Podcasts about Descent

Picture this... you're high up in the mountains, there's this cool stream running over smooth stones, and the air is just crisp and clean. That's where this one takes you. It's a guided sleep hypnosis with a slow ten-stone countdown, each step down that mossy path pulling you a little deeper into rest until your whole body just... lets go.By the end you're basically melting into your bed, breathing in time with the stream, completely at ease. Perfect for anyone who needs a gentle hand walking them down into sleep rather than just being told to relax.Sweet dreams,Andrew

Football fans from the UK - and across the world - held their breath for a week in March 1966 when the Jules Rimet trophy, more commonly known as the World Cup - was stolen from an exhibition in Westminster, where it had been on display. The possibilities were endless - had it been transported abroad, and was in the clutches of an unscrupulous millionaire? Had it been melted down, or had it been abandoned and lost forever?The answer came in the most unlikely of circumstances, and a hero who came on to save the day. Not all heroes have two legs.Some have four... Music used in this episode: "The Descent" by Kevin Macleod. All music used is sourced from https://filmmusic.io/ and used under an Attribution Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) In The Crossfire – StarsailorLola Stars And Stripes - The StillsThe True Crime Enthusiast's Fundraiser For Macmillan Cancer Support References - available upon request. Follow/Contact/Support The True Crime Enthusiast PodcastFacebookFacebook Discussion GroupTwitterInstagramYoutubeWebsiteTTCE MerchandisePatreon Page Remembering Pickles - The Canine Sherlock Holmes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Fanbase Feature, The Fanbase Weekly Bryant Dillon is joined by special guests Corinna Bechko (writer - Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Blood Type), Moni Barrette (comics librarian, educator, co-founder - Creators Assemble, writer - Enhance Your Library, Enhance Your Well-Being: How to Fight Burnout and Reclaim Library Joy), and Janet Joyce Holden (writer – Origins of Blood, Carousel) to participate in a thorough discussion regarding The Descent (2006) in light of the feature film's 20th anniversary, with topics including what the film has to say about friendship between women, how the primal nature of The Descent relates to Aliens and Predator, honest feelings on Sarah's final choice in the cave, and more. (Beware: SPOILERS for The Descent abound in this panel discussion!)

Some people can't wait for it to finish, some people perhaps never want it to end, but we have upon us the culmination of the 2026 World Cup. It's a tournament that has seen unlikely heroes, tears and controversy, and as the episode drops, it's the weekend that sees one team lifting aloft the ultimate prize in sport, the FIFA World Cup.But back in 1966, a year that needs no introduction to football fans really, there almost wasn't a cup to lift aloft - except for an unlikely hero who came on to save the day... Music used in this episode: "The Descent" by Kevin Macleod. All music used is sourced from https://filmmusic.io/ and used under an Attribution Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Spitfire – Inspiral CarpetsPillar On The Bridge Of You - BODEGAThe True Crime Enthusiast's Fundraiser For Macmillan Cancer Support References - available upon request. Follow/Contact/Support The True Crime Enthusiast PodcastFacebookFacebook Discussion GroupTwitterInstagramYoutubeWebsiteTTCE MerchandisePatreon Page Remembering Pickles - The Canine Sherlock Holmes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John discusses Trump delivering a paranoid and slurry primetime address on what he deems is an emergency of integrity in American elections. In the speech, Trump claimed he'd expose foreign plots to sway recent elections and blamed Democrats and Media Companies for allowing it to happen. He also talks about air quality being dangerously unhealthy across a swath of America from the Pacific to the Atlantic, including record-poor levels of pollution at the site of Sunday's World Cup final. Then, John welcomes back democratic strategist Ameshia Cross and they talk about Trump's mega lies and propaganda in last night's speech. The ever entertaining Bob Cesca jumps in and joins John to discuss Trump's longtime teleprompter operator, Gabriel Perez, who is under federal investigation for allegedly making $100,000 by betting on the content of the president's speeches. They also talk about Pete Kegsbreath's new directive for testosterone replacement therapy for male service members. Next, he interviews New York Times bestselling author James M. Scott about his new book "Empire of Ashes: Truman, Hirohito, and the Descent into Total War". And then fianlly, Frank Conniff of MST3K returns to joke with John and listeners on the latest news and his new show. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Join me on today's episode as we explore the ancient Sumerian goddess Inanna, one of the oldest and most fascinating deities in recorded history. Together we will journey through the myth of her descent into the Underworld, explore her other surviving myths and discover how you can begin working with her in your own spiritual practice and why you may feel called to do so. We will also discuss what Inanna's descent can teach us about navigating our own personal underworlds during times of loss, transformation and rebirth. Finally we will delve into her intriguing connections with Hermetic philosophy and the enduring theories that link the Sumerian gods to extraterrestrial origins. Our book review is Cackle by Rachel Harrison. Resources referenced are Descent & Rising – Womens stories and the embodiment of the Inanna myth by Carly Mountain. Journeys with the Goddess podcast - Inanna Episode - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/inanna-the-path-you-seek-within/id1847350728?i=1000757659945 Betwixt - The Journey of You on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B77XmoKXKvA&t=4s Billy Carson - The Annunaki - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEAhIKOkNXA Websites connected to this episode for research are - Inanna's extraterrestrial theories and links to Hermeticism - https://wonderfullywitchyweb.com/witchcraft/deity-work/working-with-the-goddess-inanna-and-her-story/?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=organic https://otherworldlyoracle.com/inanna-goddess/?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=organic (Patricia Telesco, “365 Goddess: a daily guide to the magic and inspiration of the goddess”.) Find my newly released The Book of Tides, a seasonal grimoire that explores the Summer Solstice through a look at the element of water. We begin with the history and traditions of Litha but the heart of this book is devoted to the mysteries of sacred waters.  Inside you will find the origins, folklore, correspondences and magickal themes of Litha. Tarot/oracle abd journal prompts for Litha, Solar Magick, making Sun Water and how to use it in your craft, a Sun invocation ritual, a delve into the element of water, its magickal correspondences, symbolism and working with its energy in your craft, Waters of the Otherworld - sacred wells, enchanted springs, Celtic lore, Arthurian legend, sea spirits, the River Styx, Achilles and ancient beliefs surrounding magickal waters. We also look at Waters of the Witch including the folklore and magickal uses of black water, brackish water, dew, fog, hail, fountain/well water, war water, ice, rain water, river/lake, sea, marsh and waterfall water. Also how it was used by witches, healers and cunning folk traditionally. Learn how to make Witch's Holy Water, explore moon water and guidance on the magickal properties and uses of water from the full, waxing, waning, dark and new moon phases. We also look at mermaids, selkies and witchcraft connected to them. We look at Midsummers Eve and its ancient connection to dream and intuitive magick, the witchs grimoire and some kitchen witchery. Alongside the zine you can order The Book of Tides witch box that includes hand dressed anointed spell candles - The Love Witch blend incorporating rose oil, rose petals, chamomile and lavender for use in self love, confidence, manifestation rituals and spell work. The Love Witch herb blend for spell jars/bags, rituals, spell work, bath rituals or offerings. Wheel of the Year altar image and incense sticks also included. I ship all over the globe and am a five star Etsy seller - order here - Patreons can benefit from 15% discount - https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/4520151444/the-book-of-tides-a-litha-witch-box This July in Patreon we journey into the forest of folklore, myth and archetype to explore the stories that shape our lives and the hidden wisdom they contain. Together we will walk winding woodland paths, meet witches at the edge of the forest, uncover forgotten parts of ourselves and explore the archetypes that have guided us for centuries. Throughout the month we will explore the stories we inherit and the stories we tell ourselves, archetypes such as the Wild Woman, the Witch, the Wise Woman, the Maiden and the Crone, the role folklore plays in personal transformation, how stories act as mirrors revealing hidden truths about ourselves, a deep dive into a traditional folktale and the wisdom hidden within it, a guided journey through the forest to meet Baba Yaga in her hut on chicken legs, where she will reveal the story that is ending, the story waiting to be born and the archetype guiding your path and a printable Storytellers Grimoire filled with reflections, prompts and exercises to help you uncover your own personal myth. Folklore was never simply entertainment. These stories survived because they carried wisdom. They were maps of the human experience guiding us through grief, transformation, initiation, love, loss, power and becoming. This month we will step inside those stories and discover what they still have to teach us. https://patreon.com/TheHedgeandHollow?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink For PR, Media, general enquiries please email me at carly@thewhitewitchcompany.co.uk Find me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thewhitewitchpodcast/?hl=en-gb   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of State of the Republic, we break down Sacramento Republic FC's disappointing 2–0 loss to Athletic Club Boise in the final USL Cup group stage match. The result eliminates Sacramento from this year's tournament, a tough ending after Republic's memorable run to the USL Cup Final last season. We discuss what went wrong, what the result means, and where the team goes from here. Our own Sharon made the trip to Boise, so she shares what it was like attending the match in person, including her thoughts on the stadium, the atmosphere, and the overall matchday experience before we dive into the game itself. We also preview Sacramento's upcoming USL Championship matchup against Charleston Battery, taking a look at Charleston's recent form and what Republic can expect from one of the league's top sides. Plus, we check in on California Storm's playoff journey and bring you the latest results from soccer clubs across California's Central Valley. Intro/Outro Music: "The Descent" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Podcast Winner Dinner Music: The following music was used for this media project: Fliegen by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/2936-fliegen License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Golazos of Gratitude Music: The following music was used for this media project: Music: Nice Light Of Happiness by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7421-nice-light-of-happiness License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Support State of the Republic by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/state-of-the-republic

-- On the Show: -- Jamie Raskin, U.S. representative for Maryland's 8th congressional district, joins us to discuss challenges to Donald Trump's $1.8 billion slush fund, reactions to Todd Blance's confirmation hearings, and much more… -- Donald Trump demands 3,000 daily immigration arrests, forcing agents to target non-criminals during routine traffic stops -- DNI Nominee Jay Clayton refuses to state who won the 2020 election when questioned by Senator Jon Ossoff -- Donald Trump falls asleep at a Pennsylvania defense summit, claiming that only transgender-run companies qualify for CHIPS Act funding -- Donald Trump falsely claims stock buybacks are banned and shifts focus to a commemorative coin featuring his face -- Vice President JD Vance admits the administration mishandled the Jeffrey Epstein files during a podcast interview with Joe Rogan -- Fox News co-host Jessica Tarlov challenges colleagues over escalating military strikes in Iran despite earlier claims of victory -- On the Bonus Show: Takeaways from Todd Blanche's confirmation hearing, AOC calls for TV networks not to air Trump's speech, two Spaniards gored at bull run festival, and much more...

Metalheads!! Gabe ascends from the Murder Basement with his April pick.

Across the globe, millions of people continue to face systemic discrimination, exclusion, and unequal opportunities based entirely on their inherited status, descent, or ancestral occupation. While deeply associated with the caste system in South Asia, these rigid intergenerational hierarchies affect diverse global populations, including the Roma in Europe, Haratine in Africa, Buraku in Japan, Osu in Nigeria, and Quilombola and Palenque communities in Latin America. Despite distinct cultural origins, these groups share a common reality of deep-seated social stigma, occupational segregation, and severe barriers to basic human rights.

