Today we repost another episode from the Hank Unplugged podcast. They’ll tackle one of the most misunderstood aspects of Orthodox practice: the use of icons in worship. Together they examine the historical and biblical foundations for iconography, drawing on the teachings of John of Damascus and exploring how those who oppose icons might be missing key aspects of Christ's incarnation. The conversation moves from the practical role icons played in spreading the faith in pre-literate societies to their continued relevance and profound impact in today's world.

Original episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=updb-fkGCwE

All the links:

X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPod

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QS

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast

Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/

Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/

Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs

(00:00) Intro

(05:30) John of Damascas and his defense of icons

(08:55) Do those who are against icons, iconoclasts, have an inadequate view of the incarnation?

(16:40) Explaining the veneration of icons

(29:30) The historical role of icons in a world of illiteracy and oral traditions that didn’t have the biblical texts that we often take for granted today

(34:15) The appeal and potential profundity of icons in our world today as evangelical examples

(41:20) Does the Bible Answer Man’s son believe he has left the Christian faith?

Watch Dr. Nathan Jacobs and Bible Answer Man host Hank Hanegraaff explore Eastern Orthodox perspectives on faith, works, and Mary's role in Christianity. Together they unpack common misconceptions about Orthodox beliefs, diving deep into why Mary's significance extends far beyond being Jesus's mother, and how Eastern Christians view the relationship between faith and salvation. Originally aired on the Hank Unplugged Podcast on March 3, 2020.

Original episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IkWN4WgIKc

All the links:

X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPod

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QS

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast

Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/

Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/

Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs

(03:37) Why do some Evangelicals believe that Hank Hanegraaff left the Christian faith when he became Eastern Orthodox?

(07:37) Discussing the differing framework of faith and works in the East and the West

(20:47) We are not saved by good works, but for good works

(23:42) Discussing the Dormition of the Mother of God, Mary

(26:37) The perpetual virginity of Mary

(34:47) The role of Mary in the Incarnation and the profound theological implications

(38:17) A preview of the next conversation in this podcast series with Nathan Jacobs on Sola Scriptura

You're surely familiar with the popularized details of the Mary and Nativity stories. This week, Dr. Jacobs is going to deep dive into the extra Biblical tradition of Mary and the birth of Christ, as well as exploring what the devil was up to while the Christ child was gestating in Mary's womb.

https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/p/on-mary-the-mother-of-god-1-of-2?r=r1mfj

All the links:

X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPod

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QS

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast

Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/

Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/

Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:01:02) The common Nativity Story

(00:05:56) Christian Tradition: the stories and practices beyond the Bible

(00:25:06) Extra Biblical texts (the Gospel of James and Nicodemus)

(00:30:16) The lesser known details about the Mary’s origins

(00:48:08) A brief note on Mary’s perpetual virginity and the birth of Jesus Christ

(00:54:37) Who were the wisemen (Magi) and Herod’s search for the newborn King

(00:58:19) Bringing the Christ child to the temple

(01:01:32) The Christian perspective on the origin of evil

(01:10:06) The rebellion of angels

(01:20:48) An analysis of miracles

(01:37:02) The devil and the Nativity story

Dr. Jacobs is feeling some Christmas nostalgia today and wondered, "What is this feeling, so sudden and new?" To get to the bottom of this, of course, he's going to explore the topic of human nature and divine essence and energies. Diving back into the history of ideas and coming out the other side with the answer: all creation groans.

All the links:

X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPod

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QS

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast

Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/

Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/

Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:00:00) Christmas, longing, and nostalgia

(00:10:39) What is the nature of man?

