Heretics by Woven Energy

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls revealed that Jesus and Christianity were much less unique developments than previously thought. In this episode we start to explore these ancient documents and what they can tell us about the origins of both Christianity and Judaism.

A discussion of how ancient elites used the figure of Adam's first wife Lilith as the ancient "Bogey Man" to preserve their position in society, and examples of the same strategy employed by modern media and politicians to the same ends.

We continue our investigation of the Book of Genesis, looking at the ways in which Genesis 2 contradicts Genesis 1 and both modern Christianity and Judaism. We also start talking about the figure of Lilith, in legend Adam's first wife before Eve was created.

This episode is about Song Dynasty arms and armour. This is a slightly shortened version of the episode from which a few of the more controversial topics have been omitted. The full uncensored version can be found inside Patreon.

As a background to our upcoming discussion of late Song Dynasty armour and weapons, in this episode we give a brief overview of a few animal strategies applied on the battlefield at strategic and tactical levels, as well as in individual combat.

In this episode we examine how Kublai and his older brother Mongke built the Mongol Empire to the point where it was ready to do what the Jin Empire hadn't been able to - overthrow the Song Dynasty.

The Book of Genesis disagrees in many ways with both modern Christianity and modern Judaism. It also incorporates many earlier traditions, including those of Mesopotamia, and even China. This is the originally intended first episode of the Heretics Podcast (before we got sidetracked).

Two powerful women, one a christian of the Nestorian Heresy, ran the Mongol Empire in the years before Kublai and his elder brother Mongke became Great Khans.

Ogedei was the least well-known of the three Mongol "superkhans", but actually the one who drove the empire to its greatest scope and extent, the largest land area conquered by anyone, ever. He ushered in a new era of prosperity to the Silk Road and laid the foundation from which Kubilai Khan would later found the Yuan Dynasty in China.

This week we take a short break to talk about Brexit, the meaning of sovereignty, the Miasma, and the state of British and European politics and political systems. The Mongol Empire also gets a mention or two.

From illiterate slave to empire builder on the grandest scale, no one came closer than Genghis Khan to achieving the title given him by the famous islamic historian Ata Malik Juvaini - "World Conqueror".

The Mongols, builders of the largest empire the world has ever seen, came from relatively obscure origins. In this episode we delve into what we know about the people of Genghis Khan prior to his rise to power and world domination.

We examine the life of Yue Fei's best friend, General Han Shizhong, and the circumstances immediately following the death of Yue Fei. We also take a look at the the life of Han's heroic wife, Liang Hongyu, and internal politics of the Jin Empire at that time.

In this episode we examine the work of the Confucian Scholar Zhu Xi, who lived during the time period we have reached in the narrative (during the Song Dynasty). His philosophy did not impact Xing Yi until centuries later, but when it did, the effect was a large one, so this episode sets the scene for other episodes to come.

We return to China in the Song Dynasty, looking through the eyes of artist Zhang Zeduan at the vibrant economy that developed among the common people while their confucian rulers were distracted by external events, and the nascent Industrial Revolution that it gave rise to, which lasted until the early part of the Ming Dynasty.

We continue our brief foray into Mithraism by looking at the role of the Roman emperors, the stars and the tauroctony in the spiritual life of mithraic practitioners. We also address the "Seven Levels" of Mithraism in relation to Shamanism. The episode is introduced with a comparison of passages from the Gospel of Luke with the Infancy Gospel of Thomas.

We take a short break from China to explore Mithraism, a secret society within the Roman Empire, and its close relationship with Christianity.

We come at last to the great general Yue Fei's greatest victories, and ultimate betrayal and death - at the hands of corrupt officials on his own side.

In part 3 of our series on Xing Yi, we look at how the Li movement influenced Yue Fei and other Song generals in formulating effective strategies for use against the Jin, and how they managed to challenge the previously unbeatable dominance of the Jin cavalry. We also discuss the rise to power of chancellor Chin Hui in the regime of Emperor Gaozong.

In this episode the look at the early life of Yue Fei, some of the factors that link him to the Li Movement, the meaning of some of the symbolism surrounding him, and the reasons for the transition between the Northern Song and Southern Song Dynasties.

In this episode we discuss significant events that occur between the end of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Song Dynasty, in particular highlighting issues that form the background to the life of the famous Song Dynasty general, Yue Fei, who has traditionally been attributed as a progenitor of Xing Yi and other martial arts.

In our final look at the Han Dynasty we see the arrival of Buddhism in China, the opening up of the Silk Road, the rise to power of the eunuchs, the invention of paper, and the reasons for the eventual decline of the dynasty.

Mongolian Wrestling is one of the three warrior arts of the Naadam that originated from Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire. In this episode we explore the history, techniques and links with Shamanism of this surprisingly extensive and complex art which has produced both Sumo grand champions and Judo gold medalists.

Was the Han Empire bigger than the Roman Empire? Did Roman legionaries reach China before 0AD? Was the Xin Dynasty of Emperor Wang Mang "more Han than the Han"? Does Confucianism always lead to corruption? What effect did Daoism and Confucianism have on the world's largest empire? These questions and others are examined in this episode.

The Han Dynasty was the making of China, and was contemporary with the Roman Empire, which it equalled in size and power. In this episode we look at the life of its founder, Liu Bang and his vicious wife Empress Lu, as well as the dynasty's most influential emperor, the famous Wu Di.