The Age of Information: Orthodoxy & The Modern World

We break down Russ Manion's paper, "The Contingency of Knowledge and Revelatory Theism". What is truth? Is there a such thing as objective reality? How would we know? These questions have been debated by philosophers for millenia, and yet there still appear to be no answers backed by science itself. So can we believe anything that anyone says? How can we trust anything? Manion describes our world as it is seen by materialists, atheists, and empiricists, and demonstrates how on their own presuppositions, reality itself devolves into meaninglessness. The rescue from this abysmal state of utter despair and destruction is God, Himself. Without God as He has revealed Himself to us, we cannot even make coherent sentences, let alone believe that what we call "reality" is in any way actually real. Paper here: https://www.patristicfaith.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/The_Contingency_of_Knowledge_and_Revelatory_Theism.pdf

Today we touch on the thoughts of neo-Calvinist Herman Dooyeweerd, and tie in the Sacred Orthodox Tradition of Phillip Sherrard. Please remember to like, comment, share, and subscribe. Links to www content: https://isi.org/intercollegiate-review/philosophy-of-the-cosmonimic-idea-herman-dooyeweerds-political-and-legal-thought/ Ground Motives : https://www.dooy.info/ground.motives.html https://www.orth-transfiguration.org/resources/library/writings-of-the-saints/philip-sherrard-1922-1995/ https://orthodoxwiki.org/Philip_Sherrard

The Didache (did-a-key), Διδαχή, or The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, is an early Christian text that most scholars date to the first or early second century. The Didache was highly regarded by many early Christian authors and theologians. Athanasius of Alexandria (†373) recommended it to converts, and it had a great influence on the Apostolic Constitutions (375). Before the New Testament canon was formally settled in 692, a number of Biblical canonsincluded the Didache; John of Damascus (†749) was also a noted supporter. The text disappeared and was lost for centuries, until it was rediscovered in 1873 by Philotheos Bryennios, Metropolitan of Nicomedia. Today it is usually included among the second-generation Christian writings known as the Apostolic Fathers. Link to the read text: https://legacyicons.com/content/didache.pdf Books: https://www.amazon.com/Apostolic-Fathers-English-Michael-Holmes/dp/0801031087 https://www.amazon.com/Apostolic-Fathers-Translation-Lexham-Classics/dp/1683590643/ref=pd_lpo_sccl_1/132-5016306-6504264?pd_rd_w=6yMLO&content-id=amzn1.sym.1ad2066f-97d2-4731-9356-36b3edf1ae04&pf_rd_p=1ad2066f-97d2-4731-9356-36b3edf1ae04&pf_rd_r=6FYZ5JPMDE6CXHNFQX78&pd_rd_wg=mTkBz&pd_rd_r=5b87c991-fda2-4815-bc8c-cd5ff7ced936&pd_rd_i=1683590643&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/Apostolic-Fathers-Greek-English-Translations/dp/080103468X/ref=pd_lpo_sccl_2/132-5016306-6504264?pd_rd_w=6yMLO&content-id=amzn1.sym.1ad2066f-97d2-4731-9356-36b3edf1ae04&pf_rd_p=1ad2066f-97d2-4731-9356-36b3edf1ae04&pf_rd_r=6FYZ5JPMDE6CXHNFQX78&pd_rd_wg=mTkBz&pd_rd_r=5b87c991-fda2-4815-bc8c-cd5ff7ced936&pd_rd_i=080103468X&psc=1

Ross Twele is a doctoral candidate at The Catholic University of America, and the Director of Evangelization for Holy Family Catholic Church in North Carolina. His work is focused on the early Church, early Patristics, specifically in the translations of Hilary of Poitiers and the Ecumenical Councils. Check him out here: https://twitter.com/RossTwele https://sketchesofchrist.wordpress.com/

Today we jump into a few pages of Father Andrew Stephen Damick's book. We're going to dissect what makes Orthodox Christianity True, what makes other beliefs UnTrue, and delve into what is truth, anyway?? Share, Like, Listen, Subscribe, Scramble fried eggs... Enjoy!

Today we finish up the first book of Fr. John Strickland's series. We tie up some loose ecumenical council ends, discuss briefly the Muscovite-Kievan Christian conversion, and knot the bow on the Roman papism to close out the first millenium Let me know what you think!

Nick and Jeremy from the Cloud of Witnesses Podcast join me to talk about their journeys to Orthodoxy, the lives of the saints, how to both live and talk about our beliefs, and what Orthodox Christians can do for evangelizing our faith. Here is their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@cloudofwitnessesradio/videos My previous conversation with them from last month: https://youtu.be/zmbesA4V8Nk?si=zbR2g0O9CxW7Fa0y A link to CoWP Patreon: https://youtu.be/zmbesA4V8Nk?si=zbR2g0O9CxW7Fa0y These guys are legit wonderful, so please check out and support their work!!

