This episode takes us deep into the relationship dynamics of working with the most difficult and confronting passages of the Bible. Patrick shares first how the study of cultural anthropology prepared him to meet the Other with utmost respect and interest. The willingness to transcend our own likes or dislikes, for even a moment, gives rise to the possibility that the Other could reveal something of itself. Patrick goes on to share specific details of his wrestling with the gospel passages describing Jesus Christ’s cleansing of the temple in Jerusalem (Matt 21: 12-17). What began as an anathema became a journey with an Other — a journey which ultimately was permeated with Healing Medicine.

Conversation Notes and References

~ “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”  John 5: 39 - 40 (NIV)

~ For more information on The Jesus Prayer, click here. Mount Athos, Greece has been an Orthodox monastery since 1054 AD. It currently is home to roughly 1,400 monks and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For more information and a beautiful photo gallery, click here.

~ To learn more about the award-winning anthropologist and poet Renato Rosaldo that Patrick references, click here.

~ For a pdf version of How To Know Higher Worlds by Rudolf Steiner (translated by Christopher Bamford, 1994), click here.

~ The topic of exegesis and eisegesis as two distinct ways of approaching scripture is a broad one. For a straightforward introduction to the theme beyond what was already presented in this episode, click here.

~ For a window into the Jewish tradition of wrestling with God and scripture,  click here for an article by Rev. Aaron Eime. To read the story of Jacob wrestling with God (Genesis 32: 22 - 32), click here.

~ To learn more about Thomas Jefferson’s wrestling with scripture, down to creating his own redacted version of the New Testament, click here.

~ All four Gospels describe Jesus cleansing the temple of money changers in Jerusalem. They are Matthew 21: 12 - 17, Mark 11: 15 - 19, Luke 19: 45 - 49 and John 2: 13 - 16.

~ “Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’ They replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?’  But the temple he had spoken of was his body.”  John 2: 19 - 21  (NIV)

~  “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that

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The Light in Every Thing is a podcast of The Seminary of The Christian Community in North America. Learn more about the Seminary and its offerings at our website. This podcast is supported by our growing Patreon community. To learn more, go to www.patreon.com/ccseminary.

Thanks to Elliott Chamberlin who composed our theme music, “Seeking Together."