All Episodes
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...
Boring Texts
Why do chapters 41 and 42 of Ezekiel spend so much time talking about the monotonous details of temple architecture? Why would these details matter in a book like Ezek...
Interview with Fr. Timothy Lowe
This week, Richard and Fr. Marc interview Fr. Timothy Lowe about his paper, The Gospel of Matthew and the Law Interpreted for Jew and Gentile, one of several excellent...
Wheat, Wine, and Oil
The BBC recently reported that "the share of the world's wealth owned by the richest 1% increased from 44% in 2009 to 48%" in 2015 and that "on current trends, Oxfam.....
What’s More Important?
What is the purpose of St. Paul’s discussion of gender and marriage in 1 Corinthians? Why is he seemingly ambivalent about the status of Roman slaves? On what basis do...
Interview with Dr. Mary Youssef
Dr. Mary Youssef is Associate Professor of Arabic Literature in the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies at Binghamton University. Her research areas inclu...
Cloud of Witnesses
Is each generation an improvement on the previous one? Are people living today the apex of human progress? In practical terms, most of us intuit the problems of wester...
Who's Your Daddy?
When people think of meaningful passages in the Bible, the many lengthy genealogies found in Genesis and elsewhere rarely, if ever, come to mind. Yet, it is exactly on...
Playing All Sides
In this week's episode, Richard explores the Lord's counter-intuitive stance in Ezekiel, in which judgement falls on all sides and no human being finds favor in God's ...
The Apostle Paul's Book Club
Does it matter which book of the Bible you read or which testament it comes from? Where should beginners start? Are some books more important than others? What is the ...
Society of Biblical Literature
This week, Richard talks about his presentation at the Society of Biblical Literature gathering in San Diego, where he explored the various ways in which the study of ...
The Dead Shall Hear the Voice of God and Live
Preachers often adapt themes from popular books and movies to make their sermons seem relevant for children and teens. But what happens when the content of the Bible i...