Reimagining Boundaries: Jewish and Christian Identity in Late Antiquity

In this week’s show my cohost and I tackle the resent attack on biblical vision of God discussed in the documentary created by MythVision host Derek Lambert. We appreciate his bold attempt at biblical criticism that falls into the debunking traps of counter-apologetics by being as narrow, one-sided and sometimes misguided as religious dogma. We ask the question: is he fighting against religious literalist perspective or the moral quandaries all people of good will do when they engage with the biblical text?
Note: all documentary audio is a property of Derek Lambert and MythVision. Our program contains the unedited audio following the fair use standard as it is depicted for educational purposes only with no intent for or current financial benefit or promotional purposes. If him and his company desires for us to remove it we would but it would affect the context of our conversation. For full details about his projects please search his content online. Please email mysticandskeptic@gmail.com with any concerns. 

Mystic-Skeptic Radio produces programs such as Uncensored & Raiders of the Unknown. Some of the ongoing series are: Jesus The Israelite, Anti-Semitism Rising & Paul's Legacy (all available on our YouTube channels). In the past 8 years we have featured academics (Amy Jill Levine) , presidential candidates( Howie Hawkins), Commentators (Jay Michaelson) , Advocates (Vanessa Guillen), Scholars(John Dominic Crossan) and Holistic Healers (Rosemary Gladstar). We have taken deep dives on the topics of human trafficking, ancient civilizations, demonology and the occult, social movements, controversial topics and many of the current affairs affecting our society. Join us as as we explore the mystic-skeptic mind space…

In this week’s show we discuss the stigmatization and demonization of “the other” in western Christianity throughout the ages.

We explore St. Agustine’s influence on the many heretic hunters of Christianity who use Jews as the boogie man and how that is now applied to other groups. St. Augustine’s rhetoric of carnal vs spiritual, Jew vs Christian is so engrained in Christian thought that is hard to deny. The following article addresses St. Agustine’s complicated view of Jews which in his conclusion became a devastating stigmatization of Jews as the eternally cursed tribe that roams the world aimlessly due to their rebellion. His influence gave the many heretic hunters of historic Christianity the precedent  to use Jews as the eternal boogie man: https://adfontesjournal.com/commonwealth/augustine-and-antisemitism/

Mystic-Skeptic Radio produces programs such as Uncensored & Raiders of the Unknown. Some of the ongoing series are: Jesus The Israelite, Anti-Semitism Rising & Paul's Legacy (all available on our YouTube channels). In the past 8 years we have featured academics (Amy Jill Levine) , presidential candidates( Howie Hawkins), Commentators (Jay Michaelson) , Advocates (Vanessa Guillen), Scholars(John Dominic Crossan) and Holistic Healers (Rosemary Gladstar). We have taken deep dives on the topics of human trafficking, ancient civilizations, demonology and the occult, social movements, controversial topics and many of the current affairs affecting our society. Join us as as we explore the mystic-skeptic mind space…

In this week's show our guest is Chaplain Stephen Faller, a New Jersey chaplain.  He is the author of "Confessions of a Circuit Rider," a reflective journey through the realms of chaplaincy, disability, adoption, and spiritual midwifery. In his works he delves into the depths beneath the surfaces of pastoral care, offering insights and revelations from the vantage point of my own unique experiences.

We discuss the process of becoming a professional chaplain, Mr. Faller provides valuable insights for all those engaged in the helping professions. He can be found on the following website: www.stephen-faller.com.

Mystic-Skeptic Radio produces programs such as Uncensored & Raiders of the Unknown. Some of the ongoing series are: Jesus The Israelite, Anti-Semitism Rising & Paul's Legacy (all available on our YouTube channels). In the past 8 years we have featured academics (Amy Jill Levine) , presidential candidates( Howie Hawkins), Commentators (Jay Michaelson) , Advocates (Vanessa Guillen), Scholars(John Dominic Crossan) and Holistic Healers (Rosemary Gladstar). We have taken deep dives on the topics of human trafficking, ancient civilizations, demonology and the occult, social movements, controversial topics and many of the current affairs affecting our society. Join us as as we explore the mystic-skeptic mind space…

In this week's show we are joined by author and filmmaker Eric Bickernicks, he wrote Higher Strange and it's sequel Higher Strangeness. His first satirical novel was  "Artifice" back in 2016.  His latest work, "Higher Strangeness," is a surreal exploration of conspiracy culture, inspired by the likes of Q-Anon, Alex Jones, Pizzagate and the paranoia surrounding surveillance technology. I think of it as The Turner Diaries for the intelligent.This novel is the second installment in my "High Strangeness" series. The first book sets the stage by satirizing UFO culture, crashed saucers and alien grey folklore.

"Something strange has arrived on Cape Cod, and it’s not just the UFOs.

Ken Wakeman, a skeptical UFOlogist who seeks the truth about paranormal phenomenon, struggles to discredit the myriad of crackpot theories out there. Melissa "Mel" Howard, a reporter for a small Cape Cod newspaper, copes with the seasonal tourist invasion and its accompanying anxieties. When the Cape becomes the national focus over a rash of UFO sights, they join forces to get to the bottom it.

