BB-156 (There Are) Unhappy People in Heaven. Most people associate the word “heaven” with a future, post-death place of conscious happiness in the presence of God. The Bible actually says that is not true for everyone who gets into heaven: some people in heaven are seen crying, ashamed, waiting impatiently, or suffering a tremendous sense of loss and failure.

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Bible Bard podcast BB-155 Why the Number Three Keeps Reappearing in the Bible. Biblical literature was practicing this motif of the rule of three before most other literary traditions. This episode looks at numerology inside and beyond the Biblical text.

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The story of Judas Iscariot in the New Testament is the unique story of a man who is one of twelve disciples chosen by Jesus. This man is a witness to all that Jesus does during his brief three (3) year ministry just like the other 11 disciples. Yet, he does not claim absolute fealty to Jesus as do the eleven. Instead, he betrays Jesus to his enemies for a little money and then, when his plan or purpose goes awry, commits suicide. Judas is traitor, but John in the passage describing that betrayal immediately follows that story with the story...

Bible Bard podcast BB-154 Important Word Pairings in the Bible. Because we look at the biblical text as literature, we notice the pairings of people like Jacob and Esau or Moses and Aaron. There are also pairings of physical objects like heaven and earth, land and sea, flesh and spirit. And pairings of concepts, whether metaphors like light and dark or sweet and sour, or spiritual ideas like blessing and cursing, sin and righteousness, or justice and mercy. Today we look at some important pairs and how they become a vocabulary for understanding God.

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Bible Bard podcast BB-153 Theophanies (Appearances of God) in the Bible. God visibly appears in the Biblical narrative. When this happens in the story it is is called “a theophany”. In the Bible, God is not a theoretical supposition, He is personally present. He is not a clockmaker setting the universe into motion and then disappearing from the story into some god-place we cannot go. Instead, God interrupts the course of human events and His presence changes things. When God appears in a physical theophany, human beings usually fall, hide, tremble, remove shoes, confess uncleanness, or fear their own deat...

Bible Bard podcast BB-152_Character Development in the Bible, Part 2, Samuel. In the last episode, BB-150, Part 1, Samuel’s mother, Hannah presents the 3–4-year-old boy Samuel to Eli the priest. Samuel has no part in the decision. In this story he did not decide to be born, he did not determine who his parents would be, their circumstances, or how his presence would fit into their lives. What happened to Samuel is outrageous, yet it happens to each one of us.

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Bible Bard podcast BB-151_Character Development in Bible Stories. There are great characters in the Bible, but today I want to look at just a few from a particular story from the book of 1 Samuel Chapter 1. Here we have a man named, Elkanah and he has two wives. One of them is named Peninnah and the other is Hannah. The most important character in this story is not the man but is the second wife Hannah.

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Bible Bard podcast BB-150 Getting to the Truth. The Bible can be divided into six (6) kinds of literature: Law, History, Poetry Prophets, Gospel, and Church. Today we look at how these divisions help us get to biblical truth.

Go to www.BibleBard.org to download a transcript, listen to another episode from the Archive, or get links to other materials and information. Remember, the Bible Bard English podcast is translated into other languages including Spanish, Hindi, Nepali, Urdu, Swahili, Chichewa, and Bengali (in transcript only) and we are looking for more local translators.

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Bible Bard podcast BB-149_Amazing Dreams in the Bible, Part 2. In BB-148_Amazing Dreams in the Bible, Part 1, we looked at few dreams recorded in the Bible. In Part 2, today, I want to provide the interpretation the Bible gives for each of the dreams we looked at last time.

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Bible Bard podcast BB-148_Amazing Dreams in the Bible, Part 1. Human beings dream while sleeping. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Dumbledore says, “For in dreams, we enter a world that’s entirely our own.” While this statement feels poetically true, in the Bible certain dreams become dimensions in which we can meet God and He can communicate with us using imagery that often requires an interpretation or context.

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Bible Bard podcast BB-147_What the Bible Says about Eternal Life. There is an idea expressed in the Bible about something called “eternal” or “everlasting life”. English speakers look at this expression as life of endless duration, the quality of life as immortality. But as we can see from the next texts, eternal life appears to be about more than just life that never ends.

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Bible Bard podcast B-146_About the Image of God-He is Alien. In Genesis 1:27 the text reads:

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (NIV)

We’ve seen from other texts that God is not human, but is a spirit being, so the remark: “his own image” is not some visible attribute humankind was given at creation. Here is the conundrum: God is spirit — not flesh — yet man is made in His image! Today's episode looks at the "image of God" concept in the...

