The Nathan Jacobs Podcast

Dr. Jacobs tackles your philosophical and theological questions in today's episode. He answers audience comments on topics ranging from how humans participate with external reality beyond mere mental images, examines nature human nature versus shared traits, delve into divine foreknowledge via Jeremiah, discuss the doctrine of double effect and the trolley problem, and investigates classical perspectives on free will. From metaphysical realism to patristic traditions, this discussion offers fresh insights into age-old questions. Stay tuned for our upcoming series on the problem of evil later this month.  All the links:  X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QS Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/ Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/ Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs (00:01:55) The Most Important Question background  (00:03:03) Is Darwinism just nominalism applied to biology?  (00:26:39) How can materialism / utilitarianism co-exist with social engineering?  (00:38:23) How does realism apply to adoption?  (00:58:36) Participation vs. manifestation  (01:12:37) How could God know us before we existed?  (01:25:58) What is true freedom?  (01:40:24) The trolley problem and the doctrine of double effect  (01:44:49) Can realism and nominalism both be correct?  (01:52:00) What makes human nature unique from other shared traits?

Christ's Descent Into Hades part 1: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/p/hell-hades-and-christs-descent-part Christ's Descent Into Hades part 2: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/p/hell-hades-and-christs-descent-part-370 Documentary with Michael Heiser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThmF7OErkxY Dr. Jacobs takes a last look at Halloween topics. He'll cover classic questions like the origins of Halloween (are you a devil worshiper if you go trick-or-treating?), walk through what the church fathers said about where souls go after death (where exactly is Hades?), and examine some interesting parallels between alien encounters and the spiritual realm. He also discusses practical questions about haunted houses and spiritual encounters. Plus, you'll get a preview of the upcoming series on the problem of evil. All the links:  X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QS Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/ Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/ Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs (00:00:00) Intro  (00:02:22) Is Halloween a pagan holiday? Am I a devil worshiper for celebrating it?  (00:09:56) A genetic fallacy in the very question  (00:13:39) Defining “ghost” (00:16:16) Josephus and Philo of Alexandria on Hades  (00:20:09) Reading Biblical text literally — the thief on the cross (St John Chrysostom)  (00:24:41) How the church fathers read the Garden of Eden (Saint Basil of Caesarea and the Cappadocians)  (00:26:39) Where is Hades? Where is Paradise? (Saint Gregory of Nyssa and Saint Macrina)  (00:32:46) The Gospel of Nicodemus dialogue between the Devil and Hades  (00:34:24) The anthropomorphism of Hades  (00:37:31) Are all encounters with spirits demonic?  (00:41:58) Practical advice related to contact with spirits  (00:50:09) Participation of divine energies  (00:56:51) Relics and holy places  (01:00:39) Haunted houses  (01:09:22) The quest for re-mythologized world & the problem of divine hiddenness  (01:21:31) Live & dead options and cognitive minorities  (01:26:03) A materialist belief in aliens can be… like an intelligent design argument?  (01:29:17) The new alien religions (01:31:39) Spiritual patterns in alien interactions (01:34:01) Are aliens just spiritual entities?  (01:41:45) Vampires and Christian symbols then and now (01:51:38) Hollywood portrayal of demonic possession (02:00:13) Is demonic possession always oppressive?  (02:04:18) Are women possessed more often than men?  (02:05:10) Why does God allow demonic possession? 

In today’s episode, Dr. Jacobs offers his thoughts on the recent dialogue between Jordan Peterson and Richard Dawkins, which covers a variety of topics, including archetypes, biblical inspiration, and the truth of Christianity. Dr. Jacobs remarks will focus on Peterson and a question he has long been wondering: Is Jordan Peterson a non-realist? All the links:  YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thenathanjacobspodcast Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QS Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/ Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/ Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs

Episode 1 on the Religiously Unaffiliated: https://youtu.be/pBH9TTduBAE?si=k0Y8BnDRiLqm6i0V Episode 2 on the Religiously Unaffiliated: https://youtu.be/V3wMW1UwkwE?si=zNIDTCAtAhK6cZhs Find Dr. Jacobs here: ⁠https://linktr.ee/thenathanjacobspodcast⁠

