Beyond the Bible Belt: Recent Episodes
Noah Dellinger and Kayla Currie
Envisioning the Church as Christ established it and reckoning with the misrepresentations and distortions of our day.
Is the Holy Spirit as important in our lives as it should be? What does that look like? Kayla and Noah discuss the ways the Holy Spirit can be missing from our understanding of God and how it affects our daily living. What are the practical importances of the Holy Spirit in our lives? Biblical and orthodox understandings of the Trinity are introduced and explored.
Noah and Kayla interview Noah's parents--Tom and Kimberly--about their journey of faith, and holding onto Christ amidst an imperfect church.
Noah shares three chapters from a story he's been writing. The story centers around a man named Argil, who enters the Garden. Upon entering the Garden through the fountain, Argil is met by Common, who gives him the book. Common brings Argil into her home, but Argil soon becomes uncomfortable with the stinky, loud, and intrusive people in House Common. They wanted to wash Argil's feet and drink blood with him, yuck! Leaving Common and her family, Argil takes his book along with him and begins on the path Individual, where he eventually descends into the Valley of Modernity. There, he meets two brothers Fundamental and Liberal. Interested to hear what happens next? Listen on!
Kayla and Noah discuss holiness, judgment, and edification in the Church. Why can Christians be so judgmental? Is holiness just about avoiding the bad stuff? How should Christians address sin with others?
Passages referenced:
Deuteronomy 14:2; Romans 11:17; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:20; 1 Pet. 1:15-16
Romans 1-2; John 3; 2 Corinthians 5-6; Philippians
As long as there is abuse in the Church, the Church has an abuse problem. Noah and Kayla discuss characteristics in churches that can create/sustain cultures and systems of abuse. They also explore how we should view leaders in the Church, and they talk over practical steps of reform that congregations can implement to prevent abuse.
For further study:
https://www.netgrace.org/resources
https://www.dianelangberg.com/articles/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8347pPgQ5g
https://prospect.org/civil-rights/next-christian-sex-abuse-scandal/
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/podcasts/lets-talk-podcast/lets-talk-overcoming-church-hurt/
Kayla and Noah take a historical look at the formation of the Bible. Who wrote the Bible? How did a list of books become the "word of God?" Has the Bible changed?
Noah and Kayla make a lot of claims about the Bible, and they dislike it when people don't cite their resources. So, here's a list!
If you would like more information, just reach out! If you would like to critique something we said, don't be afraid to reach out either--Noah and Kayla will always admit when they are wrong!
***revision: at 1:12:35, Noah, when discussing 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, says that the text jumps around in different manuscripts. He realized afterwards he strayed from his notes and exaggerated a bit. Verses 34-35 do jump around, but only between two different spots (not three, as Noah suggested). However, the point remains--verses don't commonly jump, making it a possibly significant variant. Take care :) ND
Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts:
http://www.csntm.org/
How the Canon Was Formed, Dr. Roy W. Hoover:
https://www.westarinstitute.org/resources/the-fourth-r/how-the-canon-was-formed/
“The Rule of Faith: Tracing Its Origins,” Thomas Bokedal (contact for access)
“The Formation of the Bible,” James Chukwuma Okoye
https://anselmacademic.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/7056-Anselm-Bible-Companion_chapter-1.pdf
Holy Resilience: the Bible’s Traumatic Origins, David Carr
The Canon of the New Testament : its origin, development, and significance, Bruce M. Metzger
On the Oxyrhynchus trash heap:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/oxyrhynchus-ancient-egypts-most-literate-trash-heap#:~:text=Between%201897%20and%201907%2C%20they,possibly%20translate%20in%20their%20lifetimes.
Dead Sea Scrolls:
https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2012/february/closer-look-significance-of-dead-sea-scrolls.html
Three oldest biblical manuscripts:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/biblearchaeologyreport.com/2019/02/06/the-three-oldest-biblical-texts/amp/
Scholarly Critique of Ehrman’s Misquoting Jesus:
http://benwitherington.blogspot.com/2006/03/misanalyzing-text-criticism-bart.html
Kayla and Noah go through questions asked about their relationship. In this episode they narrate how they first met, the drugs involved, and some lessons they've learned about conflict and long distance. Bonus: Kayla and Noah go through their top three movies and conclude with a scandalous relationship question.
Who are Kayla and Noah, and who do they think they are to be starting a podcast? Those are perfectly valid questions which are answered in this episode. To put it briefly, Kayla and Noah want to explore what the Bible, the historical church, and the global church can teach those raised in the Bible Belt about what the church is supposed to be. Beyond the Bible Belt podcast is meant to be an ongoing discussion between the hosts and whoever wants to participate. The peace of Christ be with you!