The Bible as Literature

All of Scripture comes to this: hope and trust.Not in the work of our hands, but in the righteousness of God.He alone vindicates the poor, he alone tends the needy.He is the Good Shepherd, the breath in the night,the voice that calms the storm,the hand that keeps the wolf at bay.Will we close the gates?Will we bind ourselves in chains?Will we send him away?To wait is to hope.Yet waiting is also a test,a scrutiny that ends in failure or in faith,in ruin or in steadfastness.Who can endure?Who will remain when the King returns—ignoring the mockery of nations,turning only for his guidance,submitting to his Command before the Hour,trusting in the Day?“Lift up your heads, you gates,And be lifted up, you ancient doors,That the King of glory may come in!Who is the King of glory?The Lord strong and mighty,The Lord mighty in battle.Lift up your heads, you gates,And lift them up, you ancient doors,That the King of glory may come in!Who is this King of glory?The Lord of hosts,He is the King of glory.” (Psalm 24:7-10)This week, I discuss Luke 8:40.Καὶ ἐν τῷ ὑποστρέφειν τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἀπεδέξατο αὐτὸν ὁ ὄχλος· ἦσαν γὰρ πάντες προσδοκῶντες αὐτόν.“And as Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed ἀπεδέξατο (apedéxato) him, for they were all waiting προσδοκῶντες (prosdokôntes) for him.”Show Notesἀποδέχομαι (apodechomai)ἀποδέχομαι (apodechomai) is a compound (ἀπό + δέχομαι) constructed on the core usages of “receiving, welcoming, taking in.” The prefix ἀπό (apo) heightens the action, not just marking reception but sharpening it into a decisive acceptance: an acknowledgment that leans toward submission rather than casual receiving.Its itinerary begins in the Greek text with the notion of hospitality and reception: the gates opened for Judith, the honor paid in Joppa, the joyful welcome of brothers in Jerusalem, and the warm acceptance of a report. From there, its usage expands into the realm of acknowledgment and recognition: the acceptance of terms, the granting of petitions, the understanding of a matter, the admission of information, the acknowledgment of divine sovereignty, the cognitive recognition of realities, and the formal acknowledgments offered in speech. Finally, in the New Testament, the term reaches its full significance in submission to the divine words: those who receive the apostolic proclamation do not merely admit or recognize but firmly accept it as God’s own words, surrendering themselves in baptism.Judith 13:13: HOSPITALITY AND RECEPTION “When they heard her voice, they hurried to call the elders of the city. They all ran together, both small and great, because it seemed unbelievable to them that she had returned, and they opened the gate and welcomed [ἀπεδέξαντο (apedexanto), aorist middle indicative] them.”1 Maccabees 9:71: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TERMS “Thus the sword ceased from Israel. And Jonathan lived at Michmash. And Jonathan began to judge the people, and he accepted [ἀπεδέξατο (apedexato), aorist middle indicative] the situation at that time.”3 Maccabees 3:17: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PETITION “When the people heard this, they raised an outcry to heaven, so that those who were nearby and those far away were astonished at the sound of their united cry. But the king, considering their unity, accepted [ἀπεδέξατο (apedexato), aorist middle indicative] their plea.”Tobit 7:16: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF UNDERSTANDING “And Raguel called his wife Edna, and said to her, ‘Sister, prepare the other room and bring her there.’ She went and spread the bed with her for her, as he had said, and she brought her there. And she understood [ἀπεδέξατο (apedexato), aorist middle indicative] the matter.”2 Maccabees 3:9: FORMAL ADMISSION OF INFORMATION “So he told him about the great amount of money under the king’s control, and that Apollonius the governor had informed him. And Heliodorus went to the king and admitted [ἀπεδέξατο (apedexato), aorist middle indicative] what had been told.”2 Maccabees 3:35: RECOGNITION OF DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY “And Heliodorus offered sacrifice to the Lord and made very great vows to Him who had granted him life, and he acknowledged [ἀπεδέξατο (apedexato), aorist middle indicative] the Lord of all.”2 Maccabees 4:22: TRIBAL WELCOME WITH HONOR “And when he came into Joppa, he was welcomed [ἀπεδέχθη (apedechthē), aorist passive indicative] magnificently by the people.”3 Maccabees 5:27: JOYFUL ACCEPTANCE OF REPORT “But the Jews, as they heard this and perceived the invincible protection, praised the Lord, who had so miraculously manifested Himself, and they received [ἀπεδέξαντο (apedexanto), aorist middle indicative] the report with joy.”4 Maccabees 3:20: COGNITIVE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT “For since reason rules over the emotions, it is evident that the emotions are not destroyed. For if the emotions had been destroyed, it would not be possible for reason to recognize [ἀποδέχεσθαι (apodechesthai), present middle infinitive] any of them.”Acts 2:41: SUBMISSION TO THE WORD “So then, those who had received [ἀποδεξάμενοι (apodexamenoi), aorist middle participle] his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.”Acts 15:4: TRIBAL WELCOME AND ACCEPTANCE OF REPORT “When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed [ἀπεδέχθησαν (apedechthēsan), aorist passive indicative] by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.”Acts 18:27: FRATERNAL WELCOME TIED TO MISSION “And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome [ἀποδέξασθαι (apodexasthai), aorist middle infinitive] him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace.”Acts 21:17: TRIBAL WELCOME “After we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed [ἀπεδέξαντο (apedexanto), aorist middle indicative] us gladly.”Acts 24:3: “We acknowledge [ἀποδεχόμεθα (apodechometha), present middle indicative] this in every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness.” FORMAL ADMISSION OF INFORMATIONActs 28:30: “Now Paul stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming [ἀπεδέχετο (apedecheto), imperfect middle indicative] all who came to him.” FRATERNAL WELCOME TIED TO MISSION1 Thessalonians 2:13: DECISIVE SUBMISSION TO DIVINE WORD“For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received [παραλαβόντες (paralabontes), aorist active participle] the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted [ἀποδεξάμενοι (apodexamenoi), aorist middle participle] it not as the word of men, but as what it really is, the word of God, which also is at work in you who believe.”προσδοκάω (prosdokaō)Expect, wait for, look for. From δοκάω (think, suppose) with the prefix πρός- (towards). To look toward in expectation.ע־ר־ף (ʿayin–resh–fe) / ع-ر-ف (ʿayn–rāʾ–fāʾ)“May my teaching drip [יַעֲרֹף (yaʿarof)] as the ra...

The function ש־ו־ב (shin–waw–bet) is not the sigh of remorse in a cloistered heart, but the pivot of a sword’s edge; the turn God commands into the place where his name has been denied. Abraham returns from the valley of kings; Moses returns to the mountain, still breathing the smoke of the calf’s golden stench; Gideon returns to the camp with the dream of victory burning in his ears. None turns to hide—all turn to face him.And ח־נ־ן (ḥet–nun–nun), to plead, is no bowing before the courts of men. The human reference vanishes. Job’s feeble plea to his servant falls into the void. Malachi mocks the lips that beg for favor while the hands bring defilement. Proper pleading is stripped of flattery and calculation, bare as incense in the wind, carrying no name but his.In Luke’s Gerasene plain, the return is marked by absence. The swine are gone, the crowd is gone, the man’s former companions erased. He stands alone, clothed and found, with no community left to shield him, no filth left to hide him, no power left to reference but the one who sent him. This is the Day when the disbeliever is given back his own deed, when tribe and city and oath are dust, and a man stands naked before the Face that made him. This is the Day that the Lord has made. To return is to step into that bareness now, ahead of the Hour, with only obedience in your hands.“Return to your house, habibi, and describe what great things God has done for you.”This week, I discuss Luke 8:39.Show Notesδέομαι (deomai) / ח־נ־ן (ḥet–nun–nun) / ح–ن–ن (ḥāʾ–nūn–nūn)BEGGING IN VAINThe itinerary of ח־נ־ן (ḥet–nun–nun) / ح–ن–ن (ḥāʾ–nūn–nūn) opens with righteous entreaty to God in Deuteronomy 3:23 — “I pleaded [וָאֶתְחַנַּ֖ן (waʾetḥannan)] with the Lord at that time” — and proceeds to submission before his prophet in 2 Kings 1:13 — “he bowed down on his knees before Elijah and begged [וַיִּתְחַנֵּ֗ן (wayyiṭḥannēn)] him.” It is upheld as the correct course in Job 8:5 — “if you will search for God and implore [תִּתְחַנָּֽן (titḥannan)] the compassion of the Almighty” — but falters in Job 19:16, when Job seeks compassion from a human servant: “I called to my servant, but he gave me no answer; I pleaded [חִנַּ֖נְתִּי (ḥinnantī)] with him with my mouth.”Here, the root meets the same fork in the road as מ־צ־א (mem–ṣade–aleph) / و–ج–د (wāw–jīm–dāl) “to find.” To plead in the wrong direction is the verbal equivalent of being found in the wrong place—misoriented, exposed, and powerless. Job is “found out” in his misdirected appeal.The itinerary returns to proper alignment in Psalm 141:2 — “may my prayer be counted as incense before you” — where the supplication is again oriented toward God, the one who truly “finds” his slave. But the arc terminates with Malachi 1:9 — “will you not plead [חִנַּנְאֵל (ḥinnū-ʾēl)] for God’s favor…with such an offering…will he receive any of you kindly?” Here, the prophet exposes the futility of petition without obedience. Even the correct address is worthless if the one who pleads is “found” corrupt.In Luke, δέομαι (deomai) follows the same itinerary. As with מ־צ־א, the point is not the act itself — searching, pleading, finding — but the reference. Mercy is not secured by human initiative, whether in seeking or in supplication, but by being found by God in faithful submission. To plead wrongly is to be found wrongly; to plead rightly is to be found rightly. Luke’s use aligns with Malachi’s charge: misplaced faith or hypocritical worship is no more effective than Job’s appeal to his unresponsive servant.Deuteronomy 3:23 – וָאֶתְחַנַּ֖ן (waʾetḥannan) – I also pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, – Moses petitions the Lord to let him cross the Jordan and view the promised land.2 Kings 1:13 – וַיִּתְחַנֵּ֗ן (wayyiṭḥannēn) – So the king again sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. When the third captain of fifty went up, he came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and begged him and said to him, “O man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight.” – A third captain approaches Elijah after the first two captains were destroyed. He kneels and requests preservation for himself and his men.Job 8:5 – וְאֶל־שַׁדַּ֥י תִּתְחַנָּֽן (weʾel-shadday titḥannan) – If you will search for God And implore the compassion of the Almighty, – Bildad advises Job to seek God and appeal for compassion.Job 19:16 – חִנַּ֖נְתִּי (ḥinnantī) – I called to my servant, but he did not answer; I implored him with my mouth. – Job recounts calling his servant and receiving no reply, even after pleading directly.Psalm 141:2 – תִּתְחַנָּֽה (titḥannah) – May my prayer be counted as incense before You; The raising of my hands as the evening offering. – The psalmist compares his prayer to incense and the lifting of hands to the evening offering.Malachi 1:9 – חִנַּנְאֵל (ḥinnū-ʾēl) – But now will you not plead for God’s favor, so that He will be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?” says the Lord of armies. – The prophet challenges the priests to request God’s favor despite their unacceptable offerings.ὑποστρέφω (hypostrephō) / ש־ו־ב (shin–waw–bet) / ث-و-ب (thāʾ–wāw–bāʾ)Finding, Pleading, Returning: Three Arcs Toward ConfrontationIn Luke 8, the healed man’s commission to return [שׁוּב (shub)] to his city cannot be read in isolation. It is the culmination of three interwoven prophetic itineraries — מ־צ־א (mem–ṣade–aleph) “to find,” ח־נ־ן (ḥet–nun–nun) “to plead,” and ש־ו־ב (shin–waw–bet) “to return” — each carrying its own history of confrontation, exposure, and the tearing down of human constructs.The root מ־צ־א moves through Scripture as a pivot between encounter and judgment. To “find” is not neutral; it is to be located, exposed, or confronted by what is found. In Luke 8:35, the townspeople find the formerly demon-possessed man “clothed and in his right mind” — an exposure that drives them to fear. Their response aligns them not with Abraham’s trust (Genesis 14:17), but with those who resist God’s presence. “Then after his return [בְּשׁוּבוֹ (bə·shū·bō)] from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). (Genesis 14:17)The root ש־ו־ב is typically mistranslated as repentance in a theological sense. Still, in the prophetic arc, it signals a strategic pivot, a “turn” toward confrontation, often in the face of danger. In Genesis 14:17, Abraham’s ש־ו־ב [בְּשׁוּבוֹ (bə·shū·bō)] from victory leads directly into confrontation with the king of Sodom. In Judges 3:19, Ehud turns back [שָׁב (shab)] to assassinate Eglon. But he himself turned back [שָׁב (shab)] from the idols which were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he said, “Silence!” And all who were attending him left him.” (Judges 3:19)In Exodus 32:31, Moses’ return [וַיָּשָׁב (way·yā·shab)] to God comes after shattering the tablets, standing be...

