<![CDATA[TYB - The Bridge]]>What if the biblical scholars usually only heard at academic conferences sat down for a real conversation — with you?

TYB The Bridge is a new Bible podcast from Trash Your Bible, hosted by Dr Katie Haldane, bringing biblical scholarship out of the lecture hall and into an honest, accessible conversation. Every episode takes a real question — submitted by a real listener — straight to the academic who has actually spent their career studying it. No jargon. No gatekeeping. Just answers.

Dr Katie Haldane recently completed a PhD on the book of Revelation and Greco-Roman history and culture. After years spent inside the world of biblical academia, sitting in rooms with historians and theologians most people will never meet, she kept coming back to the same thought: the average Joe needs to hear this. TYB The Bridge is her answer — a bridge between rigorous biblical scholarship and everyday Bible reading.

Each episode pairs one listener question with one leading biblical scholar for one real conversation — covering biblical history, the book of Revelation, ancient Greco-Roman culture, church history, biblical interpretation, and the questions your Bible study group has never quite been able to answer.

Got a Bible question nobody could answer? Send it in. It might become an episode.

New episodes every Monday.

TYB The Bridge is part of Trash Your Bible (TYB), a free, book-by-book Bible study resource helping people of all backgrounds fall in love with God's Word — one worn-out, highlighted, dog-eared page at a time. Explore the full library of studies, reading plans and resources at trashyourbible.com.

If you love Bible study, biblical history, theology, church history or Christian podcasts that go deeper than the surface — without the jargon of a seminary classroom — this one's for you.

Full video episodes on YouTube. Follow @tyb_thebridge on Instagram for updates, and send your questions to thebridge@trashyourbible.com.

Immersed today. Equipped for tomorrow.

]]>www.trashyourbible.com/thebridgeRiverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Fri, 11 Sep 2026 01:25:39 GMTFri, 14 Aug 2026 02:56:44 GMT60Dr Katie Haldane<p>What if the biblical scholars usually only heard at academic conferences sat down for a real conversation — with you?</p><p></p><p>TYB The Bridge is a new Bible podcast from Trash Your Bible, hosted by Dr Katie Haldane, bringing biblical scholarship out of the lecture hall and into an honest, accessible conversation. Every episode takes a real question — submitted by a real listener — straight to the academic who has actually spent their career studying it. No jargon. No gatekeeping. Just answers.</p><p></p><p>Dr Katie Haldane recently completed a PhD on the book of Revelation and Greco-Roman history and culture. After years spent inside the world of biblical academia, sitting in rooms with historians and theologians most people will never meet, she kept coming back to the same thought: the average Joe needs to hear this. TYB The Bridge is her answer — a bridge between rigorous biblical scholarship and everyday Bible reading.</p><p></p><p>Each episode pairs one listener question with one leading biblical scholar for one real conversation — covering biblical history, the book of Revelation, ancient Greco-Roman culture, church history, biblical interpretation, and the questions your Bible study group has never quite been able to answer.</p><p></p><p>Got a Bible question nobody could answer? Send it in. It might become an episode.</p><p></p><p>New episodes every Monday.</p><p></p><p>TYB The Bridge is part of Trash Your Bible (TYB), a free, book-by-book Bible study resource helping people of all backgrounds fall in love with God's Word — one worn-out, highlighted, dog-eared page at a time. Explore the full library of studies, reading plans and resources at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://trashyourbible.com" target="_blank">trashyourbible.com</a>.</p><p></p><p>If you love Bible study, biblical history, theology, church history or Christian podcasts that go deeper than the surface — without the jargon of a seminary classroom — this one's for you.</p><p></p><p>Full video episodes on YouTube. Follow @tyb_thebridge on Instagram for updates, and send your questions to <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:thebridge@trashyourbible.com" target="_blank">thebridge@trashyourbible.com</a>.</p><p></p><p>Immersed today. Equipped for tomorrow.</p>episodicDr Katie Haldaneteam@trashyourbible.comno<![CDATA[Rethinking the Mark of the Beast The Bridge — Revelation Series, Episode 3]]>For years, the mark of the beast has been taught as something physical — a chip, a tattoo, even, during the pandemic, a vaccine — something you could accidentally take on and lose your salvation. In this solo episode, host Katie Haldane, who recently completed her PhD in the Book of Revelation and Greco-Roman military culture, explains why that reading doesn't hold up.


