N.T. Wright: How To Study the Bible For Yourself

Good Faith

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.8 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 13 April 2026

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Why Relying on One Bible Teacher Isn't Enough—and What to Do About It

In this Good Faith Podcast bonus short, N.T. Wright shares practical, accessible guidance on how to read the Bible with deeper understanding, moving beyond surface-level devotion into the rich world of biblical context, Scripture study, and Christian discipleship. Wright explains why exploring texts like Josephus, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Apocrypha, and the Apostolic Fathers can help modern believers interpret the New Testament more faithfully and confidently. He also offers a personal glimpse into his lifelong daily Bible reading practice, revealing how Scripture, prayer, and the Psalms have shaped his faith from childhood to today.

Take the Listener Survey

Mentioned In This Episode:

John Goldingay & N.T. Wright's The Bible for Everyone
Books by Richard Middleton
Books by Walter Brueggemann
The Complete Works of Josephus (pdf)
The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls (pdf)
Resource For Writings of the Apostolic Fathers (e.g., Ignatius, Clement, Polycarp)

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello, who's out there listening in the Good Faith audience?
0:04.0	We want to hear from you. Who are you? Why do you listen? What keeps you coming back?
0:09.0	And how can we make the show even better? Go to good faith.org slash survey,
0:15.0	or use the link in the show notes to take our quick listener survey and tell us everything. As a thank you, one
0:22.3	respondent will get to choose between a $250 gift card to Parnassas Books, a pair of Apple AirPods
0:28.6	Pro, or a donation to a charitable organization of your choosing. So come on, don't be shy. Again,
0:35.8	that's good faith.org slash survey. Let us know who's on the other side of these microphones.
0:45.7	Somebody told me when I was about 12 that I should read the Bible every day and they gave me some scripture union notes to help me get going.
0:52.6	And that was a little paragraph each day with a few notes and then a prayer and took about 10 minutes, quarter of an hour. I started
0:59.0	doing that then, and I've never seen any reason to stop, except that, of course, the passages have got
1:05.4	longer, and I now read them in Greek and Hebrew rather than in English. So I wake up in the morning, I make a cup
1:11.3	tea, I sit down with the Bible, and that's usually about an hour or so. Welcome to the Good Faith podcast where friends who follow Jesus help each other make sense of the world.
1:38.9	This podcast is produced by a 501C3 nonpartisan organization. I'm D.T. Sloughman, the director of content here
1:49.3	at Good Faith. And in a church moment shaped by polarization, shallow formation, and fresh
1:57.6	urgency around discipleship, one of the deepest questions facing ordinary Christians
2:03.7	is still the most personal one. How do you actually learn to read scripture well?
2:12.2	Not just faster, not just more devotionally, but with depth, confidence, and faithfulness.
2:21.9	That's what makes NT. Wright such a fitting guide here.
2:26.5	Few voices have done more to help modern believers recover the world of the Bible,
2:31.8	and hear its authority with fresh clarity. And this piece of bonus
2:36.9	content captured during our most recent sit-down with Professor Wright, but not included in the
2:44.0	larger release, Curtis asks a deceptively simple question. When you've leaned on great Bible teachers for insight,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Good Faith, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Good Faith and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.