Bible Bard podcast BB-145_The Return of the King Motif. Those of us read the Bible as literature notice the reappearance of various literary motifs in the text. Today we look at one of those using as our primary source 2 Samuel 19. A favored person is rejected. Later he returns as a divinely appointed figure. Those who greet his return have different responses to his return depending on both their past relationship/actions and their current attitude toward the returning king or authority. In today's episode we discuss the Bible's use of this motif across 2,000 years of content production.

Here is the place we are at today. In YouTube, BB-140 Faith and Reason in Abraham (in Apple) we looked at how faith transcends belief and becomes knowledge in Abraham’s relationship with God. Regarding faith the text says God speaks to Abraham and says in Genesis 15:5,

“‘Look up at the sky and count the stars … so shall your offspring be.’ Abraham believed the Lord, and he (God) credited it to him (Abraham) as righteousness.”

When God promises Abraham to give him the land he was living in and …

“… to take possession of it...” Abram says...

Bible Bard podcast episode BB-143 About God's Creativity. In today’s episode, before the biblical narrative begins, God already exists as a creative being. Today we focus on His ongoing activity within creation. The key question is this: What does the text say about God’s continual creative involvement with His creation, the earth, and all life on it – His ongoing activity? Get a transcript on www.BibleBard.org and click the PDF link.

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Bible Bard podcast episode BB-142_A Moral Pagan vs. a Fearful Prophet. As we saw in BB_Lesson_140_Faith and Reason in Abraham, God has made an unconditional covenant with Abraham to give him heirs (although he is childless at this point) and to give him a homeland (although he is a wandering Bedouin at this point). Now, in Genesis Chapter 20, Abraham, the covenant bearer, meets a pagan king. But in the narrative, while Abraham acts deceptively, Abimelek, the pagan king, acts with moral clarity and restraint.

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Bible Bard podcast episode BB-141_Putting God to the Test

The literature of the Bible makes an interesting distinction around the idea of a human being testing God. The Bible appears to say that demanding God prove Himself because one distrusts Him will not get an answer. A believing request for guidance or clarification of God’s will seems sometimes permitted.

Get a transcript of BB-141 at www.BibleBard.org. Click the PDF link and download the transcript for free. While on the site review the other information like watching other videos or audios from th...

Bible Bard podcast episode BB-140_Faith and Reason in Abraham. In Genesis Chapter 15 Abraham is a wealthy Bedouin roaming Canaan about 4,100 years ago in the Near Eastern Middle Bronze Age. God makes a two-part promise to him. Abram asks, "How can I know..." such a thing will happen? Today we look at Faith and Knowledge according to the Bible - with a brief stop off at critics who say there is no knowledge and faith is meaningless.

Get a transcript of BB-140 at www.BibleBard.org. Click the PDF link and download the transcript for free. While...

Bible Bard podcast episode BB-139_Metaphor of Light in the Bible. As listeners to this podcast know, we are interested in reading the Bible as literature because that method delivers us from ideology. When reading we find that the text is full of figurative language, so the Bible Bard often investigates things like metaphor. This episode discusses the progression morally of using light as a metaphor in the text.

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Bible Bard podcast episode BB-138_Jephthah and the Unbreakable Vow. There are several horrifying stories in the Bible where people chosen by God commit immoral acts, make terrible decisions, and fail in their basic commission from the God of the Bible. From the point of view of Bible teaching, this is a conflict between a principle and its application. The first principle is clear, if you make a vow to God, be sure to do it. The second principle is a statement by God regarding his revulsion of human sacrifice.

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Bible Bard podcast episode BB-137 God’s Three Orders to Christians. According to the text in the book of 2 Timothy, there are three negative orders God has given to Christians – things not to do! In this episode we discuss what the literature of the Bible says in this passage. For a transcript for to www.BibleBard.org and click the PDF link.

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Bible Bard podcast episode BB-136 Biblical Eras Past, Present, and Future. This episode discusses how the Bible measures time. The text makes distinctions that create God-defined eras during which occur changes in human history and in the relationships defined between God and humanity. For a transcript go to https://www.BibleBard.org and click the PDF link.

Support the Bible Bard podcast on Patreon at BibleBardUSA. As little as $1/week or $5/month helps to cover the costs of the podcast. You can also give at GoFundMe or at the website Donate tab. Send the Bible Bard any...

Bible Bard podcast episode BB-135 Witness Stones in the Bible. One of the strangest idioms in the text of the Bible is references to witness stones. These are inanimate objects named in Bible stories that are called upon to witness events or statements that occur during the narrative. This episode discusses how the text of the Bible uses this idiom. For a transcript go to https://www.BibleBard.org and click the PDF link.

