Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast You Asked, Let's Talk.

Why does God seem angry, violent, or even mean in parts of the Old Testament while Jesus seems so loving?

Bobby McGraw sits down with Old Testament scholar and Oklahoma Baptist University president Heath Thomas to wrestle honestly with that question.

Heath argues that we often begin the biblical story in the wrong place. Before God is described as judge, He is revealed as the Creator and giver of life. From there, the Old Testament tells a larger story of rescue, blessing, discipline, and restoration.

Along the way, Heath explores difficult questions about war, judgment, poetry, doubt, and why following Jesus does not mean having every answer. Sometimes, he says, Jesus is less a simple answer and more the clue we keep following.

Key Takeaways

• The Old Testament begins with God as Creator and giver of life, not as an angry judge.
• God’s relationship with Israel is part of a larger rescue story meant to bring blessing to the world.
• Difficult passages about war and judgment make more sense within the Bible’s larger story.
• Faith does not require an answer to every question. Sometimes “I don’t know” is an honest place to begin.
• Much of the Old Testament is poetry, meant to shape how we see reality rather than simply give us information.

Chapter Markers

00:00 - Welcome to Heath Thomas
02:01 - All of Life, All for Jesus
04:03 - From Rules to Relationship
08:39 - Jesus Is the Clue
10:22 - What Does a Relationship With God Look Like?
14:13 - Personality and the Way We Experience God
16:36 - How Heath Became an Old Testament Scholar
19:20 - Why Does God Seem Angry in the Old Testament?
21:49 - Israel and God’s Rescue Mission
25:18 - A Kingdom of Priests and a Blessing to the World
27:36 - What About War in the Old Testament?
30:25 - Starting the Story With the God of Life
33:03 - Why Did God Allow Us to Sin?
36:10 - Faith When You Do Not Have the Answer
39:03 - Why, How Long, and the Presence of God
41:24 - Are We Reading the Old Testament Wrong?
42:52 - Why So Much of the Old Testament Is Poetry
47:42 - Where to Start Exploring the Old Testament
48:21 - Where to Connect With Heath

Links and Mentions

• The 30-Minute Bible - An accessible introduction to the larger story of Scripture.
• Reading the Old Testament as Christian Scripture - Heath’s book on the Old Testament, God’s character, and its connection to the New Testament.
• Oklahoma Baptist University - Heath serves as president.
• Abraham Kuyper - Dutch theologian referenced in the discussion of Christ’s lordship over every area of life.

Listen to the full episode of You Asked, Let’s Talk, follow the podcast, and share this conversation with someone who has wrestled with the God of the Old Testament or wondered whether difficult Bible passages can still be trusted.

In this first episode of You Asked, Let’s Talk, Bobby McGraw sits down with author and speaker Mark Matlock to talk about spiritual curiosity, church hurt, hypocrisy, and why Jesus is still worth another look.

Mark shares how his posture toward faith conversations shifted from quick, combative answers to relational honesty, and he reflects on the difference between believing Christian ideas and actually knowing Jesus.

For anyone who has been wounded by church, disappointed by religious people, or unsure where to take their questions, this conversation offers a gentle reminder: keep your eyes on Jesus.

• Spiritual curiosity is not something to fear. It can be a doorway into deeper faith.
• Faith is more than knowing beliefs about Jesus. It is learning to trust and follow Him.
• Jesus spoke truth without humiliating, alienating, or punishing people with His words.
• Church hurt can go deep, affecting our ability to trust both people and God.
• You do not have to have every answer to take one honest next step toward faith.

00:00 - Welcome to Mark Matlock
02:39 - Magic, India, and Relational Faith
06:19 - From “God Said It” to Honest Curiosity
09:15 - Believing Ideas vs. Knowing Jesus
11:30 - Killing the Inner Pharisee
15:09 - Why We Cannot Grow Alone
17:31 - What It Means to Trust Jesus
23:17 - The Image of God and the Ache for More
27:15 - When Church People Let You Down
30:17 - Hypocrisy, Humility, and Community
33:00 - Will You Let Me Be Not Okay?
38:15 - Advice for the Spiritually Curious
40:42 - Alpha and Safe Places to Ask Questions
42:25 - The Longing for Something More
43:53 - What Mark Would Say to Someone Hurt by Church
45:32 - Where to Connect with Mark

• Alpha - Mentioned as a helpful, no-pressure place to explore spiritual questions.
• WisdomHacker.com - Mark’s work on biblical wisdom and everyday life.
• The Wisdom Hacker on Instagram - Mentioned by Mark as a way to connect.
• Mark Matlock on Facebook - Mark engages in conversations with people from different backgrounds.

Listen to the full episode of You Asked, Let’s Talk, follow the podcast, and send this episode to someone who may still be carrying questions about faith, church hurt, or whether Jesus is worth trusting again.

You Asked, Let’s Talk is a podcast from the Clear Faith Foundation with Honest to God conversations about the Bible and real life.

Maybe you have a faith background, but somewhere along the way the questions started to outnumber the answers. Maybe faith has never felt like a place with room for someone like you. Or maybe you still show up, but there are questions beneath the surface you’ve never quite known where to take.

This podcast begins with the belief that questions are not the problem. Not having anywhere to take them is.

Hosted by Bobby McGraw, each episode starts with a real question from a real person. Then Bobby sits down with authors, scholars, teachers, and everyday people who have thought deeply about that question and have something worth sharing.

No lecture.
No sales pitch.
No pressure to land somewhere before you’re ready.

Just honest conversations about God, faith, Jesus, the Bible, doubt, and the life we’re actually living.

Submit your question at clearfaith.org/podcast and subscribe wherever you listen.

You Asked, Let’s Talk.