Mythic Mind

There was recently a post published to Medium, titled “No, the Lord of the Rings is not Christian.” This post, which made rounds throughout the internet, argued that, despite a popular understanding, Tolkien’s great work is not only not fundamentally a Christian work, but that it is actually fundamentally secular, and even philosophically "progressive." I provided a response post to my blog, which seems to have struck a chord with many, so I decided to read it here. The original article superficially touched on so many topics, so I decided that a response worth giving will actually require a series, explore the Christian elements behind Tolkien’s stories, his broader religious framework, his literary philosophy, and so forth. This first response post primarily looks at Tolkien’s narratives themselves. If you would like to keep up with the series, you can subscribe to my site, andrewnsnyder.com. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mythicmind/support

Join the Mythic Mind Fellowship: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mythic-mind--5808321/support.

This is the second lecture from my course, "Philosophy and Christian Thought." I do a couple things in this lecture: first, I address the question posed by Tertullian, “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?" with reference to Origen, Augustine, and Aquinas. Second, I provide some thoughts regarding Plato’s Apology.  I hope this is of some use to you. If it is, I welcome you to leave me a positive review. As always, thanks for joining me on the paths of Wisdom. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mythicmind/support

Join the Mythic Mind Fellowship: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mythic-mind--5808321/support.

As I previously mentioned, I currently have too much on my plate to regularly produce new episodes of Mythic Mind, but I still want to provide content on a regular basis. I've taught a few philosophy and theology courses, so I'm going to start uploading my course lectures whenever I'm unable to make new content for the podcast. We're going to start with a course titled "Philosophy & Christian Thought," which is an introductory philosophy course that is meant to help Christians learn what philosophy is and how to think philosophically in relation with the broad history of western thought. Because this course was designed as an introduction, it will likely be more accessible than my regular Kierkegaard content. I hope you are able to gain something from it, and I encourage you to share it with people you know who would benefit from an introductory study like this. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mythicmind/support

Join the Mythic Mind Fellowship: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mythic-mind--5808321/support.

It has been a while, but I bring you the ninth episode of the Mythic Mind podcast! In this episode, we return to Kierkegaard's The Concept of Anxiety with the third chapter. Kierkegaard introduces the term of "the moment," which describes our willful mediation between past actuality and future potential in reference to the eternal. In the moment, we are separated from the rest of earthly existence and are able to live authentically as humans, bringing together the eternal and temporal, bodily and soulish, and, ultimately, Heaven and Earth in all that we do. This is the life of true and enduring meaning. This is true humanity. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mythicmind/support

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mythic-mind--5808321/support.

In this episode, we take a break from Kierkegaard to examine the Grimm Tale of "The Frog-king, or Iron Henry" as we inaugurate a new series that, after this episode, will be a members-only journey through fairy-tales and folklore. At the moment, this series will be posted irregularly, but, once we hit the next goal of $400/month, they will be released every other week (on the off-weeks from Mythic Mind). This series will be available to all members at the $5/month tier or higher.

If you have questions or comments, please send me an e-mail at [email protected] and I will address your correspondence on the show!
--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mythicmind/support

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mythic-mind--5808321/support.

As we continue to enjoy parenthood with our newborn twins and make daily visits to the hospital to visit our son who is still in the NICU, our schedule has been a little heavy lately. In this episode, I just wanted to briefly check in with you, let you know that I'm still here, and update you on some changes I've made to my membership goals. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mythicmind/support

Join the Mythic Mind Fellowship: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mythic-mind--5808321/support.

In this episode, we discuss Chapter 2 of Kierkegaard's The Concept of Anxiety. Kierkegaard describes anxiety as the dizziness of freedom which is inherent in human existence, but is consciously experienced as we become more or less conscious of our responsibility to properly relate to the worlds above, below, and within. Anxiety is a symptom of our yearning for fulfillment, but can result in corruption just as much as it can result in authentic human satisfaction in harmony with our ideal. I encourage you to send your questions and comments to [email protected] and check out my blog over at andrewnsnyder.com. I can only start providing content on a regular basis with your support!

No matter what form your support takes, I am grateful for your continued company! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mythicmind/support

Join the Mythic Mind Fellowship: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mythic-mind--5808321/support.

In this episode, we finish our discussion of the first chapter of Kierkegaard's The Concept of Anxiety. We discuss Kierkegaard's understanding of what it means to be human, truly human, and the role that anxiety plays in shaping our identity, for better or for worse. Additionally, we further discuss what it means to use a mythic perspective to consider what matters rather than, first and foremost, material things. I encourage you to send your questions and comments to [email protected], check out my blog over at andrewnsnyder.com, join our new subreddit at reddit.com/r/mythicmind/. I can only start providing content on a regular basis with your support!

No matter what form your support takes, I am grateful for your continued company! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mythicmind/support

Join the Mythic Mind Fellowship: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mythic-mind--5808321/support.

In this episode, I provide some personal lessons I've learned during the gap since the last episode and we look at the first half of Chapter One of Kierkegaard's The Concept of Anxiety. We discuss the ethical relationship between the individual human and the history of the human race. As far as we are, or should be, concerned, where does guilt reside, how is it passed through generations, and what is the individual's ethical task? Does shame have any positive value? Practically speaking, why does the individual's relation to guilt matter? I encourage you to check out my blog over at andrewnsnyder.com, join our new subreddit at reddit.com/r/mythicmind/. I can only start providing content on a regular basis with your support!

No matter what form your support takes, I am grateful for your continued company! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mythicmind/support

Join the Mythic Mind Fellowship: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mythic-mind--5808321/support.

In this episode, we look at the introduction to Kierkegaard's The Concept of Anxiety and discuss the importance of making sure we're bringing the right tools to bear on the project at hand. Additionally, and on a related note, we discuss the difference between authenticity and ideological possession. We all have perspectives, but are we using them as tools to rightly engage with the world or are we attempting to bring world in submission to our tools?

I encourage you to check out my blog over at andrewnsnyder.com. I can only start providing content on a regular basis with your support! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mythicmind/support

Join the Mythic Mind Fellowship: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mythic-mind--5808321/support.