TYB - The Bridge

Dr Katie Haldane

What if the biblical scholars usually only heard at academic conferences sat down for a real conversation — with you? TYB The Bridge is a new Bible podcast from Trash Your Bible, hosted by Dr Katie Haldane, bringing biblical scholarship out of the lecture hall and into an honest, accessible conversation. Every episode takes a real question — submitted by a real listener — straight to the academic who has actually spent their career studying it. No jargon. No gatekeeping. Just answers. Dr Katie Haldane recently completed a PhD on the book of Revelation and Greco-Roman history and culture. After years spent inside the world of biblical academia, sitting in rooms with historians and theologians most people will never meet, she kept coming back to the same thought: the average Joe needs to hear this. TYB The Bridge is her answer — a bridge between rigorous biblical scholarship and everyday Bible reading. Each episode pairs one listener question with one leading biblical scholar for one real conversation — covering biblical history, the book of Revelation, ancient Greco-Roman culture, church history, biblical interpretation, and the questions your Bible study group has never quite been able to answer. Got a Bible question nobody could answer? Send it in. It might become an episode. New episodes every Monday. TYB The Bridge is part of Trash Your Bible (TYB), a free, book-by-book Bible study resource helping people of all backgrounds fall in love with God's Word — one worn-out, highlighted, dog-eared page at a time. Explore the full library of studies, reading plans and resources at trashyourbible.com. If you love Bible study, biblical history, theology, church history or Christian podcasts that go deeper than the surface — without the jargon of a seminary classroom — this one's for you. Full video episodes on YouTube. Follow @tyb_thebridge on Instagram for updates, and send your questions to thebridge@trashyourbible.com. Immersed today. Equipped for tomorrow.

Episodes

  1. 2d ago

    Leaving the Rapture Behind — Revelation Series, Episode 2

    Millions of Christians grew up believing the rapture is core doctrine — the moment believers are swept up to heaven before seven years of tribulation. But the word "rapture" doesn't appear anywhere in the New Testament. In this episode, host Katie Haldane talks with Reverend Associate Professor Robyn Whitaker — a Revelation and Synoptic Gospels scholar at Pilgrim Theological College and Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Policy — about where rapture theology actually came from: a single 19th-century vision, preacher John Nelson Darby's system of dispensationalism, and the 1909 Scofield Study Bible, which printed the idea directly into Bible footnotes and sent it mainstream through Hal Lindsay's bestsellers and the Left Behind series. Together they trace what the early church actually believed about the end of all things — not an escape from earth, but Christ returning in glory to make His home here, on a renewed creation. They talk honestly about what rapture theology has done to how Christians handle suffering and persecution, why "escape theology" can quietly undercut care for the earth and for each other, and what a biblically-grounded hope for the future looks like once the rapture is left behind. Whether you grew up on Left Behind, sat through end-times charts at church camp, or are hearing all this for the first time — this conversation is academics for the average Joe, exactly where you need it. Key topicsWhat "the rapture" means, and why the word isn't in scriptureThe 19th-century vision and John Nelson Darby's dispensationalismThe 1909 Scofield Study Bible and how it mainstreamed rapture theologyHal Lindsay, The Late Great Planet Earth and the Left Behind booksWhat the early church believed about Christ's second coming1 Thessalonians 4:17 in its original historical contextRevelation 21–22: the new heaven, new earth and new JerusalemRapture theology, suffering, persecution and the meaning of "martyr"Escapism, creation care and Christian stewardship of the earthAbout our guestReverend Associate Professor Robyn Whitaker is Associate Professor of New Testament at Pilgrim Theological College (University of Divinity), specialising in the Book of Revelation and the Synoptic Gospels. She holds a PhD in Biblical Studies from the University of Chicago Divinity School, where she received the Jewett Prize for New Testament studies and a Martin Marty Junior Fellowship, and has taught at Princeton Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary and New Brunswick Theological Seminary. Robyn is the inaugural Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Policy, writes regularly for The Conversation, and is a frequent guest on ABC radio. Instagram & Facebook: @RevRobynWhitaker Her latest book: Revelation for Normal People: A Guide to the Strangest and Most Dangerous Book in the Bible (The Bible for Normal People series) — out now. A scholar's guide to reading Revelation in its ancient context, without the fear or the fixation on end-times charts. 📖 Get it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CNJ4MMT7 Links & resourcesFollow The Bridge on Instagram: @tyb_thebridgeFollow Robyn Whitaker: @RevRobynWhitakerRobyn's book, Revelation for Normal People: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CNJ4MMT7

