x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

The Word Made Human

The Sacred Humanist

Welcome to The Sacred Humanist. In this series of commentaries on the Judeo Christian scripture, we explore the ancient texts of the Bible—not as divine revelations, but as deeply human writings shaped by struggle, hope, fear, and imagination. The purpose of these commentaries is to uncover the human wisdom woven into ancient scripture—wisdom born not of divine decree, but of lived experience, moral struggle, and the timeless pursuit of a better world. These stories were crafted by people much like

religion & spirituality religion

All Episodes

9:20

When We Chose Better

The Word Made Human ·

2026/01/09

Christians often insist that without God’s revelation, humanity would have no moral compass, no way to distinguish right from wrong. This episode challenges that claim head-on, using slavery as the clearest test case. Scripture regulated human bondage, defended it, and sanctified it for centuries, while humanity eventually recognized, often against the church and its texts, that owning another person is morally indefensible. The abolition of slavery was not a triumph of revelation but of conscience:

en

9:39

The Minor Prophets

The Word Made Human ·

2025/12/12

The Minor Prophets are almost always misunderstood. Treated as religious messengers delivering divine commands, they are read as mouthpieces for God rather than as critics of the very systems that claimed to speak for Him. But read together—and read honestly—the Minor Prophets emerge as something far more radical: ethical insurgents who challenged priestly religion, destabilized divine authority as the source of morality, and forced responsibility back onto humanity itself. Their anger is not

en

10:50

The Evolution of Moral Imagination

The Word Made Human ·

2025/12/04

In this episode of The Word Made Human, we dive into the sweeping moral journey hidden inside the Bible—not as a divine monologue, but as a centuries-long human conversation filled with conflict, yearning, and radical imagination. We’ll trace how the text moves from tribal survival ethics to the explosive justice of the prophets, from the introspection of wisdom literature to the compassion-first vision of the gospels—and then examine how Paul’s attempt to impose unity stalled that upward arc for

en

12:47

According to who?

The Word Made Human ·

2025/11/26

In today’s episode of The Word Made Human, we’re diving into one of the most revealing, and most misunderstood, features of the Bible: the phenomenon of pseudepigrapha—texts written under someone else’s name. Far from being a scandal, this ancient practice opens a window into the real process by which scripture was shaped: not by a single divine voice, but by generations of human authors adapting old stories to new crises. In this conversation, we’ll explore how pseudepigraphy functioned, why it was

en

12:07

What Happened to Jesus?

The Word Made Human ·

2025/11/14

In this episode, we explore one of the most revealing fractures in early Christianity: the stark difference between Paul’s cosmic, supernatural “Christ event” and the grounded, deeply human Jesus portrayed in the synoptic Gospels. Rather than choosing sides, we trace how these two incompatible visions shaped the faith we inherited—and what happens when we strip away the metaphysics to recover the ethical, imaginative, and profoundly human teacher at the heart of the older stories. It’s a journey

en

11:33

The Gospel of Thomas

The Word Made Human ·

2025/10/24

Before theology claimed him, there was only a voice.The Gospel of Thomas may be the closest we’ll ever come to the first, human Jesus — the one remembered not through miracles, but through wisdom. This episode explores how the earliest followers turned memory into myth, and how remembering him now might help us remember ourselves. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thesacredhumanist.substack.com

en

11:49

Not the End of the World

The Word Made Human ·

2025/09/29

In today’s episode, we’re looking at one of the most misunderstood threads in the Bible—eschatology, or the study of “last things.” While only a few books of scripture truly deal with apocalyptic visions, generations have elevated these passages into blueprints for the end of the world. We’ll trace how that thinking evolved, how it distorts the original intent of books like Daniel and Revelation, and why this obsession with endings has too often harmed human progress. More importantly, we’ll explore

en

10:32

Noah’s Ark

The Word Made Human ·

2025/09/02

In this episode, we explore the two flood stories woven into Genesis, the Yahwist and the Priestly, and what they reveal about the human longing for renewal. Rather than tales of divine wrath, these ancient myths become windows into our deepest hope: that even after collapse, whether personal, familial, or societal, a fresh beginning is possible. This reading offers a secular humanist reflection on the flood as a story not of destruction, but of the enduring power of reset. This is a public episode

en

16:54

Genesis 1 - 3

The Word Made Human ·

2025/08/24

In this episode, we’re turning to the opening chapters of Genesis, the creation myths in chapters 1 through 3. These are some of the most familiar words in the Bible, yet when read as myth rather than history, they take on a deeper meaning. Genesis doesn’t give us science; it gives us wisdom. It doesn’t tell us how the universe began; it tells us what it means to be human, to long for connection, to awaken to responsibility, to live between innocence and awareness. This is a public episode. If you

en

18:15

Introductory Episode

The Word Made Human ·

2025/08/17

In this introductory episode, I explain the idea behind my secular humanist Bible commentaries: reading the Bible not as God’s word, but as humanity’s word. As a humanist and atheist, I see these texts as works of literature, history, and ethics—written by people, shaped by their times, and revealing their struggles, hopes, and blind spots. Some books, like Jonah, Amos, and Ecclesiastes, speak with surprising honesty about conscience, justice, and mortality. Others, like Joshua and Romans, show us

