The Prodigal Son's Older Brother
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ต.ค. 2024
- For the Mass Readings Explained for the 4th Sunday of Lent (Year C), the Church places before us the parable of the Prodigal Son in the Gospel reading.
Often times, and understandably so, the emphasis is placed on the wayward younger son who takes his inheritance from his father and leaves to go to a distant land, only to then return to his father's house asking for mercy and to be accepted back.
However, there is much to be said regarding the older brother, who not only sees his relationship with his father as one of a servant rather than a son, but it is important to note how he, like the Pharisees who made a comment which launched Jesus into this parable, are being identified as the elder brother.
They, like the elder son, despise the father's mercy that he bestows upon the outcasts and the sinners.
Learn more about the Mass Readings Explained here: catholicproduc...
Find Bible studies by Dr. Brant Pitre here: catholicproduc...
Visit Dr. Pitre's website here: www.brantpitre...
‘Are you angry because I am generous?’ God asks of us. Forgive us whenever we harbour these jealous thoughts and feelings dear God.
Datin: You are right. No one seems to ever mention 'jealousy', which is what the eldest son is feeling.
@@sleepinglioness5754it is not jealousy it is resentment
Thanks for the message, God bless
I'm the older "son" in this parable. My brother suddenly quit our family business, leaving me and my father to scramble and pick up the pieces. He now wants to come back. He gave us a teeny tiny apology. But It's hard for me to forgive and welcome him back without any accountability. I'm ready to move on and separate myself 😔
I pray you can find some path to keep a relationship with your father. My sympathy has always been with the older son, since even the prodigal son's "coming to his senses" sounds more like a scheme to get back into his former situation, rather than a sincere repentance! And "all that I have is yours" doesn't sound like the father is as stupid as I hear preachers make him out to be. No father, worthy of the title, wants to be estranged from his children. God Bless you!
And now you see a small taste of the depths of God's forgiveness for pur sin.
@@donaldsmith6814 I have decided to leave. It hurts. I reset what could have been. I feel like I'm getting a divorce.
I still love my family. But mixing family + business has done nothing but cause stress and conflict. I look forward to strengthening those relationships, outside of a business setting.
May god bless you & give you guidance in this most difficult situation. Prayer for your future & family. @@kylabreezy
Cleave yourself, and go on unfortunately your dad is enabling your the prodigal son.
“Rules without relationship leads to rebellious actions”
Interesting. What do you mean by that?
Luis Urgelles // i could be wrong but I think he means that when you obey rules without a proper relationship they become chores and when they become chores you love God less and when you love God less you may end up doing rebellious things
So real today with so much divisions in families. Thru beliefs, politics and Covid vaccinations and masks. This parable shows us so much about ourselves and family. Excellent. Thank you
I loved this talk...it really spoke to my heart, when in prayer, it came to me that I, like the eldest son, “view myself as a servant” and not a child of God...is that how I see myself? Yes, most of the time but never realized it like I do now...how blessed I am to have the opportunity to “hear” and now during Lent...take my relationship to the cross and ask for more love..
Thank you Dr Petri...praying for you today
I loved Dr. Brant Pitre in giving a deeper meaning the passages of the word of God.. GOD BLESS HIM ALWAYS AND HIS FAMILY TOO..
I was at a Cursillo over 30 years ago and this funny Polish-American priest added some humor to this passage of the story. "Now what maybe missing is what the servant said to the older brother 'Hey you know that bum brother of yours? Well guess what - he's back and if you don't get in there fast who knows what he's going to next!' "
I think that there is a lot of truth in what that priest said!
Loved it. Thank you Dr Pitre
I just love the way you teach.. Dr Brent. God bless you and anoint you mightily. You don't know how you impact my life with your teachings..
Thank God. I understand now that we can serve God and keep his commandments without truly loving Him.
Thank you for your great content. I have discovered your channel at the beginning of lent and I can't get enough. I have learned so much and will continue to watch your videos over and over to keep learning.
