The Skeptics’ Bible Project

The Skeptics’ Bible Project

The Skeptics’ Bible Project is a podcast where we (John & Ben) share our fascination with studying the Bible outside of the lens of religion. Our project is to rescue the Bible from fundamentalists who insist it must only be read from a devotional perspective. We dig deeply to find the true history and teachings found inside. In each episode we try to present the Bible in a fresh perspective using the historical critical method. Always eager to engage in the exciting conversation with Skeptics, Atheists, and Christian’s alike. Weekly topics include Bible contradictions, historical errors, non-orthodox teachings, down right strange passages, and everything that most Pastors won’t mention from the pulpit.

Episodes

May 7, 2024 53 mins

Join Ben and John for part two of their exploration into the so-called toxic legacy of the Pastoral epistles. They’ll dive back into the ever-clear-as-mud topic of being “saved through childbirth” and, believe it or not, finally give their definitive verdict on Pauline authorship. Plus, don’t miss their Bible vs. Bible segment, where they tackle the hotly debated, absolutely crucial issue of Jesus’ donkey ride into Jerusalem. Tune ...

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John and Ben kick things off by calling out the idea bandits who brazenly pilfer their segment concepts without so much as a nod in their direction. 

Then join in as they dive headfirst into a controversy that’s sure to upset at least three scholars: the shocking revelation that the pastoral epistles of First and Second Timothy and Titus might just be Paul-free zones. Apparently, apostolic authorship is more of a suggestion than a ...

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In this episode, John and Ben tackle the “who really wrote it?” mystery of two of Paul's so-called undisputed epistles. They dive into the issue of slavery in Philemon without pulling any punches, and they ponder over the seemingly unanswerable question: How many letters from Paul ended up at the Corinthian church’s doorstep anyway?

Then they switch gears to chew over the U.S. Supreme Court's pick-and-choose attitude towards religi...

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Ben and John delve into the complexities surrounding the authorship of 2 Thessalonians, presenting scholarly evidence that challenges its authenticity. They explore the distinctive differences between this letter and those universally accepted as Paul's work, shedding light on the nuances that fuel this debate. Also they examine the enigmatic character of the man of lawlessness. Plus, a fresh segment of "Bible Says What?"
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In part one of our series on forgeries in the Bible John and Ben ask, did the apostle Paul write Ephesians and Colossians? We dig deep into the scholarship and find some surprising info. 

But first we discus an exciting new manuscript discovery.

Then later on another installment of Bible Vs. Bible, We look at a what could be a big contradiction found in the Pauline epistles. 

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August 29, 2023 73 mins

Most people know comedian Julia Sweeney from her time as a member of the Saturday Night Live cast, but she is also a student of historical criticism of the Bible. She has an extremely “Hollywood” take on the literary production of the Gospels. John, Liz and Ben react to her amazing “successive draft” theory, where she see’s the Gospels as progressing book to book like a series of film script revisions, complete with added “pizazz” ...

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August 15, 2023 44 mins

When you ask many evangelicals for evidence of their claims they will often cite a book called, Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell. He is the influential author who has sold millions of books around the world. He built his reputation on being a skeptic won over to Christ by the evidence. For over 50 years he has provided evangelicals a resource to defend the Bible as historical truth. 

Are ...

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August 1, 2023 52 mins

When you ask many evangelicals for evidence of their claims they will often cite a book called, Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell. He is the influential author who has sold millions of books around the world. He built his reputation on being a skeptic won over to Christ by the evidence. For over 50 years he has provided evangelicals a resource to defend the Bible as historical truth. 

Are ...

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July 18, 2023 53 mins

When you ask many evangelicals for evidence of their claims they will often cite a book called, Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell. He is the influential author who has sold millions of books around the world. He built his reputation on being a skeptic won over to Christ by the evidence. For over 50 years he has provided evangelicals a resource to defend the Bible as historical truth. 