Despite denials from town officials and the military that UFOs have landed, mass hysteria overcomes the seaside community. In addition to the frantic humans, Astro, Ken’s Golden Retriever has also been acting strangely.

Joining the invasion is Klick, the promiscuous leader of a spandex-clad UFO cult whose members want to “amalgamate” with the Fornacisians when their spaceship lands. Mel learns that when dealing with wing nuts, the truth isn’t necessarily “out there”. Tom Frasier, an infamous proponent of crashed saucers and frozen alien bodies, claims the local military base houses some intriguing secrets. After a visit from the FBI gives legitimacy to Tom’s story, Ken will ultimately decide how far he’s willing to go to witness humanity’s greatest close encounter."

Mystic-Skeptic Radio produces programs such as Uncensored & Raiders of the Unknown. Some of the ongoing series are: Jesus The Israelite, Anti-Semitism Rising & Paul's Legacy (all available on our YouTube channels). In the past 8 years we have featured academics (Amy Jill Levine) , presidential candidates( Howie Hawkins), Commentators (Jay Michaelson) , Advocates (Vanessa Guillen), Scholars(John Dominic Crossan) and Holistic Healers (Rosemary Gladstar). We have taken deep dives on the topics of human trafficking, ancient civilizations, demonology and the occult, social movements, controversial topics and many of the current affairs affecting our society. Join us as as we explore the mystic-skeptic mind space…

In this week's show we continue our discussion based on the interview with Dr. James Tabor. We also feature a narrative of the book Heirs of the Kingdom by your host David Daniel Gonzalez

Mystic-Skeptic Radio produces programs such as Uncensored & Raiders of the Unknown. Some of the ongoing series are: Jesus The Israelite, Anti-Semitism Rising & Paul's Legacy (all available on our YouTube channels). In the past 8 years we have featured academics (Amy Jill Levine) , presidential candidates( Howie Hawkins), Commentators (Jay Michaelson) , Advocates (Vanessa Guillen), Scholars(John Dominic Crossan) and Holistic Healers (Rosemary Gladstar). We have taken deep dives on the topics of human trafficking, ancient civilizations, demonology and the occult, social movements, controversial topics and many of the current affairs affecting our society. Join us as as we explore the mystic-skeptic mind space…

In this week’s show our guest is renown Biblical scholar and Professor of Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity James Tabor. Dr. Tabor is the author of nine academic books including Paul and Jesus and Paul’s ascent to Paradise. He has worked at a number of archaeological sites. Dr. Tabor has been featured in dozens of documentaries broadcasted on PBS, Discovery Channel, Learning Channel, History Channel, National Geographic, Smithsonian and the BBC. Dr. Tabor has a several blogs and aa popular YouTube Channel

Mystic-Skeptic Radio produces programs such as Uncensored & Raiders of the Unknown. Some of the ongoing series are: Jesus The Israelite, Anti-Semitism Rising & Paul's Legacy (all available on our YouTube channels). In the past 8 years we have featured academics (Amy Jill Levine) , presidential candidates( Howie Hawkins), Commentators (Jay Michaelson) , Advocates (Vanessa Guillen), Scholars(John Dominic Crossan) and Holistic Healers (Rosemary Gladstar). We have taken deep dives on the topics of human trafficking, ancient civilizations, demonology and the occult, social movements, controversial topics and many of the current affairs affecting our society. Join us as as we explore the mystic-skeptic mind space…

In this week's show we feature professor Charles Fischer who teaches humanities at Everett Community College in Washington, focusing on classic literature including Homer, Sophocles and Shakespeare. With a background in ancient Greek, a Ph.D. in English combined with a Master of Theological Studies degree from the Harvard Divinity School, Charles is uniquely positioned to draw on the events of ancient history as the basis of fiction. He lives in Seattle with his wife, the author Lisa Wogan. 

Our topic is teaching "Holocaust" memoir in academia. We discuss books such as Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning and Art Spiegelman Maus: A Survivor's Tale among  other literature that Mr. Fischer examines with his students. 

Mystic-Skeptic Radio produces programs such as Uncensored & Raiders of the Unknown. Some of the ongoing series are: Jesus The Israelite, Anti-Semitism Rising & Paul's Legacy (all available on our YouTube channels). In the past 8 years we have featured academics (Amy Jill Levine) , presidential candidates( Howie Hawkins), Commentators (Jay Michaelson) , Advocates (Vanessa Guillen), Scholars(John Dominic Crossan) and Holistic Healers (Rosemary Gladstar). We have taken deep dives on the topics of human trafficking, ancient civilizations, demonology and the occult, social movements, controversial topics and many of the current affairs affecting our society. Join us as as we explore the mystic-skeptic mind space…

