The Bible was written to be heard. This podcast explores aspects of the oral traditional origins of the Christian Bible, along with other topics when Nick decides to go "off script."
Can logic, love, morality, and meaning be real if God does not exist?
This is a new cut of the first conversation I had on this podcast. I edited it all so that the conversation jumps straight into the meat of the conversation and keep it flowing.
In this conversation, Nick Acker sits down with Fred Beall to explore presuppositional apologetics in a thoughtful, pastoral, and accessible way — asking whether the Christian worldview uniquely makes sense of the world we actually live in.This discussion takes a deeper look at the Presuppositional approach to apologetics than what usually finds its way to the internet.This is presuppositional apologetics without the online debate-bro energy. No intellectual bullying. No cheap shots. Just a thoughtful conversation about whether the Christian worldview makes sense of the world we actually live in.We talk about:Can you be good without God?Why Christians believe God is necessary for logic and moralityWhy presuppositional apologetics is more than saying “by what standard?”The problem with grounding truth in human reason, culture, or the stateWhy the Trinity matters for love, relationship, and realityWhy apologetics should serve the church and help people with doubtWhy many intellectual objections are often connected to deeper woundsHow the gospel of grace answers more than philosophical questionsIf you have ever wondered whether Christianity can make intellectual sense — or whether atheism, naturalism, or secular morality can really explain the way we live — this conversation is for you.Subscribe for more conversations on the Bible, theology, apologetics, oral tradition, Christian faith, and the meaning of Scripture for the church today.Leave a comment: What is the strongest argument you have heard for or against presuppositional apologetics?#PresuppositionalApologetics #ChristianApologetics #Proof
19 Oct 2025
Travis West
The Art of Biblical Performance
Dr. Travis West is a teacher, preacher, writer, speaker, and Sabbath-seeker whose deepest desire is to spread joy, defend delight, promote play, and help people reconnect with their truest selves. He serves as Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at Western Theological Seminary, where his passion for Scripture and the Hebrew language helps students encounter God through both intellect and imagination.An ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America, Travis writes and teaches about the embodied practice of Sabbath, the performance of Scripture, and the transformative power of delight in a hurried world. His recent book, The Sabbath Way: Making Room in Your Life for Rest, Connection, and Delight, explores how Sabbath can become a way of living with greater presence and freedom.
https://www.travis-west.com/#biblicaltruth #biblicalperformancecriticism #bible
25 Sept 2025
The Church and Israel: A Pastoral Plea
In this video, I share a heartfelt and biblical reflection on why the church’s unwavering political commitment to the modern state of Israel is not faithful to Scripture.For generations, much of American evangelicalism has been shaped by prophecy charts, dispensational teaching, and political alliances that merge faith with nationalism. But is this really consistent with biblical teaching, like in Romans 9–11? Does Revelation give any nation—ancient or modern—a privileged role in ushering in God’s kingdom?Together, we’ll walk through:The history of dispensationalism and why it’s a modern innovation, not historic Christian teaching.Paul’s teaching in Romans (especially 1–4 and 9–11)—that there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile, and salvation comes only through Christ.Why phrases like “all Israel will be saved” (Rom. 11:26) don’t point to geopolitics, but to the mystery of salvation through the Messiah.How Christian nationalism distorts the gospel and ties our faith to earthly powers instead of the kingdom of God.This is not a political attack, but a pastoral plea: to loosen our grip on speculative prophecy frameworks, to refuse to confuse nationalism with the gospel, and to re-center our allegiance on Christ alone.If you’ve wrestled with questions about Israel, prophecy, and Christian nationalism, I invite you to listen with an open Bible and an open heart.#Israel #Dispensationalism #endtimes #Romans #rapture #EndTimes
21 May 2025
Tom Steffen
We had a few issues with the audio on this one.
Dr. Tom Steffen is Professor Emeritus of Intercultural Studies at the Cook School of Intercultural Studies, Biola University. He served with New Tribes Mission (now Ethnos360) for 20 years, including 15 years in the Philippines, where he focused on church planting and cross-cultural ministry. Dr. Steffen specializes in church multiplication, orality, honor-shame dynamics, and business as mission. He is a leading voice in the Orality Movement, contributing to its development and application in missions and theological education. His publications include Reconnecting God's Story to Ministry, The Facilitator Era, Worldview-based Storying, and New and Old Horizons in the Orality Movement.
