All Episodes
A New Tribe
In a culture that places family first, the Lord’s ambivalence toward his mother and his brothers in the Gospel of Matthew is confusing, if not utterly scandalous. Why ...
It’s an “Ark” Not an “Ark”
This week Fr. Paul highlights the connection between Genesis 6 and the story of Moses in Exodus. As always, this connection is impossible to discern in English—but thi...
Mitzvah!
The ability to read biblical signs—which comes from hearing, reciting, and doing the commandments of Scripture—protects us from being fooled by false prophets. Is some...
Why Do You Call Me Lord?
In today's episode we discuss why faith is better translated as trust. We also highlight how faith is not an intellectual concept, but a deep trust that is rooted in t...
The Nephilim
Drawing, as always, on the original Hebrew and his knowledge of Arabic, Fr. Paul explains the folly of the Nephilim who assume their own mightiness, but are, in Fr. Pa...
Read the Signs
When human beings seek a sign from the Lord, the problem is two-fold. First, we think of a sign as proof, making our trust in God’s wisdom conditional. Second, because...
Third Time’s Not a Charm
After its use of the word ‘adam’ in chapter 5, the text of Genesis returns to the words ‘ha adam’ in chapter 6, referring to humanity in its entirety. This shift, Fr....
You Know a Tree by It’s Fruit
We human beings do not take responsibility for what we teach. We speak careless words motivated by self-interest and look the other way when our words—directly or indi...
Be Patient and Submit
Noting that biblical names appear and reappear purposefully in Genesis, this week, Fr. Paul emphasizes the importance of having patience with the scriptural God who op...
The Ultimate Sin
Scripture is written to supplant human words and thwart human agency, so that its wisdom might govern the affairs of men in the place of human self-interest. When we s...
There is No New Humanity
Following his discussion of the Toledot of Adam in Genesis 5, Fr. Paul explains how God manages to continue his plan and salvage humanity despite the people’s disobedi...
Binding the Strong Man
When the Pharisees accuse Jesus of being in league with Beelzebul, Jesus slams them by exposing a fatal contradiction in their logic: if the only way I am able to’ cas...
Son of Man
This week, Richard and Fr. Marc had the chance to follow-up Fr. Paul’s discussion of Genesis 5 with questions, leading to an important discussion of the anti-kingly tr...
Teach and Move
Internet comment culture invites useless and emotionally charged conflict that accomplishes nothing, except to inflame everyone’s self-serving sentiments. That’s why, ...
Ha Adam
This week, Fr. Paul uses his own family tree to help explain the tree of Adam in Genesis 5. Following verse 2, in which God “created them male and female, and he bless...
The Lord of the Sabbath
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not d...
Ha Adam or Adam?
This week Fr. Paul touches on the importance of the author’s purposeful use of the word Adam in some places and the words Ha Adam elsewhere. The various connections be...
God Doesn’t Need Our Bread
When the Pharisees complain about the disciples picking and eating grain on the sabbath, they betray both their ignorance of Torah, and their desire to control the con...