Am I humble?Am I arrogant?Am I pious?Am I blasphemous?Am I cruel?Am I kind?Who is the judge?Search me.Who can tell?There is only one who can tell.Any attempt to test, judge, discover, search, or discern is human folly. You can’t tell. You can’t even discover yourself. It’s a lost cause. Your best effort is to study (darash) God’s scroll, and in doing so, discover that it is God who studies you. Then there is a chance that you will be found wandering in your darkness (qoder), a chance that you will be found out, and then you will find hope.You will find God’s power in your fate (qadr) and reprieve from your mourning (qoder).If you have no control over your own fate, Habibi, why does it matter what others do? You yourself are not the judge. St. Paul will not even judge himself.There is only one judge. It’s not that you do not understand his words when they are fed to you; you just don’t like their taste in your ears.Why do you care what other people do?It’s because you want control. You want to own God. You want to keep him as your pet—at least, for starters. Your true aim is to become God.You want the throne.You want control.But you’re not the Shepherd, let alone the Divine “Emir” (أ-م-ر), his Father, who commanded his prophets “to speak” (א-מ-ר) the words that you can’t stomach:“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”This week I discuss Luke 6:27-28.My thanks to Matthew Cooper, the OCABS scholar who unlocked the inter-functionality of the Arabic word “emir” with the Hebrew verb “amar.” ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Subscribe: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2350896.rssAll of us, like Job, “go about in darkness (qoder), without comfort;” we “stand up in the assembly and cry for help.” (Job 30:28)That is what I did, under the cloud of darkness (qoder), in which God found me. I made a call, as I do each week in the assembly: you must do the work, in that state in which you have been found, because there is work to be done.This is your fate, Habibi.ק-ד-ר (Qof-Dalet-Resh)It is the same function in Arabic. The expression, laylat al-qadr (ليلة القدر), refers to the command of God given to his prophet at night: in the “night of [his] decree,” the “night of [his] power.” John Pearson was indeed attentive that night, and the result is The Slow Bible Study podcast.As fate challenges each of us, John challenges American individualism, urging his hearers to submit to Scripture as it was originally intended—through its ancient languages, in its historical setting. By stripping away interpretations and theologies, John emphasizes the Bible’s clear, uncompromising call to bow down before the Lord. His podcast confronts the pervasive egoism of American culture, encouraging us to hear and obey Scripture as God's command in the assembly, rather than our personal interpretations, reminding us that the Bible is a call to submission, not a prop for our self-justification.“In my distress, I cried to the Lord, and he answered me.” (Psalm 120:1)He who has ears to hear let him hear! I give you the premiere episode of The Slow Bible Study podcast. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
This week, Fr. Paul condemns the Masoretes for stamping vowels on the Hebrew consonantal text, arguing that it served as a method of control over the Bible and its later interpretation by theologians. He explains that this imposition corrupted the biblical dabar, twisting it into the Platonic logos of Greek philosophy, ultimately undermining the authority of the Torah. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
In this episode, Fr. Paul asserts that the prophetic function, particularly within the clergy, is crucial for dismantling entrenched religious practices and ideologies that contradict the proposition of the biblical text.In a provocative analysis, Fr. Paul contends that the church’s fixation on orthodoxy has overshadowed the biblical emphasis on orthopraxy—right practice—as heard in Paul’s criticism of Peter for not “walking correctly” in Galatians. Fr. Paul challenges modern clergy to abandon the use of terms and practices not found in the Bible, arguing that they perpetuate a false security among believers, similar to the misguided faith in the temple criticized by Jeremiah or the misuse of scriptures such as the book of Joshua, currently unfolding in Gaza.Through this lens, the Fr. Paul calls for a radical disruption of the church’s understanding and proclamation of the the biblical text, urging clergy to submit to the prophetic command to dismantle and deconstruct the false logic and practices that have become entrenched in the life of the modern church. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
