The Nathan Jacobs Podcast

In this week's episode, Dr. Nathan Jacobs explains the Eastern Church Fathers’ view on the relationship between God and the world. The key to understanding the Eastern Christian position on whether the universe, or part of the universe, is equivalent with God lies with what's called the essence-energy distinction.Please support the East West series: http://theeastwestseries.com/Leave a comment on Youtube: https://youtu.be/gJpY--74zfgDo you like this content? Join Jacobs Premium to get exclusive access to written essays, exclusive lecture series, monthly Q&A Zoom calls, and our book club. Use code: LEWIS to get a discount: https://www.thenathanjacobspodcast.com/======================================All the links:The Theological Letters Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcastX: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobsAcademia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobsListen and please review the podcast elsewhere:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QSApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast

Dr. Jacobs returns to the podcast with a personal update on his time away, news about the upcoming East West Series, and reflections from Holy Week, Pascha, and Bright Week on Mount Athos. In this episode, he shares stories from Vatopedi Monastery, discusses miracles, relics, and monastic life, and offers insight into how these experiences challenge modern skepticism and deepen faith.Support the East West series: http://theeastwestseries.com/Leave a comment on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIZVUy5v32MBreakwater Festival 2026 | 19–21 June | London:I’ll be speaking at Breakwater Festival 2026, a 3-day Estuary gathering focused on bringing online conversations into real-life dialogue and connection. This year’s theme, Cross Pollination: Conversing Across Religious Lines, explores how beliefs engage across difference in a pluralistic world.Join me and other speakers in London — Early Bird tickets are available now: https://www.thebreakwaternetwork.com/upcoming-eventChapters:00:00 I'm back00:13 Why I disappeared for Lent and Mount Athos02:33 What this episode covers03:00 East West Series update04:53 Production timeline and release plan05:54 Fundraising and pre-orders07:16 Why the East West Series matters09:35 Who the series is for: converts, inquirers, and online debate11:45 Vatopedi Monastery endorsement announcement14:05 Podcast facelift and rebrand16:25 New 30-minute “Coffee with Dr. Jacobs” episodes21:07 Topic requests, comments, and sharing23:30 Website simplification and one-stop hub24:20 Mount Athos reflections begin25:45 Third trip to Mount Athos and Holy Week overview28:05 Visiting Elder Paisios’ hermitage30:32 Other monasteries and the capital of Athos32:55 Daily monastic rhythm: Matins, Vespers, and Compline35:19 Holy Week, Pascha, and the intensity of Athos37:41 The washing of the feet service40:09 Pascha procession and the all-night liturgy42:31 Holy Week exhaustion and conversations with monks45:00 Bright Week procession and blessing of the waters47:25 Pizza on Mount Athos49:48 Relics, miracles, and confronting modern skepticism54:29 The Belt of the Virgin Mary56:49 The True Cross and miraculous yeast59:16 St. John Chrysostom’s incorrupt ear01:04:00 The Panagia Paramythia miracle icon01:08:44 Skepticism, belief, and re-enchantment01:13:26 Why skepticism feels safe01:15:41 Belief, faith, and how we live01:20:23 Why people chase the paranormal01:24:59 Culture, plausibility, and belief01:34:40 Cyprus, Lazarus, and his relics01:39:23 Great Lavra, John the Baptist, and Athanasius the Athonite01:44:17 The bullet hole icon story01:46:42 The disobedient monk and the blackened hand01:53:46 Why Mount Athos belongs to the Virgin Mary01:56:15 Final thoughts and East West Series supportDo you like this content? Join Jacobs Premium to get exclusive access to written essays, exclusive lecture series, monthly Q&A Zoom calls, and our book club. Use code: LEWIS to get a discount: https://www.thenathanjacobspodcast.com/======================================All the links:The Theological Letters Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcastX: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobsAcademia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobsSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QSApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcastWords for the algorithm: East West Series, Vatopedi, Mount Athos, Pascha, Holy Week, relics, miracles, church fathers, orthodoxy, monks.

Fr. Joseph Lucas, an Orthodox priest and patristics scholar, explains how early Christian thinkers read sacrifice, typology, and Christ’s work. He contrasts Alexandrian and Western readings. Short, vivid segments cover Cyril of Alexandria on purification, ascension as priestly offering, Isaiah 53, and how salvation reshapes human nature rather than a simple transfer of punishment.

