The Two Tongues Podcast

S4E44 - American Pride and First World Guilt

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 ;)

S4E43 - Child of Earth and Heaven

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 ;)

S4E42 - Culture versus Conscience

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 ;)

S4E41 - Starving for Enlightenment

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 ;)  

S4E40 - From Monism to Monotheism - Plotinus and Company

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 ;)

S4E39 - Discussing U.S. Politics and Religion with a Brit

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 :)

S4E38 - Critique of Mysticism with the Other Chris

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 ;)

 

S4E37 - The Power in the Soul - Eckhart Continued

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 ;)

S4E36 - Robots, Apologetics and the Future

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 ;) 

S4E35 - Meister Eckhart - The Eternal Abyss of Divine Being

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 ;)