Podcast appearances and mentions of christian new testament

GREAT VIDEO VERSION: https://bit.ly/4fx4R5q No one loves Christmas more than your friends at Scandal Sheet. But that doesn't mean we can't explore some obvious historical inconsistencies. Right? For example, why is Christmas celebrated on December 25? Only 2 of the 4 Gospels in the Christian New Testament even discuss the birth of the infant Jesus and neither mentions a date. But they do give us clues that the birthday was more likely in the spring or summer - and not winter. Join co-host Thad (a Catholic) co-host Anuradha (a Hindu), and regular guests David/Jill Grover (a Jewish couple) as we follow the star of holiday investigation. And don't miss the hilarious cold open, “On The Road With The Maji.” David's amazing firm is Grover and Fensterstock. You can reach him at 1-866-99-LAWYER (866-995-2993), https://gfpc.us/ or email to DGrover@GroverFen.com. Mention this podcast for additional discounts. You can now find us on Patreon at patreon.com/ScandalSheet with bonus content for premium subscribers. We'd love to have your generous support for only the price of a Starbuck's coffee per month. And, please reach out to us at  scandalsheetpod.com@gmail.com, find us on Facebook as 'Scandal Sheet' or on X at @scandal_sheet. We'd love to hear from you!

GREAT VIDEO VERSION: https://bit.ly/4fx4R5q No one loves Christmas more than your friends at Scandal Sheet. But that doesn't mean we can't explore some obvious historical inconsistencies. Right? For example, why is Christmas celebrated on December 25? Only 2 of the 4 Gospels in the Christian New Testament even discuss the birth of the infant Jesus and neither mentions a date. But they do give us clues that the birthday was more likely in the spring or summer - and not winter. Join co-host Thad (a Catholic) co-host Anuradha (a Hindu), and regular guests David/Jill Grover (a Jewish couple) as we follow the star of holiday investigation. And don't miss the hilarious cold open, “On The Road With The Maji.” David's amazing firm is Grover and Fensterstock. You can reach him at 1-866-99-LAWYER (866-995-2993), https://gfpc.us/ or email to DGrover@GroverFen.com. Mention this podcast for additional discounts. You can now find us on Patreon at patreon.com/ScandalSheet with bonus content for premium subscribers. We'd love to have your generous support for only the price of a Starbuck's coffee per month. And, please reach out to us at scandalsheetpod.com@gmail.com, find us on Facebook as 'Scandal Sheet' or on X at @scandal_sheet. We'd love to hear from you!

What is evil, and how does evil work in the world? “The prince of the power of the air” in the Christian New Testament, “Ha-Satan” (the accuser) in the Hebrew Bible, give us crucial glimpses into the nature of evil. How do we tell the difference between truth & lies, between fact and fiction? OH, and for those of us who are trying to figure out how to escape beliefs and ideas that have been toxic for us-how do we find enough scaffolding to make sure we don't just now get caught up in something worse?! We explore the overwhelming nature of misinformation and disinformation in today's society, particularly in the context of the upcoming election. We delve into the concept of evil, drawing connections between ancient texts and modern experiences of self-destruction and identity crises. The discussion highlights the power of accusation and scapegoating, the struggle for self-identity amidst external influences, and the quest for truth in a chaotic world filled with conflicting voices. We also talk about identity, and the journey of deconstruction and reconstruction of faith. Ultimately we advocate for the need for spiritual scaffolding to support personal growth and understanding, ultimately leading to the realization of one's identity as God's beloved.

Dr. Nathan S. French A school field trip to Washington, D.C. is a formative rite of passage shared by many U.S. school students across the nation. Often, these are framed as “field trips.” Students may visit the White House, the U.S. Capitol Building, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, Declaration of Independence (housed in the National Archive), the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Jefferson Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, or the Smithsonian Museum – among others. For many students, this is the first time they will connect the histories of their textbooks to items, artifacts, and buildings that they can see and feel. For those arriving to Washington, D.C. by airplane or bus, the field trip might also seem like a road trip. Road trips, often involving movement across the U.S. from city-to-city and state-to-state are often framed as quintessential American experiences. Americans have taken road trips to follow their favorite bands, to move to universities and new jobs, to visit the hall of fame of their favorite professional or collegiate sport, or sites of family history. As Dr. Andrew Offenberger observes in our interview, road trips have helped American authors, like Kiowa poet N. Scott Momaday, make sense of their identities as Americans. What if, however, these field trips to Washington, D.C. and road trips across the country might amount to something else? What if we considered them to be pilgrimages? Would that change our understanding of them? For many Americans, the first word that comes to mind when they hear the word, “pilgrimage,” involves the pilgrims of Plymouth, a community of English Puritans who colonized territory in Massachusetts, at first through a treaty with the Wampanoag peoples, but eventually through their dispossession. For many American communities, the nature of pilgrimage remains a reminder of forced displacement, dispossession, and a loss of home and homeland. Pilgrimage, as a term, might also suggest a religious experience. There are multiple podcasts, blogs, and videos discussing the Camino de Santiago, a number of pilgrimage paths through northern Spain. Others might think of making a pilgrimage to the Christian, Jewish, or Muslim sacred spaces in Israel and Palestine often referred to as the “Holy Land” collectively – including the Temple Mount, the Dome of the Rock, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (among others). Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad, is a classic example of this experience. Some make pilgrimage to Salem, Massachusetts each October. Others even debate whether the Crusades were a holy war or pilgrimage. American experiences of pilgrimage have led to substantial transformations in our national history and to our constitutional rights. Pilgrimage, as a movement across state, national, or cultural boundaries, has often been used by Americans to help them make sense of who they are, where they came from, and what it means, to them, to be “an American.” The word, “pilgrimage,” traces its etymology from the French, pèlerinage and from the Latin, pelegrines, with a general meaning of going through the fields or across lands as a foreigner. As a category used by anthropologists and sociologists in the study of religion, “pilgrimage” is often used as a much broader term, studying anything ranging from visits to Japanese Shinto shrines, the Islamic pilgrimage of Hajj, “birthright” trips to Israel by American Jewish youth, and, yes, even trips to Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee – the home of Elvis Presley. Arnold van Gennep (1873-1957) defined pilgrimage as one of a number of rites of passage (i.e., a rite du passage) that involves pilgrims separating themselves from broader society, moving themselves into a place of transition, and then re-incorporating their transformed bodies and minds back into their home societies. That moment of transition, which van Gennep called “liminality,” was the moment when one would become something new – perhaps through initiation, ritual observation, or by pushing one's personal boundaries outside of one's ordinary experience. Clifford Geertz (1926-2006), a contemporary of Turner, argued that a pilgrimage helps us to provide a story within which we are able to orient ourselves in the world. Consider, for example, the role that a trip to Arlington National Cemetery or the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier plays in a visit by a high school class to Washington, D.C. If framed and studied as a pilgrimage, Geertz's theory would suggest that a visit to these sites can be formative to an American's understanding of national history and, perhaps just as importantly, the visit will reinforce for Americans the importance of national service and remembrance of those who died in service to the defense of the United States. When we return from those school field trips to Washington, D.C., then, we do so with a new sense of who we are and where we fit into our shared American history. Among the many examples that we could cite from American history, two pilgrimages in particular – those of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X – provide instructive examples. Held three years after the unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the 1957 “Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom,” led by Dr. King brought together thousands in order to, as he described it, “call upon all who love justice and dignity and liberty, who love their country, and who love mankind …. [to] renew our strength, communicate our unity, and rededicate our efforts, firmly but peaceably, to the attainment of freedom.” Posters for the event promised that it would “arouse the conscience of the nation.” Drawing upon themes from the Christian New Testament, including those related to agape – a love of one's friends and enemies – King's speech at the “Prayer Pilgrimage” brought national attention to his civil rights movement and established an essential foundation for his return to Washington, D.C. and his “I Have a Dream Speech,” six years later. In April 1964, Malcolm X departed to observe the Muslim pilgrimage ritual of Hajj in the city of Mecca in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Hajj is an obligation upon all Muslims, across the globe, and involves rituals meant to remind them of their responsibilities to God, to their fellow Muslims, and of their relationship to Ibrahim and Ismail (i.e., Abraham and Ishamel) as found in the Qur'an. Before his trip, Malcolm X had expressed skepticism about building broader ties to American civil rights groups. His experience on Hajj, he wrote, was transformational. "The holy city of Mecca had been the first time I had ever stood before the creator of all and felt like a complete human being,” he wrote, “People were hugging, they were embracing, they were of all complexions …. The feeling hit me that there really wasn't what he called a color problem, a conflict between racial identities here." His experience on Hajj was transformative. The result? Upon return to the United States, Malcolm X pledged to work with anyone – regardless of faith and race – who would work to change civil rights in the United States. His experiences continue to resonate with Americans. These are but two stories that contribute to American pilgrimage experiences. Today, Americans go on pilgrimages to the Ganges in India, to Masada in Israel, to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, and to Bethlehem in Palestine, and to cities along the Trail of Tears and along the migration of the Latter-Day Saints church westward. Yet, they also go on pilgrimages and road trips to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, to the baseball hall of fame in Cooperstown, to the national parks, and to sites of family and community importance. In these travels, they step outside of the ordinary and, in encountering the diversities of the U.S., sometimes experience the extraordinary changing themselves, and the country, in the process. * * * Questions for Class Discussion What is a “pilgrimage”? What is a road trip? Are they similar? Different? Why? Must a pilgrimage only be religious or spiritual? Why or why not? How has movement – from city to city, or place to place, or around the world – changed U.S. history and the self-understanding of Americans? What if those movements had never occurred? How would the U.S. be different? Have you been on a pilgrimage? Have members of your family? How has it changed your sense of self? How did it change that of your family members? If you were to design a pilgrimage, what would it be? Where would it take place? Would it involve special rituals or types of dress? Why? What would the purpose of your pilgrimage be? How do other communities understand their pilgrimages? Do other cultures have “road trips” like the United States? Additional Sources: Ohio History and Pilgrimage Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve, Ohio History Connection (link). National Geographic Society, “Intriguing Interactions [Hopewell],” Grades 9-12 (link) Documentary Podcasts & Films “In the Light of Reverence,” 2001 (link) An examination of Lakota, Hopi, and Wintu ties to and continued usages of their homelands and a question of how movement through land may be considered sacred by some and profane by others. Melvin Bragg, “Medieval Pilgrimage,” BBC: In our Time, February 2021 (link) Bruce Feiler: Sacred Journeys (Pilgrimage). PBS Films (link) along with educator resources (link). The American Pilgrimage Project. Berkley Center, Georgetown University (link). Arranged by StoryCorps, a collection of video and audio interviews with Americans of diverse backgrounds discussing their religious and spiritual identities and their intersections with American life. Dave Whitson, “The Camino Podcast,” (link) on Spotify (link), Apple (link) A collection of interviews with those of varying faiths and spiritualities discussing pilgrimage experiences. Popular Media & Websites “Dreamland: American Travelers to the Holy Land in the 19th Century,” Shapell (link) A curated digital museum gallery cataloguing American experiences of pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Israel, and Palestine. LaPier, Rosalyn R. “How Standing Rock Became a Site of Pilgrimage.” The Conversation, December 7, 2016 (link). Talamo, Lex. Pilgrimage for the Soul. South Dakota Magazine, May/June 2019. (link). Books Grades K-6 Murdoch, Catherine Gilbert. The Book of Boy. New York: Harper Collins, 2020 (link). Wolk, Lauren. Beyond the Bright Sea. New York: Puffin Books, 2018 (link). Grades 7-12 Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. New York: Penguin Books, 2003 (link). Malcolm X. The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley. New York: Ballantine Books, 1992 (link). Melville, Herman. Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land. New York: Library of America, n.d. (link). Murray, Pauli. Song in a Weary Throat: Memoir of an American Pilgrimage. New York: Liveright, 1987 (link). Reader, Ian. Pilgrimage: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015 (link). Twain, Mark. The Innocents Abroad. New York: Modern Library, 2003 (link). Scholarship Bell, Catherine. Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Bloechl, Jeffrey, and André Brouillette, eds. Pilgrimage as Spiritual Practice: A Handbook for Teachers, Wayfarers, and Guides. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2022. Frey, Nancy Louise Louise. Pilgrim Stories: On and Off the Road to Santiago, Journeys Along an Ancient Way in Modern Spain. First Edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. Lévi-Strauss, Claude Patterson, Sara M., “Traveling Zions: Pilgrimage in Modern Mormonism,” in Pioneers in the Attic: Place and Memory along the Mormon Trail. New York: Oxford University Press, 2020 (link). Pazos, Antón. Redefining Pilgrimage: New Perspectives on Historical and Contemporary Pilgrimages. London: Routledge, 2014 (link). Reader, Ian. Pilgrimage: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015 (link). Van Gennep, Arnold. The Rites of Passage. Translated by Monika B. Vizedom and Gabrielle L. Caffee. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1960 (link)

How did an itinerant preacher, born into poverty and raised in an obscure village, a man who never wrote a book or had a formal education, who was betrayed by his friends and ultimately crucified on a rugged cross, rise to become THE central figure in human history? Jesus of Nazareth has left an undeniable mark on the world and all of western society, surpassing the influence of any other person who has ever existed. But is it possible that the story of Jesus and His resurrection was invented by the authors of the New Testament? He is risen! In anticipation of Easter Sunday, Frank invites the skilled Christian apologist and evolutionary biologist, Dr. Jonathan McLatchie, to make the case for the resurrection through the exploration of New Testament scholarship. McLatchie, who's done a number of debates in defense of the Christian faith, will share his insights on the evidence for the resurrection, the reliability of the New Testament, and point out the significance of some of the details found in the Gospels and the book of Acts. During their conversation, Frank and Jonathan will answer questions like: Do New Testament scholars believe that Jesus actually existed? Are there extra-biblical sources that corroborate the early persecution of Christians? Do non-Christian New Testament scholars view the NT as historically reliable? Is it likely that the Apostles and eyewitnesses were either deceived themselves OR lying about the resurrection? What is specialized information and how does it help support the truth of the book of Acts?   McLatchie will also walk us through his two-step approach of defending the resurrection by using what's called the maximum data case. Later in the episode, Dr. McLatchie will talk about his online ministry that aims to mentor Christians and ex-Christians who are struggling with doubt by offering live interaction with experts in various fields of Christian scholarship. Be sure to visit TalkAboutDoubts.com to learn more about this ministry and consider enrolling in the brand-new LIVE! online course called 'Reasons for Faith' launching on 4/27, where Jonathan will join Dr. Stephen Meyer and a team of other leading apologists during livestreamed lectures to expound upon the best historical, scientific, philosophical, and archaeological evidence for the Christian faith! To view the entire VIDEO PODCAST be sure to join our CrossExamined private community. It's the perfect place to jump into some great discussions with like-minded Christians while simultaneously providing financial support for our ministry. You can also SUPPORT THE PODCAST HERE. Jonathan's website: https://jonathanmclatchie.com/ Jonathan's ministry: Talk About Doubts Join Jonathan and Dr. Stephen Meyer LIVE! in 'Reasons for Faith'

In our previous episodes on "literary forgery" in early Christianity, we have never yet talked about the elephant in the room. Why are there so many in the New Testament? In this episode we will not be going over the old ground of what forgery is (an author falsely claiming to be a famous person) or how it was justified in the ancient world, even among writers who urge high ethical standards (!). We are instead interested in the startling scholarly claim that of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, only eight of them were probably written by the person to whom they are attributed. In some cases the attributions are made by later readers (the author of Mark does not claim to be Mark); but in many cases the authors themselves make the false claim (2 Peter claims to be written by Peter). We might understand how one or two books like this managed to get into the Christian New Testament. But nineteen?

How do you define Christianity in your life? According to Jesus, Christians are marked by their love. Is that true for you? In today's episode, Keith looks at 1 John 4 for encouragement on how to love. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Prepare your heart to celebrate Jesus. Sign up to have the 'I Am Your God' Advent Devotional delivered directly to your inbox starting Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. Join the TMBT community in reading the entire New Testament in one year. Get your FREE reading plan here. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter@TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: 1 John 4

*) Israel shells Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza, kills many At least eight Palestinians were killed and dozens injured in Israeli army's shelling of Indonesian Hospital and its surroundings in northern Gaza, medical sources said. The sources added that the Israeli army was firing live bullets at anyone moving outside the hospital's door. The assault led to the extensive destruction of the facility, the sources said, adding that the death toll is increasing. *) Colombia's president slams Netanyahu, compares him to Herod Colombia's president said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a “crazy man” who is “killing many people” in Gaza in the style of Herod. Herod was the king of Judea who ordered the slaughter of innocents according to the Christian New Testament. Colombian President Gustavo Petro also criticised the US for supporting Israel's war on Palestine's Gaza, saying, “The Israeli capital owns American banking.” *) European outcry grows over Israel's Gaza war, sparks widespread protests People across Europe have continued to take to the streets to express solidarity with Palestine and condemn ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza. Braving rainy weather, some 2,000 people gathered in Amsterdam over the weekend, carrying Palestinian flags and chanting slogans including, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” “Ceasefire now,” and “Stop genocide in Palestine.” A protester Cillia Ferrier maintained that what was happening in Palestine was apartheid, while another demonstrator, Bart, urged the Dutch government to stop Israel. *) Turkish Center for Combating Disinformation rejects Israeli claim that Hamas killed innocent person A claim by Israel that the Palestinian group Hamas killed an innocent person based on images depicting an execution was not accurate, Türkiye's Center for Combating Disinformation said. The centre, which falls under Türkiye's Communications Directorate, said on X that the images in question were taken during the public execution of a drug trafficker in Iran in the year 2014. Meanwhile, Turkish Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said the centre has, since October 7, exposed over 100 international false news regarding Israel's attacks on Gaza and revealed the truth. *) Australia beats India to win Cricket World Cup for sixth time as Head hits 137 Australia won the cricket World Cup for a record-extending sixth time, ending India's dominant run in its home tournament with a six-wicket victory in a low-scoring finale. A heavily pro-Indian crowd inside the 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium was silenced as Australia overpowered India by chasing down the target of 241. The victory has helped Australia regain its status as the kings of one-day international cricket, adding to its 50-over world titles in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015.

You've probably heard the term "lukewarm" thrown around. Why is it so bad to be lukewarm? Does God care if you're lukewarm? Should you be a hot or cold Christian? In today's episode, Jensen uses Revelation 3 to answer these questions and more. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Join the TMBT community in reading the entire New Testament in one year. Get your FREE reading plan here. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter@TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Revelation 3

How do you know if a Christian is healthy? By the fruit they bear? In today's episode, Tanya shares three vital signs of a healthy Christian from Mark 11. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Join the TMBT community in reading the entire New Testament in one year. Get your FREE reading plan here. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Mark 11

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Recently Tom Huszti interviewed me for his YouTube channel, the Unitarian Anabaptist. We talked about the importance of geography, archeology, and Greco-Roman history for interpreting the bible, especially the New Testament. Next we delved into early church history, starting with the earliest forms of Jewish Christianity in the first and second centuries. We talked about the Jerusalem church, the Nazarenes, and the Ebionites. Next we considered the persecution many Christians faced at the hands of the Romans for their unwillingness to give their ultimate allegiance to Caesar. The conversation was wide ranging, but what came through over and over is the importance of studying the bible and history in order to restore authentic Christianity and live it out today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KefOimH6ZU —— Links —— For the trip to Greece and Turkey with Jerry Wierwille, see the itinerary here and the map here. Follow Huszti's YouTube Channel, the Unitarian Anabaptist Check out episode 478 Unitarian Anabaptist (Tom Huszti)  Get the free class on Early Church History here. Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Transcript —— This transcript was auto-generated and only approximates the contents of this episode. Sean Finnegan:Hey there, I'm Sean Finnegan. And you are listening to restart studio podcast that seeks to recover authentic Christianity and live it out today. Tom Huszti: Sean Finnegan, welcome to Unitarian Anabaptist. Sean Finnegan: Thanks for having me. Tom Huszti: So this has been a long time in the waiting. I was interviewed by you about 8 months ago and now you're being interviewed by the Unitarian Anabaptist. What a privilege there is. A lot that you have to say today in the limited time that we're going to do this, you just came back from a trip of Italy and Greece. You finished a 500 year history of the early church. There's just so much interrelated and what I would like to do, as we discussed earlier is to relate these things back to the 1st century faith of our early Christian brethren. So to begin, could you give us a summary of the important highlights that you saw on your trip related to church history? Sean Finnegan: Yeah, we ended up going to a number of touristy spots in Greece like Santorini and Mykonos, but we also hit Athens and we came into the port of Piraeus and then got to the city of Athens and and the first thing that I will note. And anyone who's been to the Mediterranean in August will. We'll know what I'm about to say is. That it's hot. It's a very.SpeakerHot part of the. Sean Finnegan: World. So is the Middle East, so it's it's. It's interesting that, you know, like times I've been to Israel, times have been to Greece or Turkey. It is a very different climate than what I'm used to here in New York or you in Ohio there. Tom Huszti: Sure. Yes, yes, absolutely. Uh. Sean Finnegan: And you know that that. Brings to mind the importance of water. Hmm. And something that really stuck out to me in Israel I. Would have never. Gotten that from reading books, but going to Israel you go to these ancient sites and. These cisterns dug into the ground these huge caverns to store water because it doesn't rain that much water is is still a big deal in the 1st century in Rome in.SpeakerYes. Yeah. Sean Finnegan: Other cities Pompeii also got to visit Pompeii. Tom Huszti: A lot. Sean Finnegan: And they brought. The water in through aqueducts and this is. All part of. Their system of city structure, but the question. Who pays for the aqueducts? Who pays for the bath houses? You know, I got to see some bath houses in Pompeii where you had the the frigidarium, the tepidarium and the calidore. Yum, you know, and this is the really cold water, the tepid water and the hot water. And this is just what people did. These are these are public facilities. This actually ended up having a great deal of prestige. As wealthy people step forward and this happened in the 1st century, but also in the the 2nd century, was really the heyday of this period, where wealthy people would come forward and they would donate money to build these public works and they would build other great structures like theaters. And whatnot. And these would then be the ones who controlled the cities and won political office. Tom Huszti: OK. Sean Finnegan: And so it's a very different kind of world, you know, just like I don't think about water, I don't think. About wealthy people building bath houses or pools, right? It's just we, you know, we pay taxes and then, you know, we argue about the police. It's just a very different world. And that was really driven home to me on the trip, you know, in Athens, you're on the Acropolis and you're seeing the Parthenon and some of the other structures that still remain. Tom Huszti: Yes, yes. Sean Finnegan: It's just like this is an utterly different world, and it's just so helpful to remember that Tom because. We don't do that when we read the Bible, what we do is we just. We have what we. Understand the world to be, and then we encounter the scripture. We read the text and then we think to ourselves. How can I incorporate this new information? I'm reading about the book of acts or one of the church epistles. For example, how do I incorporate that into what? I know about the world. This is an automatic process and the problem is if you don't force yourself to stop and say wait, they lived in a different world where they had different. Different language, different politics, different weather, different everything. Then you can easily misunderstand so much of the New Testament I. Tom Huszti: OK. Sean Finnegan: Think that's a? Lot of what we as pastors do is we're trying to help people understand the scriptures. So the trip was really enlightening in that sense. Also, I'll make another quick point about it is that we did manage to go to the very edge of Mount Vesuvius. Now Mount Vesuvius blew in 79 AD 79, and that's what killed all the people in Pompeii and Herculaneum. And so they say it's still an active volcano. But you can take a.SpeakerOK. Sean Finnegan: Bus all the way up to the top and then you hike until. Tom Huszti: What's the way? Sean Finnegan: You get to the very crater. You can look down into the crater and it's just incredible. It's just dirt and some like grass and stuff. There's no like lava. Or anything cool but. Tom Huszti: OK. Sean Finnegan: It's just a weird experience to like, stand on the edge of an active volcano and think, wow. This thing blew. And you could kind of see why ancient people were like, ohh, the gods are angry, right? Because. Like who would it? Tom Huszti: Uh-huh. Well, yeah. Sean Finnegan: There's no one in living memory of seeing this thing blow the last time, and it's just such a otherworldly power, sure. Tom Huszti: How far is Pompeii from Rome? Sean Finnegan: I think about two hours. If I had to guess something like that, so we approached. Tom Huszti: Ohh that far OK. Sean Finnegan: Pompeii, from Naples, Naples, is on the. Coast came at it from the West to get to Pompeii in the east, and then you get to Vesuvius and. At the top. Of the Zeus, you can see everything you can see just miles and miles in different cities and. It's really incredible. Tom Huszti: My, my. So how far did the lava have to travel to make it to Pompeii from? Sean Finnegan: Well, wasn't it? They didn't get buried in lava, actually. Yeah, you, you. You would, I guess you would expect that, but it was, it was a I think it was a toxic gas. Tom Huszti: OK. Sean Finnegan: That swept through it well. Initially it was uh. Was launching projectiles and ash and rock straight up, and then that fell because of the wind onto the city and so that, you know, imagine like a hail storm, but with stones and bigger ones and smaller ones. But then a gas came from the mountain and. Tom Huszti: OK. Sean Finnegan: I believe that's what happened and it killed the people, but then it continued to rain. Ash, I think they said like 20 feet of ash, something crazy. Tom Huszti: Oh wow. OK.Speaker 5And it just. Sean Finnegan: Settled on the city and people just didn't have a reason to go there for anything or I'm. I'm not really sure why, but it just laid there. Century after century, and I'm not sure exactly when. Maybe in the 1700s eighteen, 100 something something around there, they're just like, hey, I think we found. A city over here, you know? Archaeology. Just finally gets started. And what happened, Tom, is they would come against these air pockets. So they're digging through. And they hit like a pocket of air and they're. Like this is so weird. What is this? And someone got the bright idea of. Of squeezing into it some plaster, yeah. Tom Huszti: plaster plaster. OK OK. Sean Finnegan: Yeah, if you have you seen these images? Tom Huszti: Yeah, I have. Yeah. That's what I was wondering. OK. Sean Finnegan: Yeah. Yeah. And so then they let it dry and harden, and then they chip around it and then they see the exact shape of a human being. Sometimes even with fine detail. Of like facial expressions and stuff. That's kind of become their customers when they hit an air cavity. They just do that and there there are lots of these casts of human beings in various positions. And what's crazy about them is it's. Just like a. Plaster, but inside the plaster are that person. 'S actual bones. Tom Huszti: Yeah. I was gonna ask. OK. I was gonna ask, you know, something that you mentioned to me back. Louisville, KY, was the length of time that bones. Yeah. And we were talking about resurrection and literal resurrection. And you mentioned that bones last a long time. That's something I really was impressed by something that Rabbi Tovia singer was speaking out against being cremated because. Because the bones are supposed to be the material that used for in part anyhow to reconstitute us as human beings in the resurrection. So that view is very Jewish in origin, as you well know. Sean Finnegan: Yeah, I tend to agree with Rabbi Tovia singer on that. I'm not a fan of cremation. I'm not going to say it's going to defeat God's ability to resurrect somebody, feel like that's a pretty extreme position to take. But I have learned a lot and I know you've been to Israel and you've stood on the Mount of olives and you see. Well, the the tombs there that are, I don't know why they're buried above ground, but they're all these stone rectangles and or stone boxes, really rectangular shaped boxes and inside are the bones. And it's like, well, what's the deal with this? Why are they so worried about bones or not worried but concerned about bones and focused and. Tom Huszti: Yes, yes. Sean Finnegan: About caring for the bones and you know they have these ossuaries where you know they they found Caiaphas ossuary. Tom Huszti: I know I saw it when I was in Israel. Sean Finnegan: Incredible ornate. Tom Huszti: In the Israel, yeah. In the Israel hit Natural History Museum of all places, back in 2004, I was shocked. Sean Finnegan: Isn't it beautiful? Tom Huszti: Well, well, it's a beautiful ossuary, but what was most shocking was the was the plaque beside it. The plaque, the plaque beside it, said this was the high priest in the days of Jesus that was responsible for his crucifixion. And I thought to see that advertised in the Israel. Sean Finnegan: Oh, what did it say? Tom Huszti: Natural History Museum was just shocking because it's a recognition that this thing happened and this is the man responsible to it. I was, yeah, that was the last thing I saw in the museum on my way out because we were we had a very short time frame and it was at the entrance of the. Museum so we saw it as we exited. Very cool. Fascinating, yes. Sean Finnegan: Very cool. And you see that stuff? You just say to yourself. These are real. These are true stories. This is history, you know. You see. The the litho what is that Lithos Stratos? You know that that street that is beneath Jerusalem, that was discovered where this is where Jesus was beaten or. He was. It's the layer that goes back to the 1st century. It's kind of underneath the city of Jerusalem. You see these things you say to yourself like I like. I've stood there, Tom. Like, I know for sure. Now. Vesuvius is a real volcano. I looked into the. Tom Huszti: Yes, yes. Crater. Yes, yes. Yeah, right, right.SpeakerIt's like not that. Sean Finnegan: I ever really doubted it, but like when you do it and you stand there and you see and you, you know, you see the cast and the horror on the faces of the. Tom Huszti: Right. Sean Finnegan: People in Pompeii, you're like. OK, this is not a story, this is history. Tom Huszti: Yeah, no. Sean Finnegan: And it's very powerful. But back to your point about resurrection and bones. What really started me on this, this is going to be a really random source, is a Freakonomics podcast episode. They're talking about cremating animals. The guy was saying, when it comes to cremating animals, they it was, they were trying to do an investigation. The big question they had was. Tom Huszti: OK. Sean Finnegan: Do they actually give you the ashes for your animal? This is like a pet crematorium. Or are they just like scooping random ashes? And you know what? What's really going on here? Right. And they were talking it. So they got into the subject of cremation and bones. And they're like, well, you know, what really happens to the crematorium is they burn, you know, the human or the animal or whatever. And then the bones are there. Tom Huszti: Right. Sean Finnegan: Their bones are not burnable, they just, they're just there. Tom Huszti: Right, right, right. Sean Finnegan: So what they do is they grind them. Tom Huszti: That's what Tovia said, too. Sean Finnegan: And after they grind them down, that's the ashes that you get. They're actually ground bones. Tom Huszti: Ohh, is that right? Sean Finnegan: That they return to you. At least, that's what this podcast episode was saying. It was talking about animals, but like, it also talked about humans, whatever. And it and it made me think to myself, like, wait a second. I always just assumed the bones desiccated. I assumed that they disintegrated over. Tom Huszti: OK. Ohh you did. OK. Sean Finnegan: Time and then it it it kind of informed my thinking about, you know, the James Ossuary and the Caiaphas archery and some of these other ossuary findings, like some of the more sensationalized ones said we think we found Jesus and all this, which has been pretty much not accepted by scholarship but anyhow.Speaker 5The idea of. Sean Finnegan: Bones lasting for centuries and centuries was just like common sense to ancient people because they didn't have this separation. Like we have from our dead. Like we don't, we don't. Know but like they would go. Sean Finnegan:A year later. Sean Finnegan: Back to the tomb and they would pick up the bones and put them in a. Little bone box. Space is limited and you want to fit as many ancestors, descendants, relatives in the same cave or tomb as possible. But you're not looking to, like, mix all the bones together. So yeah, it just kind of made sense to get a box the width of the skull and the length of a femur, and to use that to, you know, organize people and just scratch on the side, the person's name. And so I think this all goes back to whether we're talking about the amount of olives. Tom Huszti: Yeah, yeah. Tom Huszti: Oh, OK. Sean Finnegan: To this day in Jerusalem, or we're talking about the austrias in the 1st century this or or Tovia Singer's preferences. This all goes back to the same thing which is this. Really strong belief in resurrection and so burying your dead in a way that preserves the bones or cares for the bones is is in a sense, I think a an act of faith that the Jewish people have always had. Again, I'm not saying that cremation is a sin or that it's going to damn somebody to, you know, eternal judgment or, you know, that's not where I'm going here, but I think. Tom Huszti: Yes. No. Sean Finnegan: We should ask the question, is this really this is really fit as Christians like I know it's less expensive. OK, but like is it? Is that always the right course of action? Just cause something's less expensive. So I I think burial. Traditional burial it can be an act of faith because you're saying I'm going to Mark Toome. I'm going to rise. Out of this to. Him so. Tom Huszti: Let's get back to your your trip details. I'm trying to picture this, the framework of well picture this setting that the acts of the apostles was written in. Is Athens set on a hill? Sean Finnegan: Well, the Acropolis certainly is. Tom Huszti: The acropolises OK. Sean Finnegan: Yeah. So, yeah, there there are definitely hills there. The propolis is a very high point in the center of Athens and it is kind of steep. I don't know what you call like a plateau that just. Rises out of nowhere. In the old days, that would be the spot where you would retreat to if Athens were invaded, because it can be held much longer. Tom Huszti: Apostle Paul preached in that place. Sean Finnegan: Well, I think he preached. On Mars. So which is right next to it. So it's yeah, it's right. Right nearby. Tom Huszti: Can you imagine the possible Paul in that setting? Sean Finnegan: Yeah. Well, I mean, the interesting thing about the apostle Paul at the Areopagus or Mars Hill is that he is looking at all these statues. And I when I was in Athens, I got to go to the museum. Tom Huszti: Can you picture him there? Carry out this OK? Sean Finnegan: The Acropolis Museum, which is. Walk. We got there and we went inside and you see all these statues? These are all these statues that they found? Of course. The Acropolis had actual temples to gods on it and that wouldn't have been unusual. There would be temples and statues of gods all throughout the city. And that's not weird for Athens. All Greco-roman cities had statues to gods, shrines, little other ways of worshipping their gods, you know, depending on what gods we're talking about, they're all a little different. You know, there's Paul. He's not really from the West, you know, for and for his perspective as as somebody from. Horses and cilicia. Athens is the. West, we say Athens is east, but for him that's. Tom Huszti: OK, he's from us. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sean Finnegan: West and you know, so for Paul, he would have seen plenty of this throughout his travels and stuff. But for whatever reason, his heart was just so troubled in Athens, he saw that people just in the city just given to this in Act 17, he finds this altar to the unknown God and he's like. All right, well, here's. Here's someplace where I can hook on a gospel presentation. Really good speaking. But it's interesting too, going back to our former conversation about burial and resurrection, when it comes to the part where Paul says that God has furnished proof by raising that Jesus is the Messiah by raising him from the dead. The Athenians had no trouble hearing that Jesus would be the Messiah. I don't think that was like a really understood category to them. They wouldn't have a hang up about that as him being a king or whatever. But when he says. He has given proof by raising him from the dead. Suddenly they're just like this is ridiculous. Everybody knows you don't want your body back again. This is stupid. I'm out of here. And like the Greeks, the Greeks, they're standard approach to the afterlife. Tom Huszti: Ohh yeah yeah. Sean Finnegan:That's right. Sean Finnegan: Was to get rid of the body. It was not to keep the body or to get the body back. Restored and renewed. And so this. This was always a big issue between Jews and Christians. Agree on. Over against the the Greco-roman, whether the philosophers or just like the folk religion of like going down to Hades and you know all the stuff they, you know, they had stories about all that. Tom Huszti: Have you been to Cesarea Philippi in Israel? Sean Finnegan: Yeah, it's like they call it banya or. Tom Huszti: Something banyas. Yes, banyas. And actually, I guess you know why it's called banyas. Sean Finnegan: Well, there was a. Shrine to the God pan there. Tom Huszti: Right pan, right. So the original name was panyas. But the Arabs have a hard time pronouncing the sound, so they change it to bond. Yes, believe it or not. But yes, yes, yes. So now. Sean Finnegan: Well, that makes sense. Thank you. Tom Huszti: You learn something. From me for a change, right? OK. Sean Finnegan: There it is. There it is. Yeah. I have been there. It's a beautiful spot. And you know, again, talking about the heat and the the arid climate of Israel to have a place with a beautiful water supply. Tom Huszti: Oh my. Sean Finnegan: Like sensory flip by where you say, OK, this is it. This is going to be a big spot. This is going to be a place where people are going to want to go and build things and live because there's plenty of water. Tom Huszti: Yes. Yeah. Tom Huszti: Yeah, it's beautiful there, isn't it? Maybe the most beautiful place in Israel. In my my view, as far as the physicality of it, that's arguable, but. Sean Finnegan: I don't know. I loved Dengeki. I thought it was. Tom Huszti: And Betty was beautiful too. Yes. Also water the the shrine. So do you remember what the shrine of Pan looked like? And and with the details about what was happening there. Sean Finnegan: Yeah, yeah. No, no, remind me. Tom Huszti: OK, there's a a graven image of pan on the the wall of the the side of Mount Hermon, the base of Mount Hermon there. And there is a cave right next to it. And there would would have been an altar for a member, correct? There would have been an altar in front of The Cave, and they were doing sacrifices to the God pan, and they were throwing the sacrificed beast into The Cave and the Jordan River begins flowing from that area. So. There was some kind of a relationship to throwing the sacrifice into The Cave and and whether or not the blood came out at the Jordan River that cave. On the side of the mountain, Mount Hermon was supposed to be the gateway to the underworld. Sean Finnegan: It is certainly the case that the Greeks and the Jews looked very differently at the dead. The Jewish mindset was at the dead are resting and they had the term show all for that. The sort of realm of the dead where all the dead are they're they're awaiting, they're asleep, they use that language. Lot, even in the the Christian New Testament. Tons of references, a lot of our translations, just like get rid of it and they say died or. Something like that. But that it actually says fall asleep or fell asleep. Ohh which you know the a Greek person wouldn't say that they would say no, they're in a different realm. And they're in the underworld of Hades, and Hades is not just a realm. It's also the name of a God who's in charge of all of those shades or departed souls. And you know, so, like, these are very different views. You know what I mean? And it's sad to say, but Christianity has more often than not. Agree with the pagans over against the early Christian. Of view, which is a shame, right? Tom Huszti: Unfortunate indeed. Yes, it is in the the first conversation I had with Tovia Singer, we hit upon so many touch points that we agree upon resurrection life in the age to come. The term Messiah is something that we can talk freely about. There's so many things from my Christian view that actually are terms that you can talk to Jewish people in this present day about, especially those who are inclined to study the Old Testament. And that's a conversation that most nominal Orthodox kind of Christians cannot have with Jewish people. The the rule seems to be that Jews have to leave Judaism in order to come over to Christianity. But strangely enough, we received Christianity from the Jews. And so the context that you're you're seeing here is something that is is very interesting. In restoring Christianity to its 1st century foundations, which is your your big desire so. Sean Finnegan: Yeah, yeah, I mean, that's what, that's what I'm all about, is trying to clear away the accretions of the Middle Ages and the post Christian. Developments and getting back to that original earlier version of Apostolic Christianity, you know what? What would the church have thought about this in the 1st century rather than in the 2nd and following centuries? The the subsequent centuries? And, you know, I'm not against technology. Renovation. But I am against changing our beliefs from what the New Testament says and that has happened a lot and it happens very slowly. And I've had a a a desire to understand that development. For a long. Time and did my masters on the subject and was really surprised to see that, you know, people are just not asking this question. Like I'm I'm a member. Of the even to this day of the the Boston area patristic society. OK. And so I get emails and, you know, invitations to attend their meetings, which I attended when I lived out there. And, you know, they're held either at Harvard or at Brown University or sometimes at Providence College as well as three schools have good patristic good, early church history programs. And you know so. They they issue these papers a couple. Of times a year. I don't know like 3 or. Four to five times a year and you know you have lint chocolates and a little wine and a little cheese. And you know, you sit around and, you know, just kind of listen in with these, you know, somebody presents on some aspects some facet of. Early church history. Three, I've been a member of this for I don't know a decade they have never done. A doctrine not once. Not once. There's no interest at all in doctrinal development or this mindset that says, hey, let's get back to living out our faith the way they lived out there is, as far as how we treat people or how we think about the government or whatever practical area. There's zero interest in that. In the the more liberal side of the fence and then on the conservative side of the fence, you have the Catholics that really dominate. And not that there aren't liberal Catholics. I'm sure there's plenty of them too. But I'm talking about the more conservative minded ones and they're always just trying to show that what the church teaches now is really what Christians have always believed. So it's apologetic. It's not OK, let's see what happened. It's more like, alright, well, this person like, for example Ignatius of Antioch, there's going to be an amazing presentation on this. Tom Huszti: Come on. Sean Finnegan: At the Unitarian Christian Alliance Conference next month, Nathan Massey has done some cutting edge research on Ignatius of Antioch. But anyhow, people, Catholic scholars in particular love Ignatius, and they'll go to Ignatius and they say, well, see, Ignatius calls Jesus God. Therefore, the Trinity is true as we, you know, 20 centuries later. Teach it it. It's it's all true because Ignatius said Jesus is God, and there's just more problems with that than you can shake a stick at, which you know I won't get into unless you're interested. But like my my point is. There's very few scholars who are honestly going to the sources of ancient Christians. Whatever books have survived right, and saying what were they saying? And and just taking them on their own words, their own terms, giving them the credit that they knew what they. Were talking about even. If it disagrees with what the? First later said was the right way to think, right? So let me let me just give. You one example. So for example. Justin Martyr, Justin Martyr doesn't fit with anybody, right? I mean, he's just idiosyncratic. He has his own way of thinking and talking. About things, he will even call Jesus, the second God sometimes. And you know he doesn't. Think at all that. Jesus, even in his preincarnate state, was equal. With God the. Father ever, you know, at the same time he's he's sort of like very much like in mesh with the Jews and and like very much talking to the Jews and at. The same time, incredibly rude. And it, you know, by what I would say, it's totally inappropriate. You know, some of the ways he he talks to in in one of his books, the book against Trifle. So yeah. So anyhow, Justin Moorer, you know, a church historian will come along and say, Justin, Monta was just. Tom Huszti: Ohh trifle.Speaker 5You know, he was reaching in the dark for the doctrine of the Trinity. He just didn't quite have the language yet to express it, and it's like. Sean Finnegan: No, he wasn't. He had a he had a mature developed view of who he thought Jesus was. And it's just different than yours, man. Just just. Allow him to be him. Tom Huszti: He might have squeeze everybody into the. Sean Finnegan:You know. Tom Huszti: Same mold, huh?SpeakerHe's not. Sean Finnegan: Hinting at anything he thinks he knows what he's talking about. You're not. Tom Huszti: Right. Tom Huszti: He wore the philosopher's robe, didn't he? Sean Finnegan: He did, and he had a he had a a little meeting spot in Rome above a, you know, above a shop, you know, he had a little apartment or whatever, and he'd he'd meet with people and he'd teach him what he thought was the definitive understanding of the Christian religion, just because nobody else later on agrees with him doesn't mean he was just like. Undeveloped or something, you know, he he believes what he believed, and it's just different and that's OK. And what I see when I look at Justin or Irenaeus or, you know, a lot of these guys is I see development. And when I see development, I think to myself, let's rollback the tape and see the trajectory overtime. Yeah. What is the vector? Where is this heading? So if I see you know a couple of points on a line that go in One Direction, I could say OK, I make a measurement here, make a measurement here, connect those dots and trace it backwards. What's there in the? 1st century and that's that's what I love to do. That's what I want to know. That's my my research, my investigation to find. What's the earliest beliefs and practices and that I'm crazy enough to think we can live that out today? Tom Huszti: Yeah, you are a strange bird, but I agree with you I. Guess I am too so. Sean Finnegan: Well, and The thing is we both came to this from very different milieus, different backgrounds, denominations and so forth. But we both recognize that it makes logical sense that if the church has gotten off track. Then you know the best way to do it is to reform back to the, you know, whatever we can recover of the original version of Christian. Tom Huszti: Right. Sean Finnegan: And you know, that's. Yeah, it makes sense to me. A lot of people don't. They don't believe in Restorationism. They they say, oh, that's you can't go back there. It's impossible and it's like. Tom Huszti: That's so true. Sean Finnegan: Well, well, why let? Tom Huszti: Me. Share you with you my thought on this. So the the 1st century church was waiting for the return of Jesus and it didn't happen in their age, but. We who claim to desire the return of Jesus need to be postured as they were. Like I'm I'm just. Wondering you know. Like if Christianity gets far enough away from their origins, it's an awful lot to ask Jesus to return when we've strayed so far from. What our forefathers believed so that the church that I was put out from is called the Apostolic Christian Church Nazarene. And the term Nazarene is a a term that is very, very honorable, I would say. But when you think in terms of the early church, the term Nazarene meant Jewish believers in Messiah. And I still call myself a Nazarene, even though my community has, for the by and large, has disfellowship. Hit me. I'd like to to trace my origins back to the the Nazarenes my my Jewish Brethren, believers in Jesus, and this is something that you touched upon in your. Your church history. You think you could fill us in a little bit about the views of different Jewish Christians, Abbey Knights and Nazarenes and. Any others that would kind of fit that category maybe give us a little summary. Sean Finnegan: Yeah, to do work on the Ebionites or the Nazarenes is to read late reports. By their enemies. I don't know of a single document that survives other. Than I would. Argue that, dedicate, I would say that dedicat is a Nazarene document. Tom Huszti: Oh wow. Sean Finnegan: It reads that way to me. It has a low Christology. It's very Jewish, you know, it's very Christian, you know. And it it just seems to kind of fit that that mindset. So I would argue that the dedicate would be a Nazarene document. Now these these terms, Nazarene, it's actually in the New Testament. The sect of the Nazarenes. Where was that? They said. Tom Huszti: Right, Paul Paul, was it? Yes, they did. That's correct. Yeah. Yes. Sean Finnegan: That about Paul, right? Yeah. So that's old school. Right. But what we can kind of gather is from these late reports and when I say late, I'm talking like from the year 375, we get this heresy hunter named Epiphanius of Salamis and he writes a book called The Panarion. You know, so this is this is riding 300 years after all the action and the excitement has already happened, right? Where's where's the action? Where's the parting of the ways? As James Dunn's famous book called it? Well, it's really in that post 70AD pre. Justin. So like between like 70 AD when the temple. Tom Huszti: Yeah, yeah. Sean Finnegan: Got destroyed and the Romans conquered Jerusalem to the time of Justin Mortar where, like he begins in, you know, maybe like 135 was the 2nd revolution. Right. So you have the the bar Copa revolt. Tom Huszti: Right. Sean Finnegan: Actually, some people might call it a third revolution because there was another one in between the two, but whatever. It wasn't in. Jerusalem. But you know, in that period there, what is that like? Probably like 60-70 years something happened and there was a a splitting away and Gentile. Tom Huszti: Ohh there was OK Ohh. Sean Finnegan: Christians and Jewish Christians. Stops influencing each other. And it's a really murky period of time. Scholars have all kinds of theories from there was never a parting of the ways. What are you? Talking about to it. Tom Huszti: Uh-huh. Well. Sean Finnegan: It happened because of this or because of that. But let's just put it this way, the the the official Christian line on it has always been since. The time of Eusebius. That the followers of Jesus when they. Saw the Roman legions coming. Abandoned the city of Jerusalem. And if that's true and they, he says they went to power, they went to this other area. If that's true, then the native Jewish people who stayed and fought and died. And then many of them also survived. Would not very much like the Jewish Christians because. They didn't stay, they didn't like. Tom Huszti: So you're talking for 70, you're talking about from 70 AD that the Christians would have left. Sean Finnegan: Yeah. Yeah. So, like, after the city is conquered by the Romans, things kind of settle down politically. I mean, I guess the last holdouts are at Masada up until what, like 7370? Tom Huszti: Right. Sean Finnegan: 4 but like. Then that OK, this period ends, the Romans have reasserted their dominance. But you know a lot of Jewish people survive and and. And they're not looking at the Jewish Christians positively, they're looking at them negatively. And we have this Birkat hominem. Yes. Are you familiar with that? It says for the apostates, let there be no hope and uproot the Kingdom of arrogance speedily. And in our days, may the Nazarenes and the sectarians perish, as in a moment let them be blotted out of the book of life. Tom Huszti: I am. Sean Finnegan: And and so forth. So it's like OK by the time of Justin, he makes mention of this and he says you. Know why? Why? You guys cursing us in your synagogues, right? So like Justin knows about it, so. It's got to be before 160 and it's. Probably after the month. Tom Huszti: So let me ask you this, would that curse? Be specific to Jewish believers in Messiah Jesus. She will. Or would it? That was specifically for them because they were thought they were thought to be created. Sean Finnegan: Well, they they would be the ones to go to the synagogue. So this is something. That would be spoken. Publicly in the synagogue, along with the other blessings and. Tom Huszti: OK. Ah. So that would discourage them from attending synagogue. Sean Finnegan: It would expose them as well because they wouldn't be able to recite that. Tom Huszti: Oh, they wouldn't be able to recite it, OK. Sean Finnegan: You can't curse yourself, you know. It's just awkward. Tom Huszti: Yes, so so so.SpeakerYou know, right. Tom Huszti: During the time of the Barkha revolt, the Jewish believers in Yeshua Miss Jesus would not have taken up arms against the Romans and this would have been a further offense against the. Against the revolution, revolutionaries against the Jews. Sean Finnegan: Well, you know. We we see we see rumblings even before in the I don't know if it's the Jewish war or the antiquity of the of the. Jews with Josephus. He talks about how there was a power vacuum just for a moment in Jerusalem and during that power vacuum when the old governor had, I don't know if he died or just had left or whatever happened to him. But the new governor, I think, was Albinus, was on his way then the non Christian. Jewish people were able to gang up on James, and when James was fairly old brother of Jesus and that they were able to more or less lynch him, you know, they just got a mob together and they they were able to to kill. Tom Huszti: A friend. Sean Finnegan: Him. So there was already animosity before the war. War starts in 66, you know it. It did blow up from time to time. We see it in the book of Acts. Right. There's a lot of animosity between the Jewish Christians, the non Christian Jews. OK, so this this continues. But after the war.SpeakerOK. Tom Huszti: Right. Sean Finnegan: It it's it seems like there's not even much real space left for Jewish Christians to even go to a synagogue with this curse that's put there specifically against them. Again, the war is such a massive historical event. The Jewish War of Rome, 66 to 74, where I mean, how many kinds of Judaism. Do we know? About from the 1st century, you have your Sadducees, you have your Essenes, you have the rebellious types. They call the 4th philosophy and Josephus. You have your Pharisees, and then you have the Christian Jews. Tom Huszti: They would be the zealot. Would there be the zealots or the sikari? Sean Finnegan: Yeah, yeah, that would be the 4th philosophy. The Zealots, the sicari, all the revolutionary types. Right. So you have like, five types of Judaism. And so the Christian Jews. Tom Huszti: OK. OK. Sean Finnegan: Five and the Pharisaic Jews survive, but the Sadducees, the Essenes, and the revolutionaries. They're all gone, or completely disempowered. Tom Huszti: OK. Sean Finnegan: After the war, so now you have pharisaic Judaism, which eventually kind of develops into rabbinic Judaism, and you have the Jesus Jews. And they gave birth to the Christian movement, which is kind of like, it's almost like in a sense gone public like a like a corporation offers an IPO. And then, like, the, the company has kind of a life of its own, independent of what the founder, really. Tom Huszti: Yeah. OK.SpeakerHis vision was. Sean Finnegan: And maybe that's a good analogy for it, cause like Christianity goes pretty much Gentile and there it's Jew and Gentile together in the 1st century for sure. But like as we get into the 2nd century. The kinds of literature that survive from Christian pens. It's just like either ignorant of Jewish practices and interpretations of the Old Testament or outright antagonistic, where you get like documents from like the middle of the 2nd century. Like I'm thinking of the Epistle of Barnabas, and some of the other documents in the Apostolic Fathers, where like they're just like you, Jews are crazy because you kept the law. And it's like, how could you ever say that if you're if you're a little more aware of what the, you know, that that was the law that God gave to the Jewish people to keep, why would they be crazy to keep it? Right? So it seems like there's just a parting of the ways. And that's the term James Dunn used for it. And, you know, we just wish so much that we had. We have more information about it. We just kind of get these little bits and pieces. We don't know exactly how it happened. We just know that it happened.SpeakerOh yeah. Tom Huszti: Some hostile witnesses, of all places. Sean Finnegan: So now you've got. These Jewish Christians, Tom and they're kind of isolated in the east, they're not well loved by the Gentile Christians or they don't have access or I don't know, for whatever reason, there's just not a lot of interaction, which is tragic in my opinion. Tom Huszti: Yeah. Yes.SpeakerBut they're also. Sean Finnegan: Alienated from their own Jewish brothers and sisters because they're not allowed in the synagogue and you know, if you're in a little village and there's only one place putting shoes on horses. Or doing some other craft or trade. And they don't want to sell to you. Guess what? You're in trouble, you know, because you're one of the Nazarenes or. One of the Ebionites. Tom Huszti: Sure, sure. Sean Finnegan: So you know these people had a really tough go of it and you know, we hear about them later on and they may have survived pretty well. Outside the Roman Empire, in the east, in the Persian Empire. But we don't know much about that either, so it's really hard to do scholarship on them. There are more questions than answers, but my best guess, OK. And that's really what it is, is it's a guess is that the community of James, the brother of Jesus, they didn't really get on board. With what Paul? And Gentile Christianity was doing they got on board to a certain degree and and this we see this conflict in the book of. Acts 15 and then later. Tom Huszti: Yeah, 15. Sean Finnegan: On in .2 what happens is.SpeakerThey say all. Sean Finnegan: Right. Well, you you can have. Gentiles and they don't need to keep the law. Fine, but we Jews are going to keep the law. Still, I don't think Paul got on board with that. Paul would say Jews don't need to keep the law either. Obviously they can. Anybody can keep the law. Who wants to? But Jewish Christians, I should say I should be clear. I'm not talking about just Jews in general. I'm saying Jews who believe in Jesus because of a covenantal understanding expressed later. Tom Huszti: Yes, yes. Sean Finnegan: In the Book of Hebrews, whoever wrote Hebrews that it is clear that Jewish Christians don't need to keep the law. James and his group of Jewish Christians disagree with. That viewpoint, they say no. This is the