Into The Abyss

Todd and Tyler talk about sola scriptura and related ideas. Sola scriptura is the position that Scripture is the only "inerrant, sufficient, and final authority for the Church" (Matthew Barrett, God's Word Alone). Another position is that "both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church)

Todd and Tyler talk about free will. Do we have free will? One possible response is, "It depends," because free will can mean different things, from an absolute ability to have done otherwise to simply an ability to act in conformity with one's desires. We talk about Robert Sapolsky's recent book, Determined, arguing against both libertarian and compatibilist notions of free will.

Todd and Tyler talk about spiritual experiences. Scriptural accounts of rushing mighty wind and hearts burning within. Surrendering control to the Spirit. The physical aspect of spiritual experiences, particularly in the brain. What we can know from spiritual experiences? Who we can know from spiritual experiences? How to interpret them. What spiritual experiences are for. And Todd

Todd and Tyler share personal reflections on Easter and Holy Week.

Todd and Tyler discuss temples. The functions of temples in different cultures and the temples of Ancient Israel in particular. The various offerings and sacrifices. The concepts of holiness and separation. Christian theologies of the way temple worship carried over into the body of Christ in the Church and the Eucharist. Margaret Barker’s provocative theories about Josiah’s re

Todd and Tyler talk about Catholicism and Latter-Day Saints (Mormonism), particularly as discussed in the writings of Stephen Webb (Catholic) and Alonzo Gaskill (LDS). Topics include authority, ecclesiology, general conference, catechism, canon, extra-canonical texts, and pseudepigrapha. We talk about Webb's special interest in the metaphysics of matter and how that features in bot

Todd and Tyler conclude a four-part series on the Book of Revelation. Subjects discussed include eating the scroll, the woman clothed with the sun, the child, the dragon, the beasts from the sea and the earth, Babylon and its fall, the lament of the merchants of the earth, the testimony of Jesus as the spirit of prophecy, the new heaven and new earth, and making all things new. We

Todd and Tyler talk about the Two Powers in Heaven thesis, the idea that in Second Temple Judaism and earlier there was understood to be a secondary divine figure alongside the primary God, YHWH. We discuss the Angel of the Lord, the Word of the Lord, and the Son of Man. We go into texts from the Hebrew Bible as well as extra-Biblical texts like the Book of Enoch, Targums, and Talm

Todd and Tyler continue in the Book of Revelation, with chapters 6 and 7. We cover the Seven Seals, the Four Horsemen, the 144,000 sealed of Israel, and the multitude from the great tribulation. Concluding with the opening of the seventh seal.

Todd and Tyler return to the Book of Revelation, this time moving into the visions in chapters 4 and 5. The throne, the 24 elders, the 4 living creatures, the scroll with 7 seals, the Lion of Judah who is also a Lamb, and the new song. We also begin to look at the opening of the seals in chapter 6 but mostly leave the 4 horsemen waiting in the wings until next time.