Hello again, subscribers! Thursday is again upon us, which means we have a brand new episode of The Nathan Jacobs Podcast.
But before we get there, we’ve got a lot of content to catch up on.
I finished my 6-part series on the problem of evil. Catch part 5, The Purpose of Creation, where I examine the patristic (meta)narrative, exploring how the early Church fathers of the East understand creation's purpose and humanity's relationship to God and world. I look at the Genesis narrative through a patristic lens and discuss how creation was designed for communion and participation in divine life, as well as the central role man plays in that design.
Part 6, The Fall, Demons, Animal Pain, & the 8th Day of Creation, explores the Eastern patristic understanding of The Fall, demonic influence, and animal suffering. The episode examines how the Church fathers interpret humanity's departure from divine communion and its consequences. The Eastern tradition frames suffering within creation's journey toward the Eighth Day—a restoration and fulfillment beyond fallen existence. This final episode synthesizes into a grand picture the patristic view of evil and God's redemptive plan for all of creation.
Today’s episode wraps things up with an audience Q&A, where I look at comments left throughout the series, diving into topics like God & the Fate of Judas, Natural Disasters, and Other Evils. You can find a complete list of questions in the YouTube description.
If you haven’t already, tune into the first installment on the problem of evil where I explored the basic elements of the problem of evil and the staples of the traditional Christian response. In that episode, I looked at free will, divine permission, and whether a sinless world would be either possible or preferable to our own.
In the second installment, I look at the notion that our world is an orchestral expression of divine goodness. But this insight reveals the uncomfortable fact that not all goods can co-exist and many other goods are “complex,” being entangled with evils. So, though we may casually suggest that God can do anything, the choices of providence are far more complex than the average person admits.
In the third installment, I lay the groundwork for an Eastern patristic theodicy, revisiting well-trodden territory on the metaphysics of evil, free will, divine providence, and the permissive will of God, fleshing out these topics with unique insights from the Eastern Church fathers.
In the fourth installment on the problem of evil, I explore the complex relationship between divine providence and human freedom. What does it mean that God delegates sub-sovereigns over creation? And how does divine foreknowledge interact with human self-determination? This episode lays crucial groundwork for understanding the synergistic nature of providence before diving into our final episode, where I explore the meta-narrative of the Eastern Church fathers as it applies to the task of theodicy.
Beyond the problem of evil series, I also offered my take on Cliffe & Stuart Knechtle and their viral debate with an Orthodox student at MIT. Therein, I break down the core differences between East and West on grace and works.
Last but not least, I also offered my first segment Jacobs in Brief, where I race a 1-hour timer to give an overview on a complicated subject. The first episode takes a look at divine foreknowledge.
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Intro to Philosophy— was that 7 Central or 7 Eastern time? 7 Central is better!