#1 - The Ancient Tradition - Ep. 1-10

--- page 1 ---

Episode

#1

-

The

Ancient

Tradition

https://theancienttradition.com/1-the-ancient-tradition/

00:00

Music

00:06

You’re

listening

to

The

Ancient

Tradition.

A

Wonk

Media

Production.

Music

provided

by

Joseph

McDade.

He

is

your

host,

Dr.

Jack

Logan.

00:22

Welcome

to

the

Ancient

Tradition

podcast.

I’m

your

host,

Jack

Logan.

Jack

is

short

for

Jacqueline.

Since

this

is

the

inaugural

edition,

it’s

only

fitting

that

I

start

by

way

of

introduction

with

a

little

bit

of

background,

give

you

some

information

about

what

brought

this

podcast

to

fruition,

and

that

starts

way

back

in

the

mid-90s

when

I

was

thinking

a

lot

about

religion

and

spirituality.

So

I

started

reading

and

I

read

loads

and

loads

of

books.

00:50

And

that

included

things

from

academic

articles

to

scholarly

books.

And

I

even

dove

into

the

sacred

religious

writings

themselves.

And

I

tried

to

read

on

a

whole

array

of

religious

traditions.

And

this

included

the

ancient

Egyptian

religion,

the

Hellenistic

mystery

religions,

early

Christianity.

I

read

about

a

whole

bunch

of

Native

American

folk

religions.

I

just

tried

to

get

the

lay

of

the

religious

landscape.

And

the

more

and

more

I

read,

the

more

I

started

to

notice.

01:19

that

there

were

these

remarkable

similarities

between

these

apparently

different

religious

traditions.

And

this

is,

in

the

modern

world,

this

is

a

lot

how

these

religious

traditions

are

perceived

as

being

vastly

different

from

each

other.

But

as

I

was

reading,

I

was

getting

really

a

much

different

perception

of

the

world’s

religions.

Because

instead

of

being

vastly

different

from

each

other,

I

was

seeing

an

abundance

of

really

remarkable

similarities

and

correspondences

between

them.

--- page 2 ---

01:48

And

this

was

apparent

in

the

symbols

that

they

used,

the

cosmogonies,

which

are

ancient

creation

stories

about

how

the

world

came

to

be.

I

could

see

similarities

in

the

liturgies,

in

the

rituals,

especially

in

the

architecture.

I

mean,

really

just

everywhere.

And

it

was

in

these

books

that

these

similarities

were

being

pointed

out

by

reputable

scholars.

These

were

scholars

that

went

to

pretty

prestigious

universities.

02:16

they

were

the

ones

pointing

out

these

similarities.

And

they

came

from

a

kind

of

a

variety

of

backgrounds.

They

were

in

comparative

religion,

ancient

cosmology,

anthropology,

archeoastronomy,

just

kind

of

an

array.

And

so

these

were

not

wackadoodle

pseudo-scientists.

These

were

legitimate

academic

scholars,

which

just

made

what

they

had

to

say

ring

a

little

more

deeply.

Several

of

them

argued

that

02:44

the

evidence

was

so

abundant

and

profound

and

that

the

threads

between

the

religions

were

so

apparent

that

it

was

really

almost

incontrovertible

that

the

religions

of

today

were

descendants

of

some

common

source,

a

single

religious

tradition

that

originated

in

deep

antiquity.

Let

me

just

give

you

a

feel

for

some

of

what

they

wrote.

One

of

these

scholars

by

the

name

of

Lord

Raglan,

he’s

passed

away

now.

03:11

He

used

to

be

a

fellow

of

the

Royal

Anthropological

Institute

of

Great

Britain

in

Ireland.

And

he

wrote,

and

he’s

talking

here

about

the

similarities

in

religious

customs

that

he

saw.

He

says,

quote,

there

are

some

remarkable

customs

which

are

found

in

every

continent.

The

probability

is

that

these

customs

spread

over

the

world

from

one

center.

And

he

continues,

and

this

time

he’s

talking

about

similarities

that

he

sees

in

religious

rights.

He

says.

03:40

Quote,

these

rites

are

all

found

in

one

form

or

another

in

most

religions,

whether

ancient

or

modern,

savage

or

civilized.

Striking

resemblances,

for

example,

have

been

pointed

out

between

the

rituals

of

Roman

Catholicism,

Buddhism,

and

the

ancient

religion

of

Mexico.

It

seems

absurd

to

suppose

that

these

resemblances,

which

run

through

all

known

forms

of

ritual,

are

the

results

of

instinct

or

of

coincidence.

What

the

facts

suggest

is

that

04:10

--- page 3 ---

whatever

the

ultimate

origin

of

ritual,

all

extant

rituals

are

derived

from

a

single

ritual

system.

You

know,

I

was

reading

stuff

like

this

and

this

was

kind

of

blowing

my

mind

a

little

bit.

They

were

arguing

that

in

deep

antiquity

was

this

original

religion

from

which

all

of

the

religions

of

today

sprung.

Here

is

another

one

of

these

scholars.

His

name

is

René

Gounon

and

he

was

a

French

intellectual.

He

notes

a

lot

of

correspondences

in

04:38

particularly

in

initiation

rites

and

he

wrote

quote,

from

all

of

the

comparisons

brought

forward,

we

can

already

draw

a

conclusion.

When

one

finds

such

concordances

everywhere,

is

this

not

more

than

a

mere

indication

of

the

existence

of

a

pre-mordial

tradition?

Primordial

means

in

the

beginning

or

from

the

start.