I am a fortunate man because when I hit my twenties, I was exposed to teachers who refused to give praise or express gratitude. These were people who took their cues from the cruelty and mercy of God in the Biblical text, and that’s how I’ve conducted my ministry as a priest.In recent years, it has become more difficult in the United States. Assailed by the angst of materialism and individualism, Americans push themselves further away from the cruelty of God’s mercy, desperately seeking comfort and answers to the pain that everyone feels inside their troubled hearts—a deep suburban sadness that leads to rage. We all want validation and approval; unfortunately, a commercial-industrial society that seeks to exploit you is eager to please.There is no shortage of false prophets ready to proclaim, “Good job, thank you, we appreciate you. Now please write us a check,” or “Thank you for your check. Thank you for your amazing efforts, you work so hard. Thank you for your beautiful chanting voice, Marc. Thank you for your financial support. Thank you for all you do.” But this is not love. It is not appreciation. It is exploitation. Such hubris quickly becomes: “Damn right. I did that.” But that is not what was written by the finger of God.When you are born, you are given a munificent gift of immeasurable value, for free. It did not come from you or your parents, and its only cost is measured at its moment of expiration, by the one who provides it. Instead of saying thank you for this free gift, we exploit it as though it is a business opportunity, against the will of him who gave it. “For,” Paul said, “We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.” (1 Timothy 6:7) Yet, our exploitation of God has become institutionalized, not just in the churches but in our families, schools, and government.This is what has happened to us, and it has reached dystopian levels. One can actually hear people espouse beautiful values—whether in the name of Jesus Christ, the civil rights movement, or high-minded secular values—we hear them say beautiful words in Chicago (at the DNC), and observe the faithful swoon like evangelicals as they preach, when, in fact, what’s coming out of their mouths is transactional. It is evil. “All who trust in them are like them.” (Psalm 115:8)But for those who are being saved, who have accepted the comforting cruelty of the Cross, the admonition against laughter, wealth, and praise in Luke is a biblical sign of hope in these troubling and worrisome times. This week, I discuss Luke chapter 6:24–26. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
One way or another, people want to control what the teacher says and what the teacher does.They want control.Every relationship, no matter what people tell themselves, is about their power.They want to purchase God online, have him delivered to their door, and display him at parties as part of their collection.The most wicked phrase in the human lexicon in any language is “I love you.”It is a lie, Habibi.Human beings are liars. They are incapable of love.Every time you have preached about love, philosophized about love, mourned a person’s inability to love or be loved, you have accrued divine wrath against you.Do you really think all of this is about your love? Let’s be honest before God: I do not love you and you do not love me.After so many years of ministry, the vast majority of those for whom I have slaved want to control what I say and what I do under the pretext of love and how hard they work. Well, Habibi, I do not need your love. I have fallen into the inevitable, terrible, terrifying and unmanageable hands of the iconoclastic, invisible, and inexistent God.You can’t find him pleasuring himself with friends, or hanging out at comfy social gatherings with “loved” ones.He holds vigil with those who die alone, like little girls assailed by machine-gun fire in the back seats of cars, or suffocating alone, bleeding out in bombed hospital rooms.Does your post modern god exist? “What’s the point,” you ask, in your dystopian haze, as you plan “your life” for “your children”?God is definitely real, and it has nothing to do with you and your military industrial solipsistic white picket nonsense in the suburbs, which you call “love.”“We have to unite to save democracy.”No, dummies. You have to stop killing kids.The true God, the one whom you do not love, meets his children under the rubble.Under your boot.I became a priest to teach. I am not so arrogant as to imagine that I am capable of love.The only difference between you and me is that I admit it to myself and I tell you to your face, in his name, not mine.He is my God. In him do I trust.But people do not trust God or love him, let alone the priest because they come to church for the building. Their investment is with the building.The building is their future, not God. Their building is their hope, not the teaching. Their building is their white picket fence in the suburbs. In their mind, priests come and go, but the building abides forever.But that is not what the Good Book said: “There was silence, then I heard a voice:‘Can mankind be righteous before God?Can a man be pure before his Maker?If God places no trust in his slaves,if he charges his angels with error,how much more those who live in houses of clay,whose foundations are in the dust,who are crushed more readily than a moth!Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;unnoticed, they perish forever.Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,so that they die without wisdom?’” (Job 4:16-21)This week’s episode is dedicated to the unearned love presented to me by God, a beloved wife of 25 years, who has been a steadfast companion in difficulties. She continues to support me, in her words, not because she loves me or because we are family, but because she believes in the content of what I teach. If only there were more people like you, Alla. You may be flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone, but I thank God every day that I did not make you. This week I discuss Luke 6:12-23. (Episode 530)The Destructive Power Of Motherly LoveBy Anthony Costello"One of the most chilling scenes in fiction is the portrayal of a mother named “Pam” in C.S. Lewis’ novel, The Great Divorce. In the story, Lewis envisions the eternal separation between heaven and hell, where we encounter a number of ghostly beings who are invited to visit heaven from what is presumably hell (or possibly purgatory). For a moment, these vapor-like specters are allowed to see the divine realm with their own “eyes.” These lost souls receive one final opportunity, a last chance, to choose God and eternal life. In the end, all but one of these visitors, when offered the full reality of the heavenly places and the divine light, reject the offer to stay there. Instead they opt out and return to hell. The return to hell is also a return to their own self-centered and self-created realities."[Read more] ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
When you hear someone say, “If we just stick together,” it is always spoken by an individual. In truth, this individual is saying, “If you just stick with me, I will provide an outcome, and ensure a benefit.”That mechanism—“stick with me and I will provide”—is, in fact, what St. Paul describes as the power of death. It is a threat. Stick with me or else.The use of the pronoun “we” cloaks death in the garment of connection. This threat is the same evil “we” that funds death while giving campaign speeches about "sticking together.”It is the anthem of fascism. Can you hear its song in your music? Never “go back” to what? You are already what you fear.There is no question that care for the flock is paramount in Scripture. Love of neighbor and table fellowship are the only matter at hand in the commandment. The problem is, who is the “I” of the matter, that you cloak with your idolatrous “we”?To whom does the flock pertain?Colonial scholars get caught up with the Twelve Tribes in the Old Testament...but “there is only one Shepherd in the Bible, which means one flock, no matter how many tribes you find.” (Dark Sayings, p. 84)That’s why the Scribes and the Pharisees were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus in Luke; that’s also why Jesus understood their intention. Not because he was a mind reader—but because reactionary, insecure people who believe in their own values and are willing to ignore human suffering to cling to power in defense of their fake “we” are easy to understand.You do not need a degree in psychology to predict their thoughts, let alone their next move.All you need do is emasculate them; liberate what they have bound up; and tear down down what they have built up.Nonviolently, with much love, and in a spirit of fellowship.You can’t do that in congress, Habibi. But you can do it in Scripture.This week, I discuss Luke 6:8-11. (Episode 529) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
There’s a riddle I’ve been working out as a pastor for many years. I’ve accepted the biblical premise that the gospel is not about growing churches or building temples. I’ve observed the scandal it creates in meetings and discussions with mission boards, parish councils, and planning committees.All of that makes sense as the institutional scandal of the crucifixion.What has been most eye-opening, or perhaps better stated, “ear-opening” for me, has been how it plays out in pastoral relationships. It all goes back to the Parable of the Sower in Mark.Everyone wants to be the plant that takes root and bears fruit. Unfortunately, all of us have to reconcile what it means scripturally to come face-to-face with a God who can’t be depicted. No matter how long it takes, the implications of this reconciliation are—in a very literal sense—life-shattering.Our human tendency is to attempt to contextualize this reconciliation in terms of human community, relationships, or personal connection, which we naturally understand in terms of loyalty—in other words—the way we understand family. If we just stick together, we rationalize, we can survive.But that’s not how it works in Scripture.I was doing a Bible study this week with a friend from the Jesuit community, a poet and teacher. We were hearing the Gospel of Mark while studying Fr. Paul’s commentary and looking at lexicography.I noticed something interesting in Mark with the use of the word “synagogue.” A similar pattern appears in Luke with respect to the problem of people gathering.Humans gather for security, fellowship, even for celebration, when we should be on the move—moving outside of the city wherever the teaching moves, away from human control.My daughter asked me this week if there was anyone I thought could be president of the United States who could stand up to the criticism of the Bible. I said, “no,” and quickly added, “I myself don’t stand up to this criticism.”I established a small mission church in my hometown with people I knew. As with most humans, everyone involved, including me, had good intentions.Still, like the government, it’s a human institution with all the same complications, difficulties, and corruption because it’s made up of human beings who want something other than what Jesus brings to the synagogue.The reason people don’t like it when the gospel dismantles their idols is that if they can’t believe in something—a system, a program, a nation, an idea, a hero—they can’t believe in themselves. So as long as you’re defending something—anything you judge worthy of being redeemed—you will never be able to encounter the inexistant, undepictable, indescribable, and incomprehensible God of Scripture, whose pass of entry demands that you have no other gods before him—least of all and last of all, yourself. I keep saying it, but none can hear it, because none are willing to believe it.If I say it nicely, you will praise my humility—shutting yourself out of the Kingdom. If I act it out, you will see what I am and condemn me—and then there is hope for both of us: because all will see that we who have gathered at church are no different than the prostitute and the thief.As Paul said, “because there is no difference; οὐ γάρ ἐστιν διαστολή” (Romans 3:22)We are the evil Americans.This week, I discuss Luke 6:6-7. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
In The Republic, the Platonic school discusses the origin of the state and the nature of human justice, implying that necessity drives the creation of human invention.Years later, in 2024, Plato’s school produced Blue Anon and its twin cousin, the historical realization of President Camacho. They gave birth to a son, and they called his name Adenoid Hynkel. He appeared unto them as a guest speaker in the hallowed hall of Plato's democracy.But remained the scroll of Genesis, wherein (despite their ignorance of its unvocalized Semitic letters) the biblical text ridicules human invention, circumscribing the act of creation to a deity that cannot be depicted, described, or conceived of as an imaginary projection of the human mind.According to _Genesis_, a political gathering comprised of touching personal narratives is blasphemous because this God cannot appear in your stories. Likewise, your spin doctors are an affront to God—your powerful people who justify violence, propping up a Manchurian candidate—your city builders and storytellers, creatives who invent things out of the necessity of Plato's state.Their mother is your lust for survival.You know who they are in the original Star Wars universe, And if Obi-Wan were here, you know what he would say.“That is not the mother you are looking for.”Throughout the books of the Law, the God of Abraham utters ordinances and statutes with his promise of life, which is given part and parcel of the threat of the curse of the Law.In Ezekiel, the hearers of the Law come face to face with this teaching in exile.What does the Sabbath mean in the wilderness?What is the blessing of God’s curse?Why do Ezekiel, Leviticus, and Luke prescribe necessity as the mother, not of invention, but obligation?This week I discuss Luke 6:2-5.(Episode 527) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Things are never what they seem and your eyes can deceive you. Maybe that’s why Sesame Street was so important for so many of us growing up in the seventies.In 1968, Joan Ganz Cooney introduced the show with the teaching segment, “One of These Things.” Her work, set to music by Joe Raposo, conveyed a methodology for study and a life-saving template for correct behavior.“One of these things,” brothers and sisters, always and forever, is not like the others.Thank God for that; and thank God for Sesame Street, and the teachers of that era who gave a damn, made an effort and used their capacity to teach as many kids as possible (people they would never meet) the power of observation.Roots, Habibi, not fruits.“One of these things is not like the others.”Are these things different?How do these things fit together?Why do some things stand apart?Why do things appear as they do?Should these things be excluded because they are different?Are they different?‘Ayin-Bet-Resh‘Ayin-Resh-BetPlease, somebody, can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”This week, I discuss Luke 6:1. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
