In our fourth annual Christmas installment, an Oak Tree grove dedicated to Thor, the northern European god of thunder, is visited by Saint Boniface in 723 CE. Boniface takes it upon himself to dispose the world of this oak, and in its place, anoint a small evergreen as the "new" symbol of everlasting life.

With the vast majority of what would call the "Old Testament" composed and edited, and with Judea under continual military and political threats from outside, the Jewish theological literature did not simply freeze in place. In these last few centuries leading into the 1st c. CE, scrolls such as 1 Enoch, Jubilees, and Tobit demonstrate that the views of angels, demons, and the roles of these beings in everyday life are very much continuing to be developed.

Books:

John J. Collins. Daniel. Hermeneia. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993.

Michael Heiser. Demons: What the Bible Really Says About the Powers of Darkness. Lexham Press: Bellingham, WA, 2020.

Michael Heiser. Angels: What the Bible Really Says About God's Heavenly Host. Lexham Press: Bellingham, WA, 2018.

John Walton, "Demons in Mesopotamia and Israel." In Windows to the Ancient World of the Hebrew Bible. Bill Arnold, Nancy Erickson, and John Walton, eds. Eisenbrauns: Winona Lake, 2014. 229-45.

George Nickelsburg. 1 Enoch. Hermeneia. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001. 2 vols.

James VanderKam. Jubilees. Hermeneia. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2018. 2 vols.

James VanderKam. "Demons." In Demons: The Demonology of the Israelite-Jewish and Early Christian Literature in the Context of their Environment. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2003. 339-64.

James VanderKam. "Mastema in the Qumran Literature and the Book of Jubilees." In Sibyls, Scriptures, and Scrolls: John Collins at Seventy. Joel Baden, Hindy Najman, Eileen Schuller, eds. JSJSup 175; Leiden: Brill, 2017. 1346-60.

Karel Van der Toorn. "The Theology of Demons in Mesopotamia and Israel – Popular Belief and Scholarly Speculation." In Demons: The Demonology of the Israelite-Jewish and Early Christian Literature in the Context of their Environment. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2003. 61-83.

Géza Xeravits. "The Angel's Self-Revelation in Tobit 12." In Sibyls, Scriptures, and Scrolls: John Collins at Seventy. Joel Baden, Hindy Najman, Eileen Schuller, eds. JSJSup 175; Leiden: Brill, 2017. 1399-1417.

Artwork:

"Norandino and Lucina Discovered by the Ogre," Giovanni Lanfranco (1582-1647).

A session at the 2021 American Academy of Religion's Annual Meeting, consisting of 3 papers, reflected on the ancient wisdom that might be found from the period of late antiquity in regards to isolation. How did the early hermits of the Christian faith view their lives of isolation and separateness, and how might we draw from their perspectives and lessons learned during a pandemic or period of involuntary solitude in our own lives?

After the Battle of Hastings in September of 1066, William the Conqueror was in a tremendous hurry to consolidate his power, and thus elected to arrange his coronation ceremony on Christmas Day of that same year. The chaos that ensued was certainly not according to plan!

Angels are often portrayed as messengers, yet the prophet Isaiah describes a very different type of "angelic" encounter with 6-winged flying creatures bathing in smoke. Isaiah doesn't even seem that surprised to see them - perhaps there's a reason for that? Oh, and we'll talk about the Angel of Death. Not his real name, but he's kind of a big deal.

Books:

1. "Sarapu." In The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Chicago: Oriental Institute, 1962. Pgs. 102-5.

2. John Walton. "Demons in Mesopotamia and Israel." In Windows to the Ancient World of the Hebrew Bible. Bill Arnold, Nancy Erickson, and John Walton, eds. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2014. Pgs. 229-45.

3. T.N.D. Mettinger. "Seraphim." In Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, Pieter van Horst, eds. Leiden: Brill, 1999. Pgs. 742-4.

Music:

Clip from The Ten Commandments. Paramount Pictures, 1956.

Clip from Evan Almighty. Universal Pictures, 2007.

Alexander Nakarada. "Vopna." Creative Commons license. www.serpentsoundstudios.com

Artwork:

Seraphim, from the Hagia Sofia, Istanbul. Unknown date and artist.

Judge-to-be Gideon, a resistance fighter under oppression by a foreign army, is visited by a divine messenger. Gideon has some pretty direct questions for his angelic visitor, and remains somewhat unconvinced that his commissioning as a deliverer of his people is in fact legit.

Books:

1. Tammi Schneider. Judges. Berit Olam: Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry. David Cotter, ed. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2000.

2. Trent Butlet. Judges. Word Biblical Commentary. Bruce Metzger, ed. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009.

3. Samuel Meier. "Angel." In Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. 2nd ed. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1999.

Artwork:

Hendrik Heerschop. "The Sacrifice of Gideon." 1653.

