Episodes
What is a soul? Do you have one? Are you one? Do dogs and oak trees have them? Are they made of rubber? What happens to the soul when the body dies? Join Fr. Stephen and Fr. Andrew as they talk about the Biblical understanding of the soul.
Published 04/28/23
What is water really for? Is holy water magic? In the final episode of their series on the sacraments (but not the final sacrament) of the Orthodox Church, Fr. Stephen and Fr. Andrew discuss the blessing of waters.
Published 04/07/23
Was Samson a good monk or a bad monk? What does it mean to take the Nazirite vow, and does this relate to Christian monasticism? Fr. Stephen and Fr. Andrew continue their series on the sacraments of the Orthodox Church.
Published 03/24/23
Did you think the series on sacraments was done at 7? Fr. Andrew and Fr. Stephen continue with the coronation of emperors. Why did the Church do this? What does it say about the Christian view of government and politics?
Published 03/10/23
The mystery of Unction can be slippery to get our minds around. What does it do? Why don’t we see miracles every time it’s applied? Is sin related? Is unction different from other anointings? Fr. Stephen and Fr. Andrew look at the relationship between sin, healing, and oil.
Published 02/24/23
Everybody has nice stuff but me. Why do bad things happen to good Babylonians? Why do good things happen to bad Babylonians? How are the gods involved in all of this? Two guys had an argument more than 2500 years ago to fill us in.
Published 02/10/23
Is marriage a merely human institution? Does it exist outside the Church? What does the rite actually do? Continuing their series on the holy mysteries of the Church, Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick examine the Biblical texts on marriage.
Published 01/27/23
Confession of sins is mentioned throughout the Scriptures and practiced by the Orthodox Church. But is a priest really necessary for this practice? What happens if he withholds forgiveness? Did God really give that kind of authority to sinful clergy? Can’t we just confess alone to God at home? Why confess at all, if God knows our thoughts? Join Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick as they continue their series on the sacraments of the Orthodox Church.
Published 01/13/23
What does it mean to be ordained? What exactly are holy orders? Does ordination change the man ordained? How? Does he remain ordinary–or become it? In the next episode of this Lord of Spirits series, Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick examine the holy mystery of ordination.
Published 12/23/22
Continuing their series on the sacraments of the Orthodox Church, Fr. Stephen and Fr. Andrew examine the holy mystery of chrismation. What is chrism? What does it do? How was chrism used in the Old Testament? Where is chrismation in the New Testament? What does it have to do with the Holy Spirit?
Published 12/09/22
The central act of faithfulness of the Christian life is Holy Communion, eating and drinking the Holy Eucharist. What are its Biblical roots? Is it derived from the Jewish Seder? Was the Reformation right about the Eucharist not being a sacrifice? And just how is bread and wine Christ’s Body and Blood? Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick continue their series on the Holy Mysteries by taking a close look at the greatest of all the sacraments.
Published 11/25/22
What is baptism? How is it different from the ritual washings of the Torah? What does it do? How is it related to circumcision? Why is this water so cold? What does St. Peter mean when he says that baptism “saves”? Is anything happening in the unseen world? Join Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick as they look at this essential Christian mystery with a deep dive into Biblical texts in this first part of a series on the sacraments of the Orthodox Church.
Published 11/11/22
Lord of Spirits discusses the monstrosity of madness and demonic possession. What does the Bible say about these things? What is the ancient context? Join Fr. Stephen and Fr. Andrew for their annual Halloween episode.
Published 10/28/22
What is a spirit? Is it a ghost? Do schools have school spirit? (“Then we need to hear it!”) What does it mean to be “spiritual”? The word “spirit” gets used all the time in Christian and other religious language, but it is almost never defined, at least not in a way that makes sense of how it is used in the Bible and other Christian texts. Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick do a close reading to focus on this core concept.
Published 10/14/22
In a very special mini-episode of Lord of Spirits, it’s Sorcerer v. Witch for Dairy Dominance.
Published 09/23/22
For their second anniversary episode, the Podfathers take your LIVE questions and nothing but your questions. Nothing is off-limits! And they also will be featuring some of their favorite moments from past episodes.
Published 09/09/22
Baal, Zeus, Thor, and other thunder gods were worshiped by pagans in the ancient world. Who were these spirits, and what do we actually know about them? How did God’s people understand them? And what is God’s response to them? In this pre-recorded episode, Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick look at these thunderous deities from of old and the God Who thundered.
Published 08/26/22
Completing their three-part series on the Fall of Man, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young look at the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, the event that solidifies the dominion of the dark powers over mankind.
Published 08/12/22
Continuing their three-part series on the Fall of Mankind, Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick turn their attention to the unleashing of sin into the world through death and the first victim upon whom it pounces – Cain.
Published 07/29/22
In Genesis, we see that the fall of humanity consists of three problems that Christ comes to to solve – death, sin, and slavery to demons. In the first of this three-part series, Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick examine the first of these three human afflictions to arise – death – and how God deals with it.
Published 07/15/22
In this pre-recorded episode, Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick answer your recorded questions! They cover such topics as nakedness in Genesis, cannibalism and the Eucharist, women’s ministry in the Church, transgenderism, and even the curse of the Black Tongue. Tune in for a wild array of Q&A!
Published 06/24/22
How exactly does textual authority function within the Church? Whether discussing the Scriptures, the Apocrypha, the Church Fathers, the Ecumenical Councils, or the liturgical tradition, the Orthodox Church is awash in texts. How are they properly used? What about misuse? What makes them authoritative? Join Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young as they look at the Orthodox tradition of textual authority.
Published 06/10/22
What is prophecy? Who is a prophet? Do prophets predict the future? Does prophecy still happen in our times? What is the difference between a prophet and an apostle? How can we recognize a true prophet or prophecy? Join Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick as they look at the Biblical vision of the prophetic ministry.
Published 05/27/22
What happened to people who died before the Harrowing of Hades? What happened to those people after? And what happens at death after the Harrowing? And what’s going to happen at the resurrection of all the dead? Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young track the Biblical imagery of life after death and life after life after death.
Published 05/13/22
What exactly is a blessing? Or a curse? Are these just religious-sounding synonyms for good things or bad things? What does it mean when God blesses or curses? Do the blessings and curses of human beings actually do anything? Is this some kind of Christian magic? Join Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick as they look at how blessings and curses work in the Bible.
Published 04/29/22