What does it mean to be human before God? In this episode of The UpWords Podcast, host Dan Johnson sits down with pastor and author Reed Dent, whose new book The Gospel of Being Human: How Asking Better Questions of the Bible Reveals Who We Are (co-authored with Marty Solomon) challenges one of the most deeply held assumptions in Christian culture: that being human is a problem to overcome.

Drawing on Scripture and theology — from Genesis to Jonah to the death of Moses — Reed invites us to reconsider the story we've been told. Rather than seeing our humanity as something to escape, he makes a compelling case that it's the very point of the gospel. God doesn't want to replace your humanity. He wants to partner with it.

This is a rich and honest conversation about identity and what it looks like to live as a human being made in the image of God.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

• Why the gospel is good news before its bad news — and how that changes everything
• How framing humanity as fundamentally broken shapes the way we read Scripture, pray, and relate to God
• What the story of Jonah reveals about mercy, anger, and the deeper questions the Bible is really asking
• How Genesis 2 and the story of Eve reframe our understanding of sin, guilt, and complexity
• Why the death of Moses challenges us to reconsider what our aim as human beings really is
• Practical guidance for walking someone through an identity crisis — rooted in belovedness, not shame
• How a richer biblical view of humanity offers a way forward for those disillusioned with the church
• What Psalm 139 teaches us about holding anger, brokenness, and trust together as one human experience

GUEST BIO
Reed Dent — Pastor, Author, and Campus Minister

Reed Dent is a pastor, campus minister, and co-author of The Gospel of Being Human alongside Marty Solomon (host of the BEMA Discipleship podcast). Reed has spent years working with college students — including at the University of Wisconsin-Madison — walking with 18-to-23-year-olds through questions of faith, identity, and what it means to follow Jesus in the real world. His writing and ministry are shaped by a conviction that Scripture, read on its own terms, consistently affirms the dignity and goodness of human beings made in the image of God.

RESOURCES & LINKS

• The Gospel of Being Human by Reed Dent & Marty Solomon (NavPress, April 2026): navpress.com
• Asking Better Questions of the Bible by Marty Solomon (companion book referenced in this episode)
• BEMA Discipleship Podcast (Marty Solomon): bema.tv

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This episode was created by the SLBF STUDIO at Upper House.

Produced by Daniel Johnson and Dave Conour

Edited by Dave Conour