Episode 24 —

Put to Death? What Is Earthly? What Does That Mean?

What does Paul mean when he tells us to “put to death what is earthly”?

After becoming Orthodox, I found that one of the hardest things to communicate to my Protestant friends was the Orthodox understanding of the Fall. It isn't simply a matter of learning a different doctrine. You have to begin imagining the human condition from a different starting point.

In this episode, I explore a central question:

What if death is not merely the consequence of human sin, but one of the great forces driving human sin?

We are mortal creatures. Our bodies are designed to preserve our lives in a world where we die. Hunger, sexuality, fear, the desire for security, the accumulation of resources, and our instinct to protect oursel ...