Haul out the holly, 'cause it's Christmas time! And what could be more appropriate for Christmas than to recount the nativity story? Or is it stories?

That's right, this week we're looking at the Bible's two competing narratives of the birth of Jesus and asking "hey- what gives?" Because when you read the account in Matthew and the account in Luke, you can't help but notice that they have almost nothing to do with each other. Like... they're two totally different and unrelated tales. How is that possible?

Well, if you're hoping for Dr. Dan to smooth out all the wrinkles and show you the simple solution to make it all make sense, you probably don't know the show very well. The answers are complicated and messy, and far more interesting than your sunday school teacher ever let on.

For early access to an ad-free version of every episode of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and the opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Hey! Don't forget to pre-order Dan McClellan's upcoming book The Bible Says So

https://static.macmillan.com/static/smp/bible-says-so-9781250347466/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGLTkpleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHQY4Ahs0Hi289IcnsQMh_0OAVf3oGefyUsWkLjhfB8OF8nio1fmroJbXxA_aem_v_4sISp8Zt43zsKfDjx1aA

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ooooh! It's de-bunking time! But with a twist: this time we're debunking the debunkers! That’s right, we’re coming after an idea that certain nonbelievers love to throw at Christians to put them in their place. Well, you can stay safely out of place, Christians, because it's the nonbelievers' turn to eat some humble pie.

This week's show, we're looking at the theory that Jesus was just one figure in history among many others that share exactly the same story. This idea purports to show that the central figure of Christianity was just the latest in a long line of saviors, and he stole all of their best features to prop himself up. Well, we will see about that, Bill Maher!

Then, we're going to have some fun looking into the only historian anywhere near the time of Jesus who actually mentions him, one Yosef ben Mattityahu, better known by his Roman gangster name: Flavius Josephus. We'll discuss his mentions of Jesus, decide if they're spurious or not, and get to the bottom of what it all means about the man of Galilee. Was there actually a historical Jesus?

For early access to an ad-free version of every episode of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and the opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Hey! Don't forget to pre-order Dan McClellan's upcoming book The Bible Says So

https://static.macmillan.com/static/smp/bible-says-so-9781250347466/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGLTkpleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHQY4Ahs0Hi289IcnsQMh_0OAVf3oGefyUsWkLjhfB8OF8nio1fmroJbXxA_aem_v_4sISp8Zt43zsKfDjx1aA

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The battle has begun!

For a long time, scholars have said that Jesus nullified all the former Jewish laws about which foods were okay to eat and which were impure, and therefore not fit for consumption. The main passage that they used to justify this idea comes from Mark 7. Well this week our guest is going to blow your mind. Hint: your stomach might be more powerful than you knew!

Logan Williams has just written a paper [you can find it here] that could totally change how scholars view this passage. What does his argument hinge on? Syntax and grammar! Rejoice, ye language nerds, for we're taking a deep-dive into the murky depths of participles, cases, and other complex aspects of ancient Greek. For non-nerds, just enjoy Dan B trying to keep afloat on this complicated but actually fascinating sea of linguistic parsing.

For early access to an ad-free version of every episode of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and the opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Hey! Don't forget to pre-order Dan McClellan's upcoming book The Bible Says So

https://static.macmillan.com/static/smp/bible-says-so-9781250347466/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGLTkpleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHQY4Ahs0Hi289IcnsQMh_0OAVf3oGefyUsWkLjhfB8OF8nio1fmroJbXxA_aem_v_4sISp8Zt43zsKfDjx1aA

This episode was sponsored by BetterHelp

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DEMONS! We're at an interesting crossroads in history. As science is able to explain more and more about how the universe works, and more specifically how we humans work, we find ourselves using supernatural explanations less and less. When, for example, we understand the erratic behavior of a friend as being part of their mental health journey, we're far less likely to turn to hurtful and dangerous religious tropes for our understanding.

But that doesn't stop some people from continuing to turn to the idea of demons to explain the bad things in their lives. So where did this idea come from? What are demons, and what does the Bible have to say about them?

Hold on to your apotropaic amulets, 'cause we're goin' demon hunting!

For early access to an ad-free version of every episode of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and the opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Hey! Don't forget to pre-order Dan McClellan's upcoming book The Bible Says So

https://static.macmillan.com/static/smp/bible-says-so-9781250347466/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGLTkpleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHQY4Ahs0Hi289IcnsQMh_0OAVf3oGefyUsWkLjhfB8OF8nio1fmroJbXxA_aem_v_4sISp8Zt43zsKfDjx1aA

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Psalm 22 [according to the Deer of Dawn (don't worry- you'll get that joke later)] is not a happy ditty. It is the song of a hopeless singer, crying out to a God who doesn't seem to be there. Which seems like kind of a weird thing to include in a book of scripture about that God, but there you go. But this psalm is particularly famous, as it was quoted by a pretty famous guy, at a pretty famous moment.