covenant. We're Jewish Christians. We're going to continue to keep the law. So I think this James Community is what left during the war and survived north and east of Jerusalem. And that then this community had a doctrinal division where some of them. Accepted the Gospel of Matthew, which possibly was in Hebrew or Aramaic. You know some language that the people could readily read. Tom Huszti: OK. Sean Finnegan: There are lots of hints of that in the patristic literature. People talk about it quite a bit. They don't talk about any other writing. From the new. Testament, all the other books in the New Testament. They never mentioned as being in Hebrew, just Matthew. Tom Huszti: Wow, just Matthew cross. Sean Finnegan: It's the only one. Yeah. So why would you? Put it in Hebrew, whether it was written in Hebrew originally or translated into Hebrew. Why would why? Because you have Jewish people. Reading it. You read the Gospel of Matthew. What does it begin with? A genealogy? Who loves genealogies? The Greeks? No, they don't care about genealogies. The Jews love genealogies. So Matthew begins by making a convincing argument that this Jesus of Nazareth has a claim. And. Could possibly be the Messiah because of his ancestry. That's how it starts. So you've got this community and in. The Gospel of Matthew as well as. Luke, you have. The virgin birth. You have the virgin conception and you know this idea that in in some way Jesus is the son of God.Speaker 5Some of the. Sean Finnegan: Jewish Christians in this community don't believe that. And others do, and that is, and again, this is a reconstruction based on hostile sources like Epiphanius, and you siberius, and there are plenty of later ones too. Like Jerome mentions this stuff and it, and and it's even possible that these Jewish Christians survive. Arrived and they there was some interaction with them. It wasn't just all hearsay. OK, but it's possible for us to know today how reliable these reports are. But so you have the James, Jewish Christians. They go away from Jerusalem and they settle in north and east of of Jerusalem. And they have this difference. Tom Huszti: OK. Sean Finnegan: Among them the ones who? Believe in the virgin birth. Are Nazarenes the ones that do not? Are Ebionites both of them believe that Jesus is a human being? Tom Huszti: Right. Sean Finnegan: Whom God anointed as a Messiah. They both believe in crucifixion. Both believe in resurrection. Both believe in Ascension. Both believe in the coming Kingdom. So the question is, you know whether he is biologically. Whatever that means, you know, like, if there was this miracle to get him started or if he was the son of Joseph. OK, so that's that seems to be the disagreement there between the Nazarenes and the Ebionites. And here's here's just one more thing to complicate it, make it worse is some Christians will call both groups of unites. Tom Huszti: Yeah, that's a mistake. Sean Finnegan: And they're saying, well, some of you guys believe this and some even nice believe. That it's like. Tom Huszti: Yes, right. Well, it seems to me the very, very important doctrines they agreed upon. And I know I noticed in the Apostle Paul's writing, he never mentions the virgin birth, he does emphasize. The authority that Jesus received through the resurrection, most notably in Romans chapter one, that's where. Sean Finnegan: Yeah. I mean, I think the closest pull comes is Galatians 4 four, where it says when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law. Sort of like the closest. To it you. Can interpret that a number of different ways. Tom Huszti: So it's fascinating to understand that we've actually lost connection to a large extent to the original source of our our gospel message. And I suppose that makes that makes your challenge of restoring 1st century Christianity even a bit. Your task you're trying to recreate these things based on what you know and based on hostile witness accounts. Sean Finnegan: Here's the good news. We still have the Bible. We have the New Testament. You know, we can read it, we can see. And it's not like the New Testament is hiding or covering over any controversy like the The Paul. James, things is is is plain as day in Galatians like pull, yes, pull lays it out, you know, and I and. I'm going with Paul on. This I'm going to. I'm going to disagree with James. I think he was a great. And but I think he just didn't have the full understanding of how Jesus, through his actions, how he affected our relationship with God and and this whole understanding of covenant. So I'm going to go with Paul on that. What happened among Pauline Christianity is. A development that slowly moved away from the New Testament read from a Jewish perspective because I think Pauline Christianity basically got swamped by Gentiles. Tom Huszti: Yeah, I think so. Tom Huszti: Too and I. Sean Finnegan: Think the leaders. Of Pauline Christian. Probably not in his day, but maybe within a generation or two. Became highly educated intellectual gentiles who were financially well off enough to get an education because education costs them money. Otherwise you got a farm or you got to do a craft or a trade, right? So is that is that sort of movement occurred away from? Apostles and their appointed success. More towards these intellectuals. We get Christian doctrine shifting away from what's in the New Testament into these more Greek and Roman ways of thinking. And that's kind of an area where I've been doing a lot of work recently. Trying to understand. Especially on Christology, how would a a Greek or a Roman person? How would they hear the story of Jesus? What would that sound like to them? And so I've done a lot of work on that and I'm going to be presenting that in a month as well at the UCLA conference. Yeah. But that will be out later on YouTube as well. If you don't make. Tom Huszti: Ohh at the OK. But that should be very interesting. Sean Finnegan: It to the conference, you know. Tom Huszti: I bought my ticket already. Ohh, good. Yes. Yes. I'll look forward to that. I guess we probably shouldn't talk too much about it in advance because we have to. We don't want to. Take the the. Thunder out of your presentation. Sean Finnegan: Well, I I just mentioned, I'll just mention one thing, OK. So let's imagine you're a non believer, you're a Pagan. You've worshiped the gods all your life. You've heard stories about Apollo getting banished down to Earth and having to work as a servant. You've heard stories about Zeus coming down impregnating women. You've heard stories about. Tom Huszti: Hercules. Dad. Huh, Hercules. Dad. Sean Finnegan: You've heard stories about Hercules as well, and Asclepius was originally a human who got deified, and he got deified to such a level that he became essentially an Olympian God, that that level of. Elevation and exultation was possible. So you hear all these stories about these gods who come down to become men, or appear as men being made in appearance as a man, right? Like this is this. Is their vocabulary. That's their world. And then you hear lots of stories. Tom Huszti: Yes, yes, right. Sean Finnegan: Humans, who had a beginning normal humans, but were so exceptional that they got to skip Hades and instead go to Olympia or instead go to some heavenly realm like. Tom Huszti: OK. Sean Finnegan: You this is just your.Speaker 5World these are all your stories. Tom Huszti: OK. Uh-huh. Sean Finnegan: Now you're going to hear a story about a miracle worker, Jewish miracle worker. Who was executed came back to life. And now lives in heaven. And is immortalized. You have a category for that. Kind of a being. Tom Huszti: OK. Sean Finnegan: It's called a God. Tom Huszti: Yeah. Yes. Sean Finnegan: Like in our in our language. Today we would say a lower case G God, right? They didn't fuss with capital. A lowercase. You know, like everything's capital pretty much and all the inscriptions we have in the manuscripts from this period, right. So they would just say, oh, that yeah, we. I know, I know. Plenty of other beings that are like that too. Yeah, they're they're called. Gods. And so you're you're trying to say that Jesus is a man and now he's become. Tom Huszti: OK. Sean Finnegan: God. So like you could just imagine a like an evangelism encounter going like that. And if you don't have that Jewish sensibility to say, well, hold on a second.SpeakerThere's only. Sean Finnegan: One God, and that's the supreme God who created everything. You can just see like Christian saying well. Yeah, I guess so. Like in that way of thinking. Yeah, he's a God. So now people. Start calling Jesus God. And now the question becomes well, in what sense has he got? Does he have a beginning before he was a human, you know, and you're just operating in a totally foreign. World View, mindscape than the Jewish mode, which is the Jewish mode, sees Jesus doing miracles and they say how great it is that God has given such authority to men. Tom Huszti: Right. Sean Finnegan: What do they say when they see a miracle in the book of acts, when Paul and Barnabas? Tom Huszti: Right. Sean Finnegan: You know, get that guy filled. Tom Huszti: The gods are come down to us, the gods. Sean Finnegan: Of course, that's what they. Said that's what they believe could happen, right? We really have two different thought worlds that are combining in in weird and innovative ways. And that's just like one step along the path that leads to the doctrine of the Trinity, which doesn't really get fully developed until the late 4th century. Tom Huszti: Yeah, yeah. Oh yeah. Tom Huszti: So Paul is trying to emphasize that Jesus is a human being, a second Adam. So that has a different flavor to it, like you have to. Paula is using the first Adam story to introduce the second Adam. And this is a glorified human being who is residing in heaven until God sends him back. That's a different. Category isn't it? For the Greco Roman mine? Sean Finnegan: Yeah, they don't. They don't. That doesn't. That doesn't make sense to them. You know, it's just that's just weird. That's like resurrection. Like, why do you want your body back? And what did Christianity do with that one? We get rid of it. You go to any funeral like unless it's somebody from my own group of churches, network of churches, or maybe like one or one or two other denominations. Right. Like you go to a funeral. What 99% of the? Funerals you go to they. Say this person is now in heaven and their soul. Whatever you know, they make up all this stuff. You know, it sounds just like the Greco Roman stuff from the ancient times. It doesn't sound. Like the Bible. Tom Huszti: Right, yes. Can you imagine sitting in the audience when Paul was preaching from the Acropolis? Sean Finnegan: Not to me. Tom Huszti: Can you put yourself in the in the shoes of a a Greek sitting in the audience hearing this message for the first time? And you know the setting. What would have impressed you or what you already mentioned this earlier but like if you as an individual were doing this? What would be going through your mind? Given your background and context. Sean Finnegan: Well, I think. There's a lot of misunderstanding going on. And and that's just normal. We shouldn't be upset about that. We should expect that. I think we see the same thing today. In the 21st century, where you try to explain something and somebody just doesn't get it, who's not a Christian, and I think that's what was happening here. And what happened is Paul is is evangelizing people. He's talking to people in the marketplace, his Jewish sensibilities, I think, are offended by seeing a city full of idols. It's just as somebody who was raised with the 10 Commandments, it's offensive. I mean, it's offensive to most Christians. Well, I don't say most, but many Christians today are offended. By seeing idols and statues and seeing people actually worshiping them, Paul is very disturbed by this. He's trying to to help. He's reasoning in the synagogue. And also in the marketplace every day. You've got the Epicureans, you've got the Stoics there, and then they say this is act 1718, he says. He seems to be a preacher of foreign deities. Because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection and see the word resurrection, there is Anastasia. Tom Huszti: OK. It's a Greek. Sean Finnegan: Word it means resurrection. You know, stand up again, but it seems like. And I I think some translations might do it this way, that they're thinking that. Jesus is 1 divinity. And they think that Paul saying that Jesus is divine being, which is interesting, right in light of what I said just a minute ago. And then the other thing they think resurrection is is another divinity. Right. So there's just. Misunderstandings all over the place. They're. Like you know, it seems like he's bringing in some new gods. Let's go here. What these new gods have to say, he's kind of like you. Remember. Back in the old days, kids would collect baseball cards. Or like when my kids were little, it was Pokémon cards. And you know, you trade with each other. This one, it's like gods to the, to the Athenians. You know, they're like, oh, you've got that. Tell me about that. God, I let me tell you. Tom Huszti: OK. Sean Finnegan: The story about this. One you know, so they're. Tom Huszti: Yes, yes. Sean Finnegan: Interested. And they put them up there and they say, OK, what is this new teaching? Tell us what this is all. About and so we know. There's going to be misunderstanding. We know there's going to be confusion, but that's no reason not to get started. And so he does. He starts in a very friendly and flattering way. Tom Huszti: He used their own poets. Their own poetry. Yeah, yeah. Sean Finnegan: He's building the bridge as much as he can to their thought world, but at the same time. He's so disturbed. Buy the idolatry that like he just. He just wants to hit that, you know, like it's just and it's not. It's not out of sense of superiority. I don't think. I think it's a sense of empathy and compassion. And so it just starts in with, like, explaining who God is. And he's like there's a God above everything else that made everything else. And he doesn't need you. He doesn't need you to. To offer animals. And he believed in animal sacrifice. I don't know if he still believed in animal sacrifice or not, but he believed in it. At least most of his life. And still, he's just like, look, he doesn't need. He doesn't need anything. God is radically. What do they say? Ah, say he's not contingent or dependent on us for anything, and that's not. How they thought about their Greek gods. They thought their Greek gods needed to be cared for. They believed that the Greek gods created humans to do the work for them, so they didn't have to do the work all the time, including feeding them these sacrifices that nourish them.SpeakerRight. Tom Huszti: Right, right. Tom Huszti: A hutch. Sean Finnegan: You know it's a. Tom Huszti: Very the gods. They were very dependent. They're their gods, were very dependent. Sean Finnegan: They needed a bunch of slaves to do all the hard work of cultivating the lands, raising the animals, planting the vegetables, do all the things so that they could be properly cared for and fed. And if you didn't do that, then they messed with you. They stopped the rain, or they brought war or whatever, you know. So that's the kind of thing he's coming against here. And he says, look there the the God who made the world and everything in it, Lord of heaven and Earth, does not need temples. This is a radical message. I mean, it's just like. You're in a. City, now that I've been there, like I've literally seen the temples.SpeakerWith my or. Tom Huszti: Not they're still there. They're still there. Tom remnants. Amazing. Sean Finnegan: Wow, there's actually, when I was there was scaffolding all around it. You know, they're always restoring these things because of the weather erosion and what, you know, but. Tom Huszti: OK. Sean Finnegan: You know, massive, massive. Structures unquestionable. You don't go to a Greek ancient Greek city and say God doesn't need tempo. Tom Huszti: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Sean Finnegan: You know that they. Would really get their attention, it's. Like, wow, what is this guy saying? Tom Huszti: Yeah, I can imagine. What would it like these temples were full of pillars and the structure would have been probably unprecedented structures. Sean Finnegan: Yeah, yeah. I mean, we're looking at structures that are so impressive that if you didn't live in a city. If you live somewhere out in the country, you can't in the city. It would just take your breath away and then going into the temple itself, seeing most cities, temples they have what's called an apps, which is kind of like the back curved area where they had the statue itself and to see, you know, this huge statue. The artistry was magnificent. And you know, I've seen this where I think I saw this in a museum in Ephesus, on site, they have a little Ephesus museum there. And they had the head of Domitian. Which is a Roman. And it looked like a baby head. The proportions were all wrong. You know, just you know how, like, baby heads look. Weird, I don't know really how to describe it like there. May be a little spot. Tom Huszti: Oh yeah, yeah. Compared to the rest. Of the body you mean? Sean Finnegan: No, no, it was just the head. It was just the head and it and it. It looked like a baby head. And I asked my team. I was a part of a class at Boston University. I asked my teacher. I'm like, what's the deal with this? Why does it look like a baby head? And he just kind of laughed a little bit. And he said. Tom Huszti: Or it was just a hat? A hat. OK, OK. Sean Finnegan: Get low. Imagine this being 20 feet up in the air. Change your perspective and look at it again and it was exactly right. If you got. Low and looked at that same head. Of the mission. From that angle that you would see it. From the ground. All the proportions were perfect. Tom Huszti: So it was designed to be looked up to right? Sean Finnegan: So we're looking at people that have the. Artistry of the skill. Well, to to you know to like factor in perspective and angle. You know what I mean? Like that's something I would never think of you.SpeakerOh yeah. Sean Finnegan: Know. Of course I'm. Not a sculptor, but you know. I mean, you come in and you and you're.Speaker 5Confronted by this? Sean Finnegan: Stone object that is beautifully done. You just takes your breath away. For anyone to question it. It would just be like. What are you talking about, man? Everybody believes in this. And then there's a parade where they bring the portable idols through the city, and then they end up out front of the temple and you get a big barbecue and everybody's rejoicing and you know, the Jews and the Christians are just like, we're not going, we're going to stay home free. Tom Huszti: Oh yeah. Tom Huszti: Neat, right? And they're they're. Sean Finnegan: Well, free meat. Tom Huszti: For the pagans, right? Yeah. For the pagans. Right. Right. Yeah. Do you happen to know this story about the Roman general? Was it Pompeii that when he came into Jerusalem? And he was going to go into the holiest of holies, and the priests were. Standing in the way. And he ordered several, several of them killed with a sword. He wanted to see what the God of Israel looked like, and and he entered in the Holy, Holy Holiest of Holies. After these priests gave their life and he found nothing. What a surprise, right? Yeah. Yeah. So, so the Paul is preaching the same unseen God, but he's preaching the Jewish Messiah, who was seen, who was raised from the dead. Exalted into heaven, and whom God made judge over the earth. So this is the Athenians are being told that this Jesus God gave authority to for judgment, and that the world will be judged by him. Sean Finnegan: Yeah, even before that, you know, just talking about how you mentioned that Paul quoted a couple of their poets. You know that in him we move and have our being, we live and move and have our being and the other statement for we indeed are his offspring. You know, there's a lot of depends on how deep you want to go in this town. But like, there's a lot going on. The schools of the philosophers. Tom Huszti: You know, delve into it? Sure. Sure. Please. Sean Finnegan: OK, so so you have the Epicureans. Founded by Epicurus, and then you have the Stoics founded by Zeno, and they are just. Like total opposites? Right. So the the goal of the Epicurean is to to seek pleasure. Tom Huszti: OK. Sean Finnegan: But not in a primitive like spring break frat party way. You know where, like you just go crazy, and then you you're in pain and suffering the next morning. That's amateur hour. For that, you'd be curious. Or maximizing pleasure over the course of your entire life. Tom Huszti: OK. OK. Sean Finnegan: What would maximize my pleasure, and the Epicureans tended to say that either the gods don't exist, or they exist, but they don't care about us. So you don't need to worry about the gods. There's a lot of precursors to modern atheism and agnosticism there, but the Stoics are saying, ohh pleasure is bad and you got to serve the gods. You have civil duty. The Stoics tended to be the ones in charge of the cities, and the Stoics are absolutely convinced pleasure is. Inherently sinful, like any kind of any kind of pursuit of bodily pleasure, is well, I would say, at least, question. Bowl, but probably like if you could really live without food that tastes really good, or beds that are nice and soft, or a woman's touch or a man's touch if you're. A woman, you. Know like that you would be happier, you would live the good life. So the philosophers are all all about Greek philosophers in particular, or all about how do you lead the good life? Then