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Bible Bard podcast episode BB-134_What the Lord's Prayer Is and Is Not. There are two different prayers in the New Testament that have been referred to as the Lord’s Prayer. Some Christian denominations call the first on the Our Father. It’s found in Matthew 6:9-13. The second is found in John Chapter 17. In today's episode we look at the second prayer, which is the true "Lord's Prayer". The full text of the chapter is here: https://shorturl.at/YssB6.

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Bible Bard podcast episode BB-133_Biblical Eras Past Present and Future. In today's episode we look at the measure of time in Bible literature. The text makes distinctions that create God-defined eras during which occur changes in human history and in the relationships defined between God and humanity. How this works and what it means is today's topic.

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Bible Bard podcast episode BB-131_Two Kinds of Christians_Believing-Unbelieving. Many people think that Christianity as a religion includes only believers in Christ. But the Christian religion (like most religions) includes true believers and unbelievers – who embrace the name but reject the essence of the faith. In today’s episode we look at this topic: believing and unbelieving Christians.

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Bible Bard podcast episode BB-132 God Likes Writing Thoughts Down continues the discussion of the Bible as literature, past episodes for example: BB-126_About the Bible as Text and BB-69 Approaches to Sacred Texts. Today, I want to look at Bible writings from God’s point-of-view.

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Bible Bard podcast episode BB-130 How to Seek God According to the Bible. Few people in our culture are interested in seeking and finding God, especially the God of the Bible. Studies suggest that over half of Millennials view themselves as Bible-neutral or Bible-skeptical. Yet, paradoxically, Bible reading among young men is up. This spiritual curiosity is often suggested as the foundation for the interest of college people in Charlie Kirk and TPUSA.

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Recently, the famous Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams (1957–2026) died at 68 years of age from prostate cancer but left a letter his wife read for the public. Although he said he was “not a believer” [in God, Jesus Christ, or the Bible] he was going to make a public prayer to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior as a matter of “risk-reward calculation”. His statement is a type of deathbed last words we are talking about in this podcast episode.

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Bible Bard podcast episode BB-129 Metaphor of Thirst in the Bible. As listeners to this podcast know, we are interested in reading the Bible as literature because that method delivers us from ideology. We want to know directly what the literature of the Bible says for ourselves. In today’s episode we look at another metaphor, the metaphor of thirst. Here are some texts that employ this mundane object in a figurative and in a spiritual way.

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Bible Bard podcast episode BB-127_Jesus Rebukes His Disciples. There is a lot written about Jesus in his expressions of love, kindness, and grace. But in today’s episode we look at what the text says about his rebukes, impatience, and criticisms of his followers.

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This Bible Bard podcast episode is BB-126 The Bible as Text. The Bible explicitly comments on itself as historically written eyewitness-based accounts of events that were archived, transmitted, and preserved for future generations. Of course, critics claim that is not the case. In this podcast episode I want to look at what the Bible says about itself and briefly note the contradictions of critics.

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The Bible Bard podcast episode is BB-125_Two Boy Kings. In the text of the Hebrew Bible, we have only two boys who became kings when they were children (under 9 years of age). The Bible explored this trope way before either classical Greece or Imperial China. The Bible often links characters in pairs—Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, David and Jonathan, Elijah and Elisha, Mary and Martha, and many others. These pairings are not usually explained with direct moral lessons. Instead, meaning emerges through comparison and you can use literary methodologies to determine what is going on.

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Bible Bard podcast episode BB-124_A Proverb and Riddle about Wealth. In Psalm 49, this writer presents three radical ideas that challenge both ancient and modern religious assumptions. These ideas directly oppose what human beings have believed in nearly every culture.

For a free transcript, go to www.BibleBard.org and click PDF. Click this link to open a PDF of Psalm 49 to follow along: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZGjWQKRw3FPg4LI5gbOan7oGz0K7d2LO/view?usp=drive_link

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Bible Bard podcast episode BB-123_The Metaphor of the Cup. As listeners to this podcast know, we are interested in reading the Bible as literature because that method delivers us from ideology. We want to know directly what the literature of the Bible says for ourselves. We find when reading that the text is full of figurative language. In today’s episode we look at another metaphor, the metaphor of the cup.

For a free transcript, go to www.BibleBard.org and click PDF.

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Bible Bard podcast episode BB-122_God’s Foolishness and Weakness discusses the use of irony and paradox in the biblical text, looking at the idea presented that God is foolish and God is weak.

For a transcript of this episode, go to www.BibleBard.org, and click the PDF link.

Bible Bard podcast episode BB-121 More on Mercy and Judgment adds to and clarifies the content of BB-118 Mercy Triumphs over Judgment.

For a transcript of this episode, go to www.BibleBard.org, and click the PDF link.