The Bible as Literature

Human beings are evil. We are hardwired to curate our self-image, excuse our failures, and cling to the stories that make us feel good about ourselves. The truth is, we are hypocrites—fluctuating between condemning unspeakable horrors, often hidden from public view, and idolizing the very politicians and institutional cowards who cause or permit them.

The same psychological games we play to deceive ourselves work flawlessly...

In Dark Sayings, I explain how Emperor Justinian stands as a striking example of imperial harlotry. Like all rulers, he filtered Scripture through his own agenda—much like what we see in 2025, with elites twisting the biblical text to justify the very actions it condemns. Today’s world leaders are effectively reenacting the sins of the Bible’s villains.

If it weren’t a tragedy, it would be a comedy. I’d sit with Jonah b...

In Isaiah, Cyrus the Great emerges as a unique figure chosen by the God of Israel to fulfill a specific historical task: the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple and the liberation of the Judahites from exile in Babylon in direct fulfillment of the prophecy spoken by Jeremiah.

Cyrus’s rise to power is depicted not as a product of his strength but as the result of God stirring his spirit and granting him authority over all...

People choose personal relationships and personal fulfillment over duty. Most often, they place the latter ahead of the former, which is why you see all these ridiculous posts on social media about “toxic relationships.”

It’s a big joke.

I live among people who do not inhabit the same reality as I do.

It used to frustrate me, but now I smile and move on, knowing that most people are not willing to make hard choices. They—and ...

Situated opposite Galilee, the “earth” of the Gerasenes marks the site of God’s first tactical strike against Greco-Roman assimilation in Luke.

The Greco-Roman rulers who possess and enslave the land impose violence and havoc, sowing death where God’s many flocks were meant to roam freely, without interference.

Like the abusers in Jerusalem, the occupying forces in Decapolis do not want to live and let live. They seek to ass...

In Scripture, “earth” signifies more than just physical land; it functions as a literary sign that opposes human oppression. The biblical narrative presents the land both as a silent witness against human civilization and as one of its victims. In this context, the recurring phrase “heavens and earth” serves as a merism, expressing the totality of creation and affirming God’s sovereign authority and judgment:

In “Dark Sayings,” I explore how internalized racism destroyed my mother’s family. This psychological process, woven out of Hellenistic pluralism and anti-Scriptural platitudes about the so-called “Melting Pot,” reveals how systemic racism operates not only externally but within the immigrant’s self-conception.

Internalized racism is more insidious than the inferiority complex from which it stems. Eventually, the im...

Theologians and philosophers love to talk about the meaning of life. They explore its purpose, justification, and value, questioning whether or not suffering has meaning. They sound like the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, wasting time viewing things from the wrong perspective: man’s point of view, the king’s point of view, Job’s point of view.

This mirrors how Christians assess and then attempt to control the Holy Spirit through...

In every age, empires create words to describe the people in the societies they seek to dominate and exploit. Eventually, these terms are turned inward and used against themselves. The Greco-Romans—and their eastern heirs, whom modern scholars call the Byzantines—labeled those outside their empire as barbarians. 

The colonials who settled the Americas, after dismantling the peaceful coexistence of Semitic peoples in Souther...

Some concepts in the Bible are so crucial that if they aren’t properly understood from the outset, the text itself can be twisted from a guide that protects your steps into a snare that traps you in a cycle of endless folly.

One such example is the idea of ownership or proprietorship.

When you hear the Bible, even in the original languages, but especially in translation—for example, the colonial King James text—when you hear...

What is it like to be unaffected?

How sad it must be to go to church, attend a class, interact with your neighbor, and be indifferent to what they say.

What is it like to be unaffected?

To be so confined to yourself that when you look at your natural reflection in the mirror, you see your flaws—you might even acknowledge them—but the moment you look away, you forget them. You carry on with your life. It’s a curiosity, an inte...

When people hear Luke 8:18, they assume it is talking about stuff.

But Luke, like the Book of Job, is not about stuff.

It is about darkness and light.

When people evaluate others—their first mistake is that they evaluate at all—they measure what others have. That is how the Duopoly assesses Job. They love him because he was rich, pity him because he was poor, judge him because he was self-righteous, or cheer him because he di...