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The CU Catecast with Fr. Ryan Humphries
This week, an introduction to the Second Letter to the Corinthians
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second and he was probably in what we
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would call Greece either at the very
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bottom in Macedonia or if you're a
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historical professional Macedonia or
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possibly a little bit further north and
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remember he's writing to Corinthians who
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are in Greece as well so he's in the
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neighborhood Paul's theme Here is very
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very specifically Ministry now
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specifically he's talking about how
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awesome and wonderful it is to be called
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a minister of the gospel and and it's an
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exciting letter and he's really pumped
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but at the same time
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um
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the but then new drama showed up and if
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we're really being honest with ourselves
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this is probably third Corinthians
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because there's definitely a um so in
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First Corinthians right Paul sent off
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his letter saying there's drama here's
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how to respond to all the things for
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this new little community of Christians
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well Paul's advice was taken and the
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problems in the community we have
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evidence of was cleared up pretty well
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but the new problem is that some Jews
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have arrived from out of town and they
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don't like Paul personally now that talk
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where people get their quality news you
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know that didn't have any slant or bias
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and so they all they knew was that Paul
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was this jerk who you know had done all
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these jerky things and now here he is
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preaching Christianity is it a scam is
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it a lie we don't know so it's not like
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these Jews are bad folks but they've
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arrived in town and they're saying that
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Paul good what a jerk you don't want
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anything to do with him now
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we know that no one ever has had bad
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things to say about their Pastor in
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private but let's assume that that can
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happen that people would complain about
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their pastor and so the the main
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complaint that arises or the one I
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should say that gets grip in the
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community is not that Paul was a jerk
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back when he was in Jerusalem but that
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Paul never met Jesus in person and of
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course all of these people in Corinth
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they were like hang on so this is where
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the drama really begins to arise and so
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Paul is Paul a real Apostle if you've
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never met now we set the stage this is
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where the drama arises and so because of
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of this and because also the uh his
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parishioners whatever that means and
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also no joke they say he's a Shabby
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dresser
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as a frumpy fat guy myself I can say
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that's kind of a pretty dark insult I
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mean you know what are you going to do
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Paul was a tent maker I mean you know
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you know it's not like he was walking
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around in purple but despite all that
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they complained that Paul's a jerk he's
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all these bad things and and he's a
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Shabby dresser which of course is the
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big big blow to his ego so these jerks
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they don't know what they're talking
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about but now he's got to write some
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kind of you know catch-all letter that's
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going to put all these responses
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together and so we we have this kind of
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sort of kind of come to Jesus letter
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where he's going to take his time and
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address these issues that are leveled
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against him also I should say that the
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scholars of this kind of stuff believe
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that the second letter this letter is
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the make this letter scene second
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Corinthians Paul wants to talk about
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Jesus
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Paul was not interested in in talking
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about himself he's not even super in
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fact as they don't like me they don't
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like me what am I going to do he really
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has to kind of be have a good reputation
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his reputation has to be intact
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um and and having been I'm the
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representative of the Gospel in this
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community so I have to fight it's a
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tough place to be in so that's what Paul
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is trying to do in second Corinthians if
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you remember back in First Corinthians
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he's got a new community of people who
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are asking a bunch of specific questions
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about how to follow Jesus and so Paul
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writes this kind of wonderful loquacious
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explanation of all these different
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matters that they're interested in
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reputation and so
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letter and that's important because a
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lot of Paul's other letters Romans
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especially feels like he starts at Point
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a and he makes his way very logically to
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point B and that letter you guys have a
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good afternoon here though because the
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complaints being made about him are so
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distinct it really feels like uh okay
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I'm just going to have to go Point by
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Point down this stupid argument and once
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I get done with this one we're just
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going to stop cold start a new page and
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and it feels a lot like that it's a
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lightning but it is salty and it is
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sarcastic and for somebody who really
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appreciates that and whose confirmation
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Saint is Paul I like this it makes me
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very happy and so for for what it's
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worth Paul was angry he's frustrated not
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know so much because he's been insulted
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but because Jesus is a shin letter that
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he's checked in with Peter and the Gang
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he's had the whole so Paul was first of
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all just kind of kind of SWAT that down
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are Paul's basic self-defense you said
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this and you're this talk and this is
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one of the most uncohesive sections of
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the entire New Testament where Paul was
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like listen having said all that I'd
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love to to you to fill out the envelope
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in your Pew and fuse send a few dollars
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to the church in Jerusalem because
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they're in need and it really does feel
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like a Jerusalem is in need and if and
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we've got to put our money where our
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mouth is kind of thing so chapters one
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through seven are this kind of very kind
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of salty section chapters eight and nine
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are a commercial and then the whole
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letter scripture but it has a very very
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different feel than most of the other
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letters and I want to say uh kind of a
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brief word about the underlying to get
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into it and so on
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um in the Old Testament you you sortic
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the Injustice to his reputation again
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for the purpose of the for the reason
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that it's it's short changing Jesus but
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is it okay to rage for us as Christians
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what matters if I have to suffer or if
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Paul has to suffer an entirely private
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entirely secret Injustice
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then he can try to fix that Injustice he
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can try to bring Justice to it but it
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really is the definition of take up your
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cross and follow me so something happens
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totally private right you make a private
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you know arrangement with someone that
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they're going to give you X number of
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dollars in exchange for your old car or
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for whatever and you know your
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grandmother's biscuit recipe and then
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that person doesn't pay you you don't
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really have any room to rage against
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there's not a a forum in charity for
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public outrage
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but
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and Paul kind of alludes to this if Paul
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is treated with Injustice in a public
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way and
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he represents something more than
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himself in Paul's case of course that's
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Jesus but we could imagine something
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like in our own Community someone who
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was the face of the Council on Aging or
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agency and that person is treated with
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disrespect or is treated with Injustice
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that person almost has a moral
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obligation on behalf of the organ
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again in charity against any represental
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if that person's reputation is damaged
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and they don't do anything to fix it
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then there is a certain crime against
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the Church of Scandal
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um and so we we've of course seen this a
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lot in the last 30 years in in the
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American church but it is something that
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raises a little bit of a question about
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why Paul can or should rage out
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especially in those last four chapters
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against the damage being done to his
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reputation and of course here we see
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that the reason is because Jesus is the
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one being shortchanged with the nonsense
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and as I said if this is the more
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considered more thought out letter I
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really would like to see a copy of the
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actual Second Corinthians where he just
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shot from the hip and just ranted and
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raved
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um but that's it that's that's Second
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Corinthians it's not a particularly hard
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letter to understand but it's not a
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letter I could stick in with First
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Corinthians because it just didn't make
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sense to to put these two together and
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so that is the the entirety of those who
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are watching this live do Please be
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aware are running Us in the CU catech
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cast I've been Father Ryan Hubbard