The Mind of the Early Church

What is memory? How did ancient and medieval Christians understand memory? What were their memorization techniques and how did these help them develop a robust spiritual life? All these questions and more are answered in this episode, which is a discussion between Daniel Hanna and Katerina Kern of the CiRCE Institute. To visit the webpage for the CiRCE Institute, click here: https://www.circeinstitute.org To contact Katerina, email her at katerina@circeinstitute.com You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

What does it mean to be human? What does it mean for God to love humanity? How does this connect to how we educate children (and adults)? These questions are discussed with Joshua Gibbs, a classical educator. You can follow him at https://www.gibbsclassical.com You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

A discussion on the relationship between spirituality and theology with Father Paul Guirgis. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The early Church understood time through two words with two distinct meanings: Chronos and Kairos. What each one means, and what it means for us as Christians today, is discussed in this episode featuring a discussion with Peter Ibrahim the founder of the St. Jacob of Serugh Choir in Vancouver, British Columbia. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

How do we become well-formed individuals? The answer is literature. This episode explores the formative power of wholesome literature and the strong spirituality it produces. It also explores the role of formation and literature on marriage. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Early Christianity had a very strong philosophical understanding of the integration of beauty, goodness, and truth and how the recognition and integration of these three leads to a healthy soul and formative education. This is the second episode of a four part series on Classical Christian Education. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The philosophy of utilitarianism has infiltrated the Church and has debilitated congregations because it skews their conception of humanity and morality. The results have been disastrous. This is the first of a four part series on Classical Christian Education. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Eros is misunderstood among today's Christians as bodily love. The reality, on the other hand, is that eros can be deeply spiritual, and incarnational. If that is the case, it can unite with agape and be fulfilled. This is a reflection on love, attraction, marriage, conversation, and transformation. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode special guest Father Stephen Freeman and I discuss the relationship between Christ and Morality. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

I reflect on my experience of 2020. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Nothing is more misunderstood today than Christian asceticism, especially seasons of fasting. Some think that fasting is a way to please God and to show him how good we are. Others disapprove of this type of thinking, supposing those who think so have a wrong understanding of God, and that God does not desire that we fast for that would be a works-based salvation, meaning salvation is on us and not on God. Yet still, some think that periods of fasting indicate that the churches who do so are unnecessarily legalistic, and thus imposing a fast encroaches upon the freedom we have in Christ. Others think that fasting by itself makes them more spiritual. All these things just mentioned are misconceptions. These misconceptions can be corrected if we understand how the early Christians practiced fasting. The result will also be that our spiritual lives will be deepened and transformed in the process. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This is the second part of a three-part exploration. Before one can even think about the Liturgy, one must pinpoint what it is centered on. All Christian liturgies respond to the same realities and revolve around those realities. It is important to know the origin and foundation of the Liturgy and this is clearly seen in the New Testament, especially in the Epistle to the Hebrews. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

What is the Liturgy? This questions leads to so many different and confused answers. Some think it is nothing more than a cultural expression. Others simply pray liturgically without understanding the depth and meaning of the Liturgy. In short, the Liturgy is a response to God's being and work throughout history especially in our Lord Jesus Christ. This episode looks at the idea of liturgy in the Old Testament. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Education today is viewed as a means to an end: namely a good job, money, and a comfortable life. But this was not how education was viewed in the ancient world nor by the early Christians. For the early Christians education was the natural contemplation of God in the world, and the development of the Image of God within by beholding God's work in the world. This episode is a discussion between Daniel Hanna and Andrew Kern of the CiRCE Institute. To visit the webpage for the CiRCE Institute, click here: https://www.circeinstitute.org You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This episode features a discussion on the doctrine of the Logos with Thilo Young and Peter Ibrahim. The doctrine of the Logos is the most foundational doctrine for Christian theology and philosophy. The Gospel of John says, "The Logos became flesh and dwelt among us...and of His fullness we have all received and grace upon grace" (John 1:14, 16). This is God's ultimate revelation: it reveals to us who God is, who we are, and what it means for how we should live. There is also a discussion on the ideas of the Perfect Logos and the seminal logos as discussed in the Church Fathers. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

What is the whole point of Christianity? It is to become the images and likenesses of Christ. How does this relate to the self? We become authentic human beings when we find our meaning into growing into the image and likeness of Christ. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

What is the human being? Modernity has had a very difficult time trying to answer that question. Ancient mythology and philosophy all had something to say about the nature of the human being. The early Church also had a teaching on what it means to be human. Further, this is brought into focus because the Son of God became human. The early Church's understanding of the human being also bears on the early Church's understanding of sin and how our Lord Jesus Christ heals sin by His Incarnation. The early Church's understanding of humanity also engages with modern thinking on education (and how to possibly fix modern educational methods), and modern psychology with respect to emotional regulation. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

