Blue Cord

I am currently en route from Boston to East Tennessee. I had a chance on the train to listen to some more Bible-related podcasts, so while I have a layover in the Charlotte airport I thought I would take the time to write up reviews of these podcasts.

The first is A Word from the Word, a two minute podcast that describes itself as “[m]uch more than a devotional - it’s a Bible-based truth revealed through credible, reliable study.” It is produced by the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, Florida. The podcast features Dan Hayden, who has a master’s of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary and a D.Min. from Baptist Bible Seminary.

The episode I heard focused on 2 Timothy 3:1-4. He focuses on those things that people will love in the last days, and singles out love of self, love of money, and love of pleasure. He says that these are all combinations with the Greek word philos, which he says is the Greek word for emotional love. There are other characteristics of people in the last times in these verses, but these are the only ones combined with philos. Hayden talks about a particular lure that he likes to use when fishing, a rotating three hook lure that always has one of its hooks pointing up. He says Satan uses such a lure, with love of self, money, and pleasure as the hook.

This podcast is a fairly standard devotion, meaning it takes a particular passage and then offers a devotional that is vaguely related to the passage. Satan, of course, is not mentioned in this passage, and in fact is not mentioned in 2 Timothy at all. This is an idea that Hayden is pulling into the passage.

The second podcast I heard was The BreadCast, listed on iTunes as “[a] reflection on the Sunday Readings and Solemnities of the Roman Catholic Church.” It is done by James Kurt and is based on his book Our Daily Bread: Exposition of the Readings of Catholic Mass. His book’s website gives the following biographical information:

James Kurt lives much as a hermit in the city in Jersey City, New Jersey. He spends about six hours a day in prayer, including Catholic Mass, Liturgy of the Hours, full Rosary, Stations of the Cross, meditation on Scripture and the writings of the saints, and silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. He works another five or six hours on his writing.

The podcast is read in a rather breathy voice, beginning with a chanted song. The content is somewhat scattered. In the episode I heard, I wasn’t sure what passage he was discussing. He seems to be starting with the Gospel, but quickly moved to talking about Paul. It could be that knowing which texts were being used would make the podcast clearer, but the texts are not even listed on the website.

Finally, I listened to one called The Bible Study Podcast. Of these three, this is definitely the best, although I would still not call it a great Bible study. The podcast usually focuses on particular passages, with the authors working their way through books of the Bible (Romans and the Gospel of John in particular), although they also do topical studies sometimes. I could not find any biographical information about the guys who produce the podcast (Justin, Toby, and MattB), but a doctrinal statement on their website is Calvinistic and espouses inerrancy.

The episode I sampled was a fifteen-minute episode on John 1:14-18. The podcaster simply walks people through the verses and explains what they mean. It is not exactly a deep study, but it does stick to the text for the most part. The host does not seem to have training in the Bible beyond what you would receive in a local congregation, but it is difficult to draw a definite conclusion based on one podcast.

One suggestion I would have for the host concerns the prayer requests he gives out at the beginning of the podcasts. While I realize his father will appreciate the prayers, I am not sure he would want the audience to be told so much about his rash. I know as a listener that I would have preferred the prayer request to be for a general medical condition without details.

Because this podcast is produced by several different hosts, I decided to sample one of the other hosts. I chose Matt’s discussion of biblical inerrancy, which is the first (and so far only) podcast in their “Contradictions in the Bible” series.

Matt focused on several passages where he says Jesus discussed the Bible. The first one, the temptation narrative, merely establishes that Jesus accepted the authority of the OT, since he quotes it against Satan. He then examines Matthew 22:23ff., where Jesus debates the Sadducees. Matt says Jesus corrects their error with Scripture that he saw as inerrant, which means that we should accept inerrancy as well. Of course, this is an incredible leap of logic that misses several steps in the syllogism. Nothing that Jesus says in this passage can be construed as supporting inerrancy.

Thinking he has firmly established the truth of inerrancy, Matt goes on to address some of the contradictions. He sets up several straw men, such as the supposed objection that the word inerrancy never occurs in the Bible. This he addresses by claiming that, like the concept of the Trinity, inerrancy is taught implicitly instead of explicitly. He also addresses the idea that the Bible is inerrancy in spiritual matters but not historical or scientific. He rejects this idea, and points out that Jesus accepted the historical accuracy of the Bible. Nothing he says is a particularly strong argument for inerrancy.

He goes on apply inerrancy to how we should approach contradictions. Since inerrancy is an a priori proposition for him, he says that we should assume that we simply don’t understand the passage. He says we should assume Scripture to be innocent until proven guilty, but if something proves the Bible guilty, it should be set aside by assuming that the Bible is still innocent but we don’t understand how.

All in all, The Bible Study Podcast seems to be a much better podcast when it sticks to reading the text and not when it jumps into bad theology.

