Logos Bible Study

Over the past several weeks, Dr. C. has been taking a look at women in the Bible. This week he turns his eyes on Ruth, his favorite woman in the Old Testament. This week’s Podcast will be a real treat!

“Meet the Women of the Bible—Deborah and Jael” After the conquest of Canaan in Joshua, we settle the “Promised Land” in Judges. The Israelites are little more than a loose confederation of twelve tribes, however, living separate lives, more or less isolated from one another. But when danger encroaches, the tribes coalesce and a leader emerges to deal with the threat. In this profoundly patriarchal culture, the fourth leader to emerge is a woman, Deborah, assisted by another woman, Jael. Together they save Israel from the hands of Jabin, king of Canaan. So, what happened to all the men?

If we’re to understand Scripture within its proper historical and cultural context, we must recognize that the world of the Bible is profoundly patriarchal: men control everything, men are the “head”; but women are the “neck,” and they can turn the head any way they want! In a profoundly patriarchal, tribal culture, women wield power and authority using very different strategies than men. In the next few Podcasts, Dr. C. will explore some of the women of the Bible, telling their stories from their point of view. This should be great fun!

If we’re to understand Scripture within its proper historical and cultural context, we must recognize that the world of the Bible is profoundly patriarchal: men control everything, men are the “head”; but women are the “neck,” and they can turn the head any way they want! In a profoundly patriarchal, tribal culture, women wield power and authority using very different strategies than men. In the next few podcasts, Dr. C. will explore some of the women of the Bible, telling their stories from their point of view. This should be great fun!

In this week’s podcast, Dr. C. continues cleaning up his Q&A inbox, looking closely at a question about Isaiah the prophet! In answering the question, he investigates how biblical prophecy in general works, and specifically how Isaiah should be read.

Over the past several podcasts Dr. Creasy has offered a 4-part series on Mary and last week’s discussion on “Who Wrote the Bible,” in which he explored how the canon of Scripture took shape in the early days of the Church. All during that time, your questions have piled up in his in-box. This week, Dr. C. works through some of the more difficult ones!

In this week’s Podcast, Dr. Creasy introduces a new course, one that he has never taught before: The Deuterocanonical Books. Those are the books of Scripture that are in Roman Catholic and Orthodox Bibles, but are not in Jewish or Protestant Bibles. In this Podcast, Dr. C. explores how some books of Scripture became “canonical,” while others did not. This is a great introduction to this new study that you can attend, either in “Live” classes or online as a “Remote Student.”

In Part 4 of Dr. Creasy’s Podcast series on “Mary, the Mother of Jesus,” he explores the role of Mary in Scripture, starting with Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection and ascension and moves into how the Church has thought about Mary over the many centuries ever since. He closes the Podcast with a very personal note about his own relationship with Mary.

In Part 1 of Dr. Creasy’s Podcast series on “Mary, the Mother of Jesus,” he explored the Annunciation, God’s offer to Mary to become the mother of God’s son, Jesus. Her “yes” demonstrated not only her great faith, but her great courage as well. In Part 2, Dr. C. examined Jesus’ birth in a stable in Bethlehem, an most unlikely place for the son of God to be born! Here in Part 3, Dr. C. will follow Mary’s involvement in Jesus’ public ministry, beginning with his baptism in the Jordan River by Jesus’ cousin, John; Jesus’ move from Nazareth to Capernaum; his teaching and preaching in Galilee; and his final journey to Jerusalem and the cross.

Last week Dr. Creasy began a 3-part Podcast on Mary, the Mother of Jesus, focusing on the Annunciation. We learned that Mary’s “yes” not only demonstrated great faith, but great courage, as well. With the Annunciation, Mary was the first person to place her faith in Christ, the child she would bear. This week, Dr. Creasy explores Jesus’ birth and his childhood, from Mary’s perspective, giving us insight into Mary as a mother.