In Scripture, to “find” is never mere discovery.It is encounter—a turning of the text where mercy meets rebellion,where favor walks hand-in-hand with wrath.In Gerasa, the people find the healed man—clothed, sane, silent—and they tremble.He is a mirror, a testimony they cannot bear.Restoration becomes a scandal. Mercy, a threat.As well it should be.They send away the one who scattered their demonsbecause he disturbed their peace.The Scriptures whisper:To find a man is to stand at the edge of wrath—to be weighed, watched.Will you be spared?In Hebrew: to find, to meet, to expose.In Arabic: to find—yes—but also to be found out.To be found wandering.To be guided.The disbeliever finds God waiting—and no one can shield him.Every expectation collapses under the weight of divine wisdom.Everything found is double-edged:Grace, if received.Judgment, if refused.So—finders, beware.The light of instruction burns.This week, I discuss Luke 8:35-37.Show Notesεὑρίσκω (heuriskō) / מ־צ־א (mem–ṣade–aleph) / و–ج–د (wāw–jīm–dāl)find; reach; meet accidentally; obtain, achieveFOUND THE MANThe people “find” the healed man—מ־צ־א (mem–ṣade–aleph)—and become afraid, encountering divine judgment. He stands as a sign of both judgment and mercy: restored and sent out as a witness. In Scripture, finding a man—whether by apparent chance, deliberate search, or divine appointment—often precedes divine entrapment: a moment of redirection, confrontation, or exposure.Their encounter with this man echoes a biblical pattern in which finding a man signals the onset of divine action.Joseph, found wandering, is sent on a path of suffering to deliver many from famine (Genesis 37:15).“A man found [וַיִּמְצָאֵהוּ (wayyimṣaʾēhu)] him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, ‘What are you looking for?’”Benjamin, found out by a planted cup, exposes guilt but leads to submission and reconciliation (Genesis 44:12).“He searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found [וַיִּמָּצֵא (wayyimmāṣēʾ)] in Benjamin’s sack.”The prophet, found under the oak, faces judgment for disobedience (1 Kings 13:14). The “finding” (מ־צ־א) here is a trap—not for the wicked, but for the prophet who fails to remain obedient to God’s direct command.“He went after the man of God and found [וַיִּמְצָאֵהוּ (wayyimṣaʾēhu)] him sitting under an oak…”“You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way you came.” (1 Kings 13:9)“So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water.” (v. 19)Jonah, who finds a ship, is caught in a storm of God’s judgment—and becomes a reluctant prophet (Jonah 1:3).“But Jonah rose up to flee… and found [וַיִּמְצָא (wayyimṣaʾ)] a ship going to Tarshish…”FOUND FAVORIn Luke 8:35–37, after Jesus casts out Legion, the people come and find the man “sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind.” Rather than rejoicing in the mercy extended, they are seized with fear. They do not celebrate the restoration but instead beg Jesus to leave. This rebellion—typical of the עֵדָה ʿ(ēdāh) that Jesus scatters throughout the Gospel of Luke—reveals a tragic irony: grace is offered, but rejected.This moment echoes a recurring biblical pattern centered around the root מ־צ־א (mem–ṣade–aleph), which signifies finding, meeting, or encountering. When someone “finds favor” [מָצָא חֵן (māṣāʾ ḥēn)] in God’s sight, it often leads to intercession on behalf of others—even the wicked:Abraham pleads for Sodom upon having found favor (Genesis 18:3).“He said, ‘My Lord, if now I have found [מָצָאתִי (māṣāʾtī)] favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by.’”Lot, though surrounded by destruction, acknowledges divine mercy (Genesis 19:19).“Now behold, your servant has found [מָצָא (māṣāʾ)] favor in your sight, and you have magnified your zealous care…”Moses repeatedly intercedes for Israel’s rebellious collective after finding favor in God’s sight (Numbers 11:11).“Why have you been so hard on your servant? And why have I not found [לֹא מָצָאתִי (lōʾ māṣāʾtī)] favor in your sight, that you have laid the burden of all this people on me?”In the golden calf incident, no favor is found in God’s sight—only consequence. Yet, Moses stands in the breach and intercedes (Exodus 34:9).“If now I have found [מָצָאתִי (māṣāʾtī)] favor in your sight…”Esther, having found favor, risks her life to save her people (Esther 8:5).“If it pleases the king, and if I have found [מָצָאתִי (māṣāʾtī)] favor before him, and the matter seems proper to the king…”In all these examples, those who found favor stood in the breach for others—unlike the people of the Gerasenes, who reject the one who intercedes against the Roman Legion. Their response echoes Israel’s rebellion in the wilderness, when the people grumbled against Moses and said:“If only the Lord had killed us in the land of Egypt when we sat by pots of meat and ate our fill of bread! But you have brought us out into this wilderness to make us all die of hunger.” (Exodus 16:3).Though they had been delivered, they longed for the security of slavery rather than trust in the provision of God. So too in Luke 8, the people, confronted with divine mercy in the healed man, recoil in fear and send Jesus away.Bloody cowards.They cannot bear the grace that unmasks their allegiance to the 1%—the settled urban elites who love injustice. As in the wilderness, favor is offered—but refused. Grace stands before them, confronting their false peace—and they choose Pharaoh. Cowardice draped in civility. In the end, refusing to take a stand is the most wicked stand of all. May their dinner parties be found worthy of the price.FOUND JUDGMENTThe people “find” judgment—מ־צ־א (mem–ṣade–aleph)—not by seeking it, but by standing in the way of divine mercy. In Luke 8:35–37, those who witness the healed man respond with fear rather than submission. The grace shown to the possessed becomes a sign of judgment for those who reject it. This reversal echoes throughout Scripture: to “find” is to be found out by God—exposed, weighed, measured, and confronted. “Finding” unmasks guilt, and divine justice follows swiftly—even when grace has already been extended:Egypt, the symbol of empire and wealth, is found stripped bare—exposed in its powerlessness before God. The Egyptians, found lacking, are emptied of silver and reduced to servitude (Genesis 47:14).“And Joseph collected all the money that was found [הַנִּמְצָא (hannimṣāʾ)] in the land of Egypt…”A thief is found in possession of stolen goods, and the act triggers justice (Exodus 22:4).“If what he stole is actually found [נִמְצָא (nimṣāʾ)] alive in his possession… he shall pay double.”The people ga...

Examining the history of nomadic pastoralism across Asia—from the Caucasus and Central Asian steppes to ancient Mesopotamia—reveals a consistent pattern: settled elites have repeatedly waged war against pastoral peoples. Both the Bible and the Qur’an emerged from nomadic pastoral societies, yet these same texts were later weaponized by sedentary civilizations against the very peoples once nurtured by them. We are witnessing this tragic pattern unfold again in real time—perhaps in its most brutal form yet—with escalating consequences that now reach into the heart of the West, the heir of Greco-Roman hubris.Even in pre-biblical East Asian traditions, such as the Confucian Book of Odes, herdsmen arrive with their flocks to establish an unnamed prince—a figure who emerges not from the city but from the periphery to usher in an era of divine justice. This archetype, consolidated in the Bible and the Qur’an, becomes active in the world whenever and wherever the voice from the pasture rises against the corruption of the palace.This is the Voice of the Scriptural God—The Voice of the Shepherd.It will not be silenced.It cannot be bought.It does not serve a throne.It does not belong to anyone.It roams freely upon the earth,calling its flock from the outlands, out of the city to the wilderness.The Biblical Jesus is near, habibi—And it’s time for the Lord to act.It’s time for Ibrahim’s Discords.سُبْحَانَ مَنْ جَعَلَ فِي الْحَمْدِ نُورًا(subḥāna man jaʿala fī al-ḥamdi nūran)“Glory to the one who placed light within praise.”This week, I discuss Luke 8:32-34.Photo by Cajeo Zhang on UnsplashShow notesἀγέλη (agelē) / ע־ד־ר (ʿayin–dalet–resh) / غ–د–ر (ghayn–dāl–rāʾ)In the Gospel of Matthew, we are warned that God will separate the sheep from the goats. Mishearing this, the rule-followers among us foolishly turn their gaze outward, seeking to teach others which rules to follow. In doing so, they become goat-finders and goat-fixers—lions and bears who come not to protect the flock but to steal sheep from it.But in Luke’s application of ע־ד־ר (ʿayin–dalet–resh) from the Song of Songs, this dichotomy is flipped on its head. When the mashal unfolds at the Decapolis in Luke, the Song’s poetic use of ἀγέλη (agelē)—interchanging goats and sheep—reveals the Bible’s mockery of human rule-followers. The constant switch between goats and sheep in the Song of Songs reflects a deliberate poetic symmetry: the goats evoke movement and allure (hair), while the sheep evoke purity and precision (teeth).This imagery, drawn from real pastoral life, is repurposed to undermine self-righteous Hellenistic legal constructs. There is no intent in the text to constrain the beloved or to define her by a boundary. Rather, it moves freely—dark and light, wild and ordered, descending and ascending—a complete pastoral image that cannot be systematized. The beloved is named not to be limited, but to be delighted in—not judged, but adored.David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s flock [הָעֵדֶר (hā-ʿēder)], and when a lion or a bear came and took a sheep from the flock…” (1 Samuel 17:34)Know well the condition of your flocks [עֲדָרִים (ʿădārīm)], and pay attention to your herds; (Proverbs 27:23)Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where do you pasture your flock [עֵדֶר (ʿeder)], where do you have it lie down at noon? For why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions? (Song of Songs 1:7)Your hair is like a flock [כְּעֵדֶר (kə-ʿēder)] of goats, coming down from Mount Gilead. (Song of Songs 4:1)Your teeth are like a flock [כְּעֵדֶר (kə-ʿēder)] of newly shorn sheep, which have come up from their watering place… (Song of Songs 4:2)Your hair is like a flock [כְּעֵדֶר (kə-ʿēder)] of goats that have descended from Gilead. (Song of Songs 6:4)Your teeth are like a flock [כְּעֵדֶר (kə-ʿēder)] of ewes which have come up from their watering place… (Song of Songs 6:5)Still, even in the open pasture, there are rules of engagement. This is how one should hear the text—as a Bedouin.Surat Al-Anfāl (سورة الأنفال, The Spoils of War) addresses the terms of conflict and the proper conduct of the faithful toward their enemies. It contains the Qur’an’s only occurrence of the Lukan-corresponding root غ–د–ر (ghayn–dāl–rāʾ)—a term that denotes treachery or betrayal. Even when nomadic clans behave treacherously, those who follow God are commanded to act transparently—even in the face of betrayal. The response to ghadr is not reciprocal deceit, but open disengagement.The verse also contains the word قَوْمٍ (qawm), meaning “those who stand or rise together as a group,” from the root ق–و–م (qāf–wāw–mīm). Its presence evokes the image of a herd rising for judgment—a disobedient gathering whose posture does not guarantee righteousness. Instead, it invokes divine judgment, alluding to the Day of the Lord. This imagery echoes the Gosp...