Dr Robert A Hand (Not to be confused with the not-invited astrologist Robert S. Hand) joins me to discuss his book: Presupposing God: Theological Epistemology in Immanuel Kant's Transcendental Idealism and Karl Barth's Theology: https://www.amazon.com/Presupposing-God-Princeton-Theological-Monograph/dp/1666728675 I originally encountered Dr. Hand's work on this short podcast series: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ieLmfLnB164YclxKZHriN And you can check out his website here: https://www.robert-hand.com/ I was in search of as much information as I could gather on Arius and the "Controversy" leading up to the Council of Nicea (325 AD) and I was blown away by his book in the process, and invited him to chat. You've heard me talk about Enlightenment philosophy, but today we get super granular and talk about why this matters. And it matters to both the Eastern AND Western traditions. As mentioned in the show, here is a link to the line-by-line breakdown of the Nicean-Constantinopolitan Creed as quoted in Scripture: https://stpaulsirvine.org/the-creed-with-scriptural-references/ And here is the link to the SVS books dealing with Orthodox and Methodist "ecumenism", should that interest you: https://svspress.com/orthodox-and-wesleyan-spirituality/

Daniel was kind enough to invite me on his show. This is the episode, and below is his caption. YP is a stand-up guy and I really enjoyed being able to let loose a bit here. Go check him out on YT!! "Today we welcome as our guest Adam Patrick host of the YouTube channel and podcast @theageof_info We have entered an age when all of the worlds information is available at our fingertips (literally) and everything seems to be changing around us. Yet, as scripture says, there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). The spiritual reality that underlies creation has not changed. On Adam's podcast he discusses the intersection of age-old Orthodox Christianity and the modern world. Adam has an academic background in Philosophy, and in todays conversation we will hear how he began his investigation into Orthodoxy in order to take it apart using his philosophical training. He found that, try as he might, he was unable to disprove the teachings of the Orthodox Church. Eventually this led to his embrace of the Orthodox faith. We are going to be using as a jump-off point for our conversation a post which he made on Facebook in which he was discussing the idea of the “good.” How do you define good? How do you justify your belief in what is good? Is perfect the enemy of good?" ____________________________________________ Young P links: Telegram Chatroom: https://t.me/+Q7EJv3fhYqY5ZjVh Telegram Channel: https://t.me/+jITpv7gWcE9hM2Ix

I joined Jason and Mark on 2Bit Podcast to chat about Alexander Dugan and his book. We pivot pretty quick into theology and philosophy. Long story short, Dugin is perhaps nominally Orthodox, but he's perennialist and ultimately gnostic in action. Check out the fellas here: https://www.youtube.com/@UCxKHCMB0iwZkqKEustgsZwA

Filioque Fanaticism!! Today, Matt, Zac, and I turn ten pages into three hours, as we follow the late first millennial filioque controversy into the Photian/Nicolaitan Schism. One simple Latin phrase, comprising three English words, may be all the stands between an undivided paradisaical Christendom, and permanent utopian chasm. We discuss, and we're pulling no punches. Remember to follow Matt @kingpilled and to LIKE, COMMENT, SHARE, and SUBSCRIBE!! Thanks everyone!

Matt rejoins TAoI to discuss Chapter 5 of Paradise & Utopia by Fr. John Strickland. This chapter deals with the time leading up to, and consequences of, Charlemagne and the Franks splitting from Byzantium in the middle of the first millennium. Check Matt out here: https://twitter.com/realKingpilled Third Position Nutrition here: https://3rdpositionnutrition.com/ Fr. Strickland's books here: https://johnstrickland.org/

Here are the 10 pages or so that Buck and I skipped over on the previous episode. Father Strickland expands on some of the Liturgical and Cosmological contributions from East to West. Enjoy :)

Buck joins me again to resume our discussion of Paradise & Utopia - The Age of Paradise. Today we'll read Chapter four, and talk about the "heroic papacy" of the mid first millennium, and how subtle changes in theological attitudes and arguments lead to drastic outcomes. We'll talk about Leo the Great, Gregory the Great, Augustine, and heresies like Monothelitism. I decided to omit a short portion of the chapter. As we were rolling along nicely on the historical topics, theres a short few pages that talk about Liturgical and calendrical worship. I'll address this section in a separate video that will be out early next week, only on YouTube. As promised in the video, here are some useful links to further elaborate the particular points of discussion: Aristotle's Metaphysics : https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-metaphysics/?fbclid=IwAR1N1exQtWCIs98EW_QdSxbXMADWlLsZQ76BFtn9hcC68sTVfGgZFm73eL8 Energies & Personhood - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/zygo.12795?fbclid=IwAR27GYFK1zWcKnPem1_9MxK9kjDZw9VF298Ig6AMoKkIjDTkxKMoQo-HrsY Pete Quinones' episode on Aristotle, from a Roman Catholic perspective - https://freemanbeyondthewall.libsyn.com/episode-950 Buck, as always, is here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0RyQTjGxMeNGlfAFgeLS_A Remember to like, comment, share, and subscribe!!