He

continues,

there

is

but

one

unique

tradition.

05:06

from

which

every

orthodox

traditional

form

is

derived.

A

little

more

contemporary

scholar

by

the

name

of

Mercea

Eliade,

he

has

passed

away

now

and

I’m

gonna

definitely

talk

about

him

more

in

just

a

minute,

but

he

wrote,

quote,

“‘Continuous

reading

reveals

above

all

the

fundamental

unity

of

religious

phenomena.'”

And

I’ve

definitely

seen

that.

The

more

and

more

I

read,

the

more

and

more

I’m

seeing

it

just

everywhere

because

you

know

what

you’re

seeing

now.

05:33

You’ll

just

glaze

over

it

if

you’re

reading

and

being

like,

I

don’t

know

why

there’s

a

bird

on

a

pole.

But

once

you

realize

that

this

bird

on

this

pole

is

everywhere,

you

start

to

see

it

everywhere.

A

more

contemporary

scholar

than

even

Merced

Eliade,

a

gentleman

by

the

name

of

Marinus

van

der

Sluis.

He’s

probably

younger

than

I

am,

but

he’s

a

scholar

out

of

the

Netherlands.

And

he

did

a

lot

of

his

research

on

cosmological

traditions,

ancient

cosmological

traditions.

06:01

And

he

noticed

that

there

was

just

a

lot

of

consistencies

all

over

the

world

in

these

cosmologies.

He

writes,

quote,

It

emerges

that

practically

all

cultures

sustain

surprisingly

similar

notions

about

the

origin,

the

Constitution

and

the

destiny

of

the

cosmos.

A

single

template

can

be

distilled,

a

story

told

around

the

globe.

So

I’m

reading

books

and

I’m

reading.

06:27

--- page 4 ---

quotes

just

like

that.

And

this

is

entirely

new

to

me.

I

had

no

idea

that

there

was

evidence

and

an

abundance

of

it

that

pointed

to

a

single,

unique

religious

tradition

and

deep

antiquity.

I

had

to

know

more.

So

for

the

past

couple

of

decades,

I’ve

tried

to

make

a

very

serious

study

of

it.

And

it’s

turned

out

to

be

this

unbelievable

ride.

It’s

been

a

great

adventure.

And

even

though

I’m

still

deep

into

the

books,

I’ve

got

a

stack

right

next

to

me

lined

up,

ready

to

be

read.

06:58

This

was

never

an

academic

pursuit

for

me.

It

always

was

and

it

continues

to

be

a

spiritual

one.

You

know,

I

kind

of

thought

about

this

in

terms

of

the

telephone

game.

I

don’t

know

if

you’ve

ever

played

the

telephone

game,

but

if

you

haven’t,

it’s

a

pretty

fun

game.

But

basically

what

happens

is

somebody

starts

with

a

message

and

then

they

relay

that

message

to

the

ear

of

the

person

next

to

them.

And

it’s

passed

down

the

line

from

person

to

person

to

person.

And

as

the

message

is

passed

from

person

to

person,

07:26

the

original

message

gets

skewed

or

altered.

And

sometimes

there’s

a

player

who

just

intentionally

corrupts

the

message

just

for

fun.

But

when

the

game

is

finished,

then

the

last

person

who

received

the

message

recites

it

back

to

the

entire

group.

And

then

it’s

compared

to

the

original

message.

And

the

differences

between

those

messages,

people

usually

laugh

because

it’s

a

pretty,

pretty

funny

change

from

the

original

to

the

last.

So

for

example,

the

original

message

may

have

been

something

like

a

dog

named

Moose.

07:56

ran

loose

through

the

spruce

forest,

chasing

a

goose.

But

after

it’s

been

passed

through

the

group,

it

might

end

up

something

like

a

goose

and

a

moose

chased

a

dog

up

a

spruce.

So

through

the

process

of

passing

the

message

down

from

person

to

person,

elements

of

the

original

message

are

lost

or

altered.

But

other

elements

remain

stubbornly

intact,

and

that’s

where

the

magic

is

there.

08:24

there

seems

to

be

threads

of

the

original

message

that

usually

remain.

So

like

in

the

example

I

just

gave

you,

you’ve

got

a

goose

and

a

moose

and

a

dog

and

a

spruce,

it

kind

of

gets

jumbled

up

a

little

bit,

but

those

features

of

it,

the

goose

and

the

moose

and

the

dog

and

the

spruce

stay

stubbornly

intact.

So

I

wondered

from

a

religious

perspective,

if

I

could

kind

of.

08:47

--- page 5 ---

take

the

telephone

game

and

work

it

in

reverse.

I

could

start

with

the

elements

that

stayed

stubbornly

intact

and

work

kind

of

my

way

backwards.

If

I

could,

then

I

just

might

be

able

to

reconstruct

the

world’s

original

pure

theology.

The

idea

was

that,

you

know,

kind

of

the

farther

back

I

went,

the

closer

I

would

get

to

the

original

doctrines.

And

so

this

was

really

a

search

for

the

untainted

09:17

uncorrupted,

unpolluted

original

religious

doctrine

or

theology

that

had

been

imparted

to

human

beings.

And

so

at

its

core

it

really

was

a

study

as

a

way

to

search

for

truth

or

spiritual

truth.

I

hoped

I’d

learn

by

reconstructing

the

ancient

theology

the

answers

to

a

lot

of

really

important

questions.

And

what’s

interesting

is

that

there

are

loads

and

loads

of

books

out

there

but

there

isn’t

a

single

one

that

I

could

find

that

puts

it

all

together.

