Bible Feed

 Dan talks to historian Martyn Lawrence about the moral problem of slavery in the Bible, noting that critics argue the Old and New Testaments endorse slavery. They begin an Old Testament deep dive, contrasting modern assumptions shaped by the Atlantic slave trade and civil rights era with ancient realities and translation issues around the Hebrew word for 'slave'.  After establishing some principles from Genesis, they focus on Exodus 21 as case law for a people just escaped from brutal slavery in Egypt, demonstrating that the regulations protect the vulnerable in a world which was far from utopian. The series will continue with further Old Testament examples and a later New Testament/Roman-world discussion.

Jon interviews Josh in this episode about reading the Gospel of Mark as a self-contained book rather than harmonizing it with the other gospels. Josh argues that Mark’s distinctive power comes from its fast-paced, gritty, confrontation-filled narrative and its repeated focus on the question of Jesus’ identity. Josh suggests reading Mark straight through without chapters, although he notes that there are structural markers such as a pivot around Peter's confession in Mark 8 toward repeated predictions of Jesus’ death.  There is geographical movement also from Galilee (in boats) towards Jerusalem (on roads) and then in Jerusalem itself. Josh also highlights Mark's aim to reach a wide audience through his explanations (currency, Jewish customs and translations) and closes with Mark 15’s picture of faithful women at the crucifixion as a final challenge to the reader.

Dan Weatherall welcomes back Becky Lewis to discuss neurodiversity in church life, recorded during Autism Acceptance Month and following a Birmingham Neurodiversity Awareness Day run by the Christadelphian Support Network (chsn.org.uk). Drawing on family, personal, and teaching experience, they define neurodiversity (which includes everyone) and neurodivergence (about one in seven people) and outline common strengths and struggles for autism, ADHD, and dyslexia. They discuss how, in a church context, this can affect worship, relationships, Bible reading, and participation, while also bringing gifts like deep interests, creativity, justice-focus, and big-picture thinking. They close with the biblical call to unity in diversity, for example in the "one body" image of Ephesians 4.

Dan and Paul conclude their series on the prophets by surveying the “minor prophets” as the intentionally arranged “Book of the Twelve,” noting editorial links between books and recurring themes. They explain how prophets spoke to real historical audiences (both before and after the Babylonian exile) while also pointing beyond their own time. Key themes explored include covenant faithfulness, fruitfulness, the “day of the Lord” as justice and restoration and promises of a coming deliverer highlighted especially in Zechariah and Micah.

We start a new series for 2026 addressing problems people have with the Bible, for newcomers, the curious, and those whose faith has been challenged. Dan and guest Jon Davies begin by asking why God’s message comes in the form of such a long, and sometimes complicated collection of texts. They talk through examples from poetry, law, prophecy, including Revelation’s vivid imagery and suggest that all this complexity has deliberate benefits. It provokes reflection in the context of real life, encourages community reading while avoiding coercion or legalism. While the Bible is complex, they also stress that the core gospel about Jesus is actually really simple.