The Bible For Normal People

Peter Enns and Jared Byas
  • 4.7 (3.3K)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Biweekly

A weekly podcast talk show having serious talks about the sacred book. Hosted by Peter Enns and Jared Byas.

  1. 2d ago

    [Bible] Episode 338: The Brian Recker and Tamice Spencer-Helms Takeover

    In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Brian Recker and Tamice Spencer-Helms celebrate the podcast’s 10th anniversary by talking with Pete Enns and Jared Byas about how their relationships with the Bible, faith, and certainty have evolved over the past decade. They reflect on the costs of questioning evangelicalism, the ways The Bible for Normal People has helped people hold onto a love for Scripture while letting go of rigid interpretations, and how lived experiences from people of color and LGBTQ+ communities have expanded their understanding of what it means to read the Bible. Together, they explore Scripture as a “means of grace,” the freedom of admitting what they don’t know, and the possibility of having conviction without certainty.  Show Notes → thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-338-the-brian-recker-and-tamice-spencer-helms-takeover Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/gaZtio1Ue2I Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  2. Sep 21

    [Bible] Episode 337: James Barker - Writing and Rewriting the Gospels

    In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with James about how the Gospels were written, how Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John relate to one another, and what ancient writing practices can teach us about the formation of the New Testament. They explore why the Gospel writers may have intentionally adapted and reshaped earlier accounts, how John builds on the Synoptic Gospels, and how Paul’s theology may have influenced the Gospel writers in surprising ways. Together, they invite listeners to let each Gospel speak in its own distinct voice, reconsider assumptions about how the Bible was written, and appreciate the deeply human process through which these texts took shape. Show Notes → ⁠thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-337-james-barker-writing-and-rewriting-the-gospels⁠ Watch this episode on YouTube → ⁠https://youtu.be/zyw59hapKHA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  3. Sep 14

    [Faith] Episode 74: Grace Hamman - A Medieval Mystic’s Vision of God’s Love

    In this week’s episode of Faith for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with writer and scholar Grace Hamman about Julian of Norwich, her mystical visions, and her radically intimate understanding of God’s love. They explore Julian’s depiction of Jesus as a mother, her approach to suffering and hope in the aftermath of the Black Death, and her insistence that “all shall be well” is not a simplistic promise that everything will turn out fine, but a hard-won hope in the midst of suffering. They also consider what Julian’s example can teach those navigating deconstruction, questions of authority, and the tension between personal spiritual experience and institutional tradition, inviting listeners to embrace a more nuanced way of engaging faith, Scripture, and the wisdom of the past. Show Notes →https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episode-74-grace-hamman-a-medieval-mystics-vision-of-gods-love Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/hM_gyj-r-UM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  4. Sep 7

    [Bible] Episode 336: Pete Enns - Pete Ruins Everything on Lamentations

    In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete explores the book of Lamentations and what it can teach us about faith in the midst of suffering. He examines the book’s historical setting in the aftermath of Jerusalem’s destruction, its raw and unsettling portrayals of grief, anger, and God’s apparent absence, and the ways its carefully structured poetry gives shape to experiences of trauma and loss. He also considers how Lamentations challenges modern Christian assumptions that faith requires certainty, optimism, or resolution. Together, these themes invite listeners to see lament not as a failure of faith, but as a deeply faithful way of remaining in relationship with God when life falls apart. Show Notes → thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-336-pete-ruins-everything-on-lamentations-with-pete-enns  Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/LC-OVkFKdLM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  5. Aug 24

    [Bible] Episode 335: Phillip Lasater - The Self & Personal Agency in the Hebrew Bible

    In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with Phillip Lasater about how ancient Israelite and Jewish writers understood the self, personal agency, emotion, and human flourishing in ways that can be very different from modern assumptions. They explore how concepts like fear, the heart, and individuality function in the Hebrew Bible, how texts such as Ruth and Genesis 22 invite readers to engage the interior lives of biblical characters, and how ancient Jewish traditions understood human beings as having the capacity for godlikeness and ethical transformation. Together, they invite listeners to recognize the distance between modern ideas of the autonomous self and ancient biblical conceptions of identity, challenge assumptions readers unconsciously bring to Scripture, and consider how the Bible’s diverse perspectives on human agency and flourishing might reshape the way people understand themselves. Show Notes → thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-335-phillip-lasater-the-self-phillip-and-personal-agency-in-the-hebrew-bible Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/wn2wKoJ_L5Q Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  6. Aug 10

