There’s a popular cliche among evangelicals—“The Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it.” But is it really that simple? Not according to New Testament scholar, Dr. Timothy Gombis. Because we’re not ancient Near Eastern people living in a desert, he says it’s not possible to literally apply the Bible.
Instead, any faithful Christian needs to learn how to improvise. Dr. Gombis talks with Skye about faithful improvisation, what cross-shaped cultural engagement looks like, and how idolatry destroys bodies. Also this week, Phil’s tweet about angry Christians using “table-flipping Jesus” to justify their bad behavior causes an uproar. Does the story mean it’s sometimes ok to be nasty and insult our enemies? Plus, Pat Robertson is “woke” on police violence, and a French pastry in a tree terrorizes Poland.
About three quarters of the way through, but I wanted to pose a question that hopefully someone will be able to offer some insight for: Dr. Gombis mentioned that political engagement for the church should involve more self-sacrificial energy than simply pulling the "right" (no pun intended) lever. I go to a church that, in November, went hard on voting the right way to win the culture war and not very much on actual engagement with issues and needs in our community. However, I feel powerless to actually suggest ways to get involved in that self-sacrificial love. I’m not a leader in any sense of the word, and to be quite honest I barely have the mental energy to do…
Thank you for your Holy Post podcast episode 453 (Wow! That’s a lot!) in which you interviewed Timothy Gombis. In the interview you addressed an issue that has recently disturbed my thoughts—the politicization of abortion. For years I have stated that as a follower of Christ I oppose murder, whether before birth (right side of the political spectrum) or after birth (left side of the political spectrum). But the church’s very strong and vocal opposition to abortion bothers me. Timothy’s advocation that the church take the issue personally and locally and not politically and nationally is precisely the stand that I have come to. But that perspective also has difficulties. Yes, the church needs to promote adoption within its ranks.…
I also appreciate Skye's analysis of police brutality and tying it to militarization in general. I wonder if you support the "defund the police" idea, not in taking away funds completely, but diverting to other efforts such as mentoring in vulnerable communities. I saw a dialogue between Candace Owens and Hawk Newsome, a BLM leader, where she asked why they made the issue about race and not police brutality in general. He basically said that throughout history, in fighting for Black rights, they've fought for the rights of everyone, and rights for everyone have followed. Therefore, "let us kick this door in", he said. He also mentioned in the conversation that he is a Christian.
About Pat Robertson, is he…
I love both your podcasts and was so excited to see Tim Gombis on the show this week! Around 1:06:00, Gombis briefly expressed his opinion that God wanted us to have the knowledge of good and evil, but grow/mature into it over time, rather than take a shortcut as Adam and Eve did. I’ve never heard this opinion before and would love to know more about your view. Do you have any recommended reading on the topic?
Also, Kaitlyn, if you ever decide to start your own podcast to weekly monologue your thoughts, I’m. Here. For. It.
I'm curious about what Professor Gombis thinks about the U.S. Supreme Court. On what does he base his statement that the court has harmed black and brown people? I can speculate in the area of criminal justice and policing (qualified immunity and some war on drug stuff), but other than that, I don't know.