Christian Saints Podcast

00:00 Opening
01:04 You can't put The Faith on the screen & do it well
04:23 Stop debating if Jesus was an undocumented immigrant or refugee
07:54 Don't use Christian images as a foil for ideological vision
10:42 I care if the vulnerable meet God, which means I have to feed them
18:40 Silencing the monstrous is the only righteous anger
22:33 Response videos & click bait breed arrogance & division
27:43 Our utopian vision tends to not include ourselves changing
31:38 It is too easy to convince ourselves our sin does not matter
34:08 Your anger is probably self righteous, which means it is sinful
38:27 The lesson of Ebineezer Scrooge is "fear not!"
40:44 God wants to look at us & have us look at Him the way husband & wife look at each other
42:25 It is hard to be angry at other people if we know we're an idiot
46:26 The utopian vision eliminates the possibility of forgiveness
50:49 Dungeons & Dragons plane of Nirvana teaches us how scary utopia would actually be if we tried to live in it
53:34 Closing

~~~

It Will All Fail - S7E19

~~~

We are nearing the end of season seven & Fr Symeon didn't want to miss the opportunity to talk about how the two dominant ideologies in our culture both rely on what we could call an unconstrained vision of humanity - the dream of The Enlightenment still alive.

In this third part of three, we delve into a bit more pop culture references than is typical for us as we continue to try to drive home the idea the pursuit of utopia brings dystopia & the problem is human delusion. We must focus on dispelling delusion, not problem solving & system building.

~~~

Scripture citations for this episode:

Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-19, Luke 19:45-48, John 2:13-17 - Cleansing of the temple

Mark 5: 1-20 - Gerasene Demoniac

The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Generative sounds & Paradosis Pavilion. Our hosts are Father Symeon Kees of Iowa City & James John Marks of Chicago.

Paradosis Pavilion - https://youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555

https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://x.com/podcast_saints
https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://www.threads.net/@christiansaintspodcast
https://bsky.app/profile/xtiansaintspodcast.bsky.social

Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images

Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com

All music in these episodes is a production of Generative Sounds
https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com
Distribution rights of this episode & all music contained in it are controlled by Generative Sounds
Copyright 2021 - 2026

00:00 Introduction
02:20 Opening
06:17 We are all nuts
10:36 The sins others can't see are more dangerous
13:30 Living enslaved to Sin is standing on a cliff
17:39 We Can't Build Utopia
18:45 What we do has far more consequence than we realize
23:00 The Dream of The Enlightenment breeds cattle & monsters
25:27 Pursuit of Eutopia breeds Dystopia
28:45 A rabbit trail about our favorite fiction genres
32:47 Self delusion causes us to make the means The End
34:10 The Gerasene Demoniac & the pigs
36:07 Why can't people see the path of The Kingdom
43:55 Confession shatters self delusion
47:45 The divine revelation to The Apostles was unique
49:30 Humans tend to want kings, one way or another
50:50 Another rabbit trail about movies about The Bible
54:00 Closing

Human Persons Are Not Infinite - S7E18

We are nearing the end of season seven & Fr Symeon didn't want to miss the opportunity to talk about how the two dominant ideologies in our culture both rely on what we could call an unconstrained vision of humanity - the dream of The Enlightenment still alive.

In this second part of three, we delve into a bit more pop culture references than is typical for us, we both admit to a love of dystopian fiction & we also speak of the core mission of The Church to usher all of Creation into Paradise, not to amass warriors to create Utopia through Power.

Scripture citations for this episode:

Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-19, Luke 19:45-48, John 2:13-17 - Cleansing of the temple

Mark 5: 1-20 - Gerasene Demoniac

The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Generative sounds & Paradosis Pavilion. Our hosts are Father Symeon Kees of Iowa City & James John Marks of Chicago.

