Today’s program marks the 300th episode of the Bible as Literature. Years ago, Fr. Marc and Richard’s wife, Hollie, were going back and forth on a title for the education program at St. Elizabeth—eventually, they opted for “The Ephesus School”—a name inspired by a paper Fr. Paul had recently presented. With the Benton’s move to Minnesota, Fr. Marc had been thinking about ideas for a podcast, something like “The Priest and the Professor” and Hollie, always in earshot of Fr. Marc’s and Richard’s discussions about the Bible,  insisted that they record their conversations, “so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.” (John 4:36) With her encouragement, the project became a reality.  

It is providential that the 300th episode of the podcast falls on the parable of the sower in Matthew. 

“He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:9) 

Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Matthew 13:1-9. 

Episode 300 Matthew 13:1-9; Music from https://filmmusic.io: “Autumn Day” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

The Seed Does What the Seed Does

Each week, Dr. Richard Benton, Fr. Marc Boulos and guests discuss the content of the Bible as literature. On Tuesdays, Fr. Paul Tarazi presents an in-depth analysis of the biblical text in the original languages.

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Every immigrant, every minority, and every colonized person living under a human boot faces the same dilemma: how to live without imitating or accepting the ways of the human gods that impose their glory. “We have,” a wise poet once said, “on this earth what makes life worth living.” Scripture, Fr. Paul has explained many times, forged a path for living in the ancient world by refusing to accept the glory of Alexander, the Seleucids, and all who came after them by pushing back. Not by working within their system.  Not by playing their game or thinking like them.  Least of all by adopting their language.  With no hope, from under their boot, Scripture came up with biblical Hebrew to force the Greeks to submit to the Scriptural God. They did not study Greek or capitulate to Greek culture in order to convince or get ahead in Greek society and maybe attract a few wealthy people to their secret cult. You’re thinking of the harlots in 1 Corinthians.  Don’t be like the harlots in 1 Corinthians.  You become what you accept. So, reject everything and become nothing, like the biblical prophets.  Trust me.  When you are nothing you have more free time to study Semitic triliterals. The more you know Semitic, the better your chance of hearing God speak. So when in Rome, smile at the Romans, the Greeks (or the freedom-loving ice cream people), politely ignore them and do what Paul says.  (Episode 320)

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You Become What You Accept

There is nothing like a cup of Turkish Coffee. That’s not an opinion. It’s an observation of fact. The local Starbucks does not serve Turkish Coffee. That’s why I never buy Starbucks for Fr. Paul before his lectures. Why would I? Why would anyone who cares about anything important, meaning Scripture, do something so foolish? I am pretty sure there is a “Stars and Bucks” somewhere in the Middle East (and like any industrious knock-off, I bet they serve Turkish Coffee), but not the local Starbucks.  This week, Fr. Paul even mentions the importance of his Turkish Coffee in the morning (with lots of water) before tackling the authorship of the Hebrew and Septuagint texts.  Of course, his view goes against scholarly consensus.  He also discusses his novel stance on the Book of Sirach, which goes against scholarly consensus.   And his view on the choice of Greek over Latin, which goes against scholarly consensus.
 
And the importance of the Latin Vulgate, which goes against Orthodox consensus, which is not scholarly.  And the function of grammatical gender, which goes against, well, everybody but especially theologians.  Why, my daughter asked me, is the Bible so negative?  The Bible is humorous, I answered. The Bible is ruthless, even cruel. But negative?   I, myself, am a man of optimism.  The many puny human gods, I explained, are like tiny cancerous tumors.  The Bible, on the other hand, is hopeful, like a doctor who prescribes chemotherapy to a person covered with many tumors.  When these puny, toxic little gods are attacked, ridiculed, dismantled, and poisoned by the text of the Bible, the pain is unbearable—but the doctor goes to work against the cancer anyway because he has hope—hope against all hope when there is clearly no hope—that the treatment will bring hope. I call that insane optimism like a Gazan who just lost everything but somehow finds the strength to lift his hands in prayer—like the Olive Tree—which gives thanks only to God.  You do not need a Seminary degree to unpack that puzzle.  (Episode 319)