Human beings are evil. We are hardwired to curate our self-image, excuse our failures, and cling to the stories that make us feel good about ourselves. The truth is, we are hypocrites—fluctuating between condemning unspeakable horrors, often hidden from public view, and idolizing the very politicians and institutional cowards who cause or permit them.The same psychological games we play to deceive ourselves work flawlessly when we’re told to choose the “lesser of two evils” during election season.Listen to yourselves, habibi. You reject Scripture—yet somehow affirm its judgment against you when you call one of your human choices the “lesser of two evils.”You hypocrite.Most people will never acknowledge their complicity in the killing fields of Gaza. It’s far more comfortable to live in self-deception than to face the truth about the monsters we really are.Evil functions under a triple constraint.First: your reflection, shown in a natural mirror, not of your own making. You want to look away, to forget what you see. So, you rush to the second constraint: the mirror of your fairy tales—the one that says you are the “fairest of them all.” Or worse, the artificial mirrors in your data centers, which regurgitate what everyone wants to hear, calibrated to the desires of monsters.Between these two lies the third constraint: your neighbor. The neighbor who also sees your reflection, not in the natural mirror of Scripture, but in how you behave when you follow yourself, even though they are as blind as you.In the end, the natural mirror does not care if you “speak the truth.” It already knows that you, like your virtue-signaling, murderous, failed politicians, are blind, arrogant, and evil.The mirror has only one objective: to force you to see the truth it reflects about you, and not to let you look away. Can you accept this? Can you sit with it? Or will you, once again, project your truth onto someone else caught in the same triple constraint?You hypocrite.You blind fool.On that day, no amount of pleading will bring you comfort.This week, I discuss Luke 8:31.Photo by Kyle Johnson on UnsplashShow Notes“They were imploring him not to command them to go away into the abyss.” Lk 8:31.“For if anyone is a listener of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; (τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γενέσεως — literally, “the face of birth” or “natural face”) for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.” (James 1:23–24)παρακαλέω (parakaleō) / נ–ח–ם (nūn–ḥet–mēm) / ن–ح–م (nūn–ḥāʾ–mīm)Encourage, exhort, and comfort. Feel regret, be sorry, and console yourself. Provide comfort. Saul disobeyed God’s command by sparing King Agag and taking spoils from the battle. God, through Samuel, declares that he regrets [נִחַמְתִּי (niḥamti)] making Saul king:“I regret [נִחַמְתִּי (niḥamti)] that I have made Saul king, because he has turned back from following me and has not carried out my commands.” And Samuel was furious, and he cried out to the Lord all night. (1 Samuel 15:11)Later in 1 Samuel 15:30, Saul, like Legion, makes a self-serving plea, concerned with his reputation rather than divine obedience.David’s so-called consolation [נִחַם (niḥam)] in 2 Samuel was not repentance or discernment—it was political sentimentality disguised as pastoral care. It resembled the rhetoric of a liberal American politician who publicly laments starving children in Gaza, yet quietly approves weapons sales, enforces food embargoes, and suppresses dissent.David had a soft spot for Absalom, even though Absalom murdered his half-brother Amnon in a revenge killing for the rape of their sister Tamar. Instead of submitting to God’s instruction, David inserted himself as judge and jury, led not by divine command but by personal affection and public image. This sentimental indulgence led to Absalom’s exile, his orchestrated return, and eventual rebellion—a direct consequence of David’s failure to uphold justice according to the Lord’s command, rather than his personal “consolation.”And the heart of King David longed to go out to Absalom; for he was comforted [נִחַם (niḥam)] regarding Amnon, since he was dead. (2 Samuel 13:39)Pharaoh, in the following example, is lexically analogous to Legion in Luke 8:31, who pleads not to be judged, but to seek relief from consequences in lieu of repentance. In Ezekiel, Pharaoh observes other fallen nations, tyrants, and armies defeated, and finds a twisted comfort in their shared destruction:Pharaoh will see them, and he will be comforted [וְנִחַם (weniḥam)] for all his hordes killed by the sword—Pharaoh and all his army,” declares the Lord God. (Ezekiel 32:31)In this final example from Lamentations, a destroyed Jerusalem calls for God’s wrath to fall upon her enemies. But unlike Pharaoh, who found twisted comfort in the judgment of others (Ezekiel 32:31), this plea arises under the unbearable weight of divine chastisement. As it is written:“The Lord is righteous; for I have rebelled against his command. Hear now, all you peoples, and see my pain; My virgins and my young men have gone into captivity.” (Lamentations 1:18)The call for vindication is not a boast but a plea, spoken on the lips of the harlot city—Jerusalem—who confesses her guilt and urges the Lord to act. Her cry for the nations to “become like me” is an appeal to divine vengeance, not for destruction’s sake, but to expose their harlotry, undo their rebellion, and make possible their submission to God’s command, which Jerusalem itself foolishly rejected:People have heard that I groan; there is no one to comfort me [מְנַחֵם (menaḥem)]. All my enemies have heard of my disaster; they are joyful that you have done it. Oh, that you would bring the day which you have proclaimed, so that they will become like me. (Lamentations 1:21)Luke 8:31, ἐπιτάσσω, Legion “pleads” for consolation in Luke. In Qur’an 7:14–15, this motif corresponds to a mashal with a different root, أ–م–ر (ʾalif–mīm–rāʾ), where Iblis “begs” God for respite: ن–ظ–ر (nūn–ẓāʾ–rāʾ).He said, “Grant me [أَنظِرْنِي (anẓirnī)] respite until the Day they are resurrected.”ἐπιτάσσω (epitassō...

In Dark Sayings, I explain how Emperor Justinian stands as a striking example of imperial harlotry. Like all rulers, he filtered Scripture through his own agenda—much like what we see in 2025, with elites twisting the biblical text to justify the very actions it condemns. Today’s world leaders are effectively reenacting the sins of the Bible’s villains.If it weren’t a tragedy, it would be a comedy. I’d sit with Jonah beneath the vine—bag of popcorn in hand.What came of Justinian copying the sins condemned in Scripture?A massive stone temple—still longed for today. This longing betrays a rejection of the preaching of the story of the Gerasene demoniac, where God himself, through his anointed Slave, rejects Roman law and silences the Greek intellectual tradition.In defiance of this witness, Justinian—praised even now—translated Roman law into Greek, a move that flatly contradicts the biblical text.O foolish Galatians. You asked for a king, and you got one.Justinian’s reign was marked by a bloody attempt to resurrect Rome’s former glory: the North African campaign against the Vandals, the prolonged and ruinous Gothic Wars in Italy, and a brief incursion into southern Spain. These campaigns were catastrophically expensive, devastating to local populations, and—like all imperial games—ended in failure. Far worse was the Justinianic Plague, a lethal epidemic that ravaged both the population and the economy.Together, these calamities fractured the region’s future. Though the Western Roman Empire had already collapsed in the 5th century, Justinian’s ambitions destabilized its successors and hindered the organic development of local societies.Things might have turned out differently. We might have avoided the first Dark Age—or at least the first one we know of—had Justinian not tried to impose a new civilization atop the ruins of the old.Dear friends:There is no God but One.He is the Heavenly Shepherd.He claims no embassy, joins no assembly, and takes no seat at your councils.He casts no vote, answers to no electorate, and has no constituents.He occupies no office, nor does he dwell in any capital.He is beholden to nothing and answers to no one.His throne is in the heavens, far beyond your reach, where maps are not drawn.Be afraid oh nations.Tremble with fear, oh bordermongers, for he is not mocked—Not by you, nor your puny gods, nor your counterfeit leaders.I place all my hope in his Slave who trusted in his command to subdue the Latin-lex and silence the Greco-lego at the Decapolis in Luke.Everything I do, I do for this Slave’s Rebellion.This week, I discuss Luke 8:30.Show Notesἐρημόω (erēmoō) / ח־ר־ב (ḥet–resh–bet) / خ–ر–ب (khāʾ–rāʾ–bāʾ)To dry up, to be desolate, or to be destroyed. To be devastated, often referring to lands, cities, or nations. Greek examples in the LXX include: ξηραίνω (xērainō - to dry up), ἐρημόω (erēmoō - to make desolate), ἀφανίζω (aphanizō - to destroy).In Hebrew חָרַב and Arabic خَرِبَ both describe the undoing of cities, structures, or human systems—especially in the wake of divine judgment.In both the Bible and the Qur’an, ruin is not random—it is the consequence of injustice, arrogance, or rejection of divine instruction.Isaiah 51:10 – “Was it not you who dried up (הַמַּחֲרֶבֶת [ha-maḥărébet]) the sea…”Surah Al-Hashr 59:2 - “They destroy (يُخْرِبُونَ [yukh’ribūna]) their houses with their own hands…” يُخْرِبُونَ (yukh’ribūna) comes from خَرَّبَ (khar·ra·ba) — they lay waste / destroy, describing the self-inflicted ruin of the Banu Nadir tribe, continuing on the itinerary of civilizational ruin brought on by pride and resistance to God’s covenant.The function ח-ר-ב (ḥ-r-b) appears in Scripture to prescribe the destruction of cities and the downfall of kings—figures aligned with human systems of law and control. This same root functions in the name Mount Horeb, the site where divine law is given. It also functions as “sword,” an agent of God’s judgment. In Exodus 32:27, Moses commands the Levites at Horeb to take up their swords ח-ר-ב (ḥ-r-b) and execute judgment within the camp after the sin of the golden calf, connecting the themes of lawgiving and purifying violence. ח-ר-ב (ḥ-r-b) highlights the biblical tension between the collapse of human law and the assertion of divine will through biblical instruction and judgment.In the Septuagint, ἐρημόω (erēmoō) corresponds lexically to ח-ר-ב (ḥ-r-b) in the following passages: Judges 16:24; 2 Kings 19:17; Job 14:11; Isaiah 34:10; Isaiah 37:18, 25; Isaiah 44:27; Isaiah 49:17; Isaiah 51:10; Isaiah 60:12; Jeremiah 28:36; Jeremiah 33:9; Ezekiel 26:2, 19; Ezekiel 29:12; Ezekiel 30:7; Amos 7:9.Λεγιών (legiṓn)(For a detailed discussion, please see Blaise Webster’s article, The Crux of Paul and John’s Gospel.)From the Latin legio, meaning legion, a Roman military unit (~6,000 soldiers), itself from the Indo-European root legō.From Latin legō, we also get Lex—law (that which is gathered or set in order)Lex, derived from legō, becomes a symbol of civilizational control—a codified system that enforces order, often violently.Roman Legions (from the same root) are the custodians of lex, instruments of imperial coercion and domination.Lex and legion are bound together both linguistically and ideologically—law enforced by gathered violence.In Greek, λόγος (logos) stems from λέγω and is associated in Hellenistic philosophy with reason, logic, and natural law. The Pauline School’s co-opting of this term is an attack on Hellenism.For Paul, λόγος is not Greek reason, but shorthand for “the word of the cross” (ὁ λόγος τοῦ σταυροῦ)—foolishness to the world and power to those being saved, who trust in God’s victory (1 Corinthians 1:18); Knowing that his work will find its own completion in the Day of the Lord. (Philippians 1:6)Unlike the constructive Greek logos, which seeks order and coherence, the Pauline logos is destructive—an insurgent word embedded within Greco-Roman structures, intended to bring about their co-termination in the execution of Jesus, thereby dismantling the entire system.Lex (law) and lego (rhetoric/philosophy) represent false structures of control and meaning, in opposition to the Pauline gospel.T...