09:47

into

one

comprehensive

understanding

of

what

this

ancient

tradition

was

characterized

by.

What

did

it

look

like?

So

that’s

what

I’m

going

to

attempt

to

do

in

this

podcast

is

put

the

pieces

together

and

create

kind

of

more

of

a

comprehensive

view

of

it.

Hopefully

it

will

answer.

Well,

it

will

because

I

already

know

what’s

coming

ahead.

It

will

provide

a

lot

of

answers

for

the

really

important

questions

like

who

is

God?

What

is

God

like?

10:17

What

was

taught

in

this

tradition?

What

was

the

basic

theology?

How

did

they

teach

the

theology

or

impart

it

to

others?

Why

do

human

beings

even

need

religion?

Which

I

think

is

a

great

question.

And

was

that

original

tradition

an

organized

religion?

If

not,

okay,

but

if

it

was,

how

was

it

structured?

How

does

it

explain

the

purpose

of

this

earthly

experience?

10:46

What

happens

after

we

die?

So

there’s

some

really

profound

existential

questions

that

should

be

addressed

by

the

ancient

tradition.

And

I

don’t

wanna

like

give

all

of

it

away,

but

it

will

answer

every

single

one

of

those

questions.

And

what’s

really

neat

is

that

individual

parts

converge

into

this

beautiful

unity

and

kind

of

wholeness

that

you

would

just

not

expect

unless

there

was

something

true

about

it.

So

if

I’m

gonna

take

this

approach

seriously,

I’d

have

to

set

aside

11:16

--- page 6 ---

any

of

the

preconceived

religious

or

spiritual

or

theological

notions

should

just

go

with

where

the

stubbornly

intact

bits

and

elements

led.

And

that’s

not

easy

to

do.

And

I

recognize

it’s

not

an

easy

thing

to

do,

especially

if

one

has

been

raised

in

a

particular

religious

tradition.

But

this

is

going

to

be

the

only

way

that

I’d

be

able

to

attempt

a

reconstruction

of

the

pure

religious

tradition

of

the

ancients,

which

I

refer

to

in

this

podcast

as

the

ancient

tradition.

11:45

And

what

I

didn’t

know

then,

but

I

know

now,

is

that

this

was

gonna

turn

into

just

an

amazing

adventure,

an

adventure

of

a

lifetime.

And

I’m

constantly

surprised.

In

fact,

just

this

morning,

I

read

a

Japanese

myth

that

knocked

my

socks

off

because

of

how

well

it

preserved

in

Japanese

cultural

terms,

key

elements

of

the

ancient

tradition.

And

I’m

constantly

surprised

and

enlightened.

It’s

been

an

amazingly

fun

ride,

meaningful,

very

fulfilling.

12:13

before

my

study,

I’d

never

heard

any

of

this.

And

almost

everyone

I

talked

to

had

never

heard

of

any

of

this

before

too.

I

just

don’t

know

how

this

is,

you

know,

we’re

in

2022,

23.

And

I

thought,

what

if

I

put

it

into

a

podcast

and

shared

with

others

what

I

found?

You

know,

this

would

at

least

force

me

to

organize

my

thoughts

and

put

together

an

outline

of

the

ideas.

And

these

were

things

I’d

been

thinking

about

for

many

years.

I

also

felt

that

this

podcast

might

be

a

worthwhile

12:43

venture

because

I

was

thinking

about

the

world

that

we

live

in

and

man

you

look

outside

and

it

just

feels

like

that

there

is

chaos

and

confusion

in

abundance.

You

know

there’s

no

other

way

to

say

it

but

that

this

is

a

challenging

spiritual

environment

to

live

in.

It

seems

that

for

many

the

world

is

a

spiritual

wilderness.

People

don’t

know

where

to

look

and

they

especially

don’t

know

what

to

believe.

All

they

know

is

that

they

don’t

feel

whole.

13:11

and

they

feel

like

something

is

missing.

So

I

thought

a

podcast

would

be

an

excellent

way

to

share

that

exciting

evidence,

and

for

me,

mind

boggling

evidence

of

this

pure

ancient

religious

tradition,

along

with

its

theological

tenants.

So

those

who

are

searching

can

see

for

themselves.

I

hope

it

might

provide

a

few

answers

for

those

who

are

searching,

or

at

least

point

you

or

them

in

the

right

direction.

--- page 7 ---

13:38

The

ancient

tradition

is

theologically

rich.

It

provides

answers

for

all

of

the

fundamental

existential

questions

a

human

being

could

ask.

Like

I

mentioned

earlier,

this

has

never

been

an

academic

pursuit

for

me.

It’s

always

been

a

spiritual

pursuit.

My

research

has

been

a

search

for

evidence

of

spiritual

truths.

I

believed

that

if

there

was

a

purpose

to

this

earthly

existence,

then

God

at

some

point

would

have

to

have

given

those

spiritual

truths

to

human

beings.

14:07

Or

how

else

would

we

human

beings

have

ever

known

if

there

was

a

God

or

what

was

true

or

not

and

what

the

purpose

of

this

whole

earthly

experience

was.

And

in

the

process

of

reading,

I

came

across

a

remarkable

scholar,

a

gentleman

by

the

name

of

Marcia

Eliade,

who

I

quoted

earlier.

And

I

didn’t

know

it

at

the

time,

but

I

would

later

find

out

that

Eliade,

before

he

passed

away,

he

was

actually

the

chair

of

the

Department

of

History

of

Religions

at

the

University

of

Chicago.

And

I

found

out

that

he

was

14:36

actually

quite

famous

in

many

academic

circles.

