The Two Tongues podcast

2:04:53

Kyle and Chris wrap us season 4 with a contemplative episode. We have a strange discussion about religious sacrifice, focusing on the Christian notion that you should give yourself to God. We wonder what it means to 'give ones life to God' and contemplate suicide as an act of worship. We go from Kenosis to the Buddhist monk Luang Pho Daeng who died in the act of meditation. We sprinkle in a bit of ancient Egyptian mythology and ice the cake with discussion of demon possession and Jungian archetypes. Enjoy ;)…

The Two Tongues Podcast

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S4E45 - Gandalf the Red Part 8 - What the Darkness Comprehends 1:55:48

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1:55:48

In this episode Chris brings us Opinion Scholarship on Carl Jung's infamous Red Book . We review four of Jung's visions and analyze their symbolic meaning. This takes us on an adventure through a hostile desert and, with the help of embodiments of his imagination, to the stream of the living. We follow this stream encountering symbols of God from ancient Egypt and Greece until we come at last to a great dark sea. We watch as the waters of the living dissolve into the sea, becoming one with it and we long to be one with it ourselves. Enjoy ;)…

The Two Tongues Podcast

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S4E44 - American Pride and First World Guilt 2:01:23

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2:01:23

In this episode we check all the forbidden boxes, talking about identity politics and race relations, dual citizenship and divided allegiances, energy and personality and, of course, a controversial dose of religion. What is the risk of allowing non-naturalized citizens the right to vote? How about those with dual citizenship? What are the risks of emphasizing diversity over assimilation? And what are the risks of allowing those ideas that unify us, fall away? We speculate on these questions and much more. Come and get it! Enjoy ;)…

The Two Tongues Podcast

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S4E43 - Child of Earth and Heaven 57:41

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57:41

In this episode Chris brings us Opinion Scholarship on the ancient Greek god--Dionysus. All due credit to Neal Sendlak of the YouTube show "Gnostic Informant" for much of the historical details presented today. (If you haven't checked out Gnostic Informant, you should!) I discuss the classical myth of Dionysus versus older, secretive myths preserved by the followers of Orpheus. We compare the two traditions and explore the deep historical connections with other myths and archeological evidence to see just how deep the Dionysian rabbit-hole goes. We end by diving deeply into the Orphic myth of the creation of humanity and observing various versions of this same myth which appear all over the world. What does it all mean? Find out here... Enjoy ;)…

The Two Tongues Podcast

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S4E42 - Culture versus Conscience 1:58:25

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1:58:25

In this episode Kyle and Chris reunite after many, holiday weeks off...and there's much to catch up on. We discuss Chris' introduction to Jesse Lee Peterson, review the 2024 film "Nosferatu," and rave about the new podcast "The Telepathy Tapes." From here we turn to Chris' anxiety about aging, which takes the form of bitterness toward the new classes of actors and political talking heads, which are slowly replacing the figureheads of his own era. This takes us to a discussion of the political left's new strategy of winning over white, male voters again and challenging the new-media dominance of figures like Joe Rogan. We get controversial when the topic of 'Bacha bazi' or 'boy play' comes up and the attitude that the U.S. military adopted towards it during our occupation of the country over the last decade plus. Through in the mysterious history of the ancient worship of Dionysus and a bit of critique of communism and voila! Enjoy ;)…

The Two Tongues Podcast

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S4E41 - Starving for Enlightenment 43:26

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43:26

In this episode Chris brings us Opinion Scholarship on the effects of starvation on human beings. We discuss the Minnesota Starvation Experiment of the 1940s, which leads into the aggregated data and meta-analysis of altered states of consciousness available through the Altered States Database (alteredstatesdb.org). Both sources report that mystical experiences arise spontaneously in subjects who are deprived of food for extended periods of time. From here we turn to a survey of world religions, which describe spiritual revelation elicited through the practice of fasting. The central question being: Is starvation the origin of human spirituality and ultimately religion? Enjoy ;)…

The Two Tongues Podcast

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S4E40 - From Monism to Monotheism - Plotinus and Company 1:36:49

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1:36:49

In this episode Chris brings us Opinion Scholarship on the idea of a supreme, monotheistic God as expressed in the Neoplatonic idea of "The One" or "The Monad." We explore the commonalities between Christian Monotheism and Neoplatonism and speculate on the fertile ground for the emergency of this idea prepared by the pre-Socratics and Plato himself. We take a deep dive into Plotinus, Porphyry and Proclus, their descriptions of mystical experience and see see how they rationalizations their mystical intuitions with logic and reason. We then discuss altered states of consciousness, the ancient Greek mysteries and depth psychology to bring this all together. Enjoy ;)…

The Two Tongues Podcast

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S4E39 - Discussing U.S. Politics and Religion with a Brit 2:09:04

