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This week we’re taking a look at the seven ecumenical councils of the early Christian church, from Nicaea (325 AD) to Nicaea II (787 AD). Dr. Jacobs traces how each council addressed Christological controversies while establishing foundational theological and philosophical positions. Topics include Trinitarian theology, the nature of Christ's divinity and humanity, the concept of eternal generation, and the distinction between essence and energies. The analysis demonstrates how seemingly disparate theological disputes form a unified narrative centered on the question "Who do you say that I am?"

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00:00:00 Intro 

00:00:22 Christianity’s philosophical commitments 

00:03:21 What are the Ecumenical Councils? 

00:11:19 Keys for understanding the councils 

00:20:59 The Council of Nicaea: is Christ fully God? 

00:29:20 How is the Son begotten?

00:35:18 Council of Constantinople: three persons, one nature 

00:48:32 Are Christians monotheists? 

00:55:50 Is Christ fully human? 

01:04:50 Council of Ephesus: one person with two natures 

01:12:14 Council of Chalcedon: unconfused & unmingled 

01:24:31 The remaining councils

01:26:39 The icon controversy 

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This episode concludes a four-part series examining slavery, polygamy, and genocide in biblical texts. The discussion addresses remaining questions about the moral gap between Mosaic law and early Christian teaching, arguing that Scripture reflects a progressive moral pedagogy rather than an immediate ideal. The framework employs natural law theory and Eastern Orthodox theology to distinguish between morally impermissible slavery and morally acceptable servitude arrangements, while contextualizing Old Testament ethics within the Ancient Near Eastern cultural baseline from which God drew his people toward eventual Christian perfection.

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00:00:00 Introduction 

00:01:20 Recapping the Slavery Episode 

00:08:20 Recapping the Polygamy Episode 

00:10:00 Recapping the Genocide Episode 

00:11:27 Why a 4th Episode? 

00:15:00 Slaying of Innocence 

00:19:45 Possibility #1 

00:20:30 Possibility #2 

00:22:15 Possibility #3 

00:23:40 The Rich Man and Lazarus 

00:27:30 The Most Troubling Psalm 

00:36:17 Lingering Concerns with Genocide 

00:42:35 Are the Innocent Damned? 

00:46:35 Loose Ends with Slavery 

00:53:29 The Law and Moral Progress 

01:00:50 Sensitivity of Moral Faculties 

01:06:15 The Ideal of the Logos

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This week Dr. Jacobs tackles the Eastern Orthodox perspectives on hell, divine providence, and human nature at Northern Arizona University. This conversation explores how Eastern patristic theology differs from Western Christianity on topics including original sin, the fall of man, Christ's descent into Hades, and the possibility of universal salvation. Jacobs traces his journey from philosophical opposition to Christianity through his discovery of the Church Fathers, addressing common objections to Christian theology based on moral intuitions and examining whether eternal damnation contradicts God's goodness. We also have a little tag on Mormonism and the Great Apostasy at the end. 

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00:00:00 Intro 

00:02:07 Background on Dr. Jacobs 

00:14:56 The standard Western view of hell 

00:18:33 The Eastern patristic perspective 

00:32:19 God’s providence and goodness 

00:40:06 Death & Hades in Eastern thought

00:49:19 Death as both enemy and mercy 

00:53:50 Genesis & the fall 

01:13:06 Universal salvation & God’s will 

01:35:03 Steel-manning nominalism 

01:38:53 Christ not knowing the day or hour

01:46:03 Mormonism & the Great Apostasy 

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Today Dr. Jacobs takes a look at the challenge of genocide in the Old Testament, particularly the commanded extermination of the Amalekites and Canaanites. We’ll critique divine command theory from a realist metaphysical framework and explores how Eastern patristic theology understood divine providence, justice, and redemption in relation to these narratives. Dr. Jacobs will dig into cultural practices of ancient Near Eastern peoples, the distinction between race-based genocide and practice-based judgment, and how concepts like Christ's descent into Hades inform a coherent theological reading of these difficult passages.

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00:00:00 Intro 

00:00:19 Series context & the question 

00:05:27 Divine Command Theory is not the answer

00:38:13 A thought experiment about evil 

00:41:05 Cultural examples: Game of Thrones & black death

00:47:40 Lord of the Rings & the Orcs 

00:51:48 Understanding the Amalekites

00:56:20 What Genocide really means

01:05:40 A horror movie scenario

01:13:02 The story of Saul & Samuel 

01:17:34 The story of Jonah

01:26:08 Christ's descent and redemption 

01:31:38 Death as gift and mercy

01:35:08 The broader narrative context

01:39:03 Addressing the epistemological worry

This episode examines the moral case against polygamy from a natural law and Eastern Orthodox perspective, then addresses why polygamous practices appear in the Old Testament. Dr. Jacobs distinguishes between biological and psychological dimensions of sexual ethics, critiques Thomistic approaches for neglecting reason's role in human sexuality, and argues that ancient Near Eastern circumstances created conditions where polygamy functioned as a lesser evil tolerated but never endorsed by God. The Eastern patristic framework is presented as recognizing concessions to human weakness while maintaining monogamy as the scriptural ideal from Genesis through the early Church.