How do we approach the writings of the early Church as exemplified in the Church Fathers? This question is the starting point of gaining the ability to read the Church Fathers. Without having a clear answer to this question, we can never truly benefit from their writings. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The early Church identified three motivations people had when approaching God. They called these motivations by the names of Slave, Servant, and Son. Each one of these motivations had certain psychological characteristics and ways of thinking. The Church considered the motivation of fear in approaching God to be an approach to God in faith, but one that was less desirable than the motivation of love. Further, their insights engage well with modern behavioral, cognitive, and developmental psychology. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

What does it mean to read? While the question may seem to have a very simple answer, it is a lot more complicated. How we understand the act of reading can affect how we read the Bible or the writings of the early Church. The Church Fathers themselves had an idea of what it means to read and how this affects our spiritual development. Their idea also engages rigorously with the best modern theories of what actually happens in the mind when one reads. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This is the first episode of "The Mind of the Early Church" podcast. This episode considers the question whether the early Church is outdated. It identifies several areas where the early Church's spirituality and insights can deepen our lives today. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Continuing from where we left off in Part I, Part II explores the spirituality of the mind in the Bible. In both the Old and the New Testaments, God engaged the mind to think. In the New Testament both our Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostles utilized reasoning to preach the Gospel. This also continued in the early Church. This is an audio version of my article, "The Spirituality of the Mind Part II: In the Bible and the Early Church." The written version can be found at http://www.danielhannawriter.com/the-spirituality-of-the-mind-part-ii-in-the-bible-and-the-early-church/ You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

When the word "reason" is mentioned in religious contexts, it is usually pitted against faith. Yet, early Christians understood that the mind had an active role in understanding God and the Christian faith. It also had an active role in living the virtuous life. This is an audio version of my article, "The Spirituality of the Mind Part I: Rationality and Spirituality." The written version can be found at http://www.danielhannawriter.com/the-spirituality-of-the-mind-part-i-rationality-and-spirituality/ You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

There are many misconceptions about the role of the Church Fathers and the writings of the early Church in Orthodox Christianity. I consider the different types of attitudes to approaching the Church Fathers, and how we can spiritually benefit by reading them and developing the mindset of the early Church that they exemplified. This is an audio version of my article, "Patrolatry vs The Mind of the Fathers." The written version can be found at http://www.danielhannawriter.com/patrolatry-vs-the-mind-of-the-fathers/ You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: https://bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: https://goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The Saints are often misunderstood today both by Protestant Christians and by Apostolic Christians. Yet, their meaning is to be found within our Lord Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit. They demonstrate His continuing work on earth in a most concrete way. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

There are ingrained false dilemmas (faith vs knowledge; humility vs intelligence) that create pastoral problems in our churches when it comes to developing the spiritual lives of our members. This does not have to be the case. This is an audio version of my article, "The Spirituality of Education and Experience." The written version can be found at www.danielhannawriter.com/the-spirituality-of-education-and-experience You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Orthodox Christianity has a distinct character. Salvation is understood as a healing and not as a release from a criminal sentence. Prayer is understood to be a lifting of the heart to be in God and not just petitions. Therefore, many different types of activities can become prayer even such as reflecting or writing a book. These things are not a matter of style, but they are the ethos of Orthodox Christianity. This is an audio version of my article, "Style and Ethos." The written version can be found at www.danielhannawriter.com/style-and-ethos/ You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This audio version covers the analogy of milk and solid food to describe the spiritual condition in the New Testament. It then considers the right application for using this analogy for pastoral purposes. This is an audio version of my article, "Milk and Solid Food." The written version can be found at www.danielhannawriter.com/milk-and-solid-food You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This is a comparison of the modern Christian understanding of the work of Christ with the ancient Christian understanding of the work of Christ. These understandings are not simply differences, but they are two systems of thought. This is an audio version of my article, "Two Ways to Look At the Work of Christ." The written version can be found at www.danielhannawriter.com/two-ways-to-look-at-the-work-of-christ You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Most of us think that context is made up of the words that come before and after the verse we are reading. That is only a very small part of it. Context is much more complex than that, and without a good understanding of it, we can never hope to be able to read and understand the Bible adequately, much less teach it. Yet, there is good news: we can build context to help us understand the Bible. This is an audio version of my article, "The Spirituality of Context." The written version can be found at www.danielhannawriter.com/the-spirituality-of-context/ You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

God's relationship to history has always been a focus in Christian theology. But what does that mean for us? How can that be applied to our spiritual lives? This is an audio version of my article, "The Lord of History Part I: The Father." The written version can be found at www.danielhannawriter.com/the-lord-of-history-part-i-the-father You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

What role does reflection have in Christianity? How can we practice it? Which parts of the Bible can help us reflect the most? This is an audio version of my article, "Christian Reflection." The written version can be found at http://www.danielhannawriter.com/christian-reflection/ You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/