When you hear a parable on the lips of the Master, the worst thing you can possibly do is try to figure out what the parable means based on your understanding of the biblical narrative or narrative context.But people do this all the time. It’s been done on this podcast—and it’s wrong.The last thing any Bible student should do is try to figure out what the text is saying based on their knowledge.Take, for example, the parable of the wineskins in Luke. Typical explanations compare old and new covenants, which leads less discriminating disciples to compare old and new communities.Uhuh.You sound like teenagers evaluating their parents—because your premise is that you are new and improved, better than what came before you.Disgusting. Like those who bravely protested the Vietnam War in the sixties before growing up to become the apologists and suppliers for the Gaza Genocide.Western Values, habibi.Like I said, disgusting. Nothing new here—or anywhere else under the sun.You believe in this nonsense because you approach the biblical text in terms of your understanding of a narrative, which is no different than your theology. It’s the same thing—a god in your head—a statue you construct to elevate yourself above others as a reference.You and your “personal relationship” with a king you can manipulate control. You know, the Jesus that wants you to kill Palestinians. That one. The one you constructed in nineteenth-century Europe. Or was it much earlier? Why? Because you are like Hymenaeus and Philetus—you need to be loved.So, you refuse to submit as a hearer of the Bible. Instead, you insist on reading it because when you read the Bible, you control what you process and make what you control the reference. According to Luke, when you do this, you become the old wineskin. You become the thing to be disregarded because you become the needy teacher.If you want to hear the riddle—the dark saying—and submit to the mashal of the old wineskin, you must first stop vying to be the teacher who needs to be loved. The key to the wineskin’s riddle is not your narrative; it’s the Bible’s terminology.This week, I discuss Luke 5:36–39.(Episode 525) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Institution and family (or tribe, or community, or friends, take your pick) are two sides of the same coin. Both mechanisms rely on ancient forms of currency to maintain control.The most obvious form of human currency is currency itself, money. But friends and family, just like big institutions and powerful kings, use other mechanisms of control to maintain what they perceive as wellbeing, safety, and security. The worst of these is violence—but the most insidious is the infamous “personal relationship.” The merchant class calls it “networking.” Sociologists refer to it as “reciprocity.” That’s why Christians love to boast about their “personal relationship” with Jesus Christ. What their theology proclaims is a less than mystical obsession, not with love, but their own self-importance They want to be insiders. They want influence over the crown. Lonely Americans want to be the mother, brother, or sister that Jesus turns away in Luke 8. (Luke 8:21) They want to be his insider. His Peter. They want to be the guarantors of security.But security for whom? Much later, in John (21:17), Jesus warns his betrayer, “I’m not interested in your love. I'm interested in the work.”The educated class in the United States is easily fooled by Western imperialism, because they have been groomed from a young age to believe in themselves, their lives, their feelings, and the centrality of their relationships.They are incapable of hearing Scripture, which is not about their feelings and has no interest in their personal lives. The God of Scripture is neither relatable nor relational. He is instructional.“Do this and you shall live.” (Luke 10:28)That’s good news for the poor. However, for the well meaning colonial, it is confusing. They need their tyrant to be a “decent man who cares deeply” about the people of Gaza, while funding and supplying Gaza’s extermination. How else could they feel good about living out their lies? It is not complex. You are self-righteous. Shall I pause, now, for you to extrospect? You sound like Tobit, habibi. A well-meaning, upstanding, almsgiving do-gooder who complains to God, “I have had to listen to undeserved insults.”Yes, Tobit. Yes. You blind fool! God is insulting you: because the Bridegroom did not come to call “Tobit the Righteous” to repentance. Father Marc discusses Luke 5:34-35 (Episode 524) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
