Let's Talk Religion

This episode gives an overview of the so-called "Gnostics", particularly the group that is often otherwise known as the 'Sethians'. Sources/Suggested Reading: Brakke, David (2012). "Gnostics: Myth, Ritual, and Diversity in Early Christianity". Harvard University Press. King, Karen (2003). "What is Gnosticism?". Harvard University Press. Van den Broek, Roelof (2013). "Gnostic Religion in Antiquity"...

A topic hat comes up a lot in the comments. Let's set the record straight. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Finally, we talk about the complex tradition known as Hermeticism and its mysterious namesake Hermes Trismegistus. Sources/Suggested Reading: Copenhaver, Brian P. (Translation & Introduction by) (1992). "Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius in a new English Translation with notes and introduction". Cambridge University Press. Fowden, Garth (1986). "The Egyptian Hermes...

We continue to explore the religions of India by looking at the ancient tradition of Jainism. Sources/Suggested Reading: Dundas, Paul (2002). "The Jains". Routledge. Long, Jeffrey D. (2009). "Jainism: An Introduction". IB Tauris. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Manichaeism is an ancient religion that is relatively unknown. In this episode, I give you everything you need to know as a introduction to this fascinating faith. Sources/Further Reading: Lieu, Samuel N. (1993). "Manichaeism in Mesopotamia and the Roman East: 118 (Religions in the Graeco-Roman World)". Brill. Lieu, Samuel N. (1998). "Manichaeism in Central Asia and China: Collected Studies (Nag H...

One of the main religious traditions in China - Daoism - is the subject of this episode. We go deep into the origins, main writings and later development of the religion, and its connection to other traditions. Sources/Further Reading: Komjathy, Louis (2013). "The Daoist Tradition: An Introduction". Bloomsbury Academic. Lao Tzu (2013). "Tao Te Ching - A New Translation. Translated by William Scott...

This is the second and last part in a series on the Bahá'i Faith. Sources/Further Reading: Smith, Peter (2008). "An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith". Cambridge University Press. Maceoin, Denis (2012). "Making the invisible visible: Introductory books on the Baha'i religion. Routledge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the first episode in a two-part series on The Bahá'i Faith - one of the youngest and fastest growing religions in the world. Sources/Further Reading: Smith, Peter (2008). "An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith". Cambridge University Press. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another episode in my series about religious minorities in the Middle East, this time about the secretive Alawites. Sources: Larson, Göran; Simon Sorgenfrei, Max Stockman (2017). "Religiösa minoriteter från Mellanöstern" (Religious minorities from the Middle East). Myndigheten för stöd till trossamfund. Bar-Asher, Meir M. (2003). Nosayris. In "Encyclopedia Iranica Online". Hosted on Acast. See aca...

Another episode in my series about religious minorities in the middle east. This time we talk about the secretive group known as the "Druze", also known (by themselves) as "al-Muwahhidun". Sources: Larson, Göran; Simon Sorgenfrei, Max Stockman (2017). "Religiösa minoriteter från Mellanöstern" (Religious minorities from the Middle East). Myndigheten för stöd till trossamfund. Bryer, David (1975). "...

In this video in the series on minority religions in the middle east, we explore Yazidism, a fascinating religion that have sometimes been oppressed and persecuted. Sources: Kreyenbroek, Philip G. (1995). "Yezidism: it's background, observances and textual tradition. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Larson, Göran; Simon Sorgenfrei, Max Stockman (2017). "Religiösa minoriteter från Mellanöstern" (Religi...

What is Mandaeism? And Who are the Mandaeans? This religious group from middle east has a long and rich history that connects it to Gnosticism, Early Judaism and John the Baptist. Listen to find out more about this fascinating tradition. Sources: Buckley, Jorunn J. Jacobsen (2002). "The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people". New York: Oxford University Press. Larson, Göran; Simon Sorgenfrei,...

In this episode we explore the complex world of "belief" and present one perspective on the subject, taken primarily from scholar Abby Day's book "Believing in belonging". Sources: Day, Abby (2013). "Believing in Belonging: Belief and Social Identity in The Modern World. Oxford University Press. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is on the scholarly academic side. We discuss the very commonly recurring problems of essentializing, generalizing and the "No True Scotsman Fallacy" in discussions about religion. References: Coleman, Simon (2010). “Recent Developments in the Anthropology of Religion”. I The New Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Religion (red. Bryan S. Turner). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. Marranci...

A quick introduction to the podcast and what "Let's talk Religion" is about. We also explore the difficult question "What is Religion" from a scholarly perspective. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.