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Podcast: The Bible as Literature
Episode: Bread and Oil
Description: For those who impose a triumphalist or sectarian premise on the Bible, it is impossible to hear the Parable of the Ten Virgins. Even if they accept Matthew’s warning that the church will be judged—even if they understand that the virgins represent churches—they immediately assume that their church is numbered among the prudent. But the very fact of a Matthean reckoning implies that the jury is still out for all of us. So, the question is, is the body of our church prepared for the arrival of the Bridegroom? Since all ten virgins (representing all the church...