In this episode Sufi al-Hajj Daud (Dr. David D. Peck), and ‘Abd al-Haqq (Christopher Hurtado) embark on a very deep read of a single verse from 1 Thessalonians (1 Thess. 5:23) through the lens of Sufi teachings about the soul’s release from ego-domination.

In this episode your co-hosts explore Paul’s declaration that, ‘living is Christ, and dying is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Sufi respect and reverence for Jesus is explored through Sufi teachings and personal anecdotes.

In this episode Christopher and David converse about Ephesians 5:30-32, where Paul employs the metaphor of marriage and marital intimacy as a way to understand The Divine and its relationship to the Church. The co-hosts explore this same metaphor as one of intimacy between The Divine and the individual soul in Sufi concepts and poetry.

Your co-hosts converse about Galtians 5:16-18, focusing on the nature of what is called the “divided soul,” the “impulsive soul,” or the “lower self.” The discussion focuses on the opposition we may experience between the desire to follow the path of the soul or spirit, and the desire to follow the desires of the flesh, as Paul puts it. Addressing the lower self through spiritual thought and practice is the first stop on the Sufi caravan of the soul back to The Divine.

In this episode David and Christopher focus on 2 Corinthians 12:2-4. These verses contain one of Paul’s mystical experiences that may prove confusing to Christians unused to mystical concepts, practices and experiences. The Sufi concept of worlds or realms beyond the mind and senses, concepts of high states of consciousness are referenced in order to provide an alternate, spiritual path toward reading and internalizing Paul and his experience.