en

20:46

The Gospel of John

The Word Made Human ·

2025/08/11

The Gospel of John is often considered the most spiritual, the most poetic, and the most theologically rich of the New Testament texts, but it is also the most dangerous. Unlike the earlier gospels, which preserve traces of a human teacher navigating real moral and social tensions, John presents a fully mythologized figure: not Jesus the man, but Christ the cosmic absolute. This essay offers a secular humanist reading of John, not to reinterpret its theology, but to examine what it reveals about our

en

11:16

1 Chronicles

The Word Made Human ·

2025/07/30

Beneath the long genealogies and idealized kings of 1 Chronicles lies a blueprint for something very modern: sanitized nationalism—the deliberate crafting of a clean, unifying story to bind a wounded people. This isn’t just biblical history. It’s the logic behind cable news, political mythmaking, and the boundaries we still draw between “us” and “them.” We’ll unpack how the Chronicler’s vision helped a nation heal—and why that same storytelling instinct, if left unexamined, can divide a global

en

19:37

Jonah

The Word Made Human ·

2025/07/21

In just four chapters, the Book of Jonah delivers one of the Bible’s most surprising moral reversals—and it’s not about the fish. In this episode of The Word Made Human, we explore Jonah as a parable of conscience, resistance, and reluctant compassion.From a secular humanist lens, Jonah isn’t a lesson in divine obedience. It’s a story about how hard it is to care beyond our tribe—and how much it matters when we do.What if the most sacred question isn’t about God at all—but about how far we’re

en

15:24

The Gospel of Mark

The Word Made Human ·

2025/07/18

For secular humanists, Mark offers something rare: a portrait of Jesus that feels profoundly human and radically ethical. This is not the cosmic Christ of John's Gospel, nor the law-fulfilling messiah of Matthew. This is a man of flesh and vulnerability, of compassion and confrontation. He heals not to prove divinity but to restore dignity. He preaches not dogma, but direct action. He challenges not the irreligious, but the powerful religious systems that have grown indifferent to suffering. This is

en

17:20

Ruth

The Word Made Human ·

2025/07/13

For the secular humanist, Ruth is not a tale of divine favor — it is a celebration of human potential. It invites us to trust in the strength of our own moral agency, to believe that kindness can triumph over cruelty, that loyalty can overcome isolation, and that love, even in its simplest, most fragile forms, holds the power to reshape the world. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

en

10:54

Romans

The Word Made Human ·

2025/07/08

For secular humanists, the value of Romans lies in its transparency. It exposes the architecture of religious control. It reveals how belief can be leveraged to override moral reasoning, how abstract theology can be used to enforce conformity, and how power often hides behind claims of divine authority. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thesacredhumanist.substack.com

en

10:34

Amos, a Prophet of Social Justice

The Word Made Human ·

2025/07/05

The Book of Amos stands as one of the earliest prophetic texts in the Hebrew Bible and is strikingly contemporary in its themes. For secular humanists, Amos is not simply a relic of theological antiquity—it is a human cry for justice, a call for ethical integrity in the face of institutional corruption, and a poetic demand that those with power recognize the humanity of those without it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus

en

13:27

The Book of Micah - A Humanist Prophet

The Word Made Human ·

2025/06/26

In this episode of The Word Made Human, we’re turning to one of the lesser-read but most powerful voices in ancient scripture: the prophet Micah.Now, if you’ve never opened the Book of Micah, or if you’ve only heard it quoted in passing—maybe that line about doing justice and loving mercy—you might be surprised by what you find. Because Micah doesn’t deliver doctrine. He delivers a gut punch. He names injustice, calls out corrupt leadership, and dares to imagine a world where peace isn’t imposed

en

16:44

Leviticus - The Human Cost of Divine Authority

The Word Made Human ·

2025/06/22

This episode takes a clear-eyed look at the Book of Leviticus, not as sacred revelation, but as a stark reminder of what happens when law and morality are claimed to be divinely dictated. Through a secular humanist lens, we explore how Leviticus reveals the dangers of purity codes, exclusionary ethics, and rigid hierarchies—warning signs of what can happen when human authority is cloaked in the language of the divine. Rather than offering timeless wisdom, Leviticus exposes the historical roots of

en

9:54

Rewriting the Arc of History

The Word Made Human ·

2025/06/20

This episode explores how many Christian men and women, over time, have reinterpreted parts of the Bible—not because scripture changed, but because their own moral understanding did. As society grew more attuned to justice, compassion, and equality, believers gradually revised their views on slavery, gender roles, and other once-defended norms. Ironically, this evolution aligns closely with the secular humanist belief that morality is not fixed by divine decree but shaped through human progress. The

en

26 results

Similar Podcasts

Jeff Haygood, Pastor

PodPoint

PASTOR ALVARO VALENCIA

Pastor Alvaro Valencia

Grace Life Church CT.

Joseph Levesque

Pleasant View Church

Ted Nance

Christian Heritage Church"s Podcast

PodPoint