May God Cover Us
The Bible as Literature
by The Ephesus School
5d ago
Most people, when they hear the story of Josiah and his priest rummaging through the rubble of the temple in Jerusalem and stumbling upon a scroll, fall prey to the hope that Josiah was a reformer. That he picked up the scroll, looked upon those who came before him, and thought: I can do it better. I can get it right this time. But that's the trap. That's the mistake. That's the arrogance--not just of Josiah, but of the one hearing the story. Had he only watched Star Trek. Had he seen what happens, over and over again, to the guy in the red shirt--the one who beams down to the planet with Kirk ..read more
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God is the Light
The Bible as Literature
by The Ephesus School
1w ago
Evil always dresses in a garment of light. It hides in plain sight. It smiles. It’s friendly. It’s comforting. It’s dishonest. It appears as something it’s not. Take, for example, that seemingly innocuous campfire song all your children have been taught to sing at your silly church camps: “This Little Light of Mine.” Like a mother who possesses children; like a tribe that possesses land; like those who refuse to let go of what God destroys—or worse, those who wickedly imagine they can compensate for God’s will by loving their neighbor—like a spoiled child clamoring for a toy. Yes, this little ..read more
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God Is Not Shy
The Bible as Literature
by The Ephesus School
2w ago
It has taken some time to understand what the Parable of the Sower meant when it introduced the function “soil” in its critique of human beings’ betrayal of God’s covenant with Abraham. Still, by the time the New Testament was written, Matthew, Mark, and Luke all found it necessary to clarify that the position of the one being judged was separate from the station of the one Judge. In the end, the nuance of “seed” as covenant unto instruction vs. seed as offspring and the distinction between “holy seed” and “rebellious seed” were not clear enough for those who, like the Caesars, sought to enthr ..read more
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And of My Descendants?
The Bible as Literature
by The Ephesus School
3w ago
In Scripture, Abraham’s seed encompasses more than just biological lineage. It also transmits God’s covenant, outlining the potential for righteousness and human corruption in a single function. The Hebrew term zera', "seed" or "offspring," follows the continuity of God’s promise to Abraham from one generation to the next. It also marks the recurring story of human rebellion, which is as predictable in each generation as the agrarian cycle of seasons. Nothing changes under the sun. In this sense, the biblical seed is covenantal, according to God’s promise across the generations, and biological ..read more
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They Built Themselves High Places
The Bible as Literature
by The Ephesus School
3w ago
“He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me, scatters.” (Luke 11:23) Mothers, not women—mothers specifically—are exploited by the schemes of city builders. This distinction is important because women are often party to the weaponization of mothers. I began this week's monologue with a verse from Luke 11 because it is impossible to hear what Luke wrote about “scattering” until you hear clearly what he taught about point of reference. As Matthew taught us earlier in the New Testament, you cannot serve two masters: You cannot serve the Hasmoneans and the Kingdom of ..read more
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To the Text
The Bible as Literature
by The Ephesus School
1M ago
In this episode, Fr. Paul stresses the importance of going to the biblical text, not “going back, ” highlighting how Paul’s letters and even Luke’s Gospel were written to specific individuals, challenging the tendency to read these texts as universally applicable. We want to make Scripture timeless to elevate our power, but its power lies in its direct address to its original audience. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ..read more
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Do You See?
The Bible as Literature
by The Ephesus School
1M ago
We imagine that love is the product of a kind or generous heart. We confuse love with sentiment. Maybe we want others to like us. Perhaps we can’t stomach their suffering, so we medicate them with lies, or we embrace their fantasies because they accommodate our needs. We coddle sentiment as a virtue because it feels safe, womblike, and even noble.  Sentiment reinforces our private delusions. There is no better resolution for cognitive dissonance than sentimentality. Sentiment is practically Western doctrine. Make everyone feel good. How dare you not? How dare you be so unfeeling, so cold ..read more
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I’m Your Lily
The Bible as Literature
by The Ephesus School
2M ago
When the text says “recline” in Greek, it doesn’t mean “recline.” When the Greek text differentiates “recline” through repetition, it still doesn’t mean “recline,” even in translation. Even when Greek functions correctly, Greek alone is insufficient—it doesn’t work without lexicography. Without proper word study, there is no such thing as Scripture. If you merely hear the original Greek text in Greek without studying its Semitic inter-function, you are nothing more than a Greek. Jesus has not yet restored your ears, crippled by Hellenism. What is an alabaster flask? Oh yes, you want to discuss ..read more
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God Has Spoken
The Bible as Literature
by The Ephesus School
2M ago
In their extreme hubris, humans believe that Luke’s admonition, “A tree is known by its fruit,” is nothing more than a proverb about being a “better parent.” But as I explained a few episodes ago, it is a warning that humans can’t parent. It is a judgment, a mashal, a rule, a verse, a biblical sign that there is no such thing as a good human parent because the only tree that bears “good fruit” is the wisdom of God. With this in mind, what did you go out to see in the wilderness of Luke 7? Twice? Luke wrote the question twice. Twice, he asked, “Are you the Expected One, or do we look for someon ..read more
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God is Sufficient
The Bible as Literature
by The Ephesus School
2M ago
A single, passing word is easily overlooked in translation. You could pontificate about it in abstraction, but can you observe its importance, its technicality? Of course, you can’t—not in English. No way. Not in a thousand years. What does the word “luxury” have to do with the book of Genesis? Can you tell me how or where it connects to Genesis? What does “luxury” have to do with a dog’s vomit? Can you figure it out? Perhaps you could look up “dog’s vomit” and try to put it all back together from that hint. But by simply hearing Luke in English, you wouldn’t stand a chance. You have no hope o ..read more
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