Walking through Revelation 13, Katie unpacks the mark placed on "the right hand or forehead" as a spiritual reality, not a physical one — paralleled by the seal of Christ placed on believers in Revelation 7. She explains why a fleshly, salvation-altering mark would undercut Paul's own teaching that we are saved by grace through faith alone, not by anything done to the body, and unpacks the 144,000 as a symbolic number of an uncountable multitude, not an elite or literal headcount.


Katie's real target in this episode isn't just bad theology — it's the fear it produces. She makes the case that Revelation was written to be a source of hope and calm assurance, not terror, and that the healthiest response to end-times anxiety isn't more watching for signs, but more witnessing.


This episode sets up an upcoming crossover conversation on Revelation with Dr Robyn Whitaker and Dr Ewan Lowe.

Key topics

  • What the mark of the beast is (and isn't) in Revelation 13
  • Why "chip in the skin" and vaccine-as-mark-of-the-beast teaching misreads the text
  • The seal of Christ (Revelation 7) as the spiritual counterpart to the mark
  • The 144,000 as a symbolic, not literal or elite, number
  • Why salvation can't be gained or lost through anything done to the flesh
  • Wars and rumours of wars, and what they actually signal
  • Moving from "watching" for end-times signs to "witnessing"
  • Revelation as a book of hope, not fear

About your host

Katie Haldane recently completed her PhD in the Book of Revelation and Greco-Roman military culture, and has studied and taught end-times theology for over 15 years. She hosts The Bridge, the podcast ministry of Trash Your Bible — academics for the average Joe.

Links & resources

]]>8e41cde3-aa65-4bf6-afbc-da41fb794bb3Sun, 06 Sep 2026 20:00:00 GMT<p>For years, the mark of the beast has been taught as something physical — a chip, a tattoo, even, during the pandemic, a vaccine — something you could accidentally take on and lose your salvation. In this solo episode, host Katie Haldane, who recently completed her PhD in the Book of Revelation and Greco-Roman military culture, explains why that reading doesn't hold up.</p><p><br /></p><p>Walking through Revelation 13, Katie unpacks the mark placed on "the right hand or forehead" as a spiritual reality, not a physical one — paralleled by the seal of Christ placed on believers in Revelation 7. She explains why a fleshly, salvation-altering mark would undercut Paul's own teaching that we are saved by grace through faith alone, not by anything done to the body, and unpacks the 144,000 as a symbolic number of an uncountable multitude, not an elite or literal headcount.</p><p><br /></p><p>Katie's real target in this episode isn't just bad theology — it's the fear it produces. She makes the case that Revelation was written to be a source of hope and calm assurance, not terror, and that the healthiest response to end-times anxiety isn't more watching for signs, but more witnessing.</p><p><br /></p><p>This episode sets up an upcoming crossover conversation on Revelation with Dr Robyn Whitaker and Dr Ewan Lowe.</p><h2>Key topics</h2><ul><li>What the mark of the beast is (and isn't) in Revelation 13</li><li>Why "chip in the skin" and vaccine-as-mark-of-the-beast teaching misreads the text</li><li>The seal of Christ (Revelation 7) as the spiritual counterpart to the mark</li><li>The 144,000 as a symbolic, not literal or elite, number</li><li>Why salvation can't be gained or lost through anything done to the flesh</li><li>Wars and rumours of wars, and what they actually signal</li><li>Moving from "watching" for end-times signs to "witnessing"</li><li>Revelation as a book of hope, not fear</li></ul><h2>About your host</h2><p><b>Katie Haldane</b> recently completed her PhD in the Book of Revelation and Greco-Roman military culture, and has studied and taught end-times theology for over 15 years. She hosts The Bridge, the podcast ministry of Trash Your Bible — academics for the average Joe.</p><h2>Links &amp; resources</h2><ul><li>Full shownotes and transcript: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://trashyourbible.com/thebridge" target="_blank">trashyourbible.com/thebridge</a></li><li>Follow The Bridge on Instagram: @tyb_thebridge</li></ul>no00:20:0713Rethinking the Mark of the Beast The Bridge — Revelation Series, Episode 3full<![CDATA[Leaving the Rapture Behind — Revelation Series, Episode 2]]>Millions of Christians grew up believing the rapture is core doctrine — the moment believers are swept up to heaven before seven years of tribulation. But the word "rapture" doesn't appear anywhere in the New Testament.

