Podcasts about Agrippa

Julie Fredrickson, Managing Partner of Chaotic Capital, rejoins Jim O'Shaughnessy on Infinite Loops to talk about Montana's Right to Compute Act, why verified human data may become one of the most valuable assets online, what nuclear power and the encryption wars teach about regulating AI, why chatbots keep recommending the same sunscreen, and what 2,089 days of daily public writing taught her about being wrong. It is her second Infinite Loops conversation, three years after Episode 181. Show Notes Julie Fredrickson & Jim O'Shaughnessy Julie Fredrickson: Managing Partner of Chaotic Capital, an early-stage venture fund, and a former founder in e-commerce and beauty. Chaotic Capital Julie on X: Julie's preferred way to be reached. Follow Julie on X Julie's daily writing: More than 2,000 consecutive days of public writing, started January 1, 2021. Read Julie's blog Jim O'Shaughnessy: Host of Infinite Loops, founder and CEO of O'Shaughnessy Ventures, and author of the New York Times bestseller What Works on Wall Street. Follow Jim on X Full transcripts: Transcripts and highlights from every Infinite Loops conversation. OSV newsletter Julie's Work & Projects Montana's Right to Compute Act: The first state law protecting people's right to own and use computers and AI tools, which Julie advocated for. Read the Right to Compute Act Valar Atomics: The small modular reactor company founded by Isaiah Taylor, where Julie invested. Valar Atomics Julie's first Infinite Loops episode: Episode 181, "Circumstances change. Humanity doesn't. Plan accordingly." Watch Episode 181 Books & Ideas Mentioned The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch: Jim's reference for why no one in 1900 could have predicted the internet. The Beginning of Infinity Carlota Perez: The economist whose work on technology booms and build-outs shapes Julie's view that AI is still in its invention phase. Carlota Perez Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge: The novel Julie cites for a future where people earn a living doing small tasks only humans can do. Rainbows End Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson: Julie's reference for how ideas spread like a virus through programmers. Snow Crash Fall; or, Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson: The novel Julie describes, in which Americans mourn victims of a nuclear attack that never happened. Fall; or, Dodge in Hell The WEIRDest People in the World by Joseph Henrich: Jim's reference on how long cultures take to adapt to new technology. The WEIRDest People in the World Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell: Jim's starting point for cognitive security and invented history. Nineteen Eighty-Four From Googlebot to GPTBot: Cloudflare's report on the rise in AI crawler traffic that Julie cites. Cloudflare report The Vesuvius Challenge: The project reading the Herculaneum scrolls, subject of a documentary from Infinite Films. Vesuvius Challenge Agrippa's trilemma: Jim's reference for why chasing a claim to its source often ends in sand. Agrippa's trilemma

This week on Sinica, I sit down with Dr. Ruby Wang, whose new book, China Cure: The Rise of a Biotech, AI Medicine and Global Health Superpower (Agenda Publishing, out October 31, with a foreword by Kerry Brown), is the explanation general readers have been missing for one of the most consequential and least understood transformations in China today. Ruby is a rare creature in this space: a practicing physician in Britain's NHS, trained in surgery, who worked London's hospital wards through the first wave of COVID; the former head of the UK government's health engagement in China at the British Embassy in Beijing; a former health adviser within the UN system; a onetime medical adviser at AliHealth in Hangzhou; and a Schwarzman Scholar. She now runs the strategy consultancy Lintris Health and writes the excellent China Health Pulse newsletter and podcast, both of which I recommend to anyone trying to follow this space.Anyone who spent time in a Chinese hospital in the late ‘80s or ‘90s — the pre-dawn queues, the ticket scalpers, the cashier's window at every step, the IV drips for a head cold — will find the arc of this book hard to believe. Within living memory, China sent barefoot doctors into the countryside with herbal remedies and antibiotics in army-green satchels; last year, Chinese companies signed something like 186 out-licensing deals worth a disclosed $137 billion, roughly half the global total and close to ten times the 2021 figure, with Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, GSK, and Eli Lilly all buying. Since Ruby gave a terrific interview to my friend Kyle Chan on his High Capacity podcast this spring on the apps, data flows, and clinical AI, I deliberately steered elsewhere: to her family — a deckhand grandfather, a father's crooked splint, a grandmother's transnational hunt for Gleevec — to the four reinforcing conditions she argues made the transformation possible, to the “China is fast because China is loose” shortcut and what's actually behind the speed, to BIOSECURE and its successors, to the AI doctor avatars now fielding millions of inquiries a year, and to the burnout and violence that still bedevil the lives of Chinese clinicians.10:31 – Two family stories from 1970s Zhejiang: a deckhand grandfather and a barefoot doctor's crooked splint15:57 – Four reinforcing conditions, part one: demographic pressure and crisis as catalyst (SARS, melamine, fake vaccines)23:42 – The long view: Healthy China 2030 and why China's health ministers are technocrats27:54 – The cultural inheritance: who signs the consent form, and China's health codes vs. Britain's billion-pound app35:26 – Grandma and Gleevec: a family's transnational hunt for a drug in 200340:17 – The reversal: hǎiguī, copycats to first-in-class, and the tenfold surge in out-licensing42:35 – Is China fast because China is loose? Where China leads (oncology, GLP-1s) and where it lags50:22 – BIOSECURE, COINS, and BINSA: who loses when politics meets pharma55:37 – Digital health in three systems, Ant Afu's AI doctor avatars, and whether the silver generation can keep up1:08:44 – “A lifetime of eating bitterness”: Dr. Wang of Guangzhou, burnout, and yī nàoPaying It ForwardYanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations and professor at Seton Hall — the go-to voice on the geopolitics of China and health, and Ruby's first port of call.Afra Wang, writer of the Concurrent newsletter — Ruby admires how she reads the cultural currents beneath technology, and finds it endlessly useful to take those insights to the health-tech angle.Olivia Plotnick, Shanghai-based founder of Wai Social — on-the-ground work on branding and consumer behavior across some 30 lower-tier Chinese cities, including health and wellness.RecommendationsRuby: Deep China: The Moral Life of the Person, edited by Arthur Kleinman with Yunxiang Yan, Jing Jun, Sing Lee, and others — what being sick reveals about society and culture in China: psychiatry, caregiving, and how patients and families have changed as the country has. Kleinman's The Soul of Care is also worth your time.Kaiser: Augustus by John Williams — the third of his novels I've recommended on the show, and the National Book Award winner: an epistolary novel of imperial Rome told through a crazy quilt of letters and fragments from family, friends like Agrippa, and poets like Virgil and Horace, each given a completely distinct voice. Quiet campus novel, anti-Western, imperial Rome — the range, and the restraint, are astonishing.Also: Ezra Klein's conversation with Carnegie's Matt Sheehan — a masterclass in clarity on AI safety and the U.S.-China relationship, and the best thing to listen to in the wake of Dario Amodei's “Pacing the Frontier” essay.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In Acts 25–26, Paul stands trial before Festus and then Agrippa. In doing so, he appeals to Caesar and it becomes clear that what Jesus said to him will come to pass: "you must also testify in Rome" (23:11). God was at work in the details, directing the steps of Paul's life, as he was simply a faithful witness for Christ. Pastor Doug Horner preaches from Acts 25 and 26 in a message titled, "The Glory of God's Plan."

Our Ezekiel chapter (21) starts with Ezekiel being told to “Prophecy against the land of Israel” and that the LORD “will cut off from you both righteous and wicked … and all flesh shall know that I am the LORD” [v.2,4,5]  In effect God is now saying, ‘I mean what I say.'   The fascinating part of the chapter is the long term prophecy Ezekiel then receives from the LORD, “… O profane wicked prince of Israel … thus says the LORD …. take off the crown. Things shall not remain …A ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it … until he comes, the one to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to him.” [v.25-27]This is what happened, we await the completion of the prophecy.  The last proper king in Jerusalem is killed, the Jews have not had a king since. Kings Herod and Agrippa in the New Testament era were Idumean's appointed by the Romans.  The Jewish leaders in the days of Jesus were proud of their heritage, but they said they had “no king but Caesar.”  Their pride was self-centred, they had no meaningful concept of the God they claimed to worship – let us make sure that we do have!              In today's chapter 18 in Luke we particularly noticed the words of Jesus portraying the contrasting attitudes of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector as they went into the Temple to pray.  The Pharisee suffered from ‘I' trouble.  He “standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week,  I give tithes ….” [v.11,12]  In contrast, the Tax Collector humbly asked, “Lord be merciful to me a sinner.”   The Lord makes the point, “the one who humbles himself will be exalted” [v.14]  May we fully absorb the point so that we may be there, and be among the “exalted” when “all flesh shall know”  there is a God, an all-knowing, all seeing Creator. The prophets became totally conscious of this, this is how they were able to endure in all their difficult surroundings:  how difficult are our times going to become?   Remember what we read in Jeremiah a few weeks back,  “O LORD of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause.” [20 v.12] May we be there at that incredible time when “all flesh shall know” there is a Creator.   Let us pray now that our Lord will be merciful to us. 

(This podcast was previously published on, November 2, 2021)   Jesus Ministries, Joan Boney  ...   Judges 6   1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.  (7-years)   2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.   3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;   4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.   5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.   6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.   7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites,   8 That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;   9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land;   10 And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed MY voice.   If we fear those things the world fears, we take on "another god".  Instead we should turn to our God and ask HIM to deal with those fears which come from this world and we ask God to protect us as HIS people and know that HE is God and in control of those things which this world fears.  