In Isaiah, Cyrus the Great emerges as a unique figure chosen by the God of Israel to fulfill a specific historical task: the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple and the liberation of the Judahites from exile in Babylon in direct fulfillment of the prophecy spoken by Jeremiah.Cyrus’s rise to power is depicted not as a product of his strength but as the result of God stirring his spirit and granting him authority over all nations.God bestows upon Cyrus exceptional titles: “my shepherd,” a nomadic-pastoral, Bedouin-styled function typical of prophetic literature, signifying his role in guiding the people of Israel back to God’s land, and “my anointed,” indicating a special divine commissioning that parallels, though does not equal, the messianic expectations normally associated with Israelite kings.Through Cyrus’s conquests, especially the subjugation of Babylon, the Lord demonstrates his universal sovereignty, demonstrating to all nations that he alone is the Unipolar Hegemon that directs the course of history and holds ultimate authority over the kingdoms of the earth.While Cyrus plays a pivotal role as a pawn on God’s political chessboard, Isaiah carefully distinguishes him from the Slave of the Lord.The Slave—often wrongly identified with Israel itself—points to a future messianic figure who carries a broader, more enduring mission: to establish justice, bring light to the nations, and embody God’s ultimate purpose. Unlike Cyrus, whose mission is temporal and political, the Slave’s work is a universal call to the path of the Lord, extending beyond the restoration of Jerusalem to the transformation of the human race.Thus, Isaiah presents Cyrus as a divinely appointed instrument for a limited, though critical, historical role. At the same time, the Slave of the Lord stands as the ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan of victory and liberation for his people and the entire world.Then, in Luke, the Slave landed on the beaches of the Gerasenes.Everything I do, I do for the Slave.This week, I discuss Luke 8:29.Show Notesπαραγγέλλω (parangellō)order, summon, command, send a messageשׁ-מ-ע (shin-mem-ayin) / س-م-ع (sīn-mīm-ʿayn)hear, submit!1 Samuel 15:4 - Saul, Israel’s first king, asserts his leadership by gathering a vast army (200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah) to fulfill a divine command: to destroy the Amalekites utterly. Centralized, royal power at its peak.1 Samuel 23:8 - Saul, now insecure in his power, redirects his military might to pursue David at Keilah, driven by jealousy and fear of losing his throne.1 Kings 15:22 - King Asa commands all of Judah to dismantle Baasha’s fortifications at Ramah and repurpose them to fortify Geba and Mizpah. Asa’s leadership is pragmatic and defensive, focused on security rather than prophetic utterances.Jeremiah 26:14 (LXX) - Jeremiah stands alone before religious and political leaders, “I am in your hands; do with me as seems good and right to you.” Luke’s lexical itinerary at Decapolis follows the biblical storyline, shifting from the king’s authority to the prophet’s vulnerability.Jeremiah 27:29 (LXX) - Jeremiah warns Judah that resisting Babylon will only bring destruction; the people must submit to Babylon’s yoke as God’s instrument of judgment.Jeremiah 28:27 (LXX) - The theme of the yoke—submission to Babylon’s dominion—continues. This reinforces the prophet’s earlier warning that Judah’s fate is sealed unless they accept God’s judgment.ע-ב-ר (ʿayin-bet-resh) / ع-ب-ر (ʿayn-bāʼ-rāʼ)pull along, pass through, pass by, go your way; consistent with nomadic pastoral or shepherd life2 Chronicles 36:22 - This verse marks the beginning of the return from exile. It records that in the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord moved his heart to make a proclamation allowing the exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. This aligns with the prophecy of Jeremiah being fulfilled — God’s promise to bring his people back from captivity after seventy years.Ezra 1:1 - This verse parallels 2 Chronicles 36:22. It highlights that in the first year of King Cyrus of Persia’s reign, God stirred his spirit to make a decree throughout his kingdom allowing the Judeans to return and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, again, fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah.In Arabic, this root carries various functions, including “to cross,” “to pass over,” “to interpret,” or “to take a lesson.”عُبُور (ʿubūr) crossingمَعْبَر (maʿbar) crossing placeتَعْبِير (taʿbīr) expression, interpretation (especially of dreams)א-מ-ר (ʾaleph–mem–resh) / أ-م-ر (ʾalif-mīm-rāʾ)In Arabic, this root is the foundation for words like أَمْر (ʾamr) (“command” or “order”) and مَأْمُور (maʾmūr) (“one who is commanded”). Matthew Cooper observes that אָמַר (amar) “he spoke,” is inter-functional with the Arabic word أمير (emir), which means “prince,” “commander,” or “leader,” from the same root.Joshua 6:7 - Joshua commands his army to advance on Jericho. Specifically, he orders the armed men to proceed, and the seven priests with the trumpets to go before the Ark of the Covenant as they prepare to encircle the city. This is part of the famous account of the fall of Jericho, where the walls come down after the Israelites’ obedience to God’s instructions.צ-ע-ק (ṣade-ayin-qof) / ص-ع-ق (sīn–ʿayn–qāf)In biblical Hebrew, צעק (ṣāʿaq) means “to cry out, to shout, to call loudly.”1 Samuel 10:17 - Samuel gathers the people of Israel at Mizpah to publicly present Saul as the chosen king. This follows God’s command to anoint a king, as the people had demanded one like the nations around them. Samuel is about to cast lots to reveal Saul as God’s chosen king formally.In Arabic, صعق (ṣaʿaqa) means “to be struck by thunder, to be shocked, to be stunned.”י-ע-ץ (yod-ayin-ṣade) / و-ع-ظ (wāw-ʿayn-ẓāʾ)1 Kings 12:6 - Rehoboam, Solomon’s son and the new king, consults the elders who had served his father about responding to the people’s request to lighten their burdens. The elders advise him to show kindness. He does not listen.“To advise, to give counsel.” The Arabic triliteral carries the core function “to exhort, to admonish, to preach.”وَعْظ (waʿẓ) exhortation, admonitionوَاعِظ (wāʿiẓ) preacher, admonisherتَوْعِيظ (tawʿīẓ) act of exhorting, preaching“Call to the path of your Lord with wisdom and the beautiful exhortation (الْمَوْعِظَةِ ٱلْحَسَنَةِ al-mawʿiẓati al-ḥasanati), and discuss with them in that which is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from his path, and he is most knowing of the guided.” Surah An-Nahl (16:125) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

People choose personal relationships and personal fulfillment over duty. Most often, they place the latter ahead of the former, which is why you see all these ridiculous posts on social media about “toxic relationships.”It’s a big joke.I live among people who do not inhabit the same reality as I do.It used to frustrate me, but now I smile and move on, knowing that most people are not willing to make hard choices. They—and those who enable them—form Caesar’s political base.The blind leading the blind.Scripture has taught me, the hard way, that I have no right to judge.Neither do others, yet we all persist in doing so.All of you should watch the Star Wars series Andor in full—it’s just two seasons—and then watch Rogue One, and you’ll understand what the writers of the New Testament were doing in the shadows of “empire.”Unlike the arrogant cowards sitting on the Rebel Council at Yavin IV, the biblical writers weren’t building anything new to replace Rome or Jerusalem. They had no secret plans for a “new” Republic. The gospel was not a hero’s journey or a strategy for institution-building under the protection of a solipsistic Jedi order, nor was it fighting for “freedom.” It was, however, about hope, against all hope.Rehear Galatians.The New Testament ends where it begins—with the sword of instruction wandering the earth in God’s broad encampment, moving from place to place with an urgent message of permanent, perpetual rebellion:“Caesar is not the king!”Long before Paul, Jeremiah, too, had joined the Rebellion. He understood the price. Jeremiah was not James Dean. You cannot be a rebel unless you have a cause. Unless, of course, you, like most Americans I know, want to remain a teenager for the rest of your life.Adults, however, have to make a choice:“Cursed be the day when I was born; Let the day not be blessed when my mother bore me! Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, saying, ‘A baby boy has been born to you,’ and made him very happy.”(Jeremiah 20:14-15)This much I know:“Everything I do, I do for the Rebellion.”This week, I discuss Luke 8:28.Show Notesἀνακράζω (anakrazō) / ק-ר-א (qof–resh–aleph) / ق-ر-أ (qāf–rāʾ–hamza)Cry out. Read aloud.“When the three units blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing, and shouted, ‘A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!’” (Judges 7:20)Gideon’s story is part of the cyclical narrative structure that characterizes the Book of Judges. In this recurring pattern, Israel turns away from God and does evil, prompting God to give them into the hands of their enemies. In their suffering, the people cry out to God, who then raises up a deliverer—a judge—to rescue them. This deliverance brings a period of temporary peace until the cycle begins again. In the case of Gideon, Israel is oppressed by the Midianites. God chooses Gideon to lead a small and unlikely force, emphasizing that the victory is not the result of human strength but a demonstration of the Lord’s power and faithfulness.“Then he cried out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, ‘Come forward, you executioners of the city, each with his weapon of destruction in his hand!’” (Ezekiel 9:1 )In Ezekiel 8–11, the prophet is shown a vision of the abominations taking place in the Jerusalem temple, including idolatry, injustice, and ritual defilement. As a result of this widespread corruption, the glory of God departs from the temple. In chapter 9, the vision shifts from exposing sin to executing judgment. God summons six angelic executioners, each carrying a weapon and a seventh figure dressed in linen holding a writing kit. This scribe is instructed to mark the foreheads of those who mourn over the city’s sins, while the others are commanded to kill the rest without mercy, beginning at the defiled sanctuary.“So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: ‘I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion.’” (Zechariah 1:14 )προσπίπτω (prospiptō) / נ-פ-ל (nun-fe-lamed) / ن-ف-ل (nun-fa-lam)Fall upon, at, against; become known.“Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell (יִּפֹּ֥ל yiffōlʹ) on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.” (Genesis 33:4)“And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell (תִּפֹּ֖ל tiffōl) down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews.” (Esther 8:3)Esau suffered the consequences of tribal betrayal and familial treachery; Esther and her people faced annihilation under a lawfully decreed genocide. These parallels—illuminated by Luke’s deliberate lexical choices—frame the demon-possessed man as a victim of Greco-Roman imperial oppression.In each case, the act of falling appears directed toward a human being when, in fact, it is the acceptance of Providence.This is the core teaching of the Abrahamic scrolls.Esther does not confront the king as a preacher or moral authority; she pleads with him, fully aware that she holds no power. You might say Esther was, in this instance, a functional Muslim.To fall is ultimately submission to divine authority—Esther, by entrusting herself to God’s hidden providence, accepts that there is no King but God.Her only weapon against oppression, along with Esau and the demonic, was to fall prostrate, hoping against all hope in God’s promise (in his absence), that:“Caesar is not the king!”نَفَّلَ (naffala) “he fell to his share” or “assigned as a share.”الْأَنْفَالُ لِلَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ(al-anfālu lillāhi wa-l-rasūli)“The spoils are for God and the Apostle.”Surat al-Anfal 8:1(see also: κατεκλίθη)δέομαι (deomai) / ח-נ-ן (ḥet–nun–nun) / ح-ن-ن (ḥāʼ–nūn–nūn)Ask; pray; beg. Grace. Compassion, mercy, tenderness.“I also pleaded (אֶתְחַנַּ֖ן ʾěṯḥǎnnǎnʹ) with the Lord at that time, saying, ‘O Lord God, You have begun to show your servant your greatness and your strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours? (Deuteronomy 3:23–24)“If you would seek God and implore (תִּתְחַנָּֽן tiṯḥǎnnānʹ) the compassion of the Almighty, if you are pure and upright, surely now he would rouse himself for you and restore your righteous estate.” (Job 8:5–6)The triliteral root ح-ن-ن (