Have you ever felt ashamed of Jesus or of other believers? Are you sometimes embarrassed to say you are a Christians? Maybe you're ashamed by the way other Christians act. In today's episode, Keith looks at 2 Timothy 1 where Paul exhorts Timothy who was tempted to be ashamed. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Join the TMBT community in reading the entire New Testament in one year. Get your FREE reading plan here. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter@TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: 2 Timothy 1

This episode Noah breaks down Moses's final conclusions on the law to the people of Israel. He discusses the heart behind the words written in Deuteronomy and how Moses applies that to the people of his time. He then turns to our own stories and how that story lives itself out in the Christian New Testament as a life filled with life.

What areas of your life make it hard for you to act like a Christian? What does it look like to be a Christian? Can you spread the good news of Jesus without saying anything? In today's episode, Tanya uses Romans 12 to discuss 3 marks of a Christian. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Join the TMBT community in reading the entire New Testament in one year. Get your FREE reading plan here. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter@TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Romans 12

Be honest, do you think you're a better Christian than some of the people around you? Maybe you're prone to judge churches. In today's episode, Patrick explores 1 Corinthians 11 to discuss how to approach conflict and live with more humility. Join the TMBT community in reading the entire New Testament in one year. Get your FREE reading plan here. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter@TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: 1 Corinthians 11

The Christian New Testament is a tiny collection of letters, and a small handful of modestly interdependent testimonies of a personal Jesus from a small town in the unnamed northern province (now known as Galilee). The outliers are almost as valuable as the more orthodox materials.The Bible consists of four biographies, some of which show more interest in symbolic teaching than in historical accuracy. Two of these rely heavily on another for their production, while a much later fourth comes to establish a slightly different path. One of these biographies gets a sequel, but when the hero leaves at the end of the prologue, the story shifts to a stranger: Saul of Tarsus.After the biographies (aka "Gospels"), written by mortal men who were happy to testify of what they had seen/heard, we have an assortment of letters from several of Jesus' Apostles to various parts of the church under direct Imperial rule, mostly from Paul.Because we've already talked about the Revelation of John at length (see Apocalypse, Now?), we only briefly cover it in this episode.To say that "the Bible" is the infallible word of God is to deny the obvious inconsistencies and material contradictions. To say that it is the complete word of God is to deny the obvious appeals to missing authoritative texts. To say that it is the literal word of God is to deny the obvious editorial history and the skill of the genuine authors. We address the various literary genres found in this tiny collection, we look at rejected books that might hope to belong, and we cite texts that were certainly authoritative but have since been lost--some with popular forgeries. With scores of translations of various textforms, there is no single Bible, but we do what we can to keep it accessible.All this and more...To witness Katie's first Bible Study (a mini-series), support us on PatreonYou can find our merch on SpreadshirtJoin the Community on DiscordLearn more great religion facts on Facebook and Instagram

Who in your life can you thank for helping you know Jesus? Although Jesus calls you to himself, he often uses ordinary people to bring people to him. In today's episode, Patrick uses Hebrews 12 to discuss why you need community. Join the TMBT community in reading the entire New Testament in one year. Get your FREE reading plan here. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter@TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Hebrews 12

Building on the previous episode, Dan dives deeper into the code of not being a “stumbling block” in this episode. How do admonitions not to be a stumbling block depart from the actual context of that phrase in the Christian New Testament? And what does this tell us about some Christians' claim to be “biblical literalists?” What does it reveal about the insecurities at the heart of their own spirituality? Listen in and find out. Venmo @straightwhitejc Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 For access to the full Orange Wave series, click here: https://irreverent.supportingcast.fm/products/the-orange-wave-a-history-of-the-religious-right-since-1960 To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/straightwhiteamericanjesus SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://swaj.supportingcast.fm

Sex and sexuality among believers isn't as monolithic as you might think, and of course there's the outlying "bad actors" to keep this spectrum broad.The Torah has some strict rules about who Jewish men should avoid, but isn't too quick to prescribe punishment for premarital sex. The Christian New Testament has some rules about minding your own business. Islamic tradition has some strong words about oral sex. And so much more....The word 'abomination' gets a brief exploration, the sort of thing you might not expect.Marianismo is a growing problem among religious communities, though it's been around for a long time, too. We also explore "purity culture" and the "Madonna-Whore" complex of Freudian fame.The Dharmic religions have another angle on sexuality, and the Buddha encourages the faithful to avoid such attachments. The sexy theme of the month wouldn't be complete if we didn't take a quick look at the Kama Sutra. Support us at Patreon and SpreadshirtJoin the Community on DiscordLearn more great religion facts on Facebook and Instagram  

Messianic Prophecy From Chanukkah After 2000 years of being in the exile, the Jewish people are facing problems that are the opposite of what was reality just a generation ago. Black Hebrew Israelites, Messianic Jews, Jews for Jesus and many other Christian New Testament believers are claiming to be the real Jews. Anyone who spends a few moments reviewing history is sure to be confused by the change of heart. Our only place to recieve the truths is the Torah and its Sages. BeEzrat HaShem this Shiur by Rabbi Yaron Reuven will uncover the truth. youtu.be/FKYg2DH9160

Messianic Prophecy From Chanukkah After 2000 years of being in the exile, the Jewish people are facing problems that are the opposite of what was reality just a generation ago. Black Hebrew Israelites, Messianic Jews, Jews for Jesus and many other Christian New Testament believers are claiming to be the real Jews. Anyone who spends a few moments reviewing history is sure to be confused by the change of heart. Our only place to recieve the truths is the Torah and its Sages. BeEzrat HaShem this Shiur by Rabbi Yaron Reuven will uncover the truth. youtu.be/FKYg2DH9160

Wintery Knight and Desert Rose discuss five common objections that Muslims raise against Christianity. We evaluate each objection using historical evidence, evidence from non-Christian New Testament scholars, and claims from the Qur'an itself. We also talk about how these arguments perform in scholarly debates. We recommend several of our favorite resources on the topic. We conclude with a story from Rose about an interaction she had with a Muslim friend when she responded to one of these common objections.  Please subscribe, like, comment, and share. Show notes: https://winteryknight.com/2022/08/07/knight-and-rose-show-episode-17-common-muslim-objections-to-christianity/

In this episode, Em and Caz focus on some violent texts from the Christian New Testament that depict violent behaviour, violent language, and violent ideologies. Casting their eye over the book of Revelation and the Household Codes, they draw connections between the violence embedded in these texts and the ideologies that underpin certain forms of contemporary violence too.Show notesFind us on Twitter @BloodyBiblePod, on Facebook @TheBloodyBiblePodcast, and on Instagram @bloodybiblepodcast. You can also email the podcast at BloodyBiblePodcast@gmail.com.Our podcast music is ‘Stalker' by Alexis Ortiz Sofield, courtesy of Pixabay music https://pixabay.com/music/search/stalker/ Our podcast art was created by Sarah Lea Westhttps://www.instagram.com/sarahleawest.art/?fbclid=IwAR0F4i-R7JpRePmm8PmGta_OkOCWa-kMjR3QGSSeOKi6SWNrCk3rA5VuIZk Resources for this episodeJulia Baird and Hayley Gleeson, “Raped, tracked, humiliated: Clergy wives speak out about domestic violence.” ABC News, 24 November 2017.https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-23/clergy-wives-speak-out-domestic-violence/9168096?nw=0&r=HtmlFragment Tara Isabella Burton, “The Waco tragedy, explained.” Vox, 19 April 2018.https://www.vox.com/2018/4/19/17246732/waco-tragedy-explained-david-koresh-mount-carmel-branch-davidian-cult-25-year-anniversary Amy-Jill Levine (ed.), A Feminist Companion to the Apocalypse of John (T&T Clark, 2009).Christopher Lockett, “Why it's grim, but unsurprising, that the U.S. Capitol attack looked like it was out of a ‘zombie movie'” The Conversation, 5 January 2022.https://theconversation.com/why-its-grim-but-unsurprising-that-the-u-s-capitol-attack-looked-like-it-was-out-of-a-zombie-movie-174038 Daphne Marsden, “‘Women, Take The Matter Up!' Family Violence, Social Justice, And Faith.” The Shiloh Project, 1 September 2019.https://www.shilohproject.blog/women-take-the-matter-up-family-violence-social-justice-and-faith/ Shelly Matthews, “New Testament Violence.” Bible Odyssey.https://www.bibleodyssey.org/en/passages/related-articles/violence-in-the-new-testament Nancy Nason-Clark, “Last Sunday, domestic violence came to church.” Religion News Service, 10 November 2017. https://religionnews.com/2017/11/10/last-sunday-domestic-violence-came-to-church/ James Palmer, “QAnon Will Survive Yet Another Apocalyptic Disappointment.” Foreign Policy, 22 January 2021. https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/01/22/qanon-apocalypse-prophecy-evangelicals/ Meredith Warren, “Sexual Violence And Rape Culture In The New Testament.” The Shiloh Project, 31 May 2017.https://www.shilohproject.blog/sexual-violence-and-rape-culture-in-the-new-testament/ Wondery, “In God We Lust” podcast.https://wondery.com/shows/in-god-we-lust/ George Zachariah, “Legitimising Sexual Violence: Contesting Toxic Theologies That Valorise Suffering As Redemptive.“ The Shiloh Project, 9 April, 2022.https://www.shilohproject.blog/legitimising-sexual-violence-contesting-toxic-theologies-that-valorise-suffering-as-redemptive/ The Book of Revelationhttps://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+1&version=NRSV The Household CodesEphesians 5:22-6:9 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+5%3A22-6%3A9&version=NRSVColossians 3:18-4:1https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians+3%3A18-4%3A1&version=NRSV 1Timothy 2-3https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Timothy+2-3&version=NRSV1 Timothy 6:1-2https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Timothy+6%3A1-2&version=NRSVTitus 2:1-10https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Titus+2%3A1-10&version=NIV1 Peter 3:1-7https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+3%3A1-7&version=NRSVSupport ServicesShine (NZ) - https://www.2shine.org.nz/ Family Violence - It's Not Okay (NZ) - https://www.areyouok.org.nz/ List of sexual assault support services (NZ) - https://sexualabuse.org.nz/resources/find-sexual-assault-support-near-you/ Full Stop (Australia) - https://fullstop.org.au/ National Domestic Violence Hotline (USA) - https://www.thehotline.org/ RAINN (USA) - https://www.rainn.org/ Women's Aid (UK) - https://www.womensaid.org.uk/ Rape Crisis (UK) - https://rapecrisis.org.uk/ Rape Crisis Scotland -​​ https://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/ International list of hotlines, crisis centers, and other resources organized by location - https://pandys.org/forums/index.php?/forum/42-public-resources/

