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    Removing cultural blinders

    Have you ever tried reading something upside down? Doesn’t usually work too well does it? But, flip it over and that change in perspective is all you need to see clearly! Well, today on Discover the Word, we wrap up a two-week discussion with authors Brandon O’Brien and Randy Richards. They’ve been helping us to […]

    How we miss the main point by reading Scripture out of context

    We know that reading a verse out of context can lead to some wacky interpretations, but what if we’ve been doing that without even realizing it? Today on Discover the Word, authors Randy Richards and Brandon O’Brien look at a story in the Bible where we likely have missed the main point! Find out how […]

    Handling tragedy – a challenging and freeing discussion

    We’ve all experienced loss. But have you ever felt like you’re just supposed to soldier on, denying your grief? Today on Discover the Word, we will tackle the subject of handling tragedy. It’s a challenging and freeing discussion—part of a series about “Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes” with special guests Brandon O’Brien and Randy Richards. […]

    Understanding context makes for a much clearer story

    Today on Discover the Word, Randy Richards and Brandon O’Brien join the team to lead a discussion on the story of David and Bathsheba and Uriah. Discover how understanding their culture makes some confusing things about this story a lot clearer. Join the conversation about “Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes,” today on Discover the Word!

    “Love God and love others” – How did this gospel get Jesus crucified?

    The gospel is sometimes summarized as “Love God and love others.” So it makes you wonder how that message got Jesus crucified. Today, the Discover the Word team continues their series titled “Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes”—providing cultural perspective for the Bible. We’ll learn why some things we consider orthodox were absolutely revolutionary to first-century […]

    How our “cultural blinders”affect how we read the Bible

    We all know Jesus wasn’t a 21st-century American, yet we often read the Bible with cultural assumptions we might not even be aware of! Today on Discover the Word, we invite Randy Richards and Brandon O’Brien back to the table for a fascinating discussion about how our “cultural blinders” often affect how we read the […]

    Understanding how the Bible is meant to be read

    How does your cultural upbringing affect the way you read the Bible? It’s more significant than you may think. Discover how you might be “Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes” when you join the Discover the Word team as they continue their conversation with Randy Richards and Brandon O’Brien on Discover the Word. Learn how to […]

    How we mistakenly interpret the Bible through our Western cultural values

    The Bible wasn’t originally written to 21st-century Americans. And if we’re not careful we’ll read our own Western cultural values into Scripture! Today on Discover the Word, we continue a conversation with authors Randy Richards and Brandon O’Brien about how to take off our Western cultural glasses and see the Bible with new eyes. Join […]

    Exposing our blind spots

    When you read your Bible, could you be wearing blinders and not even know it? We’ll  get together with the Discover the Word group today as we expose some blind spots we might not even realize we have. Authors Randy Richards and Brandon O’Brien are helping us see how we may be “Misreading Scripture with […]

    “Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes”

    With so many English translations available today, it’s easy to forget that the Bible wasn’t originally written to us! And when we fail to understand the context in which the Bible was written . . . we will surely misunderstand it! Today, the Discover the Word group welcomes authors Randy Richards and Brandon O’Brien for an […]

    Unraveling the Mysteries

    I have always enjoyed the wit and insight of Peanuts creator, Charles Schulz. One of my favorite cartoons drawn by him appeared in a book about young people in the church. It shows a young man holding a Bible as he tells a friend on the phone, “I think I’ve made one of the first steps toward unraveling the mysteries of the Old Testament . . . I’m starting to read it!” (Teen-Ager Is Not a Disease).

     Psalm 119 overflows with the writer’s hunger to understand and experience the power of God’s Word each day. “Oh, how I love your law!…

    5 Tips to Stay Woke as a Christian

    “Stay woke? Well, I must be awake, because I am talking with you.” That was my response to a friend when I first heard the term, stay woke*.

    Soaking Up God’s Word

    When our son Xavier was a toddler, we took a family trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. As we entered the building, I pointed to a large sculpture suspended from the ceiling. “Look. A humpback whale.”

    Xavier’s eyes widened. “Enormous,” he said.

    My husband turned to me. “How does he know that word?”

    “He must have heard us say it.” I shrugged, amazed that our toddler had soaked up vocabulary we’d never intentionally taught him.

    In Deuteronomy 6, God encouraged His people to be intentional about teaching younger generations to know and obey the Scriptures. As the Israelites increased their knowledge of God, they…

    He Gave Us Scripture: Foundations of Interpretation

    Evangelical Christians affirm the Scriptures as God’s inerrant word, but we still disagree sometimes over the meaning of particular verses or passages, and these differences can influence our Christian doctrine and practice. One reason for these disagreements is that there are many different approaches to interpreting the Bible. But how do we know which approach to interpretation is the most responsible? This course will help answer that question. It is based on the lecture series, He Gave Us Scripture: Foundations of Interpretation, produced by Third Millennium Ministries and hosted by Dr. Richard L. Pratt, Jr. with contributions from a variety…

    A Journey of Belief

    Since its first publication in 1880, Lew Wallace’s novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ has never been out of print. It has been called the most influential Christian book of the 19th century, and it continues to draw readers today as it weaves the true story of Jesus with that of a fictional young Jewish nobleman named Judah Ben-Hur.

    Amy Lifson, writing in Humanities magazine, said that the writing of the book transformed the life of the author. “As Ben-Hur guided readers through the scenes of the Passion, so did he lead the way for Lew Wallace to believe in…