The Bridge Builders Forum
The Bridge Builders Forum Podcast helps Jews and Christians better understand their faith, the Bible, and each other.
Each episode features individuals and perspectives that foster mutual enrichment and the goodness we can bring to our communities and the world when there is a bridge, rather than a gulf, between Jews and Christians.
Episodes
43 episodes
Who Was the Jewish Prophet Behind Paul's Passion?
Who was the Jewish prophet behind Paul’s passion?In this episode of Journey with the Jewish Paul, we explore why the Apostle Paul quoted Isaiah more than any other prophet—and how Isaiah’s vision of the nations streaming to Jerusalem shaped...
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3:51
Did Paul Expect Gentiles to Keep the Torah?
Did Paul expect Gentiles to keep the Torah? Most people would say, “Absolutely not.” After all, Paul is often seen as the one who set Christians free from the Law. But is that what Paul really taught?In this episode of Journey with the ...
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3:58
A Rabbi's View on Jesus, Paul, and Jewish-Christian Friendship: A Discussion with Rabbi Joe Charnes | BBF05
Why would a traditional Jewish rabbi teach about Jesus, Paul, and the New Testament?In this episode of Bridge Builders Forum, Rabbi Joe Charnes joins Ryan Lambert for an honest conversation about the Jewishness of Jesus and Paul, the ev...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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1:27:13
Did Paul Teach Christians to Celebrate Pentecost or Shavuot?
Did Paul teach early Christians to celebrate Pentecost… or Shavuot?Today, these two holidays are often seen as separate—Pentecost as a Christian celebration of the Holy Spirit, and Shavuot as a Jewish festival remembering the giving of ...
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3:48
Did Jerusalem Still Matter to Paul?
Did Paul abandon Jerusalem after his encounter with Jesus? Many assume so—but the evidence tells a different story. In this episode, Ryan Lambert draws from his book The Weird Apostle to explore Paul’s enduring commitment to Jerusalem and the T...
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4:10
Is the New Testament Antisemitic? Rethinking Harmful Interpretations with Jesper Svartvik | BBF04
Is the New Testament antisemitic? In this thought-provoking episode of the Bridge Builders Forum, Lutheran theologian Dr. Jesper Svartvik joins Ryan Lambert to explore this controversial question. Drawing from his book Jewish Foundations of the...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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1:04:24
The First Interpreter of Paul's Greatest Letter Was a Woman!
Did you know the first interpreter of Paul’s most important letter was a woman? Her name was Phoebe—and she didn’t just carry Paul’s letter to the Romans; she likely read it aloud, fielded questions, and explained its meaning. In this episode o...
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3:29
Did Paul End The Law? Rethinking Romans 10:4
Romans 10:4 is often quoted to claim that Jesus put an end to the Torah. But is that really what Paul meant?In this episode, we take a fresh look at Romans 10:4 and explore what Paul was actually saying about the Torah, the Gentiles, an...
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3:36
Why Should Christians Understand Judaism? A Conversation with Tzvi Novick | BBF03
What does it mean for Christians to truly understand Judaism—and why does it matter?In this thought-provoking conversation, Orthodox Jewish scholar Dr. Tzvi Novick (Notre Dame) joins the Bridge Builders Forum to discuss his bold new boo...
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1:01:17
Does Paul Still Believe the Land Belongs to Israel?
Did the Apostle Paul abandon the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel?Many Christians assume he did—but the Bible tells a different story.In this special Bridge Builders Forum episode, released for Israel’s Independence Day (Yom ...
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3:59
3 Ways Misreading Paul Fuels Antisemitism
Is the Apostle Paul anti-Jewish? Or have we misunderstood him for centuries?In this episode of Bridge Builders Forum, we confront one of the most damaging legacies of Christian interpretation: the misreading of Paul that has fueled anti...
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4:27
Was the Apostle Paul Disabled? A Conversation with Dr. Isaac Soon | BBF02
Was Paul’s body as robust as his reputation? In this episode, Dr. Isaac Soon joins us to discuss his groundbreaking book, A Disabled Apostle. We explore compelling historical evidence that Paul lived with multiple disabilities—and how ...
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58:34
Did Paul Celebrate Easter?
Jesus' resurrection was indeed a cause for celebration in Paul's mind!But when would Paul have celebrated the resurrection? Would it have been Easter or Passover? And what would Paul think about Christians celebrating Jesus' resurrectio...
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3:43
Did Paul Teach Christians To Keep Passover?
Within a few hundred years after Jesus and Paul, very few Christian groups maintained a connection to Passover. But what would it have been like for the Christ-following communities that Paul visited and wrote to?Would they have celebra...
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3:53
Pivoting to the Bridge Builders Forum! | BBF01
Moving forward, this podcast will be known as the Bridge Builders Forum.Why the change?Watch this 4-minute video and find out!Bridge Builders Forum - https://www.bridgebuildersforum.com/An educational entity dedicate...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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4:22
Did Paul Think the Jews Killed Jesus?
The Apostle Paul has been used to support a longstanding viewpoint that assigns a timeless responsibility for Jesus’ death to “the Jews.” This has led to countless Jewish people being persecuted for being “Christ-killers,” even in modern times....
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5:39
What Is Paul's Gospel?
What is Paul’s gospel?Is it the Christian message of salvation?Is it Paul’s view of how to get to heaven?Did Paul's gospel serve to replace Jewish legalism?Despite how often this term is used, there is a lot of ...
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3:56
Is Passover Kosher for Christians? A conversation with Jewish theologian David Nekrutman | EP18
A growing number of Christians are celebrating Passover to restore the foundations of their faith…and out of a desire to celebrate the holidays that Jesus celebrated.But there are Christian and Jewish voices that push back and don’t see...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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1:11:01
Paul vs. Circumcision: What Many Christians Misunderstand
Paul’s opposition to circumcision is one of the biggest concerns in his letters.However, Paul’s viewpoint on circumcision is widely misunderstood by many Christians.In this 3-minute video, Ryan explains Paul's nuanced view of ci...
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3:46
Purim, Paul, and the Spirit of Amalek
Many Jews and a growing number of Christians have great affection for the Jewish holiday of Purim. Purim is also a somber reminder of the ongoing presence of what Jewish tradition refers to as “the spirit of Amalek.” In the book of...
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3:47
Bridging Faiths: An Israeli Orthodox Jewish Perspective on Jewish-Christian Relations with Gidon Ariel | EP17
Jews and Christians have a complicated history, marked by distance and often hostility. Recently, this relationship has improved, with both sides seeking respect and understanding. However, there’s still a lot of work to do to repair and streng...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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1:12:34
Was Paul Legalistic?
Was Paul legalistic?Most people would say, “Absolutely Not!”There’s no way, shape, or form that Paul was legalistic. Right?Well, there’s a little problem with dismissing this question.Paul’s letters include several sections with...
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3:40
Did Paul Eat Pork?
It is traditionally assumed that when Paul became a Christian, he no longer kept the Jewish and Biblical kosher dietary commandments recorded in the Bible. How does that commonly held viewpoint harmonize with multiple New Testament...
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3:19
Helping Christians Grow Through Jewish Insights - A Conversation with Pastor Dave Adamson EP 16
Can learning Jewish insights and Hebrew words help Christians grow in faith? Many Christians are discovering that learning the Jewish roots of their faith and a little bit of Hebrew goes a long way toward a deeper faith and a bette...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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59:39