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Against Consensus

The Bible, Fr. Paul explains, is a holy joke.  That’s a big relief. Even hopeful.  Looking around, I see that the current state of affairs is an unholy joke. Truly, if the Scriptural God is not laughing at us, mocking us, and ultimately—as Fr. Paul explains—entrapping us, he is not God.  He can’t be.  What kind of god, what monster, would be happy with us? I mean, seriously, people?  Look at us. Do you think it sounds odd that God would say, “Here is a nice tree in the Garden, now don’t eat of it,” when you say to little children:  “We love you. We do not want you to go hungry. So we will send you food, but we will not let you touch it. We will just talk about how much we care because we are not violent like the God of the Old Testament.” May this God, the vengeful and terrible God found only in the text (the one everybody ignores and abuses), the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, mock, shame, confound, judge, terrify, and entrap us without reprieve for the sake of the poor until his Kingdom comes in power. (Episode 318)

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The Bible is Making Fun of You

Code Pink! Code Pink! People are running around with blinders on!  It appears they’ve been reading English translations of the Septuagint! Half keep referring to something called the Books of the Kingdoms, which do not appear in the Bible; the other half are enamored with some goofy Greek nonsense called “philosophical questioning.”  One of them keeps eating ice cream in a stupor.  They insist that the Bible is about building churches, investing in property, planning for the future, defending walls, funding wars, protecting their people, and—above all—trying to prove which tribe held the first theropod roast in prehistoric Palestine, which, at that time, was known as, well, “nothing,” because we probably did not have language yet.  Some of these people are doing DNA tests and then photoshopping pictures of themselves holding a Bible while standing at said therapod roast. Ah, the suffering of Job. But Job was a fool. I mean, look, what did his supposed righteousness get him?  A house in Tel Aviv?  But that’s what you want.  So you host Lenten retreats about the deep spiritual meaning of Job’s suffering and how to be patient like him in anticipation of your colonial therapod roast. Disgusting.  And just to be clear, Elihu, Father Paul explains, is no better.  The structure of Job, the syntax of the canon, and the placement of Psalms all undermine you: all of them de-historicize, de-value, and de-center the human being. So, please.  It does not matter what your DNA test says.  If the result of your DNA test comes back “human being,” that is already way too much information.  May God have mercy upon the therapods.  (Episode 317)

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A Maskil

Scripture unmasks your illusions. Religion, family, friends, ideas, institutions, nations, individuals, “isms” of every school—all your human ideals and beliefs are a lie.  Unfortunately, you can’t sleep around with your lies and remain faithful to the Master.   You do, in fact, have to make a choice. Note my use of the word “fact.”  So, please, step in front of the bus or return to the safety of your lies.  That is how this works.  Go ahead—I insist—lie to yourself. It’s better for you. Enjoy your environmentally safe lifestyle. Don’t forget to vote.  There you go. See? You are a good person. Your hands are clean. God bless you.  You should be a guest on “The View.”  Notice, I said god bless you. I did not mention the text. I was talking about your god, not the God of Scripture.   Anyone who can’t see the true face of their idolatry or who tries to apologize for it or the idolatry of this age in any way is morally bankrupt. It’s true. I’m not lying.  The West is having its moment—it’s painful to watch and definitely long deserved, but the pain, at least for now, is located in the weakest part of the body.  But you cannot dull the pain of facts with the stupor of your idols forever.  MENE, MENE, TEQEL, UPHARSIN Your narratives certainly feel good. Family is dear to you, and personal relationships mean everything to you. You take courage in speaking truth to power and in the freedom to disagree, to be different—that’s the American way, Fr. Marc.  What a great story. You should work for Disney.  Thanks be to the Scriptural God: the Bible is not your story. Let alone a story. It’s a text with consonants totally foreign to your colonial brain, laid out in a particular order, in a language concocted from the many Semitic languages of the many peoples you still number among your enemies, you fool. It’s funny how you love all your idols, your religion, your atheism, family, friends, institutions, and your “democratic values,” but you still somehow manage to hate the same enemies you were commanded to love.  As Fr. Paul used to say in the classroom, God is merciful, but I am not God.  You would do well to forgo your stupid ideals and, instead, study Arabic alongside biblical Hebrew. Then you will see with your eyes and hear with your ears what the Scriptural God said in his original Semitic syntax, sparing both you and the poor the tyranny of your self-serving flotillas. Allahu Akbar.  (Episode 316)

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The Seed Does What the Seed Does

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