Before moving away from podcasts that provide readings from sections of Scripture, I wanted to mention that Tim Buckeley of SansBlogue has pointed out one other podcast. This is the PodBible Audio Bible Broadcast, which reads a chapter from the CEV translation each day. The readings are done with no background music, and each daily reading ends with a short section on Think . . . Pray . . . Do that provides some points to ponder and put into action. The podcast is done by Carey Baptist College, so you get a nice New Zealand accent to go with your readings.

The next podcast is the Understanding the Scriptures podcast at CatholicBoard.com. The podcast is a recording of a Wednesday night Bible study at Saint Mary, Immaculate Conception Parish in Brenham, Texas. The Bible study was based on Scott Hahn’s book Understanding the Scriptures: A Complete Course on Bible Study, with each session covering one of the thirty chapters in the book. The sessions are eighty minutes long, so this podcast is not for the faint of heart.

The sessions are led by Carson Weber, who has an M.A. in Theology and Christian Ministry from Franciscan University of Steubenville. While at Franciscan University, Weber studied under Scott Hahn, the author of the textbook he uses for the series. Weber also worked for Hahn at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, which Hahn founded. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Hahn, he is a somewhat controversial figure.  Hahn, who used to be Presbyterian and rabidly anti-catholic, became a Roman Catholic in 1986. He earned his doctorate from Marquette University with a dissertation on the Bible and covenant theology. He is often described as an apologist and has sometimes been called “Luther in Reverse.”

The reason I mention this is not to criticize Hahn or this podcast. I merely point it out as information. Some people are drawn to controversial figures — e.g., Bishop Spong within the ECUSA — while other prefer to avoid them. I also mention it because it gives you an idea of the perspective from which Weber is teaching.

Because all thirty episodes in this series have been recorded, I was free to choose which of the episodes I wanted to hear. I decided to go with the second chapter, which focuses on the Old Testament. This chapter in the book provides a summary of the OT, ending with a discussion of typology. Weber focuses on the idea of typology, which he says is necessary for understanding the Bible. He begins with a review of the idea of the covenant, which the class had discussed the week before. Covenant, according to Hahn’s theology, is the idea that provides the unity to the Bible.

A critique of Weber’s content would have to center mostly on the topic of covenant theology. A discussion of covenant theology is far beyond the scope of this review of podcasts, but suffice it to say that I am reticent at best to accept such a theology as a way to read the Scriptures. The idea that the covenant is the unifying theme for a theology of the Old Testament was put forth and gained widespread acceptance through the work of Walther Eichrodt. It has not not held up particularly well, in large part because of its inability to deal with wisdom literature under the rubric of covenant.

Weber says that the primary way that the OT speaks of Christ is through typology. He introduces typology by referring to the Roman Catholic catechism, section 1094, which says:

It is on this harmony of the two Testaments that the Paschal catechesis of the Lord is built, and then, that of the Apostles and the Fathers of the Church. This catechesis unveils what lay hidden under the letter of the Old Testament: the mystery of Christ. It is called “typological” because it reveals the newness of Christ on the basis of the “figures” (types) which announce him in the deeds, words, and symbols of the first covenant. By this re-reading in the Spirit of Truth, starting from Christ, the figures are unveiled. Thus the flood and Noah’s ark prefigured salvation by Baptism, as did the cloud and the crossing of the Red Sea. Water from the rock was the figure of the spiritual gifts of Christ, and manna in the desert prefigured the Eucharist, “the true bread from heaven.”

He spends a great deal of the time focusing on how the OT typologically symbolizes Christ. While this can be a good approach, it puts the cart somewhat before the horse. One needs to learn to read the text in and of itself first. Only then can you come back and read it typologically.  The catechism recognizes this, which is why it refers to typology as a “re-reading.”  Considering this is the second lesson in the series, I find it odd that Weber would discuss this subject here. It leads him to spend more time reading NT texts that mention the OT than he does reading OT texts, which is odd for a session on the OT. This lesson is less about understanding the OT and more about reading the OT typologically.

One problem with the podcast from a technical standpoint is that it is difficult to hear people other than Weber on the podcast. Sometime, people who are attending the session will ask questions that can’t readily be heard, although it is often possible to figure out what the question was by Weber’s response. This problem may have been fixed in later episodes.

Finally, one thing this podcast does well is show what biblical studies within the parish can look like when done strictly within a framework stipulated by Catholic doctrine and the catechism.  Hahn’s method pays close attention to the patristic tradition, although he certainly infuses it with a particular evangelical spirit.

Several Bible podcasts are actually readings from the Bible with no commentary. I thought I would discuss a couple of these briefly.

One such podcast is simply called The Bible Podcast (which seems to be a very popular title). This particular podcast is a reading from the New English Translation (NET). It presents one chapter from the Bible each weekday. It has been going since 2005 and is up-to-date, although the archives indicates there have been occasional short hiatuses. The readings are done by Michael Lee, a professor of music at Azuza Pacifice University.

The sound quality of this podcast is very good and the reading is clear. It is not done with any dramatization or background music, which makes it easy to make out the words. Although I don’t know anything about the NET Bible, this podcast is certainly one worth having if you want to hear a chapter a day on your iPod.