3 May 2025
Susan Niditch
Dr. Susan Niditch is the Samuel Green Professor of Religion at Amherst College, where she has taught since 1978. She earned her Ph.D. from Harvard University’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations in 1977. Her scholarship focuses on ancient Israelite literature and early Judaism, with particular interests in oral traditions, folklore, gender and sexuality, material religion, and comparative religious ethics. Dr. Niditch's notable publications include Underdogs and Tricksters: A Prelude to Biblical Folklore, War in the Hebrew Bible: A Study in the Ethics of Violence, Oral World and Written Word: Ancient Israelite Literature, My Brother Esau Is a Hairy Man: Hair and Identity in Ancient Israel, and The Responsive Self: Personal Religion in Biblical Literature of the Neo-Babylonian and Persian Periods. Her recent works are a commentary on Jonah in the Hermeneia Series (2023) and Ethics in the Hebrew Bible and Beyond (Oxford University Press, 2024).Dr. Niditch's interdisciplinary approach has significantly influenced the study of the Hebrew Bible, particularly in understanding the interplay between oral and written traditions and the ethical dimensions of biblical narratives.
9 Apr 2025
Ray Person
Dr. Raymond F. Person Jr. is Professor of Religion at Ohio Northern University. He holds a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible and Semitic Studies from Duke University and is widely known for his interdisciplinary work at the intersection of biblical studies, oral tradition, and conversation analysis.Dr. Person’s research explores how oral culture and cognitive-linguistic processes shaped the transmission of biblical texts in ancient Israel. His writing has helped many rethink how we understand the formation of Scripture—especially in communities where spoken tradition played a central role.Some of his key publications include The Deuteronomic History and the Book of Chronicles: Scribal Works in an Oral World, From Conversation to Oral Tradition, and most recently, Scribal Memory and Word Selection: The Text Criticism of the Hebrew Bible. He’s also co-edited volumes like Empirical Models Challenging Biblical Criticism and Deuteronomy in the Pentateuch, Hexateuch, and the Deuteronomistic History.
19 Mar 2025
Paul R. Eddy
Paul Rhodes Eddy (PhD, Marquette University) is Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Bethel University in St. Paul, MN. He has authored, co-authored, or co-edited a dozen books, including: John Hick's Pluralist Philosophy of World Religions (Ashgate); Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology (with G. A. Boyd, Baker);Divine Foreknowledge: Four Views (with James Beilby IVP); Understanding Transgender Identities: Four Views (Baker Academic, 2019); and The Jesus Legend (Baker Academic, 2007). He is also a Teaching Pastor at Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, MN. He lives in White Bear Township, MN with his wife Kelly and their two sons.Find out more at https://www.centerforfaith.com/
25 Feb 2025
Crash Course on Oral Tradition and Biblical Studies
Here is a crash course on the history of orality studies and its interaction with biblical studies. This video is meant to provide context for the interviews I will continue to upload in the coming months.
16 Jan 2025
Rafael Rodriguez
Be sure to check out UnwritingTheBible.com
Rafael Rodríguez is Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He received a PhD from the University of Sheffield and has been teaching for over 20 years.
He is the author of many works including his book on Oral Tradition and the New Testament ( https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/oral-tradition-and-the-new-testament-9780567626004/) and his recent contribution to The Next Quest for the Historical Jesus through a media critical perspective (https://www.eerdmans.com/9781467465786/the-next-quest-for-the-historical-jesus/).
Also, be sure to pick up his latest book, The First Christian Letters: Reading 1 and 2 Thessalonians (https://wipfandstock.com/9781666748697/the-first-christian-letters/).
3 Nov 2024
Principalities and Christian Witness: Dr. Scott Savage
What does the Bible say about the rulers and authorities, powers and principalities of the world? How should Christians guard their devotions in this life? How should we engage the rulers and authorities in this life?
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/amOIgmasQ0A
See more from Scott: samonaz.org
14 Oct 2024
Our Story of Knowledge
The stories we believe shape who we are and how we live. This episode explores how Scripture invites us beyond the pursuit of mere knowledge into a deeper, relational identity with God. From the garden of Delight to modern struggles with faith, let's reflect on the tension between knowing apart from God and being known by Him.
Exegeting Orality is available on Amazon and at Wipf and Stock.
8 Oct 2024
The Triune God is Necessary: Fred Beall
The Triune God of Christian Scripture is the precondition necessary for life as we know it. In this episode of Unwriting the Bible, we highlight the authority of Scripture by discussing how the God of the Bible is necessary for logic, values, and induction.
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