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PODCAST

The Biblical Mind

Center For Hebraic Thought

The Biblical Mind is dedicated to helping its audience understand how the biblical authors thought, promoting Bible fluency through curious, careful reading of Scripture. It is hosted by Dr. Dru Johnson and published by the Center for Hebraic Thought, a hub for research and resources on the intellectual world of the Bible.

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All Episodes

49:41

Redeeming Eden & Eve: How the Bible Strategically...

The Biblical Mind ·

2026/01/29

Why does Scripture so often portray women as central to God’s work of redemption—even in stories of deep dysfunction and failure? In this episode, Dr. Ingrid Faro, Old Testament scholar and interim president of Northern Seminary, joins Dru Johnson to explore her groundbreaking work in Redeeming Eden: How Women in the Bible Advance the Story of Salvation.Dr. Faro shares how her personal journey through theological trauma, cultic church experiences, and academic discovery led her to reexamine Genesis

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47:22

Seeing What’s Really There: A Guide to Biblical...

The Biblical Mind ·

2026/01/22

Can you trust that viral “Bible connection” you just saw on TikTok?In this episode, Matt Swale, author of "Scripture’s Use of Scripture in the Old Testament," joins Dr. Dru Johnson to discuss how biblical allusions really work—and why we need better instincts and better tools when interpreting Scripture. Swale wrote the book to help lay readers and undergraduates navigate the exciting (and sometimes overhyped) world of intertextuality: how one passage of Scripture evokes another, often subtly, and

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46:19

The State of Hebraic Thought In 2026 (Dru Johnson)...

The Biblical Mind ·

2026/01/15

In this episode, Dru Johnson and Mike Tolliver reflect on the Center for Hebraic Thought’s evolving impact and expanding community. They revisit the promise made in 2025 to annually assess their work and celebrate how that commitment has borne fruit: from the flourishing Hebraic Thought Facebook community and its scripture reading groups, to the launch of a Michael Polanyi reading club. They announce the inaugural Bible First Conference Series, co-hosted with the American Bible Society, exploring

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53:24

Sacrifice, Atonement, and Presence: Maybe Leviticus...

The Biblical Mind ·

2026/01/08

What happens when an Australian butcher starts reading Leviticus—and finds it fun? In this unique episode, Dru Johnson speaks with Phil Bray, author of Leviticus on the Butcher’s Block, about how his day job cutting lambs and steaks helped him see the book of Leviticus in a whole new light. Phil traces his journey from casual Bible reader to Leviticus superfan, exploring how rituals, sacrifice, and atonement make far more sense when you’ve broken down hundreds of animals by hand.Phil shares how

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32:16

ICYMI: How Old Testament Laws Can Shape Christians...

The Biblical Mind ·

2026/01/01

In this episode, Old Testament scholar Dr. Carmen Imes unpacks widespread Christian misunderstandings of Torah and shows how the laws of the Old Testament were never meant as a means of salvation, but as a way of living out Israel’s covenant identity. Rather than a legalistic burden, Torah was a gift of freedom—a lifestyle for a people already redeemed.Dr. Imes explains how Jesus wasn’t raising the bar beyond Sinai but calling his followers back to its original heart: internal transformation, not

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28:21

ICYMI: Is the NT Just Stoic Philosophy? (Jonathan...

The Biblical Mind ·

2025/12/25

ICYMI: This episode is one of our earliest episodes, and originally aired on 5/14/2020In this introductory conversation, Dr. Jonathan Pennington joins the Center for Hebraic Thought as its newest fellow and shares how his journey through philosophy and biblical scholarship led him to see the New Testament as part of a deeply sophisticated intellectual tradition. Pennington discusses how early Christianity, though written in Greek and shaped within a Hellenistic world, did not abandon its Jewish

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37:56

Faith, Innovation, and the Church's Future:...

The Biblical Mind ·

2025/12/18

What happens when the tech elite of Silicon Valley use their skills to serve the church?In this episode, Kevin Kim, executive director of Crazy Love Ministries and founder of Basil Tech, joins Dr. Dru Johnson to explore a radical idea: that technology, creativity, and innovation can be spiritual gifts to build up the Body of Christ. Drawing from his experiences with venture capitalists, Stanford designers, and software engineers from Apple and Google, Kevin explains how Basil Tech mobilizes

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46:19

Getting Egypt Out of Israel: The Exodus Plagues as...

The Biblical Mind ·

2025/12/11

Are the ten plagues just divine punishment? Or are they intended to form a people?In this episode, Dr. Dru Johnson sits down with Dr. Rick Wadholm and Pastor Dalton Avery, co-authors of Plagued by Faith, to explore a more layered vision of the plague narratives in Exodus. Rather than merely acts of judgment, the plagues are portrayed as formative, disruptive events that unmake Egypt’s religious, political, and economic worldview—and detach Israel from it. The Nile River, Egypt’s source of life, is

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25:08

Hebraic Thought On The Big Screen? Biblical Themes in...

The Biblical Mind ·

2025/12/04

What makes a movie biblical—even if it’s not about the Bible?In this episode, Dr. Dru Johnson explores that question with a curated list of films that reflect deep biblical structures—movies that “get what’s going on in Scripture” better than many that explicitly reference the Bible. These aren’t Sunday School adaptations—they’re gritty, layered, and emotionally raw. Dru walks through Tree of Life (a meditation on Job and Genesis 1), A Serious Man (Job again, but existential and tragic), East of

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2:13

Equip the Church to Think Biblically: How Your Church...

