[Bible] Episode 337: James Barker - Writing and Rewriting the Gospels
The Bible For Normal People

[Bible] Episode 337: James Barker - Writing and Rewriting the Gospels

B2Upper-intermediateSeptember 21, 20261 hr 6 min

In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared talk with James about how the Gospels were written, how Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John relate to one another, and what ancient writing practices can teach us about the formation of the New Testament. They explore why the Gospel writers may have intentionally adapted and reshaped earlier accounts, how John builds on the Synoptic Gospels, and how Paul’s theology may have influenced the Gospel writers in surprising ways. Together, they invite listeners to let each Gospel speak in its own distinct voice, reconsider assumptions abou...

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0:00

You're listening to the Bible for Normal People, the only God-ordained podcast on the Internet. I'm Pete Enns. And I'm Jared Bias. On today's episode, it's me, Pete, and I'm talking about writing and rewriting the Gospels

0:17

with James Barker. Now, James is Associate Professor of New Testament at Western Kentucky University, and his newest book is Writing and Rewriting the Gospels, John and the Synoptics, which is an amazing book, and it's the basis for our conversation today. So let's get into the episode.

0:35

The more reverence you have for the Bible, the more you should let each text and author speak for themselves and not try to make it all agree the way you've been told it's supposed to. When they speak for themselves, I think we have more reverence for the Bible. And frankly, I have a lot more reverence for the human side of things.

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