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This week Dr. Jacobs tackles the Eastern Orthodox perspectives on hell, divine providence, and human nature at Northern Arizona University. This conversation explores how Eastern patristic theology differs from Western Christianity on topics including original sin, the fall of man, Christ's descent into Hades, and the possibility of universal salvation. Jacobs traces his journey from philosophical opposition to Christianity through his discovery of the Church Fathers, addressing common objections to Christian theology based on moral intuitions and examining whether eternal damnation contradicts God's goodness. We also have a little tag on Mormonism and the Great Apostasy at the end.
All the links:
Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast
Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/
X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPod
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QS
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobs
Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs
00:00:00 Intro
00:02:07 Background on Dr. Jacobs
00:14:56 The standard Western view of hell
00:18:33 The Eastern patristic perspective
00:32:19 God’s providence and goodness
00:40:06 Death & Hades in Eastern thought
00:49:19 Death as both enemy and mercy
00:53:50 Genesis & the fall
01:13:06 Universal salvation & God’s will
01:35:03 Steel-manning nominalism
01:38:53 Christ not knowing the day or hour
01:46:03 Mormonism & the Great Apostasy