Situated opposite Galilee, the “earth” of the Gerasenes marks the site of God’s first tactical strike against Greco-Roman assimilation in Luke.The Greco-Roman rulers who possess and enslave the land impose violence and havoc, sowing death where God’s many flocks were meant to roam freely, without interference.Like the abusers in Jerusalem, the occupying forces in Decapolis do not want to live and let live. They seek to assimilate, to convert, to impose, to kill—to force others to become like them, “twice as much the sons of Hell as themselves.”Sure, they may be interested in learning something from those they conquer, but ultimately, everything must be “melted down” and absorbed into something of their own making. It’s called a “god complex:”“…the logic of American liberalism is a barely warmed-over Hellenism. The world-embracing, universe-striding Hellenic ideology under Alexander was an assimilationist one. In the Alexandrian ideology, it doesn’t matter what tribe your parents are from, what your lineage is, or in what area of the world you were born. If you speak Greek, eat like a Greek, dress like a Greek, walk like a Greek, shit like a Greek, think like a Greek—then you’re a Greek. It’s exceptionally difficult for an American to consider this ideology and not think of the ‘melting pot’”(Matthew Franklin Cooper, And the Lamb Will Conquer)They do not submit to God, who made the heavens and the earth. They do not accept what was made, as it has been made, by his making. His name alone be praised!Unlike every other revolution in human history, the socio-political rebellion of the biblical tradition—be ye not deceived, O man, it is indeed a political rebellion, though it is not about starting something new, it is a reversion—to accept the Bible is to revert to God as your King, your religion, your tribe, your city, and your homeland.To return to his land is to return not to what we build, create, perceive, synthesize, or formulate through our ideolocial or theological assimilations, but to what God himself provided in the beginning: an open field where all living creatures coexist in his care.This week, I discuss Luke 8:27.Show Notesδαιμόνιον (daimonion) / ש–י–ד (shin–yod–dalet) / ث–د–ي (thā–dāl–yāʼ)Demon, other deity, or god. From the root שדד (shadad), which means “to deal violently, despoil, or devastate.” Klein notes that the Arabic ثَدْي (thady), “breast,” reinforces his observation that שֹׁד (shōd) and שַׁד (shad) are two forms of the same biblical root meaning “breast.” In consideration of this link, and the fact that the original text is unpointed, it is difficult to ignore the consonantal link between chaos, havoc, militarism, and the function “demon,” vis-à-vis the field, and violence against the land, since the land is inherently matriarchal:שָׂדָאוּת (sadā’ut) is a feminine noun meaning “military fieldcraft,” derived from שָׂדֶה (sadeh), meaning “field.”Note that שֵׁדָה (shedah), female demon, and שָׂדֶה (sadeh), field or open land, are indistinguishable in the unpointed text.This intersection is intentional. Consider a related sub-function associated with δαιμόνιον in Luke:שׁדד (shin-dalet-dalet) and שׂדד (sin-dalet-dalet)שׁדד (shadad) to devastate, despoil, or destroy, referring to violence or judgment.שׂדד (sadad) to plow or harrow, referring to agricultural activity.In Semitic languages, the function “demon” likely originates from the Akkadian term šēdu, a protective spirit often depicted in Mesopotamian art as a bull-like colossus or a human-bull hybrid, for example, the bull effigy of Wall Street. The question is not what the demon šēdu protects, but whose interests it serves. Does it protect life in God’s field or wreak havoc on behalf of its human sponsors? Does it plow and harrow, or does it despoil?Demonic Evil“For [a] root of all evils is the love of money—which some, desiring, wandered away from the faith,and pierced themselves through with many griefs.”(1 Timothy 6:10)As it is written:“ῥίζα γὰρ πάντων τῶν κακῶν ἐστιν ἡ φιλαργυρία”“the love of money is [a] root of all evils”“πάντων τῶν κακῶν” unambiguously indicates “of all evils,” not “all kinds,” underscoring Paul’s deliberate rhetorical force in presenting the love of money not as a moral weakness but as a seed giving rise to every form of evil in God’s field.ἱμάτιον (himation) / ב-ג-ד (bet–gimel–dalet) / ب-ج-د (bāʼ–jīm–dāl)Outer garment; cloak.A scarce word in Classical Arabic, بَجَدَ (bajada), means “to strive or exert,” technically different than بِجَاد (bijād) — the pre-Islamic Bedouin term for a striped cloak or blanket, which Klein links to ב-ג-ד.Instead of بَجَدَ (bajada), Arabic typically employs roots like ج-ه-د (jīm–hāʾ–dāl) — جَاهَدَ (jāhada) — the basis of جِهَاد (jihād), to express striving or struggle, especially in a religious context. Related roots such as ج-د-د (jīm–dāl–dāl) — جَدَّ (jadda) “to be serious” — and ج-دّ (jīm–dāl–dāl) — جِدّ (jidd) “seriousness” — reinforce the idea of earnest effort and commitment that underlies the concept of jihād.The بِجَاد (bijād)—a coarse, often red or striped woolen cloak worn by Bedouins—symbolizes striving through its association with the harsh realities of shepherd life in God’s open field, demanding simplicity, endurance, and honor, in contrast with the soft garments of city dwellers. The reference to soft garments is not incidental. In Luke 7:25, Jesus mocks those dressed in “soft clothing” who “live in luxury” in the royal houses. As such, John the Baptist is “more than a prophet.” Clothed in the rough and unpleasant garment of a shepherd, he survives under God’s rule in the open field with an honor imperceptible in the eyes of city dwellers.It is “the smell of a field” that Luke 8:27 makes terminologically functional here, recalling the transfer of Isaac’s blessing to his younger son. Now Luke turns the tables. As Esau was denied his birthright in favor of Jacob, so now Jacob is denied the same in favor of the demon-possessed Gerasene:Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come close and kiss me, my son.”So he came close and kissed him; and when he smelled the smell of his garments (בְּגָדָ֖י begāday), he blessed him and said,“See, the smell of my sonIs like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed;Now may God give you of the dew of heaven,And of the fatness of the earth,And an abundance of grain and new wine;May peoples serve you,And nations bow down to you;Be master of your brothers,And may your mother’s sons bow down to you.Cursed be those who curse you,And blessed be those who bless you.”(Genesis 27:26–29)οἰκία (oikia

In Scripture, “earth” signifies more than just physical land; it functions as a literary sign that opposes human oppression. The biblical narrative presents the land both as a silent witness against human civilization and as one of its victims. In this context, the recurring phrase “heavens and earth” serves as a merism, expressing the totality of creation and affirming God’s sovereign authority and judgment:“Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing and call the heavens and the earth to witness against them.” (Deuteronomy 31:28)Poet Mahmoud Darwish echoes this Abrahamic outlook by portraying the land as a woman—“the lady of the earth”—a figure of both suffering and resilience. Through this personification, Darwish critiques the domination of land by human civilization, portraying earth not as property but as a noble matriarch. His vision resonates with the biblical sabbatical and jubilee traditions, in which the land itself is granted rest and release from exploitation (Leviticus 25).In the Old Testament, Galilee is often marginalized or conquered. Yet, in Isaiah—and later in the New Testament—it is repurposed as the launching point for God’s mission to liberate the land from human abuse.In contrast to Jerusalem or Rome, which embody imperial tyranny cloaked in Hellenistic pluralism, Jesus reclaims Galilee as the new hub for Biblical Shepherdism—a direct challenge to the ideology of Hellenistic urban empire. Galilee becomes a scriptural threshold: a place of refuge, instruction, and mission. It embodies God’s cause, where divine law transcends political borders, and the land becomes a witness to divine justice against human violence, not a possession of empire.اللَّهُ مَالِكُ الْمُلْكِallāhu māliku al-mulk“God is the Owner of Sovereignty”This week I discuss Luke 8:26.Show Notesχώρα (chōra) / ע-ר-ץ (ʿayin–resh–ṣade) / أ-ر-ض (ʾalif-rā-ḍād)The biblical Hebrew אֶרֶץ (’ereṣ) can denote:The entire inhabited earth, as in Genesis 1:1 (“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”), is typically rendered in the Septuagint (LXX) as γῆ (gē).A specific territory, region, or localized land, such as “the land of Canaan,” or the land surrounding a city.The pairing of שָּׁמַיִם (šāmayim)“heavens” and אֶרֶץ (’ereṣ) earth in scripture functions as a merism, a literary device expressing totality.“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”(Genesis 1:1)“May you be blessed of the Lord, Maker of heavens and earth.”(Psalm 115:15)“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.”(Isaiah 65:17)In the Qur’an, أرض “arḍ” also appears frequently in the same manner in phrases like “السماء والأرض” (al-samāʾ wa al-arḍ) – “the heavens and the earth.”بَدِيعُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَاتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ وَإِذَا قَضَىٰٓ أَمْرًۭا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُۥ كُن فَيَكُونُbadīʿu al-samāwāti wa al-arḍi. wa idhā qaḍā amran fa-innamā yaqūlu lahu kun fa-yakūn.[He is] the Originator of the heavens and the earth. When he decrees a matter, he only says to it, “stand forth,” and it stands forth.In his poetry, Mahmoud Darwish uses the Semitic function أ-ر-ض in line with the anti-civilizational tradition of Abrahamic literature:عَلَى هَذِهِ ٱلْأَرْضِʿalā hādhihi al-arḍon this earthDarwish refers to the earth (ٱلْأَرْض) both as a practical reality, literally, “on this earth,” this “ground,” and as the shared heritage of those who live on this ground, who come from the ground, from the same mother, “the lady of the earth.” This sovereignty is not imposed or “built” by civilization, but inherent.سَيِّدَةُ ٱلْأَرْضِsayyidatu al-arḍthe lady of the earthIn Semitic, earth as “lady” or “mistress” implies dignity and nobility: the land as a suffering yet powerful matriarch—both witness to and victim of human civilization. For Darwish, it evokes the Palestinian spirit of steadfastness (صمود – ṣumūd). It is not the human being, but the land that is steadfast:“Still, and perhaps more importantly, regarding the years as set times are the sabbatical year, set every seventh year, as rest for the land, and the jubilee year, set every fifty years, when everybody is set free and even the earth itself is set free from their subjugation by the human being (Lev 25).”(Tarazi, Paul Nadim. Decoding Genesis 1–11. Orthodox Center for the Advancement of Biblical Studies, St. Paul, MN. 2014. p. 82)أُمُّ ٱلْبِدَايَاتِʾummu al-bidāyātmother of all beginnings(Gen 2:7, Qur’an 30:20)أُمُّ ٱلنِّهَايَاتِʾummu al-nihāyātmother of all endings(Genesis 3:19, Qur’an 20:55)Γερασηνῶν (Gerasēnōn) / جرشGerasa (جرش Jerash in modern-day Jordan) was a key city in the eastern Roman Empire. It served as a Hellenistic hub and a strategic site that developed due to the cultural changes after Alexander the Great’s conquests in the 4th century BC.The typical features of a Hellenistic polis—such as a colonnaded cardo maximus, theaters, temples dedicated to Greco-Roman gods, and agoras—are visible in the ruins of Gerasa. These structures reflect the urban planning strategies introduced by Macedonian and later Roman rulers, as well as the blending of Greek and local Semitic cultures. These are hallmarks of anti-Scriptural Hellenistic pluralism, which seeks to erase Ezekielian shepherdism. Ezekiel’s school was carried forward by St. Paul, who opposed Roman imperialism by imposing coexistence against Caesar under the one God of the tent-dwelling shepherd Abraham.Γαλιλαία / (Galilaia) / גָּלִילIn Joshua and Chronicles, Kedesh in Galilee is identified as a city of refuge and a Levitical inheritance, tying it to themes of mercy, sanctuary, and priestly service.In 1 Kings 9, this same region is dismissed by King Hiram of Tyre when Solomon gives him twenty cities in Galilee as a diplomatic gift—cities Hiram calls כָּבוּל (Kabul) “Cabul,” or “worthless.” This underlines Galilee’s devalued status in the eyes of political power.In 2 Kings 15, Galilee becomes the first region to fall to the Assyrians, highlighting its vulnerability.Isaiah turns this trajectory on its head in Isaiah 9:1-2, where Galilee—specifically called “Galilee of the nations”—becomes the location where light of instruction will arise:By the way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan,Galilee of the Gentiles.The people who walk in darknessWill see a great light;Those who live in a dark land,The light will shine on them.In the New Testament, this prophetic rever...