Conclave author Robert Harris has returned to Rome with a fictional memoir of Agrippa, a military genius and trusted ally of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus. In the memoir, the general doesn't have much time left and is ready to divulge a life story filled with battles, vows and betrayals. In today's episode, Harris joins Weekend Edition's Scott Simon for a conversation about Agrippa's origins, the many other historical figures that populate the book, including Octavia Caesar and Pompeia, and why Harris says ancient Rome is in “our DNA.”Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show's perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Robert Harris's book have always been about power. His latest Agrippa tells the story of the close friend of the Emperor Augustus as they take power folloing the assassination of Julius Caesar. Harris talks to Dion about how power erodes and all empire die as he looks to the modern world and how democracy is failign. You can learn more about Robert's new book here - https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/463350/agrippa-by-harris-robert/9781529154412 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert Harris, author of Conclave and many more, has returned to the Roman Empire for his next one and he joins Oliver with lessons from history for today. Agrippa by Robert Harris is in bookshops now.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when a republic doesn't fall all at once—but gives away its power piece by piece? More than 2,000 years ago, Rome faced a political crisis that would transform the Western world. Civil war, political violence, concentrated power, exhausted citizens, and ambitious leaders created the conditions for a republic to become an empire. And at the center of that transformation was a man most of us know far less about than the dictator he helped create. His name was Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. Agrippa was the brilliant general, strategist, builder, and indispensable right-hand man of Octavius—the man who would become Augustus, Rome's first emperor. Now internationally bestselling author Robert Harris brings Agrippa's story to life in his new historical thriller, Agrippa. Told through the eyes of the man closest to Augustus, the novel explores not only how Rome descended into dictatorship, but what it meant to stand beside the person responsible for that transformation. Robert Harris is the author of sixteen bestselling novels, including the celebrated Cicero trilogy and Conclave, which became an Oscar-winning film. Today, we're talking about Ancient Rome, political power, loyalty, ambition, dictatorship—and why a story that happened two millennia ago can feel remarkably contemporary. Robert Harris, welcome to the podcast. Cold Open A republic rarely dies with a single dramatic blow. Sometimes it happens when citizens become exhausted by chaos. Sometimes when political violence becomes normal. Sometimes when a legislature slowly surrenders its authority to a powerful leader. And sometimes it happens because the right person—the brilliant general, strategist, and loyal friend—is willing to make that leader's ambitions possible. Two thousand years ago, that man was Agrippa. He helped turn Octavius into Augustus—and helped turn Rome's Republic into an empire. But here's the question: What does it feel like to be standing beside a dictator as he takes power? That's the question Robert Harris explores in Agrippa.

Gail Pittaway reviews Agrippa by Robert Harris and shares some of her favourite books inspired by Rome and Italy, including Virgil's The Aeneid and Jess Walte's Beautiful Ruins.

This week on Sinica, I'm joined once again by Ryan Hass, Director of the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings, former NSC director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia, and co-host of the Beijing Brief podcast. Ryan has just published two pieces that couldn't be better timed: a long essay in China Leadership Monitor, “China's Great Power Vision Comes into Focus,” which argues that the 2020s may be remembered as the decade Beijing finally laid its cards on the table — and a shorter Brookings piece, “Why Beijing Isn't Taking the Bait with Trump,” on why Xi Jinping has answered an unusually accommodating American president with a poker face, and what that means for Xi's state visit to Washington later this month.We start with the perennial question — what does China want? — and Ryan's own two-decade journey with it, from chasing a supposed secret strategy in Zhongnanhai as a junior political officer to concluding that Beijing's vision is now legible and consistent: an international political order stripped of its liberal core and rebuilt around sovereign equality and the “global majority.” We talk about “American decline” and “strategic stalemate” in Chinese discourse, the tension between China's pitch to the developing world and its export juggernaut, the Middle East and Northeast Asia as test cases, and the central riddle of Ryan's essay: why a country so willing to articulate its ambitions has been so unwilling to pay for them. Then we turn to the summit — constructive strategic stability, escalation dominance, and what will and won't be on the table when Xi comes to Washington.03:11 – The “What does China want?” genre — and why Ryan concluded there is no secret plan locked in a Zhongnanhai vault06:10 – From participant to architect: what actually changed, and whether Beijing is revisionist or, as I cheekily put it, restorationist09:12 – “American decline” (美国衰落) and “strategic stalemate” (战略相持): reading Beijing's rhetorical restraint and the Maoist echo14:34 – Champion of the global majority, or the world's factory? The $6 toaster problem and the credibility gap on Ukraine and Japan19:36 – The Middle East as a test case: economic enabler, not security patron — and the good-faith maximalist rebuttal24:38 – Northeast Asia: why Beijing keeps generating the very encirclement it fears26:59 – Rhetoric without resources: flat foreign aid, shrinking BRI lending, and the SCO as China's proving ground32:28 – The Pew swing that hasn't materialized, and why Biden may have been America's last restorationist president36:01 – Why Beijing isn't taking the bait: Xi's poker face, “constructive strategic stability,” and the G2 refusal41:55 – Confident abroad, anxious at home: the purges, the memory of 2020, economic escalation dominance, and a viewer's guide to the September summitPaying It ForwardRyan flags two women doing important work in China studies, both with books out this fall: Emily Matson of Georgetown, whose China's Date Debate: How Manchurian Scholars Rewrote World War II examines how the start date of China's war with Japan was moved from 1937 back to 1931; and Shuxian Luo of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, whose Simmering Seas: Escalation and De-escalation in China's Maritime Disputes is forthcoming from Oxford University Press in October. He also gives a shout-out to the engines of the Brookings China Center, research assistants Allie Matthias and Joyce Yang.RecommendationsRyan: Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August, which he's late to but found poignant for its eerie echoes of today's battlefields — and Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan's Regime Change, an inside account of the second Trump administration that he calls harrowing but essential for anyone trying to anticipate the president's behavior. (He also finally read The Three-Body Problem, and now knows his sophons from his Trisolarans.)Kaiser: Robert Harris's Agrippa, published September 1 — the memoir of Marcus Agrippa, the general who won Octavian's battles and built half of Augustan Rome, and a story about the pivot from republic to empire that feels uncomfortably relevant. And if you've read Tuchman, do read Christopher Clark's The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914. Not my official recommendation, but astonishing.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Estudios Radio AM 750 Alejandro Dolina, Patricio Barton, Gillespi Introducción • 0:00:00 Apertura del programa y presentación del equipo • 0:01:14 Anuncios de próximas presentaciones en diversas ciudades Segmento Dispositivo • 0:04:30 Los celos: manifestaciones, sospechas y escenas cotidianas • 0:46:41 Celos, consulta terapéutica y diagnóstico del problema • 0:58:31 El origen del universo: Big Bang, trilema de Agrippa y límites del conocimiento • 1:07:32 Selección musical: “Lluvia de Estrellas” de Osmar Maderna, versión del Sexteto Mayor Segmento Humorístico • 1:11:41 “Trabajos a domicilio”: oficios tradicionales adaptados al hogar • 1:49:01 Nuevas profesiones domésticas: veterinario, peluquero, manicura, podóloga y curadora de empacho • 2:01:53 Profesor particular a domicilio e instrumentos grandes • 2:18:19 Cierre del bloque humorístico con referencias a la gaita y otros instrumentos Sordo Gancé / Manuel Moreira • 2:23:10 Presentación del cierre musical • 2:24:15 “Montecrillojo” • 2:29:28 “Cerca de la revolución” • 2:32:59 Canción en italiano • 2:35:34 “El orangután” (Resumen generado automáticamente con IA, puede contener errores)

CAPTION UNDATEDR, Part Two: This segment covers diverse women of the Roman Empire, beginning with Augustus's highly educated daughter, Julia. Southon describes how Julia was used as a political marrying tool to secure male heirs, including Agrippa and Tiberius, before her public rebellion led to her permanent, harsh exile and ultimate starvation under Tiberius. Moving to Roman Britain, the discussion contrasts Cartimandua's strategic cooperation with the Romans against Boudica's famous, violent rebellion and tragic suicide. Archaeological findings from Pompeii reveal ordinary women like Julia Felix, a wealthy, independent businesswoman who ran a sprawling entertainment and bath complex. Meanwhile, the Vindolanda tablets reveal educated military wives, including Sulpicia Lepidina, organizing active social lives on the hostile northern frontier. Finally, the interview details Perpetua and Felicity, Carthage's famous Christian martyrs who embraced redemptive suffering, defiance, and ultimate execution in the grand arena rather than ever renouncing their devout faith by sacrificing to the polytheistic Roman gods. (2)

CAPTION 1480The Climactic Battle of ActiumBarry Strauss, Part Two: This episode details the climactic 31 BC naval Battle of Actium, which unfolded as a logistical masterpiece orchestrated by Octavian's brilliant admiral, Marcus Agrippa. By capturing the critical supply base of Methone, Agrippa cuts Antony's supply lines, blockading his forces in Greece's malarial swamps. Antony and Cleopatra attempt a breakout by sea. On September 2, Cleopatra escapes with sixty ships carrying Egypt's treasury, and Antony follows, abandoning his army. Despite desperate resistance, Antony's remaining fleet is destroyed with fire arrows. Octavian closes the trap in Alexandria. Believing Cleopatra committed suicide, Antony kills himself; Cleopatra follows in death, using a smuggled cobra. Octavian secures absolute victory by executing Cleopatra's son Caesarion, the rival heir of Julius Caesar. Returning to Rome, Octavian rebrands himself as Augustus, establishing the Roman Empire by masterfully wielding authority over raw power. This victory completely reshapes Mediterranean history, sealing the historic rise of the empire. (2)

