492 - Nathan Betz - Cosmic Paradise in the Early Church
Nathan Betz is a research fellow at the University of Regensburg. In this conversation, we talk about how the early fathers saw the heavenly...
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The Symbolic World
The Symbolic World looks at symbolism in all its forms, from its source in sacred stories and images to contemporary culture and ultimately how it shapes the very world we encounter.
Episodes
20 of 490 episodes491 - Over The Garden Wall’s Cosmic Symbolism
~ Full spoilers throughout! ~ Last year, several of you pointed me to Over the Garden Wall, Patrick McHale's 2014 Cartoon Network series. It...
490 - How Idolatry Began (Universal History)
Part 5. In this episode, Deacon Seraphim Rohlin and I continue the Syriac text of the Cave of Treasures into the fourth age of the world. Th...
489 - Dear Catholics: Let’s Put Renaissance Art Behind Us
This is a patron video we decided to make public. I look at the difference between Renaissance art and the symbolic language of early Christ...
488 - Relics Explained: Why your dead body is still precious
Why do Christians venerate the relics of saints, and how can these objects perform miracles? I explore the biblical and symbolic meaning of...
487 - Divine Patterns in The Life of Moses (Archive)
This talk is a repost from the archive. It was given in Feb. 2017 at the Climacus Conference in Louisville Kentucky. Looking at the story of...
486 - Encountering God in Stories (Archive)
The patterns in stories appear as their underlying order and also as a mode of human consciousness. We can encounter the Divine Logos in anc...
485 - Why Modernity Loves Prometheus
In this video, I look at the story of Prometheus and why our modern admiration for him leaves out an important part of the myth. I explore h...
484 - The Saint Who Killed an Emperor
In this episode, I look at the tradition of St. Mercurius: a warrior saint associated with St. Michael, the death of Emperor Julian the Apos...
483 - R.R. Reno - The Return of the Strong Gods
I talk with Rusty Reno about the collapse of the postwar “open society” ideal and the return of people’s need for strong loyalties, meaning,...
482 - The Sword of St. Michael
Why is St. Michael often shown holding a flaming sword? I look at how this image developed, its connection to the expulsion from Paradise, t...
481 - Dr. Diana Pasulka - The New Religion
I finally sit down with Diana Pasulka to talk about UFOs, alien intelligence, AI, psychedelics, transhumanism, and the strange religious fra...
480 - Dr. Zac Porcu - The Pagan Gods Really Exist
Dr. Zac Porcu joins me to discuss his upcoming course on the demonological history of the world, looking at the pagan gods, fallen angels, m...
479 - The Horror of Getting What You Want - Obsession (2026)
This was July 2026's patron video that we decided to make public. If you want to support us and get extra symbolism videos, subscribe a a pa...
478 - Christian Roy - Technological Madness: The Logic of Domination
Christian Roy and I discuss Jacques Ellul’s theology of technique (technology) and the way modern systems turn power, efficiency, and mediat...
477 - Louise Perry - How Progressivism Took Over Our Stories
Louise Perry is a British journalist, author, and host of the Maiden Mother Matriarch Podcast. She’s a columnist for the Wall Street Journal...
476 - Matt Rhodes - The World Before the Flood Reimagined
In this conversation with artist Matt Rhodes, we explore Dead Gods, his epic comic set in the world before the biblical Flood. We talk about...
475 - Jay Dyer - The Elites Are Doing Warfare on the Public
In this conversation with Jay Dyer, we look at predictive programming, propaganda, Hollywood, and the growing role of AI in shaping how we i...
474 - Josh Nadeau - The Return of a Christian Imagination
In this conversation with Josh Nadeau, we talk about art, beauty, symbolism, and the recovery of a Christian imagination. We explore why tra...
473 - Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick - Paradise Is Already Breaking Into the World
Story time with Fr. Andrew! In this episode with Fr. Andrew Damick, we explore the symbolism of paradise through a fairy tale, a Norse saga,...