Episode Details

Perhaps you’re sceptical, perhaps you’re just undecided - our challenge for you for 2021 is: read at least 100 pages of the Bible. 

This book has shaped much of our world. It would be great to think that you’ve got your head around at least 100 pages, as an adult, with all your grownup questions activated. 

Yes, the Bible is weird. It’s got wars, bizarre laws, talking snakes, perhaps even a unicorn or two, slavery, misogyny, and much more. But there is way to read this stuff, and there’s a way not to.

And we reckon today’s guest can help us with both, and make 2021 TO ETOS TES BIBLOU, the year of the Bible.

This episode is brought to you by Zondervan Academic’s new book How to Fight Racism by Jemar Tisby.

LINKS

• Meet our guest Dan Kimball
  • And get his new book How NOT to read the Bible: Making Sense of the Anti-Women, Anti-Science, Pro-Violence, Pro-Slavery and Other Crazy Sounding Parts of Scripture
• Read more of the Finder survey that explored how many Americans make NY resolutions.
• And that Forbes Magazine article about how many will actually accomplish those resolutions.
• Here’s the full list of the most common NY resolutions according to “Polly” the artificial intelligence operated by the market research firm Advanced Symbolics Inc.
• Read the study that found that for around a half of adults today and two-thirds of under-25s, the Bible has absolutely no significance in their personal lives.
• Here's why might you want to read the Bible, even if you’re not a Christian. Dr Meredith Lake from the ABC wrote this piece for The Conversation in 2017 about why our decline in biblical literacy matters:

"Among Australian creatives, too, literary lights such as Patrick White, Elizabeth Jolley, Tim Winton, Helen Garner and Christos Tsiolkas all make powerful use of biblical narratives and imagery. Songwriters from Nick Cave to the late Yolngu star Gurrumul have drawn on the scriptures in their lyrics.

"Biblical stories and symbols have also inspired visual artists such as Grace Cossington Smith, Arthur Boyd and Margaret Preston. Reg Mombassa’s popular creation, “Australian Jesus”, offers a subversive take on the gospels.

"Each of these Australians has found the Bible an enlarging influence on the imagination. Audiences can easily miss key elements of their work without a degree of biblical literacy."

• Or check out this book by John Dickson’s friend, and co-founder of The Centre for Public Christianity Dr Greg Clarke, The Great Bible Swindle, written especially for those who feel that they should know something about the world's most influential text, but may have been afraid to ask.
• Watch The West Wing scene about the Old Testament in modern times.