The Nathan Jacobs Podcast

Nathan Jacobs

A philosophy podcast exploring the issues of today.

  1. 1D AGO

    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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. JAN 1

    Free Will & Moral Responsibility | A Conversation with Dr. James Joiner

    Enroll in Dr. Joiner’s class: https://myprofer.com/courses Contribute to the East West Lecture Series fundraiser: theeastwestseries.com  Dr. James Joiner discusses libertarian free will, contrasting it with compatibilist and determinist positions through the lens of patristic theology and developmental psychology. The conversation examines Gregory of Nyssa's theological anthropology, the concept of synergistic cooperation in theosis, and cross-cultural evidence for the universality of free choice. Dr. Joiner argues that both ancient Christian thought and contemporary research support the view that human beings possess genuine self-determination, exploring implications for moral responsibility, bioethics, and the differences between Eastern and Western theological frameworks. 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 Other words for the algorithm…  free will, libertarian free will, compatibilism, determinism, Gregory of Nyssa, Cappadocian Fathers, patristic theology, Eastern Orthodox theology, church fathers, theological anthropology, theosis, deification, synergy, moral responsibility, praise and blame, developmental psychology, moral agency, self-determination, Christian anthropology, Christian East, Christian West, philosophy of religion, free will debate, moral psychology, bioethics, applied philosophy, Basil the Great, John Chrysostom, patristics, Orthodox Christianity, Byzantine theology, ancient philosophy, Christian philosophy, systematic theology, philosophical theology, Aristotelian ethics, virtue ethics, moral philosophy, conscience, moral intuition, Augustine, Pelagianism, divine sovereignty, human freedom, image of God, imago Dei, salvation, soteriology, grace, divine grace, sanctification, spiritual formation, Desert Fathers, Maximus the Confessor, Origen, Irenaeus, moral development, character formation, passions, will and intellect, Thomas Aquinas, Thomism, Kant, autonomy, phenomenology, David Bentley Hart, Kallistos Ware, Vladimir Lossky, ecumenical councils, Nicene Creed, liturgical theology, mystical theology, apophatic theology, hesychasm, spiritual senses, nous, William James, neuroscience and free will, agent causation, Peter van Inwagen, Alvin Plantinga, natural law theory, Neoplatonism, Plato, metaphysics, causation

    1h 34m
4.9
out of 5
66 Ratings

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A philosophy podcast exploring the issues of today.

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