  2. Aug 23

    Don't Be Scared Now: An Introduction to the Book of Revelation

    Revelation might be the most feared book in the Bible — and Dr Katie Haldane thinks that's a tragedy. She's spent fifteen years teaching end times, and holds both a Master's and a PhD in the book of Revelation. In this series premiere of Don't Be Scared Now, she makes the case that Revelation was never meant to be a weapon of fear, conspiracy or political propaganda — it was written to be a book of hope. Katie walks through why Revelation gets hijacked by conspiracy theories and hatred, what the book's actual goal is (hint: it's regeneration and restoration, not decoding a timeline), and introduces the four classic scholarly lenses used to read it — preterist, historicist, futurist and idealist — before explaining why she refuses to lock Revelation into just one of them. She closes with Revelation 1:8 — "who is, who was, and who is to come" — as the key that holds the whole book together, past, present and future. This episode sets up a full series featuring conversations with Associate Professor Robin Whitaker (Pilgrim Theological College) on the rapture, and Dr U-Wen Low on how to read Revelation well, plus a joint conversation with both. Academics for the average Joe — real scholarship, explained like a human, so you can fall in love with this book instead of fearing it. Scripture referenced: Ecclesiastes 3:11 · Matthew 19:28 · Acts 3:21 · Revelation 1:8, 4, 22 Coming up in this series: the rapture with Associate Professor Robin Whitaker · how to read Revelation with Dr U-Wen Low · a joint conversation with both scholars. Got a question for the series? Send it through on Instagram @tyb_thebridge or email us thebridge@trashyourbible.com

About

What if the biblical scholars usually only heard at academic conferences sat down for a real conversation — with you? TYB The Bridge is a new Bible podcast from Trash Your Bible, hosted by Dr Katie Haldane, bringing biblical scholarship out of the lecture hall and into an honest, accessible conversation. Every episode takes a real question — submitted by a real listener — straight to the academic who has actually spent their career studying it. No jargon. No gatekeeping. Just answers. Dr Katie Haldane recently completed a PhD on the book of Revelation and Greco-Roman history and culture. After years spent inside the world of biblical academia, sitting in rooms with historians and theologians most people will never meet, she kept coming back to the same thought: the average Joe needs to hear this. TYB The Bridge is her answer — a bridge between rigorous biblical scholarship and everyday Bible reading. Each episode pairs one listener question with one leading biblical scholar for one real conversation — covering biblical history, the book of Revelation, ancient Greco-Roman culture, church history, biblical interpretation, and the questions your Bible study group has never quite been able to answer. Got a Bible question nobody could answer? Send it in. It might become an episode. New episodes every Monday. TYB The Bridge is part of Trash Your Bible (TYB), a free, book-by-book Bible study resource helping people of all backgrounds fall in love with God's Word — one worn-out, highlighted, dog-eared page at a time. Explore the full library of studies, reading plans and resources at trashyourbible.com. If you love Bible study, biblical history, theology, church history or Christian podcasts that go deeper than the surface — without the jargon of a seminary classroom — this one's for you. Full video episodes on YouTube. Follow @tyb_thebridge on Instagram for updates, and send your questions to thebridge@trashyourbible.com. Immersed today. Equipped for tomorrow.