[Faith] Episode 72: Roberto De La Noval & Jordan Wood - How the Early Church Read the Bible (Reissue from Bonus)

The Bible For Normal People

The Bible for Normal People

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.7 • 3.4K Ratings

🗓️ 25 May 2026

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this week’s episode of Faith for Normal People, Jared talks with Roberto de la Noval and Jordan Wood about the church fathers, the development of doctrine, and how early Christians approached the Bible. They explore how figures like Augustine and Origen understood Scripture as something meant to transform people rather than simply provide literal answers, and why “problem passages” were often seen as invitations to think more deeply. Together, they invite listeners to see Christian tradition not as static or simplistic, but as a long, creative conversation about how to make sense of God, Scripture, and human experience. Show Notes → thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episodes/episode-72-roberto-de-la-noval-and-jordan-wood-how-the-early-church-read-the-bible Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/JukXifVwhQo ********** This episode is brought to you by Brooklyn Bedding, which knows sleep isn’t one-size-fits-all. That’s why they offer mattresses for every body, every sleep style – even in hard-to-find sizes. Go to brooklynbedding.com and use promo code BIBLE at checkout to get 30% off sitewide. This offer is not available anywhere else. ********** This episode is sponsored by Garrett Theological Seminary. Whether you feel called to care and counsel, public service, prophetic arts, or non-profit management, there’s a program at Garrett Seminary that’s right for you. Apply by July 15th to begin a Master’s degree this fall. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠garrett.edu/normalpeople⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to Faith for Normal People, the only other God-ordained podcast on the internet.
0:04.3	I'm Pete Ends.
0:05.0	And I'm Jared Baez.
0:06.1	This is your brief reminder to sign up for our May class with Kat Armis following Jesus in the American Empire.
0:22.4	Sometimes people tell us to stick to Bible stuff and stay out of politics, but it's unavoidable.
0:26.9	And by politics, we aren't talking Democrats versus Republicans. We're talking about how we
0:31.5	organize ourselves as people. Indeed. And we apologize again that this class is so America-centric,
0:36.8	but we've got a lot going on over here at the moment.
0:39.3	In the class, Kat's going to walk us through what an empire is and how a lot of Western values reflect empire.
0:44.5	She's going to tell us stories that have shaped us and how the Bible fits in.
0:48.3	And ultimately, what does it mean to follow Jesus in a divided, power-driven political context?
0:54.2	This class is on Wednesday, May 27th from 8 to 9.30 p.m. Eastern Time.
0:59.2	So go to the Bible for normal people.com front slash empire to sign up today and pay what you can.
1:06.3	And again, listen, if you want to support what we do and find yourself wanting to watch
1:10.2	or listen to a class, but don't ever get around to it, consider joining the Society of Normal People. For $12 a month, you get this class and all of our classes with a little motivation to get on it and start learning. We've got over 2,000 people in there taking classes, meeting together, and talking all things Bible. To join Sompuy, just go to the Bible for norae people.com front slash join. Hey everybody, on today's episode, it's just me, Jared, and I'm talking
1:33.2	to Roberto de la Naval and Jordan Wood about how doctrines came to be. It sounds boring, but it is not,
1:39.1	it is fascinating. You'll know Rob from our class called Universal Salvation is not modern.
1:43.6	He's a professor
1:44.2	of theology at Boston College. Also with us today is Jordan Wood, who's also a theology professor
1:49.7	at Belmont University. All right, let's dive into this conversation with Rob and Jordan.
1:54.7	For the Church Fathers, they grasp that understanding the letter of the text, the history, the story,
2:00.4	you still have to make that spiritually relevant.
	...

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