Last Wednesday was the Feast of “The Assumption of the Virgin Mary,” a teaching in the Roman Catholic Church that Jesus’ mother, Mary, “having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.” The teaching was defined by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950. In this week’s Podcast, Dr. C. explores Mary, her role in Jesus’ life, her role in the Church and her role in our lives today. This Podcast is Part 1 of a 3-part series!

This past Monday we celebrated the Feast of “The Transfiguration of the Lord.” The feast remembers when Jesus took his inner circle of disciples—Peter, James and John—to a high mountain, and there in the presence of Moses and Elijah, Jesus was transfigured—literally metamorphosed—like caterpillar to butterfly, as the voice of God says: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him” (Mark 9: 7). Dr. C. peers behind the veil of this remarkable story, probing its inner, deeper meaning.

Dr. Creasy announces our first Webinar session, coming September 15!

Another year has rolled by . . . and they seem to be picking up speed, as they do! Yes, this week was Dr. C.’s birthday, which got him to thinking about birth, our walk across the stage of life, and our inevitable exit. What’s it all mean . . . and what awaits us in eternity? Interesting stuff! Also, Dr. C. addresses a slew of questions that you have submitted.

At Mass this Sunday (the 17th Sunday in Ordinary time) the Old Testament reading was the very short story of the prophet Elisha feeding 100 people with five barley loaves and some “grain in the ear” (2 Kings 4: 42-44), and the Gospel reading was the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with five barley loaves and two fish (John 6: 1-15). The parallels got Dr. C. to thinking . . . And we also have a listener question. Tom in Arizona asks: Did the disciples know that the Messiah (Jesus) was God?

After last week’s episode on “The Big Lie”—that success brings happiness—Dr. Creasy continues thinking about the problem, arriving at a very simple solution . . . thanks to advice from a very old and wise man. Plus, we have an audio question from Frances in New Zealand on the origin of evil. Also, this week we are launching a campaign on Patreon, a wonderful service that allows patrons (that's you!) to support creators (that's us!). Visit www.patreon.com/scripture to find out more. In exchange for your support (for as little as $10 - $20 a month), you will get access to all kinds of Logos Bible Study material, including free courses in the Logos Online Classroom. The first 50 supporters on Patreon will get free access to Dr. Creasy's live Webinar in September.

In this week’s episode, Dr. Creasy takes on contemporary American culture and the mantra that “Success brings happiness.” It’s a lie. Wait until you hear what he has to say! He’s on a roll with this one, folks! And Dr. Creasy also answers listeners' questions: “Why do we have four Gospels, rather than one . . . and why do they sometimes contradict one another?” “What do you mean when you say Scripture is ‘inspired’ by God?”

Last week Dr. Creasy finished the Logos Bible Study spring quarter, teaching “St. Paul’s Prison Epistles” (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon); this week he begins the Logos summer quarter, teaching “The Return from Captivity” (Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther and Job). In this week’s podcast, Dr. C. ruminates on summer, summer in childhood and summer now . . . a curious lead-in to the Israelites returning from the Babylonian captivity! Dr. Creasy also answers a listener question: James S. asks about Jesus healing the blind man in Mark 8: 22-26. What is the lesson for us?

This week Dr. Creasy will finish his teaching his spring quarter live classes on “St. Paul’s Prison Epistles” (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon). In the great “Christ Hymn” of Colossians 1: 15-20, St. Paul elevates Christ to a position of cosmic significance, one is “the image of the invisible God, and one in whom “all things hold together,” both in heaven and on earth. This is an extraordinarily high “Christology.” Where did St. Paul learn all of this?

This coming January Dr. Creasy will lead his 59th teaching tour to Israel. Over the years more than 2,000 of his Logos Bible Study students have traveled with him to the Holy Land and throughout the Mediterranean world. For many, Dr. C’s teaching tours are a life-changing experience, bringing the Scriptures alive by adding color, tone and texture to the characters and stories of the Bible. In this week’s podcast, Dr. Creasy talks about his first tour to Israel and how visiting the Holy Land changes one’s encounter with Scripture and deepens one’s relationship with Christ.