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You're to be familiar with the popularized details of the Mary and Nativity stories—the manger, the shepherds, the star. But this week, Dr. Jacobs takes you beyond the familiar Sunday school narrative to explore the robust early Christian tradition surrounding Mary's birth, her betrothal to the elderly widower Joseph, and the supernatural drama unfolding behind the scenes. This episode examines what the Church Fathers believed about the devil's frantic attempts to thwart the Incarnation, from his watchful surveillance of Israel's virgins to Herod's demonic massacre of the innocents. Dr. Jacobs traces the cosmic war between the powers of light and darkness, revealing how God orchestrated an elaborate divine ruse to veil the Messiah from Satan's gaze. Drawing from sources like the Gospel of James, Irenaeus, Gregory of Nyssa, and John Chrysostom, this deep dive recovers the fuller Christmas story that shaped Christian understanding for centuries.

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This episode explores the Eastern patristic understanding of Christmas through the doctrines of divine energies, synergy, and man as microcosm. Drawing on Aristotle, Philo of Alexandria, and Church Fathers like Athanasius, the discussion examines why all creation groans for the incarnation and how Christ's becoming creature rebuilds the bridge between God and cosmos. The incarnation is presented not merely as a legal transaction but as the initiation of cosmic healing—a "good infection" that restores humanity's mediating role and allows all creation to partake of divine nature.

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https://www.keipirestaurant.org/first-things-foundation

Dr. Jacobs delivers a talk on hospitality in the ancient world, exploring three stories: Abraham entertaining angels, John Cassian learning from Egyptian monks, and Abba Agathon's encounter with a divine visitor. The presentation examines the theological significance of hospitality in Hebrew and Christian traditions, particularly focusing on Eastern Orthodox patristic interpretations. Delivered at a Georgian Supra event hosted by the First Things Foundation in Greenville, South Carolina. Visit Keipi in Greenville for traditional Georgian cuisine.

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Other words for the algorithm…

Abraham and the angels, Hebrew Bible hospitality, ancient Near East customs, stranger ethics, John Cassian, Desert Fathers, Abba Agathon, Egyptian monasticism, asceticism, monastic hospitality, fasting and feasting, Georgian Supra, Eastern Orthodox theology, patristic theology, John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, church fathers, Orthodox ethics, Christian hospitality, biblical hospitality, sheep and goats parable, love of neighbor, theological virtue, practical theology, ancient world customs, virtue ethics, Christian ethics, moral theology, spiritual formation, monasticism, anachoresis, cenobitic monasticism, apophthegmata patrum, sayings of the Desert Fathers, patristic ethics, biblical interpretation, Old Testament theology, New Testament ethics, Hebrews commentary, Lot and the angels, Road to Emmaus, Tobit, Archangel Raphael, theophany, Christophany, angel visitation, divine testing, covenant theology, Abraham covenant, Sodom and Gomorrah, Job righteousness, ancient virtue, classical virtue, agape love, caritas, philoxenia, Christian hospitality tradition, early Christianity, Byzantine theology, Greek patristics, Eastern Christianity, Western Christianity, East-West theology, theological anthropology, imago Dei, image of God, Matthew 25, eschatology, heavenly feast, messianic banquet, bridegroom theology, joy and fasting, liturgical theology, sacramental life, communion, Eucharist theology, stranger as Christ, Matthew Mathewes, practical philosophy, applied ethics, charitable works, almsgiving, poverty theology, wealth distribution, social justice, Christian socialism, monasticism economics, voluntary poverty, detachment, ascetical theology, spiritual disciplines, prayer and fasting, desert spirituality, Egyptian desert, Palestinian monasticism, Scetes, monastic rules, obedience, humility cultivation, temptation, demonic warfare, spiritual combat, guardian angels, angelology, hierarchy of angels, divine messengers, supernatural encounters, mystical theology, contemplation, theosis, deification, divine energies, Gregory Palamas, hesychasm, Philokalia, nepsis, watchfulness, prayer rope, Jesus prayer, heart prayer, stillness, silentium

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Dr. Jacobs is joined by guest Jonathan Pageau for an in-depth discussion on the nature of symbolic thinking and philosophical realism. They explore how symbols function in reality, the relationship between ancient worldviews and modern nominalism, and the distinction between genuine symbology and eisegesis. The conversation addresses the metaphysical foundations of symbolic interpretation, the role of idealism in understanding reality, and whether symbols are merely useful fictions or constitute the actual structure of the world.

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00:00:00 Intro

00:00:52 Jonathan’s Background

00:17:31 Symbology 101: What is Symbolic Thinking?

00:22:01 Philosophical Realism and Ancient Intuition

00:25:01 Are Symbols Real or Useful Fictions?

00:37:27 Idealism and the Structure of Reality

00:44:02 Christ-Shaped Reality and the Logos

01:12:20 How to Avoid Eisegesis in Symbolic Interpretation

01:23:45 The Danger of Gnostic and Esoteric Fascination

01:28:58 The Problem of Non-Realist Symbolism

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This is part three of our three-part series on the seven ecumenical councils, focusing on the philosophical commitments embedded in the final five councils from Ephesus to Nicaea II. We examine the Nestorian controversy and Cyril of Alexandria's defense of moderate realism, the doctrine of complex natures, and the distinction between common faculties and idiosyncratic use in the monothelite debate. The episode concludes with the monoenergist controversy's codification of the essence-energies distinction and the ontology of image and archetype in iconography.