We have to disconnect the idea of good parenting from health and fitness. Because people don’t have a moral imperative to health.You’re listening to Burnt Toast! This is the podcast where we talk about diet culture, fatphobia, parenting and health. Today I am chatting with Amanda Martinez Beck. Amanda is a fat activist, author and host of the Fat and Faithful podcast. She focuses on the ways that fatphobia and ableism have intertwined with American Christian culture. We are discussing Amanda’s second book, More of You: the Fat Girls Field Guide to the Modern World which came out this week.Some news: Beginning with today’s episode, I’m now able to pay every podcast guest a $100 honorarium, to compensate them for their time and labor. This will make it easier for the podcast to center the voices of marginalized folks (a goal I previously discussed here). And our incredible community of Burnt Toast subscribers is making this possible! So thank you so much, if you’re already subscribed, for helping me do this. And if you’re not, but want to hear more conversations like this one, consider joining us. (I also offer comp subscriptions—just email if that would be helpful to you.)PS. If you enjoy this episode, please also subscribe, rate and review us in your podcast player! That’s free and a great way to help more folks find the show. And: I wanted to note that Amanda and I recorded this conversation before news of the Uvalde school shooting broke, so you won’t hear us discuss it, though of course it is now all I can think about. As I said, all too recently, after the Buffalo shooting: Remember that gun reform is now a states issue. Everytown has a website that lets you see — state by state — what the laws are in each state. We know that electing new majorities in our target states will make it possible to pass gun safety legislation. The States Project helped flip Maine in 2018, and were able to deepen that new majority in 2020 — this was an outcome in their 2021 session. So this is, yet again, where the Burnt Toast Giving Circle can do some good. Join us, if you need a place to put your rage. Episode 45 TranscriptVirginiaHi Amanda, I’m so glad to have you on! And big congratulations on the new book. Why don’t we start by having you tell us a little bit about yourself, your work, and your family?AmandaOkay. I am a fat activist. My middle name is Martinez, which alludes to my Cuban background. My dad was a Cuban refugee, so I grew up in a home that was half Latinx, half white. My husband Zachary is a university professor and we have four kids, and they’re in bodies that don’t conform to societal standards, most of them. So I’m doing this work for myself and for my kids. I have a podcast called Fat and Faithful, which talks about fat liberation through a Christian lens. I wrote a new book, which we’re going to talk about. And I have an Instagram, which is called @your_body_is_good. In addition to my body image coaching that I do, that’s the work that I’m doing right now.VirginiaThat’s not a short list of work, so thank you for all of that. We met when I interviewed you for a story on how anti-fat bias was impacting the treatment of fat folks with COVID. You were in early recovery, at that point, from COVID. I would love, if you don’t mind, to talk a little bit about how that’s gone. How are you doing?AmandaI’m doing really well, but it has been a long road. I was hospitalized for 40 days and was on a ventilator for two weeks and lost the ability to walk, in addition to just all the respiratory things that come along with COVID. While I was in the hospital, I encountered fatphobia in some very glaring ways and some very systemic ways—you wrote a whole piece on that. But I am on a good path right now. I have been off of oxygen since October of 2021. I was on oxygen for about a year. My lungs are doing really well. And I have more mobility than I did even before going into the hospital. I credit that to a fabulous doctor who’s taken my post-acute COVID syndrome really seriously, or what we call long COVID, to help me with getting on the right medicines, and specifically, to help with the brain fog, to get on medicine for that, and I feel like a new person. Really.VirginiaI worried about you for a long time. I know there are a lot of us who have been rooting for you. I’m glad to hear you’re in a better place and also so grateful that you did share your story, because it was so important, I think, for us to continue to follow this path, past the initial COVID and through long COVID. I know when you’re in the middle of something like that, I know how much additional labor it is to share that and put that out there, so thank you for doing that. I’m curious to hear a little more about what misconceptions came up the most? What do you still find yourself having to challenge or correct with folks around COVID and weight?AmandaIn the beginning, I felt really guilty for getting COVID because there was definitely a narrative that fat people were at higher risk for developing complications from COVID. Even though those risks were correlated, not necessarily caused by, body size, I always felt like people were blaming me. I got blamed explicitly by people on social media for catching COVID in a fat body. I think that people still believe that fatness is an underlying condition or a precondition to getting COVID—which, it’s not. People of all sizes get COVID complications. And long COVID is affecting all types of people. COVID is an equal opportunity virus.VirginiaWe have so much work to do to reframe that conversation. People want to be able to say like, “Well, I’ll be safe, because I can blame this person for getting it. I don’t have the same risk factors,” or whatever, but it’s such a callous way to approach this global pandemic. AmandaFor sure. Not necessarily connected to weight bias, but I think one other misunderstanding about long COVID is the effect that it has on mental health. You remember watching update videos from me in the hospital, and I go back and watch those now and realize just how impaired COVID had me. I’m also encountering heightened mental illness in long COVID. I think that’s something that’s a part of COVID that people are still not taking seriously, which affects so many aspects of health.VirginiaAnd again, there’s the stigma. Anytime there’s a mental component to it, it’s very easy to stigmatize that as well. Well, somehow, while you’ve been doing both your own recovery work from COVID, and putting the story out in the world, you’ve also been writing a book.AmandaI have. VirginiaSo, let’s talk about that. The new book is called More of You. Tell us what inspired you to write this. I also do want to hear how you got it written during all of this.AmandaThe memory of writing is a bit of a blur, but I have a fantastic editor, who walked me through the process very graciously. So the book is called More of You: the Fat Girl’s Field Guide to the Modern World. Before I had COVID, I realized I’d stumbled through fatness, learning how to exist in my today body and how to take up space. I wished that I’d had some sort of guidebook that could walk through these different things before I had to experience them. And I didn’t have anything like that. And so I wrote More of You to be the guidebook that I wish that I had had, when I was first coming to accept my body and not wanting to take up less space. Specifically, I targeted it towards what I wish I had known in grade school: That I have the right to exist in my body today, that I have the right to take up space, that I have the right to wear what I want, and eat what I want, and that I have the right to compassionate medical care. And just stating those things, what I call The Fat Girl’s Bill of Rights, is transformative for me today. I can’t imagine how transformative it will be for my own children and the children who get to know these truths that their parents are trying to put into practice in their lives. I know that you’re doing that work, too.VirginiaOne of the things I find most valuable about the book is the way you hold fatphobia and ableism accountable for each other. I think this is a common tension in the disability rights and fat rights communities. We often see fat folks leaning into “But I’m healthy” as this defense against anti fat bias. I’ve certainly done it. And I would imagine there may be a parallel experience of wanting to perform being a “good” disabled person through your thinness. And we know that relying on health as this sort of marker of virtue is really problematic. How does this hold us back from making progress on both of these issues?AmandaSo I first encountered the idea of performative fatness, “I’m healthy, so I’m a good performing fat person,” in a web comic by the fat activist Stacey Bias called The Good Fatty Archetypes. And she has a list of 12 different ways that fat people can adapt to their environment to prove that they’re worthy of dignity. And one of them is the Fat Unicorn, where it’s like, “I am just fat even though I exercise all the time. I’m just, you know, a unicorn.”She talks about the different ways that you can perform fitness virtue signaling. And it’s setting up this idea that we have to earn our our position of dignity, to earn respect. That’s really a very capitalistic idea, which Stacy talks about in her comic. We don’t have to earn dignity, we possess inherent dignity. To be able to look at a fat body as morally neutral or even morally good takes digging below those good fatty archetypes of, “but I’m healthy, but I’m an athlete.” In a disabled fat body, there is inherent goodness. So we have to look at how assuming that someone’s health and ability is based on their moral virtue, how that is not a fair assumption. That’s actually ableism. I’m coming from a Christian lens, so we see this in the Christian scripture when there’s a man who was born blind, and the people asked Jesus, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” And Jesus is like, “Neither.” And so I really feel that for a parallel to fatness. It’s not a moral failing of anyone that someone is fat. It just is. And fat people themselves perpetuate this idea that “as long as I’m healthy, it’s okay to be fat.” I say, “If it’s not okay for everyone to be fat, it’s not okay for anyone to be fat.”VirginiaI’m just looking at how Stacy explains the Fat Unicorn here and she says, “What does it mean to seek legitimacy for the fat body on the basis of its capacity for health? Who gets excluded or silenced when we do so?” AmandaSomeone much wiser than me has said that ability is a temporary condition. We are all headed towards disability of some sort or another. We have to separate that from morality. In the same way we have to separate body size from morality. Because body size and ability are a lot of genetics, systemic issues, and societal issues. We can’t just say A plus B equals C when we’re looking at a body like that.VirginiaAnother line that really resonated with me from the book, is when you wrote that “Nobody has a moral obligation to be healthy, and we don’t owe health to our community or our families or our kids.” And that believing that you do is this cornerstone of ableism. I think this is often a line people come up against where they may say, Okay, i’s fine to be unhealthy. But of course, we we should all be trying to be healthy for our kids. And I think particularly for mothers, right? There’s this huge pressure that being a good mother is synonymous with being a mother who can chase your kids around the playground. AmandaThe question that I probably get asked most frequently, when I talk about being okay with my fatness is, but don’t you owe it to your kids to be healthy? To live a longer life to be with them? There’s two layers happening there. One, I’m accused often of being on the verge of death, like I’m just about to keel over—which, post-COVID, okay, there were some rough moments. But just because I inhabit a fat body does not mean that I am more susceptible to early death. The numbers actually show that people in the BMI category of overweight live longer than people in the normal category. People assume that I’m going to die young, which is really hard to encounter day in and day out. When I was young, someone I loved, told me, in tears, “I just don’t want you to die of a heart attack at age 20.” Which is a very emotionally manipulative thing to say to a teenager—and to anyone, because none of us is guaranteed another day. We’re all in the same boat. My life is lived, as as much as I can choose, in a morally upright way. And I define morality as treating my neighbors as I would treat myself. So, number one, it’s not good for mental health to live with that assumption. Number two: The claim that I can’t be a good mom, if I’m in a disabled or, quote, “unhealthy” body is really an ableist thing to say. Because there are parents of all stripes, with all different levels of ability, who are amazing parents. And just because someone’s in a wheelchair, we don’t automatically assume they’re a bad mother. But if I’m fat and walking with a cane, there is that assumption. And it is inherently ableist to say because you don’t have full capacity of your body, you cannot be a good parent. And this has real consequences, because children are being taken from their fat parents. It’s not something that we’re just fearmongering about. We have to disconnect the idea of good parenting from health and fitness because people don’t have a moral imperative to health.VirginiaIt’s such a narrow definition of good motherhood. And it’s implying that there’s only one way to love your kids. That there’s a right way to love your kids, as opposed to allowing for this diversity of experiences. I’m glad you brought up the issue of how it gets used around parental rights. I did some reporting on that for Slate and what I heard from lots of folks in the foster system is that it’s not always the top reason that parents lose parental rights, but it’s something that caseworkers know to look for. It’s something that they can add to the list when they’re building the case. That struck me as, in a way, almost more chilling. Because if you’re a parent going through a really hard time with mental health, addiction, whatever, the knowledge that your body will also be weaponized against you in that conversation is really scary. I admit I myself, in the past, have started and stopped at well, of course, I want to be healthy for my kids. But it’s just like, “of course, you want a healthy baby” without unpacking the ableism of that. Children are born with disabilities every day, and they are very worthy of our love. AmandaI think that we all have this innate desire for goodness. We’re looking to be good, to experience goodness. And I think a lot of people assume that to have a good body means to have a healthy and fit body. But I like to go old school and look at Aristotle. Aristotle says that a thing is good when it fulfills its purpose. So this is where the conversation about what is the purpose of my body comes to the fore. And when you say that the purpose of my body is health, then you have to also acknowledge that health is much bigger than just physical health—it’s also emotional health, mental health, and spiritual health. If you have an ATV four wheeler and you just pump up the air on that one physical health tire, it’s gonna be a rocky road. So, even if we agree at some point that health is the purpose of my body, we have to recognize that physical health or the way that we look cannot be the end all be all. But I say that the purpose of my body isn’t health or thinness or perfection. It’s relationship. My body can be good, no matter my ability or my size, because I can have relationship with anyone and it can be a fruitful and deep relationship. And that’s what really keeps me going with my kids. When I do feel that shame of sitting in my car when they’re playing on the playground. I know that the other 95 percent of the day, they’re with me, and we’re investing in our relationship. And it’s part of my relationship to let them go and experience things that I don’t have experience with.VirginiaI love reframing it around relationships. That’s so beautifully put.AmandaWhen we treat health as a moral imperative, we wind up applying individualistic “answers” to a complex, system-wide situation. Because if we see morality on an individual basis, which we do, then person A, person B, Person C all have the same responsibility to health, but they might have vastly different access to resources. We don’t have universal health care. That’s a big deal. And then the racism, transphobia, and fatphobia that exists in our current system makes it look like certain types of people are not being morally upright if they don’t achieve some sort of health level that we think they should. VirginiaYou also talk a bit in the book about the anti-fat bias you’ve experienced in the church, and as someone who’s not Christian, I would just love to understand this a little more. How do diet culture and Christian culture intersect? And how do we start to untangle them?AmandaI grew up believing that thinness was next to godliness. That the smaller I was, the more my body would reflect the submissive woman that I thought God was calling me to be. And there’s nothing small or submissive about me. I’m very big and my personality is big, my voice is loud. I take up more space than a lot of people. My journey of clawing my way out of a fundamentalist, elitist version of Christianity to find that that’s not what God is requiring of me showed me that diet culture and Christian culture in the United States have a lot in common. Number one, that idea that being smaller is morally better. Number two is purity rules. Christian culture is full of ways that you can be sexually pure, but also there’s this idea of being dietetically pure. In diet culture, we see that where we talk about “clean” and “unclean” food. We’re moralizing food. Bad and good food, that all that kind of language is religious language.VirginiaNow that you spelled that out, that makes total sense that that didn’t just begin and end with Gwyneth Paltrow, but has deeper roots. It’s fascinating.AmandaI’m reading the Christian New Testament, and there’s a scene where the The apostle Peter, who’s the first pope, right? This really important guy gets his vision of all these different kinds of foods, foods that he thought were unclean. And God says, “Don’t call what I’ve made clean, unclean.” And there’s this way that Peter applies it. “Oh, I can’t call people who eat unclean foods unclean either because God has made them clean.” And so what for whatever reason, there’s this thing that we do when we talk about clean and unclean foods, we apply it to the people that eat those things. VirginiaYeah, we go right to their bodies.AmandaWe go straight to their bodies, and that is classist AF. Because access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and what we our culture considers, quote, “good food,” it’s just inaccessible to a large swath of the population. It enables people to discriminate against the poor, those who live in food deserts, people who eat free lunches at school, like my kids. There’s there’s just a huge amount of classist behavior there—and of course, racist and fatphobic behavior. So really finding that all food is good food is has been something instrumental in my journey towards fat liberation.Butter For Your Burnt ToastAmandaI am lately obsessed with Jon Batiste, the musician. He is the leader of the band on the Stephen Colbert show, but he is much more celebrated than that. His album called We Are won Album of the Year at the Grammys this year, and he helped write, or did most of the writing for the soundtrack to “Soul.” the Pixar movie.VirginiaOoooh, excellent.AmandaAnd I’m just obsessed. I highly recommend his new album and also the Soul soundtrack.VirginiaAmazing. We have not watched “Soul” yet. My kids adore “Inside Out,” but I’ve been holding off on “Soul” because my four-year-old is in that phase of being very anxious about death. AmandaBeen there. Yeah, I have one sentimental kid who laments over the death of leaves. VirginiaThe other week, she picked a flower and said, “Can we put it in a vase?” And I said, Yes. And she said, “But will it die?” And I said, “Well, yes.” And she was like, “I don’t want it in the house then, it’ll make me too sad.”AmandaI feel you strongly.VirginiaBut I am dying to see “Soul.” And in the meantime, I can listen to his music. So that’s a great recommendation. My recommendation is a podcast. I just listened to the first episode of Ghost Church by Jamie Loftus. Sara Louise Petersen, who was on the podcast a few weeks ago, recommended it in her newsletter, and I checked it out. It is fascinating. She is investigating American Spiritualism, which is the tradition of communing with the dead. It’s a fringe religion, I guess, is the technical term. I just knew nothing about this whole world. And I think it’s always challenging with this kind of journalism, trying to understand a culture in a world that you don’t belong to, whether you’re going to come in and completely interrogate it and take it down, or whether you’re going to fall on that spectrum. And she walks the line really nicely. She’s very respectful of the people. She is herself, somewhat of a believer in some of the concepts, but also has a lot of questions. It’s a really well done exploration where you’re sort of allowed to draw your own conclusion. She’s not saying it’s all garbage. She’s not saying it’s all true.Well, Amanda, thank you so much for being here. I really loved this conversation. And again, cannot encourage readers enough to get your book. We covered some of the heavier aspects of the book, the book itself is a really delightful read. Amanda is a very light and fun writer. So I hope people will check it out. Tell us where we can find more of your work and support you!AmandaI am on Instagram as @your_body_is_good. I’m on Twitter at @AmandaMBeck. And I am on the interwebs on Facebook, too. I’m a millennial, so good Facebooker. I have a group on there called All Bodies Are Good Bodies. It’s a fat positive, body neutral space where people can have community apart from diet culture. VirginiaThank you for being here!Thanks so much for listening to Burnt Toast! If you’d like to support the show, please subscribe for free in your podcast player and tell a friend about this episode.The Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by me, Virginia Sole-Smith. You can follow me on Instagram or Twitter.Burnt Toast transcripts and essays are edited and formatted by Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, an Instagram account where you can buy and sell plus size clothing.The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Jeff Bailey and Chris Maxwell.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting independent anti-diet journalism. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe

It's been called the most beautiful book in the world - a book with a mysterious history - and an ongoing source of inspiration and fascination: The Book of Kells. The Medieval illuminated manuscript containing the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament currently housed at Trinity College in Dublin and accessible to ALL via the web! In this episode Katie explains the storied history of the book and some of the strange, wonderful motifs you'll find in the Book of Kells - from peacocks to Celtic knots to intricate letters. We'll also discuss how a work of such depth and artistry reminds us to look closer and appreciate physical objects.    This is the LAST episode of Season 3!! Thank you so much for listening and making this such a successful season. I'll be taking a few weeks off from the podcast so stay tuned for a packed, exciting Season 4, coming soon!   www.bornofwonder.com  Leave a review for the podcast on iTunes and leave a star rating on Spotify!    Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bornofwonder?fan_landing=true     Book of Kells Digitized https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/concern/works/hm50tr726?locale=en    The Book of Kells: An Illustrated Introduction to the Manuscript in Trinity College, Dublin https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-book-of-kells-an-illustrated-introduction-to-the-manuscript-in-trinity-college-dublin_bernard-meehan/280151/item/3948978/?gclid=CjwKCAjw4ayUBhA4EiwATWyBrjt-fV0U2k2xk4lZyVhyVYSTlxdqhhVGHi5NlmEVmte4v6Jrx6Ca9xoC9ZcQAvD_BwE#idiq=3948978&edition=4421796    J.S.Bach Prelude BWV 998 Göran Söllscher guitar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPqa15VmUAA     Bach on Classical Guitar Playlist  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5jlBxqtDsIIAh7c6XnEaip?si=m9KA8WRKSomCYv_L74D3iw&utm_source=copy-link   

Jeff lays out his take on Jesus and freedom, and lays out a summary of the biblical narrative from a Christian Anarchist perspective. One need not commit to a particular perspective on how to apply these ideas to contemporary life. There is value in first examining the moral ideal of Jesus, which invalidates the way of domination, injustice and inequality, and then taking a while to ponder how we might work toward the mission of the radical sage from Galilee. We discuss the ways in which the concept of inerrancy presents problems for intellectual life within church-related higher education. This should be an interesting exploration for anyone interested in libertarian themes in the Hebrew Bible and Christian New Testament.

In this fifth episode, we continue our series on pro-gay theology as we read Guy Hammond's new book 'Gay and Christian?'We address the second half of what Guy calls the 'Clobbering Six', scriptures that talk about homosexuality which are all written in the New Testament. We discuss these key scriptures, potential mistranslations, pro-gay interpretations, and where we stand within these discussions....To read along with us, you can find the book here:https://www.ipibooks.com/collections/all/products/gay-christian...Submit your questions here:https://forms.gle.FRG4nV525xSViRet7...Email us at:topherandthomas@gmail.com

Uncork the holy water, light the incense and prepare the ritual invocations because this week we're discussing God's Angelic Hierarchies and get to know some of the Archangels which lead them. Journey with us as we investigate the nature of angels in the Hebrew Tanakh, Christian New Testament, Muslim Quran and Solomonic Grimoire to discover the ancient source that informed Angelic nature and their organization into Qabbalistic hierarchy.On this week's episode we discuss:What are Angels?The ElohimEl, The FatherThe Angel of the LordFour Classic ArchangelsAngels in the QuranAncient EgyptMaimonidesThe Chayot HakodeshThe Primum MobileMetatronThe Ophanim, Wheel AngelsRaziel's GrimoireThe Erelim / ThronesTzadkiel, The Eye of GodIn the extended show available at www.patreon.com/thewholerabbit we discuss:Jupiter, Sky DadThe Chashmalim (Bright Ones)Seraphim, Flaming Serpent AngelsThe Uraeus CrownRaphael, Heals The PeepeeThe Lord of HostsVenusArchangel MichaelThe CherubimThe Importance of GabrielSandalphonThe Fall of the AngelsNazis from AldebaranRoyal StarsEnochian Angels…Music By:Spirit Travel Plazahttps://open.spotify.com/artist/30dW3WB1sYofnow7y3V0YoWhere to find The Whole Rabbit:YouTube: https://youtu.be/z4DL6BFdzfMMerch: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/thewholerabbit/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0AnJZhmPzaby04afmEWOAVInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_whole_rabbit_/Sources:Zoroastrianhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amesha_SpentaMaimonideshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-DWrWXAIuIChicken Qabalah:https://www.illuminatiorderoto.com/resources/DuQuette-Chicken-Qabalah.pdfTimaeus:http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/timaeus.htmlQuran:https://legacy.quran.com/Egyptian and Hellenistic Connections to the Jewish Idea of Angels (Academic Study):https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/37319575.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjpsayQ18f2AhWwJDQIHYQqAZ0QFnoECAQQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2qSmiMDpfSUoFOjvpU9huV"Enochian Vision Magic",  Lon Milo Duquette"The Vision & The Voice", Alister Crowley"Angels & Archangels", Damien Echols"Mastering the Mystical Heptarchy" + "Mastering the Great Table", Scott Michael Stenwick"Three Books of Occult Philosophy", Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa"Rhythms and Visions: The Changing Patterns of Belief" Lawrence BlairSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/thewholerabbit)

Perhaps no books have been more influential in world history than those contained in the Christian New Testament. At the heart of this influence is a story about a man, Jesus. Four authors write about the 'good news' he brings, or his Gospel. This week, The Good Fight takes a look at two of these Gospel stories, perhaps the two more unique among the four: Luke and John. These two are particularly unique in how they relate to Gentile (non-Jewish) culture, as Luke adopts a methodology akin to history and John dives into Hellenistic philosophy.

The Christian New Testament teaches that Christians must be baptized. In this episode, Chuck and Aaron talk about the meaning of Christian baptism, the proper biblical mode of baptism, and the proper subject of baptism. They also talk about the Bible's teaching that baptism has the power to save: because baptism is the Word of God in liquid form it has the ability to do all the things holy scripture can do – create faith, sanctify, and bestow grace. Baptism has this power because it connects us to the death and resurrection of Jesus. Hosts: Aaron Mueller and Chuck Rathert Subscribe to the show at http://cacg.saintjamesglencarbon.org. To comment on this episode, visit https://saintjamesglencarbon.org/cacg-ep22.

