Podcasts about natural explanations

A familiar voice returns to the show! Tim Prasil shares more ghost reports from the project that is now the book, Spectral Edition: Ghost Reports from U.S. Newspapers, 1865-1917. For more info visit BigSeance.com.   In this episode: Episode Teaser :00 Intro :42 Welcome back, Tim Prasil! 1:15 Tim’s first appearance on the podcast was Episode #22 in 2014.  More background on Tim and how the audio versions of his Spectral Edition reports became a regular segment here on The Big Seance Podcast for a few years. 1:50 The book! Spectral Edition: Ghost Reports from U.S. Newspapers, 1865-1917. 3:00 More background on how Tim’s work and how he and Patrick met. 4:29 The Stickney House. Can ghosts hide in rounded corners? 6:05 Ghost Stories 101! (Professor Prasil gets to teach a new class!) 10:43 The story of how the whole Spectral Edition project came about. 12:08 The straight forward way that ghost reports were often written in this time period. 16:45 The period around the Civil War opened a lot of minds about the possibility of ghosts. 18:48 The three reasons why ghost reports were common in this period: The “good death”/Civil War/Spiritualism, a change in the perception of distance, American journalism was young. 21:00 With the absurd death toll of the Civil War along with its influence on Spiritualism, why did the ghost reports rarely mention or involve dead soldiers? 31:13 Tim begins sharing some of the ghost reports from the book. 36:33 After a collection of over 300 articles, does Tim continue to find undiscovered ghost reports? 40:18 Researching the people behind the reports. A grisly murder and the haunting at the Southern Hotel in St. Louis. 41:30 More ghost reports from the book 48:55 Natural Explanations 52:20 The Brinkley College Ghost 1:03:38 Will there be a sequel? 1:08:05 Has this Spectral Edition project confirmed or changed Tim Prasil’s opinion on ghosts? 1:09:40 Final thoughts and where to find Tim Prasil! 1:12:40 Outro 1:14:56 #Paranerd Hashtag 1:16:31   For more on Tim Prasil Spectral Edition: Ghost Reports from U.S. Newspapers, 1865-1917 (Amazon) Tim's Site, The Merry Ghosthunter  Tim Prasil on Facebook Twitter: @TimPrasil   Record your voice feedback directly from your device on my SpeakPipe page! Call the show at (775) 583-5563 (or 7755-TELL-ME). I would love to include your voice feedback in a future show. Visit BigSéance.com for more information. Please help The Big Séance Podcast by subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn Radio, Stitcher, Google Play Music, and iHeart Radio.  

In this week’s show we conclude our discussion of early Christianity, Greco-Roman culture and Gnosticism with Robbert Conner. He is the author of The Secret Gospel of Mark The description of the book is the following: “While cataloging material in the library of the monastery of Mar Saba in 1958, Morton Smith discovered a quotation from a letter of Clement of Alexandria copied in the end pages of a 17th century collection of the letters of Ignatius. After more than a decade of collaborative analysis of the find, Smith published his conclusions in 1973, setting off a firestorm of controversy in the New Testament studies guild. In 1975, a Jesuit scholar, Quentin Quesnell, claimed the letter had been forged and implied that Smith was the forger, moving the focus of debate off the text itself and onto Smith. Since then the pages containing the letter have been removed from the book and possibly destroyed, while Catholic and evangelical writers, none of whom have ever seen the pages in question, continue to claim that Smith forged the letter. Following his death in 1991, accusations against Smith took on a considerably more personal tone, highlighting his alleged homosexuality and by implication his dishonesty and moral perversity. Although the question of authenticity remains unresolved, the controversy has opened a window on the intellectually corrupt nature of apologetic New Testament studies, a subject of greater importance than the authenticity of early Christian texts.” In the letter Clement of Alexandria addresses a gnostic group known as the Carpocratians which he considers heretical and who might have corrupted Jesus’ teachings in the original version of the Gospel of Mark. The letter includes two excerpts from this Secret Gospel (From Morton Smith’s Translation): “And they come into Bethany. And a certain woman whose brother had died was there. And, coming, she prostrated herself before Jesus and says to him, “Son of David, have mercy on me.” But the disciples rebuked her. And Jesus, being angered, went off with her into the garden where the tomb was, and straightway a great cry was heard from the tomb. And going near Jesus rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb. And straightway, going in where the youth was, he stretched forth his hand and raised him, seizing his hand. But the youth, looking upon him, loved him and began to beseech him that he might be with him. And going out of the tomb they came into the house of the youth, for he was rich. And after six days Jesus told him what to do and in the evening the youth comes to him, wearing a linen cloth over his naked body. And he remained with him that night, for Jesus taught him the mystery of the kingdom of God. And thence, arising, he returned to the other side of the Jordan.” “And the sister of the youth whom Jesus loved and his mother and Salome were there, and Jesus did not receive them.” John Dominic Crossan (a scholar interviewed on our show) has the following view of the document “I consider that canonical Mark is a very deliberate revision of Secret Mark.”(D. Crossan, Four Other Gospels: Shadows on the Contours of Canon, Minneapolis, 1985, p. 108) Our guest shares many of Morton Smith’s ideas such as considering the historical Jesus as a magical healer and sharing his interest in alternative versions of the narratives depicted in the New Testament. During our show we also discuss the gospel birth narratives which have many parallels in different cultures. Mr. Conner shares his research and frustration with scholars or laymen who read things into texts which support their preconceived ideas.