Thank you brother
Feel blessed , thanks a lot sir , for sharing this parable so clearly
This to me is the most misinterpreted parable. There are 3 in the parable. They each have a lesson. The father's is to appreciate ALL his children. The older son to trust in the Lord for his reward. The younger son humility. Every preacher picks on the older son unfairly. The Bible does not ascribe so many interpretations for him. He was righteously upset in my book. I told my priest how much this parable bothers me too. I am an "older brother" myself; the good one who never caused a problem and was taken for granted. I recently lost my parents and they left me nothing; my younger sibs got everything. My own maturity was stunted caring for them all for years and years and I never asked for a thing. When I was a boy we were poor. My sibs had it a lot better and have no experience of being hungry or homeless as I do. The responsibility I had at 8 is totally foreign to them. I am no pharisee either; I did not act holier than thou; I was a little boy who wanted to be a little boy not a little boy expected to act like a grown man.
I guess we have to be merciful to our parents as well; to be a never ending fount as Christ is.
God knows, He was always there with us.
The parables are made-up stories used as teaching tools. They compare some aspect of Hebrew daily life to some aspect of the Kingdom of God, when interpreted as intended. This isn't a teaching technique that Jesus invented (in fact, I've heard the Prodigal Son was an existing parable, but one in which Jesus changed the ending).
In every parable, every key character or inanimate object from daily life represents something else in the Kingdom. The seeds on good soil represent the Word of God when presented to those ready to receive it properly and bear fruit, etc. These aren't random lessons by example; one has to understand the comparison (or the''comparable') to understand the particular aspect of the Kingdom.
Most of the time, the master or landlord or father represents God. That's true also with the Prodigal Son, as Dr. Pitre said. The younger son represents those who reject God to embrace the world but then repent, and the older son represents those who don't want God to be merciful (at least not to others).
Hello! I am sure God sees your heart and He loves you more than anyone could. God is a perfect Father who wants everyone of His children to enter His kingdom. God bless you!
Your reward is in Heaven. But, I would recommend you see a psychologist to help you deal with childhood trauma from abuse. God also works miracles through doctors. May God grant you peace and joy.
Totally agree with you on this one. Watching this video i feel like the preacher was way too harsh on the elder brother too. The elder brother's anger is basically everyone of us when we feel like we've been taken for granted. It's totally human. It's one we prolly should be dealing with grace and love but who here is always good and always Godly? I read an interesting article about this and this is what it says :
"So, part of the good news for the elder brother is that he is invited to let of go of
keeping score. We don’t have to let that score-keeping mentality tear at us. God is not a score keeper. We might like God to be a score keeper-after all, we might get a pretty good score-but God is not a score keeper. The only kind of score God keeps is how many respond to God’s grace, how many join the party.
And if we are not keeping score, we can give up a bit of our anxiety. I think anxiety is one of the characteristics of elder brothers. Elsewhere in Luke’s gospel we read of another pair of siblings, Mary and Martha. Luke is not clear who is the elder, but I would
bet you a denarius that Martha was the older sister. She is the one working in the kitchen, while her sister Mary sits at Jesus’ feet. Martha’s in the kitchen working, while Mary is sitting around with Jesus. Martha is understandably resentful, but Jesus says, “Martha,
Martha you are anxious and troubled about many things…” There is something about comparisons and keeping score that makes a person anxious. So it is common for elder
brothers and elder sisters to fret, to be big fretters. Some interpret Jesus’ comment to Martha as a criticism: “You are anxious about many things…” But there is another way to look at it. Perhaps Jesus was inviting this eldest child to let go of the anxiety that comes with comparisons and keeping score. Obviously, it is tearing you up. You can let it go."
And finally this from another source that is the essence of the elder brother's dilemma :
There are two ways you can be lost.
•One way is to break the rules and do as you please. This is how
the younger brother lived, and he was lost.
•The other way, is to keep all the rules and to be good. This is
how the elder brother lived, and he was lost too.
Ps : I hope you're doing well. I used to be in a similar position. It's a learning process. A harsh and strict one but nevertheless..a learning process. Keep at it.
Why doesn't this commentator talk about the legitimate pain of the elder brother who likely feels pain and abandonment by his brother? Has the brother apologized to the elder brother yet? No. Why is it only the father who is allowed to have emotions by return of the parent side? It's important that that elder brother hear from his father but he is loved too
Exactly, you can't really find a fault in the way the older brother acted.