He

was

known

as

one

of,

if

not

the

foremost

scholar

of

comparative

religion

in

the

world.

And

after

his

death,

the

University

of

Chicago

established

the

Marcella

Eliade

Chair

in

the

history

of

religions

as

a

way

to

honor

his

many

contributions

to

the

field.

And

he’s

written

a

lot

of

books.

He’s

written

many,

many

books,

all

of

which,

every

single

one

of

them,

in

my

opinion,

are

worth

reading.

And

many

of

them

will

play

a

really

important

role

15:06

in

helping

establish

the

ancient

tradition.

This

podcast

has

a

companion

website

called

theancienttradition.com.

And

if

you

visit

theancienttradition.com

and

you

wanna

learn

more

about

Eliade,

you

can

go

to

the

menu

and

search

under

scholars.

And

there

I

have

a

list

of

all

of

the

noteworthy

scholars

that

I

recommend

reading

for

those

who

are

interested

in

pursuing

more,

and

you’ll

find

Eliade

there.

But

while

I

was

reading

one

of

Eliade’s

books,

15:33

a

book

titled,

Rights

and

Symbols

of

Initiations.

I

came

across

this

amazing

account

of

Aboriginal

peoples

or

Aboriginal

tribes

in

New

South

Wales,

Australia.

So

like

if

you

looked

at

a

map

of

Australia,

and

actually

it’s

on

the

website,

you’ll

see

it

there,

in

the

southeastern

--- page 8 ---

corner,

that’s

referred

to

as

New

South

Wales,

and

above

that

is

Queensland.

And

so

we’re

kind

of

in

that

region

of

Australia.

I’m

reading

this

story

about

them,

and

they

claimed

that-

16:02

The

rituals

that

they

performed

in

their

sacred

ceremonies

were

the

same

rituals

that

had

been

given

to

the

first

ancestors

in

the

beginning.

So

in

these

legends,

they

tell

how

Bayami,

now

Bayami

is

their

creator

god,

and

how

Bayami

after

the

creation

imparts

to

the

first

ancestors

a

religious

tradition.

And

this

is

a

religious

tradition

that’s

characterized

by

initiation

rites.

16:28

Byami,

the

creator

god,

explains

to

the

first

ancestors

that

these

sacred

rituals

were

to

be

performed

only

in

a

sacred

place

on

sacred

ground.

And

this

sacred

ground,

along

with

those

sacred

rituals,

were

known

among

Australian

Aboriginals

as

the

Bora,

B-O-R-A.

A

gentleman

by

the

name

of

Robert

Matthews,

he’s

a

specialist

in

Aboriginal

anthropology.

He

studied

a

lot

of

those

legends,

and

he

wrote

that

the

Bora

ground

itself

16:58

Byami’s

camp.

And

one

of

the

things

I

love

about

all

this

research

is

that

the

same

elements

or

concepts

or

themes

that

we

see

all

over

the

world

are

expressed

in

cultural

or

ethnic

terms.

And

so

Byami,

their

creator

God,

his

first

camp,

they

use

the

word

camp.

We

would

probably

never

use

the

word

camp,

but

since

Aboriginal

peoples

developed

camps

in

many

places,

they’re

referring

to

where

Byami’s

home

is

a

camp.

17:27

So

the

sacred

rituals

were

only

to

be

performed

in

Bayami’s

camp

or

where

Bayami,

the

creator

god,

dwelt,

which

was

a

very

sacred

place.

Today

we

might

refer

to

where

Bayami

dwelt

as

like

a

temple

where

the

god

dwells.

Eliade

wrote,

speaking

of

the

aboriginal

descendants

of

the

first

ancestors,

this

is

what

he

wrote,

quote,

this

is

to

say

that

the

participants

in

the

initiation

ceremony,

17:54

reactualized

the

mythical

period

in

which

the

Bora

was

held

for

the

first

time.

Not

only

does

the

sacred

ground

imitate

the

exemplary

mode,

Bayami’s

first

camp,

but

the

ritual

performed

reiterates

Bayami’s

gestures

and

acts.

During

the

Bora,

the

participants

returned

to

the

mythical

sacred

time

when

Bayami

was

present

on

earth

and

founded

the

mysteries

--- page 9 ---

that

are

now

being

performed.

The

participants

become,

in

some

sort,

contemporaries

of

the

first

18:24

Bora,

the

Bora

that

took

place

in

the

beginning,

in

the

dream

time

to

use

the

Australian

expression.

Wow,

I

found

this

account

really,

truly

amazing

because

here

are

Aboriginal

tribes

in

the

Australian

Outback

claiming

that

the

creator

imparted

a

rich,

pure

religious

tradition

to

human

beings

in

the

beginning.

Now

I

find

so

many

things

really

interesting

about

this

account.

First

is

the

timing.

18:53

So

when

the

ancient

tradition

was

imparted.

And

if

you

look

at

this,

according

to

these

tribes,

the

religious

tradition

was

imparted

in

the

beginning,

right

after

the

creation.

To

me,

this

makes

total

sense

because

if

there

are

absolute

spiritual

truths,

truths

that

we

human

beings

really

need,

truths

that

are

essential

to

whatever

purpose

we’re

here

for,

it

only

makes

sense

that

God

would

want

to

impart

those

truths

to

human

beings

from

the

very

start.

He

wouldn’t

want

to

wait.

19:21

like

thousands

and

thousands

of

years

leaving

millions

of

human

beings

in

the

dark.

