Descriptions:
Video Description
Ammon Hillman interrogates the one word Peter uses of himself. In Luke, after the catch, Peter falls at the knees and says get away from me, I am a hamartōlos (ἁμαρτωλός). The churches translate it as sinful, but Hillman reports that the Greek means a person taking part in the old work of the port. To trace it, he goes to Sodom, where the Septuagint calls the men of the city hamartōloi, and to the gospel passages where Jesus eats with telōnai (τελῶναι) and hamartōloi, the paired terms for fee takers and workers.
The vocabulary is the evidence. A telōnēs (τελώνης), he notes, is formed from telos (τέλος) and ōneomai (ὠνέομαι), the one who collects the completed payment. Beside that is pornos and the brothel keeper called pornoboskos (πορνοβοσκός), from the root that also produces porneuō (πορνεύω), which means both to prostitute and to practice idolatry. Hillman reads Peter’s confession as a teenager naming his place in this operation, not as a general statement about sin, and reports that Jesus responds not by rejecting him but by recruiting a telōnēs to help collect the fee.
The episode closes with the wider picture. The gospel says many telōnai and hamartōloi were reclining with Jesus and his students, and Hillman holds that the old stigma attached to Peter’s words would have been impossible to miss in the first-century setting. The claim he reports is that Christianity began as a religion wound together with the traffic the churches later wrote over. He ends by insisting the point is to let the Greek terms carry their own weight, and to read the story without the softening that came later.
Full Video Transcript
This is Satanic Initiation, Lady Babylon.
It’s nice to have you again.
What I’ve got tonight is a little bit of a treat.
We’re going to bring Peter.
Peter who?
Saint Peter.
We’re going to bring St. Peter in, and we’re going to interrogate him.
And in the process, we’re going to find out who he is, what his job was, and how he was involved with Jesus.
Tonight on Lady Babylon.
So tonight we’re going to look at the hamartalos.
And what we’re going to do is we’re going to see who this person is.
really, it’s an exercise in classical philology tonight, guys. And before everybody gets bored
and starts to walk out, because that’s classical philology, just the sound of it. Doesn’t it sound
boring? It sounds boring, but it’s not. It’s really not. And what we’re going to do tonight
as investigators is we’re going to look at a word. We’re going to look at a word. We’re going to
track that word. It’s the word that Peter used of himself, of himself. Before we purify the temple
tonight, this sacred space that we have, I want to show you quickly, quickly, about the ages
of the children who are the apostles. Yes, the students of Jesus and their age. People love to
run in and they love to say, oh, but Peter, Peter was married. Peter was married. If you hear that
from a biblical scholar or a religious historian, you will want to question them. Say, what’s the
evidence that we have for that? What’s the evidence that we have? I want to pull up. I’m going to do
this in kind of reverse order. I want to come back to the very last of my, yeah, pull that one up,
Chewy? We’re going, nope, the one, that’s not it. That one. Try that one. Nope, that’s not it. What about that one? Oh my goodness, I’ve not put these in the, I’m going to show you the definition of what is there. For right now, I just want you to hold in reserve that St. Peter is not married. He’s not married. He’s a kid and he’s not married. And I’ll show you how. You say, how can you say that?
How can you say that? It’s beautiful. It’s just the Greek. We’ll bring it right to you.
But before we do, let’s cleanse this place. Let’s get rid of any sort of unscientific, unreasonable ideology, proposals, thoughts,
the brain farts of any humans who might have affected us. Let’s get rid of those and let’s cleanse that tonight.
tonight we’re going to see she who is the protector of that nave that nave hit it chewy
that feels good that feels good let’s call him in let’s go get peter shall we peter come and join us
peter please will you please peter come on peter go ahead and bring up that very first bit of let’s
just throw this out there people take a look at this this is luke 5 8 luke 5 8 yeah and so
seeing these things simon peter fell down at the knees at the knees right he’s collapsing in front
of jesus jesus wisdom in the boat he’s seen something collapses and from his cravens says
oh my god what does he say get out of here excel yeah that’s what he says he says get away from me
I’m an hamartolos. See that third to last word? Hamartolos. What is this? What is Peter,
Saint Peter, who is still a teenager, what is Saint Peter calling himself? That’s what we’re
going to find out. Don’t be surprised. Don’t be surprised. Can you believe, people? We don’t even
have an accurate depiction of him. None of these. None of these. They all follow the fairy tale,
not the text. Not the text. The text is much more interesting. Let’s see what the kid’s doing.
