Horizons of Scripture Podcast

Humour in the Bible: Elizabeth and Charlie speak to Manon Ceridwen James about humour, the Bible, and theology. They discuss the ways in which culture shapes our sense of humour, impacts our appreciation of it, and determines our ability to detect it in the biblical text.

Nicea and Today's Church: Charlie talks to Mary Stallard, Bishop of Llandaff about the relevance of the events at Nicea to today’s Church.

In this episode Charlie talks to Revd Dr Jordan Hillebert, Director of Formation and Tutor in Christian Doctrine at St Padarn’s Institute about the events that led up to Nicea and the meaning of some of the creed’s key statements.

In this episode Charlie discusses the following questions with Canon Professor Jeremy Duff, Principal of St Padarn’s Institute. What impact did the council of Nicea have on the formation of the New Testament? Did the bishops gathered there decide which books to include in the Bible? How did the canonical list of biblical books emerge? And was Nicea’s interpretation of the New Testament text correct?

In this final episode of the series that celebrates the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea Charlie talks to Dr Ainsley Griffiths, Director of Faith, Order and Unity in the Church in Wales.

Is the birth of Jesus Christ predicted in the Hebrew Bible? In what sense are the prophecies of the Old Testament fulfilled in him? Do the Christmas stories of the gospels agree with or contradict each other? How do we best read those stories today?

Should Christians care about the state of the natural world?Is the Bible to blame for the present ecological crisis? How does Christianity shape our relation to the world and other creatures? Charlie and Elizabeth talk to Dr Jordan Hillebert about the ways in which the Christian faith shapes our attitudes to the environment.

Do the Gospels contain different visions of Christian Ethics? Can we imitate Jesus? Is there really any ethical teaching in the Gospel of John? Charlie speaks with Elizabeth about Biblical Ethics and her research on Johannine Ethics.

The death and resurrection of Jesus are one of the pivotal events in human history. Elizabeth and Charlie talk to prof. Jeremy Duff about some of the historical and theological issues surrounding that momentous event. What is the link between the shamefulness of the cross and the glory of God? On what day of the week did Jesus die, and does it matter? Was the ending of the Gospel of Mark lost? Or were there some early Christians, huddled in a basement in Alexandria, inspired by Mark’s statement ‘they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid’ (Mark 16:8).

Charlie and Elizabeth discuss the nature of authorship and what role should human authors play in the process of biblical interpretation. What can we know about the people who wrote the Bible? Does it matter who they were and when they lived? How have ideas of authorship changed over time? Do we need the biblical authors if we want to interpret the Bible correctly?

Charlie and Elizabeth discuss the latest book of Candida Moss, God’s Ghostwriters: Enslaved Christians and the Making of the Bible and explore her claim that enslaved people had a major role in the production of the New Testament. Does God use ghostwriters? Did slaves write the New Testament? What evidence do we have for the contribution of slaves in literary production? And does Candida Moss have the answers?