So

if

there

are

absolute

spiritual

truths,

wouldn’t

God

want

human

beings

to

know

about

them

from

the

very

beginning?

So

to

me,

this

seemed

perfectly

logical.

But

the

timing

also

implies

something

about

the

truths

themselves,

that

the

truths

imparted

were

very,

very

important,

perhaps

essential.

You’re

not

you’re

just

you’re

nice

once

a

week

Sunday

sermons.

19:49

Timing

of

this

transmission

seems

to

imply

that

there

was

something

very

special

about

what

was

transmitted,

so

much

so

that

it

needed

to

be

given

to

human

beings

from

the

start,

almost

like

without

those

truths,

mankind

would

be

lost,

rudderless,

kind

of

like

adrift.

Second,

I

find

the

location

where

the

religious

tradition

was

imparted

to

be

significant.

Bayami,

the

creator

god,

imparts

the

religious

tradition

in

the

most

sacred

place

on

earth.

20:19

his

camp,

his

home,

the

place

where

he

resided

when

he

dwelt

on

earth

with

mankind

in

the

beginning.

So

this

suggests

that

what

was

imparted

was

of

the

utmost

sacred

nature.

Robert

Matthews,

the

anthropologist

I

just

mentioned

earlier,

points

out

that

the

tribes

went

to

--- page 10 ---

great

lengths

to

try

and

establish

a

sacred

space

in

which

they

could

perform

the

Bora

initiation

rites.

And

the

rites,

20:47

They

just

couldn’t

be

performed

just

anywhere.

They

could

only

be

performed

where

Bayami

dwelt,

which

was

the

holiest

place

on

earth.

And

if

you

go

to

the

ancienttradition.com

and

you

go

to

the

menu

and

you

click

on

evidence,

there

will

be

a

page

for

every

episode

of

this

podcast

where

you

can

look

more

in

depth

at

some

of

the

evidence

that

I

present.

21:11

So

you’ve

got

evidence

and

scroll

down

to

this

episode.

You’ll

actually

see

a

picture

there

of

Australia

and

you’ll

see

where

New

South

Wales

is,

but

you’ll

also

see

a

picture

of

Bayami.

There

is

a

Bayami’s

cave

and

you

can

see

some

of

the

Aboriginal

pictographs

of

Bayami.

And

you

can

also

see

a

picture

of

the

Mogul

Bora

Ring,

which

is

actually

just

north

of

New

South

Wales

in

Queensland.

And

it’s

a

sacred

site

where

the

Bora

from

the

first

time

was

reenacted.

So

you

can

see

an

actual

picture

of

what

a

Bora

looks

like,

where

they

created

that.

21:41

Third,

I

find

how

the

religious

tradition

was

transmitted

super

intriguing.

These

legends

describe

the

religious

tradition

imparted

in

the

beginning

as

a

set

of

rights,

of

initiation

rights,

and

there’s

just

really

no

way

to

get

around

this.

The

account

they

give

is

an

account

of

the

creator

performing

rituals

in

his

sacred

abode

with

the

first

ancestors.

The

creator

himself

22:09

imparts

the

religious

tradition

directly

through

sacred

rights.

And

so

if

God

performed

sacred

rights,

this

also

kind

of

implies

that

God

had

anthropomorphic

features,

which

are

like

a

mouth

by

which

he

could

speak

the

words

of

the

right,

and

arms

and

legs

by

which

he

could

perform

the

rights.

I’m

going

to

save

that

discussion

for

a

future

podcast,

but

it

sure

does

seem

to

imply

that.

The

fourth

thing

that

struck

me

was

22:37

who

transmitted

the

ancient

tradition.

Bayami,

the

creator,

dwelt

on

earth

in

the

beginning

with

the

first

ancestors.

This

is

fascinating.

God

walks

and

talks

with

them.

They

talk

--- page 11 ---

together.

He

even

stays

long

enough

to

build

an

abode

or

a

place

or

a

home

where

he

can

reside

while

he

is

with

them.

And

while

he’s

there,

he

taught

the

first

ancestors

personally,

himself.

23:05

The

first

ancestors

received

the

ancient

religious

tradition

directly

from

God

himself

and

not

from

somebody

else.

They

received

that

ancient

tradition

directly

from

the

source

in

its

pure,

perfect

form.

So

if

you

combine

all

of

these

things

together,

the

timing,

which

was

in

the

very

beginning,

the

location,

which

was

in

Bayami’s

sacred

home,

the

holiest

place

on

earth,

and

the

manner

of

transmission,

23:35

through

sacred

rituals

and

initiation

rites,

and

fourth,

the

officiator

of

the

rite,

God

himself.

Basically

what

the

Australian

Aboriginals

are

claiming

is

that

God

gave

mankind

a

distinct

religious

tradition

in

the

very

beginning,

and

it

was

very

sacred.

23:58

Whenever

I

can,

I

like

to

let

the

ancient

peoples

speak

for

themselves

through

their

ancient

writings

or

texts

and

ancient

myths.

So

we’re

gonna

do

that

here.

We’ll

let

the

Aboriginal

peoples

speak

for

themselves.

This

comes

from

the

Asia

Pacific

Journal

of

Research,

the

full

citation

you

can

see

on

the

website,

but

this

is

what

it

says.

Byami

smiled

and

said,

when

I

show

myself

to

the

little

thing

I

have

created,

I

shall

be

well

content

to

show

myself

in

the

form

of

a

man.

24:26

Bayami

remained

for

a

long

while

on

earth

as

a

man.

He

loved

Taia,

the

world.