“I command you, ghost of the dead (nekudaimon), by the powerful and implacable god and by his holy names, to stand beside me in the night to come, in whatever form you had…” Michael A. Morgan Sepher Ha-Razim: The Book of Mysteries., Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1983., pg. 36,38. In this week’s show we continue our discussion of early Christianity, Greco-Roman culture and Gnosticism with Robert Conner. He is the author of Resurrection or Ghost Story? available on Scribd. During our program we discuss his research and the different types of ghosts stories in the ancient world. He shares how modern ghost stories are influenced by ancient ones and describes the documented apparitions of Romulus & Apollonius of Tyana which have many parallels to the resurrection stories in the New Testament and other stories.

This episode is part II of our interview with Robert Conner author of Jesus the Sorcerer and the website Magic in Christianity. His articles “The Romans meet Jesus” and “Faking Jesus” are featured on disinfo.com and Scribd respectively.

In this week’s show our guest is Robert Conner author of Jesus the Sorcerer and the website Magic in Christianity. His articles “The Romans meet Jesus” and “Faking Jesus” are featured on disinfo.com and Scribd respectively. We discuss the topic Magic & The Supernatural in the early church focusing on Jesus’ relation to Greek Culture and how the apostle Paul borrowed ideas from some of the mystery cults in the Mediterranean. We also discuss sourcery and demonology in the Greco/Roman culture of that time.According to Gershon Scholem, the late expert in Jewish mysticism, Jewish Gnosticism did not exist since as Kabbalistic literature did not develop until later centuries. Mr. Conner discusses the work of Elaine Pagels,’ an expert in the Gnostic Gospels, as she wrote the most extensive work on Gnosticism in Paul’s writings. Our topic is very controversial in nature, especially as our guest discusses information that can be misconstruded by some. For example: when discussing how early Christians commited acts of vandalism in the Roman Empire he is reporting accounts from Roman leaders who are antagonistic to the nascent Jesus movement. Regarding Jesus claims the aspect of fulfilled prophecy is a debatable topic that is not covered in this series. In this show we also do not discuss the impact of Christianity on human history or the traditional Christian interpretation of world events. Our guest shares the worldview of the apocalyptic groups which were part of first century Judaism. However, he does not address claims scholarly concerns that the gospels are not historically reliable sources, but apologetic missionary tracts which make it difficult to do a historical reconstruction of the events that transpired. At first impression it appears that in some of his works he claims that the Gnostics were the majority of Jesus followers. This is one of the controversial points of his argument since it is part of the justification for his view of Jesus and his followers using magic to gain members. Gnosticism is known as secretive in nature, not evangelistic as many groups in that time period and beyond. I asked our guest regarding the sexuality of Jesus and his followers because in his booklet Faking Jesus he alludes to the accusation of some Roman leaders that the early Christians were immoral in their relationships. This type of personal attack on the opposition is common among groups struggling for political power. The demonization of the other is the easiest way to neutralize your opponents views. Mr. Conner also does not address the differences between the Gnostic perspective of God and the biblical one. This is an important topic that I will try to bring up in our future interviews. I am also interested in discussing the Gospels’ birth narratives which have many parallels in other cultures. Many academic would disagree with his view that later Christians manipulated the scriptures; instead some scholars see the Hebrew Bible as inspiration for many different views. One examples is the Essenes at Qumran who reinterpreted the scriptures to meet their theological needs, but this does not mean they were heretical for doing this since it took centuries for classical Judaism to develop.

"‘Christianity’ under its various names had been thriving for centuries before that. As we may now appreciate, it was the more original cult that was driven underground by the combined efforts of the Roman, Jewish, and ecclesiastical authorities; it was the supreme “heresy” which came on, made terms with the secular powers, and became the Church of today.
" (Allegro, XX) During our third show we discussed the above book and explored some of its assertions. One topic addressed on our podcast is Allegro’s obsession with sexualizing the Bible, another one is his portrayal of the “Yachad” or the community of Qumran, as Gnostics Christians not apocalyptic Jews as they were. On one side of the debate David discussed the lack of evidence regarding biblical figures creating potions or amulets. In support of the book claims Ryan discussed the parallels between ancient religions and the use of plants and fungi by indigenous groups. According to the majority of scholars the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls were extremely religious individuals who were more extrict than the Pharisees. Their community was interested in internalizing rules and regulations of the Torah which forbid the practice of the magical arts (Exodus 22.17). Another aspect of the conversation is the idea that anyone can be a mystic or a prophet, which is unique to Christianity. An article in “Christianity Today” about Mormonism discusses how that religion is becoming very popular in Africa because in that culture it is common for people to proclaim themselves as prophets without any mitigation of religious institutions to sanction their religious experiences.

" ‘Christianity’ under its various names had been thriving for centuries before that. As we may now appreciate, it was the more original cult that was driven underground by the combined efforts of the Roman, Jewish, and ecclesiastical authorities; it was the supreme “heresy” which came on, made terms with the secular powers, and became the Church of today.
" (Allegro, XX) During our third show we discussed the above book and explored some of its assertions. One topic addressed on our podcast is Allegro’s obsession with sexualizing the Bible, another one is his portrayal of the “Yachad” or the community of Qumran, as Gnostics Christians not apocalyptic Jews as they were. On one side of the debate David discussed the lack of evidence regarding biblical figures creating potions or amulets. In support of the book claims Ryan discussed the parallels between ancient religions and the use of plants and fungi by indigenous groups. According to the majority of scholars the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls were extremely religious individuals who were more extrict than the Pharisees. Their community was interested in internalizing rules and regulations of the Torah which forbid the practice of the magical arts (Exodus 22.17). Another aspect of the conversation is the idea that anyone can be a mystic or a prophet, which is unique to Christianity. An article in “Christianity Today” about Mormonism discusses how that religion is becoming very popular in Africa because in that culture it is common for people to proclaim themselves as prophets without any mitigation of religious institutions to sanction their religious experiences.