Brian Chau, founder of Effort News, joins Infinite Loops to explore how AI could fundamentally reshape investigative journalism—not by writing articles, but by searching, analyzing, and connecting millions of legal, financial, and government records that humans could never examine manually. Show Notes Brian Chau & Effort News Effort News — Brian Chau's document-led investigative journalism publication, using AI to search and analyze large datasets while keeping the reporting and final writing human-reviewed. Effort News About Effort News — More on Brian's approach to AI-assisted investigative reporting and the publication's editorial principles. About Effort News Effort's Null Results — Investigations where Effort searched the available evidence but found no newsworthy result. Null Results Brian Chau on X — @brianchau57. Follow Brian on X Investigations Discussed The $1.2B Refugee Services Program that Funds Pro-Asylum Religious Groups — Effort's investigation into federal refugee-resettlement grants and the organizations receiving them. Read the investigation The 19th-Century Family Fortunes Funding Degrowth — Effort's investigation tracing funding for Partners for a New Economy through donor-side disclosures and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation. Read the investigation Partners for a New Economy (P4NE) — The philanthropic fund discussed in Brian's explanation of tracing obscured donor funding. P4NE Swiss Philanthropy Foundation — The organization that hosts P4NE's pooled philanthropic fund. Swiss Philanthropy Foundation on P4NE How to Go Viral on the New X Algorithm — Effort's analysis of X's open-source recommendation algorithm, which Jim references near the end of the conversation. Read the investigation Freedom Fuel Network — Brian discusses Effort's then-upcoming investigation into the mysterious network of discounted gas stations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Effort has since published its findings, Who Supplies Freedom Fuel?, on its site. Effort News Books, Essays & Projects Mentioned Vesuvius Challenge — The project using machine learning, computer vision, and advanced scanning to read carbonized scrolls from Herculaneum without physically opening them. Vesuvius Challenge The Camp of the Saints — Jean Raspail — The 1973 novel Brian and Jim discuss while talking about how AI-generated writing has changed the way readers perceive older literary styles. The Camp of the Saints Influence — Robert Cialdini — Cialdini's work on persuasion, referenced during the discussion of why large language models can be effective persuaders. Influence: Science and Practice What the Tortoise Said to Achilles — Lewis Carroll — Carroll's 1895 dialogue about logic and infinite regress, discussed alongside Agrippa's trilemma. Read the essay On Liberty — John Stuart Mill — Mill's defense of liberty and free expression, which Brian critiques during the episode's discussion of classical liberalism, consensus, and free speech. Read On Liberty  

Key Verse: Acts 27:22 “22 But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down.” “Take Courage because it will work out, but we must go through this first!”

Key Verse: Acts 27:22 “22 But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down.” “Take Courage because it will work out, but we must go through this first!”

The Apostle Paul stands before King Agrippa and Governor Festus, shifting his legal defense from personal innocence to the central truth of Christ's death and resurrection. While Festus dismisses the message as madness due to its incompatibility with pagan worldview, Paul asserts that the gospel is rational sober truth. He challenges Agrippa directly regarding belief in the prophets, highlighting the king's evasive response to the call for faith. The sermon emphasizes that the Christian message demands a personal response rather than mere intellectual curiosity or spectatorship. Ultimately, it calls believers to faithfully proclaim this life-giving truth and urgently invite others to believe.

(This podcast was previously published on, October 12, 2021)   Jesus Ministries, Joan Boney  ...   After the crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus gave ministers to the New Testament church.   We read about this in Ephesians 4.   7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.   8 Wherefore HE saith, When HE ascended up on high, HE led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.   9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?   10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)   11 And HE gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;   12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:   13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:   14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;   15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into HIM in all things, which is the head, even Christ:  

Augustus was Rome's first Emperor. But who made his empire possible? Behind the throne stood Marcus Agrippa, the brilliant general whose victories secured the Roman world yet whose name was consciously erased from the record by his erstwhile great friend.In this very special episode Tristan Hughes is joined by bestselling author Robert Harris to uncover the remarkable life of Agrippa. How did a man from relative obscurity become Augustus's most trusted ally? What role did he play in the victory at Actium and the birth of the Roman Empire? And why did this extraordinary figure disappear from Rome's public memory?MOREHow Slavery Built the Roman EmpireListen on Apple Listen on Spotify Young Caesar v Mark AntonyListen on Apple Listen on Spotify The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch here: @TheAncientsPodcastPresented by Tristan Hughes. Editor is Natasha Hughes. Produced by Joseph Knight and McKenna Fernandez. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Key Verse: Acts 27:22 “22 But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down.” “Take Courage because it will work out, but we must go through this first!”

Key Verse: Acts 27:22 “22 But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down.” “Take Courage because it will work out, but we must go through this first!”

The Governor by Lynda La Plante Barfield Prison is one of the toughest high-security prisons in England, housing the country's most dangerous criminals. And when an inmate is found dead in his cell, a riot breaks out, forcing the authorities to investigate a potential murder. Despite being Barfield's youngest ever female Governor, Helen Hewitt is seen as the best woman for the job. But with a prison full of corrupt and suspicious officers, restless inmates and a broken system, Helen has her work cut out – and no allies to help her…. Agrippa by Robert Harris Julius Caesar is dead, and the lives of two teenaged boys are about to be changed forever. One is Caesar's 17-year-old nephew, Octavius, whom he has made his heir. The other is Octavius's closest friend, Agrippa. To claim Octavius's inheritance, they must fight the giant figures of the Roman Empire - and, against all odds, they win. Octavius becomes the Emperor Augustus. For twenty years, they rule the world together. Now Agrippa is fifty. Ailing and alone, betrayed by his wife's infidelity, he takes refuge in his house on the Bay of Naples and begins to write his memoirs. Yet to stir up the past can be dangerous. From his earliest meetings with Julius Caesar, through the epic conflict with Mark Antony and Cleopatra, the great naval battle of Actium and the endless wars to expand the empire, he describes how one man has dominated his life- the cunning, ruthless, unknowable Octavius. When it comes to power, does friendship exist at all? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From watching Tony Blair win a landslide from inside his living room to imagining a world where Hitler won the war, Robert Harris has made a career out of getting closer to power than most.In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O'Brien meets the bestselling author behind Fatherland, Pompeii, The Ghost and Conclave. Robert recalls his working-class Nottinghamshire childhood, a mischievous school newspaper, nearly being sent down from Cambridge, and the leap from BBC journalist to one of Britain's most successful novelists.He reveals what it was really like inside New Labour's 1997 campaign, why his friendship with Tony Blair eventually fractured, and how the machinery of modern politics keeps reappearing in the ancient world.From writer's block in a leaking country house to Hollywood adaptations, Roman emperors and the art of turning history into a thriller, this is a fascinating conversation about ambition, access, reinvention and the addictive pull of power.Find out more about Agrippa by Robert Harris hereFull Disclosure is a Global ProductionListen or watch every Friday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Paul stands before King Agrippa and shows how testimony and theology aren't in competition, they work together. Dallas and Carlos unpack why your story isn't a substitute for scripture but the proof of it, then look at how Paul turns his own defense into an invitation to believe. Timestamps: 0:00 – Cold open: living out the truth you preach 0:31 – Welcome back, Carlos joins the show 2:27 – Setting the scene: Paul before King Agrippa 3:59 – Why understanding your audience changes how you speak 9:22 – Does testimony outweigh theology, or the other way around? 9:59 – The Rottweiler illustration: seeing it vs. reading about it 13:08 – Festus says Paul's "out of his mind," Agrippa's "almost persuaded" 16:29 – Playing the long game in ministry

Today, with Mitch Horowitz, we dive into the occult origins of America and the hidden influence of secret societies throughout history. From the alchemical pursuits of Isaac Newton and Abraham Lincoln's White House seances to the psychic phenomenon of telepathy and the multiverse of quantum computing, we explore how ancient traditions and ritual magic continue to shape our modern world. Welcome to Camp!