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2:09:04

In this episode Chris reconnects with friend of the show--Daniel Torridon of the Onion Unlimited podcast. We talk about U.S. politics in the new Trump era and the English perspective on it; we compare and contrast U.S. and U.K. political parties and platforms...and then pivot to our mutually favorite subject--Religion. Daniel discusses his journey from a repressive upbringing as a Jehovah's Witness, to his discovery of Pandeism and then his rapid subsequent descent through related systems such as Panentheism, Advaita Vedanta and philosophical Monism. Enjoy :)…

The Two Tongues Podcast

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S4E38 - Critique of Mysticism with the Other Chris 2:00:37

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In this episode we introduce a new friend of the show and have a thoughtful discussion on the origin of religion and just what rests at the historical beginning of organized faith. We discuss the work of Wilhelm Schmidt, E.J. Michael Witzel and Michael Heiser on the subject in addition to a whole host of interesting asides. We discuss the ideas of 'sympathetic magic' and 'archetypes of the mind' as potential answers to the origin of religion, but ultimately end on another possibility--that of personal, individual mystical experience. What follows is an exploration of where mysticism overlaps with Christian theology and where it varies. Agree or disagree, great fun was had by all! If you enjoyed our guest--Chris from YHWH's Janitor--you can take a deeper dive here: www.yhwhjanitor.com Enjoy ;)…

The Two Tongues Podcast

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S4E37 - The Power in the Soul - Eckhart Continued 1:31:51

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1:31:51

In this episode Chris returns to the Sermons of Meister Eckhart to build from the first Eckhart episode covering Sermon 52. On this pass we cover Eckhart's conception of the soul and how it relates to God, setting the stage for mystical experience. We then turn to the corpus of Eckhart's sermons in search of a path toward attaining mystical experience for yourself. While there are few direct prescriptions, Eckhart leaves us a breadcrumb trail, which entails detachment and ego death in conjunction with an earnest and steadfast seeking after God. Will this path lead you to mystical illumination? Only one way to find out! Enjoy ;)…

The Two Tongues Podcast

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S4E36 - Robots, Apologetics and the Future 1:51:05

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1:51:05

In this episode Kyle and Chris re-unite after 2 weeks to catch up on the state of the world and what's new with each of us. The conversation illustrated the contrast between our relatively recent past and glimpses of our future techo-utopia...or dystopia (a the case may be). Kyle discussed breaking his phone and enjoying the disconnection and independence that comes with it; eliciting nostalgia for the "simpler times" of the 1990s. Then we discuss Chris' new fascination with various Christian apologists on YouTube--such as Sam Shamoun, Bob Speakers Corner and Cliffe Knechtle. We meander through a discussion of Communism, which leads to speculation about Automation, Universal Basic Income and whether Communism finds a resurgence in a post-labor world. Enjoy ;)…

The Two Tongues Podcast

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S4E35 - Meister Eckhart - The Eternal Abyss of Divine Being 1:11:05

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1:11:05

In this episode Chris brings us Opinion Scholarship on the medieval Christian mystics, Meister Eckhart. We review one of his most famous sermons--Sermon 52--to discover why he was accused of heresy and delivered to the inquisition. We explore his notion of "being free of God," "standing in my first cause," and "breaking through" and the kenosis or self-emptying that is necessary to achieve it. We then follow Eckhart as he describes what mystic experience is, what it tells us about the nature of God and ultimately to the conclusion that Creator and Creation are One. Enjoy ;)…

The Two Tongues Podcast

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S4E34 - What Did Jesus Teach 2:20:18

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2:20:18

In this episode Chris and Kyle pow-wow with a former evangelist and friend of the show, Daniel Torridon, of the Onion Unlimited podcast, to see what we can make of Jesus as a teacher. What or who Jesus was remains hotly debated after over 2,000 years. Was he God or merely a man? Was he a prophet? A teacher? While we have no hope of consensus as to his godhood, we do have general agreement that he was a great teacher. Oh? So, what then did Jesus teach? Do you know? Could you summarize his teachings? Could your average Western Christian? It turns out, many cannot. This is a shame, but one we can remedy. Come! Pick up your cross and follow me down the rabbit hole of gospel of the Kingdom of God. Enjoy ;)…

The Two Tongues Podcast

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S4E33 - The Kingdom of God 1:23:34

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1:23:34

In this episode Chris brings us Opinion Scholarship, this time surrounding Christianity. We read through the gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, John and Thomas, searching for the teachings of Jesus. Here we find references to the 'gospel of the kingdom of God,' but without any clear description of what that means. So we seek, as Jesus suggested, until we find. And what did we find? A whole host of images and ideas surrounding the symbol of the 'Kingdom of God.' We put those images together like the pieces to a mystical puzzle and voila! We find the Kingdom of Heaven just might be an allegory of unity with the divine. Enjoy ;)…

The Two Tongues Podcast

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S4E32 - Game of Thrones, the Debate and Revisionist History 2:11:07

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