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In this week’s episode we discuss the anachronism of “a Jewish Trinity” proposed by Daniel Boyarin and promoted by Michael Heiser. This idea retrograde into Israelite/biblical theology by these two scholars. We address this by comparing Jewish and Christian approaches to describing or defining God. Both authors point to Cannanite Theology to support their claims. Talmudist Daniel Boyarin in his Jewish Gospels book and Dr. Michael Heiser in his presentations based on his dissertation titled “The Divine Council in Late Canonical and non-Canonical Second Temple Jewish Literature.” Both suppose that both ancient linguistics and biblical mysticism point to a trinity-like concept that existed in pre-first century theological ideas found in the Bible. Frank Morris and I explore the traditions that lead to the two powers in heaven theology and how the early church fathers developed theological concepts, which could be considered to be inconsistent with the ancient Israelite worldview portrayed in the Bible.

In the week's show our guest is Rebecca Moore professor Emerita of Religion at San Diego State University. She is currently Reviews Editor for Nova Religio, the quarterly journal on new and emergent religions published by University of California Press. She is an expert in the history of Christianity, in 2015 she published Women in Christian Traditions, a feminist analysis of the role women have played in the development of Christianity (NYU Press). Her narrative anthology, Voices of Christianity: A Global Introduction (McGraw Hill 2006), come out in a revised second edition from Herder and Herder/Crossroad in 2018.Her current research examines contemporary Jewish and Christian relations, with a book coming out in Fall 2021—A Blessing to Each Other: A New Account of Jewish and Christian Relations (Herder and Herder/Crossroad, 2021). Her presentation Perils of the Passion was featured at the Lutheran Church of San Juans on April 7.

Mira Z. Amiras was raised on her mother’s accounts of the Inquisition and Holocaust, and her father’s tales of the Hebrew aleph bet letters and their role in the creation of the universe. Mira Amiras has taught Jewish mysticism, magic, and folklore along with many other topics in Jewish and Islamic Studies and the anthropology of religion. She founded the Middle East Studies Program at San Jose State University, where she was Professor of Comparative Religious Studies for over 25 years. She received her PhD in Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, and served as president of the Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness, and on the Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association. Mira Amiras is co-founder and facilitator of the Beit Malkhut Study Group, which has been meeting in San Francisco since 1996. Her experimental project, Kaddish in Two-Part Harmony, is a collaboration with musician, Erin Vang. She founded Something Will Emerge Productions in 2012 to take on a new approach in teaching—combining animated film, scholarship, folklore, art, and music to convey concepts that wouldn't stay put on the chalkboard.

In this week's show our guest is Rabbi Mike Harvey. He is an Author, Podcaster, Chaplain, PhD Student, Jewish Studies Scholar. Ordained by the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in 2015, Rabbi Harvey earned a Master’s degree in Hebrew Letters from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion and a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Boston University. Throughout his tenure at HUC-JIR, Rabbi Harvey served congregations, small and large, in Arkansas, Missouri, Ohio, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. Rabbi Harvey’s new book "Let's Talk: A Rabbi Speaks to Christians" (Fortress Press, July 2022) is now available for preorder on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and is a handbook for Christian clergy.

In this week's show our guest is Rabbi Dr. Juan Marcos Bejarano Gutierrez  author of Reimagining Boundaries: Jewish and Christian Identity in Late Antiquity. In the eighth century, a debate between Sergius the Stylite and a Jew occurred. The discussion was conveniently titled, Debate against a Jew. It records arguments about the relevance of biblical texts to Christians and the Jewish people. The anti-Jewish perspectives of Sergius are not surprising. The response given by his Jewish interlocutor is, however. The Jew noted that he was surprised by the number of Christians who attended his synagogue, contributed to it, and celebrated various Jewish holidays alongside Jews.What does this tell us? It shows us that the boundaries between Jews and Christians even as late as the 8th century were permeable at the very least and ill-defined at the most extreme. The anti-Jewish polemics of Melito of Sardis in the second century or John Chrysostom in the fourth century are heartfelt. Regardless of how vile they are, they reflect something very significant.The Church’s consistent attack on Jewish practices and theology was reflective of a simple fact. The Jewish tradition was sufficiently strong to interest curious Christians who were most certainly familiar with the anti-Jewish sentiments of medieval Christianity but saw in the living presence of Jews among them a very different portrait of the people of the Bible and their continued appeal.Judaism and Christianity as we know them today, and this is the crucial point, i.e., today did not exist in the first centuries of the Common Era in the same form. This is not to say that people did not recognize near-universal Jewish observances, i.e., the Sabbath, the lighting of candles, beliefs, i.e., the election of Israel, etc., or even nascent Christian rituals. But the fully developed theological systems and the boundaries of these entities did not exist in the same way they did in later periods of history.With that being said, this work seeks to address the problem of Jewish and Christian identity from various perspectives. What follows are a series of what I call semi-independent essays discussing the nexus between these two evolving religious systems. These essays seek to challenge the reader to consider alternative approaches to identity and consider that beliefs and the impositions of later views partly formulate our assumptions about groups on either side of the supposed divide. That is not to say that Jews and Christians were nebulous entities characterized by “open borders” to use a contentious modern-day term. Instead, there were groups whose responses to each other were partly formed by theological, regional, cultural, and perhaps even economic considerations.A major focus of this work is the Clementine Literature as a reflective of a community that found itself in between the communities we now recognize as Judaism and Christianity. 

