All Episodes
Neither Snow, Nor Rain, Nor Heat, Nor Gloom of Night
According to the website of the US Postal Service, their motto, “chiseled in gray granite over the entrance to the New York City Post Office on 8th Avenue,” comes from...
The Voice of the Shepherd
When studying biblical literature, it's easy to fall into the trap of attempting to lock down the meaning of the Bible's characters and symbols. For example, students ...
It's Your Move, Herod
“It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.” These...
It's Not About the Teacher
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus repeatedly emphasizes the will of his Father in Deuteronomy, that any prophet or worker of miracles who seduces people from “the way (ὁδός...
Familiarity Breeds Contempt
When people are taught to change their behaviors or to admit their shortcomings, they use whatever means available to transfer blame for their sins to someone else. Al...
Give Her Something to Eat
Self-righteousness is dangerous. When people who believe they are “right” apply rules to each other, even rules that were meant to protect us become instruments of abu...
The First Disciple
When Jesus permitted the unclean spirits to leave the Gerasene, he demonstrated two things: not only his ability to control a man whom no one could subdue, but his tot...
Why Are You Bowing?
When it comes to bowing, our culture is schizophrenic. We teach people not to bow down to others or to let others tell us what to do, yet we bow down all the time. We ...
Why Are You Afraid?
Like the prophet Jonah, Jesus was sent to sow the seed of God's teaching on other soil. Unlike Jonah, Jesus trusted God's will, carrying out his Father's instruction w...
Like a Mustard Seed
A farmer sows seed because he wants security. He wants to know that he will have enough money and food in storage to secure his family until the next season. This unde...
#cursed #afflicted #persecuted #amen
In the Gospel of Mark, the Lord Jesus said, "Whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him." (Mark ...
It's Not About the Soil
When hearing the parable of the sower in Mark, few people stop to consider that seeds are embryonic plants. That's right, the seeds tucked away in a box on your shelf ...
Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
The proclamation of the forgiveness of sins is integral to the content of the gospel. After all, it was the forgiveness of sins that opened the path for gentiles to be...
He Sent Them Out
According to Google, to rationalize is to "attempt to explain or justify (one's own or another's behavior or attitude) with logical, plausible reasons, even if these a...
Bread and Circuses
Human beings make decisions and take actions based on assumptions. We do so because without assumptions, we are paralyzed by complexity. In some cases, an assumption i...
Jesus Proclaimed the Letter of the Law
We've all heard it. On every corner. In every school. At every church. There is always somebody spouting platitudes about the "dangers" of taking the Bible literally. ...
Step Forward or Step Aside
Have you ever had a ton of work to do, only to be pulled into long meetings with people who talk endlessly to avoid action? You know that feeling when you have a simpl...
Don't Be Fooled by the Crowds
People deal with the miracles and parables of Jesus as biblical vignettes that can be extracted from the gospels and presented on their own. Biblical scholars refer to...
Do Not Be Amazed, Be Obedient
The fallacy of the Messianic Secret is based on a presupposition that openly contradicts the teaching of Mark's Gospel. While scholars assume that Jesus is preoccupied...
A New Teaching?
Teaching is tedious work. No matter how many times you explain something, for every one person who doesn't get it, there are a thousand people you can't get to. It's e...
Pleased With Himself
Ancient religions stood on a simple premise: find a way to please the gods or face their wrath. Are you afraid of bad weather? Make a sacrifice. Worried about your fam...
A Path in the Wilderness?
The first few verses of Markâs gospel are packed with prophetic imagery. From the impossible concept of a path in the wilderness to the Baptistâs position outside ...
Eye of the Needle Jokes
The biblical system proposes hyperbole, scandal, and logical contradiction as a means to disassemble the statues and false gods we construct in our minds. At the same ...
Third Time is Not a Charm
We Christians assume that God’s love is unconditional and that it is never too late to change our ways. Although comforting, this idea contradicts the story of the Bib...
It's Not a Two-way Street
In broken families, parents complain that their children "owe" them and children delude themselves that their parents "need" them. From each perspective, the relations...
Silence is Not Golden
What good would it be if a man were to ascend to the highest heaven and return with nothing to say? Would you be impressed by him? Would you brag about him to others? ...
Let No One Think Me Foolish
People embrace social norms in much the same way that fundamentalists embrace religious rules: as a means of self-approval. A person feigns modesty either to win accep...
The Great Corinthian Brain Hack
How can a teacher reach someone who is set in their ways or engulfed by ideology? What if the way a person looks at the world -- their unstated assumption about everyt...