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00:00:00 Intro 

00:00:25 Recap 

00:08:50 Four levels of discourse 

00:18:24 Natural law analysis

00:27:41 Reason & psychological reality 

00:45:39 Orthodox framework 

01:04:24 Providence through missteps 

01:09:40 Ancient Near East context

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This episode examines the biblical problem of slavery through a natural law framework, distinguishing between immoral slavery and morally permissible servitude. Dr. Jacobs argues that what the Bible describes as "slavery" more closely resembles contractual servitude arrangements, lacking the five essential traits that make slavery immoral: abduction, coercion, brutality, squalor, and dehumanizing treatment. Using Eastern Orthodox theological anthropology and classical realism, he demonstrates how true slavery violates human nature by denying the fundamental freedom that defines rational beings. The analysis shows that both Old Testament law and early Christian teaching consistently condemned actual slavery while permitting voluntary service arrangements that preserved human dignity and self-determination.

00:00:00 Introduction00:04:35 Let's talk about slavery00:07:28 Providentialists00:11:00 Good and evil as pleasure and pain00:17:10 Level 400:24:58 Moral responsibility00:31:37 The natural law case against slavery00:36:30 The features of slavery00:41:18 Discipline for one's formation00:45:28 The great chain of being00:50:12 Slave/master relationship00:53:00 Are the 5 traits of slavery essential?00:56:47 "Slavery" scenario #201:00:31 Defining our terms01:01:36 Is servitude immoral?01:06:03 The early Christian view

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Orthodox Foundations includes:

1 - Basic Terms & Concepts

2 - The Gospel According to the Eastern Church

3 - Partaking of the Divine Nature “Theosis”

4 - Descent into Hades

5 - How to Embrace the Life That Christ Has Given Us

6 - The Saints & Christ’s Descent into Hades

7 - The 7 Ecumenical Councils Nicaea (325 a.d.)

8 - The 7 Ecumenical Councils Constantinople (381 a.d.)

9 - The 7 Ecumenical Councils Ephesus (431 a.d.)

10 - The 7 Ecumenical Councils Chalcedon (451 a.d.)

11 - The 7 Ecumenical Councils Constantinople 2 & 3 (680 & 681 a.d.)

12 - The 7 Ecumenical Councils Nicaea (786 a.d.)

13 - Predestination & Divine Decree

14 - A History of Predestination and Divine Decree in Western Theology

15 - A Contrast Between the East & West on Predestination and Divine Decree

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In this postscript to his anthropology and ethics series, Dr. Jacobs examines why people experience discomfort when confronted with moral assessments that challenge their preferred behaviors or beliefs. He draws parallels between objective aesthetics and ethics, arguing that humans possess default intuitions about justice and fairness that create psychological tension when their actions conflict with moral reality. Dr. Jacobs discusses the problems of confirmation bias and social pressure in ethical reasoning, advocating for beginning moral inquiry with foundational metaphysical questions rather than applied ethics. The episode concludes with practical considerations for personal ethical development, distinguishing between philosophical assessment, political implications, and pastoral guidance in the gradual cultivation of virtue.

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00:00:00 Intro 

00:01:24 Objective aesthetics 

00:05:25 The human yearn for justice 

00:15:39 Resisting confirmation bias 

00:23:26 Analyzing at level 4 

00:26:59 The cognitive minority 

00:36:52 Deciding how to live

00:40:19 Politics and morality 

00:43:06 Forming in virtue 

We dive once more into the differences between Eastern and Western Christianity. This time, Dr. Jacobs tackles the nature-grace divide. He’ll trace how Augustine's anti-Pelagian framework created a nature-grace divide in the Latin West, where human nature is seen as inherently incapable of pleasing God without supernatural assistance. In contrast, the Eastern tradition maintains that humans as icons of God possess a natural connection to divine grace through the image-archetype relationship. The analysis covers how these differing anthropologies lead to distinct understandings of total depravity, synergy, and the relationship between creature and Creator.

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00:00:00 Intro

00:01:22 Recap & roadmap 

00:10:08 The Pelagian controversy

00:15:55 Hierarchy of loves

00:20:22 Augustine's pursuit of truth

00:28:19 Adam & Eve (original sin)

00:35:45 The root of total depravity

00:40:02 Divine volunteerism

00:51:09 Monistic views emerge

00:54:40 Medieval "faculty psychology"

01:08:22 Imago Dei (Image of God) nuances

01:11:30 Divine essence and energies

01:23:36 Insights from Plato

01:29:50 Man as icon of God

01:39:14 Grace in the Christian West

01:54:48 The faculty psychology problem

02:12:40 Doctrine of the Logoi

02:25:40 Idiosyncratic teleology

02:30:52 Wrapping up the series

Our culture often frames debates on homosexuality, transgenderism, and abortion as a simple clash between “Christians vs. progressives.” But the real story runs deeper. In this episode, Dr. Nathan Jacobs tackles three of today’s most pressing ethical and cultural issues, examining them through the great traditions of moral philosophy—Natural Law, Deontology, Divine Command Theory, and Utilitarianism.

Dr. Jacobs shows how these systems evaluate questions of morality and why Christianity brings a unique clarity to the conversation. By exploring the metaphysical roots of ethics and Christian anthropology, he demonstrates why most philosophical systems arrive at conclusions radically different from today’s cultural consensus.

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