What is self-righteousness? You hear the command of God, and refuse to introspect. You do not, as Paul teaches, “look to yourself.” You look to others. You gossip. You nitpick. You complain. You find fault. You do everything under the sun but consider the one thing that is needful in God’s eyes:The most likely possibility. That you, oh man (or woman)—I mean, let’s be generous—oh bipedal humanoid earth mammal—you, and nobody else but you, are the problem. But you do not consider this. You do not introspect. So when the voice of the Lord touches your heart, you “extrospect.” You observe and consider the external world and external things. What a lovely capitalist you make. You are the perfect fit for judging others, for giving your opinion: for shopping, and critiquing what people do, how they talk, how they conduct their affairs, even how they look. Extrospection is just another word for playing God—playing Judge. To borrow and bend a line from Captain America: “There’s only one God, ma’am, and I’m pretty sure he is not you.”Introspection, the extrospective theologian boasts, leads to prayer and fasting. Why? Because the extrospect worships the very control they seek through extrospection. So prayer, for the extrospect, is not submission. It’s AIPAC money. Fasting, for the extrospect, is not weakness. It’s a corporate PAC. I have bad news kids. God the Father is not for sale. Jesus is not Bernie Sanders. You’re not trying to fit into the system. And make things work.The good news is, he will not sell you out. The bad news is, he cannot be bought.This week, I’ll explore the Hebrew and Arabic functions that ground Luke’s use of the term deēseis in Luke 5:33. Passage:Οἱ δὲ εἶπαν πρὸς αὐτόν· Οἱ μαθηταὶ Ἰωάννου νηστεύουσιν πυκνὰ καὶ δεήσεις ποιοῦνται, ὁμοίως καὶ οἱ τῶν Φαρισαίων, οἱ δὲ σοὶ ἐσθίουσιν καὶ πίνουσιν. (Luke 5:33)And they said to him, “The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do the same, but yours eat and drink.” (Luke 5:33)Father Marc discusses Luke 5:33 (Episode 523) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Father Marc Boulos provides an update on upcoming episodes of “The Bible as Literature Podcast” and makes an important announcement about Father Paul’s podcast series, “Tarazi Tuesdays.”He also shares that he is relaunching “The Bible as Literature Podcast,” emphasizing functionality and language, steering away from theology and narrative. He discusses the importance of understanding sacred texts through the study of grammar and the original languages, especially Hebrew and Arabic, and how this approach submits to the text of Scripture, facilitating table fellowship.Article mentioned in the program: Celebrating the Jewish Grammarians of Al-AndalusBy Blaise Webster“Lately, much of my study has been dedicated to Hebrew and Arabic lexicography. I am fascinated by the close relationship between these two languages and how they create natural links between the Bible and the Qur’an. I am fascinated by how both texts use virtually the same vocabulary, share the same cultural milieu, and fundamentally share the same exhortation to submit to the one God and to serve the needy neighbor. It is a world that eschews divisive theologies and speculative philosophizing.”Link: https://medium.com/@webproductions28/celebrating-the-jewish-grammarians-of-al-andalus-34fc4597443eFather Marc discusses the triliteral ʿ-ṣ-b. (Episode 522) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Years ago, when I worked in the city, I took perverse pleasure in the prophetic absurdity of a small, dilapidated, prewar brownstone jutting out against the pristine, monied plaza of the Towers, built as money does, to cover the ugliness of human sin with the vanity of majesty and looks. It was an ugly, filthy box, with fire escapes and all. I used to look to see if I could find an old Greek woman running a clothesline to hang dirty underwear out to dry for all the wealthy brokers to see—people who made their living funding all the genocides the Western media has long since perfected hiding from us—but I could never find that underwear. Alas, the brownstone is gone, but the underwear is finally on display. That church was not built by Greek sailors. It was camped in. It was an old brownstone that people prayed in. It was a tent of meeting and it was a threat to the city elite—to people who worship money. It was ugly on the outside and beautiful on the inside. “I remember in Romania we had a class on Christian architecture.” “ How,” Fr. Paul asks, “could architecture be Christian?”How, indeed?“I mean, the dome is Roman, Greco-Roman, it’s not Christian.” “The Orthodox like to speak about the dome, heaven descending upon earth. In the West, in Europe, they like much more the spires, you know, going up to God.”“Ultimately, you start theologizing the stone.”You know, stones. Rubble. The stuff left over after clergy bless bombs with holy water or politicians scribble little hearts with love notes like “finish them.” That’s what happens when you start theologizing stones.I prefer praying in prewar brownstones or whatever is available—free of charge, with a charge. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (Episode 325) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