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00:00:00 - Intro

00:05:36 Dogma vs. Kerygma: Basil's Distinction

00:10:26 The Council of Ephesus: Nestorius vs. Cyril

00:14:56 Moderate Realism and Complex Natures

00:23:18 Nestorius's Metaphysical Error

00:30:14 Why Mary Is Theotokos

00:45:02 The Monophysite Controversy After Ephesus

00:49:19 The Council of Chalcedon

00:57:00 Common Nature, Idiosyncratic Use

01:02:00 The Theandric Operations: John of Damascus's Analogy

01:07:56 The Essence-Energies Distinction in the Councils

01:13:34 Against Calling It "Palamite"

01:19:09 Nicaea II and the Ontology of Images

Other words for the algorithm…

ecumenical councils, Christology, Chalcedon, Council of Ephesus, Nestorius, Cyril of Alexandria, moderate realism, complex natures, theotokos, patristics, church fathers, early Christian philosophy, Byzantine theology, Eastern Orthodox, Orthodox theology, hupóstasis, essence-energies distinction, Gregory Palamas, Cappadocian fathers, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, John of Damascus, Maximus the Confessor, monothelite controversy, monoenergist controversy, monophysitism, Apollinarianism, hypostatic union, two natures one person, divine energies, theosis, deification, incarnation, Nicene Creed, Constantinople, Council of Chalcedon, hyalomorphism, Aristotle, Plato, realism, nominalism, universals, particular, form and matter, substance, accidents, common nature, Christian metaphysics, patristic theology, systematic theology, philosophical theology, philosophy of religion, Christian philosophy, Thomas Aquinas, scholasticism, medieval philosophy, ancient philosophy, Neoplatonism, divine simplicity, divine freedom, anthropology, theological anthropology, imago dei, image of God, iconography, Nicaea II, body and soul, will, free will, monothelitism, Apollinaris, Athanasius, homoousios, consubstantial, Trinity, divine nature, human nature, rational soul, theandric operations, dogma, kerygma, divine liturgy, anti-Chalcedonian, Council of Constantinople, moderate realist, extreme realism, archetypal ideas, common will, idiosyncratic use, Philippians 2, morphe, kenosis, inflamed blade analogy, David Bradshaw, essence and energies, Aristotle East and West, Gregory of Nazianzus, Chrysostom, ontology, metaphysics, formal properties, genera and species, specific difference

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This is part two of a three-part series examining the philosophical commitments embedded in the seven ecumenical councils of early Christianity. In this episode, Dr. Jacobs explores the metaphysical foundations of Nicene and Constantinopolitan theology, including hyalomorphism, moderate realism, the doctrine of the hypostasis, and the distinction between creation and eternal generation. He’ll walk through how the early church fathers developed sophisticated philosophical positions on the nature of God, creatures, causation, and the individual that were integral to Christian theology rather than later Greek additions.

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00:00:00 Intro

00:02:15 The Seven Ecumenical Councils wverview

00:04:42 No ancient divide

00:21:42 Ancient Christians saw Christianity as philosophy

00:29:39 Dispelling the progress narrative

00:38:21 The Arian disput & metaphysical commitments

00:39:16 What it means to be "created"

00:43:12 Hylomorphism: form & matter

00:52:24 Metaphysical realism and the law of contradiction

01:03:07 Are creatures material?

01:04:38 Biblical foundations for these commitments

01:09:20 From Nicaea to Constantinople

01:11:51 The doctrine of the hypostasis

01:14:00 Moderate realism: Aristotle vs Plato

01:23:10 The individual as its own reality

01:32:15 On "Not Three Gods"

01:42:32 The distinction of causes: begotten, not made

01:51:27 Efficient vs formal cause

02:00:05 Per se vs per accidens causality

02:02:39 Eternal generation & procession

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This week we’re taking a look at the seven ecumenical councils of the early Christian church, from Nicaea (325 AD) to Nicaea II (787 AD). Dr. Jacobs traces how each council addressed Christological controversies while establishing foundational theological and philosophical positions. Topics include Trinitarian theology, the nature of Christ's divinity and humanity, the concept of eternal generation, and the distinction between essence and energies. The analysis demonstrates how seemingly disparate theological disputes form a unified narrative centered on the question "Who do you say that I am?"

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00:00:00 Intro

00:00:22 Christianity’s philosophical commitments

00:03:21 What are the Ecumenical Councils?

00:11:19 Keys for understanding the councils

00:20:59 The Council of Nicaea: is Christ fully God?

00:29:20 How is the Son begotten?

00:35:18 Council of Constantinople: three persons, one nature

00:48:32 Are Christians monotheists?

00:55:50 Is Christ fully human?

01:04:50 Council of Ephesus: one person with two natures

01:12:14 Council of Chalcedon: unconfused & unmingled

01:24:31 The remaining councils

01:26:39 The icon controversy