The Unselected Journals of Emma M.Lion by Beth Brower. This is a series of journals published by a writer purporting to be a 20 year old woman, in 1883 London, writing about her family, her housing situation and the events of her days. They're charming and whimsical and become quickly very moreish with two books in the series just published and many more apparently to follow. Emma's father has left her his London house in his will but her cousin Archibald is entitled to live there until she comes of age and he's not best pleased at her inheritance. The books have a touch of An Unfortunate Series of Events, along with Anne of Green Gables and the Victorian era of Georgette Heyer. Once you start it's hard to stop. Agrippa by Robert Harris – who is one of the finest contemporary writers, known also for his trilogy of Roman novels about Cicero. This new one is subtitled A Novel of Ancient Rome's Descent into Dictatorship. Julius Caesar is dead, and the lives of two teenaged boys are about to be changed forever. One is Caesar's 17-year-old nephew, Octavius, whom he has made his heir; the other is Octavius's closest friend, Agrippa. Now aged 50, Agrippa presents this novel as his memoir remembering their eventful lives which were so intertwined, for better or worse, with fascinating history and insight. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Darren Grimes and Graham Dunlop launch their new Grimoire platform, a global book club built around 250 plus professionally narrated audiobooks, lunar-cycle book picks, and community participation. They also demo a new online Pegs and Jokers game, whil e walking through the shelves of the library and explaining how free access, founder memberships, and the inner sanctum work. https://pegsandjokers.ca/ https://www.skool.com/the-secret-teachings-book-club-1875   In this episode, Darren and Graham cover the launch setup, the membership model, and the structure of the new book club. They also preview the first book of the month, discuss how the shelves are organized, and share the thinking behind the game and the community features. Key topics In this episode: the Grimoire launches with more than 250 audiobooks, with the library expected to grow to around 260 soon. The free book of the month is The Secret Teachings of All Ages in an abridged edition, chosen because starting with the full 36 hour version would be too much for most listeners. Founder keeper and monthly initiate memberships unlock the full library, while the free tier gives access to the monthly featured book and community activity. The book club is organized around lunar cycles, with a new moon monthly pick and a full moon live read, creating a rhythm of one book per moon month. The community model includes chapter check-ins, passage discussions, Friday tangents, and a final live book council in the last week of each book month. Darren and Graham describe the inner sanctum as a deeper, earned area of the platform, accessible through participation rather than payment alone. The shelves span Hermetica and occult, theosophy, mysticism east and west, Atlantis and Fortiana, mind and prosperity, weird fiction, philosophy and classics, magic, and power and propaganda. They highlight standout titles such as The Purple Cloud, The Machine Stops, Atlantis by Ignatius Donnelly, The Book of Thoth, Psychic Self-Defense, The Power of Positive Thinking, and The Road to Serfdom. Graham demos Pegs and Jokers, explaining how the online version works, how the cards move pieces, and why it is meant to be played with friends and family across locations. They mention the platform is still being cleaned up and reorganized, including moving some books between shelves and adding PDFs and other support material.   Become a Lord or Lady with 1k donations over time. And a Noble with any donation. Leave Serfdom behind and help Grimerica stick to 0 ads and sponsors and fully listener supported. Thanks for listening!! Help support the show, because we can't do it without ya. https://www.simulationmaps.com/#products Suite of Interactive Maps! DisasterMap, VolcanoSim, AsteroidSim, ShipwreckMap, UFOMap etc https://www.amazon.com/Unlearned-School-Failed-What-About/dp/1998704904/ref=sr_1_3?sr=8-3   Support the show directly: https://open.spotify.com/show/2punSyd9Cw76ZtvHxMKenI?si=ImKxfMHgQZ-oshl499O4dQ&nd=1&dlsi=4c25fa9c78674de3 Watch or Listen on Spotify https://grimericacbd.com/ CBD / THC Gummies and Tinctures http://www.grimerica.ca/support https://www.patreon.com/grimerica http://www.grimericaoutlawed.ca/support   Our audio book website: www.adultbrain.ca Check out our next trip/conference/meetup - Contact at the Cabin www.contactatthecabin.com www.grimerica.ca/shrooms and Micro Dosing Darren's book www.acanadianshame.ca Join the chat / hangout with a bunch of fellow Grimericans Https://t.me.grimerica grimerica.ca/chats   Discord Chats https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/grimerica-outlawed Sign up for our newsletter https://grimerica.substack.com/ SPAM Graham = and send him your synchronicities, feedback, strange experiences and psychedelic trip reports!! graham@grimerica.com Purchase swag, with partial proceeds donated to the show: www.grimerica.ca/swag Send us a postcard or letter http://www.grimerica.ca/contact/ Episode ART - Napolean Duheme's site http://www.lostbreadcomic.com/ MUSIC https://brokeforfree.bandcamp.com/ - Something Galactic Felix's Site sirfelix.bandcamp.com - Should I         Timestamps 00:00 - Restarting the launch after a false start 01:09 - Founder membership goals and how the book club access works 02:51 - Free members, VIP tiers, and the first monthly book 03:26 - The vault, classroom, and inner sanctum 04:16 - Launch day tech problems and the rough custom URL 05:16 - Introducing Pegs and Jokers and how the game works 06:56 - Why the game is meant for people, not just bots 08:30 - Book club access, free tier, and The Secret Teachings of All Ages 09:55 - Monthly rotation, live reads, and short book length strategy 10:01 - Reading a passage from The Secret Teachings of All Ages 11:18 - How book voting will work and the 10 comment limit 13:13 - Membership tiers and what each one unlocks 14:15 - Global map, leaderboards, and the earned inner sanctum 15:35 - Shelf overview: occult, theosophy, mysticism, Atlantis, and more 16:20 - The Purple Cloud and the appeal of weird fiction 17:41 - Hollow earth, lost civilizations, and classic speculative titles 19:38 - The Machine Stops and early dystopian fiction 20:52 - More shelf curation and shifting titles between categories 23:06 - How the monthly book club threads will work 25:18 - Commission features and community referrals 27:00 - Recent completed books and what is coming next 28:31 - Atlantis, Fortiana, and Ignatius Donnelly 31:44 - Why Donnelly still matters in Atlantis discussions 33:35 - Paradise Found and the North Pole Eden theory 35:47 - Shelf one: Hermetica and occult foundations 37:40 - Theosophy, Blavatsky, and the first monthly free book 39:59 - The Kabalah and key Hermetic texts 41:53 - Practical occultism and the warning not to treat it casually 42:46 - Rosicrucian mysteries, The Secret Destiny of America, and tarot 46:23 - Bacon, symbolic myth, and the wisdom of the ancients 47:39 - The full Secret Teachings audiobook and the premium tier 48:57 - Theosophy shelf highlights, including Thought Forms and The Secret Doctrine 52:21 - The Science of Immortality and a modern summary of Theosophy 54:55 - Mysticism east and west, slowly paced classics, and deep reading 56:15 - Christianity as Mystical Fact and esoteric Christianity 57:49 - Mystical Christianity and reading the Gospels as initiation text 58:47 - The New Man and inner psychological struggle 63:31 - Mind and prosperity: self-help, new thought, and money classics 64:58 - The Conquest of Happiness and the logic of optimism 66:19 - Meditations, Recovery Dharma, Self-Reliance, and As a Man Thinketh 67:39 - Darren's own book and the self-directed learning theme 67:59 - The Power of Positive Thinking and Think and Grow Rich 68:51 - Weird fiction as a shelf of cosmic horror and apocalypse tales 77:32 - The Apocalypse Then compilation and end-of-the-world fiction 79:12 - Saint-Germain, Cthulhu, and cosmic horror influences 81:38 - The Willows and the best weird tale discussion 82:08 - Charles Fort, The Book of the Damned, and excluded data 84:25 - Moon Child, Eadadorpa, and final weird fiction curation 86:14 - Philosophy, classics, and the structure behind the other shelves 87:52 - Socialism, utopias, and the political thread running through the shelf 89:25 - The Game of Life, Scientism, Nietzsche, and Chesterton 91:01 - Orthodoxy and the case for mystery 93:43 - Magic as the practical shelf and the history of ceremonial practice 94:35 - Agrippa, The Book of the Law, and tarot foundations 96:01 - Psychic Self-Defense and the reality of hostile influence 97:21 - The Fourth Book of Agrippa and ceremonial magic mechanics 98:14 - Levi, the Shamir, and ancient megalithic speculation 101:04 - Malleus Maleficarum and witch hunting history 101:56 - The History of Magic and the power of imagination 103:33 - Power and propaganda as the shelf of control systems 105:34 - Wells, the world brain, and early internet thinking 107:23 - The Road to Serfdom and central planning 108:03 - Darren's Canadian residential schools titles 109:11 - Gustave Le Bon and The Crowd 113:14 - Technocracy and the rise of expert rule 114:55 - Secret societies and subversive movements 117:05 - Proofs of a Conspiracy and early anti-Illuminati writing 124:50 - Short list of possible future reads and the launch's next phase  

