Unlimited Opinions - Philosophy, Theology, Linguistics, & More

Join us for our first in-person episode in many months! In this episode, we look at the philosophical ideas of the Church Fathers, the natures of Jesus Christ, the relationship of the Holy Trinity, and the authority of the Church. Focusing on figures like Origen, Cyril of Alexandria, Ambrose, and especially Augustine, we look at the early Church's answers to the false teachings of Arianism, D...

We begin this episode with a guarantee to not go on any rants, which itself prompts a rant! We discuss how Christianity came to be accepted in the Roman Empire, the flawed conversion of Emperor Constantine, the early Liturgy, the first monks, and much more! Centered around figures such as St. Augustine, Julian the Apostate, and St. Simeon Stylites, this is a wide-ranging discussion that covers man...

In this episode, we find out that the Church had it pretty well figured out in the beginning! Join us as we look at the first few centuries of the Catholic Church, looking at the theological battle against the Gnostics, the development of Church hierarchy, the early Liturgy, the first martyrs, and more! As always side tangents abound, and we critique things like the  Snow White remake, compare anc...

In this episode, we mostly just talk about panhandlers! Mixed in with the many rants are discussions of the very beginnings of the Catholic Church. We look at the ties between early Christianity and Judaism, the sacraments practiced by the early Church, the first ecclesial offices, the spread of Christianity, and much more! We also talk about a certain McDonald's in Washington, DC, an unfortu...

A new season and a new book! Join us as we discuss the introduction to James Hitchcock's  History of the Catholic Church  and our plans for Season 6! We break down the importance of the Church's historical character, the issues with the modern historical-critical method of examining the past, and what one's approach should be in analyzing Church history. We also discuss Gnosticism,...

Join us for the very first episode of Unlimited Guests, where we bring on anyone willing to talk to us! For the first time in our over 2-year history as a podcast, we've brought on someone other than just the two of us! For this episode, we talked to Dr. Austin Freeman, the author of the book that we just covered on Season 5: Tolkien Dogmatics: Theology through Mythology with the Maker of Mid...

Season finale! Join us as we discuss the last chapter of Dr. Austin Freeman's fantastic Tolkien Dogmatics: Theology through Mythology with the Maker of Middle-earth . We look at all of J.R.R. Tolkien's thoughts on death and the afterlife. We look at how the the different races of Men and Elves view the concept of death within his works, purgatory as seen through Leaf by Niggle , and what...

In this episode, we talk about Matt Walsh's What Is A Woman? , the early 2000's children's show 3-2-1 Penguins , and a whole lot of other things that tangentially relate to our main topic! We break down exactly how J.R.R. Tolkien presented the Christian life throughout his writings, discussing the everyday practices of grace, mercy, repentance, humility, and prayer; the concept of C...

What's the central point of all of Catholicism? The fact that you're a sinner, of course! Join as we dive into Tolkien's thoughts on the Catholic Church, the Virgin Mary, Protestantism, and the sacraments! As per usual, we also go on many tangents, including on the loss of creative beauty over time, whether or not we believe in relics, and the issue of Mother Teresa!  Follow us on T...

Want to learn how to mess with Calvinists? Need some movie recommendations? We've got both of those things covered in this episode of Unlimited Opinions! Join us as we look at how Tolkien's ideas of Christ and salvation are apparent in his writings. We look at the incarnation as seen through the Wizards; the roles of Christ as seen through Frodo, Gandalf, and Aragorn; the harrowing of He...

In this episode, we accidentally try out a new format in which one of us reads the wrong chapter! Join us as we look at depictions of Satan and other demons in Tolkien's writings, primarily through the lens of Morgoth and Sauron. We discuss how Satan fell, the temptations of the modern world, spiritual warfare, and much more! As always, we go on plenty of tangents, such as talks about letters...

Wow, the modern world really sucks! Join us as we explore this idea and more as we talk about how evil is represented through J.R.R. Tolkien's works. We look at how it can occasionally be good to hate, the three enemies of the soul, temptation, Satan, atheism, and so much more. There are nearly infinite ways to discuss evil as shown through Sauron, Morgoth, Saruman, Wormtongue, Gollum, Lotho...