There a few points that need to be clarified. The father effusively goes out and greets the younger brother. The older brother is out in the field. Nobody goes out to tell him what has happened. As far as I can see the servant only tells the older brother about the younger brother's return, and not about the younger brother's penitence. The older brother was not with the father to know anything about the younger brother's penitence, thus the questioning of the servant by the older brother. When does the older brother actually have the full story? The father's treatment of the older brother is very different than that of the younger brother. What is the reader to make of this? Is there any aspect of the Jewish culture that would explain why the older brother is mostly kept out of the loop and mostly has to dig on his own for information? The parable is open ended, you are never told what the older brother does in response to the father. When I read the parable I would like to be fair to all of the characters in the story.
The Father spoke of this not once but twice to his eldest son, your brother was lost but now found. How is that not clear for your curious mind
@@venalegaoi4218 This doesn't take place until near the end of the parable and it appears that the older brother's actions are what led to him being told anything directly by the father. The parable is open-ended so you are never told what the older brother's reaction is to the father when given this information. To me the younger brother's repentance is of great significance.
Thank you. The older brother gets too much "heat". Note; his father never rebuked him, rather he acknowledged his concerns and the heart of his grievances: "Son you're always with me, and everything I have is yours". Obedience to God is very important, even more than being able to accept his grace and favor.
Gloria Patri
Among thevten commandments,, which commandment the prodigal son dis obeys?
I am not a Christian and this is what I felt while hearing to this and also reading the story.May be he sees only as a slave because he was never told of the celebrations. A dad who invited everyone could have sent for his son too. I always see the sons action examined to such a degree but not the other characters . For it to feel like family everyone has to do some things . Not just the elder son. Maybe it is unfair because comparing material things like property is not like grace .
For a broader context we can also compare our Jewish brothers and sisters or Judaism, to the older brother. For they were the first nation in the Bible that God revealed Himself to and the first to have served him.
We as Gentiles or descendants of many pagan believers, whom later found the Christian faith via Jesus can easily be compared to the prodigal son. For we have been lost and now we're found.
It is amazing how Jesus taught through parables that even we can see prophecy through His parables. I guess from here we can also understand why Judaism despise Christianity and why Christians still love Jews
🙇🏾♂️🙇🏾♂️
So true.
He loves the father, because he obeys him and loving is obeying Jesus said. He loves the father but got jealous. I saw few brethren like that during my first months in a church congregation. A kind of Jonah attitude also.
In a Book “ The hidden wisdom of the Bible “ the parable is interpreted ( by theosophical minds )
As follows .
The younger son represents Man as represented by Adam . The journey from paradise to earth ; is due to the first sin . Then the soul decents to the lowest level ; the earthy birth of the soul . Then the repentance and journey back towards God . Then the reunion with the creator in heaven . The elder brother and all the father’s companions are the heavenly spirits and angels ; never separated from God the father . The envying brother symbolises the extreme love of God to mankind as God created man in his own image . So among all the creations Man the prodigal son ; gets the highest seat in heaven . That was the reason why the serpent Satan tempted Adam . They wanted to be like God ; but were ousted from paradise along with Man who sinned . In Man’s sojourn in Earth , ( The far off land of the Prodigal son ; ) he has to get back ; away from Satan ; by repenting and with the help of The blood of Jesus and all Angels . So this is the highest level of interpretation of the parable according to the book I mentioned . A different perspective .
On the other side he had a right to be angry for the rebellion of his younger brother who was forced to return, not out of love for his family but in desperation.
But then Father is Father, reflecting the Father in heaven, that's the whole moral aspect , not about the prodigal son or his brother.
But for the sake of "extended preaching" preachers do miss the point.
Leonardo Castellani explains the reaction of the son saying, that it's the reacction of someone who is no father. He is no bad, simply he is no father. Only a father may react like does this father.
I'm a jealous-angry person please pray for me!
you are in my prayers for my daily Rosary and Divine Mercy 🙏🙏❤
The youngest son had his inheritance and became a servant, the elder son was a servant and got his inheritance
I Understand the Loving God
The problem here is the elder brother judges the prodigal son, but he wants to do what the prodigal son did. He just hides it in his heart!
I don’t know if I’m being petty but when the older son is returning from the field and has to ask what is going on in his home. I’m sure he was very hurt to find there is a big party going on that he wasn’t even invited to. No one went out to find him to let him know his brother had returned. No one called him to the party, “am I not part of the family, does no one care to call me to the celebration”, I certainly would feel as thou I were nothing but a hired hand. Being hurt in this way, I feel the response from the older brother is not out of line.