Darren Grimes and Graham Dunlop launch their new Grimoire platform, a global book club built around 250 plus professionally narrated audiobooks, lunar-cycle book picks, and community participation. They also demo a new online Pegs and Jokers game, whil e walking through the shelves of the library and explaining how free access, founder memberships, and the inner sanctum work. https://pegsandjokers.ca/ https://www.skool.com/the-secret-teachings-book-club-1875   In this episode, Darren and Graham cover the launch setup, the membership model, and the structure of the new book club. They also preview the first book of the month, discuss how the shelves are organized, and share the thinking behind the game and the community features. Key topics In this episode: the Grimoire launches with more than 250 audiobooks, with the library expected to grow to around 260 soon. The free book of the month is The Secret Teachings of All Ages in an abridged edition, chosen because starting with the full 36 hour version would be too much for most listeners. Founder keeper and monthly initiate memberships unlock the full library, while the free tier gives access to the monthly featured book and community activity. The book club is organized around lunar cycles, with a new moon monthly pick and a full moon live read, creating a rhythm of one book per moon month. The community model includes chapter check-ins, passage discussions, Friday tangents, and a final live book council in the last week of each book month. Darren and Graham describe the inner sanctum as a deeper, earned area of the platform, accessible through participation rather than payment alone. The shelves span Hermetica and occult, theosophy, mysticism east and west, Atlantis and Fortiana, mind and prosperity, weird fiction, philosophy and classics, magic, and power and propaganda. They highlight standout titles such as The Purple Cloud, The Machine Stops, Atlantis by Ignatius Donnelly, The Book of Thoth, Psychic Self-Defense, The Power of Positive Thinking, and The Road to Serfdom. Graham demos Pegs and Jokers, explaining how the online version works, how the cards move pieces, and why it is meant to be played with friends and family across locations. They mention the platform is still being cleaned up and reorganized, including moving some books between shelves and adding PDFs and other support material.   Become a Lord or Lady with 1k donations over time. And a Noble with any donation. Leave Serfdom behind and help Grimerica stick to 0 ads and sponsors and fully listener supported. Thanks for listening!! Help support the show, because we can't do it without ya. https://www.simulationmaps.com/#products Suite of Interactive Maps! DisasterMap, VolcanoSim, AsteroidSim, ShipwreckMap, UFOMap etc https://www.amazon.com/Unlearned-School-Failed-What-About/dp/1998704904/ref=sr_1_3?sr=8-3   Support the show directly: https://open.spotify.com/show/2punSyd9Cw76ZtvHxMKenI?si=ImKxfMHgQZ-oshl499O4dQ&nd=1&dlsi=4c25fa9c78674de3 Watch or Listen on Spotify https://grimericacbd.com/ CBD / THC Gummies and Tinctures http://www.grimerica.ca/support https://www.patreon.com/grimerica http://www.grimericaoutlawed.ca/support   Our audio book website: www.adultbrain.ca Check out our next trip/conference/meetup - Contact at the Cabin www.contactatthecabin.com www.grimerica.ca/shrooms and Micro Dosing Darren's book www.acanadianshame.ca Join the chat / hangout with a bunch of fellow Grimericans Https://t.me.grimerica grimerica.ca/chats   Discord Chats https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/grimerica-outlawed Sign up for our newsletter https://grimerica.substack.com/ SPAM Graham = and send him your synchronicities, feedback, strange experiences and psychedelic trip reports!! graham@grimerica.com Purchase swag, with partial proceeds donated to the show: www.grimerica.ca/swag Send us a postcard or letter http://www.grimerica.ca/contact/ Episode ART - Napolean Duheme's site http://www.lostbreadcomic.com/ MUSIC https://brokeforfree.bandcamp.com/ - Something Galactic Felix's Site sirfelix.bandcamp.com - Should I         Timestamps 00:00 - Restarting the launch after a false start 01:09 - Founder membership goals and how the book club access works 02:51 - Free members, VIP tiers, and the first monthly book 03:26 - The vault, classroom, and inner sanctum 04:16 - Launch day tech problems and the rough custom URL 05:16 - Introducing Pegs and Jokers and how the game works 06:56 - Why the game is meant for people, not just bots 08:30 - Book club access, free tier, and The Secret Teachings of All Ages 09:55 - Monthly rotation, live reads, and short book length strategy 10:01 - Reading a passage from The Secret Teachings of All Ages 11:18 - How book voting will work and the 10 comment limit 13:13 - Membership tiers and what each one unlocks 14:15 - Global map, leaderboards, and the earned inner sanctum 15:35 - Shelf overview: occult, theosophy, mysticism, Atlantis, and more 16:20 - The Purple Cloud and the appeal of weird fiction 17:41 - Hollow earth, lost civilizations, and classic speculative titles 19:38 - The Machine Stops and early dystopian fiction 20:52 - More shelf curation and shifting titles between categories 23:06 - How the monthly book club threads will work 25:18 - Commission features and community referrals 27:00 - Recent completed books and what is coming next 28:31 - Atlantis, Fortiana, and Ignatius Donnelly 31:44 - Why Donnelly still matters in Atlantis discussions 33:35 - Paradise Found and the North Pole Eden theory 35:47 - Shelf one: Hermetica and occult foundations 37:40 - Theosophy, Blavatsky, and the first monthly free book 39:59 - The Kabalah and key Hermetic texts 41:53 - Practical occultism and the warning not to treat it casually 42:46 - Rosicrucian mysteries, The Secret Destiny of America, and tarot 46:23 - Bacon, symbolic myth, and the wisdom of the ancients 47:39 - The full Secret Teachings audiobook and the premium tier 48:57 - Theosophy shelf highlights, including Thought Forms and The Secret Doctrine 52:21 - The Science of Immortality and a modern summary of Theosophy 54:55 - Mysticism east and west, slowly paced classics, and deep reading 56:15 - Christianity as Mystical Fact and esoteric Christianity 57:49 - Mystical Christianity and reading the Gospels as initiation text 58:47 - The New Man and inner psychological struggle 63:31 - Mind and prosperity: self-help, new thought, and money classics 64:58 - The Conquest of Happiness and the logic of optimism 66:19 - Meditations, Recovery Dharma, Self-Reliance, and As a Man Thinketh 67:39 - Darren's own book and the self-directed learning theme 67:59 - The Power of Positive Thinking and Think and Grow Rich 68:51 - Weird fiction as a shelf of cosmic horror and apocalypse tales 77:32 - The Apocalypse Then compilation and end-of-the-world fiction 79:12 - Saint-Germain, Cthulhu, and cosmic horror influences 81:38 - The Willows and the best weird tale discussion 82:08 - Charles Fort, The Book of the Damned, and excluded data 84:25 - Moon Child, Eadadorpa, and final weird fiction curation 86:14 - Philosophy, classics, and the structure behind the other shelves 87:52 - Socialism, utopias, and the political thread running through the shelf 89:25 - The Game of Life, Scientism, Nietzsche, and Chesterton 91:01 - Orthodoxy and the case for mystery 93:43 - Magic as the practical shelf and the history of ceremonial practice 94:35 - Agrippa, The Book of the Law, and tarot foundations 96:01 - Psychic Self-Defense and the reality of hostile influence 97:21 - The Fourth Book of Agrippa and ceremonial magic mechanics 98:14 - Levi, the Shamir, and ancient megalithic speculation 101:04 - Malleus Maleficarum and witch hunting history 101:56 - The History of Magic and the power of imagination 103:33 - Power and propaganda as the shelf of control systems 105:34 - Wells, the world brain, and early internet thinking 107:23 - The Road to Serfdom and central planning 108:03 - Darren's Canadian residential schools titles 109:11 - Gustave Le Bon and The Crowd 113:14 - Technocracy and the rise of expert rule 114:55 - Secret societies and subversive movements 117:05 - Proofs of a Conspiracy and early anti-Illuminati writing 124:50 - Short list of possible future reads and the launch's next phase  

If you enjoy this episode, we're sure you will enjoy more content like this on The Occult Rejects.  In fact, we have curated playlists on occult topics like grimoires, esoteric concepts and phenomena, occult history, analyzing true crime and cults with an occult lens, Para politics, and occultism in music. Whether you enjoy consuming your content visually or via audio, we've got you covered - and it will always be provided free of charge.  So, if you enjoy what we do and want to support our work of providing accessible, free content on various platforms, please consider making a donation to the links provided below.  Thank you and enjoy the episode!Links For The Occult Rejectshttps://linktr.ee/theoccultrejectsOccult Research Institutehttps://www.occultresearchinstitute.org/Substackhttps://substack.com/@theoccultrejects?r=7auau0&utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-pageCash Apphttps://cash.app/$theoccultrejectsVenmo@TheOccultRejectsBuy Me A Coffeebuymeacoffee.com/TheOccultRejectsPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/TheOccultRejectsDarkness, Sensory Deprivation, Caves, and Visionary ConditionsUstinova, Yulia. Caves and the Ancient Greek Mind: Descending Underground in the Search for Ultimate Truth. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.Use for: caves, descent, darkness, ancient Greek revelation, incubation, inspired prophecy, and altered states in underground sacred settings.Lewis-Williams, David. The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art. London: Thames & Hudson, 2002.Use for: caves, prehistoric imagery, altered consciousness, visual phenomena, and symbolic environments. Use carefully because some interpretations of prehistoric religion remain debated.Eliade, Mircea. The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion. New York: Harcourt, 1959.Use for: sacred space, threshold, the difference between sacred and profane space, and the way religious environments reorganize orientation and meaning.Zuckerman, Marvin, and Nathan Cohen. “Sources of Reports of Visual and Auditory Sensations in Perceptual-Isolation Experiments.” Psychological Bulletin 61, no. 1, 1964: 1–20.Use for: sensory deprivation, perceptual isolation, visual/auditory sensations, and internally generated experiences under reduced stimulation.Wackermann, Jiří, Peter Pütz, and Carsten Allefeld. “Ganzfeld-Induced Hallucinatory Experience, Its Phenomenology and Cerebral Electrophysiology.” Cortex 44, no. 10, 2008: 1364–1378.Use for: Ganzfeld states, reduced/uniform sensory fields, pseudo-hallucinatory imagery, altered perception, and EEG findings.Metzger, Wolfgang. “Optische Untersuchungen am Ganzfeld.” Psychologische Forschung 13, 1930: 6–29.Use for: early Ganzfeld research and the effect of homogeneous visual fields on perception.Shenyan, O., et al. “Visual Hallucinations Induced by Ganzflicker and Ganzfeld Differ in Frequency, Complexity, and Content.” Scientific Reports 14, 2024.Use for: modern comparison between Ganzfeld and flicker-induced visual phenomena. Useful if connecting this episode back to the earlier flicker-light show.Candlelight, Firelight, Sacred Atmosphere, and the Agency of LightBille, Mikkel, and Tim Flohr Sørensen. “An Anthropology of Luminosity: The Agency of Light.” Journal of Material Culture 12, no. 3, 2007: 263–284.Use for: light as a social, material, emotional, and cultural agent; how light shapes atmosphere, social meaning, and movement.Bille, Mikkel, and Tim Flohr Sørensen, eds. Elements of Architecture: Assembling Archaeology, Atmosphere and the Performance of Building Spaces. London: Routledge, 2016.Use for: architecture, atmosphere, materiality, embodied space, and how built environments shape experience.Pallasmaa, Juhani. The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses. Chichester: Wiley, 1996; later editions.Use for: architecture as multisensory experience, not just visual design; helpful for sacred architecture, embodied space, and sensory atmosphere.Barrie, Thomas. “Sacred Space and the Mediating Roles of Architecture.” European Review 20, no. 4, 2012: 505–514.Use for: sacred architecture as a mediating threshold between ordinary and sacred worlds.Kieckhefer, Richard. Theology in Stone: Church Architecture from Byzantium to Berkeley. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.Use for: Christian sacred architecture, spatial theology, light, ritual orientation, and the way buildings teach belief through space.Do, Michael T. H. “Melanopsin and the Intrinsically Photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells: Biophysics to Behavior.” Neuron 104, no. 2, 2019: 205–226.Use for: melanopsin, intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells, non-image-forming vision, and the biological effects of light beyond ordinary sight.Hattar, Samer, H. W. Liao, Motoharu Takao, David M. Berson, and King-Wai Yau. “Melanopsin-Containing Retinal Ganglion Cells: Architecture, Projections, and Intrinsic Photosensitivity.” Science 295, no. 5557, 2002: 1065–1070.Use for: retinal ganglion cells that detect light for non-image-forming functions, including circadian-related pathways.Blume, Christine, Corrado Garbazza, and Manuel Spitschan. “Effects of Light on Human Circadian Rhythms, Sleep and Mood.” Somnologie 23, 2019: 147–156.Use for: light, circadian rhythms, sleep, mood, and why sunlight, darkness, dawn, and dusk matter biologically.Cajochen, Christian. “Alerting Effects of Light.” Sleep Medicine Reviews 11, no. 6, 2007: 453–464.Use for: light's alerting effects beyond image-forming vision.Stained Glass, Religious Light, and Visual TheologyBinski, Paul. Gothic Wonder: Art, Artifice, and the Decorated Style, 1290–1350. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014.Use for: Gothic visual culture, sacred display, ornament, and the emotional force of medieval religious space.Camille, Michael. Gothic Art: Glorious Visions. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996.Use for: Gothic imagery, religious seeing, visual devotion, and sacred art as visionary environment.Kessler, Herbert L. Seeing Medieval Art. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press, 2004.Use for: medieval Christian theories of seeing, devotional image use, sacred art, and vision as religious practice.Hamburger, Jeffrey F. The Visual and the Visionary: Art and Female Spirituality in Late Medieval Germany. New York: Zone Books, 1998.Use for: visionary art, devotional seeing, mystical imagery, and the relationship between images and religious experience.Freedberg, David. The Power of Images: Studies in the History and Theory of Response. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989.Use for: why images provoke emotion, devotion, fear, desire, reverence, and acts of ritual engagement.Scrying, Black Mirrors, Crystal Gazing, and Reflective VisionCaputo, Giovanni B. “Strange-Face-in-the-Mirror Illusion.” Perception 39, no. 7, 2010: 1007–1008.Use for: mirror-gazing under low light, face distortion, visual instability, and apparitional perception.Caputo, Giovanni B. “Apparitional Experiences of New Faces and Dissociation of Self-Identity During Mirror Gazing.” Perceptual and Motor Skills 110, no. 3, 2010: 1125–1138.Use for: mirror-gazing, dissociation, altered self-recognition, and strange-face experiences.Caputo, Giovanni B. “Strange-Face Illusions During Inter-Subjective Gazing.” Consciousness and Cognition 22, no. 1, 2013: 324–329.Use for: prolonged eye-to-eye gazing, face alteration, dissociative effects, and interpersonal gaze phenomena.Caputo, Giovanni B. “Visual Perception During Mirror-Gazing at One's Own Face in Patients with Depression.” The Scientific World Journal, 2014.Use for: mirror-gazing research and altered self-perception. Useful for grounding black mirror and psychomanteum discussion, but do not overgeneralize.Moody, Raymond A., with Paul Perry. Reunions: Visionary Encounters with Departed Loved Ones. New York: Villard, 1993.Use for: modern psychomanteum practice, mirror-gazing, grief, and visionary encounters. Use cautiously; this is experiential/parapsychological material, not mainstream neuroscience.Roll, William G. “Psychomanteum Research: A Pilot Study.” Journal of Near-Death Studies 22, no. 4, 2004: 251–270.Use for: psychomanteum research, bereavement visions, mirror-gazing, and altered perception. Use cautiously.Northcote, Thomas. “Scrying.” In The Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, edited by J. Gordon Melton. Detroit: Gale, various editions.Use for: general historical overview of scrying traditions, crystal gazing, mirror gazing, and divinatory seeing.Agrippa, Heinrich Cornelius. Three Books of Occult Philosophy. Translated by James Freake; edited and annotated by Donald Tyson. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 1993.Use for: Renaissance magical imagination, correspondences, planetary symbols, spirits, and visual/ritual operations.Barrett, Francis. The Magus. London, 1801.Use for: later ceremonial magic, mirrors, spirits, correspondences, and visual ritual imagination. Use historically, not as scientific evidence.Magical Gaze, Concentration, Visualization, and Ceremonial PracticeCrowley, Aleister. Liber E vel Exercitiorum. In The Equinox.Use for: concentration, posture, breath, mental discipline, and the training of attention as a magical foundation.Crowley, Aleister. Magick: Liber ABA, Book 4. York Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser, various editions.Use for: ceremonial magic, concentration, visualization, ritual method, symbols, and disciplined magical practice.Regardie, Israel. The Golden Dawn. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, variousAlso want to remind people about the website, if you're into reading we have tons of information by multiple contributors, and we got t-shirts up on the site if you're interested. Fun fact, the art is all based on the eyeball. 