Episode Notes Afterimage: We have to get through this to get to the fun sports one, but it's a good Ezri episode. Jude gets sniped by the word Destiny, for some odd reason. Garak has just a tad of PTSD going on. Bashir and Quark call dibs (gross). Ezri gets a promotion, and then also is put in charge of the crew's mental health, so... yay? Take Me Out to the Holosuite: Vulcans do shore leave by being racist at humans. Worf is especially unhinged. Chief O'Brien's rotator cuff. Team unity. Goo umpire. Ben's got a chip on his shoulder. Sorry, Justen, I'm not finding the Federation anthem. There's a Ferengi who is good at baseball, and it's not who you expect. BabSpace9 is a production of the Okay, So network. Connect with the show at @babylonpod.page Help us keep the lights on via our Patreon! Justen can be found at @justen.babylonpod.page Ana can be found at @ana.babylonpod.page, and also made our show art. Both Ana and Justen can also be found on The Compleat Discography, a Discworld re-read podcast. Jude Vais can be found at @jude.athrabeth.com. His other work can be found at Athrabeth - a Tolkien Podcast and at Garbage of the Five Rings. Clips from the original show remain copyrighted by Paramount Entertainment and are used under the Fair Use doctrine. Music attribution: Original reworking of the Deep Space 9 theme by audioquinn, who stresses that this particular war crime is not their fault. The Descent by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4490-the-descent License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This show is edited and produced by Aaron Olson, who can be found at @aaron.compleatdiscography.page Find out more at http://babylonpod.page

Dombresky drops his brand new Disco Dom refunk of The Jackson 5's “ABC” and features music from Eats Everything & Descent, James Poole & GUDFELLA, Chico Rose, Marco Lys & Ben Miller, Dale Howard, Wh0 and many more on #ProcessRadio!01. Rio Soldierman – I Don't Have Sax Alone02. Culture Club – Time (Disco Dom Refunk)03. James Poole x GUDFELLA – Gator Boots04. Chico Rose (NL) - Take Our Time05. Ordonez – What Is Salsa06. The Jackson 5 – ABC (Disco Dom Refunk) [HOTTEST TRACK]07. Chico Rose (NL) - Groove Control08. Prunk, Riva Starr – I Want Your Love feat. Danny Losito09. Earth n Days – It's Time For House10. Simon Kidzoo & Mellizos – Jammin'11. Marco Lys & Ben Miller – So Good12. Funk Cartel – You Decide13. Wh0 – Wh0 Can Dance14. Dale Howard – On Lock15. Stef Davidse – Out of this World16. Najeh, Ben Evers – Chica17. Eats Everything & Descent – Moonblower18. Ryan Nicholls – Rush19. Beltran – Anaconda

The cultural slide was slow at first, but has really picked up speed.

A supplement to a traditional Q&A catechism Anecdotes and Examples Illustrating the Catholic Catechism (1922) by Fr. Franz Spirago "5 Minute Theology: A Primer on Apologetics and Catholic Doctrine" is available on my donation page (see below) and in Kindle and paperback versions on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0cF4XpHc"Commentary on the Traditional Latin Mass Readings For Every Sunday of the Year" Volumes I https://a.co/d/01qdaN4a and IV https://a.co/d/02IgWoJn are also available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback, and on my donation page (see below)You can purchase the PDF versions of these books on my donation page. buymeacoffee.com/catholicdailybriefPlease consider giving a five star rating and sharing the podcast with your friends and family.

In this episode of State of the Republic, we're back talking Sacramento Republic FC after a couple of weeks focused on World Cup action! We break down Sacramento's 2–1 home win over Rhode Island FC, discussing the key moments, standout performances, and what the victory means as Republic returns to league play. We also take a look at the latest USL Championship standings, where Sacramento sits after picking up three important points and what the playoff picture is beginning to look like. Plus, we preview Republic's final USL Cup group stage match on the road against Athletic Club Boise. Sharon will be making the trip to Boise, so we talk about what to expect from the match and why this game is so important as Sacramento looks to advance in the Cup. We also check in on the latest Central Valley soccer news, including California Storm continuing their playoff campaign, as well as Central Valley Fuego FC announcing another league change, this time moving from The League for Clubs to the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). Intro/Outro Music: "The Descent" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Podcast Winner Dinner Music: The following music was used for this media project: Fliegen by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/2936-fliegen License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Golazos of Gratitude Music: The following music was used for this media project: Music: Nice Light Of Happiness by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7421-nice-light-of-happiness License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Image: Sac Republic Support State of the Republic by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/state-of-the-republic

Marc Bennets has been reporting from Russia for over two decades. He's covered Putin's rise and consolidation of power, assassinations of oppositionists, mass protests, daily life, and even Russian football. It's a storied career filled with zipping back and forth between Moscow and its regions. Marc also planted roots. He got married and became a dad. But then everything changed in February 2022 with Russia's full invasion of Ukraine. Should he stay and keep reporting and risk arrest or worse? Or should he pick up his life and family and leave like so many of his colleagues? Marc finally settled on the latter when word came he might be arrested. Now he focuses most of his reporting on the war and Ukraine. How did this all happen? How did Russia descend into madness? Marc's new book looks to answer that question with personal fire and passion. Is Russia really saturated with Putin? Is there any way back? It's been a decade since the Eurasian Knot spoke with Marc. So, we caught up and discussed his new book, The Descent: Witnessing Russia's Spiral Into Madness Under Putin, and how the war has irrevocably changed his life, profession, and Russia itself.Guest:Marc Bennetts spent 25 years as a foreign correspondent for The Times and The Sunday Times in Russia. He left in May 2022, after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He has since made over a dozen reporting trips to Ukraine. He's the author of The Descent: Witnessing Russia's Spiral Into Madness Under Putin published by Bloomsbury. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dawgface Calderon shares how a childhood of crime, carjackings, and a 17-year prison sentence ultimately led him to transform his life through education, entrepreneurship, and a commitment to building legitimate wealth after release.⁣ ⁣ Dawgface's links - ⁣ https://youtube.com/@themostdangerousvoiceonyoutube?si=qiDjgMhf82WSQ1fA⁣ https://www.instagram.com/themostdangerousvoiceindetroit/?hl=en⁣ https://www.instagram.com/theyoutubestreets/?hl=en⁣ https://www.instagram.com/reallyfeunfilteredpodcast/?hl=en⁣ ⁣ Do you want to be a guest? Fill out the form https://www.insidetruecrimepodcast.com/apply-to-be-a-guest⁣ ⁣ ⁣ F*%k your khakis and get The Perfect Jean 15% off with the code COX15 at theperfectjean.nyc/COX15 #theperfectjeanpod ⁣ https://theperfectjean.nyc⁣ ⁣ Shop my merch: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MatthewCoxCollection⁣ ⁣ Send me an email here: insidetruecrime@gmail.com⁣ ⁣ Do you extra clips and behind the scenes content?⁣ Subscribe to my Patreon: https://patreon.com/InsideTrueCrime ⁣ ⁣ Check out my Dark Docs YouTube channel here -⁣ https://www.youtube.com/@DarkDocsMatthewCox⁣ ⁣ Follow me on all socials!⁣ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insidetruecrime/⁣ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@matthewcoxtruecrime⁣ ⁣ ⁣ Do you want a custom painting done by me? Check out my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/coxpopart⁣ ⁣ Listen to my True Crime Podcasts anywhere: https://anchor.fm/mattcox ⁣ ⁣ Check out my true crime books! ⁣ Shark in the Housing Pool: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0851KBYCF⁣ Bent: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BV4GC7TM⁣ It's Insanity: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KFYXKK8⁣ Devil Exposed: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TH1WT5G⁣ Devil Exposed (The Abridgment): https://www.amazon.com/dp/1070682438⁣ The Program: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0858W4G3K⁣ Bailout: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bailout-matthew-cox/1142275402⁣ Dude, Where's My Hand-Grenade?: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXNFHBDF/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1678623676&sr=1-1⁣ ⁣ Checkout my disturbingly twisted satiric novel!⁣ Stranger Danger: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSWQP3WX⁣ ⁣ If you would like to support me directly, I accept donations here:⁣ Paypal: https://www.paypal.me/MattCox69⁣ Cashapp: $coxcon69⁣ ⁣ Chapters: ⁣ 00:15 - Juvenile Offenses and Detention ‍️⁣ 15:01 - Discovering His Father⁣ 19:56 - Descent into Robberies and Life of Crime⁣ 30:03 - Cr*** era realities and trade⁣ 34:36 - Robbery risks, being hurt, and survival lessons⁣ 41:26 - Family crisis: discovering mom's injury and immediate reaction⁣ 46:48 - Arrest, Trial, and Juvenile Detention ️⁣ 51:02 - Reading, Self-Education, and Life Turning Points⁣ 1:00:04 - Attempted Expungement & Missed Opportunity⁣ 1:01:00 - Carjacking Ring Operations⁣ 1:04:38 - Arrest, Prosecution, and Oakland County Justice ️⁣ 1:19:16 - Parole, Minimums, and "Flops"⁣ 1:22:01 - Prison Life⁣ 1:30:16 - New CEOs, Prisons, and Local Economies⁣ 1:45:20 - Prison life and violent treatment⁣ 1:51:33 - Level 5, parole process, and surviving max prison⁣ 2:00:23 - Pro board hearing reaction⁣ 2:06:29 - Reentry, returning home, and rebuilding life⁣ 2:15:30 - Resume Gap & Reinvention Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summer horror gets bloody, claustrophobic, cursed, and undead in this episode of This Week in Horror History, covering the week of July 6 through July 12. This time, we're digging into splatter-film history, cursed-camera video games, one of the scariest cave movies ever made, Netflix's summer-camp slasher revival, Italian zombie cult madness, and the return of the Tall Man. Inside this episode:July 6, 1963 — Blood Feast reportedly plays Peoria, IllinoisHerschell Gordon Lewis changes horror forever with a cheap, outrageous, blood-soaked shocker often credited as a key turning point in splatter cinema and grindhouse gore. July 8, 2022 — MADiSON releasesA haunted-house horror game turns an instant camera into a cursed object, making every photo feel like an invitation for the nightmare to come closer.July 8, 2005 — The Descent opens theatrically in the UK and IrelandNeil Marshall sends a group of friends into an unmapped cave system where grief, betrayal, darkness, and something much worse are waiting below.July 9, 2021 — Fear Street Part Two: 1978 releases on NetflixThe Fear Street trilogy heads to Camp Nightwing for a brutal summer-camp slasher packed with cursed-town mythology, teen terror, and R.L. Stine nostalgia with real bite.Deep-Cut Spotlight — Burial GroundAndrea Bianchi's Italian zombie cult favorite unleashes ancient Etruscan dead, a cursed country estate, crumbling corpses, and some of the strangest undead chaos of the early 1980s.Horror Birthdays This Week:Shelley Duvall, Kevin Bacon, Anjelica Huston, and Fred Gwynne all enter the birthday roll, bringing connections to The Shining, Friday the 13th, Tremors, The Witches, The Addams Family, The Munsters, and Pet Sematary. Weekly Recommendation — Phantasm IIAngus Scrimm's Tall Man returns in a bigger, weirder, more action-heavy sequel filled with silver spheres, funeral-home dread, road-trip nightmare energy, and late-80s cult horror atmosphere.Plus, Weekly Spooky heads into the woods with “Branch Manager” by Gary D up in Ontario, Canada — aka Blue Fire Raging — where exhausted telemarketers escape into Algonquin Park only to discover that the forest is listening, moving, and hungry. From Blood Feast and MADiSON to The Descent, Fear Street Part Two: 1978, Burial Ground, and Phantasm II, this week in horror history proves that summer horror can trap you underground, curse your camera, resurrect the dead, send you to camp, and still leave room for one more silver sphere flying down the hallway.

Preview: Professor Fitzhugh Brundage examines the descent of Civil War prisons into systemic brutality. Focusing on Richmond's Libby Prison, a repurposed tobacco warehouse, he explains how the initial intent of civilized exchanges failed. Brundage details how the experiences of literate Union officers helped spread early accounts regarding these notorious Confederate facilities.1865 RICHMOND VA

No discipline, no sphere of intellectual life, has been untouched by the work of Charles Darwin. He died in 1882 but his ideas are very much alive; they're now central to how we understand the natural world, the human mind, non-human minds, plants, biogeography, morality and emotion, culture, language, and more. But where did his ideas come from? How did they grow out of his travels, his social circle, his hobbies, his particular cast of mind?  My guest today is Dr. Janet Browne. Janet is Professor Emerita at Harvard University in the department of the History of Science. She is perhaps best known for her widely acclaimed two-volume biography of Charles Darwin. And she has now published an updated and abridged single-volume version.   Here, Janet and I talk about Darwin's life and ideas. We pick up the story during his travels on the Beagle, a five-year voyage that laid the foundation for the rest of his career. We talk about what he was reading, what he was seeing, and how these experiences helped form his most influential work, On the Origin of Species. We discuss Darwin's style as a thinker, as a naturalist, as a writer, and as an experimentalist. We touch on his relationships with contemporaries like Charles Lyell and Alfred Russel Wallace. And we consider his long—and often overlooked—engagements with pigeons, barnacles, plants, and worms.  I greatly enjoyed Janet's two-volume biography of Darwin, and I enjoyed this new single-volume edition just as much. So if this episode sparks your interest, I heartily recommend that you check these books out. Alright friends, on to my conversation with Dr. Janet Browne. Enjoy!   Notes 3:30 – Darwin's autobiography is available here. All of Darwin's letters are readable (and searchable) at the Darwin Correspondence Project. 11:00 – Darwin's account of his five-year stint on the HMS Beagle can be found in his book, The Voyage of the Beagle.  17:00 – Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology (Vol. 1). 27:00 – For a recently published history of Lamarck and his ideas, see here.  31:00 – For more on Darwin's interest in pigeons and pigeon breeding, see here.  34:00 – For more on Darwin's barnacle studies, see here. 40:00 – For a brief account of the relationship between Wallace and Darwin, see Dr. Browne's article here. 44:00 – Alfred Russel Wallace's The Malay Archipelago is here. Wallace's own essay on natural selection, sent to Darwin before the publication of On the Origin of Species, is here. The proceedings in which Darwin's and Wallace's first papers on natural selection appeared together. 53:00 – For a modern treatment of the concept of sexual selection, see here. For an online version of Darwin's The Descent of Man, see here. For a recent collection of essays on Darwin's Descent, including one by Dr. Browne, see here.  58:00 – Darwin's The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.  1:03:00 – Darwin's short article, 'A biographical sketch of an infant.' 1:08:00 – Darwin's The Power of Movement in Plants. For more about Darwin's last book, The Formation of Vegetable Mould, through the Action of Worms, see here. For more about Darwin's "root-brain hypothesis," see our earlier episode. 1:14:00 – For more on Darwin's theory of gemmules and pangenesis, see here. 1:15:00 – For more on Darwin's substantial archive, see here.    Recommendations Darwin and the Barnacle, Rebecca Stott Natural Magic, Renée Bergland