In “Dark Sayings,” I explore how internalized racism destroyed my mother’s family. This psychological process, woven out of Hellenistic pluralism and anti-Scriptural platitudes about the so-called “Melting Pot,” reveals how systemic racism operates not only externally but within the immigrant’s self-conception.Internalized racism is more insidious than the inferiority complex from which it stems. Eventually, the immigrant—the stranger in a foreign land—overcomes fear by adopting the personality of the oppressor.“You shouldn’t give your children Arabic names, Marc.”“Stop listening to Arabic music, Marc.”“You need to assimilate into this culture, Marc.”“If you love the Middle East so much, Marc, why don’t you live there?”The last one is my favorite. It reveals the speaker’s true heart. They might as well say, “Go back to Africa, Marc.”My father is from Africa. Is Africa a punishment?Internalized racism explains why people from the West Bank see themselves as superior to people from Gaza. It’s why Arab Christians often identify with white Western Christians against their Muslim brothers. It’s why immigrants and minorities across backgrounds look up to those who marginalize them.This concept of “Stockholm Syndrome” reflects a fundamental truth about the human condition. The privileged and underprivileged who perpetuate internalized racism share something profoundly disturbing in common: both reject the God of Abraham, trusting not in him as King, but in themselves.Ironically, Pharaoh (or Caesar) is not their king, as they profess in John’s Gospel, but merely their locum tenens — their temporary substitute. They view themselves as the true sovereigns. This explains their enthusiasm for elections; they delight in proclaiming their chosen figurehead by acclamation: creatus imperator.They “create” (creāre) him. They “make” him. They “elect” him. They “bring him into being” and then they control him—but they can’t control the God who speaks out of the whirlwind.Providence, habibi, is rougher than a corncob. She’ll slap you sideways even if you’re careful.Though “internalized racism” isn’t a Scriptural term, it’s rooted in biblical notions of cowardice; in the absolute fear of the power of death and deep anxiety about what might happen if Jesus alienates the “wrong people” in Decapolis. God forbid he offend those “nice white people.” Very bad for business.Consider the disciples.What a bunch of cowardly, misguided fools. One almost wonders why Jesus didn’t let his Father finish what he began with the storm at sea.Oops! I am starting to sound like Jonah. See, there are no good guys!This week, I discuss Luke 8:25.Show Notesβουλή (boulē) / מ-כ-ר (meem-kaf-resh) / م-ك-ر (mīm-kāf-rāʾ)Purposeful plan, will, counsel. يَمْكُرُ (yamkurū) to plan, scheme, plot. מכר (makar) to sell. For example, Joseph being sold by his brothers (מָכְרוּ māḵərū Genesis 37:28).“But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s plan (τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ θεοῦ tēn boulēn tou theou) for themselves, not having been baptized by John.” (Luke 7:30)“For thus says the Lord: ‘You have sold yourselves (נִמְכַּרְתֶּם nimkartem) for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.’” (Isaiah 52:3)“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the Lord, “Who execute a plan, but not mine, and make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, in order to add sin to sin.” (Isaiah 30:1)“And [remember] when those who did not believe made plans (يَمْكُرُ yamkuru) against you to restrain you, or kill you, or expel you. And they make plans (ۚ وَيَمْكُرُونَ wa yamkuruna), but God makes plans (وَيَمْكُرُ wa yamkuru) — and God is the best of planners (الْمَاكِرِينَ al-makirin).” (Surah Al-Anfal 8:30)πίστις (pistis) / אֱמֶת (ʾemet), from the root א-מ-ן (aleph-mem-nun), אָמֵן (ʾāmēn), and أمين (amīn)The root א-מ-ן (aleph-mem-nun) is functional with إيمان (īmān, “faith”) and آمن (āmana, “he trusted”), reflecting the biblical Hebrew concepts of trust, faithfulness, and reliability.Under the influence of Hellenism (Judaeo-Christianism), אֱמֶת (ʾemet) is misinterpreted by neoplatonists as “truth,” as if it were a philosophical abstraction. Here, the wisdom of George Carlin comes to mind:“I leave symbols to the symbol-minded.”The God of Abraham is not a “symbol,” let alone a pagan effigy—he is our trustworthy Master. Saying “amin” does not indicate agreement with an idea; it reflects placement of trust in the trustworthy Master.φοβέω (phobeō) / י-ר-א (yod-resh-aleph) / و-ر-ي (wāw–rāʼ–yāʼ)Fear, fearful, or feared. وَأَرَى (waʾara) — “to frighten someone.”“Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God ( יְרֵ֤א אֱלֹהִים֙ yerēʾʹ ʾělō·hîmʹ ), since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.”” (Genesis 22:10–14)In the Qur’an, وَأَرَى (waʾara) is linked to divine signs intended to cause fear. Concerning the Lukan reference, Abraham is shown (أَرَى arā) a terrifying thing:“And when he reached the age of striving with him, [Abraham] said: ‘O my son, indeed I see (أَرَى arā) in a dream that I am sacrificing you.” (Qur’an 37:102)In Genesis 22, Abraham also sees (וַיַּרְא wayyárʾ) the ram caught in the thicket, and “fears God” (ירא אלהים yirē ʾelohim) through his obedience.θαυμάζω (thaumazō) / ת-מ-ה (taw-meem-he)The disciples encountered God on Mount Zion, were filled with terror, panicked, and fled:“They saw it, then they were amazed (תָּמָ֑הוּ tā·māʹ·hû); They were terrified, they fled in alarm.” (Psalm 48:5)In Ecclesiastes, after a reminder to “fear God,” a warning: don’t be shocked by institutional oppression. Corruption and injustice are standard and forever entrenched — officials monitor one another, but the system will always fail. “Reform” is a word found only on the lips of the self-righteous:“Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to hear rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil….For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fea...

Theologians and philosophers love to talk about the meaning of life. They explore its purpose, justification, and value, questioning whether or not suffering has meaning. They sound like the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, wasting time viewing things from the wrong perspective: man’s point of view, the king’s point of view, Job’s point of view.This mirrors how Christians assess and then attempt to control the Holy Spirit through human words. Their version of the Holy Spirit—always friendly, gentle, and “inspiring”—bears little resemblance to the God of Scripture. This domesticated spirit, which makes people feel good with that telltale twinkle and misty look, becomes a false god they tame, groom, and adore like a pet.That’s why they’re confused when the same wind that filled Jesus’ sails at the beginning of the parable suddenly transforms into a fierce, wrathful storm—a whirlwind. But this is precisely how God’s breath, his wind, operates.Not only is it invisible to the eye, but it cannot be controlled. Sometimes cold, sometimes hot, and always unpredictable, it can turn against you on a dime, just like life’s events.As Jesus said in judgment of Job’s lament, “the rain falls on the just and the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45)This week, I discuss Luke 8:24.λαῖλαψ (lailaps) / ס-ע-ר (samek-ʿayin-resh) / ס-ו-פ (samek-waw-feh)Hurricane, tempest, furious storm. All three biblical references in Luke 8:23 invoke the Lord’s wrath against human arrogance:Job 21:18 (סוּפָה sû·fāhʹ ) - The arrogance of Job, who questions why the wicked prosper.“Are they as straw before the wind, and like chaff which the storm (סוּפָה sû·p̄āhʹ ) carries away?Job 38:1(סְעָרָה seʿā·rāh) - Anger at Job’s arrogance—at his attempt to comprehend divine judgment. The whirlwind is the wrath of God.Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind (סְעָרָה seʿā·rāh) and said, 2 “Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge?Jeremiah 32:18 (סַ֫עַר sǎʹ·ʿǎr) God stirs up a sweeping, consuming judgment against all nations.Thus says the Lord of hosts,“Behold, evil is going forthFrom nation to nation,And a great storm (סַ֫עַר sǎʹ·ʿǎr) is being stirred upFrom the remotest parts of the earth.ἐπιτιμάω (epitimaō) / ג-ע-ר (gimel-ʿayin-resh) / ج-ع-ر (jīm–ʿayn–rāʼ)Rebuke or speak insultingly, often with a firm or authoritative tone. It can also imply harsh or scolding speech; in divine usage, it can function as subduing or silencing through rebuke. The Arabic root also denotes the production of a loud, guttural sound, explicitly referring to the mooing or bellowing of cattle. In both Hebrew (גער) and Arabic (جعر), the shared Semitic root captures a raw, forceful vocalization.The waters in the Psalms represent a fundamental aspect of God’s creation, serving as a metaphor for his dominion and kingly victory over all opponents. They are the chaotic forces under his control. The Psalms consistently depict God as the supreme authority over all the waters of creation—a realm teeming with life and human activity, overcome by God, the only true hegemon.“You have rebuked (גָּעַ֣רְתָּ gā·ʿǎrʹ·tā) the nations, you have eliminated the wicked; You have wiped out their name forever and ever.” (Psalm 9:5)“Thus he rebuked (יִּגְעַ֣ר yiḡ·ʿǎrʹ) the Red Sea and it dried up, and he led them through the deeps, as through the wilderness.” (Psalm 106:9)“You rebuke (גָּ֭עַרְתָּ gāʹ·ʿǎr·tā) the arrogant, the cursed, who wander from your commandments.” (Psalm 119:21)“And the Lord said to Satan, ‘The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke (יִגְעַ֨ר yiḡ·ʿǎrʹ) you! Is this not a log snatched from the fire?’” (Zechariah 3:2)ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi) / א-ב-ד (ʾalef-bet-dalet) / أ-ب-د (ʾalif-bāʼ-dāl)Perish, get lost, go astray; destroy, kill. In Arabic, أَبَدَ (ʾábada) can indicate “it ran away”, especially concerning animals, in line with the function lost, gone, destroyed, or vanished beyond recovery or control.“Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, ‘How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is destroyed? (אָבְדָ֖ה ʾǒḇ·ḏāhʹ)’” (Exodus 10:7)“As for any person who does any work on this same day, that person I will eliminate (הַֽאֲבַדְתִּ֛י hǎ·ʾǎḇǎḏ·tîʹ) from among his people.” (Leviticus 23:30)“But you will perish (אֲבַדְתֶּ֖ם ʾǎḇǎḏ·těmʹ) among the nations, and your enemies’ land will consume you.” (Leviticus 26:38)“On that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing (אֹֽבְדִים֙ ʾō·ḇeḏîmʹ) in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 27:13)In the Qur’an, the function أ-ب-د is often used in noun forms and derivatives related to judgment. This usage stems from the biblical function אֲבַדּוֹן (abaddon) used interchangeably with Sheol (Proverbs 15:11; Psalm 88:11). In Arabic, أَبَدًا (ʾabadan) indicates everlasting:Surah Al-Baqarah (2:95):“وَلَن يَتَمَنَّوْهُ أَبَدًا”(wa-lan yatamannawhu ʾabadan)“And they will never wish for it, ever.”Surah Al-Jinn (72:23):“…عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا أَبَدًا”(adhāban alīman abadan)“a painful punishment, forever…”“خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا”(khālidīna fīhā abadan)“abiding therein forever.”The phrase خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا (khālidīna fīhā abadan) appears numerous times in the Qur’an. It’s used in verses describing the everlasting nature of Paradise or Hell.ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi) / כרת (kaf–resh–taw)To “cut” or “cut off.” In a cultic setting, a covenant was “cut”—reflecting the ritual slicing of animals in two (cf. Genesis 15:18, where God “cut a covenant” with Abram).ἀπόλλυμι is not the most frequent translation of כרת, which carries the function of destruction or extermination, notably, unto death or ruin.Luke’s usage of this rare Levitical function corresponds to the consequence of disobedience:“And anyone from the house of Israel, or from the strangers who reside among them, who eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats the blood and will cut him off (הִכְרַתִּ֥י hiḵ·rǎt·tîʹ) from among his people.” (Leviticus 17:10)“I will also set my face against that man and will cut him off (הִכְרַתִּ֥י hiḵ·rǎt·tîʹ) from among his people, because he has given some of his children to Molech, so as to defile My sanctuary and to profane my holy name.” (Le...

