The Bible as Literature

Scientists believe that plant life first formed on the Earth 700 million years ago and that the first fungi appeared on land 1300 million years ago. In contrast, human agriculture did not develop in the Fertile Crescent until 11,500 years ago. Now, I am not a math expert, but it seems to me that if all this is true, seeds were sown, watered and growing on Earth for millions and millions and millio...

How can St. Paul emphasize the importance of weakness while boasting that his own preaching is a "demonstration of the Spirit and of power?" How can he preach weakness from a position of strength? Is Paul contradicting himself? Why would someone proclaiming the crucified Christ claim to do so with power? What part does Roman culture play in the content of the gospel? That’s right. No need to clean...

What does it mean to hope in the Kingdom of God and how does this hope differ from the false promises of idealism? How is the biblical teaching, which seems impractical, ruthlessly practical in its transformation of human behavior? Why is the content of the gospel readily dismissed by both religious and secular thinkers? What opportunity does this teaching and the decline of religion in the United...

What is the answer to every human conflict and how is this answer sabotaged by human wisdom? What does it mean, in biblical terms, to be called by God? How does St. Paul use praise as a tool of judgment against the church in Roman Corinth? This Christmas Eve, Richard and Fr. Marc celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with the first in a series of episodes covering 1 Corinthians. May it always be ple...

In a special anniversary edition marking the 100th episode of the podcast, Richard and Fr. Marc take the opportunity to draw on themes from the show's first two years while unpacking the surprising meaning of Genesis 47. An epilogue to their six part series on Galatians, this week's episode also serves as an introduction for Walid Issa, the keynote speaker at Bethlehem 2015, an interfaith event ho...

On December 4, 2015, John Ashton Price IV, age 18, and Jacob Flynn, age 17, were killed in an automobile accident in Lakeville, Minnesota. In concluding their six part series on the letter to the Galatians, Richard and Fr. Marc take time to reflect on the tragedy of this unbearable loss in the light of the St. Paul's teaching. This week's episode is offered on behalf of the Price family: John, Lis...

Hearing Galatians in translation and out of context, it’s tempting to conclude that St. Paul is arguing for some new alternative to the teaching of Old Testament; but for those who make an effort to hear the text in context, it becomes quickly clear that Paul’s letter is not only reading and explaining -- but applying -- the Torah to the church in Galatia. At the center of this wrangle is Jerusale...

What is the difference between a child and an heir in Roman society and what role does the Roman household play in the content of Paul’s gospel? Why does Paul use two different languages, Aramaic and Greek, to address the Father of Jesus? How could a barren woman have more children than someone capable of childbirth? Who are the children of Hagar and what is the Jerusalem above? Richard and Fr. Ma...

What is the purpose of the Law in Galatians and how does it relate to Abraham’s faith in God’s instruction? What is the connection between the Law of Moses and the Crucifixion of Jesus? How and why does the Torah illustrate Abraham’s wickedness while also insisting on his centrality? Does the Law contradict faith? If the works of the Law cannot attain righteousness before God, what is the point of...

Why does St. Paul specify that he was away from Jerusalem for an interval of fourteen years? Does the length of time have any significance? Why did he insist on meeting privately with Peter and James during his visit? Why are Peter, James and John referred to as the Pillars? Why is the death of Jesus considered a victory and how do Paul’s opponents jeopardize this victory? Richard and Fr. Marc con...

What does St. Paul mean when he explains that no one, not even an "angel from heaven," can contradict the gospel that was preached in Galatia? To what does Paul appeal in making the claim that his authority comes directly from God and not from men? How do the norms of civil law shed light on Paul's opening argument in Galatians 1? Why do fascists and dictators, who control every aspect of civil so...

Rationalize (verb): to attempt to explain or justify (one's own or another's behavior or attitude) with logical, plausible reasons, even if these are not true or appropriate. Synonyms: justify, explain, explain away, account for, defend, vindicate, or excuse, as in, "he tried to rationalize his behavior." Thanks, Google Dictionary, for providing such a lucid description of how we twist the Bible t...