This goes to the heart of the parable. God’s love is for all and all should be celebrating. The brother should have reacted in the same way as the Father if he had love in his heart. Jesus is telling us that we need to love like the Father at all times and react in the same way as the Father and not with having a “Pity” party for himself. The call is to see beyond the worldly self and love like the Father.
I don't think he was not invited. He did not join the party because he was angry amd envious to his brother.
Good point but I don't think that was Jesus' point. You are subjectively trying to understand the elder brother's feelings instead of trying to understand what Jesus is teaching the Pharisees.
The older son is doing good works and has done so for many years, like the Pharisees of the day. But, he has pride in his good works and that pride keeps him from having a relationship with the Father. He can be part of the family, if he accepts the Fathers love. Our good works are like filthy rags.
Do the brothers in this sense represent born again believers, but the older is trusting heavily on works for righteousness and the younger repents from being backslidden, or are both brothers unsaved when the story starts? Does the younger brother “get saved” by returning with humility to his father or was he already saved?
The Loving lesson here is that God is NOT Predilect God, will never have favorites. The older brother is jealous he thought God is unjust but God said Im not Predilect and I will never will be. Because my Love is perfect for both of you to all of us.
Dr. Pietre, if you would be so kind and help me understan. Before I use to see this parable as of being about the younger son. And how the younger son was the "bad guy" therefore him being the one to reflect upon. Then I think I saw another video of yours about this same parable and I started to focus and reflect upon the older brother. But with this video I am more conflicted now because I think that it is showing the older brother as the "bad guy" and I am talking about the human family characters of this parable. So now I think that the older brother has all the reason to feel the way it is describe. But also now I think that this parable is giving "permission" to fathers that "spoil" and or "make" more of the younger sons because " let's let them misbehave, for at the end they will come back". I hope that I am making some sense.
In every church sermon for this topic preach us only half, which mean the arrogant of younger brother who was lost and found but sometimes i think the main sermon will be on elder brother who stay home with father and become so jealousy when his brother return home and father's gave him everything,
So i want to know what is or what will be parable for the jealous brother😢😢
I'm surprised Brant Pitre and Richard Carrier haven't debated yet.
Please change the intro music to your videos!
You can serve them, obey them and not love them.
The father explained things to the older brother. And then the older brother went in to celebrate the younger brothers return with everyone else.
Why do you hate so much?
The father went out to meet both sons. He gave each of them exactly what they didn't to be reassured and feel loved and wanted. The younger son being more sensual, gets a hug and a party. The older son being more thoughtful and responsible, gets an explanation.
God will give you what you need as well. You can go to him with your doubts, frustrations and questions. He will come to meet you.
Maybe the story ends this way, in order to reveal the readers heart, your heart. Stop showing such little generosity. Take example of the father.
Same intro music as Dan Gibson's channel on Petra.
I love everything from Brant Pitre. But paying over $13 a month for 4 rather short Liturgy readings is too much for us elderly folk. Wish there was a senior discount of some sort.
You missed the discount that I received at the beginning. I'm paying $1.90 per week. And they are NOT "short" as you state. I just checked and they run about 36 minutes each.
@@bethk5960 36 minutes 4 times a month is very short in my view.
Like for real what if other universes exsist is that just a way for them to have the urge become more intense in the subconscious of strangers, and unknowingly it make me wonder what we are opening our minds to when we some psychedelics. It's like this the devil is unrealistic until you keep drawing him or precieving him all we are here to do on this earth is rejoice build and maintain species, but the only thing that is distorting our rational thinking in this current is war and validation in society. We're just not affirming in the morning enough, we're wasting more time investing in bullets and ways to escape this planet and we're not looking around at the mountains happily endulgin in using the weather and time wisely because we'd rather think about protecting our necks.
It seems to me that for the older son happiness consisted of living apart from the father and making merry with his friends (Lk 15:29) Ironically the younger who also had a similar attitude soon found out that could only lead to disaster.
a lot of people say that but i don't see it...it's natural for a son/daughter in their teens or 20s wanting to be with their peer group
Why didn't the father ever through a party for the elder brother? A simple thank you would have made the elder brother's day !
