Let's Get Weird!

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Dan Beecher (1:01)

I will say it reads a little differently than a lot of the other texts. I mean, it starts out with a story about seeing a girl naked. Yeah. And moves on from there.

Dan McClellan (1:11)

You could just label it, let's get weird. Hey everybody, I'm Dan McClellan.

Dan Beecher (1:22)

And I'm Dan Beecher.

Dan McClellan (1:23)

And this is Data Over Dogma, where we increase public access to the academic study of the Bible and religion, and we combat the spread of misinformation about the same. How are things today, Dan?

Dan Beecher (1:34)

It's a beautiful day. It's a fun life.

We're out here combatting and I feel fine.

Dan McClellan (1:41)

Well, that's what more can you ask for.

Dan Beecher (1:44)

What more can you ask for? Yeah. We've got a fun show coming up today. In the latter half of the show, we're going to be talking about...

We're going to do an Is It Canon? And no, it definitely is not. You've probably never heard of the Shepherd of Hermas, or Hermes, I think is how it's pronounced if it's on a bag.

But first, we're going to actually do a... It's a chapter and verse. We're just going to go straight for the first chapter of Hebrews. It means a bunch of things. It has implications. I read it and I was... I'll be honest, I'm not 100% sure what direction we're going in this conversation. So I'm excited to learn about that. So I think we should just dive right in to chapter and verse.

So here we are in Hebrews chapter one. It's the first chapter. And we should start by saying, or I'm going to start by asking you, do we know who wrote this? Hebrews?

Dan McClellan (2:55)

We do not, no. There have been a variety of propositions. None of them are taken particularly seriously. There are folks out there who think Paul, the apostle, wrote Hebrews.

He didn't. That's not really something to be taken seriously.

Dan Beecher (3:16)

This is not a Pauline epistle?

Dan McClellan (3:17)

No, no, no, no, no, no. Some other names that have been thrown out there, Apollos is an early Christian that some people thought, Priscilla or Aquila. This is a couple that's mentioned in the New Testament.

Basically, if there's somebody who sounds like they fit the bill and has been mentioned in the New Testament, somebody out there has probably suggested they are the author of the epistle to the Hebrews. No, we don't really have any idea who wrote the epistle to the Hebrews.

Dan Beecher (3:49)

And what Hebrews, which Hebrews are we talking about here? Do we?

Like, all of the epistles are to, like, I'm used to epistles going to the people of Corinth, you know what I mean, or like a city or a place. Like, I don't even know who the intended Hebrews are in this case.

Dan McClellan (4:10)

Well, here the idea is it's being written to probably Jewish folks, Jewish Christians. It is, a lot of the passages that are being interpreted here are being interpreted in kind of a rabbinic-y style.

But the point is to say that the Christian gospel and Jesus supersede or are greater than what is the Jewish tradition that is being inherited.

Dan Beecher (4:40)

Okay. Yeah, that's actually clear once you read it, so that makes a lot of sense. So yeah, it's kind of a letter to people who haven't caught on yet to the fact that Jesus is awesome.

You better get with it. Yeah. And it starts with sort of it almost feels, I will say this now that since we're thinking about it in those terms, it feels defensive. You know what I mean?

It feels like it's like, no, but wait, is how it starts.

Dan McClellan (5:16)