Kirk E. MillerDoes James contradict Paul? In this episode of What in the Word?, host Kirk E. Miller sits down with pastor and theologian Mark Jones to tackle James. They explore the apparent tension between Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith alone and...
Does human unbelief have the power to limit the all-powerful God? In this episode of What in the Word?, Kirk E. Miller sits down with theologian Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen to tackle the startling claim in Mark 6 that Jesus “could do no mighty work” in...
Since we no longer have the original manuscripts, is our text of the New Testament reliable? Given the magnitude of variations between manuscripts, can we reliably reconstruct the original? Premier New Testament text critic Daniel B. Wallace joins...
Does Paul prefer Christians remain single, despite the rest of the Bible’s positive portrayal of marriage? In this episode of What in the Word?, Kirk E. Miller sits down with Dr. Danielle Treweek to walk through numerous difficulties in 1...
Psalm 137 ends with one of the Bible’s most scandalizing lines: a prayer that an enemy’s infants would be dashed against rocks. It understandably troubles believers, and for skeptics, it’s a classic case against the Bible’s goodness. Does this...
Kirk E. Miller welcomes New Testament scholar Patrick Schreiner on to What in the Word? to tackle the question: Why was Jesus baptized? John’s baptism was for repentant sinners, yet Jesus was without sin. They discuss the different interpretations...
Jonathan Akin joins Kirk E. Miller to explore the infamous passage of 2 Kings 2 where prophet Elisha's curse leads to two she-bears mauling young boys. Was Elisha simply an irritable old man who couldn’t take a joke? How old were these “youths”? And...
If the Bible teaches that human beings are made in the image of God, why does the Bible seem to allow their enslavement? It’s a question that often troubles believers and serves as an objection for skeptics. Kirk E. Miller sits down with author and...
Luke records that the early Jesus followers in Jerusalem "held everything in common" (Acts 2; 4). Does this mean the early church abolished private property and embraced a sort of communalism? Luke-Acts scholar Darrell L. Bock joins Kirk E. Miller...
When Paul says that gentiles “do what the law requires” and have “the work of the law written on their hearts,” is he describing morally conscious pagans who have God’s natural law or believing gentiles who experience the inward transformation of...
Join Kirk E. Miller and Old Testament scholar Chad Bird as they discuss the so-called "Curse of Ham" in one of the Bible's most cryptic and infamously abused passages. Discover the different views on the nature of Ham's sin, why Noah curses his son...
In Galatians 4, the Apostle Paul refers to the story of Sarah and Hagar as an allegory: Hagar corresponds to Mount Sinai and the present Jerusalem, while Sarah corresponds to the Jerusalem above. Is Paul twisting the Old Testament? Is he reading...
Why did God forbid Moses from entering the promised land? What exactly was the nature of Moses’s sin, and why was God’s response so harsh? In this episode of What in the Word?, Kirk E. Miller and Michael Morales sit down to interpret Numbers 20.
Melchizedek is one of the most mysterious figures in the Bible, with only two incredibly brief mentions in the Old Testament. Yet in Hebrews 7, the author makes the astounding argument that this fleeting character from Genesis anticipates the end of...
In this episode of What in the Word?, Kirk E. Miller talks with Richard Middleton about one of Christian theology’s most foundational and widely discussed ideas: humanity as the image of God (imago dei). Yet despite how important this concept is...
Thomas H. McCall joins Kirk E. Miller to discuss one of the most emotionally arresting lines in the Gospels: Jesus’s cry of dereliction from the cross, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? These words have raised questions, like: Did the Father...
Did the apostle Paul allow for divorce and remarriage? In this episode of What in the Word?, Kirk E. Miller sits down with renowned New Testament scholar Craig Keener to navigate a challenging and hotly debated passage from Paul's letter to the...
Genesis 6 says that God “regretted” making humanity. This seems to imply divine change, sorrow, or even error. But how can God regret anything if he is all-knowing, unchanging, and perfectly wise?In this episode of What in the Word?, Kirk E. Miller...
Jude contains one of the New Testament’s more eyebrow-raising lines. Jude delivers a prophecy with wording that closely resembles 1 Enoch, a book that isn’t in the Bible. What are we to make of this? In this episode of What in the Word?, Kirk E...
What in the Word? wraps up a rich and thought-provoking first season. In this special finale, host Kirk E. Miller turns the mic on himself, as Matt Barrios, the show producer, leads a reflective interview covering lessons learned, favorite passages...
What’s the Song of Solomon really about? Is the Song a literal love poem, an allegory of God’s love, or something in between? In this episode of What in the Word?, Kirk E. Miller is joined by Fellipe do Vale to explore the interpretive challenges of...
In this episode of What in the Word?, Lynn H. Cohick joins Kirk E. Miller to unpack Paul's exhortation. Together, Kirk and Lynn explore the passage’s literary and theological context, its implications for how we think about salvation and...
In this episode of What in the Word?, Kirk E. Miller is joined by New Testament scholar Jeannine Brown to explore one of Scripture’s most challenging passages: Matthew 16. Did Jesus mistakenly predict his return? Together, they examine various...
If God is good and created all things good, where did evil come from? In this episode of What in the Word?, Phillip Cary joins Kirk E. Miller to explore Genesis 3 and the origins of evil.
How should we understand the Bible’s Creation story in Genesis 1? In this episode of What in the Word?, Kirk E. Miller is joined by Vern Poythress to explore the genre, interpretation, and theological intent of Genesis 1:1–2:3. They discuss various...
In this episode of What in the Word?, Malcolm Foley joins Kirk E. Miller to discuss the challenging passage of 1 Timothy 6. Together, they unpack Paul’s warnings about the desire for wealth and consider how the love of money is described as a root...
Is Jesus really less than the Father? In this What in the Word? episode, Kirk E. Miller is joined by theologian Michael Horton to tackle John 14:28. Together, Kirk and Mike explore multiple historical interpretations, including Arianism, eternal...
Does Romans 7 describe the experience of a believer struggling with sin, or is Paul referring to something else entirely? Many in Protestant traditions assume that Paul’s use of the first-person pronoun in this passage reflects the believer’s...
The end of 1 Peter 3 presents one of the most challenging passages in all of the New Testament. What does it mean that Jesus preached to the spirits in prison? Did he descend into hell? Was he speaking through Noah in the past, offering the deceased...
What does Paul mean when he says that all Israel will be saved in Romans 11? Does this refer to a restoration of the nation of Israel, the salvation of the church or something else? In this episode of What in the Word, Richard Lucas and Kirk Miller...