Paradosis Pavilion - https://youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555

https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://x.com/podcast_saints
https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://www.threads.net/@christiansaintspodcast
https://bsky.app/profile/xtiansaintspodcast.bsky.social

Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images

Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com

All music in these episodes is a production of Generative Sounds
https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com
Distribution rights of this episode & all music contained in it are controlled by Generative Sounds
Copyright 2021 - 2026

00:00 Introduction
05:25 Competing ideologies
09:46 The fundamentals - vision of humanity
12:27 Are humans good or evil
16:20 Are people evil or deluded?
19:46 Can we agree on what good & evil are?
22:55 The sinless passions
25:29 Issues of identity
28:00 The Prince of Peace is Born!
31:44 Too much Emmanuel Kant
33:36 Christmas proclaims Love Incarnate
35:00 Genesis 3, The Lie is "Be Unconstrained"
38:12 Optimistic Christianity
40:30 The subtle lie of the brazen serpent
44:15 Christmas is the beginning of the end of Death
47:29 Closing

Human Persons Are Not Infinite - S7E17

We are nearing the end of season seven & Fr Symeon didn't want to miss the opportunity to talk about how the two dominant ideologies in our culture both rely on what we could call an unconstrained vision of humanity - the dream of The Enlightenment still alive. We are suggesting the journey on the way of the life of faithfulness to the evangelion of Jesus, The Christ requires us to accept we are created, finite beings & as a consequence we must have a constrained vision of humanity - the dream of The Enlightenment is not only dead, if it came true, we would become either monsters or animals.

Yes, there is a way in which our understanding theosis, divination, is a vision of an unconstrained humanity, we can become divine through grace! And the world's denial of this is a kind of constrained vision. Yes, we see this irony. But for the sake of the conversation, we're framing our thoughts as we outlined them above.

This conversation was quite long! So the production team has decided to cut it into three sections this time, not just two.

Scripture citations for this episode:

Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-19, Luke 19:45-48, John 2:13-17 - Cleansing of the temple

Mark 5: 1-20 - Gerasene Demoniac

The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Generative sounds & Paradosis Pavilion. Our hosts are Father Symeon Kees of Iowa City & James John Marks of Chicago.

Paradosis Pavilion - https://youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555

https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://x.com/podcast_saints
https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://www.threads.net/@christiansaintspodcast
https://bsky.app/profile/xtiansaintspodcast.bsky.social

Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images

Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com

All music in these episodes is a production of Generative Sounds
https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com
Distribution rights of this episode & all music contained in it are controlled by Generative Sounds
Copyright 2021 - 2026

00:00 Intro/lead in from previous episode
02:49 Icon of The Nativity, concentric circles
09:05 She Isn't Looking At Her Baby?!
13:00 We Are Joseph, Trying to Understand
18:18 Everyone Has Doubts, We Can't Stay There
22:06 Joseph As Exemplar for Masculinity
29:29 There is Doubt & There is Doubt
33:31 Overcoming Sin Is Target Practice
35:50 Bethlehem is The Church
39:30 Wanting to Believe, Over Time, Changes Us
45:25 Who Is The Hairy Old Man?
48:01 When Jesus Talked to Job About Doubt
51:53 Listen to God, Not Lies
56:20 Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Mankind!
57:49 Is Mary Beckoning to Joseph?
62:03 Closing thoughts & outro

In this second half of our conversation with friend of the show, iconographer Nick Papas, we turn primarily to Christmas, while continuing to explore the relationship between the Old Testament icon of The Tree of Jesse & the icon of The Nativity of Our Lord God & Savior Jesus Christ.

If you would like access to the spreadsheet which details the relationship of the figures on the tree to Jesus or The Theotokos, please contact us so we can provide it to you.