He

made

his

home

in

the

mountain,

talking

with

the

animals

and

the

men

and

women

whom

he

created.

There

was

communion

of

spirit

between

them

for

the

period

of

rest

after

the

labors

of

creation

were

a

refreshment

to

the

great

spirit.

Round

his

earthly

home,

the

flowers

bloomed

in

profusion.

The

first

korobori

and

initiation

ceremony

the

world

has

ever

known.

24:54

was

held

at

the

ceremonial

center,

the

place

of

trees,

while

Bayami

was

still

living

on

earth.

Bayami

summoned

the

men

and

addressed

them

as

he

stood

outside

his

whirly,

which

is

an

indigenous

shelter.

He

addressed

them,

it

is

good

for

you

to

enjoy

yourselves.

Now

the

--- page 12 ---

serious

business

must

begin.

The

real

purpose

of

our

meeting

together

in

this

place

is

to

prepare

the

young

men

for

manhood.

First,

you

must

make

a

Bora

ground.

25:22

There’s

so

much

I

love

about

this

account

given

by

the

Aboriginal

peoples

of

Australia.

I

especially

really

like

their

description

of

Bayami’s

home

and

there’s

flowers

blooming

everywhere

in

perfusion.

I

can

just

envision

that.

I

can

see

that

with

my

own

eyes

and

my

imagination.

There’s

also

a

warmth

that’s

kind

of

woven

through

the

whole

account.

This

beautiful

relationship

between

Bayami

and

the

first

ancestors,

especially

the

beginning

where

they

say,

25:50

Byami

smiled.

That’s

the

first

thing

that

they

tell

us

about

Byami

is

that

he’s

smiling

at

them

and

that

he

must

have

enjoyed

being

with

the

first

ancestors

because

he

hangs

out

with

them

for

a

long

time,

walks

with

them

and

talks

with

them,

they

communicate

together.

He

shares

that

time

with

them

and

then

he

teaches

them

these

really

important

sacred

truths.

I

just

love

this

feeling

I

get

from

this

account

of

how

warm

it

is

between

Byami

and

the

first

ancestors.

26:19

This

is

not

the

only

account

we

have

of

a

religious

tradition

being

imparted

in

the

beginning.

There

are

many

accounts

of

it,

and

as

time

permits,

I’ll

add

them

to

the

website

so

you

can

search

them

for

yourself.

But

I

want

to

share

one

more

account.

This

one

comes

from

the

indigenous

Dayak

people

of

southern

Borneo,

and

that’s

in

Indonesia.

Unfortunately,

it’s

not

a

word-for-word

account.

Rather,

it’s

an

anthropologist’s

description

of

the

religious

conceptions

of

the

Dayakian

people.

26:49

Listen

closely,

it

reads,

quote,

The

area

inhabited

by

the

sacred

people

is

the

sacred

land.

It

was

given

to

them

by

the

Godhead.

Man

lives

in

the

sacred

divine

land

of

Mahatala

and

Jatah.

And

I’m

going

to

stop

here

for

a

second.

Mahatala

is

the

creator

God

and

Jatah

is

his

companion.

The

mountains

of

the

sacred

land

reach

up

to

the

upper

world.

The

Godhead

descends

on

them.

27:16

--- page 13 ---

and

on

them

he

meets

men

and

gives

them

his

sacred

gifts.

Man

lives

in

the

sacred

land

in

communion

with

the

supreme

deities.

Mahatala

draws

close

to

him

and

regards

him.

The

world

described

here

is

the

primeval

village,

Batu

Nindan

Tarang.

The

first

human

beings

lived

in

the

primeval

village.

When

this

time

is

spoken

of

or

sung

about

in

the

sacred

legends,

the

songs

say,

quote,

27:46

in

the

beginning

when

our

ancestors

were

still

living,

such

and

such

happened.”

And

in

this

village,

the

sacred

ceremonies

were

first

established.

If

you’re

listening

closely,

you

can

tell

that

there

are

a

lot

of

parallels

between

these

two

accounts.

So

here

you

have

with

the

Diakian

people,

you

have

a

sacred

land,

just

like

you

do

with

the

aboriginal

peoples.

You

have

Mahatala,

the

creator

god,

and

Bayami,

the

creator

god,

and

both

of

them

28:16

We

saw

with

Bayami,

he

lived

in

a

mountain,

lots

of

flowers.

And

here

you

have

Mahatala

at

the

top

of

a

mountain,

and

he

descends

up

and

down

that

mountain

so

he

can

commune

with

the

people

who

are

living

in

the

primeval

village.

And

you

also

have

this

communion

between

them.

They

share

time

together,

the

first

ancestors

and

the

creator

God.

And

during

this

time,

they

impart

important

sacred

ceremonies

or

rituals.

28:43

I

find

the

parallels

between

these

two

accounts

fascinating.

This

Dayakian

account

can

be

found

in

one

of

Mercia

Eliade’s

books

on

sacred

writings.

And

you

can

find

the

full

citation

for

it

on

the

website.

But

Eliade

says

of

this

particular

account,

quote,

“‘Similar

ideas

are

to

be

found

among

innumerable

archaic

and

traditional

societies.

Evidence

of

this

ancient

tradition

that

was

imparted

in

the

beginning

is

found

everywhere

on

the

planet.

It’s

on

every

continent.’

29:12

It’s

among

every

people

and

it’s

in

every

historical

era.

And

that’s

why

I

wanted

to

put

this

together

so

that

I

could

share

it

with

everybody

else,

so

that

you

can

examine

the

evidence

for

yourself.

