American Christians’ Peculiar View of Inerrancy—and Other Oddities (Mike Bird)

Episode Summary

There is a view of biblical inerrancy that is actually particular to some American Christians—and peculiar to outsiders. Dr. Michael Bird examines this and other peculiarities of some American Christianity in light of Scripture and other traditions.

In this episode, Dru Johnson interviews Dr. Bird about American theology and the different meanings of biblical inerrancy. They discuss the distinction between questioning the authority of the Bible and questioning a particular tradition’s interpretation or doctrine. They also talk about the importance of the Hebrew Bible and Dr. Bird’s work with N.T. Wright.

Chapters

    • 0:00 America’s concern with biblical inerrancy

    • 3:15 What does it mean to say that the Bible is true?

    • 9:56 Interpretative issues versus authoritative issues

    • 13:07 American eschatology

    • 17:03 Ignorance of the Hebrew Bible

    • 25:45 N.T. Wright

    • 27:45 American politics and Christian obligation

Learn more about Mike Bird and his work.

Dr. Bird’s book with N.T. Wright: The New Testament in Its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians

Transcripts are AI generated and are not guaranteed to correctly reflect the content of the podcast.
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Dr. Michael Bird

Dr. Michael Bird grew up in Brisbane before joining the Army and serving as a paratrooper, intelligence operator, and then chaplains assistant. It was during his time in the military that he came to faith from a non-Christian background, and soon after felt a call to ministry. He graduated with a BMin from Malyon College (2001) and Honours and PhD from the University of Queensland (2002, 2005). Michael taught New Testament at the Highland Theological College in Scotland (2005-9) before joining Brisbane School of Theology as lecturer in Theology (2010-12). He joined the faculty at Ridley as lecturer in Theology in 2013. Michael describes himself as a “biblical theologian” who endeavours to bring together biblical studies and systematic theology.As an industrious researcher, Michael has written and edited over thirty books in the fields of Septuagint, Historical Jesus, the Gospels, St Paul, Biblical Theology, and Systematic Theology. His book Evangelical Theology is an attempt to develop a truly gospel-based theology that promotes the advance of the gospel in Christian life and thought. He is the co-editor of the New Covenant Commentary Series, an associate editor for Zondervan’s The Story of God Bible Commentary, and an elected member of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (the international society of New Testament scholars).  He often speaks at conferences in Australia, the UK, and the USA. He also runs a popular blog called Euangelion.Michael is married to Naomi and they have four children.

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