This week on Critical Arcade, Dave and Nick descend into one of gaming's most forgotten milestones: Descent. Released in 1995, this groundbreaking shooter dared to ask one simple question: what if "up" didn't exist? Armed with a tiny spacecraft, an ever-growing arsenal of futuristic weapons, and a map that somehow manages to make you more lost, our fearless duo blast their way through twisting mines filled with rogue mining robots and enough laser fire to make any insurance company nervous.Along the way, they uncover why this little DOS game deserves far more credit than history has given it, from pioneering true 3D environments and six degrees of freedom to positional audio that could literally save your life. Will Dave finally find the exit before the reactor explodes? And will Nick ever figure out which way is actually up? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A gift of £100,000 to buy a house, and £1,000 living allowance a month. The stuff the majority of us can only dream of, isn't it? But it's never enough for some, and combine this with deep-seated hatred, misconceived feelings of being unfairly treated, alcohol and the lockdown we all faced a few years ago, and one night in Dorset 2021 was to end in horrendous violence.And brutal, bloody murder. The episode contains details and descriptions of crimes and events, including descriptions of injury detail, that some listeners may find disturbing or distressing, so discretion is advised whilst listening in. Music used in this episode: "The Descent" by Kevin Macleod. All music used is sourced from https://filmmusic.io/ and used under an Attribution Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Spitfire – Inspiral CarpetsPillar On The Bridge Of You - BODEGAThe True Crime Enthusiast's Fundraiser For Macmillan Cancer Support References - available upon request. Follow/Contact/Support The True Crime Enthusiast PodcastFacebookFacebook Discussion GroupTwitterInstagramYoutubeWebsiteTTCE MerchandisePatreon Page Remembering Richard. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We love fire AND we love ice. The X Boyz? They reunite. Travel back to the Victorian era as the Boyz cover some quite... sinister… origins in foggy London Town. Xavier and Gray ancestors, mutant experiments, Darwin and Jack The Ripper. And you better believe we talk Taco Bell. The Pulitzer Prize winning pod is BACK. And critics are calling it “one of the best things that's ever happened to the world.” You don't wanna miss it! (We're recording in a new location and had some mic / mix issues. They will be resolved in the next episode)

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Mario Baghos, who is Senior Lecturer in Theology at the University of Notre Dame Australia. He's the owner of the YouTube channel, TERRA SYMBOLICA, and the author of a recent peer-reviewed essay on Orphic legends and Descent into Hades themes in the hit TV show, Twin Peaks. In our conversation, Dr. Baghos brilliantly and breathlessly surveys the full swath of Twin Peaks and the way it coheres with so many iterations of the Descent into Hades motif. It's a fascinating conversation full of nerdy Twin Peaks insights on religious and mythological imagery germane to the show. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities includes: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Dr. Kris Song. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How much inequality can a democracy withstand before citizens push back? That was the central question explored in BigTentUSA's conversation on June 17 with "The New Yorker" staff writer and author Evan Osnos, moderated by Ed Luce, "Financial Times" US National Editor.Drawing from his latest reporting and book “The Haves and the Have-Yachts“, Osnos examined the growing concentration of wealth and power in America, arguing that today's oligarchs wield influence not only through money, but through control of information, technology, and political institutions. The discussion explored the unprecedented alliance between political power and extreme wealth, the rise of tech billionaires, and the ways social media and artificial intelligence could accelerate economic inequality in the years ahead.The conversation also looked abroad for lessons, highlighting how corruption and democratic backsliding have unfolded in countries such as Hungary—and what Americans can learn from those experiences.The takeaway was clear: democratic change rarely begins with majorities. It starts when engaged citizens decide enough is enough—and take action to make democracy work for everyone.Learn more about Evan's book “The Haves and Have-Yachts”:https://www.simonandschuster.com/book... Check out Evan's podcast “The Political Scene”:https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/pol... Read Evan's article “Oligarch-in-Chief”:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-fhy... Explore Ed's work:https://www.ft.com/edward-luce ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:Evan Osnos has been a staff writer at "The New Yorker" since 2008. In addition, he is co-host of The New Yorker's "Political Scene" podcast, and a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. His coverage ranges from politics and foreign affairs to white-collar crime and espionage. His first book, “Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China,” won the National Book Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book “The Haves and Have-Yachts: Dispatches on the Ultrarich,” was an instant "New York Times" bestseller. Prior to "The New Yorker", he worked as the Beijing bureau chief for the "Chicago Tribune", where he was on teams that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2001 and 2008. Before his assignment to China, he worked in the Middle East, reporting mostly from Iraq. He lives with his family near Washington, D.C.Edward Luce is the US national editor and columnist at the "Financial Times". Before that he was the FT's Washington Bureau chief. Other roles have included South Asia bureau chief, Capital Markets editor, and Philippines Correspondent. Luce was previously the speechwriter for US Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers, in the Clinton administration.He is the author of four highly acclaimed books: "Zbig, The Life of Zbig Brzezinski: America's Great Power Prophet" (2025); "The Retreat of Western Liberalism" (2017); "Time to Start Thinking: America in the Age of Descent" (2012); and "In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India" (2007). This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bigtentnews.substack.com