Mystic-Skeptic Radio produces programs such as Uncensored & Raiders of the Unknown. Some of the ongoing series are: Jesus The Israelite, Anti-Semitism Rising & Paul's Legacy (all available on our YouTube channels). In the past 8 years we have featured academics (Amy Jill Levine) , presidential candidates( Howie Hawkins), Commentators (Jay Michaelson) , Advocates (Vanessa Guillen), Scholars(John Dominic Crossan) and Holistic Healers (Rosemary Gladstar). We have taken deep dives on the topics of human trafficking, ancient civilizations, demonology and the occult, social movements, controversial topics and many of the current affairs affecting our society. Join us as as we explore the mystic-skeptic mind space…

In this week's show we feature author Charles Fischer who teaches humanities at Everett Community College in Washington, focusing on classic literature including Homer, Sophocles and Shakespeare. With a background in ancient Greek, a Ph.D. in English combined with a Master of Theological Studies degree from the Harvard Divinity School, Charles is uniquely positioned to draw on the events of ancient history as the basis of fiction. He lives in Seattle with his wife, the author Lisa Wogan. He is the author of The Eunuch a new book from The Gabbro Head Press.

The Eunuch is a twisted tale of personal love, moral depravity, imperial overreach, and societal decline.  The scope is staggering, the setting exotic, the characters original—and the narrator’s voice is not only compelling but also frequently hilarious. The historical details have been painstakingly researched.  Although it can stand scrutiny as a historical novel, The Eunuch is really an accessible literary mash-up that calls to mind the Game of Thrones novels, Lolita, the Gormenghast novels, and Memoirs of a Geisha, with aristocratic gluttony and sexual indulgence set against the drought and famine of the failing Babylonian empire. 

The central themes of The Eunuch are big and timeless: sex and sexuality, love, greed and ambition, power, betrayal, religion, war and the causes of war. An ambitious writer, Charles realized he couldn’t compete with “the big swinging, literary dicks” of his father’s generation – writers like Norman Mailer, Philip Roth, and John Updike – because times change and he could not write about sex and power in the same way that they did. But through the voice of the insignificant Nergal the Eunuch, Charles was able to address such topics while empowering the weak: who is more important, Nergal asks, the King that slaughters 10,000 or the slave scribe who records the King’s deed for posterity? Charles’s novel is a will-to-power for the powerless that ends in a bang rather than a whimper: Nergal is like a little rodent who gnaws at the foundation of the mighty Ziggurat of Babylon until he causes the summit to topple. 

Mystic-Skeptic Radio produces programs such as Uncensored & Raiders of the Unknown. Some of the ongoing series are: Jesus The Israelite, Anti-Semitism Rising & Paul's Legacy (all available on our YouTube channels). In the past 8 years we have featured academics (Amy Jill Levine) , presidential candidates( Howie Hawkins), Commentators (Jay Michaelson) , Advocates (Vanessa Guillen), Scholars(John Dominic Crossan) and Holistic Healers (Rosemary Gladstar). We have taken deep dives on the topics of human trafficking, ancient civilizations, demonology and the occult, social movements, controversial topics and many of the current affairs affecting our society. Join us as as we explore the mystic-skeptic mind space…

In this week's show we discuss the topic that is on many people's minds due to the political climate. Julia M. Ponce-Vega Director of Immigrant Services at Mercy Center in Bronx, NY shares her expertise on the subject.  We discuss the asylum crisis, immigration process and reprieve for people under political persecution, affected by social upheaval or who have experienced domestic violence that arrive at our borders. This topic was discussed by Bill Maher and his guests Fareed Zakaria, and Ian Bremmer on 11/03/23 in his show Real Time, getting everything wrong on the subject. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-time-with-bill-maher/id98746009?i=1000633654016

Mystic-Skeptic Radio produces programs such as Uncensored & Raiders of the Unknown. Some of the ongoing series are: Jesus The Israelite, Anti-Semitism Rising & Paul's Legacy (all available on our YouTube channels). In the past 8 years we have featured academics (Amy Jill Levine) , presidential candidates( Howie Hawkins), Commentators (Jay Michaelson) , Advocates (Vanessa Guillen), Scholars(John Dominic Crossan) and Holistic Healers (Rosemary Gladstar). We have taken deep dives on the topics of human trafficking, ancient civilizations, demonology and the occult, social movements, controversial topics and many of the current affairs affecting our society. Join us as as we explore the mystic-skeptic mind space…

In this weeks program we present an audio-documentary based on the book A Lamb Among Wolves: The State of Israel & Modern Anti-Semitism. 

Mystic-Skeptic Radio produces programs such as Uncensored & Raiders of the Unknown. Some of the ongoing series are: Jesus The Israelite, Anti-Semitism Rising & Paul's Legacy (all available on our YouTube channels). In the past 8 years we have featured academics (Amy Jill Levine) , presidential candidates( Howie Hawkins), Commentators (Jay Michaelson) , Advocates (Vanessa Guillen), Scholars(John Dominic Crossan) and Holistic Healers (Rosemary Gladstar). We have taken deep dives on the topics of human trafficking, ancient civilizations, demonology and the occult, social movements, controversial topics and many of the current affairs affecting our society. Join us as as we explore the mystic-skeptic mind space…