The Two Tongues Podcast

S4E34 - What Did Jesus Teach

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 ;)

S4E33 - The Kingdom of God

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 ;)

S4E32 - Game of Thrones, the Debate and Revisionist History

In this episode Kyle and Chris reunite after a few weeks apart to catch up on what's been going on--the presidential debate key among them. We begin with praise and criticism of the GOT series, which Kyle felt compelled to share after re-watching all 8 seasons in bed sick this past week. The theme of political upheaval then took us into a discussion of the Trump-Harris debate and the various conspiracy theories surrounding it. This leads us into a rabbit-hole of public mistrust, racial division and the existential anxiety of wondering just how all this gets resolved...if ever it does.

Enjoy ;)

S4E31 - Ex Nihilo

In this episode Chris delivers Opinion Scholarship on the idea of Nothingness and the Zero-Energy Universe Hypothesis in modern physics. He compares these ideas and their implications to humanity's oldest myths about the creation of the cosmos...and finds some striking parallels! In our myths we find a primordial mystery existing before existence from which 2 equal and opposing deities are formed. In physics we find the mystery of the quantum vacuum from which 2 equal and opposing particles are formed. In the case of myth, God created Ex Nihilo--from nothing. In the case of the Zero-Energy Universe, the whole of the cosmos was created Ex Nihilo--from a state of zero energy!

Enjoy ;)

S4E30 - Logos in Zoroastrianism

In this episode Chris brings Opinion Scholarship on the ancient Persian religion--Zoroastrianism. We discuss the Proto-Indo-European people, their culture and religion and how they came down through the Indo-Iranian tribes that became both Zoroastrianism in Iran and Hinduism in India. We discuss the influence Zoroastrian ideas had on both Judaism and Christianity and explore what Zoroaster meant when he claimed to be restoring monotheistic purity to their ancient, Indo-European faith. This brings us to the Christian idea of the Logos, which compare and contrast to the Zoroastrian idea of Vohu Mana. 

Enjoy ;) 

S4E29 - What Happens in the Barbershop

In this episode Chris and Kyle interview Chris' former barber--John--to discuss the sacred confessional of the barbershop. We discuss why people feel so comfortable opening up to their barber, the secrets that get shared and the good-natured ribbing that takes place between a close-knit group of barbers and their regular customers. Chris admits that every conversation he ever had with John in the barber chair could have easily been an episode of the podcast. And to that end, we re-create a barbershop chat. We talk conspiracy theories, politics, the future of AI and psychedelic spirituality. Strap in!

Enjoy ;)

S4E28 - Plato's Cave - Parable of the Mysteries

In this episode Chris delivers Opinion Scholarship on the meaning of Plato's famous Cave Allegory. He shows through the words of Plato and the ancient Greek Poet Pindar that the secret goings-on of the Eleusinian Mysteries share a hell of a lot with the experience of the prisoner freed from Plato's cave. He then posits that the secrecy surrounding the Mysteries kept Plato from speaking about it directly, leading to the parables and allegories sprinkled throughout his dialogues. And to conclude, he samples accounts from the ancient world all the way through to the modern one of other people who had a mystical experience paralleling the one outlined by the Cave Allegory. We hear the same message from Plato to Plotinus and from Meister Eckhart to Alan Watts. From Jesus to Zoroaster and from Buddha to St. Paul.

Enjoy ;)

S4E27 - Religious Restoration and Kamala as POTUS

In this episode Chris asks Kyle about the Indo-European influences on Judaism and Christianity and whether that impacts his personal faith. From there we pivot to a discussion of Chris' latest solo podcast entitled--Paleo Deo--on the subject of primitive monotheism. Then things get political. We discuss the libertarian and conservative revolutions occurring in Central and South America, the migration crisis and the fitness (or lack thereof) of Kamala Harris to right the ship.

Enjoy ;)

S4E26 - Paleo Deo - Primitive Monotheism

In this episode Chris highlights the ideas of German Anthropologist--Wilhelm Schmidt--and makes the case for a form of Monotheism as the original expression of religious feeling and intuition. We explore Occam's Razor, look for evidence of any true historical polytheistic faiths and discuss the problem of Henotheism. We also explore the Supreme Beings or "High Gods" of tribal peoples to gain a better understanding of just what we mean by the word "god." And lastly, we review evidence from ancient myths, pre-Socratic philosophers and important religious reform movements, which point to a cross-cultural circumambulation around the symbol of divine unity.

Enjoy ;) 

S4E25 - Praise and Blame with Daniel Torridon

In this episode we cross-over with friend of the show Daniel Torridon of the Onion Unlimited podcast to talk about praise and blame. We discuss the power of positive and negative reinforcement and reflect on those peculiar memories of praise and blame that showed us a mirror of our selves or others impacted our behavior or worldview. We don't conclude without throwing morality and religion in the mix...just to shake things up. Enjoy ;)