In this week’s show we feature  Grace Kohn in celebration of World Autism Day. Grace Kohn is an author and mother of a person with Autism. She shares her metamorphosis as a result of doing everything in her power to help her daughter, Julianne, heal. She is the author of Children on Autumn Autism-Here on Purpose a book of teachings. As an autism advocate Grace shares how to develop a supportive loving community for those born with this special ability. She co-wrote the song at the end of the interview with composers Marco Griggs and was recorded by John L'hirondelle  

In this conversation we discuss the way the death by suicide of a sibling impacted his brother Rafael and the emotional, spiritual and religious challenges connected to this tragedy. Our guest is a an American born citizen of the State of Israel who shares about his experience and the way his family supported each other through their grief and complex existential questions about the loss of their loved one.

In this week's  edition of Mystic-Skeptic we are honored to feature an interview with Natalie Khawam the attorney for Vanessa Guillen’s family who passed federal legislation to protect survivors of harassment and sexual assault in the military.  Military sexual trauma as defined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, entails military sexual trauma experiences of sexual assault, or repeated threatening sexual harassment that occurred while a person was in the United States Armed Forces. According to an article from the Associated Press " An independent review of Fort Hood — prompted by the deaths of more than two dozen soldiers at the base in 2020 — revealed that military leaders were not adequately dealing with high rates of sexual assault and harassment, drug use and other problems. ..."https://apnews.com/article/us-army-texas-army-sexual-assault-d62485c11b38bfbd0456eece822581c1Attorney Natalie Khawam graduated from Georgetown University Law School. She holds both an M.B.A. and an M.S. degree too. Natalie founded the highly-regarded Whistleblower Law Firm in Tampa, Florida, and a founding partner of the lawfirm of Khawam Ripka, LLP in Washington, DC which focuses on military medical malpractice cases. She is passionate about serving our Military and Veterans, fighting for justice, and seeking the truth in all matters. Ms. Khawam practices Federal law, with a focus on whistleblower laws, and military rights and protections.

In this week’s show we present an interview of the guest judges of Cosplay contest at Brazcon Teen Comic Convention. Organized by the Brazoria County Library System this event included sessions and activities based on comic books, graphic novels, manga, anime, and popular fiction. The participants were judged in the following criteria: Creativity, time and effort and out of the ordinary. During event I dressed up as Batman (Knightmare Version) our guest Ojy was Spider Gwen and Sky was Boku from My Hero Academia. Some of the winning contestants included Dino Dana, Springtrap from Five Nights at Freddy's, Joker and Riddler from Batman, two other Anime characters. My guests also presented on the topic of Cosplay for a Cause. During this panel we discussed participating in charity events as Cosplayer and how as children watching superhero shows were able to discern which superheroes were saviors or crime fighters. Some of the other panelists included Kris Vanderwege as Shakespeare from Anime Fate Apocrypha, Peggy as Fatgum-Taishiro Toyomitsu from My Hero Academia and Madden as Spider-Man.

In this week's show our guest is Greg Kelso host of the Con Hour. A podcast for those who are interested in Conventions and like/love to attend panels and can't always go to the Cons. On their show they interview Artists, Actors, Authors, Musicians and Cosplayers.  Greg is an author and shares the podcast hosting with Aimee and C.J. for more information visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theconhour/about

In this week’s show we are honored to have again our expert on scientific knowledge and inquiry, Brian Dunning. The host of “Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Media” he shares about how conspiracy shows are supporting flawed thinking for people who already have preconceived notions about some topics.  We  discuss Alex Jones' influence as many similar conspiracy theorists and “entertainers” have sprung up all over the AM radio. One of these programs is “Ground Zero with Clyde Lewis” who in their February 6, 2019 show discussed racist and destructive ideas such as the so called invasion of Muslims and Chinese from Canada and the coming race war pushed by supremacists. We also discuss Mr. Dunning’s confrontation with Joe Rogan after writing a report on how Rogan was part of the "Then Most Wanted: Celebrities who Promote Harmful Pseudoscience" and how these shows will say anything to get ratings being irresponsible and sensationalistic.Brian Dunning is an American writer and producer who focuses on science and skepticism. He has hosted a weekly podcast, Skeptoid since 2006, and he is an author of a series of books on the subject of scientific skepticism, some which are based on the podcast. https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4125