In this episode of The Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal walks through Jonah 1–2, focusing on the remarkable prayer Jonah offers from the belly of the great fish. Far from a simple morality tale, the Book of Jonah presents a complex, deeply theological portrait of a disobedient prophet who nonetheless clings to the Lord in his darkest moment. Tony explores the Hebrew literary features that shape how we read Jonah's prayer, the doctrine of divine sovereignty as it operates through human agency, and the rich typological connections between Jonah and the death and resurrection of Christ. Most importantly, the episode grounds Jonah's experience in the Westminster Confession's teaching on sanctification — offering genuine hope to believers who feel buried under besetting sin, assuring them that salvation, from beginning to end, belongs entirely to the Lord. Key Takeaways Jonah is not the hero of his own story — he functions more as an anti-hero whose failures actually make him a more useful and relatable example for ordinary believers. Divine sovereignty operates through, not apart from, human agency — the sailors freely threw Jonah overboard, and yet Jonah rightly says God cast him into the deep; both are simultaneously true. The sequence debate in Jonah 2 matters theologically — whether Jonah prayed before or after being swallowed affects how we read the book; reading it as a strict cause-and-effect sequence risks turning the gospel into a quid pro quo transaction with God. Jonah's "yet I will see your holy temple" is a confession of eschatological faith — in the midst of near-certain death, Jonah expresses confidence not merely in earthly rescue, but in his ultimate destiny as one of God's people. The deep is a Genesis image — Jonah's descent into the primordial waters deliberately echoes the formless void of Genesis 1 and the undoing of creation in the flood, placing his experience within the grand arc of biblical cosmology. Jonah is a prophetic type of Christ's death and resurrection — his three days in the belly of the fish, his descent into the pit, and his emergence onto dry land anticipate and foreshadow the resurrection, as Jesus himself confirms in Matthew 12. Sanctification is real but imperfect — drawing from Westminster Confession Chapter 13, Tony argues that the up-and-down nature of Jonah's spiritual life is not an aberration but a description of the normal Christian life, in which the flesh and spirit remain in perpetual war until glory. Key Concepts Eschatological Faith in the Pit One of the most striking moments in Jonah's prayer is his declaration in 2:4 — "Yet I shall again look upon your holy temple." Tony argues that this is not merely a hope of physical rescue and a return to Jerusalem. Jonah believed he was dying. The waters had closed in to take his life; he was being dragged into underwater trenches that the ancient Semitic mind associated with the very gates of Sheol. In this context, Jonah's declaration is better understood as eschatological faith — a confession that even if God takes his life in judgment, he will still see the Lord face to face in the heavenly temple. It mirrors Job's cry, "Yet in my flesh I shall see God," and anticipates the kind of faith that says, with the father in Mark 9, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief." Sovereignty and Human Agency Working Together Tony uses Jonah's descent as a teaching moment on the Reformed doctrine of concurrence — the truth that God's sovereign decree and human free will are not in competition but operate simultaneously on different levels. The sailors made a free, agonized decision to throw Jonah overboard; and yet Jonah rightly attributes his casting into the sea to God himself. Tony draws the parallel to Joseph's words to his brothers in Genesis 50: "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good." This is not a philosophical sleight of hand. It is the consistent testimony of Scripture that God governs all things — including the underwater currents that dragged Jonah to the ocean floor — without reducing human beings to puppets or eliminating their moral responsibility. Sanctification Is Real, Imperfect, and Guaranteed Perhaps the most pastorally significant thread of the episode is Tony's application of Westminster Confession Chapter 13 to Jonah's experience. Jonah makes genuine progress in faith — his prayer is theologically rich and demonstrates real trust in God — and yet he almost immediately slips back behind the curve, making vows the sailors had already made before him, and later in chapter 4, sulking over a dead plant. Tony refuses to read this as a failure of the text. Instead, it is the text faithfully portraying the reality of sanctification: real throughout the whole person, yet imperfect in this life, with an irreconcilable war between flesh and spirit. The hope is not that we will finally overcome that war on our own, but that through the continual supply of the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, the regenerate part will overcome. Salvation — including sanctification — belongs entirely to the Lord. Memorable Quotes Jonah is constantly behind the curve, but for this little moment, for this glimpse in the very center of the book, the pinnacle of the book is Jonah finally catching up to the sailors. All outside visible indicators said he was going to die and he was going to hell. Yet he trusted in the Lord that he would see his holy temple again. God redeems our life from the pit. From the very depths of hell itself, he snatched us like brands from the fire. Full Transcript [00:00:08] Tony Arsenal: Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it. For their evil has come up before me." But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.  [00:01:24] Storm and Sailors [00:01:24] Tony Arsenal: But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. So the captain came to him and said, "What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god. Perhaps the god will give us a thought that we may not perish." And they said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, "Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation, and where do you come from? What is your country, and of what people are you?" And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land." Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, "What is this that you have done?" For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. Then they said to him, "What shall we do to you that the sea may quiet down for us?" For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. [00:02:36] Cast Into Sea [00:02:36] Tony Arsenal: He said to them, "Pick me up and hurl me into the sea. Then the sea will quiet down for you. For I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you." Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to the dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. Therefore they called out to the Lord, "O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood. For you, O Lord, has done as it pleased you." So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea. And the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. [00:03:15] Fish and Prayer [00:03:15] Tony Arsenal: And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying, "I called out to the Lord out of my distress, and he answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. For you cast me into the dep-- into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me. All your waves and billows passed over me." Then he said, "I am driven away from your sight. Yet I shall look again upon your holy temple. The waters closed in over me to take my life. The deep surrounded me. Weeds were wrapped around my head." At the root of the mountain I went to the land, whose bars closed upon me forever. Yet you brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God. When I-- when my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you into your holy temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I, with a voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord.  [00:04:23] Jonah Not the Hero [00:04:23] Tony Arsenal: And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land Jonah is an interesting book because, as I commented a year ago, Jonah is not necessarily the hero of the story. Uh, if anything, he is kind of the villain in, in some senses. But nevertheless, I think as we'll see today, Jonah still gives us a good example to follow in a sense, and that I think is really the centerpiece of this prayer, is that even as Jonah's going through all of this, his prayer is still remarkably filled with faithful sayings and trust in the Lord. We learned early on in Jonah that Jonah was a prophet during the time of the kings. Uh, he, uh, he seemed to have been a sort of a court temple. He was in the presence of the kings in Jerusalem itself, and he received a calling from the word of the Lord, and this phrase, "the word of the Lord," seems to imply a pre-incarnate, uh, visible manifestation of the second person of the Trinity. So we're not just talking about a, a disembodied voice. We're not just talking about some sort of sense or impression, but the word of the Lord itself, himself, came to give Jonah this mission, to give Jonah this task, to commission him as a prophet to Nineveh. And Jonah gets up and says, "No, thank you," and he goes the opposite direction. We see in that first section there the repeated phrase, "He goes to Tarshish. He boards a ship in Tarshish." The author here, who we, we think is Jonah, is hammering that he did not go where he was supposed to. He went the opposite direction. He went to Tarshish instead of Nineveh, which is 180 degrees the other direction from, uh, from Nineveh on the map. And he boards the, he boards the ship in order to flee the presence of the Lord. He pays, probably buys out the entire ship itself. He pays the fare for the whole ship, and the Lord hurls a great wave, uses the language of weapons. He hurls this storm like a spear. He weaponizes nature itself to correct and chastise and judge Jonah for his disobedience We get to verses seven through 17, and everyone on the boat is crying out to their chosen deity except Jonah. Jonah is asleep in the hold of the ship, oblivious to everything, totally dead to the world and dead to his Lord. The sailors begin to seek divine li- divine wisdom after they wake Jonah. He comes to the deck of the ship, and they cast lots to identify by divine, uh, revelation, sort of a strange practice in the Old Testament or the old, uh, world. Divine revelation that shows them Jonah is the source of this wickedness that is being wrought upon them, at least their impression of it. So they ask Jonah, "Who are you? Tell us who it is that has caused this great calamity." And he says emphatically, "A Hebrew am I." He identifies himself with God's people, and he says, "The Lord is my God, and he made the heaven and the earth and the sea." There's no small amount of irony, and it explains why the sailors are so afraid when he says that God created the heavens where the storm was. He created the sea where they were about to die, and he created the dry land where they were trying to get to. And so this one phrase that Jonah uses almost casually demonstrates that the Lord has total and utter sovereignty over what is going on, which is a theme that we'll see come back again and again through the book The sailors say, "Well, what do we do about this?" And Jonah says, "Throw me into the ocean, because I know that if you do so, then the storm will calm down and you will be saved." Whether he knew this because he's a prophet and it had been revealed to him, or whether he just was surmising that this was the case, we don't know. But the, uh, sailors are hesitant to do so, and we talked about how it was a little bit strange that these, uh, pagan sailors from cultures that d- had no qualms about human sacrifice were suddenly, uh, unwilling to throw Jonah over the sea a- as a, an appeasement offering to this Lord. And we came to the conclusion that they had been regenerated. They had come to faith in this God who created the heavens and the sea and the dry ground. And so they knew intrinsically that this was wrong, that there was a moral imperative not to do this. So they tried to row back to the land. They jettisoned all of their, uh, all of their goods, all of their cargo. They were making for land as best they could, and when it finally became clear that they couldn't do this, they sought the Lord's mercy in saying, essentially, "We don't understand how this is, but please don't put this man's blood on us, because you, Lord, have done as you please," right? The sovereignty of the Lord again comes to the forefront. They finally cast Jonah into the sea, and this is, this is important. They cast Jonah into the sea, and then they worship, they vow vows, and they vow to sacrifice. They offer sacrifices. They seek the Lord, they acknowledge his s- his sovereignty, and they worship him with what they have left. And then rounding out the chapter, the Lord appoints a great fish to come and swallow up Jonah. And we talked about how this, this swallowing of Jonah, although our popular children's books and VeggieTales and other stories we might read to our kids paints the fish often as the vehicle of judgment, it's actually a vehicle of deliverance for Jonah. There's this interesting grammatical feature that happens where in 1:17 the fish is masculine. The, the, the gender of the word is masculine, and then when we get to 2:1 it switches over to the feminine, almost as if to indicate that the whale was pregnant with Jonah, that Jonah was in the whale and was about to be reborn into the world in a new way And that brings us to our passage here today.  [00:10:21] Sequence Debate [00:10:21] Tony Arsenal: I'm gonna read, uh, 1:17 even though that's a little bit outside of our scope. I'm gonna read it along with 2:1 to, to make the point here. It says, "The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the whale, of the fish three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish." When you look at the Hebrew text, 1:17 is actually verse 2:1 and 2:1 is then 2:2 and so on and so forth. In the original Hebrew mindset of how this book goes together, these two things were linked together, him being swallowed by the whale and being in the belly of the fish and then him praying was linked together in this sequence. There's a feature in the Hebrew that's called a vav consecutive. You don't need to remember that. Nobody is gonna care about that. But it's, it's a little grammatical feature where it adds this little character to the front of the verb and it indicates a sequence. It's the narrative storytelling. When you look at Genesis 1 it's, "And then God said, 'Let there be light,' and then there was light." It tells you the sequence of events. Sometimes it indicates that it is a strict sequence of events. This happened and then that finished and then the next thing happened and then that finished. And many of the commentators use this passage to justify a perspective of Jonah where Jonah is this rebellious, stubborn prophet who holds out his stubbornness until the very last minute. He's swallowed by the whale, he's getting digested by stomach acid and he sort of finally relents to the Lord and cries out for deliverance and the Lord acquiesces in response to his prayer. That's certainly a possible interpretation. There's lots of good reasons in the, the text here to think Jonah was kind of a chucklehead and was not paying too much attention to what the Lord had for him The other option is to see this as a way for the author of the text to situate this prayer in contrast to other prayers that are not necessarily talked about directly in this text. And I'm gonna take that later view here, and I think it's important. This makes good sense of the text, and we'll explain exactly why that is when we get to the next little section here. But it also protects us theologically if we understand it this way. Jonah is already a book, uh, as I've alluded to, that tends towards a sort of crass moralism or fabulism. We tend to read it as sort of an allegory of if you do the wrong thing, God punishes you, and when you finally do the right thing, He blesses you. And there's a certain level of common grace wisdom to that approach, right? The whole book of Proverbs is-- are these proverbial sayings that if you do this, then the God-- then God will do this. If you raise up your children in the way they will go, they will not depart when they are older. But we also learn in the Book of Job and the Book of Ecclesiastes that those proverbial sayings, although generally true, it's not a magic formula. And so we have this tendency to read Old Testament literature as though it was this sort of like equation, that God punishes us when we're bad. He, uh, He relents from His punishment when we say we're sorry, and we have to be careful about that. If we understand what I'm about to teach from the next section here, that this is not a strict sequence of events, that Jonah began praying before he was swallowed by the whale, and this is simply recording the prayer that was actually within the whale. It helps protect us from seeing Jonah in this sort of quid pro quo, this for that kind of thing. I think we should simply understand this as saying Jonah was in the water, he got swallowed by the whale, and then when he was in the whale, he prayed. It doesn't say anything about whether he was overly stubborn or whether his stubbornness held out. It simply tells us that he was in the pray-- in the whale when this prayer occurred [00:14:23] Sheol and Descent [00:14:23] Tony Arsenal: He says in verse two, he calls out to the Lord out of his distress. He, and God answers him. Out of the belly of Sheol, Jonah cries, and God hears his voice This here tells us that he began praying, right? He was in the water, he was in the deep. All of this descriptive language we're gonna see later on about how deep he was, how quickly the current took him. He was wrapped up in seaweed, his life was fading from him. It was in the midst of all of that that he cries out in his distress. It's a pretty distressing situation. And Jonah, like all of us would, like even most atheists would, cries out to the Lord, even just out of instinct. I think it's kind of crazy for us to think that this man who's now been cast overboard and is being swept to the bottom of the ocean is sure he's gonna die. Somehow, he overrides all of his instinct and his entire life teaching and refuses to pray to the Lord. It just doesn't make sense, and it doesn't make sense of what the text presents here Jonah was in the belly of Sheol. He was in the very, the very womb of Sheol. And there is this interesting contrast that he goes from the belly of Sheol into the belly of the whale. This phrase, the belly of Sheol, is probably roughly equivalent to our phrase about being at death's door, right? It, it may or may not come from some sort of Mesopotamian, um, mythology. It may be a phrase of sort of co-opted into Hebrew, kinda like our phrase at death's door is actually co-opted in from Greek mythology, where there were actually literal doors to the underworld, and people would go there and when they were about to die. Jonah's point is that this was not a small thing. When we watch VeggieTales, he gets thrown in the water, and, like, 13 seconds later, the, the whale comes up and takes him. Jonah was swept down into the water almost supernaturally quick. He was drawn down to the very bottom of the ocean. We talk about the miracle of him surviving in the whale, and it was miraculous for sure, but the miracle of him being swept to the bottom of the ocean and not being crushed by the weight of the water, by the pressure, is equally miraculous. It's no more difficult for God to do that than it is for Him to preserve him in the whale or to raise Jesus from the dead or to create everything from nothing He finally starts to catch up with the pagan sailors. A theme in Jonah is that everyone around Jonah who shouldn't know any better somehow gets to the right conclusion before he does, right? The sailors begin to worship the Lord. They recognize this is divine wrath while Jonah is still asleep in the hold. Later, we'll see that, uh, the, the Ninevites recognize God's mercy and grace and thank Him for it, and Jonah is still mad because the plant he was sitting on d- uh, dies, right? Jonah is constantly behind the curve, but for this little moment, for this glimpse in the very center of the book, the pinnacle of the book is Jonah finally catching up to the sailors. [00:17:34] Sovereignty Explained [00:17:34] Tony Arsenal: He recognizes that it was God who cast him into the depths. This teaches us something about the doctrine of sovereignty and how it relates to human freedom, right? We, we often ask the question, what, what causes rain? Well, you can answer that by saying tiny particles of dust collect water in the air, and once they have enough weight, they fall out of the sky 'cause the air can't hold them up anymore. That's true, and it's good, and that's what nature teaches us. It's also equally true that God causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike, and those two things are not contradictory. So when Jonah says, "You cast me into the sea," he's recognizing, like Joseph does in the Book of Genesis, that what the sailors in this case meant for good but what the brothers meant for evil, God purposed and caused for good. What the sailors did by their own volition, their own free will, they exercised their own, uh, autonomy in the, the horizontal sense to cast Jonah into the sea, God also cast him into the sea As I said, the text here uses language that we may not catch in our English translations to indicate that it's not just the sea here that's the problem. God's sovereignty continues to affect and act on Jonah. The word that we read here as the, the water or the flood, other places refers to the current of a river. The, um, the Euphrates itself is sometimes referred to this, the large- sort of the largest river apart from the Nile that the Egyptian or the, um, Israelite mind would have is the Euphrates, right? This underwater river, this underwater current, the undertow sucks him to the bottom of the ocean. It's like if you're swimming at the beach at the ocean and you get caught in the undercurrent. There's not a lot you can do about it. Y- sometimes even the strongest swimmers can't overcome this, and Jonah in all of his Middle Eastern robes, all of this stuff, probably with all of his baggage, his, his own equipment, things he had on him, is caught in this undercurrent that sucks him to the bottom of the ocean. And it's not just below the surface of the water. He's dropped down into the heart of the sea, the very core. We're seeing this language of him being pulled to the depths. In, in chapter one he goes down, down, down, and now he's being drawn into the belly of the ocean, into the pit of Sheol, into the heart of the waters The picture here is that Jonah doesn't just get thrown in the water and sink. He is actively pulled down to the bottom. This is not just a judgment where perhaps he can swim to the top. Just as the mariners hopelessly tried to reach land, Jonah would've been hopelessly trying to swim against this. We don't actually have any indication he tried, but had he tried, there would've been no chance He goes on to say that the God's breakers and his waves roll him. This is the picture we see if you ever watch surfing competitions on the ocean, where a surfer will get hit by the wave and he just gets rolled over and rolled over and rolled over, and it can be incredibly dangerous. That's why they have like the little lifeguards on the jet skis that zip out there to get them. Because when you get caught in that breaker, you just get rolled over and rolled over and rolled over, and soon you lose track of which direction is up, and even if you did, you couldn't get out This process is not just the forces of nature doing what they do. This is, again, the Lord weaponizing the forces of nature to execute judgment on Jonah This tumultuous and supernatural rapid descent showed Jonah that this is not only the moment in which God wanted to take his life, but was actively casting him away from the g- from the presence of the Lord [00:21:47] Yet I Will See [00:21:47] Tony Arsenal: It says here, um, in verse four, Jonah says, "I am driven away from your sight If you do a word study on this, you start to see that Jonah is pulling language from the creation account. He's pulling language from the fall. He's pulling a lot of language from Genesis itself. He's also pulling from the Psalms, which are pulling from the Genesis account. This word driven away could also be tran- translated as banished. He's cast out of the presence of the Lord. Just as in Genesis 3, we read, "God drove the man out at the east of the Garden of Eden. He placed cherubim and flaming swords." He drove the man out. Genesis 4:14, Cain says, "You have driven me away from the ground." And in Jonah 1:3, we see that Jonah was trying to get away from the presence of the Lord. And