In this episode, host Katie Haldane talks with Reverend Associate Professor Robyn Whitaker — a Revelation and Synoptic Gospels scholar at Pilgrim Theological College and Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Policy — about where rapture theology actually came from: a single 19th-century vision, preacher John Nelson Darby's system of dispensationalism, and the 1909 Scofield Study Bible, which printed the idea directly into Bible footnotes and sent it mainstream through Hal Lindsay's bestsellers and the Left Behind series.

Together they trace what the early church actually believed about the end of all things — not an escape from earth, but Christ returning in glory to make His home here, on a renewed creation. They talk honestly about what rapture theology has done to how Christians handle suffering and persecution, why "escape theology" can quietly undercut care for the earth and for each other, and what a biblically-grounded hope for the future looks like once the rapture is left behind.

Whether you grew up on Left Behind, sat through end-times charts at church camp, or are hearing all this for the first time — this conversation is academics for the average Joe, exactly where you need it.

Key topics

  • What "the rapture" means, and why the word isn't in scripture
  • The 19th-century vision and John Nelson Darby's dispensationalism
  • The 1909 Scofield Study Bible and how it mainstreamed rapture theology
  • Hal Lindsay, The Late Great Planet Earth and the Left Behind books
  • What the early church believed about Christ's second coming
  • 1 Thessalonians 4:17 in its original historical context
  • Revelation 21–22: the new heaven, new earth and new Jerusalem
  • Rapture theology, suffering, persecution and the meaning of "martyr"
  • Escapism, creation care and Christian stewardship of the earth

About our guest

Reverend Associate Professor Robyn Whitaker is Associate Professor of New Testament at Pilgrim Theological College (University of Divinity), specialising in the Book of Revelation and the Synoptic Gospels. She holds a PhD in Biblical Studies from the University of Chicago Divinity School, where she received the Jewett Prize for New Testament studies and a Martin Marty Junior Fellowship, and has taught at Princeton Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary and New Brunswick Theological Seminary. Robyn is the inaugural Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Policy, writes regularly for The Conversation, and is a frequent guest on ABC radio. Instagram & Facebook: @RevRobynWhitaker

Her latest book: Revelation for Normal People: A Guide to the Strangest and Most Dangerous Book in the Bible (The Bible for Normal People series) — out now. A scholar's guide to reading Revelation in its ancient context, without the fear or the fixation on end-times charts. 📖 Get it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CNJ4MMT7

Links & resources

]]>e2ee0d77-e9a0-4e6b-8721-7bfaddd45e30Sun, 30 Aug 2026 20:00:00 GMT<p>Millions of Christians grew up believing the rapture is core doctrine — the moment believers are swept up to heaven before seven years of tribulation. But the word "rapture" doesn't appear anywhere in the New Testament.<br /></p><p>In this episode, host Katie Haldane talks with Reverend Associate Professor Robyn Whitaker — a Revelation and Synoptic Gospels scholar at Pilgrim Theological College and Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Policy — about where rapture theology actually came from: a single 19th-century vision, preacher John Nelson Darby's system of dispensationalism, and the 1909 Scofield Study Bible, which printed the idea directly into Bible footnotes and sent it mainstream through Hal Lindsay's bestsellers and the <i>Left Behind</i> series.<br /></p><p>Together they trace what the early church actually believed about the end of all things — not an escape from earth, but Christ returning in glory to make His home here, on a renewed creation. They talk honestly about what rapture theology has done to how Christians handle suffering and persecution, why "escape theology" can quietly undercut care for the earth and for each other, and what a biblically-grounded hope for the future looks like once the rapture is left behind.<br /></p><p>Whether you grew up on <i>Left Behind</i>, sat through end-times charts at church camp, or are hearing all this for the first time — this conversation is academics for the average Joe, exactly where you need it.</p><h2>Key topics</h2><ul><li>What "the rapture" means, and why the word isn't in scripture</li><li>The 19th-century vision and John Nelson Darby's dispensationalism</li><li>The 1909 Scofield Study Bible and how it mainstreamed rapture theology</li><li>Hal Lindsay, <i>The Late Great Planet Earth</i> and the <i>Left Behind</i> books</li><li>What the early church believed about Christ's second coming</li><li>1 Thessalonians 4:17 in its original historical context</li><li>Revelation 21–22: the new heaven, new earth and new Jerusalem</li><li>Rapture theology, suffering, persecution and the meaning of "martyr"</li><li>Escapism, creation care and Christian stewardship of the earth</li></ul><h2>About our guest</h2><p><b>Reverend Associate Professor Robyn Whitaker</b> is Associate Professor of New Testament at Pilgrim Theological College (University of Divinity), specialising in the Book of Revelation and the Synoptic Gospels. She holds a PhD in Biblical Studies from the University of Chicago Divinity School, where she received the Jewett Prize for New Testament studies and a Martin Marty Junior Fellowship, and has taught at Princeton Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary and New Brunswick Theological Seminary. Robyn is the inaugural Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Policy, writes regularly for <i>The Conversation</i>, and is a frequent guest on ABC radio. Instagram &amp; Facebook: @RevRobynWhitaker<br /></p><p><b>Her latest book:</b> <i>Revelation for Normal People: A Guide to the Strangest and Most Dangerous Book in the Bible</i> (The Bible for Normal People series) — out now. A scholar's guide to reading Revelation in its ancient context, without the fear or the fixation on end-times charts. 📖 Get it on Amazon: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CNJ4MMT7" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CNJ4MMT7</a></p><h2>Links &amp; resources</h2><ul><li>Follow The Bridge on Instagram: @tyb_thebridge</li><li>Follow Robyn Whitaker: @RevRobynWhitaker</li><li>Robyn's book, <i>Revelation for Normal People</i>: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CNJ4MMT7" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CNJ4MMT7</a></li></ul>no00:35:5212Leaving the Rapture Behind — Revelation Series, Episode 2full<![CDATA[Don't Be Scared Now: An Introduction to the Book of Revelation]]>Revelation might be the most feared book in the Bible — and Dr Katie Haldane thinks that's a tragedy. She's spent fifteen years teaching end times, and holds both a Master's and a PhD in the book of Revelation. In this series premiere of Don't Be Scared Now, she makes the case that Revelation was never meant to be a weapon of fear, conspiracy or political propaganda — it was written to be a book of hope.


Katie walks through why Revelation gets hijacked by conspiracy theories and hatred, what the book's actual goal is (hint: it's regeneration and restoration, not decoding a timeline), and introduces the four classic scholarly lenses used to read it — preterist, historicist, futurist and idealist — before explaining why she refuses to lock Revelation into just one of them. She closes with Revelation 1:8 — "who is, who was, and who is to come" — as the key that holds the whole book together, past, present and future.


This episode sets up a full series featuring conversations with Associate Professor Robin Whitaker (Pilgrim Theological College) on the rapture, and Dr U-Wen Low on how to read Revelation well, plus a joint conversation with both. Academics for the average Joe — real scholarship, explained like a human, so you can fall in love with this book instead of fearing it.


Scripture referenced: Ecclesiastes 3:11 · Matthew 19:28 · Acts 3:21 · Revelation 1:8, 4, 22


Coming up in this series: the rapture with Associate Professor Robin Whitaker · how to read Revelation with Dr U-Wen Low · a joint conversation with both scholars.

Got a question for the series? Send it through on Instagram @tyb_thebridge or email us thebridge@trashyourbible.com



]]>fd952732-52c6-462f-858d-f8e317f8a7c2Sun, 23 Aug 2026 20:00:00 GMT<p>Revelation might be the most feared book in the Bible — and Dr Katie Haldane thinks that's a tragedy. She's spent fifteen years teaching end times, and holds both a Master's and a PhD in the book of Revelation. In this series premiere of Don't Be Scared Now, she makes the case that Revelation was never meant to be a weapon of fear, conspiracy or political propaganda — it was written to be a book of hope.</p><p><br /></p><p>Katie walks through why Revelation gets hijacked by conspiracy theories and hatred, what the book's actual goal is (hint: it's regeneration and restoration, not decoding a timeline), and introduces the four classic scholarly lenses used to read it — preterist, historicist, futurist and idealist — before explaining why she refuses to lock Revelation into just one of them. She closes with Revelation 1:8 — "who is, who was, and who is to come" — as the key that holds the whole book together, past, present and future.</p><p><br /></p><p>This episode sets up a full series featuring conversations with Associate Professor Robin Whitaker (Pilgrim Theological College) on the rapture, and Dr U-Wen Low on how to read Revelation well, plus a joint conversation with both. Academics for the average Joe — real scholarship, explained like a human, so you can fall in love with this book instead of fearing it.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Scripture referenced:</b> Ecclesiastes 3:11 · Matthew 19:28 · Acts 3:21 · Revelation 1:8, 4, 22</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Coming up in this series:</b> the rapture with Associate Professor Robin Whitaker · how to read Revelation with Dr U-Wen Low · a joint conversation with both scholars.</p><p></p><p>Got a question for the series? Send it through on Instagram <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/trashyourbible" target="_blank">@tyb_thebridge </a>or email us thebridge@trashyourbible.com</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>no00:19:0111Don't Be Scared Now: An Introduction to the Book of Revelationfull<![CDATA[Dogma, Doctrine, Don't Know ]]>Before we get into end times, the rapture, and every big topic on the horizon for The Bridge, Katie introduces the framework that will anchor every episode this season: Dogma, Doctrine, Don't Know.

Dogma is what's non-negotiable — grounded in the Nicene Creed. Doctrine is where denominations differ. And "don't know" is opinion — the grey areas Christians can genuinely disagree on. Katie walks through where hot-button topics like the rapture, Israel, and end times actually sit on that spectrum, and why knowing the difference might just save your friendships (and your church membership).

This is the lens for the whole season — so whether you're new to theology or you've been studying for years, start here.

Topics covered: the Nicene Creed · Council of Nicaea (325 AD) · denominational differences · end times · the rapture · agreeing to disagree in the body of Christ

You can view the Nicene Creed here: Nicene Creed | Christianity, History, Councils, & Text | Britannica

Follow The Bridge so you don't miss what's next.

]]>dce5e2e7-ac5e-4aa9-9aa0-ff18a07ab683Wed, 19 Aug 2026 20:00:00 GMT<p>Before we get into end times, the rapture, and every big topic on the horizon for The Bridge, Katie introduces the framework that will anchor every episode this season: <b>Dogma, Doctrine, Don't Know.</b></p><p></p><p>Dogma is what's non-negotiable — grounded in the Nicene Creed. Doctrine is where denominations differ. And "don't know" is opinion — the grey areas Christians can genuinely disagree on. Katie walks through where hot-button topics like the rapture, Israel, and end times actually sit on that spectrum, and why knowing the difference might just save your friendships (and your church membership).</p><p></p><p>This is the lens for the whole season — so whether you're new to theology or you've been studying for years, start here.</p><p></p><p><b>Topics covered:</b> the Nicene Creed · Council of Nicaea (325 AD) · denominational differences · end times · the rapture · agreeing to disagree in the body of Christ</p><p></p><p>You can view the Nicene Creed here: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nicene-Creed" target="_blank">Nicene Creed | Christianity, History, Councils, &amp; Text | Britannica</a></p><p></p><p>Follow The Bridge so you don't miss what's next.</p>no00:12:50Dogma, Doctrine, Don't Know full<![CDATA[This is TYB - The Bridge]]>In this first episode of TYB The Bridge, host Dr Katie Haldane explains why she built a podcast to bring biblical scholars out of the lecture hall and into your headphones. After years deep in a PhD on the Book of Revelation and Greco-Roman history, she kept meeting brilliant academics whose work never reaches the average Bible reader — until now.

Learn how the show works, how to submit your own Bible question, and what's coming in episode one.

New episodes every Monday.

Send your questions to thebridge@trashyourbible.com or DM @tyb_thebridge.

]]>525dbc68-d723-4851-8fd5-1939c3b8fcb9Sun, 16 Aug 2026 00:38:35 GMT<p>In this first episode of TYB The Bridge, host Dr Katie Haldane explains why she built a podcast to bring biblical scholars out of the lecture hall and into your headphones. After years deep in a PhD on the Book of Revelation and Greco-Roman history, she kept meeting brilliant academics whose work never reaches the average Bible reader — until now.</p><p>Learn how the show works, how to submit your own Bible question, and what's coming in episode one.</p><p>New episodes every Monday.</p><p>Send your questions to <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:thebridge@trashyourbible.com" target="_blank">thebridge@trashyourbible.com</a> or DM @tyb_thebridge.</p>no00:02:06This is TYB - The Bridgetrailer