In this week's show we discuss Comedian Tim Dillon's recent interview with Joe Rogan on his podcast. During the conversation influential Spotify podcaster and social commentator Joe Rogan made the following statement "most of his (Alex Jones') predictions have come true..." Sam Granger a fan of Rogan and Joe Balog our religion and spirituality commentator and I discuss the repercussions of this statement and the issues related to this topic. Alex Jones is a provocateur and conspiracy prognosticator who for years has supported or spearheaded racist, Anti-Semitic, seditious, religiously intolerant and triumphalist claims which have no correlation with reality and/or are based on little evidence or facts. He did not only get sued by the surviving parents of the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy, but according to a RollingStone article he has pushed hateful conspiracies such as Birtherism Conspiracy ( Barack Obama citizenship), 911 Truth (terrorist attack being an inside job), Government Weather Manipulation, Sexual Orientation and Identity Reassignment Experiments on Mass Population, Demonic Overtake of Government Officials,  Etc. Two other important recent issues not often discussed is that Jones was a supporter of QAnon and the biggest proponent of the "Stop the Steal Conspiracy" which led to the January 6 attack on the capitol building and attempt to stop the certification of the peaceful transition of power after the 2020 election. Visit PBS Frontline to learn more about Jones's involvement in this conspiracy https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/united-states-of-conspiracy/ 

In this week's show yours truly is interviewed by the host of Love and Loss Podcast Joy Van Staalduinen. Our topic Pediatric Chaplaincy and Bereavement Support addresses the needs of those who have experienced death of a child/miscarriage or are in the process of supporting someone who is dying. I am currently spearheading a grief guidance project with his wife Jodie Gonzalez, LCSW to provide support to the bereaved. For more information please visit: www.jahgriefservices.com

In this week's show we discuss the concept of Jesus being a Necromancer. Our discussion of early Christianity, Greco-Roman culture and Gnosticism with Robert Conner continues. He is the author of Resurrection or Ghost Story? available online. During our program we discuss his research and the different types of ghosts stories in the ancient world. He shares how modern ghost stories are influenced by ancient ones and describes the documented apparitions of Romulus & Apollonius of Tyana which have many parallels to the resurrection stories in the New Testament and other stories.

In this week's show we discuss the concept of Jesus being a Necromancer. Our discussion of early Christianity, Greco-Roman culture and Gnosticism with Robert Conner continues. He is the author of Resurrection or Ghost Story? available online. During our program we discuss his research and the different types of ghosts stories in the ancient world. He shares how modern ghost stories are influenced by ancient ones and describes the documented apparitions of Romulus & Apollonius of Tyana which have many parallels to the resurrection stories in the New Testament and other stories.

In this week's show discuss the religious case for Vegetarianism/Veganism with a friend of the show Joe Balog.

In this interview with researcher Robert Conner we discuss the following discovery: While cataloging material in the library of the monastery of Mar Saba in 1958, Morton Smith discovered a quotation from a letter of Clement of Alexandria copied in the end pages of a 17th century collection of the letters of Ignatius. After more than a decade of collaborative analysis of the find, Smith published his conclusions in 1973, setting off a firestorm of controversy in the New Testament studies guild. In 1975, a Jesuit scholar, Quentin Quesnell, claimed the letter had been forged and implied that Smith was the forger, moving the focus of debate off the text itself and onto Smith. Since then the pages containing the letter have been removed from the book and possibly destroyed, while Catholic and evangelical writers, none of whom have ever seen the pages in question, continue to claim that Smith forged the letter. Following his death in 1991, accusations against Smith took on a considerably more personal tone, highlighting his alleged homosexuality and by implication his dishonesty and moral perversity. Although the question of authenticity remains unresolved, the controversy has opened a window on the intellectually corrupt nature of apologetic New Testament studies, a subject of greater importance than the authenticity of early Christian texts.

In this weeks's show we interview Chaplain Tom Saunders about the historical Jesus and discuss alternative views on prophecies considered to be related to him. We also address some of the  halachic (concerning Jewish Law) challenges to the theological concept that Jesus kept the Torah perfectly. Did Jesus partake in the sacrificial system, did he eat the passover lamb, did he obeyed his parents and fulfilled all the obligation of a first century Jew? 

2020 Interview of Rabbi Asher Meza in which he describes historical, halachic (concerning Jewish Law) and messianic trends in Judaism. He also considers the impact of Jesus on the Jewish community and his place in Jewish history.

John Dominic Crossan joins our discussion as we unravel the origins of anti-Semitism in the Christian Church.