#337 Cardinal Burke - The Old Testament
Cardinal Raymond Burke provides a comprehensive overview of the Old Testament, explaining its structure, major covenants with Adam/Eve, Noah, Abraham, David, and Moses, and how all Old Testament prophecies point to Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of God's promises. The discussion emphasizes that the Bible is God's inspired word given through human authors, with particular focus on the Ten Commandments, natural law, and how modern society mirrors the sinfulness of Noah's time and Sodom and Gomorrah.
Summary
Sean Ryan opens the episode by sharing personal experiences with spiritual warfare, including demonic encounters during psychedelic experiences and ongoing supernatural phenomena at his home. Cardinal Burke responds by affirming that demonic attacks intensify when someone commits to spreading truth, citing Scripture and drawing parallels to Christ's passion. Burke emphasizes perseverance through the sacraments of Eucharist and Confession as sources of spiritual strength.
Burke then provides a foundational explanation of the Bible, defining it as God's word given through human authors across approximately 72 books (45 Old Testament, 27 New Testament) recognized by the Church as divinely inspired. He explains that all Scripture points toward Jesus Christ and should be treated with utmost reverence. The Bible emerged through God's covenants with His people, beginning with Adam and Eve and culminating in Christ's incarnation.
Regarding the Five Covenants, Burke outlines: (1) Adam and Eve - God promises a savior through the seed of a woman to crush Satan's head; (2) Noah - God preserves the faithful remnant through the flood and promises descendants; (3) Abraham - God promises numerous descendants and a great nation, fulfilled through Christ; (4) Moses - God gives the Ten Commandments establishing proper relationships with God, family, and community; (5) David - God promises an eternal king through David's line, fulfilled in Christ.
Burke emphasizes the natural law written on human hearts by God at creation, which precedes and underlies the Ten Commandments. He argues that even without knowing formal commandments, people intuitively understand that human sexuality belongs within marriage for procreation and family formation, that God should be worshipped, and that human life is sacred.
When discussing why the Old Testament God seems harsher than the New Testament God, Burke explains that God was preparing the Jewish people to receive the Savior through discipline and purification. The harsh judgments served to refine a "stiff-necked" people, while the New Testament reveals God's full love through Christ's incarnation and redemptive work.
Burke draws striking parallels between ancient Sodom and Gomorrah and modern society, specifically identifying homosexual activity, transgenderism, and the redefinition of marriage as contemporary manifestations of the same rebellion against God's natural law. He argues that medicine is being corrupted when used to mutilate bodies for transgender purposes rather than for healing. He calls same-sex marriage "a heresy not only against the faith but against reason itself."
On the question of how Old Testament scientific claims align with modern science (Big Bang, dinosaurs, evolution), Burke asserts that true science can never contradict Scripture when both are properly understood. He notes that evolution remains a theory, not scientific fact, and that the Genesis creation account is literature meant to convey theological truth: that God created all things and that humans alone possess intellect and will as a gift from God alone.
Burke explains that the Passover lamb foreshadows Christ as the Paschal Lamb whose blood saves humanity from spiritual death, paralleling how the lamb's blood saved the Israelites from physical death in Egypt. He emphasizes that all Old Testament prophecies center on Christ's coming and that the entire Old Testament prepares people to receive the Savior.
On the Holy Trinity, Burke acknowledges it as a mystery beyond complete human comprehension, describing it as one God in three distinct persons, with the nature of God so rich it requires three personal expressions. He mentions St. Patrick's shamrock as a helpful (though imperfect) image.
Burke concludes that the overall message of the Old Testament is that God saves us through Jesus (whose name means "God saves"), with the entire Old Testament demonstrating God's love and preparing humanity for Christ's incarnation. He emphasizes that reading the Old Testament reveals the depth and richness of God's love through stories like the Exodus, King David, and the Book of Tobit.
About this episode
Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke is an American cardinal, canon lawyer, and one of the Catholic Church’s most prominent defenders of traditional doctrine and liturgy. He previously served as Archbishop of St. Louis and as Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s highest judicial court, before being elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. He is also the founder of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Shawn Ryan Show Sponsors: Privacy Isn't Paranoia. It's Protection. Download Glacier today: https://srs.site/glacierapp Babbel is offering listeners up to 60% off. Go to https://Babbel.com/SRS Buy American at https://SnakestaffSystems.com and now on Amazon. Tell your family and friends Upgrade your eyewear at https://roka.com and use code SRS for 20% off sitewide at checkout. Try Gusto today at https://gusto.com/SRS and get three months free when you run your first payroll. Get started with Claude at https://claude.ai/srs. Get 30% off your first subscription order at https://armra.com/srs or enter code SRS at checkout. Cardinal Burke Links: Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe Website - https://guadalupeshrine.org Five Years with Mary - https://sempervirgo.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Key Insights
- Cardinal Burke asserts that demonic attacks intensify specifically against those spreading Christian truth, as Satan hates anyone bringing biblical truth to others.
- Burke defines the Bible as God's word given through human authors, with nothing in Scripture able to lead people astray—even minute details can draw people closer to God.
