"Wrestling With Scripture" with Amy-Jill Levine
Episode 24 of the The Weight podcast, hosted by Oxford University United Methodist Church, titled ""Wrestling With Scripture" with Amy-Jill Levine" was published on August 7, 2025 and runs 48 minutes.
August 7, 2025 ·48m · The Weight
Summary
Show Notes: Today’s guest, Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, has a challenge for all of us: to engage the Bible more deeply, and to do that in a way that faithful to the historical context in which the scriptures were written. Jews during the Second Temple period were aware of the societal context in which they lived, just as we are aware of ours today. But because we don’t experience that ancient context in today’s world, we lose the nuance of Jesus’ teachings. Putting Jesus back in his historical time a...
Episode Description
Show Notes:
Today’s guest, Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, has a challenge for all of us: to engage the Bible more deeply, and to do that in a way that faithful to the historical context in which the scriptures were written. Jews during the Second Temple period were aware of the societal context in which they lived, just as we are aware of ours today. But because we don’t experience that ancient context in today’s world, we lose the nuance of Jesus’ teachings. Putting Jesus back in his historical time and place gives Christians a deeper understanding of the scriptures and allows for us to wrestle with the text, to push back and ask questions.
AJ is Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace. She is a graduate of Smith College and earned her doctorate at Duke University. AJ is the author of several books, including Short Stories by Jesus, Jesus for Everyone: Not Just Christians, and The Bible with and without Jesus.
Resources:
Follow AJ on Facebook
Buy AJ’s books on Amazon or Cokesbury
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