I wonder if there was this moment where he goes, "Ooh, I guess I got what I was looking for." Now, the second half of Jonah f- 2:4 here does something a little bit weird, and it's hard to translate. I think we should be honest at times. Hebrew is a language that in some senses is mysterious to us at times. There are still parts of the Hebrew Bible that we're not always 100% sure of. This verse here could be translated... In, in Hebrew it's just a statement. It's, "I, um, I shall again see the holy temple, or your holy temple." How that fits into the text itself is tricky. Some read it as, uh, as a question. "How shall I see your holy temple?" It's actually a statement kind of reaffirming the doubt and the fear and the idea that God was banishing him Most translations translate it as sort of a contrast. He says, "I was driven away from your sight, yet I shall again look on your holy temple." The force of this is even though you're driving me away, even though you're casting me out of your presence, I have faith, I have confidence that I will again see your holy temple The question here, and this is where I think Jonah becomes our example It's certainly possible that Jonah was asserting his belief that he would be rescued from this calamity and he would make his way back to Jerusalem and he would return to the holy temple. I think that what he says in the rest of this, he's recounting what he was praying. What he was praying in this context is not that he would return to the temple. He was confident God was taking his life. He says in verse five, "The waters closed in over me to take my life. The deep surrounded me. Weeds were wrapped around my head." The other way that the phrase holy temple is used in the Old Testament is to refer to the place that God lives in heaven. Jonah was asserting faith that even though he was being cast out of the presence of the Lord in this life, even though he was being justly punished for his sin, even though he was about to enter the belly of Sheol and to enter the pit, the very abyss, that he would see God again in His holy temple. This is a statement of Jonah's belief in his own destiny as one of God's people, destined to be saved by faith in God. In this moment, Jonah trusts the Lord despite all of the appearances that God was out to get him It's not all that different than when we read in Mark chapter 9, where this father brings his, uh, demon-possessed child to Jesus, and Jesus says, "I can heal him." And he says, "If you can do anything, Lord," I'm paraphrasing here. He says, "If you can do it, please, Lord." And he says, "If? All things are possible for me." And the father desperately cries out, "Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief." It's this raw, unfiltered statement of just the human condition on this side of glory, right? I believe in the Lord, but there's always that little part in the back of my head that isn't sure, because we're never going to be perfect. Now, I've said before, and, and this is becoming my new catchphrase, I think, I'm not here to rob you of your assurance of faith. Our, our confession, the Bible, this church, our Reform, broader Reform tradition, the assurance of faith of the Christian is the rightful possession inheritance of every person in this room who trusts the Lord. But it is a reality that at times that assurance is shaken. And if there's ever a time for your assurance to be shaken, it's when you're being dragged to the bottom of the ocean, right? One of the words in here, I don't have it-- I don't actually have it in my notes for some reason, but one of the note, words here, uh, s- about the roots of the mountain, I believe, in the next verse. It's not just that he was dragged to the bottom of the ocean. This word root of the mountain is like the word that's used to cut. He's not just being dragged to the bottom of the sea, he's being dragged to the bottom of a deep sea crevasse. He's literally being pulled into the pit, right? Many, uh, in the ancient Semitic world would have seen these underwater pits. They would have theorized or thought about these underwater crevasses as the actual entry into Sheol. And Jonah sees himself being drawn down into these things. Yet, he believes he will see the good presence of the Lord We read a similar statement, I won't, uh, I won't make us go there for time. We read a similar statement in Job. Job goes through this long speech about all the things that God has done to him, and at the very end of it, he says, "Yet I will see the Lord with my eyes, and he will stand up next to me on, on the earth." Right? Even though Job was going through this unimaginable grief, and we know that Job didn't deserve it in the strict sense, he still was saying, "I'm gonna be destroyed. God is shooting arrows at me," right? "His sword is in my side. He's targeting me. He's sending hornets after me." All of these terrible, vibrant images that he's using to show what God is doing to him, and yet he still trusts. I would say that he trusts that he would see the Lord in the flesh. This is not only Jonah's faith, it's a-- or Job's faith, it's a prophecy of Christ This is alien to our modern mindset. We've been talking about this in the Psalms. Weston's been leading us through the, the lament Psalms We often think that suffering and trials and difficulties are the opposite of blessing and favor. And we might recognize that in some sort of way that in God's economy, one thing leads to another. And again, there's an element of truth to that. James says, "Count it all joy when you face trials of every kind." He's not saying that the trials you're facing are in themselves joyful. You don't have to love when you get sick. You don't have to, you don't have to man up and put a smile on or s- pull yourself up by your bootstraps or whatever analogy you wanna use. It's okay to be sad when bad things happen. It's actually good, right? If we're to weep with those who weep, there's an element of sadness that must come with that, not to mention the one who's weeping is not chastised. But the idea that that only leads to this, that that's just one step in the chain, that's not really the mindset the Bible has. All across the Psalms, in the lament Psalms, all across the prophetic literature, the Book of Lamentations, Habakkuk has this long prayer at the end that's very similar, the entire Book of Job, suffering and sanctification, trials and joy and restoration, they're all sandwiched right there, and there is usually this statement in the middle of it that God will do what is right This is Jonah's example for us, and what an example it is. We'll talk in a little bit about all the ways that this whole scenario is typological of Christ. We'll, we'll get to that. But just for a minute in the middle of this book, Jonah is not such a bad guy. And it's because he still has all his faults that he can be this example for us [00:30:26] Genesis Deep Imagery [00:30:26] Tony Arsenal: As though it wasn't clear enough, Jonah in verse five says that the purpose of the waters closing over him was explicitly to take his life. He's now in the belly of the sea. He's being dragged down to the very roots of the mountain, to the very core of the earth in his mind. He, he thinks he's going to hell in the, the Hebrew mind. There's both this idea that God is dragging him to hell in a very real sense. The Hebrew mind, Sheol was a physical place that people went to, and we learn more about it and that becomes clarified as revelation is progressive, not contradictory, but as, as it's clarified But he uses this word deep, and this is where he's drawing again from Genesis. Genesis 1:2, he says, "The earth was without form and void. The darkness was over the face of the deep." The deep is this sort of like unformed chaotic water. It's what exists before God makes everything orderly and good. And in the fall, and especially in the flood in chapter seven, uh, chapter seven verse 11, the f- the flood itself is a sort of undoing of the order. God opens the floods from beneath, from the bottom of the earth, from the wellspring of the deep, as well as the chaotic waters from outside the firmament, and it all pours back in together and the entire world becomes again this deep, primordial, chaotic water And just as in Genesis God separates the land, in, in Genesis 7 or in Genesis 8, he separates out the land by drying it up, drying up the water. We also see that Jonah has this trust that he will return to the dry land. Again, he's the God of heaven and sea and dry earth. We could even read this phrase, depending on the context, as the abyss, which is this, a- again, is some borrowed language from Greek here that the Hebrews use. But it's this deep, watery, murky place th- full of shadows and darkness. Sounds familiar, I think, right? Christ says that those who are apart from him who refuse to obey will be cast into the outer darkness. This is the imagery that Jonah is seeing. All outside visible indicators was that he was gonna die and he was going to hell. Yet he trusted in the Lord that he would see his holy temple again Apart from God's gracious intervention, Jonah was right. So although God is the one that's bringing him to the depth, bringing him to the pit, dragging him down, using the very currents of the sea, weaponizing these underwater currents that only thousands of years later do we understand, and even then only this much, he also graciously rescues him from this by miraculously appointing a whale or a great fish who comes and swallows Jonah, takes him whole, and keeps him there in his own belly, keeps him there in her own womb when we get to chapter 2. In chapter six, or in verse six, Jonah makes this pivot. Again, he says he's brought to the very bottom of the sea, to the roots of the mountain, which is these deep underwater trenches. He conceptualizes himself now in this locked city behind bars. Again, this jail imagery, this pit imagery, it's all meant to evoke this idea of the final punishment of the wicked. This place of murky, gross water, this place of darkness and, uh, limitations of freedom, he's being taken there. This is the section here where people would actually argue that Jonah dies. He actually dies and is resurrected when he's swallowed by the whale. This comes from language where it says God does not prevent him from going to the pit. God actually draws him to the pit and then raises his life up from the pit. Now, I'm not convinced, um, that we should think that Jonah actually died. I don't, I don't think that the text fully supports that. But it certainly is using this imagery [00:34:45] Christ Typology [00:34:45] Tony Arsenal: This is where we get to some typology about Christ. This is where Jonah really shines as a prophet. Sometimes people wonder why the Book of Jonah is considered a prophetic book, and this along with it is part of that. Jonah, although the sign of Jonah in Matthew and in the other Gospels refers to the belly of the whale, that just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, so also Christ will be in the heart of the earth, the pit, for three days and three nights. When we're talking about typology, we can't get too tripped up on the details. We're not talking about strict allegory where this figure is that person and this signpost represents that thing. This isn't Pilgrim's Progress or Chronicles of Narnia, which is not allegory, but it's similar. Topology functions often on sort of these big picture concepts, right? Although there are some typological references that are super detailed, there are also some that are just sort of evocative The idea that Jonah died and was raised to life and sort of incubated in the earth, in- incubated in the whale and sort of reborn into the world, that certainly sounds a lot like a picture of the resurrection And I think we should see it that way. When Christ says that the sign of Jonah is roughly His resurrection, He is tying it to the three days and three nights, but He's not limiting to that Jonah comes to this pivot, and now he starts to reflect on the context of his deliverance. This whole s- this whole prayer should be seen sort of in the light of the thanksgiving psalms. There's a situation in which Jonah is in, and then God rescues him, and he begins to praise him for it. There's elements of lament, but it's really a thanksgiving psalm that he's drawing on here or that he's, he's writing In 2:7, Jonah is either dead or he's actively dying. I don't know about you, but if you've ever, uh, dove into a pool and got a little deeper than you thought you were, and you-- there's that, like, two seconds before you get to the top where you're sure the lights are going out and you've really only been underwater for, like, 45 seconds, but everything in you tells you if you don't get there, you're gonna die. Every instinct you have is to scramble for the surface. Think about how long it took Jonah to be dragged to the bottom of the ocean. Even at this accelerated pace, we're talking about a long time. And we have no reason to believe, and lots of reasons to think otherwise, Jonah was not preserved from the pain and the terror and the difficulty of feeling like you're drowning because he was drowning. He was without oxygen. His life was fading away. And it is in this context of him being on the brink of death, at death's door, in the belly of Sheol, being drawn into the very pit itself, that his prayer reaches the Lord in His holy temple. Right? This gives further evidence to the thought that Jonah is not talking about the temple in Jerusalem. There was, there was theology, and I, I think it's fine theology, that God lived in the temple in a special way. This is the reason that Daniel faces Jerusalem when he prays. There is a sense in the Old Testament that God's special place of presence is the temple in Jerusalem, and that the prayers of the people physically go to that place to be received by God. But Jonah doesn't know which direction the temple is. He's underwater. He's been tossed around by breakers. He has no sense of geography at this point He knows that his prayers are reaching the Lord in his heavenly temple. And they reach him in his heavenly temple just as his life is being lost in the pit. And it is from this moment that God raises him to life, or preserves his life, depending how you read it, and appoints the well to come reach him And some read this next verse as a little bit of a step back for Jonah, and it may be.  [00:39:02] Vows and Idols [00:39:02] Tony Arsenal: He reads, "Those who pay vain regard to i- regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. And what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord." Jonah didn't see the sailors on the ship vow their vows and offer their sacrifices. That happened after they threw him into the pit and the current sucked him under So we may read this with a little bit of a, "Thank God I'm not like that tax collector," kind of a lens. And there's probably some wisdom for us in that, to recognize that Jonah still hasn't quite gotten there. But it's also very common in the Old Testament to recognize that God treats His people differently because they are different. God brings people to a place of sanctification, and through that process of sanctification, they cease to worship vain idols. And it is absolutely true that those who worship vain idols forfeit their hope of steadfast love from the Lord. That's straight out of the Ten Commandments, right? He visits the iniquity of, specifically of idolatry. He visits the iniquity unto the children to the third and fourth generation. But for those who love the Lord, He loves them with a steadfast love unto thousands We can recognize in Jonah that although he had made great progress in faith, that he still wasn't there yet. And we can recognize that in him because we can recognize that in ourselves. Jonah is the example in this because he is not perfect, because he has not arrived, 'cause he doesn't do a 180 about-face and get everything right going forward We can read this in light of Jonah in chapter four, where he takes big steps back Or we can read this as the regular up and down progress of sanctification in the life of all believers everywhere It is also ironic again, we're back now to Jonah being a little bit behind the curve. He was sent to Nineveh to evangelize the heathens, some of the worst enemies that Israel was going to face, and he ignores that call. And he, instead of going to Nineveh, he goes to Tarshish. He goes the opposite direction, and he does something that would be unthinkable to most Israelites. He goes out on the open ocean. That's just insanity to someone living in the ancient world He should have recognized that the sailors were fearing the Lord when they refused to throw him overboard. I think we all have a sort of innate sense when someone's behavior suddenly changes, and I think most of us, and not in some sort of strange, kooky, charismatic sense, but I think most of us can sort of go, "I think I know why that is." Right, when you, when you see someone at work that suddenly stops lying about everything and stops backbiting and stops taking credit for other people's work, and then you find out a little while linger- longer that they've come to faith in Christ, if we're being honest, we're not all that surprised. But Jonah doesn't get it. Jonah here promises the same things that the sailors already did, so now we're again back behind the curve [00:42:37] Sanctification Confession [00:42:37] Tony Arsenal: To wrap this out, I, I wanna, um, I wanna ground this in something that I think is really vital for us to understand. As I said, Jonah is an example to us because he demonstrates the limited nature of sanctification, but he also demonstrates in a certain sense the fact that sanctification is real and has real effects. So this is a little out of the ordinary, but grab your Trinity Hymnal from the pew in front of you. If you happen to have a copy of the Confession, you could use that if you'd prefer. But open with me to page 927 I have, um, I've been, uh, broadly Reformed most of my Christian life and didn't realize it until I got to seminary. And since I discovered the Westminster Confession of Faith a decade ago, it's not new, uh, not new to me, um, I realized how valuable this resource was. This is essentially a search engine without the internet. And so I wanna just read a little bit out of chapter 13 here, which is our Confessions chapter on sanctification. I'm not gonna read the whole thing, but the, the first, uh, the first section here essentially says that sanctification is real, and it happens throughout the whole person. We talk about total depravity, and there is a sense in which the Christian remains totally depraved after regeneration, in that there still is, there still is corruption within our entire being, uh, that is depraved. There's also an equal sense in which we can say we are totally sanctified in Christ because sanctification is throughout the whole man in which we are renewed after the image of God. So that's section one. And then section two says, "This sanctification is throughout," again, throughout the whole man, "in the whole man, yet imperfect in this life. There abiding still some remnant of corruption in every part, whence ariseth a continual and irre- irreconcilable war, the flesh left lusting after the spirit, and the spirit lusting after the flesh." Now, that may feel like just a crushing burden if you stop reading there, but it lines up with our experience, right? This is Paul in Romans 7, "The good things I wanna do, I do not, and the bad things that I, I kn- I do not want to do, I somehow do. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." We shouldn't read that as though somehow our spirits are purified entirely and our bodies are what's really causing us to sin. This is a picture of the spirit being, uh, our, our spiritual part of us. The part of us that's regenerated is willing, but the part of us that remains corrupt is our flesh And our confession goes on to say, "In which war, although the remaining corruption for a time may much prevail, yet through the continual supply of strength from the sanctification- sanctifying spirit of Christ, the regenerate part doth overcome." And so the saints grow in grace, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. This is revolutionary in our broader evangelical world. The storybook Bible, Jonah did a bad thing and he gets punished, and he did a good thing and so he gets better, cannot understand this concept. This is why I think we have to be so careful when we choose what books to give to our little ones, right? I, I make jokes about VeggieTales. I loved VeggieTales when I was in VeggieTales age range. I probably would sit down and watch VeggieTales with Augie when he gets old enough. But we have to be so careful not to let those messages come to our children, or to ourselves for that matter, uninterpreted by the scriptures first and foremost, and our Reformed tradition that we all believe. Amen.  [00:46:49] Assurance in the Pit [00:46:49] Tony Arsenal: This is vital for us When all is said and done, salvation, whether we're talking about justification, sanctification, glorification, resurrection, all of the different stages and phases of our salvation, it is entirely of the Lord. And it's for this reason that Jonah says, "I, with a voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will pay." Salvation belongs to the Lord So this is the application of the sermon, loved ones. No matter how close to or actually into the pit itself we have fallen The, the chapter on assurance of faith, I won't go there, but the chapter in our confession on assurance of faith is very honest with us that our assurance will be shaken, and at times we may not feel as though we have any assurance at all But even when we have fallen that deep into the pit of despair, even when we feel as though we are in the very depths of hell No matter how much our spiritual or physical life is fainting away as we starve for spiritual breath, as we feel that impulse in us that recognizes we're moments away from losing the faith entirely. No matter how much the remnants of corruption in every part swirl around our heads like seaweed, how often do we feel wrapped up in sin? Whatever it is, I don't need to get specific 'cause I'm sure all of you are thinking of something in your head right now that has been swirling around you for years. Maybe it's months, maybe it's years. Maybe you've never felt, since coming to Christ, you've never felt like it wasn't wrapped up around you like seaweed. Besetting sin is something that we need to be serious about, and it's a good cause for us to think hard and deep about our status as Christians, and to go to our pastor and seek the elders' assistance in this. But besetting sin is not, is not a mark that excludes you from, from Christianity. Right? We're justified by faith alone, in Christ alone, by His grace alone. Not because we've overcome our besetting sin alone, right? That's not one of the five solas God redeems our life from the pit. From the very depths of hell itself, he snatched us like brands from the fire And though it is the case that we often are shaken, and at times God, just as he let Jonah, he let Jonah go to Tarshish. God had every ability to stop him from doing a stupid thing, and sometimes he does that, right? I'm sure there's plenty of times we can think about in our lives where we were heading towards sin and God just pulled a U-turn on us, and we are thankful for that. But there are times that he does not, and he lets us, he lets us do that. He lets us suffer the consequences, and he does that to chastise us and bring us back to him And even in the context of that, it is through this continual supply of the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, right?  [00:50:19] God Beautifies His Bride [00:50:19] Tony Arsenal: Christ was anointed by the Holy Spirit from the womb beyond measure. That's in the Book of John. There was never a time where Christ did not have the totality of the infinite sanctifying Spirit of the God, of God. We do not have the totality of the sanctifying Spirit of God. Now, we can get into a discussion after the service about divine simplicity and all the complexity of that, but the reality is that God sanctifies us more and more and more, and He does it by giving us the Spirit more and more. Might be more accurate to say He gives more of us to the Spirit. He gives us to the Spirit more and more. He gives us to Jesus more and more. We are Christ's inheritance. We are His bride. And just as the bride, as they're approaching the wedding, is made more and more beautiful, they start their, their beauty treatments weeks and months ahead of time, right? They're already making their hair appointments. They're already doing what they need to do to feel as beautiful as they can and to be as beautiful as they can on their wedding day. If that's the way we treat human weddings; guys do it too, just not as much. If that's the way we treat human weddings, how much more does God treat the heavenly wedding of His Son to His beloved bride? He's beautifying us, Church. Doesn't always feel like it. Doesn't always look like it, but He is. 

