How the Gospel Uses Fear

Critics of the Bible often complain about its violent stories. How could the Bible be considered sacred, they ask, when it is full of so much cruelty and abuse? The answer—of course—is that it is human civilization that is overflowing with cruelty and violence, and the Bible holds this fact up to our face. Almost always, those who cringe at its stories are those who can’t face the truth about themselves. But the Bible does more than present the reality of our ugliness; its stories coopt human cruelty, transforming it into something beautiful. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Matthew 10:21-23. Episode 282 Matthew 10:21-23 Subscribe: feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; Music from https://filmmusic.io: “Urban Gauntlet” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Critics of the Bible often complain about its violent stories. How could the Bible be considered sacred, they ask, when it is full of so much cruelty and abuse? The answer—of course—is that it is human civilization that is overflowing with cruelty and violence, and the Bible holds this fact up to our face. Almost always, those who cringe at its stories are those who can’t face the truth about themselves. But the Bible does more than present the reality of our ugliness; its stories coopt human cruelty, transforming it into something beautiful. 

Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Matthew 10:21-23.

Episode 282 Matthew 10:21-23 Subscribe: feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; Music from https://filmmusic.io: “Urban Gauntlet” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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