This two-part series dives into a radical transformation: the move from the Old Covenant's singular prophetic anointing (think Elijah's mantle on Elisha) to the collective outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

We'll unpack this profound change using fascinating ideas from anthropologist Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, exploring his concepts of perspectivism and multinaturalism. Discover how Jesus' call to his disciples wasn't about leaving their ordinary lives behind, but about democratizing "humanity" by incorporating their commonness into a divine mission. Pentecost, in this light, becomes a powerful moment: the proliferation of divine-infused "perspectives" turning ordinary people into extraordinary agents.

You'll also learn how theologian Yves Congar's insights into pneumatological ecclesiology beautifully align with this vision, affirming the common priesthood of all believers and the Spirit's role in fostering diversity within unity.

Ultimately, this series offers a fresh perspective on the Holy Spirit's engagement with postmodern democracy. It highlights how the Spirit empowers each believer's unique contribution, infusing the everyday with the sacred and enabling a powerful "unity without uniformity"—both within the church and as a compelling witness to the world.

This two-part series dives into a radical transformation: the move from the Old Covenant's singular prophetic anointing (think Elijah's mantle on Elisha) to the collective outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

We'll unpack this profound change using fascinating ideas from anthropologist Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, exploring his concepts of perspectivism and multinaturalism. Discover how Jesus' call to his disciples wasn't about leaving their ordinary lives behind, but about democratizing "humanity" by incorporating their commonness into a divine mission. Pentecost, in this light, becomes a powerful moment: the proliferation of divine-infused "perspectives" turning ordinary people into extraordinary agents.

You'll also learn how theologian Yves Congar's insights into pneumatological ecclesiology beautifully align with this vision, affirming the common priesthood of all believers and the Spirit's role in fostering diversity within unity.

Ultimately, this series offers a fresh perspective on the Holy Spirit's engagement with postmodern democracy. It highlights how the Spirit empowers each believer's unique contribution, infusing the everyday with the sacred and enabling a powerful "unity without uniformity"—both within the church and as a compelling witness to the world.

This episode explores spiritual transformation through Christian mysticism, focusing on Saint John of the Cross's "dark night." This "dark night" is presented not as a personal struggle, but a divine purification where help comes "from without," leading to a profound reorientation of the will and soul's "rest."

This process is ultimately deification (theosis) – perfecting humanity through union with God, not annihilation. Christ's Paschal Mystery—Gethsemane, crucifixion, resurrection—serves as the ultimate model. Gethsemane exemplifies the will's reorientation ("Not my will, but yours be done"). The cross represents the "dark night" of desolation, and the resurrection signifies the "divine light" of deification and Christ's perfected humanity "possessed" by the divine. Humanity is perfected, like iron infused with fire, without losing its distinctness.

Webb Keane's anthropology offers further insight. His semiotic ideology explains the "dark night" as a divinely orchestrated "semiotic re-calibration" that disrupts the soul's usual perception of God's signs. Keane's ethical life framework views the reoriented will as a divinely afforded ethical stance. Finally, his anthropology of selfhood reveals the Christian "new self" as a "semiotically re-constituted, divinely-possessed identity," challenging modern self-mastery. This transformation is a radical re-creation, becoming more truly oneself by becoming more fully divine, through transformation, not annihilation.

This episode explores spiritual transformation through Christian mysticism, focusing on Saint John of the Cross's "dark night." This "dark night" is presented not as a personal struggle, but a divine purification where help comes "from without," leading to a profound reorientation of the will and soul's "rest."

This process is ultimately deification (theosis) – perfecting humanity through union with God, not annihilation. Christ's Paschal Mystery—Gethsemane, crucifixion, resurrection—serves as the ultimate model. Gethsemane exemplifies the will's reorientation ("Not my will, but yours be done"). The cross represents the "dark night" of desolation, and the resurrection signifies the "divine light" of deification and Christ's perfected humanity "possessed" by the divine. Humanity is perfected, like iron infused with fire, without losing its distinctness.

Webb Keane's anthropology offers further insight. His semiotic ideology explains the "dark night" as a divinely orchestrated "semiotic re-calibration" that disrupts the soul's usual perception of God's signs. Keane's ethical life framework views the reoriented will as a divinely afforded ethical stance. Finally, his anthropology of selfhood reveals the Christian "new self" as a "semiotically re-constituted, divinely-possessed identity," challenging modern self-mastery. This transformation is a radical re-creation, becoming more truly oneself by becoming more fully divine, through transformation, not annihilation.

Delve into the Mark 5:1-20 and Luke 8:26-39 narrative of the Gerasene demoniac – a profound "experiment" illuminating how different beings confront spiritual darkness. Drawing on insights from anthropologists like Eduardo Viveiros de Castro and Philippe Descola, we'll starkly contrast the swine's instantaneous annihilation with the tormented man, Legion's tenacious endurance.

Why did the pigs offer no resistance to demonic power, instantly becoming destructive conduits, while the man, even in torment, profoundly resisted? This episode unpacks the Imago Dei – humanity's inherent divine image and spiritual structure – as an "inner anchor" granting unique resilience against unwanted transformations.

Discover why demonic forces engage in a protracted battle for the human soul, a stark difference from their swift dominion over the swine. Finally, we'll examine Christ's sovereign authority at Gerasene, not only liberating but powerfully reconsecrating the divine image within humanity. Join us to uncover the terrifying, luminous, and utterly unique condition of being human.Delve into the Mark 5:1-20 and Luke 8:26-39 narrative of the Gerasene demoniac – a profound "experiment" illuminating how different beings confront spiritual darkness. Drawing on insights from anthropologists like Eduardo Viveiros de Castro and Philippe Descola, we'll starkly contrast the swine's instantaneous annihilation with the tormented man, Legion's tenacious endurance.

Why did the pigs offer no resistance to demonic power, instantly becoming destructive conduits, while the man, even in torment, profoundly resisted? This episode unpacks the Imago Dei – humanity's inherent divine image and spiritual structure – as an "inner anchor" granting unique resilience against unwanted transformations.

Discover why demonic forces engage in a protracted battle for the human soul, a stark difference from their swift dominion over the swine. Finally, we'll examine Christ's sovereign authority at Gerasene, not only liberating but powerfully reconsecrating the divine image within humanity. Join us to uncover the terrifying, luminous, and utterly unique condition of being human.

Delve into the Mark 5:1-20 and Luke 8:26-39 narrative of the Gerasene demoniac – a profound "experiment" illuminating how different beings confront spiritual darkness. Drawing on insights from anthropologists like Eduardo Viveiros de Castro and Philippe Descola, we'll starkly contrast the swine's instantaneous annihilation with the tormented man, Legion's tenacious endurance.

Why did the pigs offer no resistance to demonic power, instantly becoming destructive conduits, while the man, even in torment, profoundly resisted? This episode unpacks the Imago Dei – humanity's inherent divine image and spiritual structure – as an "inner anchor" granting unique resilience against unwanted transformations.

Discover why demonic forces engage in a protracted battle for the human soul, a stark difference from their swift dominion over the swine. Finally, we'll examine Christ's sovereign authority at Gerasene, not only liberating but powerfully reconsecrating the divine image within humanity. Join us to uncover the terrifying, luminous, and utterly unique condition of being human.

What if the self you perceive—that core of identity and experience addressed by the command to "fear God and keep his commandments"—is, from an ultimate perspective, a temporary and potentially illusory construct? Philosophers like David Hume saw the self as merely a constantly changing "bundle or collection of different perceptions," while Jacques Lacan described the ego as born from foundational misrecognition and shaped by the "Other." This episode explores this profound paradox, suggesting the temporary, perceived self is not an obstacle but a divinely purposed vessel, a "clay jar" containing the "treasure"—the knowledge of God's glory "in the face of Jesus Christ." This potentially "phantom self" is the necessary locus where relationship with God is sown and responsibility resides through Christ. It is the entity that undergoes transformation into the "new self" in Christ, encounters the full revelation of God in the person of Christ, and overcomes lesser fears through the "fear of God," understood as ultimate trust in the God revealed in Christ. Ultimately, the fleeting self discovers its profound, albeit temporary and constructed, purpose by encountering the eternal "in the face of Jesus Christ," finding the only enduring reality in that ultimate relationship and the resulting reverence—the very fear of the Lord. The illusion, it seems, is the necessary crucible for experiencing the breathtaking reality of fearing God, a journey made possible, meaningful, and transformative only through Christ.

In part two, we delve deeper into the concept of lack, exploring Augustine's theological understanding of evil as a privatio boni – an absence of good – and contrasting it with Lacan's structural manque, the fundamental void that fuels human desire. Against this backdrop, we examine the figure of Jesus Christ as a unique response to both these forms of lack. We explore the Incarnation as a radical act of divine presence within human absence, and how Christ's life, death, and resurrection offer a transformative encounter with the "traumatic kernel" of human lostness, ultimately pointing towards a redemption that transcends our inherent limitations.

Part one of our exploration charts the fascinating convergence between mystical theology and cutting-edge psychoanalysis. We delve into the core principles of negative theology, an ancient tradition that seeks to understand God by describing what God isn't, and uncover its surprising parallels with Lacan's complex concept of the Real – that elusive realm beyond language and symbolization. We'll also examine Karl Barth's influential theology of the "Wholly Other," a transcendent God who defies human attempts at definition, and how this resonates with the critique of anthropomorphism – our tendency to create a "tamed" God in our own image, a trap both theology and psychoanalysis warn against.

Unlock a radical new perspective on John 14:12 and Jesus' astonishing promise that believers will do "greater works" than he did. This episode delves into an interpretation that moves beyond simply counting converts or marveling at miracles. We explore the concept of the believer as a divinely-enabled conduit, uniquely positioned in a "border" or liminal space between the divine and human realms. Discover how this spiritual reality fosters a synergistic relationship where divine power flows through human agency, leading to an amplified scope and impact of God's work that transcends the limits of Jesus' singular earthly ministry. Drawing insights from anthropological work on agency in liminal conditions and the original Greek term meizōn for "greater," this discussion highlights how these "greater works" are not limited to spectacular feats but encompass the cumulative, transformative impact of Spirit-led lives lived out by ordinary believers in the everyday. Gain a deeper understanding of this pivotal verse and the profound, collective role of the Church as the ongoing embodiment of Christ's work in the world.