Drop us a note about the podcast. Paul stands in chains, looks a king in the eye, and asks a question that still corner-backs our excuses: “Do you believe?” We start with Acts 26 and Paul's defense before Agrippa, including the moment Festus calls him insane and Paul calmly answers with what he calls “the sober truth.” That exchange isn't just history. It's a mirror for anyone trying to live a Christian faith with clarity when the culture treats conviction like a disorder.From there, we ground it where faith gets tested first: at home. We read Ephesians 5:22–33 and talk straight about marriage as covenant, the “one flesh” union, and why sacrificial love and real respect are not optional add-ons. We connect the health of marriage and family to the health of a nation, because a collapsing foundation always shows up in daily life long before it shows up on a headline.We also weave in Psalm 6, Proverbs 18 on the power of the tongue, a Medal of Honor remembrance, and quotes that frame Scripture as a lighthouse for a free people. The argument is simple and urgent: Bible literacy matters, and when we stop reading the Word of God, it becomes easier to mislead, deceive, and mentally enslave a society. If you care about Christian discipleship, marriage advice rooted in the Bible, and the link between the gospel of Jesus Christ and freedom, you'll find plenty to wrestle with here.Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review if the show helps you stay anchored. What line from Acts 26 hits you the hardest right now?#Bible#Marriage#ChristianNationSupport the showThe American Soul Podcasthttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1791934/subscribeCountryside Book Serieshttps://www.amazon.com/Countryside-Book-J-T-Cope-IV-ebook/dp/B00MPIXOB2 America's Christian Heritage Podcasthttps://www.buzzsprout.com/2622483

Paul gets one more hearing, this time before a king who actually knows the Scriptures, and he makes the most of it. He lays out his old life as a persecutor, what happened on the road to Damascus, and why the prophets and Moses point to a Christ who suffers and rises. Festus interrupts and calls him insane. Agrippa is smoother about it. Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian? Then he stands, agrees that Paul has done nothing worth death, and walks out. Paul could have been set free, but the Holy Spirit was leading him to appeal before Caesar.  The Rev. Timothy Barkett, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Kingman, AZ, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 26:1-32.  To learn more about Good Shepherd in Kingman, visit goodshepherdlckingman.org. The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Barry Strauss traces the fracturing of the Second Triumvirate as Octavian utilizes his sister, Octavia, who marries Antony to seal a peace treaty in 40 BC. While depicted as a devoted housewife, Strauss suggests she remained loyal to Octavian, potentially providing intelligence. In Rome, Octavian builds power by marrying into the high nobility and cultivating talent, specifically his "secret weapon," Marcus Agrippa. Agrippa, a brilliant military strategist, builds a new navy to defeat Sextus Pompey, a naval threat based in Sicily. Meanwhile, Antony's reputation suffers after a failed campaign against the Parthian Empire, resulting in the loss of 25% of his army. By 33 BC, the triumvirate expires, and Octavian launches an information war. He portrays Antony as an "unmanned" traitor enslaved by Cleopatra, mocking his adoption of Eastern luxuries like mosquito nets. (3)

Barry Strauss narrates the naval Battle of Actium, which begins on September 2, 31 BC. Antony and Cleopatracommand approximately 230 ships against Octavian and Agrippa's fleet of nearly 400. Facing starvation due to Agrippa's blockade, Antony and Cleopatra decide on a breakout battle to escape by sea with their treasury. During the battle, Cleopatra's flagship, flying a purple sail, breaks through a gap in the Roman line. Antony follows her in a smaller ship, abandoning his fleet and army in a move that Strauss describes as a devastating blow to his Roman honor. Despite their leaders' flight, Antony's men continue to fight until Octavian uses fire arrows to destroy their remaining ships. The lovers escape south toward Alexandria, but Antony is left in a state of deep melancholy after deserting his troops. (6)

