Fr. Stephen De Young is back on the podcast to discuss his latest book, St. Paul the Pharisee. St. Paul is at the core of many modern misunderstandings about Christianity; Fr. Stephen presents how we can understand St. Paul’s writings within the context of who he was, when he lived, and who he was addressing in his epistles, ultimately bringing us closer to the vision Christ Himself gave us.

-Buy Fr. Stephen’s book on the Ancient Faith Store - Saint Paul the Pharisee: Jewish Apostle to All Nations: https://store.ancientfaith.com/saint-paul-the-pharisee-jewish-apostle-to-all-nations/ 
-On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Saint-Paul-Pharisee-Apostle-Nations/dp/1955890706

==========Book description==========
The centuries after the Protestant Reformation brought about a radical reinterpretation of the epistles of St. Paul, disconnected from any historical reality. But Paul operated, during his entire life, as a faithful Pharisee within the Roman Jewish world. In Saint Paul the Pharisee: Jewish Apostle to All Nations, Fr. Stephen De Young surveys Paul’s life and writings, interpreting them within the Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church. This survey is followed by De Young’s interpretive translation of St. Paul’s epistles, which deliberately avoids overly familiar terminology. By using words and ideas grounded in first-century Judaism, De Young hopes to unsettle commonly held notions and help the reader reassess St. Paul in his historical context.

==========NEW SYMBOLIC WORLD COURSE==========
Join us for Annie Crawford's course on C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, starting live on January 17th, 2025. Register now: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/till-we-have-faces-with-annie-crawford

==========Other links==========
Lord of Spirits podcast: https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/lordofspirits/
Fr. Stephen’s talk at the Symbolic World Summit 2024, Friedrich Nietzsche’s Guide to the Bodily Resurrection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OVbxZJ463Q
Daily Wire The Gospels seminar: https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-gospels   

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
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==========Timestamps==========
00:00 - Coming up
01:13 - Intro music
01:38 - Introduction to St. Paul and Contextual Understanding
06:16 - Settling the "works vs faith" debate
13:06 - St. Paul and the Gospels: A Unified Message
15:37 - Scholasticism vs Mysticism
20:17 - The Transformation of Society through St. Paul's Vision
24:19 - Slavery and Christian Ethics in St. Paul's Writings
32:34 - The Kingdom of Heaven is already here
38:15 - Hierarchy bad
39:58 - The core of St. Paul's teachings: Faithfulness
41:34 - The Call to Individual Purpose
46:32 - The Nature of Christian Hierarchy
51:32 - St. Paul: Context and Misunderstandings
56:03 - Keeping Jewish practices
01:04:56 - The Sabbath
01:05:50 - Tradition preserves context
01:11:08 - Understanding St. Paul: A Personal Connection

Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

Paul Kingsnorth gave a provocative talk for First Things' Erasmus Lecture of 2024, titled "Against Christian Civilization". In this episode, we discuss the essence of his argument, delving into the fundamental tensions between Christianity and civilization. How does faith interact with culture? What is the Biblical narrative around cities and governance? Are we misusing Christianity as a tool for cultural preservation over pursuing true spiritual transformation? Is Western Civilization as we know it even salvable at this point?

-Paul Kingsnorth’s First Things talk: "Against Christian Civilization" | 2024 Erasmus Lecture: https://www.youtube.com/live/Y3hMSZqatHI?si=bmT1rqPyEF-LvR0_ 
-Written article version of his talk: Against Christian Civilization, January 2025: https://www.firstthings.com/article/2025/01/against-christian-civilization 

==========NEW SYMBOLIC WORLD COURSE==========
Join us for Annie Crawford's course on C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, starting live on January 17th, 2025. Register now: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/till-we-have-faces-with-annie-crawford

==========TIMESTAMPS==========
00:00 - Coming up
01:31 - Intro music
01:56 - Introduction
03:02 - The essence of Paul's talk
07:13 - Civilization and Revelation
12:02 - A Christian's challenge
16:45 - The Biblical vision
31:13 - What about the rulers?
37:01 - Buildings
42:10 - Brands and idols
47:27 - The seed and the fruit
49:24 - Celebrating stories

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
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Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

In celebration of the Feast of Theophany I discuss the role of St. John the Baptist, or St. John the Forerunner, as he's known in the Orthodox tradition. Why does Christ need a forerunner? What is he actually doing, symbolically? And how does his appearance, behavior, and death participate in the pattern that's already being set up in the Old Testament?

Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/dvUQXKdpJy0
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
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🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 
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==========NEW SYMBOLIC WORLD COURSE==========
Join us for Annie Crawford's course on C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, starting live on January 17th, 2025. If you register before Thursday, 8 pm EST, you can get 15% off with the discount code: LEWIS2025. Register now: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/till-we-have-faces-with-annie-crawford

==========TIMESTAMPS==========
00:00 - Introduction
00:32 - Intro music
00:57 - The role of St. John
04:05 - Prefigurations of St. John
04:21 - The flood of Noah
05:15 - The Tower of Babel
06:06 - The Exodus
07:55 - Elijah
09:37 - St. John in the wilderness
12:36 - The voice in the desert
13:51 - Wild
15:58 - Stability in Logos
17:55 - Elijah will return
21:49 - Taken up before the end
23:21 - Joseph in Egypt
26:16 - Conclusion

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Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

For this interview I have a great discussion with organist, pianist, conductor, arranger, and recording artist Matthew Wilkinson, who also happened to put together the Symbolic World intro music. We delve into the symbolism of music, particularly focusing on Bach's organ works. The discussion also touches on the evolution of musical styles from the Baroque period to the Classical, modern and postmodern eras, the historical context of music, from the music of the spheres to modern dissonance, and how these concepts reflect broader ideas about hierarchy and opposites.

Support Matthew Wilkinson's wonderful work: 
Check out his website and buy his CD: https://matthewwilkinson.net/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/24DSGAdbVt7by0JHEqTwMh?si=ZJlpdMkcSg6SfMvz7YbkFg
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@matthewwilkinson2276?si=m1gbZgTSpOALVdq5

Join us for Annie Crawford's course on C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, starting live on January 17th, 2025. Learn more here: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/till-we-have-faces-with-annie-crawford

Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/d-9FRODiDKM  

Timestamps:
00:00 - Coming up
00:56 - Intro music
01:21 - Introduction
02:18 - The album on Bach
05:38 - Trinitarian symbolism
14:49 - Meaning in structure vs outside it
20:15 - The hero's journey
22:05 - Signatures
25:06 - Subject and countersubject
26:19 - The organ
29:25 - Going through the entrances
32:39 - Various subjects
35:03 - Baroque
36:37 - Counterpoint
37:21 - Duality in music
40:14 - Music of the spheres
43:54 - Hierarchy in beats
47:15 - Glenn Gould
49:19 - The dialectic
51:04 - Hierarchy in music
55:16 - Music in the modern era
01:07:45 - Postmodernism

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
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Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

This is a repost of a talk given at St-George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Montreal, originally posted in 2018.
The Nativity icon is not only the image of an event that happened two thousands years ago, but rather by its form and the hierarchy of its elements, shows us the inner working of how the Divine Logos creates the world and how His incarnation acts as the anchor, the fulcrum around which all manifestation holds together.  

Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/i8xow567P74
Don’t forget to check out our Christmas Symbolism playlist of all the videos I made about Christmas over the years:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVX4HUUPrIY9MeGP5IILeRzu62Q1NPT4C

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:10 - Intro music
01:34 - Introducing the talk
03:50 - The fast
05:29 - Elements of the nativity icon
08:04 - St. Joseph tempted by the devil
10:44 - The bullseye
13:24 - The ass and ox
15:40 - Why born in a cave?
20:31 - God with us
25:44 - The real question
32:44 - Q&A: The river gods
35:20 - Q: The axe
35:50 - Q: Early icons
37:08 - Q: Children baptized
38:12 - Q: Snakes under the door

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
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Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

In this episode, I explore a dark narrative aspect of the Christmas story: the Massacre of the Innocents at the hand of King Herod, connecting it to various Old Testament variations on the pattern: Joseph and the Pharaoh, Jacob and Esau, and David and King Saul. Christ brings all of these stories together in a unique and mind-blowing way, not just in the Gospels, but also in what happens in history afterwards…

Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/cGZn-hv7dis
Check out my other videos on Christmas: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVX4HUUPrIY9MeGP5IILeRzu62Q1NPT4C

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 
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00:00 - Introduction
01:42 - Intro music
02:07 - The text
03:39 - What's going on?
03:59 - Pharaoh kills children in Egypt
05:48 - Joseph son of Israel
07:11 - Jacob and Esau
09:22 - King Saul and David
10:31 - The story of Jesus
12:11 - A prophecy: killed by His brothers
13:43 - The conversion of Rome
14:47 - Going back in time
16:38 - Why is this part of reality?

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Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

This is a repost of the November 2024's patron video where I take a closer look into the restoration of Notre Dame de Paris. After a devastating fire in 2019, and 5 years of reconstruction, Notre Dame is now officially open. But did they get it right in how they rebuilt the church?

🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

I sat down with Fr. Josiah Trenham, archpriest at St. Andrew Orthodox Church in Riverside, California, and founder and director of Patristic Nectar Publications. With over 30 years of experience as a priest in America, Fr. Josiah has a wealth of knowledge about the state of Orthodoxy in the West and the challenges converts face. We discuss various aspects of Orthodox and contemporary life: beauty, money, politics, sexuality, the youth, psychedelics, artificial intelligence, and more. Enjoy.

Support Fr. Josiah’s work at Patristic Nectar Publications: https://patristicnectar.org/
 @PatristicNectarFilms  

Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/nSlZMeYD-PE

==============Timestamps==============
00:00 - Coming up
01:07 - Intro music
01:32 - Introduction
03:06 - The state of Orthodoxy in America
11:09 - What happened?
18:07 - Change and the conversion of young men
24:00 - Prioritizing beauty
35:31 - Balancing the budget
38:37 - Orthobros
42:41 - Bear yourself
50:16 - The ancient pagan world vs modern secular world
55:15 - Psychedelics
59:34 - The future is religious
01:01:15 - Artificial intelligence
01:07:38 - Intuition about what's coming

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 
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📱 SOCIAL MEDIA  
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Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.pageau

Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

A clip has been circulating from the upcoming Christianities movie, hosted by John Heers, of Tucker Carlson recounting a terrifying experience he had where he woke up with bleeding claw marks on his sides and is convinced it was a demonic attack. In this video I discuss such experiences. How is it possible that a spiritual entity can physically manifest?

Support the Christianities movie and check out the sneak peak clip of Tucker Carlson recounting his experience of a demonic attack: https://www.christianitiesmovie.com/sneak-peak 

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/YJAWgfCJv8E


======SYMBOLIC WORLD COURSES: 50% OFF BLACK FRIDAY SALE======
Did you miss out on a Symbolic World course this year? Here’s your chance! This Black Friday, enjoy 50% off six of our Symbolic World courses and 25% off my carving courses.

Use the code BLACKFRIDAY2024 at checkout between 12:00 AM EST on Friday, Nov. 29 and 11:59 PM EST on Monday, Dec. 1.

Courses on Sale:
-Universal History: Beowulf with Richard Rohlin and Jonathan Pageau
-Inferno: The Symbolic World Goes to Hell with Richard Rohlin and Jonathan Pageau
-Purgatorio: The Symbolic World Ascends the Mountain with Richard Rohlin and Jonathan Pageau
-Symbolic World Metaphysics with JP Marceau
-C.S. Lewis and the Cosmic Trilogy with Annie Crawford
-The Symbolic World Summit 2024 Video Package (includes all lectures and breakout sessions)

Carving Courses (25% Off):
Use the same code, BLACKFRIDAY2024, to get discounts on my Thinkific carving courses:
-Carving an Icon of the Holy Virgin
-Carving St. John the Baptist

Please note: The discount applies to one-time purchases only. Ensure you're logged into the Symbolic World Circle platform before making your purchase.



==============CHRISTIAN WONDER TALES==============
Join Dr. Martin Shaw for his first ever online course on Christian Wonder Tales! This is our most highly anticipated course yet, with more sign-ups than any other we’ve hosted on The Symbolic World. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to participate live, with Martin’s awe-inspiring storytelling and insights now part of the growing initiative for re-enchantment. Register today and fall in love with stories that will bring symbolism to life: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/christian-wonder-tales 

• Dates: Tuesdays, November 12 - December 10, 2024 (no class November 19)
• Time: 2 - 4 pm EST
• Where: The Symbolic World Circle Community Platform 
• Cost: $190 (4-installment payment option & 10% Involved supporter discount available, apply code at checkout)
• Get immediate access to a recommended reading list
• All lesson recordings will be made available to participants with downloadable audio

==============LINKS==============
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 
📱 SOCIAL MEDIA  
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Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

Rod Dreher and I had a great discussion about his latest book, Living in Wonder. We discussed re-enchantment, UFOs, AI, attention, the internet, and more. Enjoy!

