The Bible Difficulties and Answers Podcast

Episode 311 examines a question raised by the Skeptic’s Annotated Bible: Is death final? Lance Smith explores the apparent tension between biblical passages that describe death as the end of earthly life and passages that promise resurrection, judgment, and eternal life.

From Job, Ecclesiastes, and the Psalms to Isaiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel, this episode traces the Bible’s devel...

In this episode, Lance Smith walks through Chapter 10 of C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, exploring the Christian virtue of hope. Lewis argues that Christian hope is not escapism, but a genuine longing for Heaven that can actually shape how we live in this world. He also explores whether the deep, unsatisfied longings we experience may point to a reality beyond this life.

The episode...

Episode 309 examines Deuteronomy 8:2 and asks a difficult question: If God already knows the human heart, why did He lead Israel through forty years in the wilderness to “know” what was in their hearts? Lance Smith explains the difference between God discovering something He did not know and God testing, proving, and bringing into the open what He already knows.

The episode explores biblical and...

Episode 308 examines a seemingly difficult question: If Jesus tells us to welcome the stranger in Matthew 25:35, why do other passages appear to command Israel to kill strangers?

The answer begins with a simple fact: the English word “stranger” can represent several different Hebrew and Greek terms. Lance Smith looks at the gēr (resident sojourner), nokri/ben-nakar (fore...

In this episode, Lance Smith walks through Chapter 9 of C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, exploring charity as Christian love — a matter of the will rather than emotion. Lewis explains why we shouldn't wait until we feel loving before we act lovingly, but instead should “act as if” we loved others and God, because right actions can lead to genuine affection.

Lance ex...

Why does Exodus connect the Sabbath to God’s rest at creation, while Deuteronomy connects it to Israel’s redemption from slavery in Egypt? Is this a contradiction—or are both passages giving legitimate reasons for observing the same command?

In this episode, Lance Smith examines Deuteronomy 5:15 alongside Exodus 20:8–11 and explores how the Sabbath can have a...

When was heaven created? The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible points to Genesis 1:1, Genesis 1:6–8, Matthew 25:34, and John 14:2 as giving different answers. But are these passages actually talking about the same thing?

In Episode 305, Lance Smith examines the biblical words for “heaven,” including Hebrew shamayim and raqia and Greek ouranos. He looks at the different inte...

Episode 304 examines C.S. Lewis’ claim that pride is the central Christian vice: the “Great Sin.” Lewis explains why pride is fundamentally competitive, how it creates enemies, and why it ultimately puts us in opposition to God.

Lance Smith walks through Lewis’ practical test for recognizing pride, the difference between healthy pleasure in praise and sinful self-ex...

Why don't the Ten Commandments sound exactly the same in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5? Did Moses change what God originally commanded—or is something else going on?

Host Lance Smith examines the differences between the two passages, including the Sabbath command, the reasons given for keeping it, and the wording of the command against coveting. The episode also considers critical scho...

This episode examines alleged contradictions between Old Testament laws forbidding interest on loans to the needy and Jesus’ parable about earning interest.

By defining terms, reviewing context, and distinguishing subsistence loans from commercial lending, the host shows how Scripture protects the vulnerable while encouraging faithful stewardship, resolving the apparent conflict.

References to items discussed and/or used on t...

Episode 301 explores C.S. Lewis’ challenging reflections on forgiveness in Chapter Seven of Mere Christianity. Lewis argues that forgiveness is not optional for Christians, even when the person who has wronged us may seem completely undeserving of it.

Lance Smith examines Lewis’ practical advice: start with the small offenses close to home, understand what it really means to lo...

Episode 300 marks another milestone for Bible Difficulties and Answers as host Lance Smith examines an apparent contradiction in Deuteronomy 4:10–15. Why does Deuteronomy refer to the mountain where God gave Israel His covenant as Horeb, while Exodus commonly calls it Sinai?

The episode explains why Horeb and Sinai are understood as two names for the same sacred location, exam...

Episode 299 examines an apparent contradiction in Scripture: some passages describe the earth as lasting forever, while others—including Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:35—say that heaven and earth will pass away. Lance examines relevant Old and New Testament passages, the scientific context surrounding the future of the universe, manuscript variants, and theological interpretations from severa...

Episode 298 examines C.S. Lewis’ chapter on Christian marriage and what it means for a husband and wife to become “one flesh.” Lance Smith explores why Christianity views marriage as a lifelong covenant and why keeping that promise is a matter of justice as well as sexual morality.

Lewis also distinguishes the temporary feelings of being “in love” from the dee...

Deuteronomy 2:19: Did Israel Steal Ammon’s Land? Solving a Biblical “Contradiction”

Did God tell Israel not to take any of Ammon’s land, only for Joshua to later say that the tribe of Gad received “half the land of Ammon”?

At first glance, that sounds like a contradiction.

In this episode, Lance Sm...

Episode 296 examines the claim that Jesus’ second coming will be invisible based on John 14:19, and compares that passage with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Revelation, which describe His return as public and visible.

Lance Smith looks at the immediate context of John 14, including Jesus’ conversation with His disciples before the crucifixion, and considers how the passage fits with...

In Episode 295, Lance Smith walks through Chapter Five of C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity, one of the book’s most challenging chapters: “Sexual Morality.” Lewis distinguishes Christian chastity from changing standards of social propriety and argues that the problem isn't sex, the body, or pleasure themselves, but the disordered way our sexual appetites can operate.

L...

Episode 294 examines the apparent tension between Deuteronomy 2:7—“you have lacked nothing”—and Israel’s complaints about their difficult wilderness experience recorded in Exodus and Numbers. Lance Smith looks at the context of Deuteronomy 2:7, the Hebrew wording, and several explanations for how Israel could experience hardship while still lacking nothing God...

After concluding his three-part series on Matthew 10 and Matthew 24, host Lance Smith returns with a bonus episode reflecting on Dr. William Lane Craig's recent podcast addressing the same passages.

Smith explains that while Dr. Craig argues for a future, visible return of Christ distinct from the near-term judgment on Jerusalem in A.D. 70, that conclusion does not overturn the central poi...