And

hopefully

more

importantly,

think

about

the

magnificent

spiritual

truths

that

God

imparted

in

the

beginning.

And

that’s

what

this

podcast

is

about.

You

know,

we

live

in

a

really

interesting

world,

one

where

the

very

notion

of

truth

is

questioned.

29:40

--- page 14 ---

You

know,

there

is

even

those

out

there

who

argue

that

we

live

in

a

quote,

post-truth

world

as

if

truth

were

a

fad

or

a

fading

social

construct.

And

I

reject

that.

At

the

core

of

this

podcast

is

a

quest

for

truth,

the

true

tradition,

the

true

doctrine

that

was

given

by

God

in

the

beginning.

I

know

that

podcasters

say

a

lot

of

things

to

hype

up

their

podcast

to

attract

as

many

listeners

as

possible.

30:08

But

I

can

tell

you

that

there’s

really

absolutely

no

way

to

overhype

this

podcast.

It’s

the

real

deal.

If

you

stick

with

this

podcast

because

like

anything

religious,

it

comes

precept

upon

precept

and

the

episodes

are

really

organized

around

that

idea

in

which

we

start

with

the

very

basics

and

we

build

upon

it

so

that

you

get

a

really

comprehensive

view

of

the

ancient

tradition

and

you

study

the

evidence

for

yourself,

contemplate

the

30:36

profound

spiritual

implications

of

what

you

learn,

it

will

blow

your

socks

off.

I

know

it

has

mine

and

it

continues

to

every

day.

Your

deepest

spiritual

questions

will

be

answered

and

not

by

me.

I’m

a

student

myself.

Your

questions

will

be

answered

by

what

you

learn.

We’ll

let

the

evidence

speak

for

itself.

And

I

think

if

you

let

it,

it

can

change

your

life.

I

can

honestly

say.

31:03

because

I

know

what’s

coming

up

in

future

episodes,

that

there’s

not

a

single

podcast

in

the

entire

cyber

universe

that

has

the

potential

to

change

everything

like

this

one

does.

And

I

understand

that

that

sounds

like

oversell,

but

if

what

we

learn

is

true,

if

what

we

learn

really

are

the

truths

transmitted

to

human

beings

in

the

beginning,

then

it

does

change

everything.

And

if

it

changes

everything,

then

it’s

really

not

oversell.

31:33

Although

I

hope

what’s

drawn

you

to

this

podcast

is

a

search

for

truth,

the

truths

imparted

to

human

beings

in

the

beginning.

Undoubtedly,

there

will

be

as

many

reasons

for

why

one

tunes

in

as

there

are

people.

But

regardless

of

what

brought

you

to

this

podcast,

I

can

promise

that

you’ll

learn

something

new

in

every

single

episode,

something

that

you’d

never

known

before.

And

you’ll

learn

all

kinds

of

fascinating

things

about

the

world.

We’ll

travel

through

world

history

to

all

regions

of

the

ancient

world.

32:02

--- page 15 ---

We’ll

visit

the

ancient

Chinese,

Native

American

tribes,

the

ancient

Mayan,

African

tribes,

Polynesian

tribes,

and

many,

many

more,

especially

the

ancient

Egyptians.

You’ll

have

a

much

better

understanding

of

the

Quran,

the

Holy

Bible,

pyramid

texts,

the

Dead

Sea

Scrolls,

the

Popol

Vuh,

and

many

more

of

the

world’s

greatest

religious

texts.

And

you

know,

you’ll

understand

for

the

first

time

the

real

meaning

behind

the

greatest

epic

poems

ever

written,

the

Iliad

and

the

Odyssey,

the

Epic

of

Gilgamesh.

32:32

Jason

and

the

Argonauts.

You’ll

have

a

much

greater

understanding

of

modern

movies

like

the

Immortals

in

the

Marvel

series.

You’ll

find

out

the

true

meaning

behind

many

of

the

world’s

greatest

fairy

tales.

You’ll

learn

why

Rapunzel

has

to

let

down

her

long

hair,

why

princesses

live

in

towers,

why

Jack

climbs

a

beanstalk,

why

birds

talk

to

Cinderella.

I

always

wondered

about

that

one.

You’ll

learn

where

phrases

like

King

of

the

Hill

and

X

marks

the

spot

come

from.

33:00

You’ll

learn

why

Joseph

of

Egypt

wore

a

coat

of

many

colors,

why

the

swastika

was

one

of

the

holiest

and

most

ubiquitous

symbols

of

the

ancient

world.

You’ll

learn

how

chess,

checkers,

and

even

playing

cards

represent

important

cosmological

concepts.

You’ll

understand

the

enthronement

of

King

Charles

III.

You’ll

understand

why

the

Russian

coat

of

arms

is

a

double-headed

eagle,

and

I

could

go

on

and

on.

And

although

you’re

gonna

learn

the

meaning

of

those

curiosities

and…

33:30

and

many

more,

I

hope

what

will

draw

you

back

again

and

again

is

the

rich

theology

inherent

in

the

ancient

tradition,

because

it

holds

the

answers

to

life’s

most

important

questions.

To

finish,

I’ll

recap

the

key

points

we

learned

about

the

ancient

tradition

in

this

episode.

Number

one,

we

learned

that

research

conducted

by

reputable

scholars,

many

working

at

prestigious

universities,

indicated

33:54

that

the

religious

traditions

of

today

are

descendants

of

a

common

source,

a

pure

religious

tradition

that

existed

in

deep

antiquity.

And

we

refer

in

this

podcast

to

this

religious

tradition

as

the

ancient

tradition.