In every age, empires create words to describe the people in the societies they seek to dominate and exploit. Eventually, these terms are turned inward and used against themselves. The Greco-Romans—and their eastern heirs, whom modern scholars call the Byzantines—labeled those outside their empire as barbarians. The colonials who settled the Americas, after dismantling the peaceful coexistence of Semitic peoples in Southern Spain, referred to the inhabitants of this supposed “new” land as savages.Whether communists, leftists, or terrorists, from age to age and generation to generation, we rely on the notion of the alien or foreigner to demonize the other.Humanities scholars, clinging to the illusion of progress, speak as though they have just discovered this problem, but wisdom literature has tackled this since before Hellenism emerged as a blot on humanity’s historical record. When Jesus sets out to make a pilgrimage to Decapolis, he does so under the control of his Father’s will, who breathes into his sail and sends him on a mission—not to trample underfoot the barbarians at the edge of Constantine’s empire, but to confront Constantine himself. It is Constantine, Habibi, who is the problem. The Emperor is the barbarian from whom the Lord’s inheritance must be saved. This week, I discuss Luke 8:22, which exposes the true enemy of God, not the outsiders, but the emperor himself.Show Notesπλέω / מ-ל-א (mem-lamed-alef) / م-ل-أ (mīm-lām-hamza)That which fills, makes full; fullness, full amount, measure, extent:“Sing to the Lord a new song,Sing his praise from the end of the earth!You who go down to the sea, and all that fills it (וּמְלֹאוֹ umelo'o),You islands, and those who live on them.” (Isaiah 42:10)The root مَلَأَ (malaʾa) in Arabic can be found in words such as:مَلَأَ (malaʾa) - to fillمَلِيء (malīʾ) - full, filledمَمْلُوء (mamlūʾ) - filled (passive participle)امْتَلَأَ (imtalaʾa) - to become full, to be filledمِلْء (milʾ) - fullness, fillingتَمْلِيء (tamlīʾ) - filling (verbal noun)مَلَأ (malaʾ) - assembly, ruling council, crowd, publicἄνεμος / ר-ו-ח (resh-waw-ḥet) / ر-و-ح (rāʾ–wāw–ḥāʾ)ἄνεμος (anemos, “wind,” 8:23) When the wind fully enters (מְלֹא / مِلْء) the sail, it takes shape, and the boat is propelled forward. Classical Arabic poetry often compares the full sail to a “breathing chest”—expanding, alive, and responsive to the unseen force of wind (رِيح rīḥ, which in Scripture functions as God’s breath or “Spirit.”) The biblical Hebrew term רוּחַ (ruaḥ) and the Arabic رُوح (rūḥ) both function as wind or divine Spirit.The Greek verb πληρόω (plēroō), meaning “to fill,” “make full,” or “complete,” also corresponds to מ-ל-א and appears numerous times throughout Paul’s letters, notably: καὶ μὴ μεθύσκεσθε οἴνῳ, ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν ἀσωτία, ἀλλὰ πληροῦσθε ἐν Πνεύματι,“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”(Ephesians 5:18)Paul deliberately chooses a second term in 1 Corinthians—not πληρόω, but κορέννυμι—to convey sharp sarcasm, mocking the leaders in Roman Corinth for being full of themselves and smug in their self-satisfaction. The only other appearance of this Pauline term, which does not occur in the Septuagint, is in Acts 27, which corresponds to Luke by way of authorship: “καὶ ἐμπλησθέντες τροφῆς ἐκούφισαν τὸ πλοῖον ἐκβαλλόμενοι τὸν σῖτον εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν.”“And when they had eaten enough (ἐμπλησθέντες), they lightened the ship by throwing out the wheat into the sea.” (Acts 27:38)See also: ب-و-ء (bā-wāw-hamza) / ב-ו-א (bet-waw-alef) πλέω also corresponds to בוא (Jonah 1:3), which aligns with Acts 27:38. الْمَلَأ (al-malaʾ) “ruling council, community leaders, chiefs, the elites” is a recurring function in the Qur’an, where prophets confront the elite power structures in their communities. The malaʾ are gatekeepers of institutional norms and the status quo, resisting the prophets’ calls for repentance and submission to God.قَالَ الْمَلَأُ مِن قَوْمِ فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَسَاحِرٌ عَلِيمٌqāla al-malaʾu min qawmi firʿawna inna hādhā lasāḥirun ʿalīm“The elite of Pharaoh’s people said, ‘Indeed, this is a learned magician.’”Surah al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:34 (ref. to Moses)فَقَالَ الْمَلَأُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن قَوْمِهِ مَا هَـٰذَا إِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ…faqāla al-malaʾu alladhīna kafarū min qawmihi mā hādhā illā basharun mithlukum…“So the chiefs of his people who disbelieved said, ‘This is only a man like yourselves…’”Surah al-Muʾminūn 23:24 (ref. to Noah)The malaʾ belittle the prophets:• “He’s just a man like us.” (26:155)• “He’s a liar.” (26:186)• “He’s possessed/crazy.” (26:154)• “He’s a magician.” (26:34) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Some concepts in the Bible are so crucial that if they aren’t properly understood from the outset, the text itself can be twisted from a guide that protects your steps into a snare that traps you in a cycle of endless folly.One such example is the idea of ownership or proprietorship.When you hear the Bible, even in the original languages, but especially in translation—for example, the colonial King James text—when you hear the Bible in that translation, you are hit over and over again with a notion of ownership that has as its reference not Scripture but, in fact, the King of England, who imagines that he owns things, just like those of us living in a capitalist society imagine that we own things.Just ask your child.Ask them about the shirt on their back, the shoes they wear to school, or the toys on the floor of the room where they sleep. Ask them to whom those things belong. They will likely tell you that they “own” those things.But that is not how ownership functions in Scripture.Even when it says, “your land,” in Scripture—even then—the underlying premise of the text is that God, not his children, is the sole proprietor. That”s how ownership works in the Bible. Everything is a temporary loan. No one “owns” anything except God.That is what the word “inheritance” means.It is not granted to you, so you can “possess” it in perpetuity. It is a temporary gift that can be reclaimed and lent to others at any time. You cannot claim it as property because you are not the Most High.You are not the Proprietor.This week, I discuss Luke 8:22.Show Notesἀνάγω (anagō) / ع-ل-و (ʿayn-lām-wāw) / ע-ל-ה (ʿayin-lamed-he)This root carries the core function of “ascending” or “rising.” The same root is used to refer to pilgrimage in Jewish tradition, particularly in the phrase עֲלִיָּה לָרֶגֶל, (ʿaliyah la-regel) literally “going up” or “ascending by foot,” referring to three biblical festivals involving pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem:“For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no man shall covet your land when you go up (בַּעֲלֹתְךָ - baʿalotka) three times a year to appear before the Lord your God.” (Exodus 34:24)Religious and political ideologues routinely pervert this verse. The biblical understanding of land relationship can be described as patrimony (נַחֲלָה - naḥala). This concept frames the land as a divine inheritance or trust from God, who remains the sole owner. As Leviticus 25:23 explicitly states:“The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with me.”Other verses where the same root appears are also significant for Jewish tradition:“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” / “To which the tribes go up (עָלוּ - ʿalu), the tribes of the Lord—an ordinance for Israel—to give thanks to the name of the Lord.” (Psalm 122:1, 4)“And many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up (וְנַעֲלֶה - venaʿaleh) to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.’ For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:3)“‘If this people go up (יַעֲלֶה - yaʿaleh) to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.’ So the king consulted, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, ‘It is too much for you to go up (מֵעֲלוֹת - meʿalot) to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.’” (1 Kings 12:27-28)Luke’s lexical use of ἀνάγω (anagō), the Greek parallel to Hebrew עלה (ʿalah), repeatedly functions as a direct reference to Exodus themes: the plagues, the movement out of Egypt with God into the wilderness, the people’s complaints, and constant reminders that it was God who brought them up, and God who brings up.The Arabic cognate عَلَا (ʿalā), means “was high, was elevated, rose, ascended.” The word عَلَا (ʿalā) and related forms from this root occur multiple times throughout the Qur’an:فَتَعَالَى اللَّهُ الْمَلِكُ الْحَقُّfa-taʿālā allāhu al-malik al-ḥaqq“Exalted is God, the true King”(Surah Ta-Ha 20:114)إِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ عَلَا فِي الْأَرْضِinna firʿawna ʿalā fī al-arḍ“Indeed, Pharaoh exalted himself in the land”(Surah Al-Qasas 28:4)وَلَتَعْلُنَّ عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًاwalataʿlunna ʿulūwan kabīran“And you would surely cause corruption on the earth with great arrogance”(Surah Al-Isra 17:4)سَبِّحِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ الْأَعْلَىsabbiḥi isma rabbika al-aʿlā“Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High”(Surah Al-Aʿla 87:1)The root functions in various ways, including:عَلِيّ (ʿaliyy) - high, exaltedأَعْلَى (aʿlā) - highest, most exaltedتَعَالَى (taʿālā) - to be exalted, elevatedعُلُوّ (ʿuluww) - height, exaltation, arrogance“Al-ʿAli” (The Most High) is one of the 99 names of God.The same root appears in the angelic proclamation from Luke 2:14, which is used in Christian liturgical services in the doxology: “Glory to God in the highest”:المجد لله في الأعاليal-majdu lillahi fil-ʿali ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

What is it like to be unaffected?How sad it must be to go to church, attend a class, interact with your neighbor, and be indifferent to what they say.What is it like to be unaffected?To be so confined to yourself that when you look at your natural reflection in the mirror, you see your flaws—you might even acknowledge them—but the moment you look away, you forget them. You carry on with your life. It’s a curiosity, an interest, a fleeting insight, perhaps. But it’s a compartment, a facet of your identity that you create that fits into something you control—a picture you paint that does not influence how you live.What is it like to be unaffected?To live in such a way that everything around you exists as an experience in service to you on your checklist—an item on your itinerary, your menu, your agenda.What happens when every member of society treats everything like a trophy wife? Their job, partner, children, friends, family, affiliations, and even the place they pray?Everything becomes a trophy wife.Even God—the god of their imagination—becomes a trophy wife.What happens when everything is the object of the reflection of their natural face?What is it like to be unaffected?To resolve the dissonance of your natural reflection with the comfort of forgetfulness.To return to what was left behind. To turn away from what lies ahead. To prefer a lie. To lie to yourself.What happens when you look away?This week, I discuss Luke 8:19–21.Show NotesRefer to Episode 548: Μαγδαληνή / ג-ד-ל (gimel-dalet-lamed) / ج-د-ل (jīm-dāl-lām)In Latin, creāre means “to create,” “to produce,” or “to elect.” In Rome’s political sphere, it referred to the act of appointing or electing officials, including Julius Caesar.Hearers Not Listeners“For if anyone is a listener of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.” (James 1:23-24)“Γίνεσθε δὲ ποιηταὶ λόγου καὶ μὴ ἀκροαταὶ μόνον…”“But be doers of the word and not listeners only…”(James 1:22)“Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς· Μήτηρ μου καὶ ἀδελφοί μου οὗτοι εἰσιν οἱ τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ ἀκούοντες καὶ ποιοῦντες.” (Luke 8:21)In James 1:22, ποιηταὶ λόγου (“doers of the word”) and ἀκροαταὶ (“listeners") correspond to the participial forms found in Luke 8:21: ἀκούοντες (“hearing”) and ποιοῦντες (“doing”). Notably, ἀκροαταὶ and ἀκούοντες come from different roots. ἀκροαταὶ from the root: ἀκρο- (akro-), meaning at “the edge” or “the extremity,” implying passive reception, or “listening” vs. ἀκούοντες “to hear.”)Someone who sees their natural face (πρόσωπον τῆς γενέσεως, “the face of his birth”) in a mirror and then forgets what he saw is the one who hears Scripture and neglects to act. He chooses to forget his appearance in God’s eyes. His knowledge of Scripture (the mirror) is overtaken by willful self-deception. He is a listener, not a doer. ἀκροατής (“listener to”) occurs only four times in the New Testament, all with the negative connotation of inaction: Romans 2:13: γὰρ οἱ ἀκροαταὶ νόμου δίκαιοι“for it is not the listeners of the Law”James 1:22: καὶ μὴ ἀκροαταὶ μόνον παραλογιζόμενοι“and not mere listeners of the Law, who delude themselves” James 1:23: ὅτι εἴ τις ἀκροατὴς λόγου ἐστὶν καὶ οὐ ποιητής“for if anyone is a listener of the word and not a doer"James 1:25: παραμείνας οὐκ ἀκροατὴς ἐπιλησμονῆς γενόμενος“not a forgetful listener, but a doer”παραλογίζομαι / ر-م-ي (rā-mīm-yāʼ) / ר-מ-ה (resh-mem-he)To deceive, defraud. To desert, abandon, or betray. To cast, throw, to cast (blame), or shoot (arrows). The Arabic رَمَى (ramā) and the Hebrew רמה (rāmā) carry the same function. “So it came about in the morning that, behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, ‘What is this that you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why then have you deceived (רִמִּיתָנִי, rimmītānī) me?’” (Genesis 29:25)“But whoever earns an offense or a sin and then blames it (يَرْمِ yarmī) on an innocent has taken upon himself a slander and manifest sin.” Surah An-Nisa (4:112)James 1:24: ἐπιλανθάνομαι (“to forget”)"For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten (ἐπελάθετο) what kind of person he was." (James 1:23-24)"For God is not unjust so as to forget (ἐπιλαθέσθαι) your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints." (Hebrews 6:10) "Do not neglect (ἐπιλανθάνεσθε) to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it." (Hebrews 13:2)"And do not neglect (ἐπιλανθάνεσθε) doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." (Hebrews 13:16)"Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting (ἐπιλανθανόμενος) what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead." (Philippians 3:13)Philippians 3:13 refers to 3:8, which pertains to Paul’s station, family, tribe, religion, religious purity, heritage, personal achievements, religious accomplishments, national pedigree, and personal zeal—in his words—"ἡγοῦμαι πάντα ζημίαν / ἡγοῦμαι σκύβαλα" (I consider everything a loss; I consider them dung):“More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere dung, so that I may gain Christ.”"ἀλλὰ μενοῦνγε καὶ ἡγοῦμαι πάντα ζημίαν εἶναι διὰ τὸ ὑπερέχον τῆς γνώσεως Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου μου, δι’ ὃν τὰ πάντα ἐζημιώθην, καὶ ἡγοῦμαι σκύβαλα, ἵνα Χριστὸν κερδήσω." ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

This week, Fr. Paul reminds us that a word does not carry meaning yet the words of Scripture make God’s instruction accessible. Likewise, it is the words of God to which we submit, not an abstract Torah in Deuteronomy, but the words of God, a point echoed in the letters of St. Paul. (Episode 333) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