The canon—not the text—of the Septuagint dates back only to the fourth century, to the area of, you guessed it, Alexandria. The canon—not the text—of the Septuagint comes from sources like Codex Alexandrinus, Sinaiticus, and Vaticanus.The canon—not the text—because the Septuagint text, Fr. Paul explains, was rendered by the original authors (or their followers), who, unlike Philo and Origen, were committed to teaching Scripture, not using it for their own gain. We pretend that political violence is shocking or surprising. However, early Christian leaders, Fr. Paul continues, influenced by Platonic philosophy, behaved exactly like Herod and the Sadducees. Like politicians. They behaved like Netanyahu. But long before Netanyahu, there were others. Men like Emperor Justinian did their genocidal work quickly, by hand. They did not take seven months and did not require advanced technology. Influenced by Platonic thought, these same men loved the idea of a “divine spark” in each person. And why not? If you want to be a god, what better way than to embrace a vast intellectual, literary, religious, and cultural tradition that leads to the undue adulation of human beings and then use that library to undermine the biblical teaching and distort the Christian message?Western values, anyone? Or perhaps an ice cream cone will suffice.(Episode 324) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Imagine a monster whose primary interest is to embrace philosophy and then power—Roman power, Greco-Roman power, and Greek philosophy, in other words, human power.Origen. You know what he loved. The ugliest, most vile, sinister, and self-serving sin, zealously and passionately preached by everyone I know.The worship of state, ethnicity, family, religion, but especially philosophy—for example, your blood-soaked liberal values—embedded in your “Greekdom.”Profoundly and inexorably disgusting. Likewise, the human clan, the family, the irredeemable evil character that the gospel itself presents as the arch-enemy of Jesus Christ. Peter: Equally revolting and unworthy of God.Origen, who learned Hebrew, not to teach Scripture but to increase his importance in order to undermine the Rabbis.Alexandria: Self-involved academics and money-grubbing politicians. A marriage made in Hell. Don’t believe me? Ask your kids. “All you need,” Fr. Paul thunders, “is to read Galatians 2 fifteen times in a row.”As if.He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (Episode 323) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
No statement more fully captures the anti-scriptural sadism of colonial solipsism than the American expression, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Unless, of course, the “em” is a shepherd standing at the midbar, reciting the written command of the Scriptural, inexistent, invisible, unseen, indomitable God who has no egregious, obscene, man-made statue or temple. By all means, join him, if you can. In 1932, according to the Yale Book of Quotations (yes, the same Yale that arrested Jewish kids this week for following the Shepherd), the Atlantic (yes, the famous liberal magazine that once, long ago, fought to protect Jewish kids) cited that ungodly saying (which is a much older saying) as uttered by a U.S. Senator. Once the Atlantic and then Yale published it, it became a colonial reference—just before many terrible things took place under its spell. That senator would have loved Philo or Josephus Flavius. The latter lived in Palestine and fought against the Romans but later decided, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” “There was a tension,” Fr. Paul thunders, “Between the originators of scripture and some of their followers.”“There was an intellectual fight.”Fr. Paul continues, “This took place in Alexandria. Remember, Philo was in Alexandria. And that’s the head of the Asp, as we say in Arabic. It’s Alexandria, which was the intellectual capital of the Roman Empire.”Against Alexandria, the Shepherd cries: If you can’t beat ‘em, submit to God! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the Highest! Bring more evils upon them, O Lord. Bring more evils upon those who are glorious upon the earth.Arise, O God, judge the earth, for to thee belong all the nations. Blessed Pascha to all peoples. Peace in the Middle East. (Episode 322) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
