Babel for the Bible Curious. Episode 1.

What if the Tower of Babel isn’t about a skyscraper at all, or trying to ‘reach God,’ but about language, thought and power? We begin our series with the strange little story - consisting of only nine verses- situated between the Noah episode and the great patriarch Abraham — and why it might be one of the few (if any) political passages in the Bible.

In the series, we’ll be taking a deep dive into Genesis 11 (1-9) the Babel story to open up its valuable teaching. We’ll discover the Bible’s take on free speech, freedom, and human flourishing. We’ll encounter God in sarcastic mode, and we’ll consider whether or not the people in the story were actually punished or not. We will consider how the story speaks so clearly to us today – with some surprising conclusions about the way we live and the choices we make. And the danger we are in.

In episode 1, we introduce the story as one that foregrounds free speech, diversity of language and thought. So right from the outset, there is a principle established that we are free to think in different ways about the texts that have underpinned our way of life. Not only are we free to think, but that we should be free to think differently- showing the Babel story as one of the few places where the Bible foregrounds its politics. It would appear that God is not a fan of totalising political systems!

Dr Caroline Kaye (The Sideways Thinker) presents this series aimed at non believers and believers alike exploring the West’s foundational texts - in order to see them anew. Dr Kaye holds graduate and post graduate qualifications in Religions and Theology from the University of Wales Trinity St. David and the University of Manchester (MA with distinction). She also holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Art History with Biblical themes from the Manchester Metropolitan University.

Images are AI adaptations of the author’s own sketches and drawings, in addition to adaptations from Breugel’s renowned paintings of the Tower of Babel.

Music is Stars and Laurels by Shane Ivers, for Silverman Sounds.

Book recommendation: Peter Enns, How the Bible Actually Works, New York, Harper One (Harper Collins) 2019.