Vexed

The Ephesus School
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Join Andrea Bakas, as she explores examples from our world and culture to help us better understand the biblical text.

  1. What Lives On Is What Is Written

    28/08/2025

    What Lives On Is What Is Written

    In the 2018 AMC series The Terror, we encounter an ancient form of communication: the cairn. These stone markers held messages—records of a journey left behind for those who would follow. Explorers lived and died. What endured was the knowledge they preserved. Andrea draws a parallel with the Bible. Its authors remain unknown. They left no signatures. It is their words alone that continue to speak, generation after generation. EPISODE TRANSCRIPTA formatted episode transcript in Word or as PDF is available on request.To receive your copy, email your request to: vexedthepodcast6@gmail.com SHOWNOTESArticle on Cairns https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/the-terror-recap-episode-8/ https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/stone-messengers/ The Victory Point Note https://www.historymuseum.ca/blog/a-very-special-piece-of-paper The Great Isaiah Scroll http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/isaiah

    18 min
  2. The Bible Does Not "Speak to Us Today"

    01/01/2025

    The Bible Does Not "Speak to Us Today"

    Preachers and teachers of Bible are eager to tell us how the Bible "speaks to us today." But does it? How can it speak to us when we are not its addressees? It was written thousands of years ago in a particular place and time for its audience who lived at that time. This kind of talk reveals the way we use and abuse the biblical text to serve ourselves. We do not bring the Bible – an ancient text - to today. Instead, the student of the Bible must go back – must go back to the time, setting and culture in which the Bible was forged.Andrea shares how city of London guide David Charnick captures this perspective in his study of Dickens’ famous 1843 novella A Christmas Carol. https://charnowalks.co.uk/https://shows.acast.com/dansnowshistoryhit/episodes/charles-dickens-christmashttps://www.fulltextarchive.com/book/A-Christmas-Carol/https://a.co/d/jkl2hdUhttps://www.thegreatcourses.com/Illustration, Marley's Ghost by John Leech, first edition, 1843.

    10 min
  3. Tammy Faye Bakker: An Old Fashioned Shaming

    10/11/2024

    Tammy Faye Bakker: An Old Fashioned Shaming

    Tammy Faye Bakker was an evangelical Christian preacher and teacher who co-hosted television programs with her husband Jim on their PTL network from 1974 to 1987. Her story is told in the 2021 HBO movie “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.”  There is a scene in the movie which depicts a fundamental biblical theme.   Andrea explains shame unto correction.

    21 min
  4. David Chase: You may not go on, but the universe goes on and on...

    19/09/2024

    David Chase: You may not go on, but the universe goes on and on...

    “Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos” is a new HBO documentary. In it, show creator David Chase and his creative team reflect on “The Sopranos” and how they came up with and developed certain themes.   There are striking parallels between the crafting of the show & the themes explored and those we find in the Bible.   Andrea discusses man’s impermanence and the Bible’s self-referentiality.

    13 min
  5. Again? Breaking Bad Rewatch #3

    25/02/2024

    Again? Breaking Bad Rewatch #3

    Breaking Bad, the TV series which aired from 2008 to 2013, is a work of creative genius; a tapestry of interweaving characters and storylines. It is modern storytelling at its finest.   I recently re-watched the series and I wondered how it could be that I was enjoying my 3rd re-watch even more than when I’d first seen it. Why am I still enjoying a story that I already know?   It is because it was my 3rd time through. With each watching, more and more of the story revealed itself to me.  As with Breaking Bad, so it is with the Bible. It's the repetition. Hearing the Bible's repetitive story repeatedly is how come to know it & hear its lessons.

    12 min
  6. Who Do You Think You Are?

    25/12/2023

    Who Do You Think You Are?

    We are obsessed with Jesus. He is our hero, our superstar – our divine ideal. We try to follow his example; to imitate him. We not only want to be like him, we want to be him! In today’s episode, Andrea argues that this obsession is misplaced. It’s a projection of our own desires which we impose on the gospel narratives. The Jesus that we meet in the New Testament is not to be imitated but to be heard.

    21 min
  7. Bible Studies Don't Work

    14/05/2023

    Bible Studies Don't Work

    If you’re a church-going Christian, you’ve probably attended a Bible study. Bible studies, the way they are conducted today, don’t work. We’re comfortable with the common approaches but what do we really learn? We either select a few verses of text & then discuss them or we select a popular topic & then use the Bible as a lens. What does the Bible say about money or faith or forgiveness? These approaches are not Bible “study,” but rather, Bible manipulation. They turn the Bible into a mirror which we use to understand ourselves. In today’s episode, Andrea proposes a better way.

    13 min
  8. Lost in Translation - part 4: Errors -- Imposing on the Text

    15/01/2023

    Lost in Translation - part 4: Errors -- Imposing on the Text

    Translators make errors in their translation choices because they impose themselves onto the biblical text. In today’s episode, the last in this 4-part series on translations of the Bible, Andrea gives specific examples of translation errors. She distinguishes 3 kinds of errors: (1) euphemisms (2) word choices that force the text to make sense to the translator (3) word choices that impose the translator’s assumptions on the text.

    47 min
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About

Join Andrea Bakas, as she explores examples from our world and culture to help us better understand the biblical text.

Information

  • Creator
    The Ephesus School
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    33
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Andrea Bakas, 2021. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Vexed