The Bible Bloke

Why are there so many version of the Bible available? What's going on with the Beloved Word of God? In this episode the Bible Bloke takes a quick digression from his series on Matthew to have a look at the quantity of choice when it comes to Bible translations.

I continue my series on the Gospel of Matthew with more of the historical background. This time we visit with the Romans...

We open our Bibles and start with the Gospel of Matthew. What's it about? Who is it by? What even is a Gospel anyway? Come with the Bible Bloke as he explores this first Gospel.

Hey Everyone, I felt on my heart that it's time to mix things up a bit. I have been hammering away to Genesis, and yes, there is a lot more I want to say about it, and there will be further episodes that focus firmly on the massive, panoramic themes of this Biblical book of Beginnings, but there are heaps of other books in the Bible that I want to delve into and look at. Introducing, then, Quick Bites. I want to do shorter, but perhaps not less rambling snippets of Bible digging. Like the guy who goes off and buys the field to find the treasure. Grab the shovel, and see what comes of it. I hope that as I go along, you spend a bit of time with me following those wonderful scriptural rabbit holes I know we are going to follow. And that's half the fun. Let's see where the Holy Spirit leads. Join me as we start having a Quick Bites wander through the book of Matthew.

Exactly how did we get the Bible? Who wrote it? And how do we know about what happened at the very beginning? Join the Bible Bloke as he explores these questions.

Before the big bang was the idea of steady state. Theory speculates as to what theory is and isn't king. But what about God? If we aren't consistent in what we think about how everything came to be, we have a problem. Join the Bible Bloke as he discusses some of the issues.

We continue our exploration of the creation week in Genesis. Before we do, let's have a quick look at the idea of time. What is it and how do we understand it? Can we understand it? In looking at what time is, we find that's it's more about who God is and what he created, than any scientific proof.

Space is full of emptiness. There is a lot of nothing out there. So where is God? If God created everything, how come space is so darned empty? Or is it?

When we start reading the Bible, we have to tackle this idea of "beginning." But what is it really mean to begin, and aren't there different ways of looking at it, and what does it mean anyway? Is it important? Or can we just pass it by and get on with life how we want to live it?

Every story has a beginning. Everything starts somewhere. If you pick up a book and skip the first few chapters, most likely the rest of the book makes no sense at all. When it comes to the Bible, the book of Genesis is where it all begins. Understanding the rest of the Bible, and the plans that God has for us, we need to understand what Genesis says. Join me as I delve into this amazing book: Genesis.

The start of a New Year brings challenges. We look at the year gone by and wonder what we can change. There are things we want to do that are new, we want to start over. There is a new sense of resolve. One of the things we consider is a Bible reading plan. But when we pick up our Bibles and read the first words of Genesis and are immediately confronted by information that goes against what we have been taught, and what we think we know as members of a post-modern society: God created the heavens and the earth. We wonder, what is the real impact of these ten amazing words?

Between Christmas and New Year we often sit back and reflect on the year that has been and look ahead to the year that is about to unfold. Often we don't see the good things that have happened in the year that is coming to an end. But if we change how we look at things then the negative becomes a positive, and throughout the year ahead, we can start seeing the positive things that God gives us.

On this Christmas day, let us return to the birth narratives that Matthew and Luke give us. Here is the Bible and the story of Jesus at it starts our. May your Christmas be full of the love of the Lord.

Santa works his way deeper into our social consciences, and his image is cemented for all time when Coca-Cola brings him into the fray with a make over and a whole lot of advertising. But it is time to bring out the big guns and sight once again on the real reason for the season, and that is the baby Jesus.

How did St Nicholas, that well meaning bishop of Myra in Southern Turkey, end up associated with the jolly old fat bloke with the long white bear and the red suit? Join me as we continue our voyage of discovery into the making of the modern Santa Claus.

These days, everything about Christmas seems to be driven by Santa Claus. You can't walk into a shop without being swamped with images of the jolly old guy in the red suit. He is literally everywhere. But he isn't the real reason for the season. How did he come to be so influential? Join me as I take a multi-part journey to uncover the rise and rise of Santa Claus.

Christmas is almost upon us. And for most of us we have or are about to engage in a very strange ritual. Putting up our Christmas Tree. But where does this practice come from? Join me as I dig around and see what I can uncover about the Christmas Tree tradition.

It's almost Christmas. For some of us it's the busiest time of year. We do lots of running around and cramming things in. But have your ever wondered about some of the traditions we engage in? Why do we drag a bit of old dead tree into our houses and then hang baubles in it? Exactly what is Yuletide, who is Santa Claus, and what's with all those Christmas Carols. Join me as I rummage around and unpack some of the stuff we do at Christmas and then find out about the real reason for the season.

What does it mean to be truly "modern." Should it matter and should I pursue it? Should it shape me? Or should I be looking for something else, or to someone else to validate me as a person? Modernity is about fluidity. About image. About the material, not the spiritual. If I am to be truly modern, can I really be truly fulfilled? 

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and started the story that we all know, and that will carry us to the end when Jesus returns and the earth is remade.

When the Bible isn't your foundation then things can go a bit astray. Thoughts can become confusing and we enter into the world of Alice and the Walrus and James Joyce. Our spiritual GPS becomes deprogrammed. Help! Look to the fish, and see his part in God's creation, and once again find focus. 

It's all about story, your story, my story, God's story. Let's dig in for a deeper understanding of what story is all about. 

We are story telling beings. It's what we do. It's how we think. It's who we are. Because that's who God is. God is a story teller. 

Have you ever wondered about thought? What is thought? For that matter what is thinking? Do our thoughts really matter? Why do we think? And why do we think about what we think? Let's explore this idea of thought and how it relates to faith. 

What is faith? Where does it come from? For such a little word, faith has big consequences and big shoulders. Let's open things up and look at this idea of faith. 

Even if you don't realise it, everyone has a worldview, a way they look at the world, a way that influences what decisions they make. Worldview is about wearing the right pair of glasses. 

What's the best selling book in the world? Have you ever wondered? Is it any good? Journey with me as I look at why the Bible is perhaps the most important book ever written.