The Bible Sojourner

Everyone has heard about servant leadership, but is it biblical? In today's episode, Peter Goeman critiques an article by Bnonn Tennant who argues that servant leadership is an unbiblical idea and destroys true masculine leadership. Peter discusses masculinity, gender roles, and why servant leadership is an important part of the Christian life.

In this exciting episode, join Peter Goeman as he welcomes Mark Ward, a gifted NT scholar who works for Faithlife and Logos. They delve deep into the intriguing discrepancies found among key Bible translations regarding Deuteronomy 32:8. Discover the interesting evidence translators consider and the likely interpretation of this text. Dive into an engaging discussion about the influence of the Septuagint (the Greek Translation of the Old Testament) and the Masoretic Text (the principal Hebrew Text) on modern English translations. Understand how these texts shape our understanding of biblical history and theology.

Moreover, Peter and Mark explore the critical question: How should we integrate the teachings of Deuteronomy 32:8 into our theological framework? This conversation is not just about translation—it's about understanding the essence of biblical teachings.For more on Mark Ward:

In this digital era, we enjoy unparalleled access to information. Increasingly, Christians are leveraging YouTube and podcasts as tools for growth and education. While this represents an extraordinary opportunity, it's not without its pitfalls for church communities. Many pastors and church leaders express concern over unique challenges they face in this information-saturated age. In this episode, I aim to spark a dialogue about the role of podcasts in Christian learning. It's vital to understand how these resources can complement, not substitute, the invaluable guidance of the godly church leaders God has placed in our lives.

Why is Christianity unique among other religions? How does it differ from Buddism, Islam, Mormonism, etc. Peter Goeman is joined by Dr. Paul Weaver to discuss how Christianity stands out as unique among other religions. Weaver discusses four areas where the centrality of Christ stands out against other religions.

00:00 Introduction

07:12 Overview of the Four Areas of Uniqueness in Christianity

08:45 The Exclusive Message of Christ

17:30 The Apostolic Confirmation of Christ's Message

21:08 The Character of Christ

30:55 The Resurrection of Christ

40:15 The Provision of Christ

45:15 Concluding Thoughts on Christianity

47:51 Conclusion

Today Peter Goeman is joined by Scott Christensen to talk about why a good God would allow evil things to happen in this world. Scott introduces us to the free will defense and the greater good defense, ultimately arguing that God’s glory is the best way to understand why God allows evil. Scott has written What About Evil? (P & R, 2020) and recently released a new book, Defeating Evil (P & R, 2024).

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Time stamps for discussion on the problem of evil:

00:00 Introduction

01:24 Who is Scott Christensen?

06:06 Why is everyone interested in the problem of evil?

12:35 Why does Scott have a particular interest in the problem of evil?

16:45 Introduction to ways people typically deal with problem of evil

25:30 Why is the free will defense so compelling to Christians?

30:50 What is the greater good defense to the problem of evil?

38:44 What are the problems with the free will defense?

51:36 Why is the greater glory defense?

01:12:45 How all this impact daily life?

01:30:05 Giveaway information and conclusion

If you’re interesting in buying the new book (and you should be!), Defeating Evil, check out the following bookstores:

In this episode of The Bible Sojourner, we discuss the cultural revolution and how we should think about those who are a part of the LGBT community. The conversation includes what cultural phenomena have led to the point where we have abandoned traditional sexual morality, and how LGBT folk view their sexual identity. Brady Cone from Calibrate Ministries joins me in this important conversation.

In this episode of The Bible Sojourner, we invite Kyle Swanson to talk about the book of Isaiah and how the Servant Songs in Isaiah encapsulate the gospel message in the Old Testament. We discuss Kyle's new book, "Isaiah's Great Light" and why Christians should spend time in the book of Isaiah.

In this episode, we look at whether Hosea 6:7 supports the idea of a Covenant of Works. Many people use Hosea 6:7 to support Covenant Theology and the Covenant of Works, but what is the context of Hosea 6:7?

In this episode, we explore what the Bible has to say about self discipline and self control. The Bible says a lot about the need to be disciplined, and it is an unfortunate reality that Christians often neglect the Bible's emphasis in this area. The first half of the video talks about the need for self discipline, and the second half talks about practical steps in how to grow in self discipline.

Matt Waymeyer joins us again to talk about the disputed text of Revelation 20. We talk about whether Satan is currently bound, or if Revelation 20 is speaking of a future event. We also talk about the resurrections and whether those should be viewed as physical resurrections or if one can be spiritual. Finally we talk about whether we should expect the multiple mentions of 1000 years in Revelation 20 to be symbolic or whether we should expect Jesus to come back and reign for a 1000 years. A great discussion on eschatology and how we should understand Revelation 20.