Let’s see what the kid’s doing. This is great biblical scholarship, by the way. In the hands
of a classical philologist, you can really generate good, genuine, scientific scholarship
for the Bible. That’s what they need. That’s what the Bible needs. Shine a light on it. Love it.
Here it is. Watch this. Let’s find some more hamartoloi. Shall we find some more of these
people? What are they? Are there any in the bushes? Where are they? I think they’re in
a place called Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom and Gomorrah. These people? Yes. We can call them
gomorrites or we call them sodomites but they’re there in the text and here they are from the city
of sodom what does it say those people from the city of sodom they were
they were terrible they were terrible they were hamartaloy all the time excessively do
Ew, doing this excessively.
The acts of this hamartolos.
Ew, get away from me.
Do you know who I am?
I’m a hamartolos.
They weren’t having a philosophical discussion.
Peter was trying to tell him what he did.
And let’s see.
Let’s see what happens.
Bring us up, Peter.
Get over here.
Yes, get over here.
Here it is.
Love it.
we’re gonna i’m gonna take you tonight to a magic time this is the year 1313 it’s the genesis
it’s the genesis that’s what they call the project those satanists look it up if you know
now that many of you have ears to hear you can find this stuff blow that up against you i need
that that one hoy the anthropo so these are the guys in sodom and they’re terrible and they’re
always doing this in front just right in front of his eyes man he’s watching you this guy’s watching
you and you’re doing this stuff and sodom and gomorrah get next one please here we go here we go
and um this is luke 5 30 we’re in another place where the pharisees pharisees and the grammatists
those are the intellectuals those are they call them scribes but they’re also mathematicians
Yeah, no, these are, you know, kind of educated people of the time, right?
And what are they doing?
They’re all mad at the mathetas, at the kitties, at Jesus’ kitties.
They’re mad.
And why are they mad?
Well, here’s what they ask.
They say,
Why are you eating and drinking with telonon and hamartalon?
with a martyloy and a telones. What is a telones, right? So the people, take it down, the people,
the people are upset. The religious folks are upset, right? The sect of the Pharisees, they’re
mad because look who he’s keeping, look who his kids are keeping company with. Jesus gets a
reputation for this. He gets a reputation, right? So much to the point that he says, you say that
I’ve come as a drunk, as somebody overindulging with my hamartaloi, right? He knows that that
accusation is being leveled. That’s in two of the Gospels. So let’s keep finding out who are these
Tamartoloi. Well, we know that they’re associated with these. What are these? Are they guys who
complete the contract? What? The telos? Bring us up the next. Let’s find out who these people are.
Look at this. Who are the telones? Or what is a telones? Look, it’s the combination of telos
and oneomai. Yeah. Oneomai. Look what it says near the bottom. Publicanus in Latin. Isn’t
Isn’t that nice? Publican, what is a publican? I’m not getting any closer. I see a tax farmer,
but look at the Greek in the middle of this. Alice from Wonderland, speak to me, please.
Pontes Telona, Pontes AC Harpages. Look at this. Everybody who’s a Telona, those people,
of them are thieves. Thieves. You know what a telones is? Take it down. A telones, the
associate of the hamartalos, the telones collects the fee. The telones collects the fee. Uh-huh.
