Episode Details

• A huge thanks to Joseph McDade for his generous permission to use his music: https://josephmcdade.com/
• Thanks to Palmtoptiger17 for the beautiful logo: https://www.instagram.com/palmtoptiger17/
• Discord Discussion Board: https://disboard.org/server/474580298630430751 
• The Historic Faith Courses: https://thehistoricfaith.com/
• My Sonnet Compilation: https://www.amazon.com/My-First-Sonnets-J-G-Elliot-ebook/dp/B01LXXIIQN/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=my+first+sonnets&qid=1585870352&sr=8-2

• Richard Rohr's "Sermon on the Mount": https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003A0IASQ/ref=cm_sw_r_em_api_uOXEFbGCN7ASQ
• Dallas Willard's "The Divine Conspiracy": https://www.amazon.com/Divine-Conspiracy-Rediscovering-Hidden-Life/dp/0007596545/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=dallas+willard+divine+conspiracy&qid=1601907374&sr=8-1

Topaz

The greed of gold borne in the soul abounds

A voice inside our heads which drives us mad

Our one goal, to control, always resounds

Pride completing endogenous dyad

Wealth makes it all too easy to be smug

And become a bad friend like Eliphaz

Or even worse, wealth fabricates humbug

Making God a servant to our topaz

So heed the words of him with golden mouth

Never allow complacency to set

For our God is the Lord of Sabaoth

Before whom one day all knees will be bent

Give your gifts now with generosity

And learn wherein lies true security

 [Mt. 6:1-4]. Topaz is a yellow gem which signified wealth and gold and was believed to attract gold to the wearer. 

There is a double meaning here. First, borne in the soul means what it says, which is that greed is carried by the soul. There is a weight and a marring done to our soul as it carries greed. But greed is also born or formed in our souls. It isn’t what’s on the outside that defiles us, but that which comes from the inside. Greed is not born when we come in contact with gold, but is born on the inside of us. This greed isn’t all that particular to individuals, but it abounds both in terms of who it affects (all people), and in terms of how greatly it affects each of us. 

The dyad – the two part composition of every human (if you’re a dualist, like most Christians are), begins as pride seeking control. In our arrogance we set ourselves up as gods and believe we are the center of the universe. We ourselves are worth preserving and elevating. In order to accomplish our ascension to divinity, we must have control. We must control not only the environment around us (for both pleasure and security), but also individuals. This dyad is endogenous, or created internally (just as was referenced a few lines earlier where evil comes out of us, it doesn’t go into us) and is common to all humanity. There is also a double meaning intended here, as “dyad” should trigger the thought of the very close word “dryad.” Dryads were the living beings who inhabited trees in Greek mythology. While often considered beautiful and wonderful, encounters with them could also be very dangerous, leaving one mad, dumb, etc. Here, endogenous dyad (or dryad) signifies that this pride and control are the true spirit residing within our corporeal trunks (bodies) – a spirit which when encountered and fed can perpetuate and exacerbate our maddened state.

Eliphaz was one of Job’s friends. He came from a land know