- Burke explains that approximately 72 books were recognized by the Church through ecumenical councils as divinely inspired, with seven additional books included in the Catholic canon that exist only in Greek translation (the Septuagint) rather than Hebrew originals.
- Burke identifies Five Covenants rather than four: with Adam/Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David, with each renewing God's relationship with His people.
- Burke argues that the natural law—God's law written on human hearts at creation—precedes the Ten Commandments and explains why people intuitively understand fundamental truths about God, sexuality, and human dignity without formal religious instruction.
- Burke claims that God appeared harsher in the Old Testament not because His nature changed, but because He was purifying a rebellious people to prepare them to receive the Savior, using discipline to refine them.
- Burke directly compares modern society (specifically transgenderism, homosexuality, and same-sex marriage) to the sins of Noah's time and Sodom and Gomorrah, calling same-sex marriage 'a heresy not only against faith but against reason itself.'
- Burke argues that the medical profession is being corrupted when it uses surgery to mutilate bodies for transgender purposes rather than for healing, and notes that people who underwent these procedures are now filing lawsuits against those who performed them.
- Burke maintains that true science can never contradict Scripture when both are properly understood, and notes that evolution remains an unproven theory rather than demonstrated scientific fact.
- Burke explains that humans alone among earthly creatures possess intellect and will, a gift only God could give, making humans fundamentally different from all other creation in their capacity for rational thought and moral choice.
- Burke describes the Passover lamb as a strong prefigurement of Christ, with the lamb's blood that saved Israelites from death pointing to Christ's blood that saves humanity from everlasting death.
- Burke reveals that Mary and Joseph were legally married (betrothed) before the Annunciation—not merely engaged—making Jesus born into a complete family unit as part of God's providential plan.
- Burke asserts that all Old Testament prophecies are centered on Christ's coming and that the entire Old Testament functions as preparation for people to receive the Savior.
- Burke states that God's covenant is absolutely unbreakable—it is impossible for God to make a covenant and not keep it, as He is eternally faithful and His love never fails.
- Burke argues that reading the Old Testament is essential because it reveals the depth and richness of God's love through varied narratives (Exodus, David, Tobit) that demonstrate different aspects of His care for His people.
Topics
Transcript
If you spend any time off-road like I do, you already know how easy it is to end up second-guessing where you're at, whether you're still on a legal trail or if the route ahead is even worth taking. That's why I've been using OnX Off-Road. It's an off-road navigation app that shows trails, public and private land boundaries, places to camp, and detailed trail info all in one place. And what makes it really useful is the amount of actual trail data. You can check difficulty ratings, terrain details, trail photos, even recent reports from other riders before you head out there. The other big thing is you can download maps ahead of time, because once you lose service…
Full transcript available for MurmurCast members
Sign Up to AccessMore from The Shawn Ryan Show
#336 Byron Boots - He Turned a Polaris RZR Into a Self-Driving Military Vehicle
Byron Boots, CEO of Overland AI, discusses how his company is building autonomous ground vehicles for the U.S. military by combining machine learning, robotics, and DARPA-funded research into production-ready platforms. The Ultra vehicle can operate autonomously off-road, carry various payloads from weapons to sensors, and enable single operators to control hundreds of assets simultaneously like a real-time strategy game.
#335 Ed Barnhart - The Amazon Rainforest is Hiding a Lost Civilization?
Dr. Ed Barnhart, an archaeologist specializing in Mesoamerican civilizations, discusses his discoveries of Maya cities, the astronomical and mathematical sophistication of the Maya civilization, and recent LIDAR discoveries revealing vast pre-Columbian settlements across North and South America. He explores the collapse of Maya civilization, infectious disease's role in decimating indigenous populations post-contact, and his current projects mapping settlements in Cambodia, Easter Island, and potentially proving the Inca used hydrofluoric acid to fuse stone structures.
#334 Clint Emerson - Inside SEAL Team 6's Spy Unit: Black Squadron
Clint Emerson, a retired Navy SEAL from SEAL Team 6's Black Squadron, discusses his 20+ year career in Naval Special Warfare, including early deployments, the development of advanced force operations programs, singleton intelligence operations targeting high-value targets like Somali pirates and Al-Qaeda leaders, and his personal journey through therapy and Ibogaine to address childhood trauma from his mother's abandonment.
#333 George Christie - Surviving 40 Years in the Hells Angels
George Christie, a 40-year Hells Angels member who served as president of the Ventura charter, discusses the club's origins, internal culture, evolution from a motorcycle brotherhood to an organization saturated with criminals, and his eventual departure in 2011. The conversation explores biker club hierarchies, patches and their meanings, territorial conflicts, the role of law enforcement infiltration, and Christie's personal journey toward faith.
#332 Alex West - SEAL Team 6 Operator on Crashing a Black Hawk Into Bin Laden's Backyard
Alex West, a retired Navy SEAL who led the assault team during Operation Neptune Spear (the Bin Laden raid), discusses his 20-year military career, 15 combat deployments, the psychological toll of war, his founding of One More Wave nonprofit for wounded veterans, and his journey to becoming a mental health therapist specializing in trauma and advocating for psychedelic-assisted treatments like Ibogaine.