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/03-0724db.mp3 Listen to Bible reading Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 24 Acts 26:19-32 Acts 26 19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20 Rather, I first told those in Damascus and Jerusalem about it, and then throughout the entire country of Judea and also the Gentiles. I told them that they should repent and turn to God, while also doing works that are consistent with repentance. 21 These are the reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 “But I have had help from God right up to this day, and so I stand testifying to both small and great. I am saying nothing other than what the prophets and Moses said would happen, 23 that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.” 24 While Paul was saying these things in his defense, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you insane.” 25 But Paul replied, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus, but I am clearly speaking words that are true and sensible. 26 Certainly the king to whom I am freely speaking knows about these things. Indeed, I cannot believe that any of these things has escaped his notice, because this has not been done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” 28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “In such a short time are you going to persuade me to become [1] a Christian?” 29 Paul replied, “I pray God, that whether in a short time or a long time, not only you, but also all those who are listening to me today would become what I am, except for these chains.” 30 After he had said these things, [2] the king stood up, along with the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. 31 After they had left, they said to one another in private, “This man is doing nothing worthy of death or chains.” 32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.” Footnotes Acts 26:28 A few witnesses to the text read to make me. Acts 26:30 Some witnesses to the text omit After he had said these things. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/03-0722db.mp3 Listen to Bible reading Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 22 Acts 25:13-27 Acts 25 Paul's Hearing Before Agrippa 13 Some days later, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. 14 Since they were going to stay there a number of days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king. He said, “There is a man who was left as a prisoner by Felix. 15 When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked for a sentence of condemnation against him. 16 “I answered them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over any man [1] before the accused has met the accusers face to face and has had an opportunity to make a defense against the accusation. 17 “Therefore, after they came back here with me, I did not delay. On the next day I took my place on the judicial bench and ordered the man to be brought in. 18 When the accusers stood up, they charged him with none of the crimes I was expecting. 19 Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus who was dead, but who Paul claimed is alive. 20 Since I was at a loss how to investigate these issues, I asked if he was willing to go to Jerusalem to be tried there concerning these charges. 21 But when Paul appealed to be kept in custody until his majesty the emperor would decide his case, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.” 22 Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he said, “you will hear him.” 23 So the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the courtroom together with the commanders and the most prominent men of the city. When Festus gave the order, Paul was brought in. 24 Festus said, “King Agrippa and all the men who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish crowd petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25 But I found that he has done nothing that deserves death. Yet, since he appealed to his majesty the emperor, I decided to send him. 26 But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore, I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this preliminary hearing I may have something to write. 27 Indeed, it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without clearly indicating what the charges are against him.” Footnotes Acts 25:16 Some witnesses to the text add to die. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Dr. Justin Sledge is a scholar of philosophy and Western esotericism, and the voice behind the YouTube channel Esoterica, which has grown to over a million subscribers. He has spent his career studying the traditions that history tried to erase: Gnosticism, Kabbalah, Hermeticism, witchcraft, and alchemy.What We Dive Into:1. Classical skepticism is not about debunking or disbelief. It is about bracketing your personal investment long enough to let the material speak for itself. 2. Newton wrote more on alchemy and the occult than on calculus. Descartes arrived at his famous method through a mystical dream. Stripping these facts from the story of modernity has cost us access to some of the most important spiritual technologies ever developed.3. Every other starting point, certainty, comfort, doctrine, conclusions, has a gutter waiting at the end of it. Awe keeps the garden of curiosity alive.Know Thyself, but not by yourself. A guided space to return home to yourself.https://www.knowthyselfcollective.com✨THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:https://www.im8health.com/knowthyselfcode KNOWTHYSELF for an exclusive offerhttps://www.mudwtr.com/knowthyselfcode KNOWTHYSELF for up to 43% off___________00:00 Intro01:57 What Skepticism Actually Means06:21 How to Enter Mystical Inquiry Without Collapsing Into Belief08:03 Religion, Mysticism, and the Margins11:24 Gnosticism: The World as Prison, Christ as Liberator14:21 The Nag Hammadi Discovery and the Many Christianities17:00 William James and the Four Qualities of Mystical Experience21:50 Perennial Wisdom vs. High-Resolution Differences26:44 The Limits of Propositional Truth31:32 Irrational vs. Non-Rational: Why the Distinction Matters37:10 The Danger of Universalizing Mystical Experience44:34 The World Is Stranger Than We Assume51:01 How the Myth of Rational Modernity Was Curated59:35 Recovering the Suppressed Voices of Western History1:00:45 Mary Magdalene: Not a Prostitute1:14:22 The Suppression of the Feminine and the Road to the Witch Trials1:18:55 The Malleus Maleficarum and the Anatomy of a Moral Panic1:24:01 Poverty, Not Practice: Who Was Actually Accused1:26:27 The Books Justin Brought: Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy1:32:08 Agrippa and the Possibility of Induced Illumination1:41:32 The Kabbalah and the Sefer Yetzirah1:46:04 The Hermetic Tradition and Hermes Trismegistus1:54:22 What Studying These Texts Has Done to Justin1:59:51 Agrippa's Trilemma and the Limits of Reason2:04:22 Hermeticism vs. Gnosticism: The World as Divine, Not Prison2:13:11 Making the Best Case for the Transcendent Realm2:19:54 Whatever Matter Is, It's Indistinguishable from Spirit2:26:34 Justin's Personal Satanic Panic: The School Shooting2:38:03 Generational Trauma and the Suppression of the Feminine2:44:57 Truth as a Verb: Dialogue Across Difference2:47:14 Are We on the Threshold of a New Renaissance?2:58:39 Community Questions: The Most Meaningful Experience of Magic2:59:15 When Justin Realized the Books Were Real3:03:51 Finding the Clerical Necromantic Underground3:04:26 Recreating Alchemy in the Modern Lab3:07:11 Why We Want Magic: The Very Human Desire for Hidden Power3:13:00 Modern Mythology and the Meaning Famine3:20:10 Closing Message: Flourishing Begins in Awe___________✨MORE FROM DR. JUSTIN SLEDGE↳YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/esotericachannel↳Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel↳https://www.justinsledge.com

Before Festus and Agrippa, Paul made another defense. But this time, Paul spent the majority of his speech explaining once again how he had encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus and how Jesus had called him to take the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul offers us two ways of looking at life: our own attempts to build the life we want and a submission to the leading and calling of God to follow his plans. 

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Friday morning, the 3rd of July, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go to the Book of Acts 26:28: ”Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” We want to talk today about the power of personal testimony.The Lord saved my wife, Gill and me through a lay witness mission. What does that mean? A group of ordinary people, like you and me, coming into a church and just getting up one after another and giving testimony of the change in their lives through what Jesus Christ had done for them. Simple, yet absolutely profound, honest stories from the lives of just the man in the street, that is what changed my life. It was no fancy preaching. It wasn't a fancy sermon. It wasn't an intellectual lecture. No, it was a simple story told by a simple housewife, a simple farmer, a simple student - just real stories. Now, Paul, the apostle, did exactly that. He just told Agrippa how Jesus Christ had met him on the road to Damascus and his life was instantly changed.Well, these people came up, I'll never forget it as long as I live, one by one, and they gave short stories. These stories lasted maybe two minutes, three minutes at most. They were saying,” I was caught up in alcoholism. I could not stop drinking. I hated myself for it, then I came before the Lord and I asked Him to help me, and supernaturally He delivered me from the curse of alcoholism.” Then the next person would come up and say, ”My marriage was in a total mess.” He would come up with his wife. The two of them would stand there. ”We couldn't get on. We decided we were going to get divorced, then we thought about the children and we thought we'd give it another go and then we met Jesus Christ. Now we are more in love with each other than we were when we first met each other.” Powerful stories! Successful businessmen who were really in a bad way, their businesses all of a sudden took a downward turn and everything that they had been working for was lost. Then they turned to Christ and He restored them a hundred-fold.I want to say to you today, do not be scared to tell people how the Lord has impacted your life and you might say, ”Well I don't have much of a story.” You will be surprised, my dear friend, the simpler the story, the more profound. Just keep telling people what Jesus Christ has done in your life. That is the most powerful story you will ever tell.Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day. Goodbye.

Send us a message!Paul stands before Festus and Agrippa with no proven charges, then uses his defense to tell the truth about Jesus and the resurrection. We talk through Paul's appeal to Caesar, his Damascus road testimony, and why sharing the gospel can make you sound “insane” to people who don't want to hear it. • Festus taking over after Felix and inheriting Paul's case • The failed attempt to move Paul to Jerusalem and the threat of ambush • Paul's clear defense and his legal appeal to Caesar • Festus explaining the case to Agrippa and admitting the charges do not add up • Paul's testimony: Pharisee background, persecution, and the Damascus road encounter • Jesus' commission to open eyes and call people from darkness to light • The core message: repentance, forgiveness, and the resurrection promised in Scripture • Festus shouting “you've lost your mind” and Paul's calm reply • Agrippa's “are you persuading me” moment and Paul's wish for everyone to believe • Our takeaway: you cannot control perception, only faithfulness to speak  At outloudbible.com, you can find free resources to help you study the Bible. And while you're there, send us a message to say hi, or start a conversation about having us at your church or event. If Outloud Bible has been a valuable part of your understanding of the Bible, please consider supporting the ministry by visiting outloudbible.com.Support the showCheck out outloudbible.com for helpful study resources, and to discover how to bring the public reading of God's word to your church, conference, retreat, or other event.

This month on Magus, for our penultimate episode of the series, we're exploring the life and work of the father of Western esotericism, Cornelius Agrippa!Born into a Europe wracked by wars, he attends university in Cologne at thirteen, earns his MA by sixteen, and then he abandons the Holy Roman Empire for France.There, under the noses of the House of Valois, he begins to establish a hidden brotherhood of occult learning stretching from England to Catalonia to Italy and Switzerland. Influenced by Erasmus and Martin Luther, and mentored by the court necromancer of Emperor Maximilian I, Agrippa then pioneers a new, coherent, rational model of the universe which bridges the gap between Medieval and Renaissance thinking, combining esoteric learning from the ancient world with cutting edge humanist philosophy.Was he really accompanied everywhere he went by a demonic magical hound that aided him in his research?Were his writings cursed such that if an unwitting person read from them alive they risked being strangled by demonic spirits?Also, how did Agrippa not realise that embarassing the Inquisition, and then insulting your patrons in print, might be hazardous to the health?We'll be answering these questions and many others - but fair warning going in: these are knotty concepts that Agrippa himself would argue should not really be known to common people like thee and we...Speak with you again on Wednesday for our monthly Update Episode all about the folkloric fun of July, if not our Patreon Exclusive Flim Club episode about Black Narcissus, all before a new double bill of Lang fairy tales and chats about them on Thursday!Three Ravens is an English myth and folklore podcast hosted by Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?REGISTER FOR THE TALES OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND TOURVisit our website Join our Patreon Social media channels and sponsors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dive into the complex world of the Herodian Dynasty with Fr. Assisi Saldanha, C.Ss.R., in this compelling episode of Who's Who in the Bible. Uncover the stories of Herod Agrippa I and II, figures who directly challenged the early Church through persecution. This session explores their rise to power, their complex relationship with Roman authority, and the divine irony of their reigns. Learn why their political ambition stands in stark contrast to the eternal message of the Gospel. Are you ready to see how the early Christians navigated these 'Herodian' trials? Join Fr. Assisi Saldanha for this insightful journey of faith, reflection, and historical discovery. Watch the full series to deepen your understanding of biblical characters!