This is part 3 of 3 talks by Dr. Nathan Jacobs about the "nones", the religiously unaffiliated, a group that has grown dramatically over the past two decades and about which Dr. Jacobs has done research, culminating into the documentary called Becoming Truly Human.Watch part 1: https://youtu.be/vun_XtxDt5E?si=8uHdje7CpTHNAa8v Watch part 2: https://youtu.be/XPlTK33zmcs?si=sY32QQCva2QGPpCK In this talk, Dr. Nathan A. Jacobs discusses how we, as believers, can engage the “nones” and “dones”. He explains why the religiously unaffiliated don't talk about religion, and argues that the real crisis isn’t simply atheism, but disillusionment and cultural hypnosis. A major threat to our faith, as with so many aspects of human life, is our technology and the sense it can create of being a cognitive minority. How can we talk about religion with people who are disaffiliated? How can we help families and members of our own church to prevent disillusionment?Do you want to watch the Becoming Truly Human documentary? Watch it along with other exclusive content on Jacobs Premium. Use code: LEWIS to get a discount on the highest tier of support: https://www.thenathanjacobspodcast.com/ Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5_LcdMbopjgTimestamps:00:00 - Preview01:43 - Introduction to this series01:50 - Start of talk02:32 - The secret believer05:59 - A safe space to talk08:26 - Nones rarely talk about religion11:51 - Ask them about their journey16:45 - Addressing their presuppositions22:43 - Taste and see25:48 - The dones27:50 - Keeping Orthodox folks from leaving the church29:27 - A reading from Narnia39:28 - A cognitive minority43:56 - Digital experience48:24 - Approaching research about the dones55:54 - Q&A and discussion56:16 - Q: On resources58:45 - Q: Why does the Orthodox also produce nones and dones?01:07:23 - Q: Why people leave church despite believing01:12:37 - Q: Open to differences01:15:43 - Q: Humility and listening01:16:41 - Q: Catechesis01:19:39 - Q: Moral problems with the Bible======================================All the links:The Theological Letters Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcastX: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobsAcademia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobsListen and please review the podcast elsewhere:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QSApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast

A deep look at why many people leave Western forms of Christianity without rejecting God. Short contrasts between Western theological trajectories and Eastern Fathers surface themes like grace, freedom, fatalism, and human nature. The talk highlights ideas such as essence and energies, a porous spiritual world, and practical paths like liturgy, pilgrimage, and holy conduits.

A look at the fast-growing religiously unaffiliated and what shapes their spiritual lives. Short portraits and film clips reveal common intuitions like karma, a vague higher power, and therapeutic spirituality. The modern atheist versus apologist debate is argued to have lost its audience. Questions about afterlife, moral objections to traditional religion, and how people trust intuition over formal reason are raised.

A tour through ancient Greek and medieval ideas that shaped modern concepts of the divine. Short takes on how philosophers moved from many gods to a single highest being. A look at debates over divine attributes like necessity, omniscience, and providence. A focus on the person versus nature question and why that distinction matters for whether different faiths refer to the same deity.

A guided tour of how the word 'God' changed from ancient Platonism through Augustine and medieval scholasticism to modern religious pluralism. Discussion of divine simplicity, perfect being theology, and how those ideas shaped assumptions about divine nature. Exploration of rational religion, Kantian limits, and how these histories influence claims that different faiths point to the same transcendent reality.

Delve into the intriguing debate about whether Greek philosophy corrupted Christianity. The discussion highlights the influence of German idealism and critiques the label of Church Fathers as Platonists. It contrasts ancient approaches to truth with modern nominalism while exploring the Hellenization of Judaism. Discover how distinctive Christian doctrines evolved and the integrity of martyrs like Justin Martyr. Ultimately, the host argues that early fathers preserved, rather than tainted, the faith taught in the New Testament.

Dive into the fascinating world of Nicene Trinitarianism as Dr. Jacobs explores the metaphysical foundations set by the Cappadocian Fathers. He demystifies complex Greek terms like ousia and hypostasis while contrasting Eastern and Western theological developments. Discover the historic debates over divine nature with the Arian dispute and Augustine's significant influence. Jacobs also tackles modern misunderstandings of the Trinity and considers prospects for East-West reconciliation amidst deep philosophical divides.