The Bible Experience podcast is produced by Zondervan. Although it is presented on iTunes as a podcast, it is actually just a sample episode from their The Bible Experience audiobook, which has to be purchased. The one episode available for free is the Passion story taken from Matthew 26-28 in the TNIV. Zondervan’s web site describes the audiobook as follows:

Hear the words of the Bible brought to life like never before. Inspired By… The Bible Experience: New Testament Audio CD is a fully-dramatized reading of the complete Bible performed by an unprecedented ensemble of distinguished African-American actors, musicians, and personalities. The cast is scheduled to include such recognizable voices as: Denzel Washington, Blair Underwood, Angela Bassett, Juanita Bynum, Shirley Caesar, Kirk Franklin and more. The dramatization is further enriched by an original musical score composed by Grammy award-winning producers. And the recording is truly contemporary, using the accessible and trusted Today’s New International Version (TNIV) of the Bible. The features of The Bible Experience provide a rich listening experience, helping you hear the words of Scripture as if for the first time. The Bible Experience is available in both traditional and mp3 CD formats.

The quality of the audio is excellent and the readings are well done, as you would expect from such a cast and a professional publisher. Unfortunately, the podcast that is available for free is just a sample.

Verbum Domini (also called ReadingForToday.com) is a podcast that includes the readings from the Catholic daily lectionary. The podcast begins and ends with a short musical bumper, while the reading is done without background music. The podcast is featured on SQPN.com, which is a repository of Catholic podcasts. Different lectors do the reading on different days.  I couldn’t tell from the website which translation they use.

A final readings podcast is called DTS Devotional, which is listed on iTunes as a daily devotional reading from the NET Bible. A better description would be a devotional reflection on a daily reading.  The podcast is done by Reg Grant, professor of pastoral ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary.  The podcast takes one minute, although almost twenty seconds of that is advertisement for the NET Bible and something called Earsight.¹

1. A search of the web could not turn up any reference to ear sight, earsight, earsite, or other variations.  If someone happens to know what this is, please let me know. [back]

I thought I would take a couple of days to blog about the podcasts that are available on the topic of the Bible. I started by going to the iTunes podcast page and doing a search on the term Bible. After weeding out the podcasts that were church services from congregations with “Bible” in their name, I was left with nine podcasts. If anyone else knows of podcasts that should be added to this list, just let me know.

In each of the reviews I will look at the organization or individual that makes the podcast, the focus of the podcast (e.g., news, Bible study, reflection on the Scriptures, etc.), and the perspective from which the author approaches the Bible. The aim of all this is to point people toward the best Bible podcasts that are out there.¹

I started slow with a 45 second podcast from the Bible News Network, which is run by the Canadian Bible Society. The content of the podcast is a short piece of news related to the Bible. The show I happened to hear talked about the annual “Scripture in School Day” organized by Bob Pawdon as a way to “return the Bible to public schools.”  This doesn’t seem to be an active podcast, as the most recent entry was from September 2006.

The second podcast I surveyed is called, simply enough “Bible Podcast.”  It is done by Tony Walker, who calls himself Preacher Tony. Tony is 23 years old and became a Christian six years ago. He doesn’t have a bio on his site — other than his testimony — so I don’t have any more information on him. The podcast is taken from his radio show “Bible Broadcast,” which is heard Friday afternoons at 5:00 on WRIX-AM 1020 out of Anderson, SC. Tony uses the KJV throughout.

The podcast is described as a verse-by-verse study of the Bible. The episode I heard was from May 4, 2007, and it focused on Romans 7:1-6. The majority of the podcast is spent talking about vv.1-3, and he pulls in 1 Corinthians 7 and Matthew 19 as additional verses. The topic of this passage, according to Tony, is divorce. He says that this passage shows that Christians are not to get divorced, except in the case of fornication.

This is rather odd, because Romans 7:1-3 never mentions divorce. Instead, its focus is on the fact that a woman is bound by to her husband while he is alive, but is free if he dies. The whole point is to set up an analogy to the status of Christians with respect to the law (Romans 7:4-6). Tony only gets around to these last three verses in the final three minutes of the broadcast. After reading those verses, he spends most of that time talking about what a wonderful and faithful husband Christ is to the believer. That Christ is a faithful husband is true, of course, but it is not the point of Romans 7:4-6.

Preacher Tony took an odd pot shot at Catholics at one point. When discussing what Jesus had to say about divorce in Matthew 19, he says that this chapter shows that Jesus believed the literal² account of Genesis 1-11, unlike some Catholic people. Why Catholics get singled out as not believing that Genesis 1-11 is historical is unclear.

All in all, this is not a very promising podcast. It certainly does not seem to take an informed approach to the Scripture. Instead, it seems to be the reflections of one guy who reads the text and talks about what it suggests to him. I may listen to a few more episodes, but this doesn’t seem to be one I will keep on my computer for very long.

1. Please note that the word “best” in this context is a synonym for “that which I like the most. [back]
2. ”Literal” in this case seems to mean “historical,” as is often the case in evangelical circles. [back]