The Bible as Literature

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? If so, what would you say? If this man has nothing to say about his so called revelation, what is there to brag about? I know how some of you will answer. You will talk about his feelings and the life changing wonder of having such an experience. Unfortunately, your feelings, your experience and 50 cents will not buy me a cup of coffee. Actually, in 2016, your feelings, your experience and $2 will not buy me a cup of coffee. But I digress… (Episode 139; 2 Corinthians 12:1-13); Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; "Super Cool Dude" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/)

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 acceptance or to exemplify correctness. That's why St. Paul's disciples in 2 Corinthians are so distressed by his boasting. Not only because his behavior is socially unacceptable and grossly immodest, but because in human eyes, his cause for boasting is even more absurd than his arrogance. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss 2 Corinthians 11:16-33. (Episode 138; 2 Corinthians 11:16-33); Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; "Curse of the Scarab" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/)

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 everything -- is backwards? Is it possible to help them reason their way out? Can you talk someone out of their own ego? According to St. Paul, the answer is no -- "we are not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers." (2 Timothy 2:14) So how does Paul reach his disciples in Roman Corinth? Before modern computers, there was another form of dangerous malware. It was a kind of analog software, distributed by God himself, through "the hands of Moses in letters divinely inscribed." Richard and Fr. Marc discuss 2 Corinthians 11:1-15. (Episode 137; 2 Corinthians 11:1-15); Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; "Severe Tire Damage" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/)

Unfortunately, Christians often co-opt the Bible to justify philosophical axioms, such as, "it is good to be humble," or, "it is wrong to boast;" “it is good to be nice," or, "cruelty is evil." You get the point. We take the Bible, which turns human morality on its head and we use it to justify the way that we think people should be. But in Paul's teaching, there is no "way to be." On the contrary, there is a teaching to follow, and for that teaching, boasting can be as useful as humility and cruelty as helpful as kindness. Everything depends on our premise and the reference for our actions. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss 2 Corinthians 10. (Episode 136; 2 Corinthians 10); Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Vicious” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/)

Is it possible to do something good without allowing yourself to take credit? I'm not talking about haughty expressions of socially encouraged self-deprication. On the contrary, is it possible to do something good while knowing--with absolute certainty--that you are not good and that you do not deserve any credit? What is a selfless act? Some would say it is impossible. Thankfully, with God all things are possible. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss 2 Corinthians 9. (Episode 135; 2 Corinthians 9); Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; "Dreamer" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/)

People tend to overestimate their own importance while ignoring--or at least underestimating--the value of others. This problem is keenly felt in the church at Roman Corinth, where Paul uses the success of others to realign the self-view of his disciples. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss 2 Corinthians 8:16-24. (Episode 134; 2 Corinthians 8:16-24); Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; "Peaceful Desolation" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/)

On some level, people recognize the importance of being fair. We know that our laws should treat people equally and we understand that no one should take more than their "fair share" from anyone else. From the moment we step on the playground as kids until the day we calculate our retirement pay, we live and operate in a world that frames equality in terms of reciprocity. But what if equality could not be achieved by fairness? Worse, what if true equality meant cheating everyone? Would we still demand equality? Fortunately, it's not what we demand, but what St. Paul commands, that truly counts. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss 2 Corinthians 8:1-15. (Episode 133; 2 Corinthians 8:1-15); Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Secret of Tikki Island” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/)

Life coaches love to talk about having confidence in their clients and the importance of building self-worth and self-esteem. Fortunately, for the church in Roman Corinth, Paul does not view his followers as customers and he definitely does not have confidence in them. On the contrary, Paul's boldness is in God’s teaching at work in his children. St. Paul's hope is not in the ability of his disciples, but in the power of the teaching to manifest its fruit on its own terms. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss 2 Corinthians 7:8-16. (Episode 132; 2 Corinthians 7:8-16); Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; "Nonstop" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/)