Reference materials for this episode: 
 - Nick’s work 
   - https://www.saintdemetriuspress.com
   - https://www.facebook.com/Nick.Papas.Studio

Scripture citations for this episode:
 - Genesis 18: Sarah laughed
 - Isaiah 11: The Peaceful Kingdom prophecy of The Messiah
 - Luke 1: Zechariah doubts the birth of John & Mary is amazed at the birth of Jesus
 - Luke 24: The Road to Emmaus
 - Romans 15; references Isaiah 11

#advent #christmas #nativity #iconography

The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Generative sounds & Paradosis Pavilion. Our hosts are Father Symeon Kees of Iowa City & James John Marks of Chicago.

Paradosis Pavilion - https://youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555

https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://x.com/podcast_saints
https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://www.threads.net/@christiansaintspodcast
https://bsky.app/profile/xtiansaintspodcast.bsky.social

Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images

Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com

All music in these episodes is a production of Generative Sounds
https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com
Distribution rights of this episode & all music contained in it are controlled by Generative Sounds
Copyright 2021 - 2026

00:00 Intro/Catching up together
04:48 Pairing Old & New Testament Icons
11:42 Fr Symeon tells a story
17:12 Adoption, grafting, Friendsgiving & the cherry on top
24:05 Saint Paul explaining the reality of Israel in Romans
34:07 The secret in The Nativity icon about Joseph & Mary
37:37 The presence of The Son at both ends of The Tree of Jesse
41:10 Saint Paul at Mars Hill, is the problem life or death
51:15 The importance of physicality & mental stillness
55:09 Closing thoughts & outro

A Shoot from The Stump of Jesse - S7E15

In this special Advent themed conversation we again welcome friend of the show, iconographer Nick Papas to help us dive deep into the relationship between the Old Testament icon of The Tree of Jesse & the icon of The Nativity of Our Lord God & Savior Jesus Christ.

If you would like access to the spreadsheet which details the relationship of the figures on the tree to Jesus or The Theotokos, please contact us so we can provide it to you.

Reference materials for this episode: 
 - Nick’s work 
   - https://www.saintdemetriuspress.com
   - https://www.facebook.com/Nick.Papas.Studio

Scripture citations for this episode:
 - Genesis 18: Sarah laughed
 - Isaiah 11: The Peaceful Kingdom prophecy of The Messiah
 - Luke 1: Zechariah doubts the birth of John & Mary is amazed at the birth of Jesus
 - Luke 24: The Road to Emmaus
 - Romans 15; references Isaiah 11

#advent #christmas #nativity #iconography 

The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Generative sounds & Paradosis Pavilion. Our hosts are Father Symeon Kees of Iowa City & James John Marks of Chicago.

Paradosis Pavilion - https://youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555

https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://x.com/podcast_saints
https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://www.threads.net/@christiansaintspodcast
https://bsky.app/profile/xtiansaintspodcast.bsky.social

Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images

Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com

All music in these episodes is a production of Generative Sounds
https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com
Distribution rights of this episode & all music contained in it are controlled by Generative Sounds
Copyright 2021 - 2026

00:00 Intro
02:04 Chapter 1
09:59 Chapter 2
20:11 Chapter 3
30:09 Chapter 4
40:10 Chapter 5
50:08 Chapter 6
61:13 Chapter 7
65:09 Outro

The second half of our conversation about how a huge part of the problem with "politics" in The United States is both "sides" have the same underlying assumption: we can't live the good life until everyone agrees with us & the laws reflect our agreement.

Fr Symeon's recent trip to visit his family provides an opportunity to poke holes in this assumption by discussing the ways in which, simply as a practical example, we can see people living, as St Paul said "...aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands..." in a country most Americans would insist is about as far from what we want our society to be as is possible. Well, if people can do it under the world's most challenging conditions, then Orthodox Christians can do it in the USA, whether the political winds are going their way, or against them.

And if we can walk in the way of the life of faithfulness no matter the political climate, then why are we spending so much time getting wound up about it? Maybe what it boils down to, is we don't want to see all of humanity get saved, we want to see our enemies get their comeuppance. 