There's a distinction often made between two common approaches to the human longing for wisdom. The first approach, philosophy, is considered the unassisted search for wisdom and truth, one that requires boldness, curiosity, and perhaps even impiety; it requires the philosopher to ask questions that can unsettle the customs and social habits on which any decent society depends. The second approach, biblical religion, is the product of revelation, of God's disclosure to Moses and mankind the ways of creation and righteous living. The biblical desire to know requires submission and deference to an authority beyond all human pretensions, an authority that knows the human heart better than humans themselves do. Philosophy appeals to human reason; scripture appeals to divine revelation. They're two fundamentally different modes of understanding, learning, and living. This week's podcast guest argues that this oft-drawn distinction between reason and revelation is all wrong. Dru Johnson is a professor at The Kings's College in New York City, director of the Center for Hebraic Thought, and the author of a new book, Biblical Philosophy: A Hebraic Approach to the Old and New Testaments. In the book, Johnson argues that, beginning in the Hebrew Bible and extending even through the Christian New Testament, the Bible has a coherent manner of seeking out wisdom that bears all the distinguishing characteristics of a text with philosophical depth. Just like the Greek tradition, biblical philosophy is a distinct intellectual tradition that has its own answers to a great many of the pressing questions of mankind. Curious? Join him and Mosaic's editor Jonathan Silver to learn more.

**Note: The Spur the Saints Podcast rebranded from the AI AD Podcast in Season 2** This is the last installment in a 5 part series on the 4 Gospels that start the Christian New Testament. This episode lightly covers a lot of objections people have against the Gospels. We tried to make this episode more light and fun since it is the last (planned) episode of season one. Please reach out if you have any questions about what is discussed in this episode. Below are some links to some of my resources. Inspiring Philosophy: The Reliability of the New Testament Can we trust the Gospels by Peter J. Williams I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist by Frank Turek and Norman Geisler Jay Warner Wallace's Ministry: Cold Case Christianity Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform! Follow us on Instagram @sts.aiad.us Please enjoy the episode, then leave a nice review, and a nice rating. Lastly, please write us if you have an questions, comments, or concerns: aiad.uspod@gmail.com Thank you for listening, The Spur The Saints Team

**Note: The Spur the Saints Podcast rebranded from the AI AD Podcast in Season 2** This is the fourth installment in a 5 part series on the 4 Gospels that start the Christian New Testament. Each episode will include an overview of the purpose, audience, and writer of the book as a well as a walk through of the first chapter. Then the series will end with a Q&A Episode where I will answer common objections and questions people have for the Gospels. This episode covers the Gospel of John which is the last Gospel we have in the bible. John is a book that challenges Jews and Gentiles alike. John gives his Gospel account to us in a much different manner than the other writers do. His Gospel is unique and certainly worth a read! This series will borrow a lot from the Bible Project and the Bema Podcast. So special thanks to them! Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform! Follow us on Instagram @sts.aiad.us Please enjoy the episode, then leave a nice review, and a nice rating. Lastly, please write us if you have an questions, comments, or concerns: aiad.uspod@gmail.com Thank you for listening, The Spur The Saints Team

**Note: The Spur the Saints Podcast rebranded from the AI AD Podcast in Season 2** This is the third installment in a 5 part series on the 4 Gospels that start the Christian New Testament. Each episode will include an overview of the purpose, audience, and writer of the book as a well as a walk through of the first chapter. Then the series will end with a Q&A Episode where I will answer common objections and questions people have for the Gospels. This episode covers the Gospel of Luke which is the longest Gospel we have in the bible. This is the link to Logan Penny's Advent teachings about the birth of Jesus; This series will borrow a lot from the Bible Project and the Bema Podcast. So special thanks to them! Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform! Follow us on Instagram @sts.aiad.us Please enjoy the episode, then leave a nice review, and a nice rating. Lastly, please write us if you have an questions, comments, or concerns: aiad.uspod@gmail.com Thank you for listening, The Spur The Saints Team

**Note: The Spur the Saints Podcast rebranded from the AI AD Podcast in Season 2** This is the second installment in a 5 part series on the 4 Gospels that start the Christian New Testament. Each episode will include an overview of the purpose, audience, and writer of the book as a well as a walk through of the first chapter. Then the series will end with a Q&A Episode where I will answer common objections and questions people have for the Gospels. This second episode covers the Gospel of Mark and the thought provoking themes and purposes included in the account that John Mark wrote about Jesus Christ. This series will borrow a lot from the Bible Project and the Bema Podcast. So special thanks to them! Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform! Follow us on Instagram @sts.aiad.us Please enjoy the episode, then leave a nice review, and a nice rating. Lastly, please write us if you have an questions, comments, or concerns: aiad.uspod@gmail.com Thank you for listening, The Spur The Saints Team

**Note: The Spur the Saints Podcast rebranded from the AI AD Podcast in Season 2** This is the first installment in a 5 part series on the 4 Gospels that start the Christian New Testament. Each episode will include an overview of the purpose, audience, and writer of the book as a well as a walk through of the first chapter. Then the series will end with a Q&A Episode where I will answer common objections and questions people have for the Gospels. This first episode covers the Gospel of Matthew and the amazing themes and purposes included in the account Matthew wrote about Jesus Christ. This series will borrow a lot from the Bible Project and the Bema Podcast. So special thanks to them! Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform! Follow us on Instagram @sts.aiad.us Please enjoy the episode, then leave a nice review, and a nice rating. Lastly, please write us if you have an questions, comments, or concerns: aiad.uspod@gmail.com Thank you for listening, The Spur The Saints Team

Jesus was "led into the wilderness by the spirit of God." Why do 'desert moments' happen in our lives? Is there a useful purpose that we're reading about here in the life of Jesus that can be pertinent to our lives today? Paul reviews the idea in this week's Pastor Paul's Bible Chat as we take a look at Matthew 4 of the Christian New Testament. #TikTokPastor #evangelicalish #ReligiousRightReligiouslyWrong #NPEpodcast #NonPartisanEvangelical #GodIsNOTmadAtYou #MindRenewal @oldpastorpaul (TikTok)

In this episode Anthony Le Donne and Larry Behrendt discuss Christian-Jewish dialogue, the focus of their book, Sacred Dissonance: The Blessing of Difference in Jewish-Christian Dialogue. (See my review of this volume here.) Behrendt is a Jewish lawyer and a specialist in interreligious dialogue with a specific emphasis on Jewish-Christian relations, and Le Donne is a Christian New Testament scholar teaching at United Theological Seminary. In this podcast we discuss aspects of their book, which "challenges the notion that a passive and self-contained approach to religious distinction will bring about peaceful coexistence. In candid conversations between the authors, every section of Sacred Dissonance models the ways in which conversation can be the means of both addressing a difficult past and a challenging present. In the course of exploring the ways in which Jews and Christians can speak to one another, Le Donne and Behrendt show that Christianity can become a 'pro-Jewish' religion, Judaism can become a 'pro-Christian' religion, and communities of faith can open space for others, rather than turning them away, even without breaking down the differences between them." If you find this helpful, please consider supporting this podcast with your Patronage for just a few dollars a month.

In this episode I respond off the cuff to the follow atheistic objections: “But you haven't proven God is even a possible explanation!” "Oh yeah, well who created your God then?" "But the flying spaghetti monster!" "If you grew up in Iran you'd be a Muslim." "The Bible was written by bronze-age, ignorant goat herders ..." "Christian New Testament scholars are just biased." "There's no evidence Jesus ever existed!" Enjoy the show!

The Hug Rule (EP.245) Introduction The Hug Rule: It takes four hugs a day for survival, Eight hugs a day for maintenance, and Twelve hugs a day to thrive. That is the subject of today’s 10-minute episode.  Continuing During these COVID days (daze), I am falling below the survival level. But the no-hug COVID days will eventually be behind us. Will the division bordering on hatred also recede? It does seem to be growing.  In the 1969 British romantic drama film “Women in Love” one memorable scene has two men wrestling physically, and apparently emotionally as well. One of the men asks the other, “Why can't men say ‘I love you’ to each other as freely as women do?” Dang good question. And, just perhaps, women should be more free with verbal expression of love as well. So, let me be the first in this conversation to say it: I love you. BTW, hugs are not only an expression of love, but can lead to beginning to learn to love another, and to further bind that love.  Practically every religion on earth commands us to love one another. When asked which is the greatest commandment, the Christian New Testament depicts Jesus paraphrasing the Torah: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind," before also paraphrasing a second passage; "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Islam is similar: “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘You will not enter Paradise until you have faith and you will not have faith until you love each other. Shall I show you something that, if you did, you would love each other? Spread peace between yourselves.’” Love in Hinduism is a sacrament. It preaches that one gives up selfishness in love, not expecting anything in return. It also believes "God is love". Picking up on the God is Love theme in the Christian Bible, John 4:8 and 16 state that "God is love; and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." Buddha teaches about love in a way that speaks very clearly to some of the great issues of our day. “In true love, there's no more separation or discrimination. His happiness is your happiness. Your suffering is his suffering. You can no longer say, ‘That's your problem.’” We’ll close this section with Confucious reflecting on one of the great truths that is becoming more and more evident in our world. “It is easy to hate, and difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get.”  One of the core Revolution 2.0™ beliefs is that Life is hard--as it should be. Perhaps Confucius will subscribe--from wherever he is…:).  And a piece of enduring wisdom from a friend: “When you hug your children, never be the first to let go.” From Healthline.com “The stress-reducing effects of hugging might also work to keep you healthier. In a study of over 400 adults, researchers found that hugging may reduce the chance a person will get sick. The participants with a greater support system were less likely to get sick.” And from Adventisthealth.org. “You know in your heart that a warm, close hug feels good to the core. But did you know that it may actually have health benefits?  For starters, there’s evidence that a hug — such as from a partner, a loved one or a friend — may help tame daily tension, ease our worries and even help us avoid getting sick.” Take that, COVID! We have heard from Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and followers of Confucius--and respected health organizations. Love and hugs are crucial to our healing, to our coming together. Let’s close with some thoughts from the Beatles from their “Come Together song: Come Together ... One thing I can tell you is You got to be free Come together, right now Over me ... You can feel his disease Come together, right now Over me ... 'Cause he's so hard to see

In this episode Jordan and Jared look at the Easter story, from the Christian New Testament, and attempt to place it within the historical context of Judea at the beginning of the first century. 

In this episode Jared and Jordan examine the claim that the Gospels in the Christian New Testament of the Bible were authored by eyewitnesses to the life and events of Jesus.

Both Genesis of the Hebrew Bible and the book of John from the Christian New Testament start off by describing, "In the beginning..." Although seemingly very different, both accounts uplift a personable God that resembles humanity in God's ability to speak, see, and work to uplift us away from the void and into the light and warmth of his/her love. Let's explore these verses side-by-side and see what empowering insights they can provide for our personal and communal walk in this life with the living Lord/Lady. Read the corresponding message at http://swedenborgiancommunity.org/blog/beginningWe are your loving, affirming interfaith spiritual community! The Swedenborgian spirituality, based on mystical Christianity, has deeply influenced the likes of Helen Keller, Carl Jung, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), William Blake, Henry James, Robert Frost, DT Suzuki, George Inness and William Keith. Chat with our community live during the broadcast at swedenborgiancommunity.org/worship. And visit your affirming interfaith community at SwedenborgianCommunity.org :) Our form of Swedenborgianism is rooted in mystical Christianity as explored by the 18th-century scientist-turned-mystic, Emanuel Swedenborg. We open our doors to people of all faiths or none!

On this holiday in which we celebrate independence and the courage of our revolutionary heroes, a word about a different kind of revolutionary, and her exercise of the free speech and religious practice the founders fought for.Elizabeth McAlister has lived at Jonah House, on the West Side of Baltimore, for most of the last 50 years. She and her husband, the anti-war activist Philip Berrigan, founded Jonah House as part of a network of Catholic Worker Houses across the country. Philip was one of the Catonsville Nine, who burned draft records in 1968, setting-off a series of similar actions across the country. He died in 2002, but McAlister has continued to protest against violence and war, in particular, nuclear weapons.In April, on the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination, McAlister and six others cut through a fence and entered the King’s Bay Naval Submarine Base in Camden County, GA, which is home to a fleet of Trident Submarines, which carry nuclear war heads.The group’s purpose was to commit what they call a Ploughshares Action, based on a phrase from Isaiah in the Bible:“They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”The first Ploughshares Action took place in 1980. Since then, more than 100 similar protests have occurred in the United States and around the world.  When Elizabeth McAlister and her fellow activists entered the King’s Bay Naval Base, they were arrested, as they hoped they would be. They want a trial, so they can introduce evidence that contends that nuclear weapons are illegal, and that the United States is in violation of American and International law by using them, or even threatening to use them. It’s not a widely held legal theory.In a world that presents the kind of threats it presents, making an argument for complete nuclear disarmament is a tough sell, and many abhor the group’s strategy of breaking the law in civil disobedience. But these activists are afforded the right under our constitution to press their case, and they do so, animated by an intense faith in God, and their understanding of the message articulated by Jesus in the Christian New Testament.A pre-trial motion is scheduled for early next month. I spoke with one of their lawyers, who thinks that a trial might take place in November or December. Three of the activists posted bond, and were released from Federal prison. They are wearing ankle bracelets and are confined to their homes. McAlister and three others chose to stay in jail, in Brunswick, GA, and as they await trial, they’re engaging in prison ministry, helping their fellow inmates communicate with lawyers and families, and deal with the stress of incarceration.We’ll have updates as this case proceeds in the courts. And on this holiday when we celebrate the conviction and commitment to the democratic principles of our revolutionary forbearers, let’s pause to consider Elizabeth McAlister, a former nun, who at age 78 is so completely committed to her principles of non-violence that she is willing to forego her own physical freedom, and exercise her right to freedom of speech to make a point about the world’s right to be free of the threat of nuclear destruction.As we celebrate the courage and sacrifice of our founders, let’s also acknowledge the courage and sacrifice it sometimes takes to make use of the freedoms those revolutionaries fought for. I’m Tom Hall. Happy holiday.

Silence in Christian History: the witness of Holmes' DogLecture 1: Introduction. Voices and silence in Tanakh and Christian New Testament. Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch presents his introductory lecture in our 2012 Gifford lecture series. He discusses a change in emphasis between the Hebrew Scripture (the Tanakh) and what Christians made of what is arguably a minority positive strand in Judaic thinking on silence; we survey the growth of a consciousness of silence, particularly in the cosmos, in Jewish religion.We seek the voice of Jesus to be heard behind the text of the New Testament, with his distinctive use of silence and silences; the place of silence in the first Christian attempts to understand the significance of Jesus Christ, and its relationship to the formation of the Church. Recorded Monday 23 April 2012 at St Cecilia's Hall, Edinburgh. Audio version.

In this episode, we examine a popular contemporary teaching within mainline evangelical Christian churches: the idea that a Jewish temple needs to be built in the Holy Land as a prerequisite to the second coming of Jesus Christ. In fact, some teachers of End Times would go so far as to say that the biblical prophecies about the return of the Messiah CANNOT be fulfilled until a physical temple is erected in Jerusalem once again. We will look at what the Hebrew bible has to say about this subject and whether or not there are any clues in the Christian New Testament to help us properly understand and interpret this claim.   Music: “Judas Goat”, by Filastine via http://freemusicarchive.com   Please subscribe in iTunes and give us a 5 star rating if you enjoy our content!

[Accordance 12: Study] The celebration of Hanukkah does not appear in the Hebrew Bible—and only once in the Christian New Testament. Nevertheless, Jews worldwide faithfully and joyously celebrate this winter festival. Join Dr. J as he investigates the origin of Hanukkah under the Maccabees. In the process, he will demonstrate some of the new features of Accordance 12, including the use of Stacks.

Mark continued his series of "Why I Am Not" with an overview of - Why I am not a Muslim. Mark’s teachings focused on the historical accuracy of the Judeo-Christian Old Testament and the Christian New Testament vs the Quran. Continue listening to the origin of Islam and the religion’s belief that Muhammad is the messenger to receive God’s revelation.

Do Jews believe that Adam (and Eve's) "sin" in the Garden of Eden constitutes "Original Sin" and their punishment the "Fall of Man?"  In this 45 minute presentation, I cover some vital Jewish concepts.  First, I clarify one of the great confusions that results in "lost in English translation" in all of Bible studies.  This confusion is that the Hebrew word "cheit," translated into English as "sin" in English translations of the Torah, is NOT the same concept as the word "sin" that appears in Paul's writings (particularly the Epistle to the Romans) in the Christian New Testament, where his concept of sin comes from the Hebrew phrase "yetser ha-ra."  To put the matter bluntly, Paul was arguing that our evil inclination defines us as humans, and only an act of God's saving grace (though a rebirth in Christ) could change our fallen state.  For Jews, however, "sin" is something other than a state of our humanity or even human will, and reading Torah texts through Paul's eyes produces massive error, apples and oranges.  On the other hand, Judaism does have a lot to say about "yetser ha-ra," our selfish will, namely that while it drives us in many ways, it can easily be balanced by selfless instincts when channeled into mitzvot, or holiness, where it provides the PASSION in its moderation and channeling in marriage, in business, in education, and in merriment. 