The problem in this stroy is that this is about rewarding a loser that came back coz he had 'no where to go'. If the younger brother had somewhere else to go he wouldn't have come back. Sadly he had no option.
Having said that, the father is being unjust to the elder brother. The elder brother gives the reaction he gave coz of the excitement he saw in the father when the younger brother came back.
I deduce that the father never showed the same level of excitement / love / gratitude to the older brother.
The elder brother is right to get angry.
I read this story when I was like 7-8 years old ( in a Church Sunday School).
The villain in this story is the father. The character is dum. He is so engrossed in the younger son (who is a failure) that he forgets the elder brother. The reaction from the elder brother is just and perhaps that is the reason why the father gave a week excuse that your brother was dead and has now come back. If he was dead, the father should have thanked the elder brother to stay with him (take care of the family business - farming I guess)
This story is not about how god's love it's about how God selects complete idiots (younger brother) who have no place to go but God. And forgets the treasure he already has (older brother).
you are totally wrong, it's all about God's mercy if we turn to him...HOWEVER i feel my fellow Christians are too hard on the elder brother
The parable shows the joy God has for those who were once lost who came back. It also reflects Jesus’ mission when he was on earth; to save the lost. Those righteous ones already have Jesus, so he rejoices so much more when one who was lost came back.
I like to think about the kind of joy God has for those who were once lost coming back to Him. It’s not out of spite or forgetting the righteous, it’s about recognizing the repentance of those lost ones.
actually i know what you mean
The last statement of the parable of the prodigal son is ignored where the father tells the older son "all that I have is yours". The prodigal son was welcomed back by the father but with no inheritance whatsoever. What we can presume that the younger son became a slave of the older brother afterwards.
Well the younger son received his inheritance and then went off to do his own thing. He came back and was made part of the family again when his father put a ring on his finger (not as a sign of inheritance but a signet showing he is of that family).
Also there’s no mention of him becoming a slave.
I was actually discussing this with my niece yesterday, and whilst I understand why the brother is upset, I think she probably could have gone about it a completely different way. Nevertheless, Jesus told us this for a reason.
The older brother does not claim his right as a son and so did not require an invite
You are quick to judge the older brother but all of us is that older brother. All of us! No exception. Unless God lives in you and let him rule over you, the human, the sinner, you cannot overcome your humanity.
i always feel for the elder brother
i see a parallel between the Jews today (eldest son) and us Gentiles portrayed as the "new prodigal son" accepted into God's family & how Jews consider themselves as the initial & exclusive owners of God's love portrayed in the eldest son's reaction to us "johnny come lately" Gentiles.
I never thought of it that way. It makes sense!
not jews but israel. Romans 11:26
AVE CHRISTUS REX
AVE MARIA
The older son reminds me of the Jewish people of the OT. They serve and obey. Jesus is so wonderfully explaining the difference between God's children.
The context was the dispersed tribes of Israel who represented the prodigal son. Judah represented the other son. This parable has got nothing to do with the Pharisees.
What was the incident / instance that prompted him to tell the parable, at that moment?
@@zwijac
One of the Messiah's duties was to unify the dispersed 12 tribes of Israel. The 12 tribes were types and shadows of Christ's 12 Apostles who were going to judge the 12 tribes of Israel (Revelation).
I'm sorry but the response from the father to the older son is just a cop out. All of sudden now he wanted to show him acknowledgment? When he hadn't before? Pretty crap father if you ask me, the oldest son had a right to be angry. I mean I would be. The older son didn't really need his father anyway, he should have left and made his own life.
So the conclusion is... Ditch ur family... Steal their money.. Hurt their feelings.. Go out.. Enjoy n .. And come back and say... Hey m sorry.. And family will welcome u back and have celebration..
.... It's good to be bad😎
See,,this parable has no good lesson,,the fr is unfair,,, binigyan nang mana yung bunso, nagpakasarap aa buhay at nilustay lang yung minana ngunit yung eldest son di man lang binibigyan pa at patuloy pang pinagtratrabaho sa bukid pero kahit minaan di ipinagdiwang o bakipagsaya nan lang sa mga kaibigan dahil pyro trabaho ang sa kanya ngubit sa bunso ay sarap at ginhawa? NO GOOD!