The Biblical Mind ·

2025/12/03

In this special message to church leaders, Dr. Dru Johnson speaks directly to pastors, elders, and ministry teams preparing next year’s budget. As someone who has served as a full-time pastor, he knows how critical and crowded those budget conversations can be—and he makes a case for why the Center for Hebraic Thought deserves a place in your missions giving line.“If you’ve passed along our articles, if you’ve listened regularly to our podcast or shared it with others,” Dru says, “then you’ve

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2:51

Fueling Hebraic Thought: How You Can Help

The Biblical Mind ·

2025/12/02

In this candid and heartfelt message, Dr. Dru Johnson steps out from behind the mic to speak directly to you—the listener, the learner, the potential donor.“I’m a recurring giver. I actually pay to do this work.” That’s how strongly he believes in the mission of the Center for Hebraic Thought. In this short but powerful donor appeal, Dru explains how the Center’s podcast, public resources, book series, and workshops are made possible—not by salaries or institutional budgets—but by the generous

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22:14

Why Scholars Gather: A Tour Through the Wild World of...

The Biblical Mind ·

2025/11/27

What actually happens when thousands of biblical scholars descend on a single convention center?In this unusual and behind-the-scenes episode, Dru Johnson roams the floor of the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting in Boston to ask a range of publishers and scholars—from Langham Publishing to Prairie College—what these conferences are really like. From the excitement of free books to the dread of reading papers aloud in monotone, this episode reveals both the inspiring and ridiculous sides

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54:21

Where Is God? Eucharist, Trauma, and Divine Presence...

The Biblical Mind ·

2025/11/20

Where is God present—and how do believers describe it?In this thoughtful and poetic episode, Polish theologian Dr. Elżbieta Łazarewicz-Wyrzykowska joins Dru Johnson to reflect on theology, trauma, and spiritual presence. From her childhood in Warsaw—where bullet holes and tanks marked the legacy of war—to her academic path through Hebrew Bible, literary theory, and empirical psychology, Elżbieta has never stopped asking difficult questions. They discuss her research into the Book of Amos using the

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61:57

On Biblical Masculinity, The Boy Crisis, And The...

The Biblical Mind ·

2025/11/13

For decades, churches have built youth ministries around entertainment and behavior management. But what if all the data says that’s the wrong approach?In this powerful episode, Dr. Anthony Bradley joins Dru Johnson to reflect on 25 years of experience working with youth, revisiting the PBS documentary Raising Cain and what it reveals about the neglected emotional lives of boys. He shares stories from his time as a high school teacher, where the boys most emotionally adrift weren’t from broken

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43:59

What The Chosen Gets Right (And Wrong): Archaeology,...

The Biblical Mind ·

2025/11/06

Was Peter’s hometown ever really lost—and have we just found it?In this episode, archaeologist and scholar Dr. Jeffrey Arroyo García joins Dru Johnson to explore how archaeology reshapes our understanding of the Gospels, popular media like The Chosen, and the portrayal of first-century Judaism. Drawing on his years excavating at El-Araj—the site increasingly believed to be biblical Bethsaida—Jeff walks us through how ancient inscriptions, Crusader-era churches, and Roman bathhouses reveal the story

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34:46

Creation, Rest, and Reign: What Genesis Meant to the...

The Biblical Mind ·

2025/10/30

What if Genesis 1 wasn’t about the origin of matter—but the enthronement of God? And what if “rest” wasn’t the end of work, but the beginning of reign?In this episode, Rachel Booth Smith, author of Rest Assured, joins Dru Johnson to explore how the Genesis creation story contrasts with other ancient Near Eastern accounts. With a storyteller’s gift and a pastor’s heart, Smith explains how comparing biblical cosmogony to Egyptian or Hittite myths can actually strengthen, not weaken, our faith in the

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24:50

Israel’s Rituals, God’s Needs, and the Covenant That...

The Biblical Mind ·

2025/10/23

What happens when a senior biblical scholar changes their mind—publicly? In this episode, Dr. John Walton returns to explain key shifts in his thinking, especially about Genesis, the temple, and covenant theology.He unpacks two major paradigm shifts: first, that Genesis creation isn’t about material origins, but about functional order; second, that Genesis 3 isn’t even about sin—it’s about humanity’s search for order. He also revisits his earlier view that the cosmos should be seen as a temple, now

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37:35

Cultural Rivers, Order, and Covenant: Tools For...

The Biblical Mind ·

2025/10/16

In this thought-provoking episode, Walton explains his “cultural rivers” metaphor—how each culture swims in its own current of values, assumptions, and logic. We can’t read the Bible through modern, Western eyes without missing what mattered most to ancient audiences. Genesis, for example, isn’t about material origins but about God bringing order to a disordered world.From Genesis 1–11, which Walton calls a unified pursuit-of-order narrative, to covenant as God’s chosen method of establishing order

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45:37

Unlocking The Deep Structures of Scripture: The...

The Biblical Mind ·

2025/10/09

What if the Bible was written with deep structural patterns designed to echo across generations—economically and theologically?In this riveting episode, Dr. Joshua Berman joins Dru Johnson to reveal how literary design, verbal repetition, and cultural continuity make the Bible not a patchwork, but a carefully composed unity. Through examples ranging from Genesis and Judges to Exodus and Samuel, Berman shows how the same words, images, and narrative arcs—like “sword and bow” or reversal of

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50:47

Attachment Theory, God’s Presence, & The Image of...

The Biblical Mind ·

2025/10/02

What does attachment theory have to do with discipleship, theology, or the church? According to Dr. Geoff Holsclaw, more than we realize.In this episode, Holsclaw—a pastor, theologian, and co-author of Landscapes of the Soul—joins Dru Johnson to explore how neuroscience and interpersonal attachment can illuminate both human development and the biblical story. From early childhood bonds to the way we experience God’s presence, he explains how secure and insecure attachments shape how we relate to

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167 results

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