The Boundless Bible
The Boundless Bible is a podcast dedicated to discussing the many layers and perspectives the Bible offers to those interested in deepening their views and understanding.
Hosted by three friends from very different walks of life and life experiences, who've come together through curiosity of, and respect for, the living Word.
Our hosts are:
- DAVID SHAPIRO -- was born an Orthodox Jew, later an atheist, ex-military and MMA fighter, David heeded the call to Jesus and is now an ordained Pastor, specializing in Apologetics.
- JAVIER MARQUEZ -- Originally from Brooklyn, moved to LA to be an actor, and deeply found the Lord which led him to work in the church, lead Bible studies and grow his faith.
- JASON HOLLOWAY -- grew up in the church, left in college, and spent the next 2 decades immersed in learning world religion, spirituality, science, and mythology, recently returning to the Faith with renewed insight and perspective.
After a year of weekly discussions, we came to find that sharing and debating their different perspectives had become an exciting way to introduce new ideas to old thinking, grow their understanding, and strengthen their faith.
We are aware that there are many people out there who feel their questions haven't been answered, whose curiosity has been tamped down, or who just generally feel their community doesn't allow open dialogue, and our goal is to give those people a place to listen, ask questions, and engage with their curiosity to find a deeper and more robust connection to their faith.
The Boundless Bible
QUICK Qs: OT or NT?
What makes ancient biblical texts relevant in our modern world? In this candid roundtable, David Shapiro, Javi Marquez, and Jason Holloway tackle the age-old question: Old Testament or New Testament? Their unanimous preference for the older texts reveals surprising insights about how these ancient writings continue to captivate believers today.
David transports us back 4,000 years, inviting us to imagine biblical journeys without modern conveniences like "rolling luggage" – a perspective that brings fresh appreciation to familiar stories like the Exodus. His Orthodox Jewish background adds depth to his understanding of prophecy and historical context. Jason describes the Old Testament as an "unending well" of knowledge, comparing it to watching the essential prequels before the final chapter of a trilogy. His fascination with Hebrew language, numerology, and ancient Jewish customs demonstrates how these texts reward deeper study.
Bobby's connection to the grand narratives – Samson's strength, Daniel facing lions, the parting seas – reminds us why these stories have endured through millennia. All three hosts find particular meaning in the wisdom literature, with Ecclesiastes emerging as a unanimous favorite. "Every time you read something," David notes, "you go 'wait a minute, this is practical today.'" This timelessness explains why ancient writers describing human struggles, failures, and redemption still speak directly to our experiences.
The conversation concludes with a delightful practical application – a "Sunset and Psalms" date night that combines natural beauty with ancient wisdom. Whether you're a seasoned scripture scholar or simply curious about why these texts have shaped civilizations for thousands of years, this discussion offers fresh perspectives on humanity's oldest and most influential writings. Share your own favorite testament or biblical book in the comments – we'd love to hear what resonates with you!
Have a topic, verse, or story you'd like us to cover?
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welcome to the boundless bible. My name is david shapiro.
Jason:Hey, I'm hobby marquez and I'm jason holloway. Quick questions with david.
David:All right, this is getting more and more ridiculous all right, I love it uh, david, that's your question today I just say I love the fact that the bigger I am, the higher pitched my song goes, my intro song, yes. So okay, the question of the day. Do you prefer the?
Jason:old Next time we're going whistle notes, there we go. We're going Mariah Carey, whistle notes. Oh.
David:Do we prefer the Old Testament or the New Testament, and why?
Javi:That's an awesome question.
David:I am not going first you're not going first, I will okay this one, yeah uh, for me it is old testament, and not just because I was born orthodox jewish, oh really, um, you know what the?
David:When you look at the old testament, from genesis to exodus, to the prophets, it is just filled with incredible prophecy. Yeah, um, but, but more than that, it, you know, it's probably my love of, of archaeology and going back in time and just thinking about what life was like and putting myself in the shoes of people that lived 4,000, 5,000 years ago and what life would have been like and what they went through. And you know, we look at it today in modern world and we go, okay, you know, they were in Egypt and they left Egypt and they saw the, you know, the red sea split and they went into the desert and we kind of have this thought of what it would be like, um, but realizing how they did that they didn't have a car, they didn't have, you know, rolling luggage Um, it's just amazing to really kind of take myself back to the Old Testament and then, when you layer it with just how much you know Jesus appears in the Old Testament, I just by far, it's my number one you want to go.
Jason:Alright, I'm Old Testament too. I'm Old Testament too, believe it or not. I find it so fascinating and the more I learn about the jewish culture, the ancient jewish culture, the hebrew language, the numerology, the genealogy that's cool, like. The more you learn about those things, the like it is a super unending well, and the more I learn, the more I realize I don't know. And the more I, the more I realize I don't know. And the more I learn, the more I realize I don't know.
Jason:And there's just no end to it from from learning about the I don't know the historical parts, like you said, the architectural or the, the archeological parts just all of it's so fascinating to me. And then it adds so much more context to the New Testament to know the Old Testament that it's. It's almost like agreed, yeah, it's like. It's like trying to watch the third part of a trilogy without watching the first and the second. You know it's like you, you need to watch the first and the second and the prequel to know fully, fully, fully what you're talking about. And and I'm just so overwhelmed by the prequel yeah right that'd be cool.
Jason:Well, it would be empty because it would be nothing. So I think we all know that story. No, and look, and then you start talking about the you know the ideological learning and the eschatological, like it's just, oh man, it's mind blowing, I love it, I love it, I love it.
Javi:I thought maybe one of us would be someone in the middle, but I'm Old Testament. As I'll say, I love them both. You're such a people, pleaser? Yeah, I am. I just can't. I just can't make it happen. I will say the Old Testament only because some of my favorite books are from the Old Testament mostly the prophets right, like huh, mostly the prophets right no, but like you know Psalms and you know just, I mean Ecclesiastes, just the wisdom.
Jason:Ecclesiastes is one of my favorites, me too.
Javi:Yeah, it's just the wisdom and it's just the reality, just the truthfulness of it. But it's also, like whatever you guys are saying, just kind of like the history right, and just kind of talking about Egypt, talking about this kind of things. That's just happening.
Jason:And the biggest thing, I think for me is all these and just kind of like we talk about samson and just just kind of him, his strength and all the things on the parting of the red sea.
Javi:You know the part, it's like grand stories man the lion's den, and I think that's what it is. That it is for me not to say the new testament doesn't have that it has. It has a lot of that and is also very good with a lot of things that I love. But I would say I would lean towards more of the Old Testament because of the stories and it makes it really I don't know. It just takes me back to the beginning. When I was first picking up the Bible, it was the Old Testament where I started and that kind of led me moving forward to the New Testament.
Jason:You know, I will say, if the wisdom books weren't in the Old Testament, it would be a much closer. For me it would be a much closer tie.
David:I'll give you that New Testament.
Jason:Because the new, the new, then it would be New Testament for me. Because the the wisdom books for me are like the clincher. They're there when I read the wisdom books, when I read the Proverbs and uh, not Proverbs, proverbs, wisdom book, yeah. Proverbs um uh. Psalms and and Ecclesiastes and or what the hell yeah Job is a wisdom book. And so when I read those like the truth, value that comes through, those like it's so present, tense it's so present tense.
Javi:I love that about it. Like I can't even explain to somebody Every time it happens, every time you read something.
Jason:You go wait a minute this is practical today Every single time. It's the most human humanity thing I've ever like laid my eyes on.
Javi:It's 4 000 years old I mean, new testament too is right well so that's the thing.
David:So then, so that's why I'm saying so.
Jason:Then you get a new testament. It's just all like man. These, these people, you know, 2 000 years ago were doing the same stuff we're doing today. They were screwing up the same things. Yeah, they were messing up the same things. They were being forgiven the same way. They were given the same grace the same way do you.
David:Greatest date ever. Okay, take your spouse out for sunset and psalms.
Jason:Sunset and psalms.
David:Go and watch the sunset while reading psalms, and it is just a beautiful thing.
Jason:You add the two together.
David:It's a gorgeous date have a picnic and do sunset and psalms, that's a great idea. Which psalms? Every one of them, every one of them, every one of them, every one. And you're not allowed to go in until it's done.
Jason:Oh, that's a long time It'll be, sunrise. At that point I know.
Javi:Is there 130, some songs or?
Jason:something like that.
Javi:You don't know, my wife do you.
Jason:Yeah, we'd both be very hungry before.
Javi:Yeah, she'll knock out by chapter two, okay All right guys.
Jason:Thanks a lot for your time time as always, and we'll talk to you next week. Bye, later.
