Church vs Universities: Who Gets the New Testament Right?

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Episode Outline:
00:00 – Introducing church versus university approaches to the New Testament
01:03 – Meet Dr. Hugo Mendez of UNC Chapel Hill
02:00 – How churches and universities study the Bible differently
04:27 – Why scholars focus on tensions within the biblical texts
06:15 – Why students often struggle to see differences between Gospels
08:30 – The Book of Acts as history and theology
11:50 – The freedom to ask difficult questions in academic Bible study
15:26 – Hugo’s upcoming Introduction to the New Testament course
18:45 – The Jesus of history versus the Jesus of faith
21:23 – Reading each New Testament text on its own terms
24:06 – Authorship, tradition, and the human writers of Scripture
30:25 – How diverse classrooms shape Bible discussions
34:14 – Do churches or universities get the New Testament right?

Episode Description

Is there a difference between how the New Testament is taught in church versus a university? In this episode, New Testament scholar Hugo Mendez joins us to explore the devotional approach to the Bible often found in churches and how it contrasts with the critical, historical methods used in academia. We discuss what surprises students about studying the New Testament in a classroom setting, whether one approach is ‘right,’ and how both can offer valuable insights for Christians, skeptics, and truth-seekers alike.

Also watch these episodes:
The Gospel Truth: What Are the Gospels of the New Testament?
The Gospel Truth: What Are the Gospels of the New Testament?

Stories about Jesus Before the Gospels: Oral Traditions in the Early Church
Stories about Jesus Before the Gospels: Oral Traditions in the Early Church

What Are the Synoptic Gospels?
What Are the Synoptic Gospels?