The Mind of the Early Church

In this episode, Peter Ibrahim joins Daniel Hanna to discuss how the contextual reading (think historical and cultural context) of the Scriptures illuminates ideas that lead to a deeper spiritual life. Ultimately what we find is God's love is brought to the foreground beginning from Genesis 1. Some of the texts we explore are Genesis 1, 2, and 22 and the narrative of Exodus and how when we understand them contextually, it shows how they fit in with other parts of the Scriptures. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, I interview Veronia Saad, the author of the book Living Theosis, who discusses how the Cappadocian Mothers and the way they lived their lives with God was the basis of the deep theology of the Cappadocian Fathers: St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. Gregory of Nyssa. Among the topics that this episode engages with are: womanhood, motherhood, family life, marriage, monasticism, parish life, and Christian transformation. You can get the book at this link: https://amzn.to/3Z8dbkc You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Father Gregory Bishay, who has a PhD in computer engineering, robotics, and computer vision (a field of artificial intelligence) joins me for a discussion about artificial intelligence, consciousness, and human identity. Father Gregory covers the history of computing and digital technology to demystify artificial intelligence and reveals to us where the real threat lies. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This is an interview with Thilo Young about his book titled "An American Flight to Egypt: A Western Evangelical Discovers the Ancient Faith" that details his and his wife's journey to Orthodoxy You can purchase the book by clicking this link: https://amzn.to/3H09Jkv "God is still powerfully and gloriously at work in the Coptic Orthodox Christian Church. This is the account of God drawing a lost, hurt, and spiritually impoverished person to Himself. Deeply reflective. For those of you hurting and unable to let go of the past and to believe freely and fully, God’s work in this couple’s life shows that healing, love, freedom, and satisfaction is possible. This book will make you laugh and will make you cry… from laughing. Believe me, I laughed out loud in many places. But it is deeply moving, eye-opening, and at moments will make you silent. Such reflectiveness by an individual is rare in this generation, but this type of reflectiveness is the way we become aware of God's work in our lives. Perhaps, unexpectedly, is that Thilo's conversion story became interwoven with the Divine Liturgy. This is a deeper layer of the story, but I noticed it quickly, and his quotes at the beginning of each chapter help direct your attention as to how the things we pray in the liturgy indeed manifest themselves in our everyday lives. If this seems interesting, it is one of the reasons you should read this book. Whether you are interested in a conversion account, or whether you want to see a pattern of reflectiveness that you can imitate and implement in your own spiritual lives, or whether you want to see how the liturgy can and is interwoven into our daily lives (only if we pay attention), then you should read this book. This book shows that the faith of the Coptic Orthodox Christian Church throughout all its ages and wisdom and worship is still making true disciples of Christ to this day." You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

How can we read the Bible with any type of confidence that we are understanding it correctly. This is a discussion on how to do so featuring Thilo Young. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This is the second of a two part discussion on On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius. We discuss the book's main argument. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

St. Athanasius most well known work On the Incarnation is a classic of early Christianity, but what is not well known is that On the Incarnation is actually Part II of a two part work. The first part is called Contra Gentes, or Against the Heathen, and it sets up who is Logos and how he relates to the world. Only after understanding this important first part can one fully appreciate On the Incarnation. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

What is memory? How did ancient and medieval Christians understand memory? What were their memorization techniques and how did these help them develop a robust spiritual life? All these questions and more are answered in this episode, which is a discussion between Daniel Hanna and Katerina Kern of the CiRCE Institute. To visit the webpage for the CiRCE Institute, click here: https://www.circeinstitute.org To contact Katerina, email her at katerina@circeinstitute.com You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

What does it mean to be human? What does it mean for God to love humanity? How does this connect to how we educate children (and adults)? These questions are discussed with Joshua Gibbs, a classical educator. You can follow him at https://www.gibbsclassical.com You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

A discussion on the relationship between spirituality and theology with Father Paul Guirgis. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The early Church understood time through two words with two distinct meanings: Chronos and Kairos. What each one means, and what it means for us as Christians today, is discussed in this episode featuring a discussion with Peter Ibrahim the founder of the St. Jacob of Serugh Choir in Vancouver, British Columbia. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

How do we become well-formed individuals? The answer is literature. This episode explores the formative power of wholesome literature and the strong spirituality it produces. It also explores the role of formation and literature on marriage. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Early Christianity had a very strong philosophical understanding of the integration of beauty, goodness, and truth and how the recognition and integration of these three leads to a healthy soul and formative education. This is the second episode of a four part series on Classical Christian Education. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The philosophy of utilitarianism has infiltrated the Church and has debilitated congregations because it skews their conception of humanity and morality. The results have been disastrous. This is the first of a four part series on Classical Christian Education. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Eros is misunderstood among today's Christians as bodily love. The reality, on the other hand, is that eros can be deeply spiritual, and incarnational. If that is the case, it can unite with agape and be fulfilled. This is a reflection on love, attraction, marriage, conversation, and transformation. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode special guest Father Stephen Freeman and I discuss the relationship between Christ and Morality. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

I reflect on my experience of 2020. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Nothing is more misunderstood today than Christian asceticism, especially seasons of fasting. Some think that fasting is a way to please God and to show him how good we are. Others disapprove of this type of thinking, supposing those who think so have a wrong understanding of God, and that God does not desire that we fast for that would be a works-based salvation, meaning salvation is on us and not on God. Yet still, some think that periods of fasting indicate that the churches who do so are unnecessarily legalistic, and thus imposing a fast encroaches upon the freedom we have in Christ. Others think that fasting by itself makes them more spiritual. All these things just mentioned are misconceptions. These misconceptions can be corrected if we understand how the early Christians practiced fasting. The result will also be that our spiritual lives will be deepened and transformed in the process. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This is the second part of a three-part exploration. Before one can even think about the Liturgy, one must pinpoint what it is centered on. All Christian liturgies respond to the same realities and revolve around those realities. It is important to know the origin and foundation of the Liturgy and this is clearly seen in the New Testament, especially in the Epistle to the Hebrews. You can follow me to get updates by by signing up to my mailing list by clicking here: bit.ly/32VDhKY or follow me on Facebook by clicking here: goo.gl/tXwi7i Music played at the beginning and end of the podcast is titled "Prelude No. 6" by Chris Zabriskie from his album Preludes used under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/