Lecture Series
Introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) with Dr. Christine Hayes
& Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature with Dr. Dale B. Martin
- First are two free Yale University online courses which were highly informative and extremely interesting. This stuff is super reliable mainstream scholarship from a highly reputable academic institution. I can't recommend these highly enough. If there's nothing else you watch, read, or listen to on this page, you need to watch these.
The Psychological Significance of the Biblical Stories with Dr. Jordan B. Peterson
- Next up is a YouTube video lecture series in which Dr. Jordan B. Peterson (a somewhat famously "controversial" psychologist) systematically works his way through biblical stories and tries to analyze them from a psychological perspective. Dr. Peterson is somewhat of a traditionalist, but I think approaches things in a very open-minded way. One of my favorite classes at university was over evolutionary psychology - which these lectures remind me of. I haven't finished the series yet (well, neither has Dr. Peterson, either).
Podcasts
Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean - Subscribe on iTunes
- Hosted by Canadian Humanities Professor Dr. Phillip A. Harland who teaches ancient history and religion classes. These podcasts are often a mix of recorded class lectures and private recordings for his classes, so I could have really listed it as a lecture series as well. This podcast no longer updates, but there are a bunch of episodes here and they're really great.
The History in the Bible Podcast - Subscribe on iTunes
- Hosted by Dr. Garry Stevens, a sociologist with a soft Australian accent who is actually a bit of a lay person in this field. This is a current podcast that has new episodes coming out every couple weeks. Dr. Stevens basically works his way through the bible and summarizes mainstream scholarship's take on the historicity of various events and gives his own perspective.
The Bible Geek - Subscribe on iTunes
- Hosted by the somewhat eccentric Dr. Robert M. Price, this podcast exclusively consists of the professor taking questions from listeners and answering them. As a note, Dr. Price is kind of notorious for being open to nearly any theory, sometimes to a fault. He is something of a Jesus mythicist, but not dogmatically. Just be warned that he does have that slant to him a bit. The scholarship can be a little dicey, but it is FUN and he's done a TON of these.
NT Pod - Subscribe on iTunes
- Hosted by Dr. Mark Goodacre, Professor of New Testament & Christian Origins, Department of Religious Studies, Duke University. Dr. Goodacre's blog primarily focuses on the new testament and Christian origins. He hasn't updated frequently in a few years, but the back catalogue is substantial.
The Bart Ehrman Blog Podcast - Subscribe on iTunes
- This podcast is not actually hosted by Dr. Bart Ehrman, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, but instead consists of two readings from the Bart Ehrman blog - a nonprofit blog which Dr. Ehrman posts almost daily to which exists to raise money for charity. I'm considering subscribing to the blog myself, but the podcast is free to check out.
Books
Okay, so I've read a lot of books either directly related to biblical & religious studies or tangentially related, so I'm just going to list a few that I enjoyed or would recommend.
Misquoting Jesus & Jesus Interrupted by Bart D. Ehrman
- These books together are a great introduction to textual criticism in a very accessible, layman-friendly form. Dr. Ehrman introduces the world of textual criticism by looking at particular examples of scribal edits, contradictions, and errors, especially within the New Testament.
Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard Elliot Friedman
- Who Wrote the Bible? is a fairly comprehensive look at the documentary hypothesis of the authorship of the Torah (or Pentateuch). Friedman presents the mainstream arguments for the documentary hypothesis, thoroughly explains the proposed authors, and then expands on the traditional view with his own hypotheses and extrapolations. Highly recommended.
The Early History of God by Mark S. Smith
- This is a great look at ancient Israelite religion and the evolution of monotheism. If you're like me then you find this particular topic endlessly fascinating. Smith examines the relationships between El, Yahweh, Asherah, Baal(s), and the ugaritic/canaanite pantheon or "council of the gods" to try to trace how ancient Israelites came to worship and eventually believe in Yahweh alone. It's great.
The Varieties of Scientific Experience by Carl Sagan
- More of a personal take on the quintessentially human search for truth and meaning, and you know, Dr. Sagan was just the best.
Religion Explained by Pascal Boyer
- Not for the feint of heart, this book is dense, but awesome. Anthropologist Pascal Boyer systematically analyzes the evolutionary role of ritual, myth, and religion in human societies the world over. As I mentioned earlier, evolutionary psychology was probably my favorite class in college, and this book is right up that alley. A great, if at times difficult, read.
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