This week on Data Over Dogma, we're looking at the words Jesus chose to say just before he died. Why, of all the scriptures that he had access to, did he quote this bleak, hopeless lament? Or was the psalm written as a prophesy? A foretelling of Jesus' untimely end?

Then, speaking of the death of Jesus, we're going to talk about a peaceful area in Israel next to an ancient burial site. They call it the Garden Tomb, and many believe it to be the actual place where Jesus was laid after his death. Was it?

For early access to an ad-free version of every episode of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and the opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Hey! Don't forget to pre-order Dan McClellan's upcoming book The Bible Says So

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the boogeyman that haunts churches across the land: religious deconstruction. This is the process of genuinely questioning your religious faith, pulling apart what you've been taught (probably your whole life), sifting through it all, and deciding for yourself what actually works for you, without regard for what anyone else has to say about the matter. It can be a deeply disorienting--even terrifying--process, but more and more people are choosing this road.

Well, we've got social media darling Rev Karla with us to talk about her own deconstruction journey, and give us some insights into this isolating, but also liberating process. She literally wrote the book on the topic! Karla Kamstra went from attending a small Southern Baptist church in Kentucky to being an online guide for people looking to throw off their religion, and figure out what's true for them.

Find Rev Karla's book, Deconstructing: Leaving Church, Finding Faith anywhere you get your books, including here:

https://shop.revkarla.com/collections/healing-and-support-collection/products/deconstructing-leaving-church-finding-faith

You can find her social media posts here:

https://www.tiktok.com/@revkarla?lang=en

https://www.instagram.com/revkarla/

For early access to an ad-free version of every episode of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and the opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Hey! Don't forget to pre-order Dan McClellan's upcoming book The Bible Says So

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As origin stories go, the Bible's explanation for why humanity has multiple languages is... let's call it creative. Alas, it doesn't hold up particularly well in a modern, scientifically informed era. That said, there's more to the story of the so-called "tower of Babel" than immediately meets the eye. We'll discuss what other ancient questions this chapter of Genesis is attempting to answer, and how it all fit into the context of its time.

Then the linguistic adventure continues, as we delve into a mystical realm that very few people have access to: the magic of the ancient languages! Because if you listen to certain people, you'll learn that there's a whole world of extra messaging packed into the original wordings of the original languages of the Bible. Is this the key to decoding the universe? Will this way of reading the text save humanity? Have we finally unlocked the code to proving the truth claims of the Bible? Well, no. But it's a fun discussion anyway.

For early access to an ad-free version of every episode of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and the opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The modern concept of God (at least in the Christian context) is of an all-knowing, all-powerful, being. One who is everywhere all at once. He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake... all that stuff. But does that view of the almighty comport with what is represented in the Bible, or are those ideas more recent innovations? Where did these ideas come from?

Then, we're talking Bible quotations. Or more accurately mis-quotations. Plenty of people misquote the Bible, it happens all the time. It can be especially vexing when that someone is looking at a bad translation. But what happens when the Bible misquotes the Bible? We'll be looking at Acts 15, and a moment when the author might have found a bad translation of their own.

For early access to an ad-free version of every episode of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and the opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Go to any comment section where someone has made a controversial claim about the Bible and you'll see it: someone gatekeeping the idea of who qualifies as a "true Christian". Real Christians believe in the trinity, or else decidedly DON'T believe in the trinity. Real Christians believe we're saved through works. Or through faith alone. Or neither. Or both...

On this week's episode, Dr. David Congdon joins us to discuss his book Who is a True Christian. If you think that question is settled or remotely easy to answer... well you haven't paid attention to this show. Dr. Congdon walks us through the history, politics, and power struggles behind these questions, and gives us big insights into ways we can address this difficult quandary going forward.

For early access to an ad-free version of every episode of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and the opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Craig Mousin and Cecil Cicirello of the Lawful Assembly podcast join us to talk about one of the major hot-button issues in current world politics: immigration. Craig is not only a lawyer who specializes in immigration law, he's also an ordained minister, so we asked him on to bring his unique perspective to bear on the issue. We discuss the current state of things in the U.S., and ask what a Biblical approach might be.

You can find Lawful Assembly wherever you get your podcasts, or at https://www.lawfulpod.com/. Go give them a listen!

For early access to an ad-free version of every episode of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and the opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Regular listeners will know that Dr. Dan is not of fan of definitions. Dictionaries aren't rulebooks, he'll say, they're attempts to describe how words are being used. So when the Data Over Dogma show is all about what two words mean, you know it ain't going to be simple.

The first word we're looking at is "religion". We'll cover the origin of the word, and really try to get a handle on what that conceptual category is trying to get at. Will we succeed? That's for you to decide.

The next word, as the episode title suggests, is "atheist". It's a word with a somewhat surprising history, and one that is VERY charged in a modern context. We'll discuss how this word is used by people who describe themselves as atheists, and how non-atheists deploy it.

It's gonna get messy!

For early access to an ad-free version of every episode of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and the opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma   

Follow us on the various social media places:

https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod

https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices