They said they were going to do it, and doggonit, it got did! This week David Burnett makes his triumphal return to Data Over Dogma to discuss the recent academic conference on monotheism that he, Dan McClellan and others organized at Brown University. And if that sounds boring or dry to you, hold onto your butt, because—fire in the hole!—they were dropping bombs! The whole goal of this conference was to challenge any notion that the people of ancient southwest Asia (meaning the people who...

When people say they've read "the Bible," what do they mean? Well generally what they DON'T mean is that they read source texts in their original languages. Most of us don't have the time or desire to learn how to read ancient Hebrew or Greek, so we're at the mercy of other people to figure out how to render the two thousand plus year old writings into our language. That leaves us with a problem: how do we know which translation to use? This week, Dr Dan is going to give the low-down on the...

It's perhaps the most surprising conspiracy theory to pop up in this century. Humans have known that our planet is a sphere for literally thousands of years. Why, in a day of more advanced science than ever before, would people suddenly abandon that knowledge? Well, before our collective eyeballs all get too strained from rolling them, let's all pause to look at the probable origin of the flat-Earth insistence: The Bible. Does the Bible actually say that the Earth is flat? If it does, are...

If you've been listening to the show for any length of time, you know that the Bible did not come from any single source, nor does it speak with one voice. This week, we have Dr. David Carr with us to discuss "the primeval history" of Genesis 1-11, and and the sources from which those chapters sprung. Were these stories taken and modified from other myths and legends in that part of the world? Were they actual history? What should we think when the stories repeat/conflict with themselves?...

This week, we're going to point out a blatant contradiction in the Bible, and if you don't like it... you'll just have to forgive us! In our first segment we'll talk about the epic end(s) of the the reign of king Ahaziah. There are two stories, and boy howdy- they do NOT line up! Then, we're talking new-testament forgiveness. Does Jesus have the right to forgive sins? The rabbis say no. He says yes. The disabled guy who was lowered into Jesus' house through a hole in the roof would just like...

You ever wonder if nefarious scientists are feverishly working to open a portal to allow demons out to begin the apocalypse? Well don't. That's silly. Nevertheless, some people ARE worried about that. And so many other silly things! This week, we look at the hysteria brought on by the recent total solar eclipse here in the U.S. and what Biblical implications (if any) it might have had. Also, we talk about the Jerusalem council in the book of Acts, and the impact it had on the formation of...

This week, it's a deep dive into the Biblical ideas of spirits, souls, trinitarian thought, evolutionary agency detection, demons... and that's just the first segment! What is a spirit or a soul, anyway? Where did that idea come from? And after we answer ALL those questions, who or what is the Holy Spirit? And then, you know, we talk about Elisha and the bears murdering a bunch of kids. For early access to an ad-free version of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and an opportunity to...

It's a big question these days. A deeply personal issue for many, a wedge issue for politicians (and that doofus Matt Walsh), and a point of A LOT of misinformation when it comes to the position of the Bible. Well, we're not qualified to talk about the personal or the political much, but on this week's show, we'll definitely be able to dive head-first into what the Bible has to say about the question of "what is a woman"? But before we get to that, we're diving into a murder mystery! An...

It doesn't sound very nice, but this week we're asking the question: is religious belief the same as factual knowledge, or is closer to imagination? Cognitive scientist and philosopher Neil Van Leeuwen is here to walk us through the theory he puts forward in his book Religion as Make-Believe A Theory of Belief, Imagination, and Group Identity. And it is fascinating! Dr. Van Leeuwen dives deep into how our minds relate to the world around us. What distinguishes our understanding of what's in...

It's time for bunnies and chocolate, and recounting stories of brutal murder! For Christians around the world, Holy Week is an incredibly important time. But how well do you actually know the good, the bad, and the ugly of the last days of Jesus? But also... they weren't the last days, were they? This week, we're going through the Holy Week timeline and events to get some perspective on it all. Then, it's all about re-enlivening. Where did the idea of resurrection come from? What's its...

Did Paul use slave labor to help him write his epistles? Would we even have a Bible without the work of enslaved people? This week, we welcome New Testament scholar Candida Moss, whose new book, God's Ghostwriters: Enslaved Christians and the Making of the Bible comes out later this month. In this book, Dr. Moss explores the widespread use of highly skilled enslaved people, not only as scribes or human dictation machines, but likely in much more creative capacities. Was your favorite passage...

What do we know about Jesus? Not the character who is the subject of the Christian Bible, but the actual historical figure? Who was that person? What can we know about him? Do scholars even believe that he actually existed? This week, we welcome Helen Bond to walk us through the actual history, or as much of it as we can piece together. On another just as fascinating front, we'll talk to Dr. Bond about the women of the New Testament. Did Jesus have female disciples (beyond his mom and Mary...

This week we're doing something a little different. We're working with our friends over at History Daily to bring you some content that, though it is not Bible related, we think you'll really enjoy! Every weekday on History Daily, host Lindsay Graham (American Scandal, American History Tellers) takes you back in time to explore a momentous event that happened ‘on this day’ in history. Give it a listen, and if you like it, subscribe! ***PLEASE CONSIDER TAKING OUR SURVEY! For a limited time,...

It's a big, scary topic, but it's one that you can't avoid if you want to talk honestly about the the Bible and its contents: does the Bible contain genocide? And if so, does it condone the genocide it contains? On this week's show we're looking at mass destruction, and wrestling with what it is, and what it means in a biblical context. Is the story of the ordered annihilation of the Amalekites genocide, or is it something else? What about God destroying Sodom and Gomorrah? Or the flooding of...

You've probably heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but how much do you really know about them? Where did they come from, when were they discovered, and what can they tell us about the Bible as it was handed down to us? Also, are all the scrolls and fragments that have found their way into private collections and museums legitimate? This week we talk to expert Dr. Kipp Davis, who gives us the skinny on the scrolls. It's all the history and mystery surrounding what some have called the most...

One man, one woman. That's what many pastors, priests, and politicians claim the Bible prescribes for marriage. Are they right? Can it be actually be boiled down to that one simple dynamic? Well, if you've been listening to our show, you know how completely unlikely that is. But don't just take our word for it, we've brought in a ringer on the subject! Dr. Jennifer Bird is the author of Marriage in the Bible, What Do the Texts Say? Dr. Bird is going to set us straight on biblical conceptions...

It's one of the most baffling moments of the new testament. Jesus talks to, and kills, foliage. Because he was hungry, and it was out of season, so it didn't have fruit. Dr. Dan does his best to make it make sense. Then we get into some really fascinating textual analysis! Don't let the fancy name intimidate you, this dive into deutero-Isaiah is super interesting. What do you think? Do you buy the hypothesis? Many have challenged the idea, but the Deut abides. For early access to an ad-free...

Hooooo boy. This week, we're asking one of the biggest questions in Christianity. Is Jesus God? Specifically, we'll be looking at two questions. First, we examine the gospel most frequently cited to support the idea: the gospel of John. Literally, the first verse of John says "The Word was with God, and the Word was God", doesn't that kind of end the debate? Well, if you know this show, you KNOW it's going to be more complicated than that! We'll go verse by verse discussing why what you've...

Brace yourselves, friends, 'cause this week's episode is getting racy! First, we're uncovering Noah in his tent, and his poor son Ham is going to regret going in there! It seems unfair, but apparently seeing your dad naked is a really big deal in the book of Genesis. Is it big enough to curse an entire lineage forever? Maybe. Hopefully Dr. Dan can help us figure out what's going on there. Next, we're kicking the Biblical legs out from under the pernicious cultural phenomenon of "modesty...

That's right, kids. We got an honest-to-goodness celebrity to come talk to us. Joel McHale, the dashing star of hit shows like Community, The Soup, and Animal Control has inexplicably decided to join us this week to talk about his experience as a believing Christian in Hollywood, and what it means to him to hear Bible scholarship like what we have here on Data Over Dogma. We also spend some time talking about one of the wilder stories from the Bible: the necromancer of Endor! Sadly, this is...

Beasts! Dragons! Blood! This week, we're talking about the last book of the New Testament, that wacky troublemaker of a book, Revelation. Who wrote it and why? Was it a fever dream? What era is it talking about? IS ARMAGEDDON COMING TO CLAIM US ALL TOMORROW? For the definitive answers to these questions... well, you'd have to ask a time traveler or sorcerer. But if you want the best answers modern scholarship has to offer, this is the place! For early access to an ad-free version of the...

Magi- they're the gift that keeps on giving! Last week we talked about a star, this week we're unpacking the mysteries of the fellas who followed that star. We've all seen them represented in nativity scenes: three men in elaborate dress, each bearing a different gift for the infant king, but is any of that actually biblical? What do we actually know about the Magi? What role did they play in the story? Fortunately, we have Dr. Eric Vanden Eykel with us to unpack it all. He literally wrote...

A physicist? On a Bible podcast? At Christmas time? Well, there are a couple of ways that could go! This week, we welcome Dr. Aaron Adair onto the show. Dr. Adair's book, The Star of Bethlehem: A Skeptical View, discusses the famous star that led the wise men to baby Jesus in the book of Matthew. What could such a star have been? Is there a known heavenly body that could be used to guide someone to a specific place? How did it appear? Well, we got the guy who wrote the book on the subject, so...

This week we're joined by Dr. Jacob Wright of Emory University. His new book Why the Bible Began leaves aside the questions of who wrote the Bible, what it is, when it was written, and how the Bible came to us, and instead focuses on the why. Why did the writings of this one small group of people survive and persist, when the records of much larger and more successful empires were often buried, forgotten, or lost to time? For early access to an ad-free version of the show, exclusive content,...