Storge, Justice, and the Ten Commandments: Rethinking Biblical Love (Mike Tolliver) Ep. #201

The Biblical Mind

Is loving your family first a biblical idea—or a betrayal of Jesus’ call to love your neighbor? In this thought-provoking episode, Mike Tolliver—Executive Director of the Center for Hebraic Thought—joins Dru Johnson to explore his developing PhD thesis on Storge (family love), the kinsman-redeemer, and what biblical justice actually looks like.

Drawing on Torah, philosophy, and early Christian texts, Mike argues that Storge love is not only natural—it’s essential to a functioning society, and that Israel’s family-based justice system was designed to eliminate categories like “orphan” and “widow.” He explores why Paul uses the metaphor of adoption—and not kinsman-redeemer—for Gentile inclusion, and why the Ten Commandments are saturated with family ethics.

From Sophie's Choice-style sermon illustrations to questions about circumcision, baptism, and ethnic election, this episode unpacks the implications of what it means to love your kin without devaluing the stranger.

As Mike prepares for PhD work, his big question is: What does rightly ordered family love look like in Scripture—and what happens when it gets misordered?

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Chapters:

00:00 Exploring Academic Pursuits and Career Paths
05:47 The Kinsman Redeemer: A Social Safety Net
14:35 Storge and Kinsman Redeemer in Biblical Context
19:54 Theological Implications of Kinship and Election
27:34 Exploring the Promise of Descendancy
29:03 Navigating the Path to a PhD
30:56 The Challenge of Proposal Writing
31:57 Understanding Storge in Hebraic Thought
39:07 The Role of Storge in the Ten Commandments
41:07 Stranger Love vs. Family Love
43:55 Moral Dilemmas in Love
49:56 The Future of Intergenerational Family Focus