The Image of God and Imaging God What does it actually mean for human beings to be created in the image of God? In this lecture, Dr. Michael Heiser examines the biblical language of Genesis 1:26–27 and challenges several common explanations of the image of God....
Genesis 1
What Is Spiritual Warfare? Mike’s (Brief) Take
This question is asked of me so often that I've decided to post an *unedited* excerpt from my forthcoming Demons book (due out sometime in 2019 -- it's in editorial now). Here's a brief take on the issue; part of a larger discussion: What is spiritual warfare-from...
Mike’s Being Talked About a Lot Lately (Or So It Seems)
Just a personal note. I've been hearing (and seeing, in email) my own name a lot recently -- how I (allegedly) believe or don't believe XYZ, or how someone is suspicious of me, or how I need to debate some person. Sigh. For the record (this is a laziness test for...
Fake Exegesis: Return of the א-ת BS
You've heard of fake news? (Who hasn't?) How about some fake exegesis? Some time ago I blogged about the nonsensical idea that the Hebrew particle את has an amazing hidden meaning in Gen 1:1 (that's an aleph and taw, read right-to-left, for those who don't read...
New Motion Graphic Video: God vs. the Sea Monsters
Note: This had been posted earlier, but was taken down after a few minutes due to an error. There's also been a scene added to this rendering. Did you know the Bible says that God destroyed Leviathan when he created the heavens and earth? Genesis 1 isn't the only...
Naked Bible 96: Q&A 11
Our 11th Question and Answer episode! Link referenced: AllAboutGod.com In this wide-ranging listener Q&A episode, Dr. Michael Heiser answers theological and biblical questions that touch on some of his most well-known teaching topics. The questions cover...
Naked Bible 91: Q&A 10
Our 10th Question and Answer episode! Episode 91 – Q&A 10 features Dr. Michael Heiser responding to a wide range of listener-submitted questions on biblical and theological topics. He addresses the meaning behind Jesus’ rebuke of Peter in Mark 8:33, explores the...
Videos from Missouri Conference Uploaded to Naked Bible YouTube Channel
The videos from the conference of last October are now finished and uploaded. Thanks go to Shaun for making these possible, and to Will for recording the event! Among the topics are videos on how Zeitgeist gets it wrong and the unfortunate story of how flawed Bible...
Naked Bible 59: Q&A 4
Our 4th Question and Answer episode! paper referenced in the show:Chiel-The-Mysterious-Book-of-Jasher Transcript 59 Q&A4 This Q&A session continues Mike Heiser’s practice of engaging directly with listener-submitted questions, particularly on theological,...
The Divine Council and Early Christian Writers
Readers familiar with me and my work know that I think our theology needs to derive from the text, not tradition. This applies pointedly to the Old Testament -- the three-quarters of our Bible upon which our New Testament theology ought to be erected to have any hope...
Genesis 1-2 as Polemic
Cris Putnam, the force behind the Logos Apologia website, has recently blogged about how the creation stories of Genesis 1-2 target ancient Egyptian creation myths. The impetus behind Cris' efforts is a recent book entitled, In the Beginning... We Misunderstood:...
Calculating and Fixing the Date of Easter
I'm once again feeling wearied by all the nonsense (pagan and fundamentalist Christian in equal doses) about how the date of Easter was the result of some sort of deliberate paganizing conspiracy. Personally, I don't like the modern trappings of Easter. A lot of the...
Denis Lamoureux on Biblical Genealogies
Over at the Patheos blog, Pete Enns has been posting about this short video series by Denis Lamoureux. You'll recall that Dr. Lamoureux was one of the contributors to the 4 Views on the historical Adam book. His position was "no historical Adam." He's an evolutionary...
Genesis 1:1-3 – Does Hebrew Grammar Matter for Understanding the Hebrew Scriptures?
Stupid question? To anyone thinking clearly it is. There are, naturally, exceptions. It's just unfortunate that you can find them in Christian ministries. Readers may recall that I have posted several items about the grammar and syntax of Genesis 1:1-3. One such post...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 033: Word Studies, Part 2
Episode 33 continues our series on Bible study at the word level. Last time we talked about word usage as it pertains to usage by a single biblical author within the scope of that author's writings. Our launching point then was the lemma behind "unmarried" in 1 Cor...