How to Read the Bible Like a Theologian (Rules for Reading)

This is a deeply theological but conversational episode anchored by a man who came to serious faith through a crisis, not a comfort. Gennady Vitorsky grew up Pentecostal, checked all the right boxes, and then had his Christianity picked apart by a Muslim physician at work. Rather than abandon his faith, he went deeper — into seminary, hermeneutics, Greek, and church history — not to defend his faith to others, but to save it for himself. The conversation covers a lot of ground, but its spine is one idea: people get hurt by the Bible because they apply it wrong. When you don't understand genre, typology, or the "already and not yet" nature of the Kingdom, you end up claiming promises God never made the way you think He made them. Gennady walks through prayer, praise, healing, suffering, and biblical prophecy — always landing on the same point: proper interpretation leads to trust, and trust is ultimately what God is after. Chapters: 0:00 — Faith Tested: Burying a Cousin to Cancer 0:32 — Meet Gennady Vtorski 2:28 — How He Finds the Time: Discipline & Honoring God 6:52 — Where Passion Comes From 12:20 — The Backflip Problem: Achievement in the Social Media Age 13:43 — A Crisis of Faith: Challenged by a Muslim Physician 18:07 — Why Pray? Why Praise? 32:19 — Promises, Genre & How to Read the Bible 48:32 — Christ in All of Scripture: Typology Explained 1:00:27 — "By His Stripes We Are Healed": Suffering, Healing & Trust