At the close of Season 9 of The Bible for Normal People, Pete & Jared set out on their annual holiday quest: taking questions that people have been asking for centuries and attempting to answer them in an hour-long podcast episode.

Show Notes → https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episode-316-pete-enns-jared-byas-is-the-bible-the-word-of-god-other-easy-questions/ 

Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/X3aLlmohjQY

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In this week’s episode of Faith for Normal People, Pete and Jared sit down with Diana Butler Bass to talk about the Christian calendar. Diana walks through the history of how the Christian calendar came to be, what levels of importance different traditions give it, and how the Christian calendar can serve as a symbol of resistance against other timelines that might be dominated by capitalism and imperialism. 

Show Notes → https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episode-69-diana-butler-bass-resisting-christmas-and-why-the-christian-calendar-still-matters/ 

Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/NhfpmBjSpG0

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On this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared are joined by Kent Sparks to unpack the early religious history of ancient Israel. Kent explores how ancient Israelites first gave God the name Yahweh, how Israelites understood Yahweh in relation to other ancient Near Eastern deities, and how the roots of monotheism emerge from a far more diverse and evolving set of beliefs than many assume.

Show Notes → https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episode-315-kent-sparks-the-beginnings-of-israelite-religion/ 

Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/JsRPR59pX54

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In this episode of Faith For Normal People, Pete and Jared revisit a conversation with Kristin Kobes Du Mez, author of the bestselling book Jesus and John Wayne. The conversation explores the history of “toxic” masculinity in both the church and American pop culture, and how Christians in 2025 can be part of the resistance efforts against harmful cultural structures. This is a reissue of The Bible for Normal People Episode 170 from June 2021.

Show Notes → https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episode-68-kristin-kobes-du-mez-a-church-history-of-toxic-masculinity-reissue/

Watch on YouTube → https://youtu.be/OAjNnqgLkeA

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This episode is sponsored by Aura Frames. For a limited time, visit AuraFrames.com and get $45 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames, named #1 by Wirecutter, by using promo code NORMALPEOPLE at checkout. This exclusive Black Friday Cyber Monday deal is their best of the year, so order now before it ends! Support the show by mentioning us at checkout! Terms and conditions apply.

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In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete Enns and Anna Sieges Beal sit down with Shayna Sheinfeld to talk about the Second Temple period, spanning from 586 BCE to 70 CE. Shayna presents texts from that time that illuminate events glossed over by most Bibles, and explores the often-overlooked roles played by women wielding power in those communities.

Show Notes → https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episode-314-shayna-sheinfeld-the-complicated-world-of-second-temple-judaism/ 

Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/92i5Pc9CRI4

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In the final Pete Ruins episode of 2025, Pete Enns speaks to everyone who has ever read Song of Songs and wondered “why the heck is this in the Bible?”

Show Notes → https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episode-313-pete-ruins-song-of-songs/ 

Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/FmFfQL2ahqc

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In this week’s episode of Faith for Normal People, Pete is joined by Liz Charlotte Grant to talk about using the Bible as a springboard for curiosity, inquiry, conversation, and community. This episode explores how art, imagination, and the practice of midrash can open up new ways of engaging scripture when literal readings don’t speak to what we see in the world today.

Show Notes → https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episode-67-liz-charlotte-grant-the-gift-of-an-unclear-text/ 

Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/BK3xfTiHDRg

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This episode is sponsored by Greenlight. Greenlight is a debit card and money app made for families: parents can send money to their kids and keep an eye on kids’ spending and saving, while kids and teens build money confidence and lifelong financial literacy skills. Sign up for Greenlight today at greenlight.com/normalpeople.

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This episode is brought to you by Skylight. The Skylight Calendar is here to keep your family organized with a digital display that syncs with your existing calendars, making it effortless to track events, appointments, and reminders in one easy-to-see place. Skylight is offering our listeners $30 off their 15 inch Calendars by going to SkylightCal.com/BIBLE. 

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This episode is brought to you by Brooklyn Bedding. Take the Brooklyn Bedding Sleep Quiz and find your perfect match in under 2 minutes. Go to brooklynbedding.com and use our promo code BIBLE at checkout to get 30% off sitewide. This offer is not available anywhere else.

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In this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Jared sits down with Sarah Emanuel to discuss the concept of “Messiah” from a Jewish theological perspective. Sarah explores what post-exilic Israelites might have thought and meant when they talked about a deliverer, what shapes those beliefs took near the time of Jesus’s life, and what sorts of misconceptions people have today when they use the word “Messiah.”

Show Notes → https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episode-312-sarah-emanuel-the-meaning-of-messiah/ 

Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/3wmCM2WMGY4

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In this episode of Faith for Normal People, Jared sits down with media psychologist Dr. Angela Patterson to discuss the trends she studies in the spiritual lives of Gen Z, or people born between 1997 and 2012. Angela explains how the typical timeline of faith progression has become much less linear with Gen Z, and encourages parents, church leaders, and older generations to create a space for young people to ask tough questions, wrestle with doubts, and find new ways of living out faith. This episode also includes a special ending segment in which anonymous members of our Gen-Z cohort share their thoughts on faith.

Show Notes → https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episode-66-angela-patterson-the-faith-of-gen-z/
Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/IU-Iqo-fSXo

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In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared are joined by Chauncey Diego Francisco Handy to discuss the conquest narrative in the book of Joshua. Delving into what the themes of empire, displacement, a “promised land,” and identity meant to ancient peoples throughout Israel’s history, the conversation offers insight into what the preservation of these narratives can mean for people today navigating their own complicated relationships with empire.

Show Notes → https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episode-311-chauncey-diego-francisco-handy-the-afterlife-of-the-conquest-of-canaan/ 

Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/SCwcct_2IqI 

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In this reissue of The Bible for Normal People episode 56, Pete gets to the heart of the somber book of Ecclesiastes. He cautions against an optimistic reading as the author intends to question everything, even God; and explains why Ecclesiastes is his favorite book of the Bible. This episode originally aired in June of 2018.

Show Notes → https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episode-310-pete-enns-pete-ruins-ecclesiastes-reissue/ 

Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/C-x9izCs-OU

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This episode is sponsored by Greenlight. Greenlight is a debit card and money app made for families: parents can send money to their kids and keep an eye on kids’ spending and saving, while kids and teens build money confidence and lifelong financial literacy skills. Sign up for Greenlight today at greenlight.com/normalpeople.

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This episode is brought to you by Skylight. The Skylight Calendar is here to keep your family organized! This beautifully designed digital display syncs with your existing calendars, making it effortless to track events, appointments, and reminders in one easy-to-see place. Right now, Skylight is offering our listeners $30 off their 15 inch Calendars by going to SkylightCal.com/BIBLE. 

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This episode is brought to you by Brooklyn Bedding. Brooklyn Bedding knows sleep isn’t one-size-fits-all. That’s why they offer mattresses for every body, every sleep style – even in hard-to-find sizes. Not sure which mattress is right for you? Just take the Brooklyn Bedding Sleep Quiz and find your perfect match in under 2 minutes. Go to brooklynbedding.com and use our promo code BIBLE at checkout to get 30% off sitewide. This offer is not available anywhere else.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices