The Nathan Jacobs Podcast

Nathan Jacobs
  • 4.9 (68)
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

A philosophy podcast exploring the issues of today.

  1. 5D AGO

    A Guide for Christians to Engage Non-Believers

    This is part 3 of 3 talks by Dr. Nathan Jacobs about the "nones", the religiously unaffiliated, a group that has grown dramatically over the past two decades and about which Dr. Jacobs has done research, culminating into the documentary called Becoming Truly Human.Watch part 1: https://youtu.be/vun_XtxDt5E?si=8uHdje7CpTHNAa8v Watch part 2: https://youtu.be/XPlTK33zmcs?si=sY32QQCva2QGPpCK In this talk, Dr. Nathan A. Jacobs discusses how we, as believers, can engage the “nones” and “dones”. He explains why the religiously unaffiliated don't talk about religion, and argues that the real crisis isn’t simply atheism, but disillusionment and cultural hypnosis. A major threat to our faith, as with so many aspects of human life, is our technology and the sense it can create of being a cognitive minority. How can we talk about religion with people who are disaffiliated? How can we help families and members of our own church to prevent disillusionment?Do you want to watch the Becoming Truly Human documentary? Watch it along with other exclusive content on Jacobs Premium. Use code: LEWIS to get a discount on the highest tier of support: https://www.thenathanjacobspodcast.com/ Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5_LcdMbopjgTimestamps:00:00 - Preview01:43 - Introduction to this series01:50 - Start of talk02:32 - The secret believer05:59 - A safe space to talk08:26 - Nones rarely talk about religion11:51 - Ask them about their journey16:45 - Addressing their presuppositions22:43 - Taste and see25:48 - The dones27:50 - Keeping Orthodox folks from leaving the church29:27 - A reading from Narnia39:28 - A cognitive minority43:56 - Digital experience48:24 - Approaching research about the dones55:54 - Q&A and discussion56:16 - Q: On resources58:45 - Q: Why does the Orthodox also produce nones and dones?01:07:23 - Q: Why people leave church despite believing01:12:37 - Q: Open to differences01:15:43 - Q: Humility and listening01:16:41 - Q: Catechesis01:19:39 - Q: Moral problems with the Bible======================================All the links:The Theological Letters Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcastX: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobsAcademia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobsListen and please review the podcast elsewhere:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QSApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast

    1h 25m

  2. FEB 19

    The Religiously Unaffiliated Did Not Reject God — They Rejected Western Christianity

    This is part 2 of 3 talks by Dr. Nathan Jacobs about the "nones", the religiously unaffiliated, a group that has grown dramatically over the past two decades. In this talk, Nathan Jacobs argues that many who leave are not rejecting God, per se, but a particular vision of God shaped by Western theological developments. Exploring themes like grace, freedom, divine goodness, fatalism, and anthropology, he contrasts key Western trajectories with the vision of the Eastern Church Fathers. The result is a compelling case that Orthodoxy does not suppress the moral and spiritual intuitions of today’s seekers — it fulfills them. Watch part 1: The Modern Religious Debate Lost Its Audience: https://youtu.be/vun_XtxDt5E Contribute to the East West Lecture Series fundraiser: http://theeastwestseries.com/ Do you want to watch the Becoming Truly Human documentary? Watch it along with other exclusive content on Jacobs Premium. Use code: LEWIS to get a discount: https://www.thenathanjacobspodcast.com/ Timestamps: 00:00 - Coming up next 01:28 - East West series 02:36 - Introduction 05:18 - What the nones believe 10:39 - Rejecting Western Christianity 14:12 - Augustine 18:40 - The nature/Grace divide 25:42 - Protestantism & predestination 31:48 - God's will 39:36 - Competing goods 46:17 - Our world is spiritual 59:02 - Return to talk 59:51 - Man as microcosm 01:01:51 - Was man made mortal or immortal? 01:06:11 - Energies 01:15:02 - What happens after death 01:18:06 - The remedy for divine hiddenness 01:24:34 - Q&A: On trusting your intuitions about God 01:29:21 - Q: Anxiety of the participants 01:30:58 - Q: What about Jesus? 01:33:11 - Q: Discussions about the Trinity 01:36:07 - Q: Using the halo in the documentary 01:40:06 - Q: Do nones go to other religions? ====================================== All the links: The Theological Letters Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobs Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs Listen and please review the podcast elsewhere: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QS Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast

    1h 41m

  3. FEB 12

    The Modern Religious Debate Lost Its Audience

    In this episode, Dr. Nathan Jacobs explores the rise of the religiously unaffiliated, a group that has grown dramatically over the past two decades. Drawing from his research, interviews, and the documentary, Becoming Truly Human, he examines the beliefs, intuitions, and spiritual instincts that shape this rapidly expanding demographic. Far from simple atheism, the world of the “nones” is complex, morally serious, and often deeply spiritual. This lecture begins a three-part series unpacking who they are, what they believe, and how meaningful dialogue might be possible. This is part 1 of 3 on the religiously unaffiliated, or "nones". Do you want to watch the Becoming Truly Human documentary? Watch it along with other exclusive content on Jacobs Premium. Use code: LEWIS to get a discount on the highest tier. There's also monthly Q&As and book club meetings: https://www.thenathanjacobspodcast.com/store Life Itself movie trailer (excluded due to copyright): https://youtu.be/b5kwtJkUdpA?si=xw-ismXHDk6-SIh9 Timestamps: 00:00 - Opening 06:09 - Introducing Dr. Nathan Jacobs 09:16 - Becoming Truly Human 16:37 - Outline 19:56 - Trailer for documentary 21:44 - Misconceptions 25:43 - The modern religious debate 30:06 - The numinous 38:52 - What nones believe: 1. Karma 43:22 - Things happen for a reason 46:45 - Life Itself 51:47 - What nones believe: 2. A higher power 53:07 - The moral objection to Christianity 57:21 - What are the nones rejecting? 01:00:11 - Belief in paranormal 01:01:29 - What the nones believe: 3. Spirituality 01:05:27 - What the nones believe: 4. Afterlife 01:11:27 - Q&A: Discerning between intuition and feeling 01:14:18 - Q: Family issues among the nones 01:16:53 - Q: Mental health concerns 01:18:58 - Q: Sample selection ====================================== All the links: The Theological Letters Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobs Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs YouTube link to this same episode: https://youtu.be/vun_XtxDt5E

    1h 21m

  4. FEB 5

    Do Christians, Jews, and Muslims Worship the Same God?

    What do we mean when we say "God"? This week’s episode is part 2 of tracing the concept from ancient pagan philosophy through Plato and Aristotle to uncover how modern assumptions about God emerged—and why many of them are far from obvious. This sets the stage for exploring deeper East–West differences in how God, goodness, and divine knowledge are understood. Part 1 is recapped in the first 10 minutes. Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/soThpk45aI0 Listen to part 1: Defining "God" | The Evolution of a Word: https://youtu.be/MU0CFOFOq-A?si=tbzaT4PSiR1nm7Qf Contribute to the East West Lecture Series fundraiser: http://theeastwestseries.com/ Do you like this content? Join Jacobs Premium to get exclusive access to written essays, exclusive lecture series, monthly Q&A Zoom calls, and our C.S. Lewis book club. Use code: LEWIS to get a discount: https://www.thenathanjacobspodcast.com/ Timestamps: 00:00 - Recap 09:36 - The ancient view of God 35:34 - Disagreement among the pagans 01:02:16 - Why this is important for us today 01:21:12 - Essence and energy 01:42:59 - Conclusion and ramifications ====================================== All the links: The Theological Letters Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobs Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs

    1h 54m

  5. JAN 29

    Defining "God" | The Evolution of a Word

    Contribute to the East West Lecture Series fundraiser: theeastwestseries.com In this week's episode, Dr. Jacobs looks at how the term "God" has evolved throughout Western intellectual history, from ancient Platonism through medieval scholasticism to contemporary religious pluralism. He walks through the development of divine simplicity and perfect being theology in Latin Christianity, showing how Augustine's engagement with Neoplatonism and the scholastic tradition that followed shaped the assumptions we still carry today about divine nature. The episode considers how this theological inheritance continues to influence debates about religious pluralism, rational religion, and the question of whether different faith traditions are actually referring to the same being when they use the word "God."All the links: Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcastWebsite: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPodSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QSApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobsAcademia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs00:00:00 Intro00:04:27 Augustine and God 00:15:46 Divine simplicity & perfect being theology 00:36:19 The rise of rational religion 00:53:55 Religious pluralism & the transcendent God

    1h 4m

  6. JAN 22

    Did Greek Philosophy Corrupt Christianity? On Greek, Jewish, and Christian Theologies

    Contribute to the East West Lecture Series fundraiser: theeastwestseries.com Today, Dr. Jacobs tackles the common objection: Was ancient Christianity infiltrated by Greek philosophy, such that it required a reformation or restoration? The answer is a resounding no. Follow Dr. Jacobs as he tracks the history through Old and New Testaments, German Idealism, and of course, a little realism and nominalism dusted on top for good measure. All the links:  Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/ X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QS Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobs Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs 00:00:00 Intro  00:02:05 The case for Hellenistic or Platonized Christian baggage  00:06:49 German idealism  00:15:21 Hegel and the Church Fathers  00:20:08 The leftist Hegelians, atheism, and Christianity  00:26:18 The protestant application 00:30:42 Open theism  00:35:16 Hebrew ideas vs Greek ideas  00:42:00 Mathematical truth vs Philosophical truth 00:50:07 Realism and nominalism  00:56:03 The Septuagint and the Jewish shift away  01:03:58 Are the Church Fathers platonists?  01:19:19 Idealism in Old Testament studies  01:25:11 Cases in the New Testament

    1h 52m

  7. JAN 15

    That Trinity Analogy is Heresy | Nicene Trinitarianism Explained

    Contribute to the East West Lecture Series fundraiser: theeastwestseries.com  Dr. Jacobs delivers a lecture on Nicene Trinitarianism, examining the metaphysical foundations established by the Cappadocian Fathers at the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople. He explains the Greek terms ousia and hypostasis, addresses common analogies and heresies, and clarifies the eternal generation of the Son and procession of the Spirit. Jacobs contrasts the Eastern approach with Western developments in Augustine and medieval scholasticism, particularly regarding divine simplicity, the filioque, and the nature-person distinction. He concludes by discussing how these theological differences continue to shape East-West Christian relations. All the links:  Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/ X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QS Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobs Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs

    2h 8m

  8. JAN 8

    Has Science Disproved Free Will? | A Conversation With James Joiner

    Enroll in Dr. Joiner’s class: https://myprofer.com/coursesContribute to the East West Lecture Series fundraiser: theeastwestseries.com Dr. James Joiner joins us again to take a hard look at the scientific studies claiming to disprove free will and asks whether they actually hold up under scrutiny. He and Dr. Jacobs will walk through the various science experiments and their interpretations, pointing out the methodological problems and conceptual missteps that weaken determinist arguments. All the links: Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcastWebsite: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPodSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QSApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobsAcademia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs

    1h 57m
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4.9
out of 5
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About

A philosophy podcast exploring the issues of today.

Information

  • Creator
    Nathan Jacobs
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    91
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Nathan Jacobs
  • Show Website
    The Nathan Jacobs Podcast

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