Are his claims substantiated by ...

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July 11, 2023 73 mins

When you ask many evangelicals for evidence of their claims they will often cite a book called, Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell. He is the influential author who has sold millions of books around the world. He built his reputation on being a skeptic won over to Christ by the evidence. For over 50 years he has provided evangelicals a resource to defend the Bible as historical truth. 

Are his claims substantiated by ...

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June 20, 2023 55 mins

When you ask many evangelicals for evidence of their claims they will often cite a book called, Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell. He is the influential author who has sold millions of books around the world. He built his reputation on being a skeptic won over to Christ by the evidence. For over 50 years he has provided evangelicals a resource to defend the Bible as historical truth. 

Are his claims substantiated by ...

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June 13, 2023 68 mins

When you ask many evangelicals for evidence of their claims they will often cite a book called, Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell. He is the influential author who has sold millions of books around the world. He built his reputation on being a skeptic won over to Christ by the evidence. For over 50 years he has provided evangelicals a resource to defend the Bible as historical truth. 

Are his claims substantiated by ...

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April 25, 2023 68 mins

When you ask many evangelicals for evidence of their claims they will often cite a book called, Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell. He is the influential author who has sold millions of books around the world. He built his reputation on being a skeptic won over to Christ by the evidence. For over 50 years he has provided evangelicals a resource to defend the Bible as historical truth. 

Are his claims substantiated by ...

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April 11, 2023 58 mins

When you ask many evangelicals for evidence of their claims they will often cite a book called, Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell. He is the influential author who has sold millions of books around the world. He built his reputation on being a skeptic won over to Christ by the evidence. For over 50 years he has provided evangelicals a resource to defend the Bible as historical truth. 

Are his claims substantiated by ...

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April 4, 2023 47 mins

When you ask many evangelicals for evidence of their claims they will often cite a book called, Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell. He is the influential author who has sold millions of books around the world. He built his reputation on being a skeptic won over to Christ by the evidence. For over 50 years he has provided evangelicals a resource to defend the Bible as historical truth. 

Are his claims substantiated by ...

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Former Fear Factor host Joe Rogan sat down with former MTV VJ Adam Curry about reasons for believing the God conspiracy. Adam, a new convert, discusses evidence for Christianity.  John and Ben take a look at the quality of these arguments and analyze Rogan’s responses… which unsurprisingly all turn out to be either wrong or weak. 

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Former Fear Factor host Joe Rogan sat down with former MTV VJ Adam Curry about reasons for believing the God conspiracy. Adam, a new convert, discusses evidence for Christianity.  John and Ben take a look at the quality of these arguments and analyze Rogan’s responses… which unsurprisingly all turn out to be either wrong or weak. 

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February 28, 2023 63 mins

The “He Gets Us” campaign is a 100 million dollar plus ad spree. It’s designed to re-brand American Christianity away from extreme right-wing nationalism and into a more diverse and inclusive image. But ultimately the ads do more to highlight the vast difference between the Jesus described in the Bible and the evangelical church as it is in America today. 

Do these ads succeed? Who’s behind them? And what do evangelicals think abou...

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February 21, 2023 68 mins

Victoria Osteen and Joel Osteen helm Lakewood Church, the largest church in America. The mega church in Houston Texas rakes in tens of millions each year.

On this episode John and Ben listen to various clips of Victoria Osteen and try very hard to understand why anybody is moved by her overly theatrical motivational speech. In our opinion, her content doesn’t have very much depth or grounding in the Bible. Until she starts talking ...

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February 14, 2023 69 mins

Some Christian’s claim to have special “gifts of the spirit” that give them super powers. As it turns out their claims of faith healings are false and “speaking in tongues” turns out to be just babbling non-sense. However, the Bible seems to say Christians should expect to possess these powers. 

John and Ben breakdown the spiritual gifts controversy and see why many church denominations say the spiritual gifts era ended with the Ne...

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