Uh-huh. Good. You see, there are services being rendered, fees being taken, collected.
okay this is what they do in sodom that really makes him mad yeah do you wonder why they were
right think about that just for a minute you’ve got the septuagint right it’s not from 1200 bc
right it’s a hellenistic document third second century and what is it talking about it’s talking
about practices of public prostitution that we know are contemporary he’s not talking about
anything beyond that this is wonderful these people of sodom we have a text here in greek
the original we have a text not a translation a text talking about this institution within sodom
right and what are we talking about the pirates again guys it’s the trafficking the selling of
humans the selling of humans ready ready that’s why peter and his buddies are all getting recognized
by the paidiske the prostitute right okay let’s keep going it gets okay i know people are like
Let’s take a look at this. We need to see the we need to see that actually it’s the one before that the one before that
Boink yeah, look at the bottom of this guy’s on that telonis. Take down satanic initiation, please
porno Bosco a kai
telonis right um so we know that these telon this telonis or these telon I that they have
associates who are hamartyloi and
porno Bosco
pornoboskoe. Now, I don’t know if you can hear the root of that porn and bosk. Porn and bosk.
But let’s look at what that could possibly be, because here’s another person. What does the
pornoboskos do? Oh, they keep the whole thing running. They keep the whole thing running. A
brothel keeper. Well, that makes sense. Somebody who is fostering the porne. And by the way,
here’s your uh here’s your publicanus and i just wanted you guys to see here um look we’re not
talking about roman equestrians in judea right we’re not talking about that um look at the top
here um we have the farming of the revenue and we have the mulier the wife of the farmer general
isn’t that interesting and look what they put look what the victorians put in little tiny parentheses
with an odious secondary meaning an odious please don’t you feel that i am old enough
to learn what your odious secondary meaning is no because they were victorians and they thought
none of us should know that except except a select few right fantastic so i you know let’s look it up
because we’re not going to give up, right?
Not us, not people from satanic initiation.
No, by the way, I’m thinking about doing a show for kids
to help educate them about the Bible and a format for that.
I thought it was a great idea, something to get out there
to protect and shield and educate those children
from trans-dimensional Jesus, yeah.
almost like a public service yes anywho let’s go to the uh next one let me know in your comments
if you think that you know um such a show would be watchable you know it would have to be really
entertaining and fun for the kids that’s what it’d have to be mulierkula what is a mulierkula
a little woman a mere woman a girl now go drop down a couple of lines look at look at what’s
coming up before ciceros tusculan disputations a common working girl oh i see a common working girl
i know what those are in greek next give me the next one right after that one nope nope
we are off tonight aren’t we yeah totally where did you just have me here this is what i need
right here take that off nice we’ll get it between the two of us we’ll get it figured out
it’s no problem people are not in a hurry anyway look at this harlot or prostitute
harlot or prostitute huh harlot or prostitute okay i get it archilochus but most importantly people i
tell all my greek students this and please if you’re learning anything in the greek know that
that verbal action is most important right the greek is basing the majority of those not those
nouns and adjectives off of that action so let’s look at what the verb is go to the next one
yep um this is not the verb but this is the um this is the noun pornos catamite look at this
it’s from that porn root it’s from that porn root right sodomite and again everybody saw we were
looking at sodom the english term sodomite we know what the english term sodomite means it means
somebody’s um you know one of these hamartoloi you know what i mean that it’s the way it is
and um fornicator that’s a little bit interesting fornicator but look at the very bottom idolater
idolater you see this is a pagan this is a real pagan thing we got going on here’s the verb that
it’s from per name me right right and just look at the bottom of this paragraph it’s the second
to the last line to export for sale in epic usually of exporting captives to foreign parts
for sale as slaves you mean the word for porn um pornographic lifestyle uh um erotic
sales prostitution you mean the words that that we’re getting all of these concepts from
in Greek have to do with this idea that the lestes has, that you can take a person, capture them,
sail off to somewhere else, and sell them for the sake of sexual favors as a slave. Yes, yes,
it’s where it comes from. It’s where it comes from. The porne who serves in the temple of Aphrodite
her name is is a designation what they call her is a designation of the fact
that she is that servant to the divinity she is that servant it is the cup of the
porneia give me the next one next line it’s the cup of the porneia that is the
cause of the catastrophe of the apocalypse right it is this that we’re
talking about go ahead yep i think nope let’s see nope nope there we are okay um let’s go ahead
push forward uh yeah so john comes to you on this road of righteousness and uh you believed him
right hoy de telona kai hi porna epistel son in him whoops they didn’t believe him they didn’t
believe in my neck they didn’t believe but the telonai and the pornai right we just saw pornai
prostitutes the telonai who are the ones who are taking the fees for the prostitutes right they are
they did believe in them says matthew here right what’s he say right don’t you see they’re gonna
these people right this he hits this over and over again that these people are gonna enter the
kingdom of heaven before you people. I’ve got another verse coming up, right? So what is it
saying? Jesus is associated with Telonai, with Hamartaloi, and Peter is confessing to him at
this point, at this point. Now, I’ve got a really great, wonderful description of these people
that I’m going to read to you from antiquity.