When people hear Luke 8:18, they assume it is talking about stuff.But Luke, like the Book of Job, is not about stuff.It is about darkness and light.When people evaluate others—their first mistake is that they evaluate at all—they measure what others have. That is how the Duopoly assesses Job. They love him because he was rich, pity him because he was poor, judge him because he was self-righteous, or cheer him because he did not give up.They experience the full range of human suffering, not through their own trials, but by observing and evaluating others.They think they are something when they are nothing—wolves in sheep’s clothing.Women and men who glory in the flesh; who glory in the suffering of others.They are the Duopoly—the "both-sidesies" people.Thus says the Lord: There is only one side; my throne in the heavens. It is mine, my kingdom rules over all, and I am not mocked.Even what they think they have is already gone, fading before they can grasp it—lost in their foolish desire to measure it.There is only one thing needful.And it cannot be counted as loss, because it does not come from them.That is why they think it has no meaning—because it is not of their making.Those who think like them, who act like them, will become like them.This week, I discuss Luke 8:18.Show Notesἔχειν (to have) and δοκεῖ ἔχειν (thinks he has)1 Corinthians 8:2οὐδεὶς θεὸς εἰ μὴ εἷς “There is no god except one.” (oudeis theos ei mē heis)لَّا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ “There is no god but him.” (lā ilāha illā huwa; common phrase, e.g., Surah Al-Baqarah, 255)שְׁמַע יִרָאֵל יְהוָה (אֲדֹנָי) אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה (אֲדֹנָי) אֶחָד “Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (shamaʿ yisra'il, yahweh [adonai] eloheinu, yahweh [adonai] aḥad; Deuteronomy 6:4)Galatians 6:3δοθήσεται (it will be given)Romans 12:31 Corinthians 4:7ἀρθήσεται (it will be taken away)Romans 11:21-22ἐκκόπτω (ekkoptō) “cut off, cut down” כ-ל-ה (kaf-lamed-he)To complete, finish, or bring to an end. Destruction, annihilation, perishing.2 Corinthians 13:5Luke makes 2 Corinthians functional in 8:18, reinforcing “the light” in 8:17 as an implement of testing. See my comments on the previous verse: φανερός / ב-ח-ן (bet-ḥet-nun) / م-ح-ن (mīm-ḥāʾ-nūn)In Latin, “en-” and “ex-” are prefixes with distinct meanings:The word “encounter” comes from the Old French “encontre,” which means “meeting” or “opposition,” and is derived from the Latin “in-” (meaning “in” or “on”) and “contra” (meaning “against” or “opposite”). At its root, “encounter” literally means “to meet against” or “to face.”In contrast, the anti-biblical term “experience” signifies “going through a test” or “emerging from a trial.” It emphasizes the personal involvement and subjective perception of events, where meaning is drawn from one’s own reference point. This internalized perspective distinguishes experience from encounter, as it places the self at the center of interpretation, making it inherently self-referential.I appreciate Father Paul Tarazi for highlighting this distinction and Matthew Cooper for further exploring the Latin etymologies with us—over coffee. ☕ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Most people, when they hear the story of Josiah and his priest rummaging through the rubble of the temple in Jerusalem and stumbling upon a scroll, fall prey to the hope that Josiah was a reformer. That he picked up the scroll, looked upon those who came before him, and thought: I can do it better. I can get it right this time.But that's the trap. That's the mistake. That's the arrogance--not just of Josiah, but of the one hearing the story.Had he only watched Star Trek.Had he seen what happens, over and over again, to the guy in the red shirt--the one who beams down to the planet with Kirk and Spock. The one standing there, amid ruins, staring at some mysterious artifact.Why is the planet in ruins? Where have all the people gone?What is this strange artifact?And just before the guy in the red shirt meets his inevitable doom, the real question emerges:Why did they keep it buried?Why were they afraid of it?More importantly, why am I holding this thing in my hands?Perhaps instead of uncovering it, Josiah should be praying for cover--in the wilderness.This week, I discuss Luke 8:17.Show Notesκρυπτός / א-ט-ם (aleph-tet-mem) / أ-ط-م (ʾalif-ṭāʾ-mīm)“To seal,” “to block,” or “to close securely.” In Arabic, أَطْمَ (ʾaṭma) can indicate “a strong building” or “fortification,” although this root is not as commonly used in contemporary Arabic."And there were shuttered windows (אֲטֻמוֹת, ʾăṭumōt) looking toward the guardrooms, and toward their side pillars within the gate all around, and likewise for the porches. And there were windows all around inside; and on each side pillar were palm tree decorations." (Ezekiel 40:16)"There were latticed windows (אֲטֻמוֹת, ʾăṭumōt) and palm trees on one side and on the other, on the sides of the porch; thus were the side chambers of the house and the thresholds." (Ezekiel 41:26)φανερός / ב-ח-ן (bet-ḥet-nun) / م-ح-ن (mīm-ḥāʾ-nūn)“Examining,” “testing,” or “distinguishing.” This root appears in various Semitic languages with similar meanings:Aramaic: בְּחַן (bǝḥan) – to test, try.Syriac: ܒܚܢ (bḥan) – to test, examine.Arabic: مَحَنَ (maḥana) – to probe, examine, or test a student.“Send one of you that he may get your brother, while you remain confined, so that your words may be tested (יִבָּחֵנוּ, yibbāḥēnû) whether there is truth in you. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, you are certainly spies!” (Genesis 42:16)The name of the surah, al-Mumtaḥanah, sometimes rendered “She who is to be tested,” refers to the believing women tested in 60:10, the only occurrence of م-ح-ن in the Qur’an, as the term اِمْتَحَنَ (imtaḥana) as the imperative فَامْتَحِنُوهُنَّ ( fa-imtaḥinūhunna“test them!”). In Classical Arabic, م‑ح‑ن conveys “to test,” “to try,” “to examine,” or “to subject someone to a trial or hardship.” The noun مِحْنَة (miḥnah) means “trial,” “ordeal,” or “affliction.” ἀπόκρυφος / ס-ת-ר (samek-taw-resh) / س-ت-ر (sīn-tāʾ-rāʾ)Hiding, concealing, covering, or sheltering. The Arabic noun سِتْرًا (sitran) means a covering, a veil, or protection. لَمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُم مِّن دُونِهَا سِتْرًا(lam najʿal lahum min dūnihā sitran)“…We had not provided for them any cover (سِتْرًا) from it (the sun).”Sūrat al-Kahf (18:90) الله يستر (allāhu yastur) literally means “God conceals” or “God covers.” In everyday usage, Arabic speakers often say it as an exclamation along the lines of “May God protect us!” or “God help us!” A prayer for protection or guidance in hardship, asking that God will hide something undesirable from public view, such as a fault or mistake, and that he will cover sins. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Evil always dresses in a garment of light. It hides in plain sight. It smiles. It’s friendly. It’s comforting. It’s dishonest. It appears as something it’s not.Take, for example, that seemingly innocuous campfire song all your children have been taught to sing at your silly church camps: “This Little Light of Mine.” Like a mother who possesses children; like a tribe that possesses land; like those who refuse to let go of what God destroys—or worse, those who wickedly imagine they can compensate for God’s will by loving their neighbor—like a spoiled child clamoring for a toy.Yes, this little hymn of the Antichrist twists the teaching of the Gospel of Luke into a fascist anthem that leads, at worst, to genocide—and at best, to a mind-numbing theology of the cult of self: the worship of money, human reason, community, and ultimately, state power.“This little light of mine?”Are you kidding me? Do you really think the place men dared not tread is now yours to share? Do you know what you’re talking about? Do you really believe the light upon which Moses dared not gaze is yours to adorn with coverings, like a pet?Think. No—do not think. Hear.To what did Luke refer in chapter 8 when he said lampstand? Container? Cover? What do any of these things have to do with you and your church camps?He who has ears to hear, let him hear.This week, I discuss Luke 8:16.Show Notesἅπτω / נ-ג-ע (nun-gimel-ʿayin) / ن-ج-ع (nūn-jīm-ʿayn)Greek: to set on fire. Hebrew: to touch, strike violently, reach, or afflict. The Arabic cognate نَجَعٌ (najaʿ) refers to 1. the effect of the action, 2. being effective, or 3. having an impact or benefit—for example, a statement or teaching; in modern usage, a medicine. In a nomadic context, it signifies the departure or migration of people or animals in search of pasture or sustenance.λύχνος / נ-ר (nun-resh) / ن-و-ر (nūn-wāw-rāʾ)Light, lamp. The Arabic cognate نُور (nūr) functions as “light” or “illumination.”καλύπτω / כ-ס-ה (kaf-samek-he) / ك-س-ى (kāf-sīn-yāʾ)Cover, conceal, clothe, drape, forgive. The Arabic verb كَسَا (kasā) means “to clothe” or “to cover.” Its triliteral root is ك-س-و (kāf-sīn-wāw). كسوة الكعبة (kiswat al-ka'bah) denotes the cloth that covers the Kaaba in Mecca.σκεῦος / כ-ל-י (kaf-lamed-yod) / ك-ي-ل (kāf-yāʾ-lām)Vessel, implement, tool. The Arabic word كيل (kayl) refers to a measure of grain. It denotes measuring, weighing, or apportioning something in quantities. The root is also related to the Hebrew function כול (kul), which can function as comprehending, containing, or measuring. In Arabic كُلّ (kulu) indicates all.κλίνη / מ-ט-ה (mem-ṭet-he) / م-ط-ط (mīm-ṭāʾ-ṭāʾ)Couch, bed, to incline, stretch downward, extend. The Arabic مَطَّ (maṭṭa) "to stretch" or "extend" shares a common Proto-Semitic root (m-ṭ-) with Hebrew:Hebrew מ-ט-ה (m-ṭ-h);Arabic م-ط-ط (m-ṭ-ṭ); Aramaic מטא (mṭʾ); Akkadian (maṭû)λυχνία / מ-נ-ר (mem-nun-resh) / ن-و-ر (nūn-wāw-rāʾ)Lampstand, light, menorah. The Arabic cognate of מְנוֹרָה (menorah) is منارة (manārah), which means candlestick, lighthouse, or minaret (the tower of a mosque), the lighthouse from which the call to hear scripture is announced to all. The triliteral root in Arabic pertains to light, illumination, or shining.اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ(allāhu nūru as-samāwāti wa-al-arḍi)”"God is the light of the heavens and the earth.”(Surah An-Nur 24:35) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

It has taken some time to understand what the Parable of the Sower meant when it introduced the function “soil” in its critique of human beings’ betrayal of God’s covenant with Abraham. Still, by the time the New Testament was written, Matthew, Mark, and Luke all found it necessary to clarify that the position of the one being judged was separate from the station of the one Judge.In the end, the nuance of “seed” as covenant unto instruction vs. seed as offspring and the distinction between “holy seed” and “rebellious seed” were not clear enough for those who, like the Caesars, sought to enthrone themselves as gods by making the Bible a historical narrative about their community.Long before the Qur’an split the function zera’ into two distinct Semitic roots, the New Testament introduced the function “soil” opposite the covenantal seed of Abraham to demonstrate how God’s instruction operates as the sole Judge of his offspring, who, like Job, are found wallowing in the dark midnight of their self-righteous fate, powerless before him, left only with only “with ears to hear” his voice and the opportunity to submit to him, or not.That is why Jesus is explicit and open. There are no secrets or mysteries. The seed is the word of God, and the mystery is his judgment, which, the prophet Daniel taught us, is beyond man’s grasp.He who has ears to hear, let him hear.This week, I discuss Luke 8:9-15.Show Notesμυστήριον (mystērion) / ר-ז-ז (resh-zayin-zayin)The term רָז (raz) is an Aramaic word that means “mystery” or “secret.”“The king answered unto Daniel, and said, of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.” (Daniel 2:47)The name “Daniel' comes from דָּן (dan), meaning 'judge,” and אֵל (el), which refers to “God.” קוֹדֶר (qoder) / قَدْر (qadr)In biblical Hebrew, קוֹדֶר (qoder) can mean “dark” or “gloomy.” (Job 30:28) In Arabic, the phrase ليلة القدر (laylat al-qadr) refers to “The Night of Decree,” “The Night of Power,” or " The Night of Fate,” during which the prophet received the Word of God. As an extension of judgment, qadr can also refer to value, worth, extent, amount, volume, or rank:له قدر كبير (lahu qadr kabīr) “he is highly esteemed.”قدر الماء (qadr al-māʼ ) “amount of water”παραβολή (parabolē) / מ-ש-ל (mem-shin-lamed) / م-ث-ل (meem-tha-lam) In Arabic, the word مَثَل (mathal, plural: أمثال amthāl) is equivalent to the Hebrew מַשָּׁל (mashal).إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَسْتَحْيِي أَنْ يَضْرِبَ مَثَلًا مَا(inna allāha lā yastaḥyī an yaḍriba mathalan mā)”Indeed, God is not shy to present a parable (mashal)”Surah Al-Baqarah (2:26) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★