(00:13:28) Aristotle, essance, and energies

(00:18:06) Philo of Alexandria, essance, and energies

(00:20:22) The communicable nature of God

(00:26:06) Saint Paul and energia

(00:30:04) Plato, Deuteronomy, images, and archetypes

(00:37:57) The nature of creation

(00:52:04) Man is a microcosm of all that God has made

(01:09:03) How God’s energies interact in the world

(01:21:31) The deeper feeling

Dr. Jacobs takes a look at the history of ideas through the lens of free will, from Socrates to the stoics to Augustine. He responds to Neil deGrasse Tyson and Charles Liu's scientific perspective on human choice. Find out in this episode if Dr. Jacobs believes in libertarian freedom. Also he gives a preview of his upcoming series on the problem of evil.

Predestination Part 1: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/p/a-brief-history-of-predestination?r=r1mfj

Predestination Part 2: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/p/a-brief-history-of-predestination-d60?r=r1mfj

Predestination Part 3: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/p/a-brief-history-of-predestination-cb9?r=r1mfj

All the links:

X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPod

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QS

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast

Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/

Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/

Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:03:25) What is determinism?

(00:12:18) What is incompatibalism?

(00:14:31) Libertarian freedom

(00:19:07) Compatibalism

(00:29:49) Fate vs determinism

(00:32:09) Libertarianism in the ancient Pagan philosophers (Aristotle, Plato, Cicero, and the epicureans)

(00:35:08) Stoicism, libertarian freedom, and fatalism

(00:41:52) The church fathers and free choice

(00:48:02) God is good (problem of evil teaser)

(01:06:38) Challenges of free will for the church fathers (foreknowledge and predestination)

(01:18:33) Dr. Jacobs’ opinion

(01:29:06) Do Calvinists deny free will?

(01:33:43) The divide of philosophy and theology

(01:37:25) The philosophical case for free will

(01:58:23) Why people doubt free will

(01:59:57) The scientific case against free will (responding to Neil deGrasse Tyson, Charles Liu, & Chuck Nice on StarTalk)

(02:10:41) Leibniz, the Principle of Sufficient Reason, and equipoise

(02:42:44) Things above and below reason

Original essay: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/p/on-free-will

Dr. Jacobs gives an overview on free will, responding to a listener's question about compatibilism and predestination. You’ll get the broad brushstrokes on various positions on free will, from hard determinism to libertarianism. while explaining why the Eastern Church Fathers rejected compatibilism in favor of libertarian free will. This will be a good primer for an upcoming episode delving deeper into the topic.

All the links: X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QS Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/ Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/ Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs

Dr. Jacobs reads his chapter in the second volume "Turning East" (publication TBD). You'll hear him discuss how he came to convert to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, starting from his growing years, doing LSD in late adolescence, his distaste for Western Christianity, and how he came to find and love Eastern patristics. All the links: X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QS Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/ Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/ Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs

(00:00) Intro (02:52) Early Life

(08:31) A Spiritual Awakening

(16:10) A Disappointing Investigation

(23:52) A philosophy of process

(36:00) Encountering the Eastern Church Fathers

(58:03) The Journey East

Dr. Jacobs tackles your philosophical and theological questions in today's episode. He answers audience comments on topics ranging from how humans participate with external reality beyond mere mental images, examines nature human nature versus shared traits, delve into divine foreknowledge via Jeremiah, discuss the doctrine of double effect and the trolley problem, and investigates classical perspectives on free will. From metaphysical realism to patristic traditions, this discussion offers fresh insights into age-old questions.

Stay tuned for our upcoming series on the problem of evil later this month.

All the links:

X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPod

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QS

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast

Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/

Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/

Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs

(00:01:55) The Most Important Question background

(00:03:03) Is Darwinism just nominalism applied to biology?

(00:26:39) How can materialism / utilitarianism co-exist with social engineering?

(00:38:23) How does realism apply to adoption?

(00:58:36) Participation vs. manifestation

(01:12:37) How could God know us before we existed?

(01:25:58) What is true freedom?

(01:40:24) The trolley problem and the doctrine of double effect

(01:44:49) Can realism and nominalism both be correct?

(01:52:00) What makes human nature unique from other shared traits?