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In this episode, we continue the Olive Tree Course pilot by exploring Olive Tree Affirmations 3–5—three statements that challenge long-standing Christian assumptions about Judaism, the New Testament, and how authentic learning takes place.

For centuries, many Christians have inherited the idea that Judaism was a problem Jesus came to solve, that the New Testament stands in opposition to Jewish life and practice, and that Christianity can define Judaism without listening to Jewish voices. These assumptions have shaped theology, preaching, and imagination—often with harmful consequences.

This conversation offers a different path.

We explore why:

Judaism was not a problem Jesus or Paul came to replace

Using the New Testament to justify anti-Judaism contradicts the gospel

Authentic Christian learning requires engaging Jewish voices, texts, and lived experience

Along the way, we address how intra-Jewish debates in the New Testament have been misread as anti-Jewish critiques, how stereotypes about Torah and “legalism” persist, and why recovering Christianity’s Jewish context strengthens—not weakens—Christian faith.

The goal is not to blur differences between Jews and Christians, but to foster clarity, humility, and a relationship marked by respect rather than suspicion.

This episode is part of the Olive Tree Campaign—an initiative equipping Christians with a biblical and theological vocabulary for honoring the Jewish people, resisting inherited distortions, and building meaningful relationships rooted in the faithfulness of God.

Download the Olive Tree Affirmations at https://bridgebuildersforum.com/olivetree

Bridge Builders Forum
An educational entity dedicated to helping Jews and Christians understand their faith, the Bible, and each other.

Bridge Builders Forum Email News and Updates

Download the free PDF "Recovering the Jewish Paul: Three Keys to Understanding the Apostle and Building Bridges Between Jews and Christians"

The Weird Apostle
Ryan's book places the Apostle Paul in his Jewish and Greco-Roman context.

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How should the book of Acts be read? And what’s at stake in how we answer that question?

The book of Acts is often treated as the story of Christianity’s break from Judaism: the moment when “the Way” replaces “the Jews,” and Judaism becomes a problem the gospel has moved beyond. But what if that assumption is misplaced?

In this episode of the Bridge Builders Forum Podcast, Ryan Lambert is joined by Dr. Jason Moraff, Chair of the Department of Theological Studies at The King’s University, to explore a different way of reading Acts—as a Jewish text, written from within the Judaism of its own time.

Drawing from his book, "Reading the Way, Paul, and 'The Jews' in Acts within Judaism", Dr. Moraff examines how Acts portrays “the Way,” the Jerusalem Temple, the apostle Paul, and the Jewish people—challenging readings that turn Acts into a story of replacement or supersession.

Together, they discuss:

What Luke means by “the Way,” and why it should be understood as a Jewish subgroup

How Temple critique functions within Judaism rather than against it

How Acts portrays Paul’s relationship to Torah and the Jewish people

Why Luke does not construct a “true Israel” over against a “false Israel”

How the ending of Acts (Acts 28) should be read responsibly

What this approach means for today’s Bible readers—Jewish and Christian alike

This is an in-depth, historically grounded conversation about Acts, Jewish–Christian relations, and why how we read Scripture matters.

Check out Jason's book at https://a.co/d/0k1oFvL

Bridge Builders Forum
An educational entity dedicated to helping Jews and Christians understand their faith, the Bible, and each other.

Bridge Builders Forum Email News and Updates

Download the free PDF "Recovering the Jewish Paul: Three Keys to Understanding the Apostle and Building Bridges Between Jews and Christians"

The Weird Apostle
Ryan's book places the Apostle Paul in his Jewish and Greco-Roman context.

Make a tax deductible donation to the Bridge Builders Forum

Send us a text

What does it really mean for Christians to stand against antisemitism and stand with the Jewish people—in a way that is deeply biblical and faithful to the New Testament?

In this Bridge Builders Forum episode, you’ll hear an excerpt from Session One of the Olive Tree Pilot Course, a live Zoom teaching that introduces the Olive Tree Campaign and explores Olive Tree Affirmations 1 and 2.

Drawing on the Apostle Paul’s olive tree imagery in Romans 11, this session directly challenges Replacement Theology and addresses the widespread confusion many Christians feel about Israel, the Jewish people, and the Church.

In this episode, we explore:

Why Replacement Theology—often unintentionally—still shapes Christian teaching

How “fulfillment” and “expansion” language can obscure Israel’s ongoing covenant

Why Romans 9:6 has been widely misunderstood

How Paul’s olive tree vision affirms God’s enduring covenant with the Jewish people

Why Christian faith was never meant to exist apart from a positive relationship with Jews and Judaism

The Olive Tree Campaign is a Bridge Builders Forum initiative designed to give Christians clear language, biblical grounding, and theological confidence to articulate why standing with the Jewish people is an essential expression of Christian faithfulness.

Download the Olive Tree Affirmations at https://bridgebuildersforum.com/olivetree

Bridge Builders Forum
An educational entity dedicated to helping Jews and Christians understand their faith, the Bible, and each other.

Bridge Builders Forum Email News and Updates

Download the free PDF "Recovering the Jewish Paul: Three Keys to Understanding the Apostle and Building Bridges Between Jews and Christians"

The Weird Apostle
Ryan's book places the Apostle Paul in his Jewish and Greco-Roman context.

Make a tax deductible donation to the Bridge Builders Forum

Send us a text

Antisemitism is being talked about more than ever—but understanding it clearly remains a challenge.

Narratives move quickly. Headlines simplify complex realities. And ancient ideas often resurface in modern forms without being recognized for what they are. In this episode of the Bridge Builders Forum podcast, we explore how those dynamics shape attitudes toward Jews today—and why biblical interpretation and media narratives matter more than we often realize.

I’m joined by Tricia Miller, Director of the Partnership of Christians and Jews at CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis). Together, we examine the Book of Esther as a powerful lens for understanding how antisemitism forms, spreads, and is sustained—both in Scripture and in the modern media environment.

Our conversation explores:

How media narratives shape public perception of Jews—and sometimes Christians as well

Why Esther remains one of the most important and misunderstood biblical texts for understanding antisemitism

How misreadings of Esther have reinforced harmful ideas about Jews and Jewish power

The work of CAMERA’s Partnership of Christians and Jews in responding constructively to distorted narratives

What courage and responsibility look like today when confronting antisemitism thoughtfully and honestly

This episode invites listeners into a deeper, more careful conversation about Scripture, storytelling, and the responsibility we all share in responding to antisemitism with clarity, integrity, and courage.

Visit CAMERA's website at https://www.camera.org/

Visit CAMERA's partnership of Christians and Jews website at https://www.cameraspartnership.org/

Bridge Builders Forum
An educational entity dedicated to helping Jews and Christians understand their faith, the Bible, and each other.

Bridge Builders Forum Email News and Updates

Download the free PDF "Recovering the Jewish Paul: Three Keys to Understanding the Apostle and Building Bridges Between Jews and Christians"

The Weird Apostle
Ryan's book places the Apostle Paul in his Jewish and Greco-Roman context.

Make a tax deductible donation to the Bridge Builders Forum

Send us a text

Many Christians want to stand clearly against antisemitism and with the Jewish people—but often struggle to explain why doing so is a deeply biblical expression of Christian faithfulness.

In this special episode, Ryan Lambert introduces the Olive Tree Campaign, a new initiative from Bridge Builders Forum designed to help Christians develop clear, responsible, and biblically grounded language for supporting the Jewish people—without erasing Judaism, repeating harmful assumptions, or relying on inherited theological frameworks that strain Jewish–Christian trust.

Drawing on the Apostle Paul’s olive tree imagery in Romans 11, Ryan explores how Scripture envisions Jews and Gentiles not in rivalry or replacement, but as distinct companions sustained by the same covenant-keeping God. The Olive Tree Campaign centers on the Olive Tree Affirmations—ten biblical commitments rooted in Romans 9–11 that articulate what it looks like when God’s enduring covenant with the Jewish people is taken seriously.

This episode also introduces the Olive Tree Course, a four-week guided learning experience designed to help Christians move beyond abstract affirmations and into thoughtful teaching, conversation, and lived practice.

Beginning Wednesday, January 14, Bridge Builders Forum will host a free, four-week Pilot of the Olive Tree Course, meeting Wednesday evenings at 7:30 PM Eastern Time. The course includes focused teaching and guided discussion in a shared learning environment—designed not as a lecture series, but as a space for clarity, better questions, and faithful language.

To learn more or register for the Pilot Course, visit
www.bridgebuildersforum.com/olivetree and click “Join the Pilot Course.”

If you care about strengthening Jewish–Christian relationships and helping shape a better theological path forward, we invite you to walk with us in the Olive Tree Campaign.

Bridge Builders Forum
An educational entity dedicated to helping Jews and Christians understand their faith, the Bible, and each other.

Bridge Builders Forum Email News and Updates

Download the free PDF "Recovering the Jewish Paul: Three Keys to Understanding the Apostle and Building Bridges Between Jews and Christians"

The Weird Apostle
Ryan's book places the Apostle Paul in his Jewish and Greco-Roman context.

Make a tax deductible donation to the Bridge Builders Forum

Send us a text

As we come to the close of 2025, Ryan Lambert shares a short, heartfelt message with the Bridge Builders Forum community.

In this brief episode, Ryan reflects on the growth of the podcast over the past year, thanks listeners for their thoughtful engagement, and looks ahead to the important work still to come in 2026. Bridge Builders Forum exists to help Jews and Christians better understand their faith, the Bible, and each other—and this episode offers a glimpse into how that work extends beyond the podcast through Zoom studies, conversations, teaching resources, and new initiatives.

With antisemitism on the rise, the need for healthier, more honest bridge-building between Jews and Christians has never been more urgent. Ryan also introduces what’s ahead in the coming year, including the continued rollout of the Olive Tree Campaign, designed to help Christians express support for the Jewish people in ways that are clear, accessible, and deeply biblical.

If Bridge Builders Forum has helped you learn, think differently, or engage these conversations with greater clarity and humility, you’re invited to partner with us through a year-end gift or by becoming a monthly Bridge Builder.

To learn more or to give, visit bridgebuildersforum.com and click “Donate.”

Thank you for being part of this community and for helping us continue building bridges together in 2026.

Bridge Builders Forum
An educational entity dedicated to helping Jews and Christians understand their faith, the Bible, and each other.

Bridge Builders Forum Email News and Updates

Download the free PDF "Recovering the Jewish Paul: Three Keys to Understanding the Apostle and Building Bridges Between Jews and Christians"

The Weird Apostle
Ryan's book places the Apostle Paul in his Jewish and Greco-Roman context.

Make a tax deductible donation to the Bridge Builders Forum

Send us a text

In this episode of the Bridge Builders Forum podcast, Ryan Lambert is joined by Lois Tverberg, one of the most trusted Christian voices helping readers understand Jesus within his Jewish world.

For decades, Lois has helped Christians recover the historical, cultural, and Jewish context of the New Testament—inviting readers to approach Scripture with deeper humility and greater respect for Judaism, both ancient and modern. Her books, including Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus, and Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus, have shaped how countless people read the Bible and think about the Jewishness of Jesus and the New Testament.

In this conversation, Ryan and Lois explore:

Her journey from molecular biology into biblical studies

The influence of Ray Vander Laan on her work

Why serious engagement with scholarship matters for everyday Bible readers

How Jewish readers have responded to her writing

Why the Shema should be understood as an oath of loyalty, not just a statement of belief

And why learning to read the Bible as a “we” can transform how Christians engage Scripture

This episode reflects the heart of Bridge Builders Forum: helping Jews and Christians think more carefully, listen more deeply, and relate to one another with clarity, humility, and respect.

Here's a link to Lois's most popular book - Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: https://a.co/d/50tG721

Lois's website: https://ourrabbijesus.com/

Bridge Builders Forum
An educational entity dedicated to helping Jews and Christians understand their faith, the Bible, and each other.

Bridge Builders Forum Email News and Updates

Download the free PDF "Recovering the Jewish Paul: Three Keys to Understanding the Apostle and Building Bridges Between Jews and Christians"

The Weird Apostle
Ryan's book places the Apostle Paul in his Jewish and Greco-Roman context.

Make a tax deductible donation to the Bridge Builders Forum

Send us a text

Did the Apostle Paul celebrate Hanukkah?

As more Christians become interested in the Jewish roots of their faith and in learning about Jewish holidays, this question is being asked more often. And it’s an important one. Exploring it helps us step more fully into the world of Jewish life in the time of both Jesus and Paul.

Paul never mentions Hanukkah directly in his letters, and the festival doesn’t appear in the book of Acts. But that silence doesn’t tell the whole story.

In this episode, we turn to 2nd Maccabees, an ancient Jewish text that preserves some of our earliest traditions about Hanukkah and shows that Jews living outside the Land of Israel were encouraged to celebrate the festival. This source helps us better understand how Hanukkah was observed in the Jewish diaspora and what that likely meant for a Torah-observant Jew like Paul.

We explore how Hanukkah functioned differently inside and outside Israel, why it remained a relatively minor festival in the first century, and how Paul’s consistent participation in Jewish communal life makes it reasonable to think that Hanukkah was part of his yearly rhythm.

More importantly, this conversation helps correct one of the most persistent misunderstandings about Paul: the idea that following Jesus required him to abandon Judaism. As the apostle to the Gentiles, Paul remained deeply Jewish, continued to observe the Torah, and celebrated Jewish festivals, likely including Hanukkah.

Whether in Jerusalem or in diaspora communities like Corinth or Thessalonica, Paul very likely joined other Jews this time of year in remembering the rededication of the Temple and celebrating God’s faithfulness.

If you want to better understand Paul within his Jewish world and why that matters for Jewish-Christian understanding today, this episode is for you.

Bridge Builders Forum
An educational entity dedicated to helping Jews and Christians understand their faith, the Bible, and each other.

Bridge Builders Forum Email News and Updates

Download the free PDF "Recovering the Jewish Paul: Three Keys to Understanding the Apostle and Building Bridges Between Jews and Christians"

The Weird Apostle
Ryan's book places the Apostle Paul in his Jewish and Greco-Roman context.

Make a tax deductible donation to the Bridge Builders Forum