meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Nomad Podcast

Robin Parry - How to Live in the Biblical Cosmos (N117)

Nomad Podcast

Tim Nash

Christianity, Faithshift, Deconstruction, Christianmysticism, Religion & Spirituality, Christianspirituality, Progressivechristian, Christian, Religion, Emergingchurch

4.7 • 658 Ratings

🗓️ 11 March 2016

⏱️ 66 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Robin Parry is a theologian best known for advocating universalism (see our interview with him on this very topic). More recently he's turned his attention to writing about The Biblical Cosmos. In this book he systematically lays out all the weirdness of the biblical universe, with its flat earth, the dead residing underneath it and God residing above a solid sky dome. Oh, and there's sea monsters and angel-stars for good measure. The question is, then, how do we relate to a God who lives in this universe? 

"This idea of the cosmos that you see in the bible is one in which ordinary everyday things like river and streams and moving around physical space is invested with meaning and all of these things point not away from themselves, but beyond themselves, to God." - Robin Parry

Books, quotes, links →

The creation of Nomad’s thoughtful, ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful and wonderful listeners. By supporting us, you gain access to Nomad’s online spaces—like the Beloved Listener Lounge, Enneagram Lounge, and Book Club—as well as bonus episodes such as Nomad Contemplations, Therapeutic Reflections, and Nomad Revisited.

If you’d like to join our lovely community of supporters, head over to our Patreon page. You might even be rewarded with a Nomad pen or our coveted Beloved Listener mug!

If a monthly commitment isn’t possible right now, a one-off donation is always deeply appreciated—you can do that here.

Looking to connect with others nearby? Check out the Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook group.

And if you're up for sharing your own story, we regularly post reflections from listeners on our blog—all with the hope of fostering deeper understanding, connection and supportive relationships. If you'd like to share your story on the blog, contact us for more information here.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Nomad, Christian Community, Mission and the Future of the Church.

0:16.2

Welcome back to Nomad podcast. My name's Tim Nash. Dave Ward will be joining us, hopefully, in time for the

0:22.9

interview. He's just finishing off a horse somewhere and then he's going to be high tailing it down here.

0:27.0

And we're going to be meeting up with Robin Perry, who we've had on the show before. You might

0:31.7

remember an episode we did with him called A Hope in Hell, Cracking episode, and he did a Christmas

0:37.2

reflection for us as well,

0:38.6

a universalist's Christmas. But today we're going to be talking about the biblical cosmos.

0:44.8

Now, I know what you're thinking, that doesn't sound particularly interesting, but trust me,

0:48.5

it really is. It's how the ancient people, the biblical authors, understood the cosmos, the world, the universe, the planets, the stars, all that kind of stuff.

0:59.3

What sort of world did they live in?

1:01.8

And trust me, it's a very different world from the world that we understand now.

1:05.8

So what does that mean for the way we understand the Bible?

1:08.4

And what does that mean for the way we apply the Bible to the

1:12.4

world that we live in now really really fascinating stuff as always from Robin Perry so I'm just

1:17.7

going to sit here in my car waiting for Wardo to turn up and then we're going to pop in and have a chat

1:25.3

with Robin Perry.

1:38.1

So Robin, welcome back to the Nomad podcast.

1:39.6

Oh, thank you.

1:42.4

How would you just like to say why you're here?

1:45.0

I'm here because this is my house. Why are you here?

1:49.0

We're here to interview.

1:51.0

Yeah, so what I work as an editor for a publisher in America called Wipf and Stock, which is, goodness knows why they called it then, because it's unpronounceable.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

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

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

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.