How the Bible Works

Making Hezekiah Great Again

Have you ever thought about Hezekiah as one of the main characters in the Old Testament? And what if we told you that the child named Immanuel spoken of in Isaiah referred not to Jesus but to Hezekiah (at least at first)?

Old Testament jerks

Ever notice how all the “good guys” in the Old Testament turn out to be jerks? Tim and Nate talk about a narrative technique Tim calls “snowballing”, where the Biblical authors intentionally try to get us excited about each new hero figure, only to let us down in the end. It is this pattern that allowed Jesus to look back and say all these stories pointed to him.

Tim Mackie: Homosexuality and the Bible (Part 2)

In this episode of Almost Heretical, we continue our conversation with Tim Mackie of the Bible Project. We dive deep into the Bible’s literary design and explore how its complexity influences modern ethical conversations, including sexuality and homosexuality. Tim shares insights into how the Bible functions as a tool for ongoing dialogue rather than a rulebook, challenging traditional Christian viewpoints on ethics while addressing the complexities of interpreting ancient texts in today’s world.

Tim Mackie – Bible Design Patterns (Part 1)

Tim Mackie from The Bible Project explores how the Bible’s design patterns shape our understanding of Scripture and its ancient origins.

Why Seams & Stitching Matter

All the talk about stitching and literary complexity got Nate and Tim talking about why this stuff even matters. What does thinking of the Bible as a literary mosaic change? How does paying attention to redaction and arrangement affect our views of Christianity and how we relate to one another?

Scrolls & Seams

Ancient scroll technology led to literary binding techniques evident in the Bible. Collections of texts were stitched together through canonical seams and enclosed within literary introductions and conclusions. This seam work is how we got a Bible.

Literary Layers & Ananias and Sapphira

Collectively, the Bible consists of complex literary layers stacked atop one another. Stories and motifs are recycled and re-used. When we read any individual story, we must read it as a single layer of a greater whole.

Copy, Paste & Psalm 108

If the Bible is a mosaic, then the meaning is in the stitching. Nate and Tim look at how Psalm 108 is an example of clear editing and repurposing of texts within the Hebrew Bible, and how the Gospel of Luke is tracking with this literary mechanism at work.

How does the bible work?

Nate and Tim open up a new series of conversations exploring how the Bible actually works. They introduce the idea of the Bible as a literary mosaic in which various texts are pieced together to form a kind of theological portrait. This episode is the first in what will be an ongoing series called How The Bible Works.