Get Rod's book - Living in Wonder: Finding Mystery and Meaning in a Secular Age: https://www.amazon.com/Living-Wonder-Finding-Mystery-Meaning/dp/0310369126

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/KvNM1AefXN0

===========Book description===========
The West has become "disenchanted"--closed to the idea that the universe contains the supernatural, the metaphysical, or the non-material. Christianity is in crisis. People today are leaving the Church because faith has become dry and lifeless. But people aren't leaving faith for atheism. They are still searching for the divine, and it might just be right under their noses.
In Living in Wonder, thought leader, cultural critic, and New York Times bestselling author Rod Dreher shows you how to encounter and embrace wonder in the world. In his trademark mixture of analysis, reporting, and personal story, Dreher brings together history, cultural anthropology, neuroscience, and the ancient Church to show you--no matter your religious affiliation--how to reconnect with the natural world and the Great Tradition of Christianity so you can relate to the world with more depth and connection.
He shares stories of miracles, rumors of angels, and outbreaks of awe to offer hope, as well as a guide for discerning and defending the truth in a confusing and spiritually dark culture, full of contemporary spiritual deceptions and tempting counterfeit spiritualities.
The world is not what we think it is. It is far more mysterious, exciting, connected, and adventurous. As you learn practical ways to regain a sense of wonder and awaken your sense of God's presence--through prayer, attention, and living by spiritual disciplines--your eyes will be opened, and you will find the very thing every one of us searches for: our ultimate meaning.

===========Other books mentioned===========
- Passport to Magonia: https://www.amazon.co.za/Passport-Magonia-Folklore-Flying-Saucers/dp/0987422480 
- Free version: https://archive.org/details/passporttomagoni0000vall_m8g5
- American Cosmic, by D.W. Pasulka: https://www.amazon.com/American-Cosmic-UFOs-Religion-Technology/dp/019069288X 
- The Mountain of Silence, by Kyriacos C Markide: https://www.amazon.co.za/Mountain-Silence-Search-Orthodox-Spirituality/dp/0385500920 

===========Christian Wonder Tales course===========
Sign up for Dr. Martin Shaw's first-ever live online course, Christian Wonder Tales. This 4-week, 8-hour course is hosted on the Symbolic World Circle Community. Patrons at the Involved level or higher get 10% off, apply your discount code at checkout: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/christian-wonder-tales 

===========Timestamps===========
00:00 - Coming up
01:13 - Intro music
01:38 - Enchantment is having a moment
06:54 - A strange enchantment
21:20 - A positive aspect of this
23:19 - Psychedelics and the Californian Buddhist
25:37 - Rod's journey to Christianity
30:23 - What's on the horizon? AI
33:01 - UFOs and the great religious deception
38:39 - UFO spiritual influences
40:37 - Pay attention
46:04 - Rod's book's reception
49:35 - Propositional vs being in person
52:24 - Embodiment
55:08 - Christian re-enchantment

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 

Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

This episode is part of our miniseries of Universal History episodes focused on Ireland. We talk about the voyage of St. Brendan the Navigator, one of the mythical founders of Ireland, along with a general exploration of what it takes to create culture and being a Christian in the world.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/nlzEUV5sV2o

Previous UH episodes on Ireland:
1. Universal History: Ireland, the Remnant: https://youtu.be/PBNkmLxUYHk?si=QQPkLg6VVx57o2GC 
2. Universal History: The Surprising Irish Origin of Purgatory - with Richard Rohlin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBdXgwl1VYU 

Read more about Irish saints. The book Richard recommends is in two volumes: The Lives of Irish Saints, edited by Charles Plummer. Links:
- Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lives-Saints-Oxford-Reprints-Volumes/dp/0198213891
- Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/bethadanemnr01plumuoft/page/n7/mode/2up

---

Sign up for Dr. Martin Shaw's first-ever live online course, Christian Wonder Tales, starting November 12th. This 4-week, 8-hour course is hosted on the Symbolic World Circle Community. Patrons at the Involved level or higher get 10% off, apply your discount code at checkout: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/christian-wonder-tales 
Mythographer, writer, and storyteller Dr Martin Shaw takes us deep into the heart of what he calls Christian Wonder Tales. Profoundly mythic, these teaching stories range from the early saints through to the grandeur of the Round Table and Arthurian tradition. Shaw emphasises these stories as remerging providentially on time for the perils of modern life. Filled with vocation, sacrifice, and courage, these are an inheritance many of us simply didn’t know we had.

🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 

---

Timestamps:
00:00 - Coming up
00:46 - Intro music
01:12 - Start
03:04 - A corrective to the Universal History series
12:05 - The 12 apostles of Ireland
14:19 - St. Brendan
21:25 - Fun stories about St. Brendan
39:26 - Next episode of the Voyage of St. Brendan
46:13 - The foundation of a church
49:09 - How to keep the liturgical calendar
56:14 - The torment of Judas
01:04:30 - Did Brendan go to North America?

---

📱 SOCIAL MEDIA  
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSymbolicWorld 
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.pageau
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.