The Bible as Literature

Latest Episodes:

Like a Woman in Travail Aug 02, 2022

Show notes

This week, Fr. Paul explains that God is in travail in Scripture and gives birth to children through his teaching. (Episode 233)

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Magnify the Lord Jul 28, 2022

Show notes

When someone of authority speaks, it is only natural for people of lessor status to use his words to establish their position. Politicians do it, corporate underlings do it, and Christians do it in their mishandling of the Bible.

When God speaks in Scripture, his words come down from above. We plagiarize. We want to use his words in our story. We act as though God has a part to play in our life when the reverse is true.

Scripture does not play a part in any human endeavor; on the contrary, it is a self-described shelter that surrounds us and covers us from above. Far from being a part of anything we set out to do or make, God is the premise of his own story.

Unlike us, Mary—who represents the Pauline church in Luke—understands her place before God. Her point of reference as an enslaved person redeemed from bondage is not herself but the exaltation of her new Roman patrician.

Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Luke 1:46-48.
Episode 442; Luke 1: 46-48

The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Flip The Script by Otis Galloway
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/9564-flip-the-script
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://linktr.ee/ogallowaymakesmusic

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Four Verbs Jul 26, 2022

Show notes

In today’s program Fr. Paul discusses four verbs in Hebrew: be fruitful, multiply as fish, became many, and became great in status. (Episode 232)

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

The Sound of a Greeting Jul 21, 2022

Show notes

As the Spirit moves through chapter one of the Gospel of Luke, it exhibits its power as a mechanism of destruction but also as an implement of God’s control—prompting one to submit, teaching another to bless, and causing the Lord’s prophet to rejoice, even from his mother’s womb.

The first to be filled with the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of Luke, John recognized Mary’s voice as she who trusted what had been spoken to her by the Lord. Now, her greeting is Good News in Elizabeth’s ears, heralding the arrival of the Lord’s words to the Jerusalemite church and the victory of Paul’s gospel.

You’d better believe the kid did a little victory dance.

Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Luke 1:44-45.
Episode 441; Luke 1:44-45

The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Dance House 2 by Frank Schröter
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/9525-dance-house-2
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frank.schroeter.52

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Hear Me Out Jul 19, 2022

Show notes

This week, Fr. Paul proceeds with his discussion of Exodus emphasizing the importance of hearing Scripture with the entire story in view. (Episode 231)

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

The Itinerary of the Spirit Jul 14, 2022

Show notes

The Scriptural God is not the God of a statue, a temple, a city, or a mountain, but the God of a story. For those who submit to this God as their heavenly Father, it is forbidden to stray outside his narrative in any thought, word, or deed that pertains to him. In life, this means we follow his precepts without adding our words to his or using his words to justify ours; in the act of hearing his story, it means hearing carefully and literally, free of outside influences.

Inside the confines of Luke chapter one, you might be surprised where the Spirit takes you.

Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Luke 1:42-43.
Episode 440; Luke 1:42-43

The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Funny by MusicLFiles
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6388-funny
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfiles

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

These Are the Names Jul 12, 2022

Show notes

This week Fr. Paul transitions from Genesis to Exodus, showing the interconnection between the books of the Pentateuch. (Episode 230)

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

I Know Jesus and I Know Paul Jul 07, 2022

Show notes

Normally, people don’t say much about the role of the Holy Spirit in the birth of John the Baptist—mainly because contemporary Mariology blinds them to the actual content of Luke’s gospel. But even for those who pay close attention, few people notice the discrepancy between the first visit of the Spirit to Jerusalem, pertaining specifically to John the Baptist (himself a reference to the Apostle Paul), and the second visit, pertaining not to the Pauline church, but the Jerusalemite community represented by Elizabeth.

Sometimes a visit is not just a visit.

Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Luke 1:39-41.

Episode 439 Luke 1:39-41

The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Smooth Criminal by John Bartmann
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/9483-smooth-criminal
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://johnbartmann.com/

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Against Humanity Jul 05, 2022

Show notes

In today’s program, Fr. Paul reminds us of the Bible’s painful and relentless campaign against the human ego. (Episode 229)

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Three Things Jun 30, 2022

Show notes

When we read a text in translation, we imagine we hear what the author wrote because we believe that meaning can be taken separately from the words on the page. But if you can conceive of meaning, it needs must be part and parcel with a series of words. If not the words of the original text, then the alternative words of a translation, or worse, the self-referential words in your head. There is no meaning without words, and each set of words represents a different meaning.

Three words appear in chapter one of Luke: pragma, logos, and rema; all interconnected, all critical to Luke’s thesis, all washed away in translation. If you have never heard these three words as they appear in Luke, then you have never heard Luke.

And that’s the point.

Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Luke 1:36-38.

Episode 438 Luke 1:36-38

The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Finding the Balance by Kevin MacLeod
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/3755-finding-the-balance
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://incompetech.com

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected