Whether dealing with cultural or historical themes, or emphasizing biblical languages, we talk a lot about historical context on the podcast. So let me be blunt, the popular notion that teachers should “make the Bible relevant today” or “make the Bible relatable,” is absolutely wrong. It’s not only wrong, it’s unforgivable, because when you engage in such nonsense, you shut your students out of the Kingdom. 

In order to understand what someone is saying, you need to learn their language and understand their situation—you need to relate to them. This applies not just to history and language, but also to physical and geographic context. 

On the other hand, you could try to make the the whole world relate to you, see everything and hear everyone from your perspective and filter everything through the lens of your thoughts, feelings and experiences...please let us know how that works out for western civilization.  

Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Matthew 13:17-23.

Episode 303 Matthew 13:17-23; Music from https://filmmusic.io: “Hotrock” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)