How is the Old Testament Authoritative for Jesus Followers?- w/ Tim Mackie

Voxology

Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 29 October 2018

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How the Old Testament offers more than just laws, wars, and weird stories—Tim Mackie joins Mike Erre to unpack how the Bible’s first testament reveals a sophisticated narrative of divine patience, justice, and rescue, and how it all points directly to Jesus. Whether you’re deconstructing your faith, questioning biblical violence, or struggling to reconcile the God of the Old Testament with the teachings of Christ, this conversation is a deep dive into understanding the Hebrew Scriptures on their own terms.

Mike and Tim explore the concept of divine accommodation—how God works within broken systems and with broken people—as a lens for reading difficult texts like the flood, the conquest of Canaan, and ancient warrior kings. They tackle some of the toughest questions from modern readers: Is the Bible compatible with science and history? Is the Old Testament even relevant under the new covenant? And why the way we read the Bible matters more than ever.

Key Takeaways:
• Divine Accommodation as a Lens – Understanding how God chooses to work within sub-optimal human frameworks, like monarchies and violence, to bring about redemption.
• Reading the Bible on Its Own Terms – Why assuming a modern, Western lens of historical accuracy misses what biblical authors were really doing—especially in narrative texts like the flood.
• Old Testament as a New Covenant Document – How the Hebrew Bible itself anticipates the failure of the Mosaic covenant and prophesies the needs for spiritual renewal and a transformed heart.
• Jesus and the Hebrew Scriptures – Why we can’t fully understand the mission and message of Jesus apart from the Old Testament storyline he lived and fulfilled.
• Practical Advice for Deconstructing with Integrity – How letting go of certain assumptions and diving into biblical context can deepen both faith and intellectual honesty.

Guest Highlights:
Tim Mackie – Co-founder of The Bible Project and former seminary professor, Tim brings a powerful combination of theological depth and pastoral heart. This episode showcases his gift for making ancient texts accessible and his clear-eyed view of how modern readers should engage with the Bible.

Resources Mentioned:
• The Bible Project – bibleproject.com
• Tim’s “My Strange Bible” Podcast – Archive of sermons and teachings by Tim Mackie
• Genesis 1-9 – Discussion on the flood narrative and literary intent
• Numbers 11, Deuteronomy 30, Ezekiel 36 – God’s desire for inner transformation through the Spirit
• 1 Corinthians 15 – The resurrection as the historical anchor of Christian faith
• Gilgamesh and Ancient Flood Stories – Comparison literature and mythic context

If you've ever wrestled with the tone, content, or teachings of the Old Testament, this one's for you. Join Mike and Tim as they model curiosity, reverence, and humility for these ancient texts.

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Music by Timothy John Stafford

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Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, everybody, Mike here. Welcome to the Vox podcast. Thank you so much for tuning in. We're thrilled to have you. And we are thrilled via Skype to have our friend Tim Mackie back with us. Tim is one of the founders, storytellers, theologians of the Bible project. And Tim, we're thrilled to have you.
0:42.6	Thank you so much for your time today. Welcome.
0:45.9	Yeah, thanks, Mike. Good to talk with you.
0:48.1	Tim is located in Portland. And you have been, I just want to make sure, you know, I get it all right. You've been a professor
0:55.4	at, is it, was it Western? Where was it? Western Seminary. Okay. Yeah, that's right. And you were,
1:03.5	you've been a pastor, a teaching pastor, right? Yep. At a church for, what was it, 10 years?
1:10.5	Well, at a church in Wisconsin for about three years, and then a church in Portland for
1:16.6	five.
1:17.6	Okay, perfect.
1:18.6	Yeah.
1:19.6	And then you've now, you helped to launch this thing called the Bible Project, which,
1:25.6	what would you say, I mean, and I know you probably get asked
1:27.9	this all the time, but what would you say the mission is of the Bible Project?
1:33.3	Oh, well, what it is is a nonprofit, crowdfunded animation studio here in Portland.
1:40.2	I love that.
1:40.7	And we make videos and other resources, but mainly short, animated videos about the Bible
1:48.5	and biblical theology and how to read the Bible in its historical context.
1:53.4	And we're a YouTube channel that recently hit a million followers, which is mind-boiling to
1:58.6	me.
1:59.6	Holy cow.
2:00.6	Are you, do you get paid yet for advertising?
2:03.3	No, we'll never do that.
	...

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