What if someone wrote a book that imposed patriarchal authority at the expense of patriarchs, redeemed inheritance at the expense of wealth, upheld a patronymic without blessing the name, linked patrimony and childbirth to each other and to God’s teaching while emphasizing the commandment to care for the widow, the orphan and the foreigner, rubbed in the fact that God blesses couples, households a...

At your right hand stood the Queen in vesture of gold; Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline your ear! The rich among the people shall entreat your favor and the King shall greatly desire your beauty; For he is your Lord and you shall worship him. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Ruth 3. (Episode 91; Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

How is the content of Ruth reflected in the teaching of St. Paul and in the gospel narratives? Why, in Ruth, does it matter who is whose relative and who is connected to whom? Why do Richard and Fr. Marc make such a big deal out of biblical names? Why does Ruth prostrate herself in front of a man? Isn’t she the one making all the big sacrifices to support Naomi? Shouldn’t everyone bow to her? Who...

Why do discussions about race in the United States always seem to widen the gap between neighbors? How do our assumptions about race cripple our ability to recognize oppression in unfamiliar places? Is racism the main issue, or is it symptomatic of a deeper human dysfunction? In the first episode of a four part series, Richard and Fr. Marc examine the problem of identity in the Book of Ruth. As is...

Why would Jesus, who warns against the sword in Matthew 26 threaten to use one in Matthew 10? Why would Jesus set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother, when in the Torah God commands that parents are to be honored? In Luke, the gospel heralds the coming of Jesus with the proclamation "peace on earth." Why, then, in Matthew, does Jesus say, "I did not come to bring peace?" If...

The Passion narrative in John 19 is unequivocal: the life of Jesus ended in humiliation, abuse, abject betrayal, subjugation and utter failure. You might try to comfort yourself by arguing that Jesus was treated unfairly, however, in truth, the outcome of his life was a direct result of his Father’s teaching. In other words, in the gospel story, following God’s Torah leads to absolute defeat; a fa...

A recent article in Salon magazine views the ongoing decline in American religion "in part, as an inevitable result of the politicization of Christianity." Where does the temptation to infuse church with political ideology come from? What does politicized religion hope to achieve and what are its consequences? Are there examples of politicization in the Bible? Is there a biblical alternative that...

Often and wrongly promoted as a biblical precept, unconditional love works against the purpose of Jesus in the New Testament. Nowhere is this point more clearly expressed than in the parable of the wicked vinedressers in Matthew 21. What does Matthew’s parable reveal about biblical grace and the problem of entitlement? Why does God allow the vinedressers to commit such violent crimes, against not...

Of language diversity in the United States, Saul Bellow once quipped, "A melting pot, yes. A tower of Babel, no." The Nobel Laureate's comment, indicative of American norms, undermines the meaning of the parable he invokes. Where human institutions (in line with Bellow's axiom) consolidate and unify, the biblical God imposes diversity. Where powerful nations go beyond lingua franca to demand una l...

A culture's moral platitudes expose the sins for which its adherents hope to atone. This tension is present in popular critiques of the biblical commandment, "an eye for an eye." But what happens when our assumed high ground amplifies the sins we want to erase? Worse, what if the people harmed by our platitudes respond to our abuse with a counter-morality? What happens when society disintegrates i...

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens: Lo, it is better to be patient than arrogant, for the end of something is better than its beginning--not because your toil has ended, but because the reward for patience is wisdom and understanding. So admonishes the Preacher's eulogist, who shames us with the Preacher's labours, goading us with his instruction: the f...

Since everything you have is already passing away, why hold onto it? Since you can't control the weather, why worry about? Since everything you do is vanishing breath, why not do it? Yes, it's true, you can't add a single hour to your life span by worrying. But look a the bright side: if God cares for the prairie grass of Minnesota's rolling plains, which today is alive and tomorrow is cast into t...

Ecclesiastes 10 presents a world in which two paths, one foolish and one wise, both lead to the same outcome. Where temporal human eyes see the benefits of wisdom, the Preacher exposes folly. Where men see failure and assume folly, the Preacher proclaims great dignity; but not always, he argues, since the reverse is often true. So how is man to judge? What is man to do? The answer, my friend, is n...