All Episodes
Leave the Dead
At the start of the New Testament, the Matthean Geneology remedies an incorrect understanding of Abraham’s line by belittling of the kings of Judah, highlighting the f...
Peter’s Household
The head of the household, in biblical terms, is the one responsible for leading with the teaching of Scripture. Where civil characterizations of this role emphasize ...
The Roman Household
Too often, students of Scripture dismiss difficult texts by separating the culture of the biblical era from what they consider the real ”message” of the biblical story...
Light and Darkness
Fr. Paul resumes his reading of Genesis with a discussion of light and darkness in 1:3-5. (Episode 54)
The Witness of the Leper
In the Gospel of Matthew, knowledge of Scripture determines the value of a Levitical priest. What are the specific rules of Leviticus and what do they mean? What is...
Grammatical Functionality
Fr. Paul concludes his discussion of functionality in Scripture. (Episode 53)
These Words
As teachers and students, we delude ourselves with abstraction. How many of us, instead of teaching the words of the Bible, offer a cheap summary or moral extraction t...
Biblical Function
Fr. Paul discusses the central importance of functionality in Scripture. (Episode 52)
Not Everyone Who Says, “Lord, Lord”
It’s unclear how or when the phrase “I love you” became the sacrosanct rubric of America’s devolving mating rituals, but it did. In the place of duty, honor, and comm...
Beware of False Prophets
Priorities control a person's speech. If a pastor’s goal is to share the words of the Bible, he will speak the words of the Bible. If his goal is to grow his parish, h...
Tohu wa-bohu
Fr. Paul continues his reading of Genesis with an analysis of the words tohu wa-bohu in 1:2. (Episode 50)
The Narrow Path
In the modern Internet of Consumers, everyone is treated as a profit center. Content, images, and themes are all engineered to attract the widest audience possible. ...
The Title of Scripture
In the fourth part of his introduction to the Book of Genesis, Fr. Paul discusses the importance of the Hebrew words bereshit bara. (Episode 49)
Ask, Seek, and Knock
Too often, the Lord’s promise in Matthew 7:7, that those who ask will receive, and those who seek will find, is reframed by a consumer mindset, as though prayer is the...
Toledot
In the third part of his introduction to the Book of Genesis, Fr. Paul revisits his discussion of the Hebrew word toledot. (Episode 48)