But here, I want to bring that back up, please, Chewie.
I just want you to remember the verb pornevo
that means to prostitute,
also means to practice idolatry at the bottom.
The religion is just wound up with it.
You can’t separate the two.
A pornocompos is one who has commerce with prostitutes.
The roots of this are, you know, endless.
This is one source I wanted to see, to bring it.
Look, what do we have here?
We have Hesychius.
Now, I’m going to give you something special, right?
I’m going to give you something special tonight.
Your average scholar is not going to do this.
They’re not going to go all the way into the depths.
What I have to do is dig up a lexicographer who is Greek,
an ancient Greek lexicographer who’s going to be able to write to you what these words mean
in his own language, right? That is evidence that is the cream of the crop. That is that
bottle of wine that’s been sitting there for 120 years. Yeah, that’s the good stuff. That’s the
good stuff. Let’s go right now to him. Let’s go. Here’s two words, porneocopos and pornoi,
which is just, they’re just putting some stuff into a case. Don’t worry about that. It’s just
pornos. Anyway, what is the porneocopos? It’s the heterotrophos. The heterotrophos. Remember,
Jesus has heteroi, these little guys who were his companions all the time. This is the one
who grooms them. This is the companion groomer and the pornos. He is himself a pornos. So when
Jesus talks to his children and he is telling them about what they will be doing, he is approaching
them as the groomer, as the one who cultivates their active use as prostitutes. He is the pornos.
He’s the, if you want to think of him as the ideal pornos, that’s the way to go. But that is
the position from which Jesus is speaking to his young apostles. Okay, pornoid, look at the
Bottom definition, piety.
Now, this one, I’m going to translate it directly up for anybody who’s been saying,
these kids, these kids are not kids who were kids.
These are 30-year-old kids, right?
And the only reason he’s calling them kids is Jesus is goofy, right?
And he walks around like Mickey Mouse saying, hello there, cheetah kitties.
Why sheepkins today?
Hello there, lambican.
He does that to adults because he’s just weird that way.
right it’s just one of the things no no that’s not right that’s not right at all what is the
definition according to hesychius hesychius yeah this is that pice that has grown to the point
of fruition to the point of fruiting that’s literally what it says
Horaios, that kid is at the point of blooming, and at that point of blooming, they are entered into working for the telones, the one who collects the fees, and that one who collects the fees is strictly working the business end of those hamartaloi.
