The Two Tongues Podcast

S4E14 - On Gods and Dragons

In this episode Chris discusses an episode of the YouTube channel "Mr. Mythos" entitled "Evidence YHWH was a Dragon." We examine the prominent role dragons hold in world mythology and explore evidence in the Bible that describes God as a dragon. We then expand on Mr. Mythos' work to incorporate Jordan Peterson's discussion of the Babylonian "dragon of chaos"--the primordial goddess Tiamat--and it's relation to the Hebrew word Tehom in the book of Genesis. We wrap up with some speculation about the symbolic meaning of the dragon image and its implications for understanding human nature.

Enjoy ;)

S4E13 - The Origins of the World's Mythologies

In this episode Chris explores Professor E.J. Michael Witzel's theory on the source and origin of all the mythologies of the world. A single explanation? Yes, indeed! Witzel uses a historical approach to comparative religion, aided by the latest in linguistic, archeological and DNA evidence to trace the myths of the world back to two distinct groups, an older one he calls Gondwana and a later one called Laurasian. Through this process he traces our myths back some 40,000 years and beyond, constructing a "family tree" of world myths and reconstructing their original form. What he finds is, not just common motifs and characters, but a single unifying story-line--a mythic history--which ties together the myths and religions of our ancient past.

Enjoy ;)

S4E12 - Two Tongues Hodgepodge

In this episode Kyle and Chris reunite after a month of scheduling conflicts. We discuss the solo content each of us produced in the interim, including Kyle's episode with his Eastern Orthodox friends and Chris' piece on Jesus as a "shapeshifter." We catch-up on just about everything else: discussing HBO's latest season of "True Detective," whether women should be allowed in the military and the truth behind Disney's promotion of "woke" ideology and their very public participation in the Culture War.

Enjoy ;)

S4E11 - Jesus the Shaman

In this episode Chris explores what it means to be a 'Shaman' and how the term relates to the great world religions of the modern day. He asks the questions: Is a priest, technically, a Shaman? What about a Prophet? What about Jesus Christ? And this last question takes us on a journey through long-lost Christian scriptures, folklore, Paleolithic cave paintings and back into the Bible, as we attempt to answer the question--Was Jesus a Shaman?

S4E10 - Angels, Spirits and Gods with a Lowercase 'g'

In this episode Chris riffs on whether or not angels and demons actually exist. He asks the question, just what the hell is an angel or a demon? How do these ideas from our monotheistic traditions compare to the older, classical idea of 'gods' with a lowercase 'g', or to the even older animistic idea of the 'spirits of nature'? Lastly he tries to explain the physical correlates of such spiritual entities in the realm of psychology, motivational forces and their forms as living Archetypes. Enjoy ;)

S4E9 - The First Men - Europe's Myths Before Indo-European Migration

In this episode we examine a myth from the Basque people of Spain and France. Why? Because I love stories, but also because the Basque people are unique among the ethnicities, cultures and languages of Europe. They do not descend from the Indo-European migration, which so heavily influenced the rest of Europe and do not speak an Indo-European language. That said, their myths give us incredible insight into the development of spirituality in Europe and into those primordial ideas, which rest at the foundation of the human psyche.

The myth discussed comes from the folklorist Mariana Monteiro's 1887 book Legends and Popular Tales of the Basque People. It explains the origin of a sacred mountain called--Aquelarre--which sits alone like a leper, isolated from the rest of the mountain chain. Why is it estranged so? What makes it sacred? Let's find out...

Enjoy ;) 

S4E8 - Graham, Rogan and Dibble's Sleeves

In this episode Chris and Kyle conduct a post-mortem on episode 2136 of the Joe Rogan Experience where Graham Hancock finally gets to defend his ideas of a forgotten civilization against a mainstream archeologist. 

Enjoy ;)

S4E7 - The Ick

In this episode Kyle and Chris reunite after an extra week's hiatus...and they had lots to talk about! We cover Kyle's recent experience as a debate moderator on The Crucible and Chris' latest solo episode on the book Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future. But we don't stop there. We hash out a theological disagreement about the origin of religion, discuss the "Neo Trad" movement, the existence or non-existence of demons and a video clip of Jewish men in Israel answering the question: If you had to pray in a mosque or a church, which would you choose? 

S4E6 - The Religion of the Future

In this episode Chris presents Opinion Scholarship on an influential book by a Christian Orthodox Father--Seraphim Rose--titled Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future. This exploration was sparked by Kyle's interest in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and on the recommendation of an Orthodox friend of the show--Jason Mironchuck--of the 2Bit Podcast. I suspected this book was going to argue that Orthodox Christianity is poised to be the "religion of the future," but instead found Father Rose warning of the rise of an ecumenical, multi-faith, hybrid religion of anti-Christ. He warns against inter-faith dialog and the adoption of pagan ideas and practices into Christianity. He warns the seekers of spiritual experiences against seeking them outside of the Church of Christ. And most especially, he warns against the dilution and corruption of the tradition of the Christian church, which he believes risks the souls of the faithful as well as the rest of us.

Enjoy ;)

S4E5 - Ashtavakra Gita, The Heart of Awareness

In this episode Chris brings you Opinion Scholarship on a Hindu holy book called the Ashtavakra Gita, which expounds the non-dual philosophy of the Upanishads and Advaita Vedanta. This text is profound and poetic, but as good as it is in describing the nature of God, it fails in other ways to account for the realities of the world and our place in it. Chris outlines his objections and what he sees as shortcomings in its interpretation of mystic experience and, more importantly, in it's implications for human life.

Enjoy ;)