Following from the previous episode, we dive into the real-life inspiration behind The Exorcist, and remind you that there was kind of a big deal in the 80s and 90s called the Satanic Panic. We talk about playing Led Zeppelin tapes backwards and washing your clothes in holy water. We end with some cautionary tales and my own personal experiences in the Charismatic Catholic church and Evangelical missions.

Timestamps: 00:51 Deliverance adventures in the Charismatic Catholic Church 04:38 Emotional drivers of belief in supernatural beings 06:36 Ronald Hunkeler - the inspiration behind The Exorcist 18:23 First-hand accounts of Exorcists 23:53 The "Satanic Panic," rock music, Dungeons and Dragons - the 80s were wild 31:05 Backlash on overemphasis on the supernatural 32:28 The informal nature of exorcism training; holy water in washing machines? 35:08 Severity of demonic influence per the Int'l Assoc of Exorcists 38:40 Dangers of lack of standards and accountability; Gabriele Amorth 49:28 A Blind spot in Progressive Christianity?; Personal stories 59:31 Wrap up

Books:

1. Sergio Rueda. Diabolical Possession and the Case Behind the Exorcist. McFarland: Jefferson, SC, 2018.

2. Michael Cuneo. American Exorcism: Expelling Demons in the Land of Plenty. Doubleday: New York, 2001.

3. Matt Baglio. The Rite: Making of a Modern Exorcist. Doubleday: New York, 2009.

4. Gabriele Amorth. An Exorcist Tells His Story. Trans. by Nicoletta MacKenzie. Ignatius Press: San Francisco, 1999.

Music:

Grinz Beats. Exorcist - Rap Instrumental. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw13gIFnxGQ

Alex Mason. The Conjuring. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Alex_Mason/The_Exorcist/01_alex_mason_-_the_conjuring Alex Mason. The Mountains of Madness. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Alex_Mason/The_Exorcist/09_alex_mason_-_the_mountains_of_madness Scott Buckley. Beautiful Oblivion. www.scottbuckley.com.au

Scott Buckley. Snowfall. www.scottbuckley.com.au

Artwork:

Tuscan School. The Temptation of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino. Early 16th century.

Kicking of a multi-part series on Demons and Angels, here we explore the concept of exorcism in the Catholic and Evangelical frameworks. We survey some early Church history and discover some of the attitudes and assumptions surrounding exorcism in those early centuries following Christ, and we conclude with the story of Anneliese Michel, which is loosely the basis of the movie The Exorcism of Emily Rose.

Show Notes:

Books:

Matt Baglio. The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist. New York: Doubleday, 2009.

John Duffey. Lessons Learned: The Anneliese Michel Exorcism. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2011.

Felicitas Goodman. The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981.

Spirit Possession Around the World: Possession, Communion, and Demon Explusion Across Cultures. Joseph Laycock, ed. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2015.

Music:

Musica Romana. Pugnate II. www.musica-romana.de/en/index-beta.html

Musica Romana. Pugnate III. www.musica-romana.de/en/index-beta.html

Musica Romana. I. www.musica-romana.de/en/index-beta.html

Scott Buckley. Beautiful Oblivion. www.scottbuckley.com.au

Scott Buckley. Chasing Daylight. www.scottbuckley.com.au

Scott Buckley. She Moved Mountains. www.scottbuckley.com.au

St. Mary of Pine Bluff. Exorcism Prayer from Rituale Romanum.

Grinz Beats. Exorcist - Rap Instrumental. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw13gIFnxGQ

Evan King. From Other Suns. https://youtube.com/evankingaudio

Artwork:

Francisco Goya. "St. Francis Borgia Helping a Dying Impenitent." 1788.

For this year's Christmas season episode, we visit the history of the church father Saint Nicholas and the body of legends (and real-life torture at the hands of Emperor Diocletian) that lead us to the modern-day Santa Claus.

Show Notes:

Music:

Scott Buckley. Undertow. www.scottbuckley.com.au

Scott Buckley. The Spaces Between. www.scottbuckley.com.au

One of the central motifs of the Book of Proverbs is the comparison of the wise and the foolish. We examine the power of paradox and how the artistry and skill of the ancient authors prevent us from using the Scriptures as a simple "rulebook for life." Plus David Brent from The Office makes an appearance. What could he possibly have to do with a fool?

Show Notes:

1. E.J. Schnabel. "Wisdom." In the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Eds. T. Desmond Alexander, Brian Rosner, D.A. Carson, Graeme Goldsworthy. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2000. 843-848.

2. Verlyn Verbrugge, ed. "σοφια". New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. Abridged Edition. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000.

3. Miriam Lichtheim. "Instruction of Amenemope (1.47)." The Context of Scripture, Vol. 1 – Canonical Compositions from the Biblical World. William Hallo, ed. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2003. 115-122.

Music:

Scott Buckley. Borealis. www.scottbuckley.com.au

Teknoaxe. The Exile of Kronos. https://www.youtube.com/c/teknoaxe/featured

Scott Buckley. She Moved Mountains. www.scottbuckley.com.au