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Before Spirit Was Spiritualistic: Philosophical Materialism from Genesis to Jesus ← This is the title of a series of talks we hosted and published over seven Saturdays, from April 8 to May 20, 2023. What’s the series about? It’s about Jesus and his philosophical predecessors and successors and how they were materialists; that is, they regarded all existence as bodily (corporeal). Negatively stated, they didn’t believe in anything non-physical or immaterial. Not all ancient Israelites were materialists, but it was the view of a significant and influential minority. In fact, materialistic ideas predominate surviving ancient Israelite writings, including (but not limited to) the writings later compiled into the various Jewish and Christian biblical canons.
In the series, we explore how this one foundational idea about the nature of reality manifests in ancient texts commenting on a wide range of subjects from human nature to death, from heaven to the ultimate future, and from cognition to God. You’ll learn that while the belief in a non-physical realm has prevailed in Christianity for centuries, it has by no means been the only view. There have been Christian materialists throughout the centuries – some of whose names you know, just without realizing that they were Christan materialists.
So, you should definitely watch the series! You’ll learn about history, theology, and philosophy, and you’ll learn a lot about ancient texts (from the bible, apocrypha, dead sea scrolls, pseudepigrapha, etc.) and the people behind them. You can either click the titles of the talks below to go directly to each video on YouTube, or you watch the playlist embedded on this page. Also, we recommend subscribing to the Are You Minding What Matters? YouTube Channel and clicking the bell to get notifications when we upload new videos.
Christian Corporealism: Jesus With No Non-Physical Stuff
Material Minds and Mortality: Human Nature and Death in Ancient Israel
Bodies In The Beyond: The Faith with a Physicalist Future
A Palpable Paradise: Scripture Without a Spirit World
God’s Gross Anatomy: Transcending Trinitarianism
Supposed Spiritualisms: What The Bible Really Says About Souls and Spirits
Spiritual But Not Spiritualistic: Matter in Motion with Morals and Meaning
