The Faith Explained with Cale Clarke - Learning the Catholic Faith

Crime and punishment in ancient Israel wasn’t like 21st-century America. It was about restitution, not incarceration. There weren’t supermax prisons for perpetrators, but criminals did pay for their misdeeds—often with their lives.  

Amidst all the laws of ancient Israel, one thing holds true: it takes a village. It takes a village not only to raise a person, but it also takes a village to corrupt a person...and to judge a person. Perhaps unlike modern, individualistic societies in the West, everyone had to take responsibility to put love in action towards neighbor.

Did you know the concept of taking sanctuary in a house of worship actually comes from the Book of Exodus? Plus, Cale shows how Israel used the “lex talionis” (the law of retribution) to deal with violence. Jesus takes this concept and turns it upside down...or, right side up!

Why would an ancient Israelite father actually want to sell his daughter into slavery? And a Q&A about the famous Flavius —Josephus, that is!

It might shock you to know that after the Israelites escaped brutal slavery in Egypt, they themselves had slaves. What is this all about? And how did the Judeo-Christian tradition eventually abolish slavery? 

In Exodus, God tells Moses he only wants a “bare-bones” altar to be built. No carved stones, no outer beauty. Does this mean Catholics are wrong to build beautiful Cathedrals? Plus, in our Q&A segment? Are there really 8 Beatitudes…or are there actually 10?

Before Yahweh gives the 10 Commandments on Mt Sinai, he needs to remind his people who he is, who they are, and of the healthy boundaries that determine their relationship.

Jesus was not impressed by those in his day who claimed to keep—and teach—the law of Moses. How Jesus’ interpretation of Moses is the right one. our Q&A segment: Did St Francis of Assisi write the “Serenity Prayer”?

Did Jesus reject the Old Testament laws of Moses? Plus, in our Q&A segment: Why would God create the devil—and other evildoers, knowing in advance the bad they would do?

The Commandments prohibiting murder, adultery, theft, and lying are clear, but as @CaleClarke explains, it’s the last two commandments against coveting that give us the key to keeping the rest. Plus, in our Q&A session: Did St Paul REALLY say that we don’t need to obey the 10 Commandments?

The Fourth Commandment to honor one’s father and mother is the bridge between worship and ethics…how we love God, and how we love neighbor. 

Cale explains that the 10 Commandments are a great opportunity to examine one’s conscience and ask, “Am I living as I ought to be?”   Dies Domini https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/1998/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_05071998_dies-domini.html  

Cale explains that The 10 Commandments are similar to other sets of laws in the ancient world—and that shouldn’t bother you one bit. Plus: in our Q and A session. How can Jesus use the contrasting images of “fire” and “darkness” for hell? The answer lies in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Cale explains that The 10 Commandments are not “rules” that God arbitrarily imposes from above. Rather, they are Love. This is how you want to love, and be loved!

Before Yahweh gives the 10 Commandments on Mt Sinai, he needs to remind his people who he is, who they are, and of the healthy boundaries that determine their relationship.  

In the business world, they call it “key man risk”. If a CEO burns out or dies, the whole organization falls apart. That’s what’s happening with Moses: he’s trying to do the work of 10 men, and he’s falling into the devil’s trap of trying to be like God in all the wrong ways.

After plagues and battles, what a relief to see the camp of Israel as a quiet place of family, fellowship, and ordinary life! We, too, must find God in the middle of everyday life...or we’ll never find him at all.

Cale begins our new mini-series with a look at evolution. Is the Bible out of step with modern science? How should we understand the Creation narrative in Scripture? Learn how science and faith aren’t in conflict, but complement one another.

Is God a “moral monster”, as one writer alleges when looking at the violence in the Old Testament? If God commands, “Thou shalt not kill”, then why all the killing in God’s name?

The mighty Egyptian army roars towards the Israelites, who are trapped against the Red Sea. When your back is against the wall (or the water!), God will rise up and act on your behalf, just as he did for Israel.  

What was the original experience of man and woman that St John Paul II said was the “key” to understanding God’s plan? Why does the enemy want to “counterfeit” the sacraments, and marriage in particular? Cale deals with these questions and more in this final episode of the miniseries.

In this episode, Cale explains the rise of the “Minimalists” who question the historicity of Old Covenant events like the Exodus and the conquest of the promised land. Do their ideas hold any water? What’s at stake if they’re right?

Given the violence in the Old Testament, many wrongly believe the God of the Old Testament is different than the God of Jesus Christ. The truth is that God always fights against evil, just in different ways throughout salvation history. 

Where are you going? In Acts 16:31 it says, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” What does this really mean? Cale unpacks these questions and more in this episode of The Faith Explained.

Today’s culture rails at the Bible’s view of sex and marriage. Is the Old Covenant hopelessly out of date? Is morality malleable? Let’s look back to the beginning — through Jesus’ eyes — to see God’s blueprint for relationships.