Episodes

  • 375 - Paul Kingsnorth - Western Civilization Is Already Dead

    375 - Paul Kingsnorth - Western Civilization Is Already Dead
    Jan 12 2025
    Paul Kingsnorth gave a provocative talk for First Things' Erasmus Lecture of 2024, titled "Against Christian Civilization". In this episode, we discuss the essence of his argument, delving into the fundamental tensions between Christianity and civilization. How does faith interact with culture? What is the Biblical narrative around cities and governance? Are we misusing Christianity as a tool for cultural preservation over pursuing true spiritual transformation? Is Western Civilization as we know it even salvable at this point?

    -Paul Kingsnorth’s First Things talk: "Against Christian Civilization" | 2024 Erasmus Lecture: https://www.youtube.com/live/Y3hMSZqatHI?si=bmT1rqPyEF-LvR0_
    -Written article version of his talk: Against Christian Civilization, January 2025: https://www.firstthings.com/article/2025/01/against-christian-civilization

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    ==========TIMESTAMPS==========
    00:00 - Coming up
    01:31 - Intro music
    01:56 - Introduction
    03:02 - The essence of Paul's talk
    07:13 - Civilization and Revelation
    12:02 - A Christian's challenge
    16:45 - The Biblical vision
    31:13 - What about the rulers?
    37:01 - Buildings
    42:10 - Brands and idols
    47:27 - The seed and the fruit
    49:24 - Celebrating stories

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    Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
    My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/
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    59 mins
  • 374 - The Role of St. John the Baptist

    374 - The Role of St. John the Baptist
    Jan 6 2025
    In celebration of the Feast of Theophany I discuss the role of St. John the Baptist, or St. John the Forerunner, as he's known in the Orthodox tradition. Why does Christ need a forerunner? What is he actually doing, symbolically? And how does his appearance, behavior, and death participate in the pattern that's already being set up in the Old Testament?

    Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/dvUQXKdpJy0
    💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
    🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
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    ==========NEW SYMBOLIC WORLD COURSE==========
    Join us for Annie Crawford's course on C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, starting live on January 17th, 2025. If you register before Thursday, 8 pm EST, you can get 15% off with the discount code: LEWIS2025. Register now: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/till-we-have-faces-with-annie-crawford

    ==========TIMESTAMPS==========
    00:00 - Introduction
    00:32 - Intro music
    00:57 - The role of St. John
    04:05 - Prefigurations of St. John
    04:21 - The flood of Noah
    05:15 - The Tower of Babel
    06:06 - The Exodus
    07:55 - Elijah
    09:37 - St. John in the wilderness
    12:36 - The voice in the desert
    13:51 - Wild
    15:58 - Stability in Logos
    17:55 - Elijah will return
    21:49 - Taken up before the end
    23:21 - Joseph in Egypt
    26:16 - Conclusion

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    Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
    My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.
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    28 mins
  • 373 - Matthew Wilkinson - Mystical Bach and the Breakdown of Music

    373 - Matthew Wilkinson - Mystical Bach and the Breakdown of Music
    Jan 5 2025
    For this interview I have a great discussion with organist, pianist, conductor, arranger, and recording artist Matthew Wilkinson, who also happened to put together the Symbolic World intro music. We delve into the symbolism of music, particularly focusing on Bach's organ works. The discussion also touches on the evolution of musical styles from the Baroque period to the Classical, modern and postmodern eras, the historical context of music, from the music of the spheres to modern dissonance, and how these concepts reflect broader ideas about hierarchy and opposites.

    Support Matthew Wilkinson's wonderful work:
    Check out his website and buy his CD: https://matthewwilkinson.net/
    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/24DSGAdbVt7by0JHEqTwMh?si=ZJlpdMkcSg6SfMvz7YbkFg
    YouTube: https://youtube.com/@matthewwilkinson2276?si=m1gbZgTSpOALVdq5

    Join us for Annie Crawford's course on C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, starting live on January 17th, 2025. Learn more here: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/till-we-have-faces-with-annie-crawford

    Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/d-9FRODiDKM

    Timestamps:
    00:00 - Coming up
    00:56 - Intro music
    01:21 - Introduction
    02:18 - The album on Bach
    05:38 - Trinitarian symbolism
    14:49 - Meaning in structure vs outside it
    20:15 - The hero's journey
    22:05 - Signatures
    25:06 - Subject and countersubject
    26:19 - The organ
    29:25 - Going through the entrances
    32:39 - Various subjects
    35:03 - Baroque
    36:37 - Counterpoint
    37:21 - Duality in music
    40:14 - Music of the spheres
    43:54 - Hierarchy in beats
    47:15 - Glenn Gould
    49:19 - The dialectic
    51:04 - Hierarchy in music
    55:16 - Music in the modern era
    01:07:45 - Postmodernism

    💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
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    Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
    My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.
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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • 372 - Christmas: The Anchor of Reality (Repost)

    372 - Christmas: The Anchor of Reality (Repost)
    Dec 24 2024
    This is a repost of a talk given at St-George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Montreal, originally posted in 2018.
    The Nativity icon is not only the image of an event that happened two thousands years ago, but rather by its form and the hierarchy of its elements, shows us the inner working of how the Divine Logos creates the world and how His incarnation acts as the anchor, the fulcrum around which all manifestation holds together.

    Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/i8xow567P74
    Don’t forget to check out our Christmas Symbolism playlist of all the videos I made about Christmas over the years:
    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVX4HUUPrIY9MeGP5IILeRzu62Q1NPT4C

    Timestamps:
    00:00 - Introduction
    01:10 - Intro music
    01:34 - Introducing the talk
    03:50 - The fast
    05:29 - Elements of the nativity icon
    08:04 - St. Joseph tempted by the devil
    10:44 - The bullseye
    13:24 - The ass and ox
    15:40 - Why born in a cave?
    20:31 - God with us
    25:44 - The real question
    32:44 - Q&A: The river gods
    35:20 - Q: The axe
    35:50 - Q: Early icons
    37:08 - Q: Children baptized
    38:12 - Q: Snakes under the door

    💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
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    Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
    My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.
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    39 mins
  • 371 - The Dark Side of Christmas: The Massacre of the Innocent(s)

    371 - The Dark Side of Christmas: The Massacre of the Innocent(s)
    Dec 21 2024
    In this episode, I explore a dark narrative aspect of the Christmas story: the Massacre of the Innocents at the hand of King Herod, connecting it to various Old Testament variations on the pattern: Joseph and the Pharaoh, Jacob and Esau, and David and King Saul. Christ brings all of these stories together in a unique and mind-blowing way, not just in the Gospels, but also in what happens in history afterwards…

    Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/cGZn-hv7dis
    Check out my other videos on Christmas: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVX4HUUPrIY9MeGP5IILeRzu62Q1NPT4C

    💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
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    00:00 - Introduction
    01:42 - Intro music
    02:07 - The text
    03:39 - What's going on?
    03:59 - Pharaoh kills children in Egypt
    05:48 - Joseph son of Israel
    07:11 - Jacob and Esau
    09:22 - King Saul and David
    10:31 - The story of Jesus
    12:11 - A prophecy: killed by His brothers
    13:43 - The conversion of Rome
    14:47 - Going back in time
    16:38 - Why is this part of reality?

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    Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan
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    Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
    My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.
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    25 mins
  • 370 - The Restoration of Notre Dame - Did They Get It Right?

    370 - The Restoration of Notre Dame - Did They Get It Right?
    Dec 13 2024
    This is a repost of the November 2024's patron video where I take a closer look into the restoration of Notre Dame de Paris. After a devastating fire in 2019, and 5 years of reconstruction, Notre Dame is now officially open. But did they get it right in how they rebuilt the church?

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    💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
    🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
    Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
    My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.
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    24 mins
  • 369 - Fr Josiah Trenham - Orthodoxy in America

    369 - Fr Josiah Trenham - Orthodoxy in America
    Dec 7 2024
    I sat down with Fr. Josiah Trenham, archpriest at St. Andrew Orthodox Church in Riverside, California, and founder and director of Patristic Nectar Publications. With over 30 years of experience as a priest in America, Fr. Josiah has a wealth of knowledge about the state of Orthodoxy in the West and the challenges converts face. We discuss various aspects of Orthodox and contemporary life: beauty, money, politics, sexuality, the youth, psychedelics, artificial intelligence, and more. Enjoy.

    Support Fr. Josiah’s work at Patristic Nectar Publications: https://patristicnectar.org/
    @PatristicNectarFilms

    Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/nSlZMeYD-PE

    ==============Timestamps==============
    00:00 - Coming up
    01:07 - Intro music
    01:32 - Introduction
    03:06 - The state of Orthodoxy in America
    11:09 - What happened?
    18:07 - Change and the conversion of young men
    24:00 - Prioritizing beauty
    35:31 - Balancing the budget
    38:37 - Orthobros
    42:41 - Bear yourself
    50:16 - The ancient pagan world vs modern secular world
    55:15 - Psychedelics
    59:34 - The future is religious
    01:01:15 - Artificial intelligence
    01:07:38 - Intuition about what's coming

    💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
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    Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
    My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • 368 - Symbolism Explained: Tucker Carlson Attacked by a Demon

    368 - Symbolism Explained: Tucker Carlson Attacked by a Demon
    Nov 25 2024
    A clip has been circulating from the upcoming Christianities movie, hosted by John Heers, of Tucker Carlson recounting a terrifying experience he had where he woke up with bleeding claw marks on his sides and is convinced it was a demonic attack. In this video I discuss such experiences. How is it possible that a spiritual entity can physically manifest?

    Support the Christianities movie and check out the sneak peak clip of Tucker Carlson recounting his experience of a demonic attack: https://www.christianitiesmovie.com/sneak-peak

    YouTube version: https://youtu.be/YJAWgfCJv8E


    ======SYMBOLIC WORLD COURSES: 50% OFF BLACK FRIDAY SALE======
    Did you miss out on a Symbolic World course this year? Here’s your chance! This Black Friday, enjoy 50% off six of our Symbolic World courses and 25% off my carving courses.

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    -Symbolic World Metaphysics with JP Marceau
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    Please note: The discount applies to one-time purchases only. Ensure you're logged into the Symbolic World Circle platform before making your purchase.



    ==============CHRISTIAN WONDER TALES==============
    Join Dr. Martin Shaw for his first ever online course on Christian Wonder Tales! This is our most highly anticipated course yet, with more sign-ups than any other we’ve hosted on The Symbolic World. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to participate live, with Martin’s awe-inspiring storytelling and insights now part of the growing initiative for re-enchantment. Register today and fall in love with stories that will bring symbolism to life: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/christian-wonder-tales
    • Dates: Tuesdays, November 12 - December 10, 2024 (no class November 19)
    • Time: 2 - 4 pm EST
    • Where: The Symbolic World Circle Community Platform
    • Cost: $190 (4-installment payment option & 10% Involved supporter discount available, apply code at checkout)
    • Get immediate access to a recommended reading list
    • All lesson recordings will be made available to participants with downloadable audio

    ==============LINKS==============
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    Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
    My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.
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    27 mins