How should we understand Revelation 20? Is it true that Revelation 20 is the only evidence for premillennialism? Does amillennialism and postmillennialism provide an adequate understanding of Revelation 20? Matt Waymeyer joins me to talk about the details of Revelation 20 and how we should understand this text in relationship to Revelation 19.

Stay tuned for Part 2 soon!

The last year has seen an unparalleled advance in Artificial Intelligence. What does the recent innovation mean for the Christian? More specifically, what are some of the real dangers that people in churches will face due to Artificial Intelligence?

Jeff Durbin has identified the Church as the True Israel of God, and has stated that it is not possible for the nation of Israel to be considered God’s chosen people. According to Durbin, it is insulting that Christians would think Israel is God's chosen people, and the Bible does not call them that. We review the Apologia Studios episode on Israel and the chosen people of God, asking whether their statements is a fair representation of what Scripture has to say about Israel and the Church.

In this episode, Peter Goeman and Doug Bookman join forces (again) to analyze dispensationalism and identify the key component of the system. This is a part two episode (see Ep 155 for part one) of a general review of Al Mohler's interview of Daniel Hummel, concerning his book, "The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism." However, this episode is not a response to the interview as much as a positive overview of what dispensationalism actually is. There is a lot of confusion about what it is that makes or breaks dispensationalism. Bookman and Goeman propose that dispensationalism is identifiable primarily as a way of reading the Bible, not just a system of beliefs.

Many people struggle to understand why the Law was given to Israel because they do not seek to understand the Law as part of the story of God interacting with Israel. It can be helpful to look at Old Testament Law systematically, but it is also essential to understand Old Testament Law as a part of narrative and story. The Law was not given in a vacuum, but is an essential part of Israel's history. Understanding the when, to whom, and why of the Law gives us insight into how the law functions.

Is there a divine council? In this episode we discuss the Bible texts which talk about angels being granted special authority over nations and how that should impact our understanding of how God interacts with angels. We talk about the Divine Council worldview that Mike Heiser popularized in his book The Unseen Realm. We also discuss whether the Bible refers to angels as divine, and how our English definitions don't always match with how the Hebrew language defines the angelic existence.

This episode continues the discussion from last time about biblicism. Although last episode discussed methodology and logic of interpretation primarily, this episode discusses biblicism from a standpoint of history and specifically the Reformation. We look at Wyclif, Zwingli, Luther, and Calvin and look at some of the examples of how the Reformers were guilty of the things biblicists are often accused of: (1) departing from “universal” Christian teaching, (2) trying to avoid extra-biblical labels, and (3) focusing on the Greek and Hebrew of specific texts of Scripture.

Links mentioned:

In this episode we examine the concept of biblicism. Is biblicism dangerous? Do we need creeds and confessions to tell us what the Bible means? Or, to put it another way, should we let our theological presuppositions dictate the meaning of a passage? We review a past episode of Theocast on biblicism and why there are tremendous problems with saying theological systems need to drive our interpretation. Theocast video reviewed: https://youtu.be/iq9rsE_6Vq8 James White on Matthew Barrett and Biblicism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jprAqzDpf4

We look at a variety of issues, such as the resurrection and reign of believers, whether baptism can be done in Jesus's name, and whether the Holy Spirit should be thought of as feminine. Time stamps and topics are as follows:

• 00:00 Introduction
• 2:13 The Resurrection and Reign of Dead Saints
• 12:09 Being Baptized in Jesus's Name Instead of Trinity
• 20:35 Observing the Passover in the Millennium
• 28:33 The Holy Spirit is Feminine in the Old Testament
• 34:45 Psalm Superscriptions
• 42:03 Translating Musical Descriptions in the Psalms
• 44:45 How Should we Understand Psalm 8
• 46:46 Thoughts on Legacy Standard Bible and Other Translations

We look at an assortment of listener questions and talk about a variety of issues. See list of topics in the time stamps below:

• 00:00 Introduction
• 02:27 Was the Serpent a Serpent in Genesis 3?
• 07:47 Ancient Weaponry in Prophecies
• 20:55 Role of the Church in Observing the Ordinances
• 28:27 Push for Unity Among Non-mainline Churches
• 35:18 Luke 5 and New Wine in Old Wineskins
• 40:08 VanDrunen's Two Kingdom Model
• 50:57 Conflation of Church Age and Kingdom and Christ's Priesthood
• 52:56 Use of Replacement Terminology
• 56:36 Question about Lordship Salvation
• 1:01:17 Ceremonial Observances in the Future
• 1:04:20 The New Covenant and the Church

Links Referenced:

In today's episode, we talk about mental health and the Christian. What kind of insight does the Bible give into mental health? How does the world use the term? We look into the history of the mental health movement and talk about how the Bible describes anxiety and other mental health issues. Lastly, we apply the biblical worldview in order to assess this important topic. 0:00 Intro

2:51 Defining Mental Health

12:12 History of Mental Health Movement

21:11 Implications of Secular Mental Health Movement

29:01 Applying a Biblical Worldview to the Discussion of Mental Health

In today's episode, we discuss English Bible translations. In the first half, we talk about the King James Version (KJV) and why people still use it, and whether or not it is inspired or superior to other translations. In the second half of the episode, we talk about Bible translation philosophy in general and how it is a somewhat complicated endeavor. Resources referenced in the podcast:

On today's episode, a special guest (Tim Goeman) joins us to talk about the early formative years of parenting. We also move on to the later stages of the family to talk about end-of-life issues (i.e., taking care of elderly parents). These are often issues that get ignored, but as believers, we need to have these conversations.

Resources referenced in the podcast:

The Baptism Debate has been released! In this episode, we talk about a little bit of the history behind the book. We also discuss the arguments that help consolidate the issues behind whether or not infants should be baptized. Listen to the episode and see if the book might be something that would be helpful in understanding infant baptism and Reformed covenant theology.

John Piper believes that any remarriage after divorce is wrong. We review Piper's position paper on the subject and compare it with the position presented by Andrew David Naselli in a 2019 journal article. We talk about the cultural context of Jewish and Greco-Roman life and how that should contribute to one's understanding of the Bible's divorce passages.

While the culture is trying to de-feminize women, the Bible gives clear teaching on God's beautiful and unique design for women. Furthermore, the Bible gives plentiful instruction on what the church is to teach younger women. We do our women (and men) a disservice when we fail to emphasize the godly calling of motherhood and being a wife, but this is a very unpopular message in today's culture.  

What is dispensationalism? How does dispensationalism differentiate itself as a system from other ways of interpreting Scripture? I'm joined by special guest Michael Vlach to discuss his new book Dispensational Hermeneutics. We talk about how dispensationalism is more than just an eschatology, but really a whole framework for reading the Bible.   

Have you heard of ChatGPT? It is one of the most amazing technological advances of this decade. This new era of artificial intelligence brings with it a variety of challenges and ethical dilemmas. How should Christians think about tools like ChatGPT?

The new year is upon us! Many Christians are making goals for 2023, a practice I think we all should do. In this video we talk about what Christians can (and should) do to make 2023 a more productive, Christ-exalting year. 

Matthew 1:5 says that Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab. Does this mean Rahab was the mother of Boaz? We take a look at the purpose of genealogies in the Old and New Testament and answer whether Boaz was the son of Rahab.

In this episode, we ask the question of whether there are Apostles today. We discuss the three criteria for being an Apostle, and what Scripture has to say on the issue of the gift of Apostleship.

In this episode, I talk about an alternative translation of Genesis 4:7, and why I think it is the best even though no English translations follow it! Perhaps instead of Genesis 4:7 being a reference to sin crouching at the door it is a reference to God providing a sin offering for Cain. Buckle your seatbelts! 

Blog article referenced in episode:

In this episode, we talk about what is probably the best argument for Amillennialism. Matt Waymeyer walks us through the eschatological framework employed by the amillennialist, focusing on the argument that the two ages, this age and the age to come, makes an intermediate kingdom impossible. We talk about how premillennialism best accounts for the Old Testament prophecies and allows Revelation 20 to be interpreted in a straightforward manner. 

In this episode, we discuss the explosive nature of the Abrahamic Covenant and how that fits into the book of Genesis. Furthermore, we talk about the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant and how those help shape our understanding of how we read the book of Genesis. 

What happens to babies when they die? In this episode, we discuss this important issue from a biblical and logical perspective. We cover the main views and assess the biblical evidence. 

Links mentioned in the podcast:

In this episode I discuss the role of the Noahic covenant in the storyline of the Bible. I also talk about how the covenant fits into the context of Genesis, and why it talks about more than just avoiding another flood. 

In this episode we talk about the recent theological trends in evangelicalism and what that means about the state of the church today. We discuss a variety of key findings from the State of Theology 2022 survey. 

Links:

In today's episode we talk about how Christians argue for the acceptance of homosexuality. I review Walter Brueggemann's recent article on how one can be a Christian and accept LGBT persons into the church.

In today's episode we discuss whether there is a link between Baptist theology and Transgenderism. We also explore the ramifications of covenant theology and paedobaptism, focusing on some of the major differences between Baptists and paedobaptists. 

Videos Reviewed: