BIO

Church has been part of my life ever since my parents can remember. As an adult, I have led small group Bible studies, prayer meetings, worked in church camps, and even worked as a youth pastor for a brief time. I have exchanged many a night’s sleep for study of the Scriptures.

Sadly, after becoming a pastor, the wind blew another direction. Not everyone has had my experience. But, my experience led me to study the Bible with a fervor. When I lived in California, pursuing my dream to become an actor, I found myself reading, studying the Bible between seven to fifteen hours a day, seven days a week, which explains why I am a Bible scholar with two Masters (one in Old Testament from George Fox University and one in Jewish Studies from the University of Oxford) and a PhD (in Divinity from the University of Aberdeen).

I started this channel because I love the Bible, and I used to love going to church. I mean, I still love the idea of church, but in practice, I find church and the people who go to be wildly misinformed about what the Bible actually is and what it is actually saying. This is, in my experience, because the pastors are not teaching well. Why this is, who knows? What I do know is what I have learned from the church leaders (male and female) with whom I have spoken. 1) They are often over-worked and so cannot give adequate time to their Bible study. 2) They claim that they cannot teach difficult lessons because they will lose their congregations, and 3) They have little incentive to discuss the possibility of being wrong.

On this channel, I intend to show that the Bible is a carefully constructed book written by holy people, preserved by holy people, in order that future generations who wish to live in holiness might read about how it looked in the lives of others. The Bible can be read, cherished and followed. It just needs to be read carefully. It is not a magical book of straightforward rules of obedience that fit comfortably into our modern way of thinking. It is an ancient document with a complex history behind it.

P.S. In my spare time, I enjoy bowling and playing my guitar – a sweet Gibson ES 335 – as well as traveling, studying languages, and reading (mostly non-fiction).

ACADEMIC BIO

Steve holds a PhD in Divinity from the University of Aberdeen. His dissertation is entitled: “A Theological Reading of Isaiah 56-66 in Its Final Form: Reconsidering the Message of Trito-Isaiah.” Steve also holds two master’s degrees: One from the University of Oxford in Jewish Studies and one from George Fox University in Biblical Studies with an emphasis in the Old Testament. His undergraduate degree is from the University of Oregon in French Literature, and Steve studied (a year abroad) at the University of Poitiers, France. Steve has also studied Hebrew at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel and was a summer intern at the Orion Center for the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Steve studied German in Germany at the Goethe Institute in Schwäbisch Hall and at the University of Tübingen. Steve lived in Germany for several years, as he has family that resides there. Steve’s interest in Jewish Studies came about when he studied through a satellite course offered by the American Institute for Advanced Biblical Studies.

Dr. Steve Graham, PhD