yeah yeah okay let’s keep going it gets it’s gonna get a little bit more um historic detail here
love it this is great literature people the bible is you need to read this stuff go um this
is cicero’s oh yes this is catalinarian conspiracy and i just want you guys to see i want to read
this to you chewy you’ve been great can you blow that up for me thanks um look look at this second
look at the second paragraph he’s talking about the catalanarian conspiracy this is just where
cicero’s consul was somebody else there’s two of them right and um somebody comes up and tries to
take over catline tries to take over the government cicero’s not going to let him he’s
promised he pledges to protect the republic to keep the republic safe from an attempted
conspiracy, from an attempted insurrection. And so he talks about the people who are following
Catiline. He talks about the people who are following Catiline. And in the second paragraph,
he says, there is a last class, last not only a number, but in the sort of men and in their way
of life, the special bodyguard of Catiline, his bodyguard. And he levied it. Yes, the friends of
his embraces and of his bosom. What? Whom you see with carefully combed hair, glossy, beardless,
or with well-trimmed beards. Watch out. If you trim your beard too well, you might be a
Catalinarian. Let’s see. What does he mean? With tunics, with sleeves. He describes your fashion,
right um whose watchfulness is expended in suppers lasting until daybreak he goes on to say how they
have their naked dances together and then it takes a funny kind of a funny turn yeah i’m sorry let’s
get the next one up takes kind of a funny turn and he continues to describe him in these bands
remember this is cicero people if you don’t like sis if you don’t like uh cicero something’s wrong
something’s wrong. You know, I feel like I should salute an eagle or something. Yeah. Cicero,
in these bands are all the gamblers, right? Now, remember, they’re using the same terms
for these groups of people that Jesus in the New Testament is using of his disciples. Okay.
in these bands are all the gamblers all the adulterers all the unclean and shameless citizens
these boys so witty and delicate have learned not only to love and to be loved not only to sing and
to dance but also to brandish daggers and to administer poisons and unless they are driven
out unless they die even should catiline die i warn you that the school of catiline would exist
in the republic yeah yeah look at the last line second um second uh starts on the third last line
oh war much to be dreaded when catiline is going to have his bodyguard of prostitutes if you are
looking at antiquity and you do not see the profound effect of human trafficking and its
broad cultural um perfusion entering all of literature no matter what kind it is
there’s a reason that christians call themselves slaves right there’s a reason there’s a reason
okay let’s keep going after cicero i’ve got a couple of more goodies here and i just want
people to see i want us to get a whole well-rounded so he says look mini taloni on line
to many telonai and many hamartaloi there they were workers with jesus and with his students and
there were many of them right they were reclining what are they doing here what soon on a kento you
know what that means that means they’re reclining with do you know do you know what this picture is
of this scene imagine a room with jesus reclining or lounging with 12 teenage boys men 12 teenagers
yeah and um and these people come in wait what more people yeah lots of telonai lots of these
distributors dealers and their hamato and their prostitutes come in and lie with jesus and his
kids yeah take it down okay there’s a lot going on in the bible there’s a lot going on in the bible
and it’s no wonder that jesus gets it all right there’s no wonder that he gets it and he’s like
they’re going to come and get me. Why he raises his hand is he’s getting arrested, right? The
children out there need to know that Jesus Christ, when he was being arrested in a public park
at 4 a.m. with a naked kid, when he was being arrested, he was shouting, I am not a child
trafficker i am not a child trafficker jesus please please please tell us why go to the next
one um this is going to get a little a little rough but i know you guys enjoy the rough seas
um look just more mark two six these telones these hamarteloi they’re all over the place
they’re all over the place this people are upset saying why are you eating why are you eating with
these people? Why are you associating with these gangs, right? What is a hamartalon? Tell me,
Hesychius. I’m translating. That’s someone who will do anything. Somebody who has no standards.
Somebody who’s clever to get the job done to you. They are tricksters. They are thieves,
These people, they’ll get you.
And what do they get you for?
Watch this.
They’re mocteros.
They’re mocteros.
They’re in bad condition.
They are knaves.
They are knavish.
These people will rob you blind.
What are they doing about this in the religious circles?
They’re standing here praying.
Look at Luke 18, 11.
The Pharisees standing there praying.
He said, oh, God, I’m so happy that I’m not like the rest of these people, pointing them out,
these people who are thieves and criminals and moichoi and telones.
