All Episodes
The Problem of the Justified
A culture's moral platitudes expose the sins for which its adherents hope to atone. This tension is present in popular critiques of the biblical commandment, "an eye f...
Until the Lord Comes
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens: Lo, it is better to be patient than arrogant, for the end of something is better than ...
Famous for Scrubbing Toilets
Since everything you have is already passing away, why hold onto it? Since you can't control the weather, why worry about? Since everything you do is vanishing breath,...
Man Cannot Judge
Ecclesiastes 10 presents a world in which two paths, one foolish and one wise, both lead to the same outcome. Where temporal human eyes see the benefits of wisdom, the...
Play the Cards You're Dealt
According to the Preacher, no matter what you do, you are doomed to the one fate that awaits everyone. Are you a righteous man? Are you wicked? Can you, by your action...
Judgment As Hope
When a human judge seeks meaning in the abuses of the wicked or in the misfortunes of the righteous, if he is as honest with himself as the Preacher in Jerusalem, his ...
Stick To It, Don’t Stick It To Yourself
If, for the sake of wisdom, death is better than birth, sorrow is better than laughter and mourning is better than feasting, what hope has the wise man of escaping rui...
Back From Greece
What would happen if God gave you honor, riches and wealth such that nothing you desired was beyond your reach? What if he then invited foreigners to enjoy this wealth...
You Can’t Take It With You
In a culture that loves money and values everyone’s input, Ecclesiastes 5 is a bitter pill. Human speech, cries the Preacher, is the sacrifice of idiots and the gather...
Two Are Better Than One
Who is worse off, the oppressor or the oppressed? Is the power wielded by kings and empires real? Is a king of humble origins better than an old fool on the throne? Wh...
Turn Turn Turn
There is a time for every season under heaven: A time to be silent and a time to speak; A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace: For man...
The Pursuit of Happiness?
Is there a difference between a fool and a wise man? Does a man who acts correctly gain advantage over one who stumbles? What has the Preacher in Jerusalem to do with ...
A Generation Goes and a Generation Comes
This past week, Fr. Marc’s dad, Paul Boulos, was transferred to a hospice facility. As Fr. Marc and Richard reflect on Paul's life and the meaning of his death, no tex...
Because You Have Rejected Knowledge
Fundamentalists are quick to apply biblical texts to current events, making fantastic claims about world leaders, foreign countries, and, as Matthew says, about "wars ...
Choosing the Better Portion
In the gospel of John, how do the actions of the Samaritan woman set her apart from the disciples of Jesus? What does it mean to be a disciple? Is discipleship only ab...
It’s Not Who You Know
Religious and secular ideologies share much in common, including their emphasis on personality and identity. Who are you? What are you? What group are you from? What d...
What Has Athens To Do With Jerusalem?
It's easy to allow symbols and ideas from outside the Bible to shape our understanding of the text. In contrast, serious biblical students set aside extra-biblical inf...
Your Feelings Are Immaterial
What do the ending of John's gospel and the first chapters of Acts teach us about the problem of human feelings? How do our assumptions about love and its relationship...
Be It Known to You O King
What do the narratives of Exodus and Daniel have to do with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ? Why were these stories understood historically as penultimate readings du...
The Truth is Your Neighbor
Pilate's insecurity about the trial of Jesus is often and wrongly understood as evidence that the New Testament was written to gain Rome's favor. Some have gone furthe...
Ignorance is Not Bliss
Like the other disciples in Mark 10, everyone who hears the gospel is quick to assume they understand why James and John were wrong to request positions of honor next ...
What is a Spirit?
How is the word spirit used in the Bible? What does it mean to be possessed by an unclean spirit? Are spirits real? What does the unclean spirit in Mark 9 tell us abou...
Spend It Before You Lose It
Why does Mark associate prophetic concepts of abundance with the commandment to take up the cross? In what way do popular concepts of carrying the cross, associated wi...
Fat of the Land
Much of Ezekiel is spent emphasizing God's anti-locality, namely, that there is no structure or land to which the biblical God is chained. In Ezekiel, God moves freely...
Come and See
Given the Bible's persistent emphasis on the problem of idolatry, why suddenly, in John, are we confronted with the phrase, "Come and see?" This seems especially odd, ...
Broken Records
In a biblical narrative that is overwhelmingly anti-kingly, how can one make sense of Paul’s apparent endorsement of governing authorities in Romans 13? Why would Paul...
The Marketplace
How should the Bible’s addressees understand the parable of the wise and foolish virgins at the outset of Matthew 25? In what way does the metaphor of lamp oil relate ...
Blood Sacrifice
What is the purpose of ritual sacrifice in the Bible? Why is so much emphasis placed on blood sacrifice as a means of expiation? Why would Ezekiel incorporate blood sa...