Episodes

  • Retrospect on all 27 episodes

    Retrospect on all 27 episodes
    May 10 2018
    Conclusion of the Book of Revelation. Overview of The Relevance of Scripture to Religious Faith and the Public Square. Knowledge comes in a variety of forms which on the surface may seem to be incompatible, but which in reality are snapshots from different perspectives. They are all needed to fill out the whole picture. The current obsession with Science and Technology has led some to conclude that anything which does not conform to the standards and norms of science is outdated and irrelevant. Such a reductionist view of knowledge impoverishes the human spirit. As the old saying goes, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Just because different people find beauty in different places does not mean that there is no such thing as beauty, and life without it is impoverished indeed.
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    37 mins
  • Book of Revelation

    Book of Revelation
    May 3 2018
    Continuing exploration of the symbolism used by John. This gives us a snapshot of what the earliest Church was having to contend with during the first 300 years of its existence. While ostensibly an analysis of seven church communities, it also functions as an epistle to all the Churches. The spiritual difficulties these churches are encountering are not confined just to them, for they also give us insight into the problems of today.
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    55 mins
  • Decifering the Book of Revelation

    Decifering the Book of Revelation
    Apr 26 2018
    The last book in the New Testament is bewildering and confusing for many. I will attempt to clarify its message and show how it can have relevance and meaning for us today.
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    57 mins
  • The Church Becoming an Institution

    The Church Becoming an Institution
    Apr 19 2018
    With the passage of time without a Second Coming of Christ, it became necessary for the Church to develop mechanisms for preserving the Gospel as handed down by the Apostles. It became necessary to deal with heresies and set standards for what writings should be considered authoritative. This led to the establishment of the Magisterium, which is not a committee of theologians but includes all the bishops throughout history. They are the successors of the Apostles. Much of this development can be traced in the New Testament itself. We wrestle with many of the same issues today. There really is nothing new under the sun where human is concerned.
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    55 mins
  • Paul and the Church in the World

    Paul and the Church in the World
    Apr 12 2018
    We will finish up with covering St. Paul's take on the Christian faith, with particular attention to his views on justification by faith (in Romans). Then we begin putting the preceding discussions including Paul in a more general perspective by considering the relationship between the Church and the (Roman) world and its implications for us today. Finally, we will be considering why and how the Church became an institution. This will not just be history per se, but an analysis of how we got where we are and what it means for contemporary concerns.
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    55 mins
  • Religious Faith and the Public Square - 04/05/18

    Religious Faith and the Public Square - 04/05/18
    Apr 5 2018
    56 mins
  • Gospel of Matthew

    Gospel of Matthew
    Mar 29 2018
    Matthew's Gospel makes the point that ethics is NOT a matter of mere conformity to a legal code, but a way of life that conforms to God's will as revealed by Jesus. It is not confined to an individual's behavior: it involves the fulfillment of God's purposes in the Kingdom of God at the end of time. Thus, there is a corporate dimension as well. The whole community is responsible for the welfare of the little ones. Works of kindness are not to be done for reward, bit solely on the basis of human need. Still, we cannot wait until Judgment Day to settle matters of good & evil. There must be some system of adjudicating disputes and some structure of authority. His famous depiction for Peter's confession of Jesus' true identity as the Messiah emphasizes Peter's role as regulating the inner life of the community rather than administrator. From this seed sprouts the idea of Magisterium[from the Latin word 'magister' = 'Teacher'], or the teaching office of the church.
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    54 mins
  • New Testament- Gospel of Mark

    New Testament- Gospel of Mark
    Mar 22 2018
    Last week we finished with the Old Testament, so this week we begin with the New. It starts with historical developments and a description of the players such as Pharisees, etc. to provide a framework for understanding the dynamics at work to help us better appreciate what the issues were. After that brief sketch, we turn to the first of the Gospels, that of Mark.
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    53 mins