Welcome to episode 251 of Grasp the Bible. In this episode, we will examine the topic of the danger of almost — why “almost persuaded” is the most perilous place a person can stand.  Key takeaways:    Almost saved is the same as completely lost. In matters of eternal destiny there is no middle ground, no partial credit, and no safe distance. Proximity to truth is not possession of truth. King Agrippa was educated in Scripture, personally evangelized by Paul, and intellectually convinced of the gospel's logic — and still walked away. Knowledge about Jesus is not relationship with Jesus. Understanding the gospel and surrendering to Christ are vastly different things. Agrippa grasped the argument. He simply refused to follow it to its conclusion. The gospel is not a subject for ongoing academic inquiry — it is a royal summons. Jesus does not say “Think it over.” He says “Come.” “Follow.” “Today is the day of salvation.” Repeated exposure to truth without response does not keep you neutral — it hardens you. Every time conviction is ignored, the conscience grows more calloused. What once stirred begins to bounce off. Agrippa could clearly see Paul's legal innocence yet was completely blind to his own spiritual guilt. Familiarity with the truth can create the illusion of standing in the light while still standing outside it. Agrippa's problem was not lack of information, opportunity, or evidence. His problem was unwillingness to submit. He calculated that the cost was too high and chose his kingdom over God's.  Quotable:    Tomorrow's decision is today's hardness. Every time you hear truth and walk away unchanged, it becomes easier to do it again. Don't let “almost persuaded” become your epitaph.  Application:    Examine what you are actually trusting. Many people have sat in church for years, can articulate the gospel, and still have never personally surrendered to Christ as Lord. Biblical literacy, church attendance, and theological knowledge are not substitutes for faith. If you are relying on any of those rather than Christ Himself, you are standing exactly where Agrippa stood.  Stop treating faith as an ongoing inquiry. If you have been “still thinking about it” for years after repeated exposure to the gospel, honest seeking has become sophisticated resistance. The paralysis of perpetual deliberation is not neutrality — it is a decision. Today is the day of salvation.  Take your decreasing conviction seriously. If you have heard the gospel many times and feel less moved than you once did, that is not a sign of maturity — it is a warning sign. Spiritual tolerance is real. Do not let familiarity with the message inoculate you against surrender to the One the message is about.  For believers: remember you were once Agrippa. You were once almost persuaded. Use that memory to fuel your compassion for those who are still standing at that threshold. Pray for them. Pursue them. Paul wept over the people in that room. So should we.  Connect with us:    Web site:  https://springbaptist.org  Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/SBCKleinCampus (Klein Campus) https://www.facebook.com/SpringBaptist (Spring Campus)  Need us to pray for you? Submit your prayer request to https://springbaptist.org/prayer/  If you haven't already done so, please leave us a rating and review in your podcast provider. 

Paul moves from what he inherited to what he personally achieved. Listento what he says: "As to the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecutingthe church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless." Thesewere not things that were given to Paul. These were things he worked hard toattain. If anyone could have earned a right standing before God throughreligion, dedication, and moral effort, it was Saul of Tarsus. First,notice that Paul said, "As to the law, a Pharisee." ThePharisees were the strictest religious group in Judaism. There were not many ofthem compared to the population of Israel, but they were highly respected fortheir devotion to the Law. The word Pharisee actually means "separatedone." They separated themselves from anything they believed would makethem spiritually unclean. They carefully studied the Scriptures, observedreligious traditions, and sought to obey every detail of the Law. SoPaul was not merely a religious man. He was a religious leader. In Acts 23:6,he boldly declared, "I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee." Hehad studied under the famous Rabbi Gamaliel according to Acts 22:3. Hepossessed the finest religious education available in his day. Yet with allthat learning and all that religious devotion, it could not save him. It ispossible to know the Bible intellectually and still not know Jesus Christpersonally. Many people today know Bible stories, memorize verses, and attendchurch regularly, yet they have never experienced the transforming grace ofGod. Knowledge alone cannot save. Secondly,Paul said, "Concerning zeal, persecuting the church." Thismight seem shocking to us. How could persecuting Christians be considered acredential? But before his conversion, Paul believed Christians were theenemies of God. He thought he was serving God by trying to destroy the church. Acts8:3 tells us that Saul made havoc of the church, entering houses and draggingmen and women off to prison. In Acts 9, he was on his way to Damascus withauthority to arrest believers when he met the risen Christ. In Acts 26:9-11,when he gave his testimony before Agrippa, he said: “I punished them oftenin every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme. Being exceedingly enragedagainst them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities." Paulwas sincere. He was passionate. He was committed. But he was sincerely wrong. Thisreminds us that sincerity alone is not enough because a person can be sincereand still be lost. A person can be passionate and still be mistaken. The mostimportant question is not how sincere we are. The important question is whetherour faith is based on the truth of Jesus Christ. Today, many people are zealousabout religion, politics, causes, traditions, or philosophies. But zeal withouttruth can lead us far from God. Paul had zeal, but he still needed a Savior. Third,Paul said, "Concerning the righteousness which is in the law,blameless." Notice he did not say sinless. He said blameless. In theeyes of the people around him, Paul lived an exemplary life. No one could pointto some scandalous sin and accuse him of hypocrisy. Outwardly, he appeared tobe everything a religious person should be. If Saul of Tarsus had lived in ourcommunity today, many churches would probably have wanted him to be a deacon, aSunday school teacher, an elder, or a ministry leader. Yet despite all hismorality and religious discipline, he was still lost. Thisis one of the most sobering truths in Scripture. Aperson can be religious and still need salvation. Remember, Jesus said inMatthew 7 that many will come to Him in that day and say, "Lord, Lord,have we not done many wonderful works in Your name?" And Jesus willsay to them, "Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. I never knewyou." That is sobering. Are you sure—really sure—that you have beenborn again? We need the grace of God and salvation through Christ alone. 

Is UFO disclosure preparing the world for truth, or setting Christians up for deception? In this episode of LIVE FREE, Pastors Josh Howerton and Paul Cunningham unpack Acts 25–26, Paul's bold witness before political leaders, and what his example teaches Christians about courage, evangelism, and using every opportunity to share the gospel. They also celebrate 741 baptisms at Lakepointe and share practical ways everyday believers can live on mission in their workplace, business, and daily life. Then the conversation turns to UFOs, aliens, UAP disclosure, demons, angels, and biblical cosmology. As headlines grow louder and government conversations around “non-human intelligence” continue, this episode gives Christians a clear, biblical framework for thinking about the unseen realm without drifting into fear, obsession, or speculation. In this episode, you'll learn: Why Paul's defense before Agrippa is a model for bold Christian witness How believers can share their faith naturally at work and in everyday life What the Bible teaches about angels, demons, the heavens, and the unseen realm Whether alien life would actually disprove Christianity Why many UFO and alien encounters may have a darker spiritual explanation How Christians should respond to UFO disclosure without fear or obsession Stand firm. Think biblically. Live free.

Strauss highlights that while tactics are for amateurs, logistics are for professionals, citing Marcus Agrippa as the mastermind behind Octavian's strategy. Instead of invading Italy, Antony and Cleopatra waited in western Greece, allowing Agrippa to strike first in early 31 BC. Agrippa launched a daring, pre-dawn amphibious assault on Methone, a vital supply base guarded by the deposed King Bogud. This surprise victory effectively severed Antony's supply lines from Egypt, trapping his fleet at Actium. Antony's forces were soon plagued by hunger and disease in the malarial swamps of the Greek coast. Strauss explains that Agrippa utilized local guides and superior naval training to achieve this logistical "one-two punch." By the time the main battle arrived, Antony was already strategically defeated, his options limited to a desperate breakout attempt rather than a coordinated offensive. Agrippa's foresight turned the naval engagement into a foregone conclusion. (5/8)457 AMBROSIAN ILLIAD

If you enjoy this episode, we're sure you will enjoy more content like this on The Occult Rejects.  In fact, we have curated playlists on occult topics like grimoires, esoteric concepts and phenomena, occult history, analyzing true crime and cults with an occult lens, Para politics, and occultism in music. Whether you enjoy consuming your content visually or via audio, we've got you covered - and it will always be provided free of charge.  So, if you enjoy what we do and want to support our work of providing accessible, free content on various platforms, please consider making a donation to the links provided below.  Thank you and enjoy the episode!Links For The Occult Rejects and The Spiritual Gangsters https://linktr.ee/theoccultrejectsOccult Research Institutehttps://www.occultresearchinstitute.org/Cash Apphttps://cash.app/$theoccultrejectsVenmo@TheOccultRejectsBuy Me A Coffeebuymeacoffee.com/TheOccultRejectsPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/TheOccultRejectsAlso want to remind people about the website, if you're into reading we have tons of information by multiple contributors, and we got t-shirts up on the site if you're interested. Fun fact, the art is all based on the eyeball. Now let me introduce the rest of the panel and guests.

Paul preaches to Agrippa and argues that he is only taking the beliefs of the Pharisees to their logical conclusion. People believe Paul has crossed from brilliant to madness. And Paul is determined to get to Rome. Have a listen. Show Notes: Support 1517 Podcast Network 1517 Podcasts 1517 on Youtube 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts 1517 Events Schedule 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education What's New from 1517: 1517 Youtube: How God Still Speaks Today Being Family by Dr. Scott Keith A Reasoned Defense of the Faith by Adam Francisco Stretched: A Study for Lent and the Entire Christian Life by Dr. Christopher Richmann The Essential Nestingen: Essays on Preaching, Catechism, and the Reformation Philip Melanchthon's Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Translated by Dr. Derek Cooper  More from the hosts: Daniel Emery Price Erick Sorenson

5. Marcus Agrippa serves as the logistical mastermind behind Octavian's strategy leading to the Battle of Actium. While Antony and Cleopatra wait in western Greece, Agrippa launches a daring, pre-dawn amphibious assault on Methone, a vital supply base. This surprise victory effectively cuts Antony's supply lines from Egypt. Octavian then strikes the northern coast, pinning Antony's fleet into the bay at Actium. Strauss emphasizes that while tactics are for amateurs, Agrippa's focus on logistics crippled Antony's forces—who were already suffering from disease and hunger—well before the main naval engagement began. (5)

5. Julia: The Tool and Rebel of Augustus (9)Augustus used his only daughter, Julia, as a political tool to secure his heirs. He forced her into multiple marriages with potential successors like Agrippa and Tiberius. While she was initially obedient and produced five children, Julia eventually rebelled by engaging in very public affairs, including one with the son of her father's rival, Mark Antony. Furious that she undermined his public image of family virtue, Augustus exiled her to a remote island for nearly twenty years. After Augustus died, Tiberius took control and starved her to death. (10)