We mock the Israelites, but we all definitely still worship golden calves to this day! Join us as we discuss how J.R.R. Tolkien portrays the Fall of Adam and Original Sin throughout his writings! We look in-depth at the topics of the Fall of Satan, inherited sin, the corruption of the material world, and much more, all through then lens of humanity's turn away from Eru and towards Sauron and...

In this episode, we find out that we're much more like Jesus than we originally thought, because we are very judgmental! Join us as we discuss the theology of angels as described through J.R.R. Tolkien's Ainur. We look at the spiritual nature of angels, the hierarchy of divine powers, how angels communicate, and much more! We also talk about National Record Store Day, whether or not Jesu...

Death, gender, and society! What do these three major topics have in common? Humanity! In this episode, we break down Tolkien's philosophies on the importance of life and death, how the soul and the body interact, gender differences between men and women, society itself, language, and much more! We also find a way to work in Andrew Tate, Joe Rogan, and as per usual, many other tangents into t...

In this episode, we talk about what is arguably the most interesting of J.R.R. Tolkien's philosophies: Creation! We break down how God created the real world and how this is portrayed in the Ainulindalë, how God's omniscience relates to humanity's free will, and the greatest philosophy of Tolkien: sub-Creation. This one idea points to Tolkien's theory of the purpose of Creation...

Did we accidentally start a cult of Judas Iscariot? Find out as we discuss the role of revelation in J.R.R. Tolkien's writings! We break down the difference between general revelation and special revelation, talk about the examples of divine influence within Middle-earth, and have a long discussion on whether it's possible for an ordinary person to be divinely inspired, and if Tolkien wa...

Jesus must have told the best jokes! All these deep theological insights and more are contained in this episode of Unlimited Opinions! We break down Chapter 1 of Austin Freeman's  Tolkien Dogmatics , discussing whether or not we can really know God, what God is, how Tolkien represents the Trinity in his works, and the names we give to God. We go deep into the forest of Tolkien lore in this ep...

Prolomenagana? Promenalega? Progomanalagomena? However you pronounce that fancy word, it means an introduction to a theological work! In this episode, we begin looking at Dr. Austin Freeman's new book: Tolkien Dogmatics: Theology through Mythology with the Maker of Middle-earth ! We'll be reading this book all throughout Season 5 as we look at J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Hobbit , T...

In this finale to Season 4, we look at what is currently talked about in political thinking. At least, current for 2012, when Alan Ryan's On Politics was published. We discuss why secularization has not taken hold to its projected extent, the threat of nuclear war, and of course, climate change! Join us in a rant-filled finale that covers much of what we have discussed throughout the last 28...

"Don't you know how to make widgets!?!?" This question and many more are answered in this episode of Unlimited Opinions as we look at modern theories of democracy! We discuss the differences between ancient and modern democracy, the Social Democracy of John Dewey, the Realistic Democracy of Joseph Schumpeter, the ridiculous ideas of the Students for a Democratic Society, and much mo...

What is the intellectual basis for totalitarian regimes, and why do so many bad ideas come from France? In this episode, we break down some of the most horrible regimes in history: Soviet Russia, Fascist Italy, and Nazi Germany. We look at how these powers came to be, why they were so awful, and whether or not we should fear similar totalitarianism in the modern day. Are the days of total control...

Utopias! Our favorite things to discuss on this podcast! In this episode, we look at various utopian socialist systems, including Robert Owen's millhouse, Charles Fourier's temperament-based society, Edward Bellamy's  Looking Backward , and more! What is common between all of these utopias? Well, they're all complete failures! We also talk about whether the modern welfare state...

In a time where all colonization is deemed 100% evil and racist, Alan Ryan gives a very nuanced account of imperialism, and that is where our discussion takes us in this episode! We look at the ancient Roman concept of empire, the various justifications that were given for European imperialism in the 16th and 17th centuries, and more modern anti-imperialist thinkers. We cover such people and topic...

Our elected officials should meet in a swamp in the pouring rain while knee-deep in muck to prevent corruption! Maybe that idea needs some work, but among other rants, we discuss theories of mass society in the twentieth century. At what point does politics just become the masses ruled by the elites? Has this process already occurred, and if so, how did it happen? Is there any hope in bringing bac...