This week, we go deep into the caves as we review The Descent. Also in this episode, Todd recounts his experience at the final (?) Living Dead Weekend, Steve tells a harrowing tale about his Father's Day trip, the guys review some 2026 films in What Watched and Steve announces his punishment films for winning Q2 of trivia. All that and more! Music provided by www.purple-planet.com

We head back to May 2010 and to the area of Wishaw, near Glasgow in North Lanarkshire for the tale this time around. It was the hottest weekend of that year so far, and an off-road motorcyclist named Stuart Bell was about to make a chilling discovery that he will take to his grave with him....The episode contains details and descriptions of crimes and events, including descriptions of injury detail, that some listeners may find disturbing or distressing, so discretion is advised whilst listening in. Music used in this episode: "The Descent" by Kevin Macleod. All music used is sourced from https://filmmusic.io/ and used under an Attribution Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Mountain Song – Jane's AddictionNew York, Let's Do Nothing - King HannahThe True Crime Enthusiast's Fundraiser For Macmillan Cancer Support References - available upon request. Follow/Contact/Support The True Crime Enthusiast PodcastFacebookFacebook Discussion GroupTwitterInstagramYoutubeWebsiteTTCE MerchandisePatreon Page Remembering Zoe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  DownloadHey guys and gals, welcome to LOTC episode 486. This week's show is our journey through the decades, and we are in the year 2005. We are ranking our top 5 horror movies from that year with special guest Mike " that horror teacher " Capizzani. 2005 was a really strong year for us horror fans, we hope you enjoy our rankings. We want to thank Mike for being on this week's episode.Grab those favorite snacks and beverages as you journey with us through the Land Of The Creeps.HELP KEEP HORROR ALIVE!!TOP 5 LIST'SMIKE C1. THE DESCENT2. WOLF CREEK3. DEVIL'S REJECTS4. HEADSPACE5. THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSEDAVE1. THE DESCENT2. DEVIL'S REJECTS3. WOLF CREEK4. THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE5. LAND OF THE DEADPEARL1. SAW 2 / HOSTEL2. CONSTATINE3. THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE4. THE DESCENT5. WHITE NOISEBILL 1. HOSTEL2. THE DESCENT3. WOLF CREEK4. SAW 25. 2001 MANIACSGREG1. THE DEVIL'S REJECTS2. WOLF CREEK3. SAW 2 / HOSTEL4. THE DESCENT5. FEASTMIKE'S LINKSFACEBOOKPODCAST SPOTIFYPODCAST APPLELOTC Links :Land Of The Creeps InstagramGregaMortisFacebookTwitterLand Of The Creeps Group PageLand Of The Creeps Fan PageJay Of  The Dead's New Horror Movie PodcastYoutubeInstagramEmailLetterboxdDr. ShockDVD Infatuation TwitterDVD Infatuation WebsiteFacebookHorror Movie PodcastJay Of The Dead's New Horror Movies PodcastYouTube ChannelLetterboxdDVD Infatuation PodcastThe Illustrated Fan PodcastBill Van Veghel LinkFacebookLetterboxdMusic,Movies,Sports & Stuff PodcastFacebook Music Movies Sports & StuffTwisted Temptress LinkLetterboxdLOTC Hotline Number1-804-569-56821-804-569-LOTCLOTC Intro is provided by Andy Ussery, Below are links to his social mediaEmail:FacebookTwitterOutro music provided by Greg Whitaker Below is Greg's Twitter accountTwitterFacebook

“There's something down there…” Join Ian & Megs for our 336th episode as we squeeze into the claustrophobic darkness, extinguish every source of comfort, and descend into Neil Marshall's modern horror masterpiece The Descent (2005). Liam isn't with us this week — he confidently insisted he'd found a shortcut through an unexplored cave system and, according to his last voicemail, is "pretty sure this is still the right way." Kev? He volunteered to be the group's map reader despite never actually bringing a map. We haven't seen either of them since they crawled into the first tunnel. This week we discuss: Neil Marshall's masterclass in tension — how The Descent spends almost an hour terrifying us before the monsters even become the biggest problem. The all-female ensemble — authentic friendships, believable conflict, and why the characters feel so much more than horror archetypes. Claustrophobia as horror — does the cave itself remain the film's scariest antagonist, even after the Crawlers arrive? Megs explores the group's dynamics — grief, guilt, betrayal, and how fractured relationships become just as dangerous as the environment. Ian breaks down the film's visual storytelling — darkness, colour palettes, practical effects, and why the audience never loses its sense of geography despite the labyrinth. The Crawlers — perfectly revealed monsters, or does the film become less frightening once it shows its hand? The balance between psychological horror and creature feature — is Sarah fighting monsters, trauma, or both simultaneously? The infamous UK and US endings — which version better serves the story, and does changing the ending fundamentally alter the film's message? The "show vs tell" balance — how little exposition the film needs before we're completely invested in every decision the group makes. The jump scares — expertly earned or simply proof that sound design can make anyone leap out of their seat? The ending — hopeless, empowering, hallucinatory, or one of the bleakest finales horror has ever produced? And finally, whether The Descent is the Best Film Ever — or simply one of the greatest horror films of the 21st century. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are very thankful to the following Patreon backers for their generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Paul Komoroski Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Andy Dickson Aashrey Chris Pedersen Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/