  2853 Rabbi Singer's Let's Get Biblical Q&A"on TeNak Talk with Host Wil'liam Hall. TeNaK Talk is a LIVE video Broadcast Our goal is to have guest speakers who will be able to interact with the viewers and listeners, mostly on a Q&A format. We also have guest teachers and Authors to discuss their Books and or testimonies. All speakers are TaNaKh teachers only and will discuss topics ranging from the Hebrew Scriptures to the Christian New Testament. http://tenaktalk.com

  2761 Rabbi Singer's Let's Get Biblical Q&A"on TeNak Talk with Host Wil'liam Hall. TeNaK Talk is a LIVE video Broadcast Our goal is to have guest speakers who will be able to interact with the viewers and listeners, mostly on a Q&A format. We also have guest teachers and Authors to discuss their Books and or testimonies. All speakers are TaNaKh teachers only and will discuss topics ranging from the Hebrew Scriptures to the Christian New Testament. http://tenaktalk.com

Why were certain books accepted and others rejected? How soon were the gospels and epistles regarded as scripture? This episode, we take a break from the narrative to look at the development of the Christian New Testament up to c. 195 A.D. Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5. HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.com HistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.com Facebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

     The Book of Revelation is at the end of the Christian New Testament.  Many people believe that this book is a road map or story of how the world will end.  Revelation has exerted a strong influence way beyond Christianity.  In this first episode, I want to begin a study of some of the themes and imagery in the Book of Revelation.  Is it really about the end of the world?  Or is it about something else? How should this little book affect our spirituality?  If it is really about the end of the world, are we powerless about it? if it is not about the end of the world, what is its message and how does it affect our spirituality, what ever our specific religious beliefs might be?  These are the questions we will consider in the next few episodes.   To learn more about this series, see my website at craigowen.net

This is The Reunion Part II! Since leaving you at a drool-soaked table at Egypt airport, The Earthbound Astronauts have ventured through ancient Jordan, taken a spontaneous detour into the religious epicentre of Israel and were unexpectedly stranded in turbulent Egypt, the very place we were attempting to avoid! We hate predictability, so what comes next will not disappoint!To listen to the Part II podcast click HERE!Jordan – Amman & Petra – October 22nd – October 29thCasey and I arrived into Amman completely exhausted after our restless night in the Cairo airport, so we headed to our prearranged hostel. This particular hostel had been so highly recommended by a multitude of people online, with all the comments including how wonderful the proprietor ‘Andrew’ was. The hostel itself was nothing special, quite rundown and minimalistic, but we did have the opportunity to meet this infamous Andrew, completely validating all the positive comments. We spent our first day in Amman recovering followed by dinner at one of the best restaurants in Amman, the Hashem restaurant. The Hashem restaurant purely served the mixed selection of falafel, pita, salad and two dips, yet it was easy to understand how it had earned such an outstanding reputation. We now have a new appreciation for falafel and hummus, and the variety of ways to consume said food, but more about that later. We spent a day exploring the Roman ruins and visiting the ruins of a citadel, which rest above the remainder of the city. It was intriguing to see the remnants of ancient civilisations that dated back over three thousand years, whilst tracing the progressive evolution of these civilisations and observing the variations in culture and religious belief over time. It was here that we started to realise how historically and culturally significant this entire area really was. We decided we wanted to visit the famed Dead Sea, so Andrew organised ‘George’ to take us on a day trip to the area. George initially took us to Madaba to see the oldest known map of the promise land, which was an intricate partially preserved mosaic on the floor of what is now a Catholic church. We then visited Mount Nebo, where it is presumed 120-year-old Moses climbed so God could show him the Promised Land before dying there. The view from the top was truly impressive allowing us to appreciate all the elaborate rock formations and the Dead Sea, which was our next destination. We paid an exuberant price to enter a complex with pools and direct access to the beach of the fabled sea. Entering the water was a surreal experience, as you expect your body to sink as in all other water, but we defiantly stayed buoyant with no effort on our behalves. As we left the water, we could feel the salt now layered on our bodies, which slowly precipitated into large salt deposits. We observed a direct contrast between effortlessly swimming in The Dead Sea and the exhausting swim in the pure water of Crater Lake in Banlung, Cambodia. Returning to Amman, after helping George out by utilising our duty free privileges, we decided it was time to head to Jordan’s main attraction, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Petra. We caught the public bus to the town Wadi Mousa, which acts as the tourist base for people visiting Petra. Andrew had suggest a hotel for us to stay in while in the area, “The Valentine Inn”… Luckily, they had a twin room available even though there were still hearts on our key...Just like Indiana Jones before us, we entered Petra through the ominous entrance, a relatively small division between two formidable walls of rock. We were humbled by this intimidating stone corridor before the channel opened onto the renowned treasury, currently the most exquisitely intricate building in Petra. It was unbelievable and almost implausible to conceive that people had built such an amazing structure into a rock face. As we continued into Petra there were numerous tombs and other buildings erratically scattered within the surrounding landscape, linked by hidden staircases leading to what were once possibly prominent areas. As we’d decided to spend two days at Petra, we used our first day to explore the major attractions such as taking the long trek to see the astonishing monastery (seen in Transformers 2), which rivals the treasury in its grandeur, and used our second day to go off the beaten track and find a great location to watch sunset. Whilst at Petra, we were completely at the mercy of the sun, so we tried to track shade at any opportunity. Even when we left the main trail, we were still coming across the remnants of life in the form of carvings, stairs and buildings. We were, and continue to be, completely in awe of Petra and the amazing artistry the founding civilization had masterfully utilised to create this former epicentre of trade. After immensely enjoying Petra, we headed to Wadi Rum, an arid nature reserve approximately two hours south of Wadi Mousa, where we’d organised a tour for one day and a night. Jumping into the back of a ute, we were chauffeured around the reserve to various impressive naturally occurring springs and rock formations before we were taken to a Bedouin camp to enjoy the remarkable desert sunset. Having decided to avoid Egypt due to the enduring civil unrest, we had intended staying in Jordan for two weeks. However, whilst in Amman, the seed had been planted to visit Israel and Palestine. Catching a taxi from Wadi Rum to a town on the Jordanian-Israeli border, Aqaba, where we nervously prepared to cross this precarious border.Israel & Palestine – Jerusalem – October 31st – November 3rdWe anxiously crossed the border by foot, passing the armed guards on either side. As we crossed into the Israeli immigration area we were welcomed by what seemed like endless photos of Bill Clinton… We were heavily questioned by immigration officials about where we’d been, how and for how long we’d known each other and our intentions in Israel. After being allowed to enter the country, we walked to the city, allowing us to observe the stark contrast between the small town of Aqaba in Jordan and the heavily westernized city of Eilat, where we saw a dramatic increase in infrastructure and overall wealth. From Eilat we organised a bus to Jerusalem, but not before we went to an upmarket shopping centre where Casey purchased an iPad to replace his water damaged iPhone.Arriving into Jerusalem was a surreal experience, a city that has consistently been at the focal point of history and contributed to the evolution of countless religions. The city was such a blend of culture, with an obvious division demonstrated through something as simple as the architecture in differing districts. We had organised to stay at a hostel within the walls of the historical old city, near the Jaffa Gate. Joining a “Holy city” tour we were taken to the main attractions that have importance to the differing faiths. Initially, we were taken to the Temple Mount, which is now also the location of the building with the iconic golden dome and adjacent to the Western or ‘Wailing’ Wall. The Temple Mount is only open to tourists for a single hour everyday, and when we arrived people had already been waiting for hours. Luckily, our tour group was able to join the line with another tour group, which saw us clearing security within the allocated time. We had been in the site no more then ten minutes before they started aggressively ushering us out. We had been lucky to visit this site, but we did feel a twang of guilt for pushing our way into the line and robbing people of this rare opportunity. We later learnt (after continuously interrogating our guide) that the Temple Mount was part of the area controlled by Palestine and an ‘incident’ between Israel and Syria at the precise time we had entered the area partially explained our rapid expulsion. The presence of police and army members at various points through out the city really does contribute to the already prominent tension we were feeling.After visiting the Temple Mount, we headed to a small portion of the Western Wall where we were able to write a ‘wish’ and place it into the cracks of the wall, replicating a Jewish practice. The remained of the tour predominately followed the assumed stages of Jesus’ crucifixion. As we walked the small alleyways, we were shown locations that coincided with events that were referenced within the Christian New Testament before we reached the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This church, which is owned by all the major denominations of Christianity, housed the proposed location of Jesus’ crucifixion (Golgotha), the place of his anointment and the place of his burial. The people that were there on spiritual pilgrimages greatly contributed to the ambience and authenticity of the site. We then headed to the proposed location of the Last Supper, which, like the majority of sites in Jerusalem, had been in the possession of, and therefore influence by, one of the three main religious groups at one time or another. The tour was quite overwhelming in a way as were taken to sites that are considered sacred to differing people for a multitude of differing reasons. Walking through the four quarters (Armenian, Christian, Jewish and Muslim) of the old town was really an experience in itself, but it was fantastic to see such diversity within the small area. The following day, Casey and I headed up to the Mount of Olives; where in Judaism it is said the prophet will descend and walk to the Temple Mount. Many cemeteries rest on this mountain for this very reason with their feet facing the summit as we were told, “people don’t want to miss the show”. Other prominent sites that rest on this mountain are the Garden of Olives, where it is assumed Judas betrayed Jesus, and the tomb of Mary, mother of Jesus. We also got an amazing view from the top over the city.Jerusalem, on a whole, was quite an expensive city, which made eating extravagantly difficult. We found a tiny restaurant next to our hostel that made the most amazing falafel sandwiches, so amazing (and cheap) that it became our staple food whilst in Jerusalem, so much so that we were consuming two on each occasion… We were originally so apprehensive when it came to visiting Israel and Jerusalem, yet we were shocked by how Westernized the city was in parts and how isolated, yet apparent, the ongoing battle for territory really is between the conflicting sides. As we headed to the bus station to leave Jerusalem and Israel, we were shocked by the presence of a metal detector at the bus interchange, yet the large number of 18 to 20 year olds on their military service arbitrarily walking around with assault rifles seemed to make this somewhat redundant. We headed north to a border crossing we were assured would not be an issue to cross and returned back to Amman where we were catching our flight to Egypt and then Argentina the following day.  We also had the pleasure of seeing Andrew again, who graciously sorted us out with a private room at a discounted price because “we were friends”.Egypt – Cairo – November 4th – November 6thAs we were attempting to avoid entering Egypt, we had booked a flight to Cairo on the day of our flight from Cairo to Argentina. To avoid paying for an Egyptian visa to enter the country just to pick up our bags and check-in once more when we arrived in Cairo, we arrange to have our bags directly placed on our next flight. All smooth and seemingly easy... As we arrived into Cairo, we were ferried off to a room or ‘holding area’ used for transit passengers, having our passports confiscated. Feeling like were captives in this highly secured room, we waited for three hours to be presented with our connecting boarding passes, yet, we were ignored. Eventually, a man approached Casey and started asking about our visa receipt number. As Casey had travelled to Argentina before, where he had paid a reciprocity fee at the border, we were convinced that a prearranged payment was unnecessary. This situation continued, as we thought this seemingly less-then-official airport employee was taking us for a ride, before the man escorted Casey to the Qatar Airways desk. Casey then returned to the transit lounge, shockingly accompanied by our luggage. Unbeknown to us both, as of July, this fee must be paid online before departure to Argentina. They had refused to let us board the plane because we had not paid the fee, a fee that can be paid within minutes. I was also erroneously denied using my EU passport that doesn’t require a fee payment; we had been officially rejected from boarding the flight. We were escorted back to the original terminal, Qatar Airways washing their hands of us, after what was quite appalling handling of the situation on their behalves. Unfortunately, the blame rests solely with us, yet I do not hesitate to partially condemn the airline for their disorganization and lack of knowledge and assistance in what should have been a recoverable situation. Being told we could pay to return to Jordan or enter Egypt, we, still in shock from our shattered reality, reluctantly decided to stay in Cairo. Our presumption of being in South America within 48-hours had been crushed in the space of minutes. We had arrived into Cairo on the day of the Morsi trial, so tanks and other armoured vehicles littered the streets. We had found a hotel, which, like many of the tourist-centric businesses, was feeling the effect of numerous governments condemning travel to this politically unstable country. We had to determine our next move.As we were in Egypt, we figured that we should at least try to see the sights we could in the short time we were here. Fortunately, Casey had made a friend who lived in Cairo whilst on his course in Germany, Naggar. Naggar came to meet us, acting as our more then capable guide through Cairo, organising a cruise on the infamous Nile River, taking us to an authentic Egyptian restaurant before taking us to a hotel where we could look over the city by night. Telling Naggar we had decided to visit the Pyramids of Giza seemed to fill him with slight concern and he decided to escort us there the following day, which we were more then grateful, yet perplexed by his concern. We fought through the incomprehensible Cairo traffic before we started approaching the ancient pyramids. The final approach to the pyramids was one of the most stressful situations we’d been involved in thus far. As we drove, people started to approach the car trying to secure employment as a tour guide. We initially experienced a man being denied by Naggar, yet he desperately continued to run next to the car as traffic progressed before he collided with a turning bus. We then came to an area where people were trying to jump in front of the car to the shock of Naggar, who was evasively able to avoid them. We arrived at the pyramids where Naggar secured our tickets and a guide, who was employed purely to prevent unwanted advances. The pyramids and sphinx were formidably standing before us, and it was more then obvious why the pyramids were considered an ancient wonder and also an honoury member of the current Seven Wonders of the World. Yet, it was hard to fully enjoy the experience, as we were the only tourists present, we were continuously harassed by people wanting money. Having Naggar with us to both drive and organise everything for us was amazing. We now know why he hesitated when we told him about our plans to visit the pyramids solo, and I think even he was shocked by the conditions we encountered. We are incredibly grateful he was willing to accompany us during our time in Egypt. The entire experience of visiting the pyramids really did reiterate the pressure the entire country has been feeling during this incredibly turbulent time, unfortunately it was evident that the country was struggling.The main question we had to answer was, ‘What do we do next?’. Do we pay for a new ticket to Argentina? Do we choose a new destination? And if so, where? This debate continued as we frantically searched Skyscanner for the cheapest destination that would partially coincide with our already booked flights. I’m sad to say to all our diehard fans out that there that Casey and I chose differing destinations. The Earthbound Astronauts are splitting once more! I had found an incredibly cheap ticket to Toronto, Canada, so thought I would go on a journey to find a polar bear. Casey, thought completely outside of the box, and decided to head to Tanzania where he’d organised a work away! Planning to meet up in the US in about a month, we said our goodbyes and farewelled each other once more. We truly are unpredictably earthbound after all. Keep posted.

We hear a lot these days about Armageddon, the Apocalypse, the Rapture, End Times. More than a current cultural phenomenon, they appear to be a persuasive motivating force for millions of Americans. These words are now part of our vocabulary, and as metaphors, they show up all over the map -- Carmageddon as the nickname for the I-405's weekend closure in July 2011. But, where do they come from? As many of you may know, they come from the Book of Revelation, the last book of the Christian New Testament. But how did they get there? Who wrote this? What does it mean? This week's guest, religious scholar ELAINE PAGELS, author of The Gnostic Gospels, considers the Book of Revelation to be wartime literature. She points out that it was written by a Jew following Rome's resounding defeat of a Jewish uprising, and interprets it as an attack on the decadence of the Empire. Soon, however, a new sect known as "Christians" seized on it as a weapon against heresy and infidels of all kinds. I believe that weapon is still active today in American culture and politics. We'll talk about Revelations, and we'll talk a bit about the Gnostic Gospels and the over 50 texts discovered hidden and preserved in Nag Hammadi Egypt in 1945. And about the impact of politics and culture on religion, highlighted by the moment when Constantine converted to the Church of Rome. Christianity went from being the religion of outsiders and freethinkers, to being the religion of the Empire. And we'll talk about how all of this plays out today in the US and around the world.

Why is the “canon” of Scripture considered the closed collection of documents regarded as Holy Scripture? Do you know how to judge the value of ancient texts, such as the "Gospel of Jesus' Wife" with regards to the "canon"? Mark Lanier takes you through the reasons you can have confidence in the Christian New Testament.

Silence in Christian History: the witness of Holmes' DogLecture 1: Introduction. Voices and silence in Tanakh and Christian New Testament. Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch presents his introductory lecture in our 2012 Gifford lecture series. He discusses a change in emphasis between the Hebrew Scripture (the Tanakh) and what Christians made of what is arguably a minority positive strand in Judaic thinking on silence; we survey the growth of a consciousness of silence, particularly in the cosmos, in Jewish religion.We seek the voice of Jesus to be heard behind the text of the New Testament, with his distinctive use of silence and silences; the place of silence in the first Christian attempts to understand the significance of Jesus Christ, and its relationship to the formation of the Church. Recorded Monday 23 April 2012 at St Cecilia's Hall, Edinburgh. Audio version.

Silence in Christian History: the witness of Holmes' Dog Lecture 1: Introduction. Voices and silence in Tanakh and Christian New Testament. Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch presents his introductory lecture in our 2012 Gifford lecture series. He discusses a change in emphasis between the Hebrew Scripture (the Tanakh) and what Christians made of what is arguably a minority positive strand in Judaic thinking on silence; we survey the growth of a consciousness of silence, particularly in the cosmos, in Jewish religion.We seek the voice of Jesus to be heard behind the text of the New Testament, with his distinctive use of silence and silences; the place of silence in the first Christian attempts to understand the significance of Jesus Christ, and its relationship to the formation of the Church. Recorded Monday 23 April 2012 at St Cecilia's Hall, Edinburgh.

Patriot Radio Stations - Business - Selling Fear, Magical Cures - "Conspiracy" - Christian Paraphernalia - Varied Opinions, "Aliens", "God's Will". Major City-State Battles in History - Merchants Supplying, Financing - Standing Armies - Wartime Economies - Token of Money. Christian New Testament, Revelations - Science, Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars, Daily Worldwide Aerial Spraying (Chemtrails) - Battle for the Mind. Taxation, Big Building Projects, Threat of War - Tribal Emblems, Flags, Representation, Rulers. Human Nature, Survival Instincts, Behavioural Psychology. Deflection of Agenda off course by Individuals - Control of One's Own Mind. First World Trade Center Bombing. Personal Fantasies, Wish Fulfillment, Wishing Lives Away - Artificial Dysfunctional System - Planks of Communist Manifesto. Societal Changes - Politics, Actors, Scriptwriters, Traps - Big Foundations, Mandates - United Nations. (Article: Nov./Dec. 1998 "Foreign Affairs" Magazine "Catastrophic Terrorism".) (Songs: "Talkin' Vietnam Potluck Blues" by Tom Paxton. "The Thinking Man" by Gibson and Camp.) *Dialogue Copyrighted Alan Watt - Oct. 25, 2007 (Exempting Music and Literary Quotes)