Dr. Jacobs' letters on providence: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/p/a-peculiar-feature-of-providence https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/p/a-brief-word-on-providence Listen to Dr. Timothy Patitsas's episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/57AHQFrxDTXIGKNf6RUu6x?si=-PpTNuQZQQyZJDvaBKgiyw Find Dr. Jacobs here: https://linktr.ee/thenathanjacobspodcast

Find Dr. Jacobs here: https://linktr.ee/thenathanjacobspodcast

Original post: https://open.substack.com/pub/nathanajacobs/p/on-belief-in-fairies?r=r1mfj&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Find Dr. Jacobs here: https://linktr.ee/thenathanjacobspodcast

Find the written letter here: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/p/why-would-god-make-the-damned Find Dr. Jacobs here: https://linktr.ee/thenathanjacobspodcast

Find Dr. Jacobs here: https://linktr.ee/thenathanjacobspodcast

Original episode: https://youtu.be/OxLeGHNquGQ Follow the podcast on Instagram for short sharable clips: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast/ Funding Transhumanism: https://youtu.be/tLXdoqXbC6k Find Dr. Jacobs social media, writing, & website here: ⁠https://linktr.ee/thenathanjacobspodcast

Find Dr. Jacobs here: https://linktr.ee/thenathanjacobspodcast

We are pleased to be joined today by Dr. Timothy Patitsas, Academic Dean of Hellenic College. Find him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beautyfirstfilms/ Website: https://www.beautyfirstfilms.com/ Book: https://www.stnicholaspress.net/ethics-of-beauty Academia: https://hchc.academia.edu/TimothyPatitsas Hellenic College: https://www.hchc.edu/undergraduate-programs/ Find Dr. Jacobs here: https://linktr.ee/thenathanjacobspodcast

Find Dr. Jacobs social media, writing, & website here: ⁠https://linktr.ee/thenathanjacobspodcast

Find Dr. Jacobs' post on AI here: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/p/can-ai-create-art?utm_source=publication-search Find Dr. Jacobs social media, writing, & website here: ⁠https://linktr.ee/thenathanjacobspodcast

In today’s episode, you'll finally get the answers to some of the most controversial and divisive questions probably in American history. And because of the ongoing projects Dr. Jacobs is working on right now (my forthcoming Leibniz book, House of David, and some other projects I hope to share with you soon) we'll keep it short and sweet today. Find Dr. Jacobs social media, writing, & website here: ⁠https://linktr.ee/thenathanjacobspodcast

Dr. Jacobs is joined by Fr. Stephen De Young from The Lord of Spirits Podcast to talk about the modern quest for re-enchantment.

Dr. Jacobs discusses his journey from nominalism to realism and makes the argument for why realism is the only sensible option. Find Dr. Jacobs social media, writing, & website here: ⁠https://linktr.ee/thenathanjacobspodcast

There's been a surge of religiously unaffiliated (or "nones") returning to religion. Why did they leave in the first place and what's bringing them back? Dr. Jacobs explores in today's episode. Check out Becoming Truly Human here: https://t.ly/DJX12Find Dr. Jacobs social media, writing, & website here: ⁠https://linktr.ee/thenathanjacobspodcast

Dr. Jacobs dives into the religiously unaffiliated (or "nones"). Who are they and what do they believe? Find Dr. Jacobs social media, writing, & website here: https://linktr.ee/thenathanjacobspodcast

Dr. Jacobs fields questions from the comments sections from the last month, such as, Can God make a rock so big he can’t lift it? And does realism and classical thought inevitably lead to authoritarianism? Be sure to like, follow, and comment. Not only does that help the algorithm, but your question might show up on a future Q&A episode. Find Dr. Jacobs social media, writing, & website here: https://linktr.ee/thenathanjacobspodcast