After a wonderful wedding and six weeks off, I return to the Father John Strickland book - "The Age of Paradise". I'm joined by Young Penitent, who was gracious enough to host me on his channel just this past week. We chatted there about Presuppositional Apologetics and the Transcendental Argument. That episode is here: https://www.youtube.com/live/Z-XfSb6TQik?si=wMxyvHCCkgQVX_QQ In this "bridge" chapter 3 of Fr John's book, we will cover the time period between Constantine the Great and Justinian, setting up the next conversation to come in which we'll discuss more of how Western Christendom begins to fall off the rails. Today's topics include Eusebius vs Augustine, Caesaropapism, Symphonia, and the development of early Christian statecraft. You can purchase Fr. John's books here: https://johnstrickland.org And Daniel "Young Penitent" Marker's YT channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/@UCmLTIS0W9ObGh9EaoUTraPg

Fr. John Strickland serves as priest at St. Elizabeth Orthodox Church in Poulsbo, Washington. He is the author of The Making of Holy Russia, published by Holy Trinity Publications, Jordanville. AFP publications include: The Age of Nihilism: Christendom from the Great War to the Culture Wars , The Age of Paradise , The Age of Division: Christendom from the Great Schism to the Protestant Reformation , and The Age of Utopia: Christendom from the Renaissance to the Russian Revolution. We've been working through Fr. John's Christendom anthology, but today we are going to address Russia - past, present, and future. I wanted to tie Christian Nationalism as best we could, because it's becoming a growing force in the West as of this release. Please check out Fr. John' work here: www.johnstrickland.org

Dr. David Bradshaw is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Kentucky. He earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin in 1996 with a specialization in ancient philosophy. He is the author of Aristotle East and West: Metaphysics and the Division of Christendom (2004) and the editor of Philosophical Theology and the Christian Tradition: Russian and Western Perspectives (2012) and Ethics and the Challenge of Secularism: Russian and Western Perspectives (2013), as well as co-editor of Natural Theology in the Eastern Orthodox Tradition (2021). He also edited the section on “The Greek Christian Tradition” for Medieval Philosophy: A Multicultural Reader, ed. Bruce Foltz (2019). He also just published Divine Energies and Divine Action, in which he explores further the Essence-Energies distinction. Dr. Bradshaw joins me to discuss why philosophy matters, what the "energies" of God are, and why your theology has real world consequences (something subscribers to this channel have heard us discuss at length, in the past.) Some places to check out his work, and sites to purchase the books: https://uky.academia.edu/DBradshaw https://philpeople.org/profiles/david-bradshaw https://philosophy.as.uky.edu/users/dbradsh https://www.amazon.com/Aristotle-East-West-Bradshaw/dp/0521035562/ref=sr_1_1?crid=9PHPRYJEHM1O&keywords=%22david+bradshaw%22&qid=1689172125&s=books&sprefix=david+bradshaw+%2Cstripbooks%2C92&sr=1-1

J.T. Bridges is a writer, and both the Academic Dean and Professor of Philosophy at Southern Evangelical Seminary. He received a B.S. from Iowa State University, an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, an M.A. in Philosophy from Baylor University, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion from Southern Evangelical Seminary. Dr. Bridges joins me to discuss his unique approach to Neo-Darwinism from the perspective of Philosophy of Science. He proposes using the concepts of Thomas Aquinas to combat the scientific "data" that presupposes Darwin's theory of evolution, and argues that the Intelligent Design community needs to re-orient their efforts in the realm of scientific inquiry. It's an interesting approach, especially from an Orthodox POV, and I appreciate Dr. Bridges laying out the argument for all of us! We also close on Christian mysticism and what we've seen over the last few years that leads us to believe there no escaping human need to Worship. Check out his YT here: https://www.youtube.com/@jtbridges Remember to subscribe, like, comment, and share!!

A while back, JimBob introduced me to Jeremy, and after several really great phone conversations we decided we needed to record a show. Jeremy left LDS (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints / Mormonism) two decades ago, but has spent that time learning and growing through both good times and bad. He is now a brother in the Orthodox Church! We get into some specifics of "Mormonism", things you may not even know are real; as well as compare this to Orthodox Christianity, and discuss different types of outreach to this who still call themselves LDS believers. Had a lot of fun with this one, even though I was running on fumes. Reach out to Jeremy here: jeremyfirth@gmail.com As always: remember to subscribe, like, comment, and share!!!

Resuming our discussion on Father John Strickland's four-volume work, today Matt Erickson of the Kingpilled podcast joins me to follow the story of early Christendom from the first century up until the victory at Milvian Bridge by the future Emperor Constantine. We'll touch on some classic aspects of Christendom, including martyrdom, status of women and children, icons, relics, and the virtues that separated the early Christians from the pagan world surrounding them. You can purchase this book (and Father's other books) through Fr. John's website here: https://johnstrickland.org/ And Matt's links are here: https://www.instagram.com/realkingpilled/?hl=en https://twitter.com/realKingpilled https://www.youtube.com/@kingpilled Remember to like, subscribe, comment, and share!!