In this episode of State of the Republic, we break down Sacramento Republic FC's tough 1–0 home loss to New Mexico United. Despite one of the best saves you'll see from Danny Vitiello, a costly mistake proved decisive in a tightly contested match. We discuss the key moments, what went right, what went wrong, and how Sacramento can respond moving forward. We also include the post-match press conference, featuring reactions and analysis following the match. Plus, we preview Republic's upcoming Fourth of July showdown against FC Tulsa, review recent and upcoming matches involving local Central Valley clubs in the USL W League and USL League Two, and spend a few minutes talking World Cup action as hosts United States, Mexico, and Canada all recorded clean sheets in their second matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Intro/Outro Music: "The Descent" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Podcast Winner Dinner Music: The following music was used for this media project: Fliegen by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/2936-fliegen License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Golazos of Gratitude Music: The following music was used for this media project: Music: Nice Light Of Happiness by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7421-nice-light-of-happiness License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Image: Sac Republic Support State of the Republic by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/state-of-the-republic

Descent Into Sciniparta is a D&D campaign created by Jackle7250, AKA Russ from the Just Some Gamers Podcast. Catch the action live at https://www.twitch.tv/elmmerfuddgames  Reach out to ElmmerFuddGames or FluffyFingersMD for the schedule. The campaign is: Alynora (Mrs Fudd) Borlin Ironspice (Eggman) Firentis Elberko (ElmmerFuddGames) Rothnito (FluffyFingersMD) Neevara (Cheekymix3) Jackle7250 as the DM    

Get your free birth chart and learn about the mentorship at https://www.quietmindastrology.com. The June solstice is one of the four most important turning points of the entire year, marking a profound shift in how solar energy moves through our lives. Whether you are north or south of the equator, this transition affects your vitality, routines, and overall health. In this episode, I share how you can use traditional Ayurvedic wisdom—including a gentle kitcheri cleanse—to navigate this seasonal shift, avoid burnout or stagnation, and smoothly adapt your daily practices to maintain true physical and spiritual balance. Quotes:“In Ayurveda, we say that all diseases begin in the transition of the seasons. So this is one of the best times all year... to do some sort of cleanse or diet or fast.” “It's a very natural sort of tendency to balance the imbalance of nature with our diet. And it's one of the best things we can do, basically to maintain some level of homeostasis.” “It's a continual cycle and it's a continual honoring of these rhythms of expansion and contraction, of yin and yang, of active and rest.” Timestamps:00:00 Understanding the June Solstice Turning Point02:07 Seasonal Health & The Benefits of a Kitcheri Cleanse04:57 Midyear Reflection: Reevaluating Your 2026 Goals06:18 Northern Hemisphere: Peak Yang Energy & The Descent to Winter09:15 Southern Hemisphere: Rest, Renewal, & Igniting Your Internal FireKeywords:Vedic astrology, Jyotish, June solstice, Ayurveda, kitcheri cleanse, yin and yang energy, seasonal transition, solar alignment, self-reflectionFree Resources:⭐️ Free Birth Chart: https://www.quietmindastrology.com/freebirthchart ⭐️ Free Horoscopes: https://www.quietmindastrology.com/freehoroscopes⭐️ Podcast (Spotify, Apple, etc): https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/astrology⭐️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quietmindastrology⭐️ YouTube: https://www.quietmindastrology.com/youtube ⭐️ Yoga Teacher Training Podcast: https://www.anchor.fm/yogateachertraining Work With Me:⭐️ Book a Reading: https://www.quietmindastrology.com/reading ⭐️ Decode Your Chart: https://www.quietmindastrology.com/101⭐️ New Moon Alignment: https://www.quietmindastrology.com/newmoon⭐️ Mentorship: https://www.quietmindastrology.com/mentorship Next Step:⭐️ Get your free birth chart and learn about the mentorship at https://www.quietmindastrology.com.

In this podcast, Eliza Jabore talks about true crime research, Bigfoot, subverting slasher tropes, and much more. [2:50] Elevator pitch for Backstabbers. [4:25] True crime research and Bigfoot. [13:20] Subverting slasher tropes. [18:15] Misdirection and The Descent vibes. [21:10] Jeremiah's name origin. [24:00] Real-world cabin and trails influence. [27:30] Travel, horror, and risk taking. [31:30] Lessons learnt writing Backstabbers. [36:20] Writing insecurity and self-doubt. [42:30] Single location horror and suspense. [46:00] Eliza's first signing. [50:15] Writing to music vs. to silence. [54:10] Best and worst writing advice. Full podcast show notes are available here: https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/tih-668-eliza-jabore-on-true-crime-research-bigfoot-and-subverting-slasher-tropes Support This Is Horror Podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thisishorror

Your salvation is not primarily in believing a set of propositions about what Jesus did on the cross. Your salvation is Christ Himself. The entire sweep of His life, death, resurrection, ascension, and the outpouring of the Spirit is the objective reality into which you have been brought into by sheer grace.

Cette semaine : Steam Next Fest (Over The Hill, Gambition, Dave's Word Game, Poly Fighter), Terrinoth: Heroes of Descent, STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions, SpaceCraft, MARVEL Cosmic Invasion (DLC Cyclops & The Thing), de la pub dans les jeux EA, Max Cooper - Feeling Is Structure, et Commodore Callback. Lisez plutôt Torréfaction #376 : Steam Next Fest, Terrinoth: Heroes of Descent, STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions, SpaceCraft et Commodore Callback avec sa vraie mise en page sur Geekzone. Pensez à vos rétines.

You should be able to leave your children for a sleepover, safe as houses, with someone who loves them so deeply she calls them her 'kidlets', shouldn't you? Lee-Anna Spiers and her partner Liam Timbrell had done just that, and looked forward to it for however many months, with all involved excited.Until the night of October 19th, 2012 - when it was to be the last sleepover anyone involved was to ever have...The episode contains details and descriptions of crimes and events, involving children, that some listeners may find disturbing or distressing, so discretion is advised whilst listening in. Music used in this episode: "The Descent" by Kevin Macleod. All music used is sourced from https://filmmusic.io/ and used under an Attribution Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Literary Mind – SPRINTSOne Way Ticket - EruptionThe True Crime Enthusiast's Fundraiser For Macmillan Cancer Support References - available upon request. Follow/Contact/Support The True Crime Enthusiast PodcastFacebookFacebook Discussion GroupTwitterInstagramYoutubeWebsiteTTCE MerchandisePatreon Page Remembering Lee-Anna, Liam, Skye, Bailey, and Charlie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Neil Marshall joins us to discuss The Descent ahead of its new 4K UHD Blu-ray release from StudioCanal. He talks about the film's origins, building the cave world, the UK and US endings, and how the new restoration was put together.

Iorlas fights the wraith that rose in the ruins of the plaza in Fornost Erain and gains insight into the past. Going further in he traces the steps of Rangers who came before him, but one wrong step sends him deeper into the darkness...   Learn more about The One Ring 2e by Free League Publishing.   ----more---- Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!   I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)   Where to Follow Rene Plays Games: LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark Rene's Games: MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How... email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com   Music in the Episode (in order of appearance): Descent by Tabletop Audio Dragon Roar by Monument Studios Ice Dragon by Tabletop Audio Lord of Bones by Tabletop Audio Tomb Guardians by Tabletop Audio Lament of the Leaves by Vindsvept Lost Mine by Tabletop Audio Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Episode Notes Season seven! Jude does some predictions. Justen coins a new word. Image in the Sand: Three plotlines organized by direness. Kira has been promoted to Colonel!Discussion of ranks. A Pah Wraith cult. It's the 90s, armbands = evil. A Romulan? on OUR station? Damarr is now just drinking in the Fuhrer-bunker. Get used to the evil Dominion command center. Romulans have chronic backstabber syndrome. The return of the warcrimes airhorn. Worf isn't doing so well. He believes that Jadzia did not enter Sto Vo Kor, and because the Defiant is on escort duty he doesn't have the chance to win a great battle. Oh look, a (suicidal) solution! Sisko is stewing. Oh look, a prophecy! Ben's mom... was not his mom? A new ORB. Jake annihilates a pah wraith cultist with a bag of clams. ...Dax? Shadows and Symbols: Turns out that Ezri was the only Trill on the ship when worm Dax needed emergency joining. We have to reiterate: cutting your palm is really stupid. Kira's standoff with the Romulans. The quest for the orb mommy. A questionable plan. Damarr, do not bring a sex worker to the Fuhrer bunker. The evilest wine mom. Noodle incident. Desert hunt. The return of Benny Russell. A new vision from the Prophets. Kira solves the Cuban Missile Crisis by saying "I have God on my side." Way too many rejected titles this week. BabSpace9 is a production of the Okay, So network. Connect with the show at @babylonpod.page Help us keep the lights on via our Patreon! Justen can be found at @justen.babylonpod.page Ana can be found at @ana.babylonpod.page, and also made our show art. Both Ana and Justen can also be found on The Compleat Discography, a Discworld re-read podcast. Jude Vais can be found at @jude.athrabeth.com. His other work can be found at Athrabeth - a Tolkien Podcast and at Garbage of the Five Rings. Clips from the original show remain copyrighted by Paramount Entertainment and are used under the Fair Use doctrine. Music attribution: Original reworking of the Deep Space 9 theme by audioquinn, who stresses that this particular war crime is not their fault. The Descent by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4490-the-descent License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This show is edited and produced by Aaron Olson, who can be found at @aaron.compleatdiscography.page Find out more at http://babylonpod.page

My guest today is Carly Mountain, a women's initiatory guide, psychotherapist, psychosexual somatic therapist, yoga teacher, breathworker and writer. She is the author of Descent & Rising ~ Women's Stories & the Embodiment of the Inanna Myth and a new book Untamed Pleasure: unleash your true erotic nature from Womancraft Publishing. For the last twenty years she has worked with sacred embodied practices. She lives in Sheffield, England with her husband and two daughters. carlymountain.comWe talked about:Being seen and sharing our work during these intense global timesPleasure and freedomWomen's experiences of descent and darkness and how to integrate themPatriarchy's impact on our bodies and mindsShame and vulnerabilityIn the Extended Episode available to paid Patreon members www.patreon.com/lucyhpearceConnections between the creative and erotic – our creative and sexual selvesThe story behind her book coverWatch the video episode - $9/month www.patreon.com/lucyhpearceGrab the Extended Episode of this conversation from $3/month www.patreon.com/lucyhpearceResourcesUntamed PleasureDescent & Rising: women's stories and the embodiment of the Inanna mythBurning WomanShe of the Sea Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of State of the Republic, we break down Sacramento Republic FC's hard-fought 1–0 road win over Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. The victory not only secured three valuable points, but also snapped Sacramento's recent stretch of away frustrations after back-to-back road losses. We discuss the key moments from the match, what stood out from the performance, and what this result could mean moving forward. We also preview Republic's upcoming matchup against New Mexico United, one of the toughest tests on the schedule, and discuss what Sacramento will need to do to continue its momentum. Plus, we talk about the latest disappointing developments surrounding the proposed Modesto soccer stadium project, and we recap recent results from local Central Valley clubs competing in the USL W League and USL League Two. Intro/Outro Music: "The Descent" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Podcast Winner Dinner Music: The following music was used for this media project: Fliegen by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/2936-fliegen License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Golazos of Gratitude Music: The following music was used for this media project: Music: Nice Light Of Happiness by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7421-nice-light-of-happiness License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Image: Sac Republic Support State of the Republic by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/state-of-the-republic

Send a message to the JestersSneaking past the Deep Guard, our heroes descend into the Deep Roads. Troubles arrive to follow.Starring: Sky Swanson (Mall Manager), Casey Reardon (Roman Finner), Andrew Frost (Phil Donagan), Seth Coveyou (Montgomery T.B. Dremmeled), Celina (Derek Bronson), Nate Brass (Pete Swards)Edit Team: Casey Reardon, Sky Swanson [EQ], & Andrew Frost [Sound Design]Shoutouts! Need more game modules? Check out https://hatdbuilder.com for some fantastic new content to bring to your games! Use the code 'RPJESTERS' for 20% off your order, and to support the show!Follow Celina @skyeartemisFollow Nate https://linktr.ee/WhatDoIRollWant some cool RP Jesters Merch? Check out our website https://rpjesters.com/pages/storeSupport the show directly and get hours of bonus content over at https://www.patreon.com/c/rpjesters/membershipMusic Courtesy of Epidemic SoundIntro/Outro Music by Seth Coveyou.Additional Music by Monument Studios, Pixabay and YouTube Audio Library.Game System: Dungeons and Dragons 5.5eSupport the showCheck our socials! 