Reference materials for this episode: 

St John Chrysostom’s commentary on Romans
 -12:9-21 - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210221.htm & https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210222.htm
 - 13:1-7 - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210223.htm


Scripture citations for this episode:

Romans
 - 12:9-21 live in harmony
 - 13:1-7 be good citizens
1 Corinthians
 - 6:1-11 lawsuits
Ephesians
 - 6:5-9 no slave rebellions
Philemon
 - no slave rebellions

The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Generative sounds & Paradosis Pavilion. Our hosts are Father Symeon Kees of Iowa City & James John Marks of Chicago.

Paradosis Pavilion - https://youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555

https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://x.com/podcast_saints
https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://www.threads.net/@christiansaintspodcast
https://bsky.app/profile/xtiansaintspodcast.bsky.social

Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images

Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com

All music in these episodes is a production of Generative Sounds
https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com
Distribution rights of this episode & all music contained in it are controlled by Generative Sounds
Copyright 2021 - 2026

00:00 Intro/Back from China
03:56 Journalism in China & The West
09:51 Harmony, rancor, journalism, editorial & social media
19:49 Saint Paul to The Church in Rome on quiet living
23:07 Vacation vs daily life in a place
27:29 Nominalism cannot be the path to social harmony
35:57 To love neighbor & enemy we must participate in God's holiness
40:12 Humble repentance is the path to a just society
43:11 Christianity isn't convenient, look at Syria
50:10 Models of church & state
53:20 No such thing as Orthodox government
54:54 The Church is perfect, stop trying to defend it from itself
58:55 The is no invisible church, there is only The Church
63:45 Two ways to try to be above the bishops
65:27 No, we can't all just get along/Closing


A huge part of the problem with "politics" in The United States is both "sides" have the same underlying assumption: we can't live the good life until everyone agrees with us & the laws reflect our agreement.

Fr Symeon's recent trip to visit his family in China provides an opportunity to poke holes in this assumption by discussing the ways in which, simply as a practical example, we can see people living, as St Paul said "...aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands..." in a country most Americans would insist is about as far from what we want our society to be as is possible. Well, if people can do it in China, then Orthodox Christians can do it in the USA, whether the political winds are going their way, or against them.

And if we can walk in the way of the life of faithfulness no matter the political climate, then why are we spending so much time getting wound up about it? Maybe what it boils down to, is we're afraid of inconvenience.


Reference materials for this episode: 

St John Chrysostom’s commentary on Romans
 -12:9-21 - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210221.htm & https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210222.htm
 - 13:1-7 - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210223.htm


Scripture citations for this episode:

Romans
 - 12:9-21 live in harmony
 - 13:1-7 be good citizens
1 Corinthians
 - 6:1-11 lawsuits
Ephesians
 - 6:5-9 no slave rebellions
Philemon
 - no slave rebellions


#china #syria  #journalism #editorial #quietlife

The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Generative sounds & Paradosis Pavilion. Our hosts are Father Symeon Kees of Iowa City & James John Marks of Chicago.

Paradosis Pavilion - https://youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555

https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://x.com/podcast_saints
https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://www.threads.net/@christiansaintspodcast
https://bsky.app/profile/xtiansaintspodcast.bsky.social

Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images

Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com

All music in these episodes is a production of Generative Sounds
https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com
Distribution rights of this episode & all music contained in it are controlled by Generative Sounds
Copyright 2021 - 2026

As we continue our discussion of the difficulty in integrating the journey on the way of the life of faithfulness to the evengalion of Jesus, The Christ, the Orthodox Christian way of life, into contemporary western culture, Jim & Fr Symeon take the opportunity to discuss "the other side". Last conversation we defined & critique "woke" as the civil religion of the so-called Left. This time we will define & critique "Make America Great Again" as the civil religion of the so-called Right. The reason we wish to critique it is because it uses Christian language but is not Christian. 

