After Class

This week the guys move to the New Testament as they continue to consider why Jesus had to die and what his death accomplished.  But Jesus' death was only about removing our sins right? You might be surprised when you are reminded of all that the synoptics claim about Jesus's death.  

The guys finish their discussion on the pros and cons of the five classic atonement theories and introduce some more contemporary views presented by theologians in the last twenty years. 

This week the guys take a break from surveying Scripture to look carefully at some of the classic theories of atonement, popular throughout the history of the church.   It should not surprise the listener that there are pros and cons to each.  

This week the guys wrap up the discussion on God's Wrath by focusing on the New Testament. Throughout the witness of Scripture we find that God is slow to anger and his wrath breaks out against his people when their actions jeopardize the path of salvation history. But is wrath language used in connection with Jesus and the cross? Was Jesus' death necessary to calm God's wrath?

The series on the sacrificial system continues this week with a discussion of God's Wrath.  As the guys look closely at God's character, his interactions with his people, and his presumed need for violence/bloodshed - you might be surprised by what they find - and what they don't find.  

As the guys continue to look at sacrifice and the larger issue of God's nature requiring violence and the shedding of blood they focus on the Day of Atonement this week.  They explore the various uses of "kaphar" in the Old Testament, of which "atoning for sin" is only one of seven. They also look carefully at the Day of Atonement in Leviticus and discuss what was and was not accomplished in that ceremony.

The guys continue the discussion on the sacrificial system as they drive towards answering the question - why did God have Jesus die on the cross - is Jesus’s death just an extension of God’s violent nature that needed to be poured out?  In this episode they explore the seven purposes for animal sacrifice as commanded in Torah; you might be surprised by what is NOT mentioned.

This week the guys start a series on the topic of sacrifice. Is the entire sacrificial system evidence that God's wrath requires blood, death, and violence? They begin to form an answer to this issue by exploring the sacrificial customs of the Ancient Near East.

You've probably heard or seen something about the recent "defund the police" movement. This week the guys offer a biblical perspective on the Church's response to the cultural/political upheaval we are all experiencing. How should Christians respond to the powers and principalities at play in the world around us?  What does a kingdom-centered posture look like?

In this episode they guys reflect on the charged racial climate stemming from the deaths of multiple people of color, most notably George Floyd. Not wanting to be a bunch of white guys lecturing anyone about what should be done, they reflect on the ideals of the Kingdom that should be lived out in the church. 

The guys give an update on what they've been up to over the past several weeks of quarantine.  They land on a discussion of how the Church is handling the Covid-19 situation and how important it is to choose the path of unity no matter what.  The Church has the opportunity to show the world something really rare: true unity.  Romans 14; 1 Corinthians 8-10

This week the guys move on to engage another listener-posed issue: the hurdle of the conquest is still too high, surely God could have done more to mitigate the loss of life and the displacement of the Canaanites.  These are important questions for all Christians to ask - it is right to wrestle with the constancy of God’s character as revealed in Scripture.  But it’s crucial to understand - the radical social ethic of Torah was not possible without the Israelites having untainted, soul possession of the land.

The guys engage tough listener questions about Old Testament violence, like "Aren't you just sugarcoating genocide?" They also explore how modern political and geo-political biases tend to influence our interpretation of tough biblical passages. Is there a right or left leaning way of reading Joshua? Do we sometimes project our understanding of the modern day Israeli-Palestinian conflict back onto the book of Joshua? Are we so far away from the Holocaust that we are beginning to forget some important lessons about how to speak about the Jewish people's role in Scripture?

If you’ve ever wondered why the “conquest” had to happen this is the episode for you.  Many, like Rhett and Link, have struggled to reconcile their understanding of the God of the (seemingly violent) conquest of Canaan with the God who embodied love in the person of Jesus.  The guys explain - the love embodied in Jesus only makes sense with the land of Canaan in the background.  

In a follow-up episode to last week’s conquest discussion, the guys focus in on the issue of war and violence.  What should we do with passages that seem to portray God as violent, vengeful, or wrathful?  Are there aspects of God’s character (Justice/Holiness vs. Love/Mercy) that are unable to be reconciled?

In their continued response to Rhett and Link's faith challenges the guys begin a discussion on the biblical conquest of Canaan by Joshua.  Archaeological records don't seem to line up with the traditional understanding of a conquest.  But is "conquest" an appropriate term for what happened when Israel entered Canaan?  Maybe not, according to the biblical witness.

The series continues!  The guys offer some more answers to the issues raised in Rhett and Link's "anti"-testimonies.  This week's episode deals with the numbers in the Exodus census account.  Did Moses bring 2 or 3 million people out of Egypt and into the land of Canaan?  Does it matter if the numbers aren't 100% accurate by today's standards?  

This week the After Class guys continue their interaction with material from Rhett and Link’s “anti”-testimonies. Here they address the question of whether modern archaeology supports and upholds material in the Old Testament. Are our assumptions about the Bible and archaeology potentially leading us to a shaky place? And how do they affect our interpretation and understanding of the Exodus event. 

The guys wrap up the walk-through of the history of biblical interpretation in this episode.  It is beneficial to understand where the church has been throughout the centuries in relation to doctrine and what was considered "orthodox".  This is an important step in understanding why some Christians face a crisis of faith when their "foundations" are shaken.  

This week the guys continue to engage the "anti"-testimonies of Rhett and Link and the issues that led them away from faith.  This episode is unique as they spend little time walking through Scripture and instead embark on a walk through the history of biblical interpretation.  How did we get to the traditional, literal interpretations of Scripture that are considered orthodox today?