It gets so old—your universal declarations, your philosophies, your ideologies, your heightened sensibilities, your values, your propaganda, your Kool-Aid. Your gods. Hearing Fr. Paul teach, it hit me like a ton of your rubble.When people hear the words of the biblical Prophet, they can’t help but respond by preaching their civilization.It’s an obvious, if not childlike, attempt to assimilate and digest the biblical Prophet—to neutralize the bitter pill. “How can we make this ours?” One only needs to visit the British Museum to understand the mechanism. But Prophets cannot be digested. Like a statue of Dorothy Day or Malcolm X, they cannot be made to fit in. You want them to fit because you fit in.But that’s why you can’t hear Scripture. So you draw a picture of your city, the god of Reagan, and write the name “Jesus” or “Mary” on it, and then tell stories about your holy wars. I wish I were talking about fringe extremists, but as we speak, the most evolved, educated, liberal, and enlightened scholars of your civilization conspire to kill Saracens in defense of their gods. “There is tension,” Fr. Paul explains:“There are insiders that are opposing the message. And I’m convinced that things were worded in this way because the original authors…knew that they were talking against the grain…that’s why they included—in their stories—a preemptive strike against those who would not agree with them, and it is this that is my basis when I critique the Liberal Arts and Reception History.”It’s tempting to call those praying to kill the Saracens “idiots,” but this is a grave error. An extremely intelligent person with an Oxford degree in the humanities is not only capable of conspiring to kill Saracens (in the service of his gods) but has been doing it openly for the past six months. The word you are looking for is not “idiot” but “monster.” If adding modifiers like “authentic,” “evolved,” or “enlightened” helps, please do so. It’s your civilization. (Episode 321) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Every immigrant, every minority, and every colonized person living under a human boot faces the same dilemma: how to live without imitating or accepting the ways of the human gods that impose their glory.“We have,” a wise poet once said, “on this earth what makes life worth living.”Scripture, Fr. Paul has explained many times, forged a path for living in the ancient world by refusing to accept the glory of Alexander, the Seleucids, and all who came after them by pushing back.Not by working within their system. Not by playing their game or thinking like them. Least of all by adopting their language. With no hope, from under their boot, Scripture came up with biblical Hebrew to force the Greeks to submit to the Scriptural God.They did not study Greek or capitulate to Greek culture in order to convince or get ahead in Greek society and maybe attract a few wealthy people to their secret cult. You’re thinking of the harlots in 1 Corinthians. Don’t be like the harlots in 1 Corinthians. You become what you accept. So, reject everything and become nothing, like the biblical prophets. Trust me. When you are nothing you have more free time to study Semitic triliterals. The more you know Semitic, the better your chance of hearing God speak.So when in Rome, smile at the Romans, the Greeks (or the freedom-loving ice cream people), politely ignore them and do what Paul says. (Episode 320) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Sean Reid
I'd suggest there is as much pride in unsolicited offering of "help" to address an "obvious need" as there is to offer choice. We have a Church full of people who arrogantly impose their "wisdom" and "help" on others. Such help is offered to make the offerer feel good about themselves, not to actually help. And with regard to the cross, we all have a choice. Obey or don't. Christ always gives us a choice. It is no different from being commanded at gunpoint. We always have a choice.
Daniel Stout
i thought the eye of the needle was a small opening in the Mediterranean Sea that was plagued with huge waves making it incredibly difficult for ships to navigate. must be the mandela effect lol
Daniel Stout
I'm really glad i found your podcast...I was searching for a deeper Christian podcast...anyways, keep up the good work...One question..Why do you (and many other pastors) refer to yourself as "father" when our commander in chief "Jesus Christ" plainly states in the Gospels, not to refer to any man as father for you only have 1 father, He who is in Heavan? A Catholic priest once told me that there were many different words for father back then...This answer is not sufficient for me or sufficient enough to risk going against Gospel...Just curious
Gary Sarkessian
the resurrection of Jesus is escatalogical, right?