Most leaders motivate others by boasting of their accomplishments. They talk about past goals they have achieved, they reflect on how effective they were at leading others to meet those goals, they praise others for their efforts, they explain the virtue of their future goals, and they repeat the message over and over again to motivate their teams. But what if your leader only spoke of his failures and sufferings? What would you think of him? How much confidence would you have in his leadership? What if he kept repeating his message of failure? Would you remain loyal to him? Would you follow his instructions? Richard and Fr. Marc discuss 2 Corinthians 7:1-8. (Episode 131; 2 Corinthians 7:1-8); Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; "Super Power Cool Dude" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/)

People resolve the tension of diversity either by clinging to fundamentalism or by embracing relativism. Unfortunately, both approaches share a desire to be right: to have the right ideas, to associate with the right people, to know who is clean and who is unclean. The relativist, like the fundamentalist, is fine with "everyone," so long as "everyone" agrees with them that everything is relative. In 2 Corinthians 6, Paul admonishes his disciples to separate "righteousness and lawlessness" but also warns the church that when God says "be separate" or don't touch what is unclean, he is not talking about people who disagree with you. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss 2 Corinthians 6:11-18. (Episode 130; 2 Corinthians 6:11-18); Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/)

We human beings love having an excuse; or having the opportunity to blame someone else for our problems; or having the freedom to blame our failures on unforeseen circumstances. Unfortunately for us, according to St. Paul, no matter who you are, no matter what you do in life, no matter where you come from, no matter what is happening to you, no matter what others do to you, no matter what you think, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to remain steadfast in your trust of God's teaching. (Episode 129; 2 Corinthians 6:1-10); Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Dead Drop” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/)

In one of his most popular works, C.S. Lewis talks about the inevitable divorce between good and evil: a comforting philosophical notion that allows adherents to be right or to be able to choose the winning side--as the sons of men often and arrogantly boast--"to be on the right side of history." But what if there are no winning sides? What if, as Jesus said, "no one is good?" In 2 Corinthians, St. Paul also talks about a divorce, not between good and evil, but between what is perishable and what is imperishable. Richard and Fr. Marc continue their discussion of 2 Corinthians 5. (Episode 128; 2 Corinthians 5:10-20); Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Overworld” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/)

When Paul talks about being "absent from the body," our Hellenized ears want to believe that he is talking about a dualism with some version of a Platonic soul inhabiting (or exiting) our "earthen vessel." As appealing as this may be to some, it has nothing to do with St. Paul's letter. Paul is not talking about your soul leaving your body. On the contrary, he is admonishing you to embrace discomfort in your body, trusting God's teaching against all hope, especially when it is unpleasant. In the immortal words of Tertullian, "What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?" Richard and Fr. Marc discuss 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. (Episode 127; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10); Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Deadly Roulette” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/)

When someone sets out to do something difficult, they console themselves that their sacrifice is worth the effort because of what they will have achieved or attained. The problem, of course, is that we humans are as much aware of our own futility as we are comforted by delusions of permanence. In other words, no matter how much we lie to ourselves about life, sooner or later, everyone asks, “what’s it all for?” The answer, Paul explains, lies behind us because it was before us and mercifully, it was handed down to us. We need only honor the one who taught us by repeating it and acting on it. No matter how tough it gets or how futile our efforts seem, we have hope, because what we have received and what we now speak manifests a glory that does not die. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss 2 Corinthians 4. (Episode 126; 2 Corinthians 4); Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Eternity” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/)

When St. Paul contrasts tablets of stone with the human heart, or the letter inscribed in stone with the Spirit, or the Old Covenant with the New, Christians are quick to assume that the Old is incomplete without the New, or, worse, that the human heart is preferable to following the letter of the law. Strange, how people convince themselves that God would inscribe a teaching and then say, "oops," I never meant for you to actually read it or do it. Just get the gist, so that Obi Wan can teach you to reach out to me with the force. Then you can ignore the letter of my law and be free. That might work for a hollywood screenplay embedded with product placements, but it has nothing to do with the Bible. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss 2 Corinthians 3. (Episode 125; 2 Corinthians 3); Subscribe: http://feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; “Upbeat Forever” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http:// creativecommons .org/ licenses /by/3.0/)