The Bible as Literature

This week, Fr. Paul explains that, according to the text, the heavenly waters and the earthly waters are one element that had to be separated into two functional entities.  (Episode 132) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way he said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify him, and on the third day he will be raised up. Richard and...

In this week’s episode, Fr. Paul refers to 1 Thessalonians 5 to help illustrate the reality of Genesis 1, in which darkness and the waters function negatively. (Episode 131) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

As contemporary society struggles with questions of equity and power, all of us would do well to consider the radical proposition of Scripture, which demotes everyone to the lowest level, assigns some to exercise an unequal authority for its purposes, and then demotes the latter along with everyone else, leaving them in a worse position.  “So the last shall be first, and the first last.” (Matthew...

This week, Fr. Paul explains how the verb hibdil in Genesis holds one day, day two, and day four together, defining the functionality of the heavens in conjunction with the earth. (Episode 130) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

When Peter approaches Jesus to ask, “what then will there be for us,” (Matthew 19:27) his question betrays two sins: first, his belief that he has done the right thing, and, second, his expectation that he deserves a reward for his actions. In his response, Jesus tests both Peter and the addressee of Matthew’s Gospel: is it a reward to be seated in power?  “But many who are first will be last; and...

In today’s program, Fr. Paul explains the “organic and not emotionally poetic oneness of the heavens and the earth” noting that the second creation narrative begins again with the mention of the waters. (Episode 129) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Among the disastrous consequences of the Synoptic thesis of the gospels is the erasure of each individual author’s intent. Is there a generalized parable of the Rich Man that happens to appear in Matthew, or is there a teaching of Matthew that retools the parable to say something different than the other gospels? If we assume a generalized parable, we blind ourselves, and shut our ears to Matthew’...

This week, Fr. Paul highlights the function of the heavens’ priority within the purview of the author, reminding us that the pairing of the heavens and the earth signifies an encompassing reality, a totality.(Episode 128) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah saying, “Thus has the Lord of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’ But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing. T...

In today’s program, Fr. Paul explains that Genesis, like all other books of the Bible, is part of a whole, and cannot be understood until all the pieces are brought together.  (Episode 127) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Nothing irritates a person of responsibility more than someone or something that distracts from the issue at hand. Faced with distraction, a wise manager acts quickly to get the team back on track. Whatever the disturbance, the manager’s goal is to settle the matter soon so that the team can stay on task to complete the mission. That’s what St. Paul does in 1 Corinthians 7, and that’s exactly what...

This week, Fr. Paul conintues his discussion of functionality and the meaning of words revisiting the biblical verb bara. (Episode 126) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

When children argue, they lobby their parents to choose a side. An unwise parent intervenes to solve the conflict, deciding who is right and who is wrong.  This parent is unwise, because no matter how well-reasoned the discussion, the intervention teaches the child a horrible lesson: when you have a dispute with another person, instead of humbling yourself and negotiating a compromise, appeal to a...

Fr. Dustin explores how scripture frees us from the Pharoah's of our day so that we can walk The Way in obedience to the scriptural God. (Episode 1)  Subscribe: https://feeds.transistor.fm/the-way ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Cautioning against the preconceived meaning of words, Fr. Paul explains that our understanding of a term’s meaning must conform to that term’s usage in the text, in context. (Episode 125) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

The meaning of Scripture is plain and straightforward. It is intricate and detailed, yes. It takes time and effort to digest, yes. It presents arguments that demand intellectual engagement, yes. But all this must never be confused with complexity. As we often say on the podcast, you do not need a seminary degree to understand the Bible.  You may need help from someone who knows languages, or anoth...

Walking us through the author’s use of the Hebrew word reshith in Genesis, Fr. Paul exposes the deficiency of biblical translations. (Episode 124) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

People love rules for two reasons. First, they want clear guidelines on what they need to do to be in good standing, and therefore, off the hook.  Second, as rule followers, they want a high perch from which to look down and criticize others who, by their measure, do not follow the rules. In Matthew, Jesus teaches that God provides his rules in the Torah because of the hardness of men's hearts. Su...

In today’s program, Fr. Paul demonstrates the importance of submitting to the order of the Hebrew canon in lieu of historicization. (Episode 123) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

When Jesus said to Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven,” it is usually misunderstood as the gift of personal power, as though Peter is himself invested with divine authority. (Matthew 16:19) This is an incorrect reading. The keys entrusted to Peter are the words handed down to the church in the content of Paul’s gospel—the teaching Peter betrayed in Galatians. These keys do n...

This week, Fr. Paul explains how the biblical author uses the Hebrew terms Asah and Bara to establish the finality of God’s work. (Episode 122) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

When you see George Floyd under the boot of Caesar, you must hear the words of Scripture: “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?” (Galatians 3:1) All of you were, “standing at a distance, seeing these things.” (Luke 23:49) Do you not know that, “God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are stro...

This week, Fr. Paul revisits the biblical author’s use of toledot, noting that Genesis 1:1 and 2:4 form a diptych, the first part as the title for the entirety of scripture and the second as the first section of the Bible dealing with the whole of creation. (Episode 121) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

The word scandal or stumbling block frequently occurs in Matthew—it’s as important for his book as the word “immediately” is in the Gospel of Mark. In light of the prohibition against causing others to stumble in chapter 18, those not following the original Greek text often assume that “to scandalize” is taboo. But throughout the story, Jesus himself repeatedly causes scandal. So what’s a good sca...