Hindi pi mula sa nabuting espiritu ang pinagmukan ng parable na yan
I’ve always wanted to know what was the eldest sons problem was it grudge or jealousy or both and I guess pride
Not loving like God the Father. If you are interested, read Henri Nouwen’s, “The Return of the Prodigal Son, A Story of Homecoming”
Eldest son is the Jew and younger son is the gentile. That is all there is to the parable.
Maureen Rebello:
self righteous and holier than thou feelings may be the answer. I also think he did not miss his brother.
@@ladislausvmap, that is evidently not all there is to the parable, Jesus was a Jew preaching to other Jews, his message is indeed universal and timeless, but originally it was part of Jewish messianic history
@@jerryg3524 it is universal and timeless yet we look back always to how it was interpreted in the early church. That too is timeless...
The elder Son are the Some of the Jehovah Witness while the younger brother are Catholic... While Catholic ask for Gods mercy the Jehovah Witness claims righteousness without fault or sin.
Skewed reasoning
Elisabeth Seaton The ever perfect Jehovah's witness no fault, no sin at all....May God have mercy on us all Catholic, Jehovah's witness, Methodist, Anglican, children of Abraham and the Pagans just as He makes his Rain fall on all and his sun shine on all, may he have mercy on us all forgive all our sins and bring us all to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
As with other parables of Jesus, this is a parable of the House of Israel (the prodigal son -- who had adopted the ways of pagans and became known in modern English as the "gentiles") and the House of Judah (the elder son) who remained faithful to the letter of the law, but not its spirit.
The parable about go into 2222 w w w2s shoes- grim reaper came
No is the grim?
Who*
WHO IS U BROTHR
Who of the 2 are rightoues????
We have came to ONE understanding between the good and the bad😊
So, to get the mercy of God, no sacrifice (crucifixion) is needed according to this parable. Only repentance is enough.
No....I think its important to see that the younger son, had to make a sacrifice, of his current living situation, and return to his father, accepting that this would mean following his father's "rules of the house". Significantly, the prodigal did not repent, and stay where he was living his life in the pig pen. He had to walk away from it; sacrifice his lifestyle.
@@kathrin4954 the younger son did not have to go through blood sacrifice, just giving up sinfull life return to the father was enough to receive forgiveness. so, according to this story, blood of Jesus is not necessary for salvation.
Au contraire. Jesus, to make it possible to reconcile with our Lord, had to shed his own blood, becoming the OT sacrificial lamb. Without Jesus's bloodshed there is no salvation. While in the parable, the son didn't provide the sacrifice, the father did as a joyful celebration.
@@kathrin4954 Jesus never said there is no salvation without bloodshed. According to him, salvation comes through following the OT commandments and giving charity. And in OT blood sacrifices were only for unintentional sin. Blood sacrifice can not remove intentional sin e.g. murder, adultery. Then how would Jesus's blood bring salvation?
no you don't understand..this PARABLE is about God's mercy IF we turn to him but there's only mercy THROUGH the Cross and Precious Blood, that's why Christ (who told the parable) went to His Cross
Cain
I'd like to say that us as humans are more useful but at this point it's so difficult without seeming like a racial anarchist.
In the parable the Father represents YAH (GOD) and the two sons represent the two kingdoms of Israel, the northern and the southern kingdoms. The prodigal son represents the southern kingdom that went astray. The Prodigal Son is a representation of the the 10 sons of Jacob/Isreal (the northern tribes), who went astray as a whole after the whore of Babylon. The parable is about the 12 tribes of Israel, after they split into two nations in war against each other. They became the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. The northern kingdom (10 tribes) went in the ways of the heathens/Babylonian nations, while the southern kingdom (2 tribes) stayed true to YAH/GOD. The two southern tribes was Benjamin and Judah, and YAHUSHA (Jesus) was from the tribe of Judah, the southern Kingdom.
The elder brother symbolises Christians who would prescribe hell for unbelievers. The father symbolises God who would welcome with open arms a repentant sinner but let the unrepentant ones be. No need to punish them as they will eventually die. Death into oblivion is the most justified punishment, not eternal torment for finite transgressions.
To be God's slave proves beyond a single possible doubt that God Himself is an evil being at His core, thus the idea of being a slave of God is heretical at its core, and to be thrown out, same with any document that even hints at that, yes, even the bible is heretical in that regard... as it means that God Himself steals work.