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Laurence and Paul finish our series on the 5 books of Moses, the Torah by looking at Deuteronomy.  It turns out that this section doesn't conclude with the people of Israel reaching their destination, then the main character dies (sorry for the spoiler...)! Instead they find that this book acts as a stage-setter, defining how leaders of this ancient people will be described for the next 600 years.  Remarkably, they also find Deuteronomy making a surprise appearance at the end of that history, just before Israel were exiled to Babylon. 

In this 3rd episode in the series, Paul and Dan go off on a tangent to think about demons.  They start by looking at where they appear in the Old Testament and find them linked to the idols worshipped by the peoples around the ancient Israelites and presented as having no real existence or power.  When they come to the Gospels they explore why they suddenly appear so often there and why they are linked with certain types of illness.  They conclude with the overriding point that God is the only source of power and so Christians have no need to fear them and can safely ignore them while embracing the love of God expressed through his Son.

Paul and Dan continue their exploration of how these 'characters' appear in the Bible.  In part 1 they reached a preliminary conclusion that they are used as terms to personify our inherent tendency to want to go our own way rather than God's way.  In this episode they look at many more of the biblical passages that refer to the devil and satan and try to categorise them to get a comprehensive view of what they mean.

This episode was recorded just before Easter 2023 and Dan welcomes a guest, John Launchbury, to discuss the vital question: why did Jesus have to die?  They explore the meaning of the word atonement and consider the pros and cons of some, so-called atonement theories that theologians have proposed over history.  As they explore the key scriptural passages involved they find that the impact of the death of Jesus can be just as profound today as it was in the 1st century - and it's all about changing us rather than changing God! 

Josh and Paul continue our series of book introductions, taking on the next of the five books of the Torah - Numbers, which is actually not just about counting things, it's about a journey through the wilderness.  As they work through the sections of the narrative, they find a pattern that has already been repeated several times in previous books and has its roots in Genesis.  They also look at the purpose of the two censuses and conclude that it says more about God's overarching care for his people to protect, preserve and remain true to his promises. Listen in to find out where the journey ends! 

Paul and Dan embark on a multi-part exploration of the terms devil and satan and how they are used through the Bible.  They aim to lay some foundations here by thinking about how our worldview might affect how we read the Bible and the importance of taking notice of how Jesus interpreted his Bible. They do (eventually) start to explore some verses that talk about the devil and satan and draw an initial conclusion that they may not be referring to a supernatural being... but there's so much more still to cover!