RE//DISCOVER Bible Study

Jesus's death seems deliberately timed to correspond to the ancient festival of Passover. What was the meaning of this festival? Was it a time when God had to be bribed with the blood of a lamb to spare the firstborn of Israel, or was something else going on? Join us as we discuss the Passover.

Lots of us have heard the word "atonement", and English translations of the Bible are filled with the phrase "make atonement". But what does this word actually mean? Join us as we rediscover the Hebrew word kapar.

What tis the logic behind Biblical sacrifices? Were they a way of killing an innocent victim in place of a sinner, or is there something else happening? Find out as we explore this question.

What is sacrifice? What does Levitical liturgy teach us about sin and how to deal with it? Join us as we use the Day of Atonement to explore the Tabernacle and try to rediscover how Jews of Jesus's day thought about sacrifice so we can see Easter through the Jewish eyes of Jesus's earliest followers.

Is everything God's responsibility? Join us as we discuss the Biblical concept of delegated authority - where humans are given real authority to make a heaven or hell of their own realm.

The name "God" gets thrown around a lot in American public discourse, but does that make America a "Christian nation"? Is there a difference between the God of the Bible and the God of America? Find out in this open discussion.

If Christians are honest, it's obvious that there are plenty of ways to develop a significant level of morality without "believing in God". If that's true, what's the point of being a Christian? Join us as we discuss how the Bible really discusses human morality and God's actual goal for humans.

When we think of the end of the world, many Christians probably envision the entire universe ceasing to exist and being remade from scratch. But does the Bible imagine a different story? And what did early Christian authors think? Find out in this discussion.

There is no way to the Father apart from Jesus - but what about those who never hear the Gospel? Join us as we discuss this difficult topic.

Where do humans go after dying? Are Hades and Hell the same thing? Do people go to Heaven, or does Heaven come here? Join us as we discuss the various realms that the Bible describes beyond our own.

Join us as we discuss the one and only solution to the problem of human sin: the personal, real activity of the Holy Spirit.

Join us as we discuss Jesus's dethroning of Satan and how it impacts our reality to this day.

Join us as we discuss the good guys that are neither God nor men, but something else entirely.

Join us as we continue discussing the various metaphors the New Testament uses to describe the Cross.

Join us as we read several ancient sermons from the New Testament and notice what the earliest Christians did and did not say about Jesus's death.

The Bible uses other words besides sin to discuss the enemy within. Join us as we discuss these words, especially how they inform Isaiah 53 and other passages that use the idiom of bearing iniquity.

When Gabriel said Jesus would "save his people from their sins", what did he mean by "sin"? Join us as we discuss what the Old Testament imagined sin was. This definition, and no other, is what Jesus and the New Testament authors also meant when they spoke of sin.

Was the serpent of Eden a possessed snake with legs or was he something far, far more mysterious? Join us as we investigate the linguistic and cultural clues that help us put a face to this enigmatic figure.

Was Eve really bioengineered from a rib, or is there more to her story? And is the possibility of Adam and Eve being mortal ruled out by the doctrine of original sin? Join us and find out.

Join us as we discuss the origins of Adam, the exalted being born of the dust. There is probably more to this classic tale than most of us realize.

Join us as we discover that Eden and the Tabernacle (and later the Temple) have a lot in common. If that's true, then what sort of place was Eden? Was it just a nice place to live, or is was it a conduit for God's blessings to reach the realm of mankind?

Join us as we rethink what it means for something to "be" in Genesis 1 - in other words, its ontology. As it turns out, in the Ancient Near East, to "be" mostly meant to have a function in the divine order.

Join us as we discuss some odd features of Genesis 1:1-3 and how it tells a different story when translated with better attention to the Hebrew wording and clause structure. Dr. Michael Heiser on Genesis 1:1-3's clause structure: https://youtu.be/KmFE-qjoksc?si=6kKsCeR8Z1BLaJ3_

Join us as we discuss the many oddities of Genesis 1 and discover that its words may not be as simple as most are taught.   Grammatical analysis of Genesis 1:1-3 by Dr. Michael Heiser that was referenced briefly, but that will be revisited: Dr. Heiser on Genesis 1:1-3 Clause Structure

Join us as we discuss how ancient people made models of their world that had nothing to do with their understanding of its physical form. The question becomes: Are the accounts of Genesis cosmography or forensic cartography?

Join us as we dissect the Biblical plot on a grand scale and ask ourselves - what is the climax?