Monday's episode last week was about green-lighting yourself, refusing to wait for institutions to validate your work. Today we go one layer deeper. Green-lighting yourself does not mean publishing whatever you've got. It means doing the editorial work seriously, on your own behalf, so what you publish is actually ready.Editorial direction is more specific than most writers think. Here are six questions a serious editor asks of a manuscript before saying yes to it. You can start asking these of your own work today.* What is this book actually about* Who is the reader* What shelf does this book sit on* What is the reader's journey* Where is the prose working and where is it slipping* What is the work remainingEach question comes with an exercise you can do on your own manuscript right now.This episode also covers when outside editorial direction is most useful (later than most writers think) and what Crossroads's Editorial Framing Brief actually provides for writers who have done their own work and still can't see what they're missing.If you're working on a manuscript and want a publisher who thinks this way about the editorial standard—voice, testimony, weight per paragraph—Crossroads is that press.We're in our founding season through summer 2026 with founding-rate engagements.Discovery call → 20 min, free, let's chat.Author Engagement and First Draft Cohort here!—Chad Get full access to The Descent at chadprevost.substack.com/subscribe

If you've ever walked out of a doctor's office feeling dismissed, confused, or like something just didn't add up, this episode is for you. In this conversation, we're pulling back the curtain on something most people never stop to examine: the difference between science itself and the human biases, financial interests, and worldviews that shape how science gets used. As a registered nurse with over 17 years inside the pharmaceutical industry, I've seen this pattern up close. And as a Christian woman, I believe this is one of the biggest blind spots in the church today. This episode is for the Christian woman who is tired of being told to simply trust the system, who senses that something deeper is going on, and who is ready to bring discernment and faith into every health decision she makes. --- The Real Threat to Your Health May Not Be What You Think We live in a culture that shuts down questions with slogans. Question the consensus and you're labeled ignorant. But here's what Merriam-Webster actually says science is: systematized knowledge that may be studied or learned. Why would anyone be against learning? Science in and of itself is not the problem. The problem is the human bias, financial agenda, and worldview behind some of the science. When evaluating any study or health claim, wise questions to ask include: - Who ran the experiment? - Who funded it? - How many people were included? - What does the researcher stand to gain? - What worldview is shaping the interpretation? A perfect study does not exist. And even if it did, the conclusions drawn from it would still pass through a human filter. --- Worldview Shapes Everything, Even in the Lab To illustrate how a scientist's worldview affects their conclusions, consider Charles Darwin, widely taught as the father of evolutionary theory. A Princeton University article titled "The Descent of Man, 150 Years On," published in the journal Science, documents that Darwin described indigenous peoples of the Americas and Australia as lesser than Europeans, referred to African peoples as cognitively inferior, and characterized women as less capable than white men. His worldview was deeply racist and sexist, and it shaped his science. This is not an isolated example. It is a pattern. --- We've Been Wrong Before. More Than Once. Throughout history, the cultural and medical consensus has been confidently wrong: - Margarine was promoted as a heart-healthy butter alternative - Cigarette smoking was endorsed by medical doctors as safe or even beneficial - All dietary fat was declared the enemy - Kellogg's cereal was marketed as a complete, healthy breakfast - Formula was pushed as superior to breast milk - Giving birth on your back in a hospital was presented as the only safe option These were not fringe ideas. They were mainstream consensus backed by experts. And they were wrong. --- The Brainwashing Goes Beyond Health The same pattern shows up across every area of culture. We've been conditioned to believe that delaying marriage and children is the sophisticated choice, that divorce is self-care, that pornography is harmless, that sexual identity is the foundation of human identity, and that children and the elderly are burdens rather than blessings. Each of these ideas contradicts both scripture and human flourishing. When we can see the pattern clearly in culture, we become better equipped to recognize it in healthcare too. --- Why the Church Has a Blind Spot Here Many believers view the medical system as conflict-free and the science as settled. But if the enemy can convince us to put harmful things into our bodies while calling it health, he can do significant damage without ever being noticed. This is not a call to throw out the entire medical system. It is a call to bring the same discernment to your healthcare decisions that you bring to every other area of your faith. Seeking God's wisdom first for your health is not anti-science. It is stewardship. --- Timestamped Highlights - 0:01 - What if the real threat to your health is assuming the consensus is always correct? - 0:29 - Why questioning science gets mislabeled as ignorance - 1:26 - The right questions to ask about any study or health claim - 2:22 - Darwin's worldview and what it reveals about how science gets interpreted - 3:48 - A cultural history of things we were confidently told that turned out to be wrong - 5:12 - How the same brainwashing pattern shows up in marriage, sexuality, and family - 6:37 - Why this is a blind spot in the church and why it matters for holistic health - 7:08 - The real goal: not to reject the system, but to question it wisely --- Key Takeaways - Science is a tool. Like any tool, its value depends entirely on who is using it and why. - Financial interests and personal worldview shape scientific conclusions, sometimes significantly. - History shows us repeatedly that the consensus can be wrong. Discernment is not ignorance. - The church is not immune to cultural and industrial influence when it comes to health. - Seeking God's wisdom for your health is an act of faith, not fear. - You do not have to choose between faith and informed health decisions. You were made for both. --- Ready to Take the Next Step? If today's episode made you think twice about what you've been told, go grab my free training, Eight Myths That Are Keeping You Sick Right Now, at herholistichealing.com/free. A credentialed RN and pharma insider walks you through what conventional medicine keeps getting wrong, and what to do instead.

An Ancient Trap - Episode 09 - The First Descent   We are proud to announce that Shadowpublications.com is sponsored by Larry's Coffee. Visit Larry's, check out their awesome coffees, and get a free gift.   Support the podcast by purchasing The Black: Oceania. Ebook available from Amazon Become a member for exclusive content Written by Paul E Cooley Text Copyright:    ©2023 Paul E Cooley Audiobook Copyright:    ©2026 Paul E Cooley Support the podcast and get access to published and unpublished books all voiced by the author! If you are suffering from depression or other mental disorders, please get help. http://www.bipolarsupport.org/ https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ Please visit Shadowpublications.com for more information about the author and this series. To stalk the author on social media: Email: paul@shadowpublications.com Mastodon: @paul_e_cooley@vyrse.social Newsletter: http://mailinglist.shadowpublications.com  

He's the London serial killer you may never have even known existed - from the late 1950's to the mid 1960's, West London was shocked by the deaths of several sex workers, who were found stripped, strangled, and their bodies dumped unceremoniously, like pieces of rubbish. It's widely considered to be the UK's most prolific series of unsolved serial killings, claiming more victims than his similar namesake the previous century, and in a joint 8 part series between myself, and the award nominated Murder Mile podcast, myself and Mike will examine the case in full detail, sifting through misinformation, lies, rumour - and perhaps even downright corruption.The True Crime Enthusiast and Murder Mile have brought you so far the accounts of eight dead women – Elizabeth Figg, Gwyneth Rees, Hannah Tailford, Irene Lockwood, Helen Barthelemy, Mary Fleming, Margaret McGowan and Bridie O'Hara - who were found dead around the river Thames and in residential areas of the surrounding districts over a six year period from 1959 to 1965 – with police considering:Was there another Ripper on the loose?We have heard the full story of the investigation into the murders, what certainly connected the latter four of these, and the tales of a number of suspects for the crimes - I stress suspects - for only one person was ever charged with any of the linked killings - as you'll have heard.But - for the final time, join the Enthusiast and Mike, your tour guide for Murder Mile, as we sit down unscripted, unedited - togetrher, and Undress - Undressing - Jack The StripperThe episode contains details and descriptions of crimes and events, including descriptions of a sexual nature, that some listeners may find disturbing or distressing, so discretion is advised whilst listening in. Music used in this episode: "The Descent" by Kevin Macleod. All music used is sourced from https://filmmusic.io/ and used under an Attribution Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Clever Trevor – Ian DuryShort Change Hero - The HeavyThe True Crime Enthusiast's Fundraiser For Macmillan Cancer Support References - available upon request. Follow/Contact/Support The True Crime Enthusiast PodcastFacebookFacebook Discussion GroupTwitterInstagramYoutubeWebsiteTTCE MerchandisePatreon Page Remembering Elizabeth, Gwyneth, Hannah, Irene, Helen, Mary, Margaret and Bridie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we tackle the raw and unfiltered Book of Judges. We step into an era where "there was no king in Israel" to see what happens when a society—and an individual—abandons prophetic boundaries and begins to substitute personal preference for divine law. The Pride Cycle: We analyze the text's relentless pattern of prosperity, pride, sin, suffering, supplication, and salvation. We look at why God preserves this cycle as a warning for our day. Gideon's Reduction: We explore why God reduced Gideon's army from 32,000 down to just 300 men. We learn why the Lord intentionally puts us in positions where we cannot boast in our own strength. The Leadership of Deborah: We study the courage of Deborah and the unexpected heroism of Jael, illustrating how God raises up faithful individuals to do what others are too fearful to attempt. The Descent of Samson: We map out the tragic, literal "downward" geographical and spiritual journey of Samson, looking at how a man of such high potential fell victim to low achievement because of weak self-discipline. Doing Right in Our Own Eyes: We conclude with the sobering final verse of the book, confronting the modern trap of moral relativism and discovering why true freedom requires submitting to the King of Kings. Call-to-Action: Gideon needed a fleece to confirm his faith, but eventually had to move forward in the dark. What is a "strange strategy" the Lord is asking you to trust in your life right now? Let's share our thoughts on overcoming personal spiritual cycles in the comments below. To keep your faith "Unshaken" through every round of life's trials, please like, subscribe, and share this video! Chapter Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction to the Book of Judges 3:01 The Pride Cycle 14:46 An Incomplete Conquest 23:29 Making the Rounds of Righteousness & Wickedness 43:25 The First Minor Judges 51:24 Deborah & Jael 1:08:06 The Song of Deborah & Mothers in Israel 1:31:45 Gideon's Doubt & Faith 1:54:49 The Sword of the Lord & of Gideon 2:17:28 Gideon's Aftermath 2:29:33 Abimelech's Reign & the Parable of the Bramble 2:44:07 Justice & Mercy, Goodness & Grief 2:52:11 Jephthah & His Daughter 3:16:15 Samson: Child of Promise 3:26:18 Samson's Strength and Weakness 3:57:39 Samson & Delilah 4:07:33 Bind and Blind 4:16:15 Micah and the Problem of Priestcraft 4:33:42 The Levite's Concubine and the Price of Virtue 5:00:52 Conclusion 

When a skeptical doctor is challenged to spend a midnight hour inside the abandoned mill his new patient swears is haunted, he begins a journey that will force him to question everything science has taught him about the world.Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/OTRCHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = Show Open00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “The Haunted Mill” (November 08, 1977)00:46:03.754 = Mysterious Traveler, “Key Witness” (January 15, 1942)01:13:37.539 = Mystery House, “Subrosa Justice” (April 07, 1946)01:37:33.654 = Night Beat, “Byline For Frank” (June 29, 1951)02:06:52.463 = CBC Nightfall, “The Wedding” (April 15, 1983) ***WD02:37:26.781 = Nightmare, “Coincidence” (November 26, 1953)02:59:09.365 = Obsession, “Summer Evening” (January 22, 1951) ***WD03:21:53.060 = Origin of Superstition, “Ghost Ships” (July 30, 1947) ***WD03:36:07.573 = Pat Novak, “Death In Herald Square” (November 30, 1947)04:06:43.354 = Peril, “Assassin” (1953) ***WD04:32:40.665 = Mystery Playhouse, “Corpus Delicti” (January 17, 1947) ***WD04:56:50.543 = Show Close(ADU) = Air Date Unknown(LQ) = Low Quality***WD = Remastered, edited, or cleaned up by Weird Darkness to make the episode more listenable. Audio may not be pristine, but it will be better than the original file which may have been unusable or more difficult to hear without editing.CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/WDRR0668