And yet we can end the episode with the hymns to The Theotokos which call her a military leader, proclaiming our victory & the establishment of our way of life. Find out why this isn't about theocracy & isn't about violence, by tuning in!

Scripture citations for this episode:

 - Genesis 1 & 2
   - Creation as a battle against chaos & death

 - Genesis 11
   - Tower of Babel

 - Galatians 5:16-26
   - Fruits of The Spirit

The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Generative sounds & Paradosis Pavilion. Our hosts are Father Symeon Kees of Iowa City & James John Marks of Chicago.

Paradosis Pavilion - https://youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555

https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://x.com/podcast_saints
https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://www.threads.net/@christiansaintspodcast
https://bsky.app/profile/xtiansaintspodcast.bsky.social

Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images

Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com

All music in these episodes is a production of Generative Sounds
https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com
Distribution rights of this episode & all music contained in it are controlled by Generative Sounds
Copyright 2021 - 2026

As we continue our discussion of the difficulty in integrating the journey on the way of the life of faithfulness to the evengalion of Jesus, The Christ, the Orthodox Christian way of life, into contemporary western culture, Jim & Fr Symeon take the opportunity to discuss "the other side". Last conversation we defined & critique "woke" as the civil religion of the so-called Left. This time we will define & critique "Make America Great Again" as the civil religion of the so-called Right. The reason we wish to critique it is because it uses Christian language but is not Christian. In fact, by the end of this first half of the conversation Fr Symeon will straight up ask "...what religion are you following?!"


Scripture citations for this episode:

 - Genesis 1 & 2
   - Creation as a battle against chaos & death

 - Genesis 11
   - Tower of Babel

 - Galatians 5:16-26
   - Fruits of The Spirit

#nostalgia #maga #goldenage #conservative

The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Generative sounds & Paradosis Pavilion. Our hosts are Father Symeon Kees of Iowa City & James John Marks of Chicago.

Paradosis Pavilion - https://youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555

https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://x.com/podcast_saints
https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://www.threads.net/@christiansaintspodcast
https://bsky.app/profile/xtiansaintspodcast.bsky.social

Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images

Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com

All music in these episodes is a production of Generative Sounds
https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com
Distribution rights of this episode & all music contained in it are controlled by Generative Sounds
Copyright 2021 - 2026

Our ongoing discussion of the difficulty in integrating the journey on the way of the life of faithfulness to the evengalion of Jesus, The Christ, the Orthodox Christian way of life, into contemporary western culture continues as Jim & Fr Symeon talk about the tower of babel as the proto-story of humanity's quest for control over our own destiny & God, repeatedly, making us aware we're not, He is.

In this second half of the conversation we began in S7E9, Go Ahead & Lose Control, we focus more on what is involved in breaking free from civil religion, human ideology, & the distraction of politics by pursuing the authentic spiritual life, which breeds humility, which allows us to see ourselves not as those who are capable of changing the world, but as the chief of sinners.

Let us know what you think!

Particularly let us know if you prefer this video format to the side by side.

Reference materials for this episode:
 - Sherlock Holmes’ “ideal reasoner” speech
   - The Five Orange Pips, the “ideal reasoner” monologue
   - https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1661/1661-h/1661-h.htm


Scripture citations for this episode:
Martyrdom
 - 2 Maccabees 6 & 7
Voluntarily constraining our freedom
 - Romans 14

The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Generative sounds & Paradosis Pavilion. Our hosts are Father Symeon Kees of Iowa City & James John Marks of Chicago.

Paradosis Pavilion - https://youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555

https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://x.com/podcast_saints
https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast
https://www.threads.net/@christiansaintspodcast
https://bsky.app/profile/xtiansaintspodcast.bsky.social

Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images

Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com

All music in these episodes is a production of Generative Sounds
https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com
Distribution rights of this episode & all music contained in it are controlled by Generative Sounds
Copyright 2021 - 2026