    [Bible] Episode 334: Rony Kozman - The Weird Ways the NT Interprets the OT

    In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with Rony Kozman about how the New Testament interprets the Hebrew Bible, and why the apostles’ approach to Scripture often looks very different from the historical-grammatical method many readers have been taught. They explore how Matthew creatively reads the story of Jesus alongside Israel’s story, how Paul rereads Scripture in light of his encounter with Christ, and how New Testament authors draw on the interpretive traditions of their Second Temple Jewish context. Together, they invite listeners to embrace the Bible’s historical complexity, recognize the creativity at work in its interpretation, and reconsider what it means to read Scripture faithfully in light of the ways the biblical authors themselves read their sacred texts. Show Notes → thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-334-rony-kozman-the-weird-ways-the-nt-interprets-the-ot Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/retgmlRbccQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  7. Jul 27

    [Faith] Episode 73: Ciarra Jones - Who Gets to Decide What The Bible Means?

    In this week’s episode of Faith for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with theologian and ethicist Ciarra Jones about who gets to decide what the Bible means and how our identities, experiences, and social locations shape the ways we interpret Scripture. Drawing on her own journey from Pentecostal Christianity to Black, queer, womanist, and liberation theology, Ciarra explores how dominant interpretations of the Bible have been used to justify slavery, white supremacy, sexism, and the marginalization of LGBTQ+ people. She also introduces the practices of biblical refusal and biblical reversal, challenging the idea that some interpretations are objective while others are merely subjective, and invites listeners to see deconstruction not as abandoning faith but as a process of reorientation, reconstruction, and discovering a more expansive and intimate understanding of God. Show Notes →https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-73-ciarra-jones-who-gets-to-decide-what-the-bible-means Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/eb5oZ_q-uII ********** This episode is brought to you by Brooklyn Bedding, which knows sleep isn’t one-size-fits-all. That’s why they offer mattresses for every body, every sleep style – even in hard-to-find sizes. Go to brooklynbedding.com and use promo code BIBLE at checkout to get 30% off sitewide. This offer is not available anywhere else. ********** This episode is sponsored by Factor. Head to factormeals.com/normalpeople50off and use code normalpeople50off to get 50 percent off and 1 free breakfast item per box for 1 year, while supplies last until 10/31/2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  8. Jul 13

    [Bible] Episode 333: Nathan MacDonald - The Messy History of the Priesthood

    In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with Nathan MacDonald about the origins of Israel’s priesthood, the role of the Levites, and why the Bible’s accounts of priests are far more complex than they first appear. They explore how biblical texts often function less as straightforward historical records and more as theological interpretations that seek to explain, shape, and reconcile Israel’s traditions. Together, they invite listeners to reconsider familiar assumptions about the priesthood, the development of the Torah, and how the Bible constructs meaning through its ongoing conversation with its own past. Show Notes → thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-333-nathan-macdonald-the-messy-history-of-the-priesthood Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/dBGX5hiPadg ********** This episode is brought to you by Brooklyn Bedding, which knows sleep isn’t one-size-fits-all. That’s why they offer mattresses for every body, every sleep style – even in hard-to-find sizes. Go to brooklynbedding.com and use promo code BIBLE at checkout to get 30% off sitewide. This offer is not available anywhere else. ********** This episode is sponsored by Factor. Head to factormeals.com/normalpeople50off and use code normalpeople50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box, with new subscription only, while supplies last until 9/27/2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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4.7
out of 5
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About

A weekly podcast talk show having serious talks about the sacred book. Hosted by Peter Enns and Jared Byas.

Information

  • Creator
    Peter Enns and Jared Byas
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    426
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2017 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Bible For Normal People

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