Wait, they’re moichoi?
Moichoi?
What is that?
Moichoi?
Adulterer.
Adulterer.
But look at number two.
Look at Roman numeral number two.
Now, everybody, I told you, classical philology is all exposure. You can’t get around me with BS
if I’ve seen every one of these myself. Look at number two. This is how this word is used.
Paramore of a sodomite, right? Omeho. It’s coming from a root that has to do with production of
fluids. And that’s all I’m going to say. Idolatrous person. Idolatrous person. Idolatrous.
Wait a minute. You got this religion thing and this slave trade thing and this drug thing
all together. All together. Welcome. Welcome to the mystery. Welcome.
okay should we tell people you know somebody was asking me is is chewy bombards you with
with with imagery um no that’s okay keep going i like it hypnotize them um i just want to step
back and i want to say if we don’t correct the history it perpetuates the lies and the propaganda
of those who don’t want reality.
Whoever is in our society who does not want a reality of Jesus
as he lived and spoke and breathed historically,
they have a problem with this.
We can always win, people.
We can always win as long as we get people the information.
The people who should be reading the Bible right now are not preachers in pulpits.
They’re not priests in parishes.
No, they’re not street preachers.
No, they’re not Anglicans.
No, they’re not Protestants.
They’re not Catholics.
They’re not orange or green.
They’re not even Mormons.
The people who should be teaching, Jehovah’s Witnesses, I’ll throw them in too.
Sorry about that.
Don’t mean to leave anybody out.
Scientologists don’t teach the Bible, so they don’t count, right?
But for those who teach the Bible, the ones that really should be taking their place are the scholars.
And I’m not talking about the people at Harvard.
I’m talking about the people who spent time in their lives saying,
there is this thing called language.
And you know what?
I’m going to master to the best of my ability this one so I can access those sources.
I’m not here to sell you anything.
Have you seen me hawk you any t-shirts or hats?
I don’t want that.
I’m not here to give you a church.
You know that.
Nobody here wants that.
I’m here to bring you those texts and to show you that you too can learn and master
and open up that gateway to reality that is the past.
All we have to do is bring these texts to the world.
The whole world should see Jesus for who he is.
And he was a man arrested in a park with a naked boy for a reason.
For a reason.
It’s all about that museum.
We have to maintain the integrity of the museum.
So I’ve got a couple more, but I think I’m just going to hit this last one.
Yeah, I’m taking up people’s time.
Yeah, no, no, no.
This is just when Jesus boatjacks Peter.
I’m sorry, Peter.
Remember, Peter, James, and John were on these boats in Sea of Galilee, right?
On the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
And their parents go away to mend the nets.
And when Jesus sees the parents leave, he goes over to the boat that’s got Peter on it.
And he says, hey, take us up to the shoreline and I’ll teach these people on the shore.
And they do.
And when they’re done teaching, Jesus turns back to Peter and he says, hey, Peter, let’s go out into the deep end.
Let’s go.
Let’s go see what’s going on over there.
And it’s at that point, after the miracles have taken place, that Peter collapses, falls down, and says, I am not worthy.
He says, you know what I am? You know what I am, Jesus?
And this must have been so hard for Peter.
This must have been so hard, because remember the stigma that is attached to the act of sodomy in antiquity.
Remember the stigma. And Peter has to acknowledge before Jesus that he is in an operation,
that he is in the middle of ancient prostitution. And does Jesus have a problem with it? Nope.
As a matter of fact, he goes and gets himself a telones to help collect the fees. His name was
matthew you guys have a good night i’m gonna go now to lady babylon in about 20 minutes
and i’m going to throw out some discussion i’m just going to throw out some things that i want
to discuss um that i want everybody to discuss not me but you know other people because i’m
tired of talking and it’s my time to enjoy the intellectual convo thank you for coming tonight
Please don’t forget, this is all the Bible.
Hail Satan.
Source: Lady Babylon