Number

two,

the

ancient

record

affirms,

as

noted

among

the

Aborigines

of

New

South

Wales

and

the

Dayak

people

of

South

Borneo,

that

the

Supreme

Being

himself

in

the

most

sacred

place

on

earth

imparted

a

distinct

religious

tradition

--- page 16 ---

34:23

marked

by

initiation

rituals

to

the

first

ancestors

in

the

beginning.

That

wraps

up

this

episode

of

the

ancient

tradition.

If

you’re

interested

in

learning

more

about

the

evidence

presented

in

this

episode,

visit

theancienttradition.com

and

search

for

this

specific

episode

under

evidence.

You’ll

find

pictures

and

links

and

occasionally

I

even

put

in

a

bonus

section.

34:47

Near

the

bottom

of

the

podcast

page,

there’s

a

button

to

subscribe

to

the

podcast

as

well

as

a

running

countdown

to

our

next

episode.

Next

time

I’ll

tell

you

more

about

my

background

and

we’ll

dive

into

one

of

the

greatest

debates

in

modern

society

and

of

course

give

you

a

taste

for

what’s

to

come.

For

now,

remember

the

words

of

William

Shakespeare,

knowledge

is

the

wing

wherewith

we

fly

to

heaven.

I’m

Jack

Logan

and

I’ll

see

you

on

the

next

edition.

35:16

of

the

ancient

tradition.

35:21

You’ve

been

listening

to

the

Ancient

Tradition.

A

Wonk

Media

Production.

Episode

#2

-

Is

it

Possible

to

Know

God?

https://theancienttradition.com/2-is-it-possible-to-know-god/

00:00

Music

00:09

You’re

listening

to

The

Ancient

Tradition.

A

Wonk

Media

Production.

Music

provided

by

Joseph

McDade.

He

is

your

host,

Dr.

Jack

Logan.

00:24

--- page 17 ---

Welcome

to

the

Ancient

Tradition

podcast.

I’m

your

host,

Jack

Logan.

It’s

great

to

have

you

back

and

welcome

to

all

of

our

new

listeners.

Before

I

jump

into

today’s

episode,

I

wanna

let

our

listeners

know

about

our

website.

This

podcast

has

companion

website,

theancienttradition.com,

where

you

can

learn

more

about

the

evidence

that

I’ll

present

in

today’s

episode.

If

you

go

to

theancienttradition.com,

click

on

evidence,

and

then

in

the

dropdown

menu,

you’ll

see

a

page

that’s

dedicated

to

today’s

episode.

00:52

where

you

can

find

pictures

and

links,

the

ancient

accounts,

and

full

citations

for

everything

discussed

in

this

episode.

Today’s

episode

is

Exorcising

the

Ghosts

of

John

Locke,

David

Hume,

and

Immanuel

Kant.

I

love

the

title.

I

adopted

it

from

a

book

written

by

a

fellow

by

the

name

of

John

Rosner.

You

can

find

that

on

the

website

as

well.

We’ll

get

into

why

it’s

critical

that

the

ghosts

of

these

gentlemen

be

exorcised.

01:18

in

a

podcast

that’s

dedicated

to

reconstructing

the

religious

tradition

that

was

imparted

to

human

beings

in

the

beginning.

So

the

best

way

to

jump

into

this

is

to

begin

by

telling

you

a

little

bit

more

about

my

background.

I’m

coming

at

this

from

a

hybrid

background.

In

terms

of

my

formal

education,

I

have

a

master’s

and

a

PhD

in

the

social

sciences.

01:43

and

I

teach

at

one

of

the

best

universities

in

the

United

States.

And

I’ve

been

teaching

in

higher

education

for

a

couple

of

decades.

So

I’ve

been

thoroughly

trained

in

the

scientific

method,

the

language

of

academia.

But

at

the

same

time,

I

grew

up

in

a

home

full

of

faith

and

love

for

God.

And

I

can’t

even

remember,

I’ve

tried,

but

I

can’t

even

remember

a

time

in

my

life

where

I

didn’t

know

deep

inside

that

I

was.

02:11

connected

to

a

supreme

being

who

loved

me

beyond

my

comprehension

and

Loved

me

perfectly

Now

I

recognize

not

everybody

knows

that

or

feels

that

but

it’s

something

of

which

I’ve

always

had

a

certain

knowledge

So

this

begs

the

question.

How

do

I

know

this?

How

do

I

know

with

such

certainty

that

there

is

a

supreme

being

who

loves

me?

02:39

And

what

we’re

talking

about

here

in

academic

speak

is

called

epistemology,

or

the

study

of

what

can

be

known.

What

is

knowable

and

how

is

it

known?

And

as

you

might

guess,

there’s

--- page 18 ---

a

lot

of

debate

in

academic

circles

and

in

religious

circles

over

what

can

and

can’t

be

known.

And

many

in

the

academic

community

would

argue

that

there’s

just

no

way

that

I

could

know

that

there

is

a

supreme

being

who

loves

me.

03:08

They’d

argue

it

isn’t

knowable.

And

when

I

say

that

to

myself,

and

I

tell

myself

that

it’s

not

something

that

I

could

possibly

know,

I

still

know.

It

doesn’t

go

away.

It’s

always

there.

I

still

know

deep

inside

of

me

that

there’s

a

Supreme

Being

who

loves

me.

It’s

a

knowledge

I

have

that’s

apparently

a

permanent

part

of

my

knowledge

set.

It’s

sort

of

like

knowing

that

the

sun

is

a

blazing

ball

of

gas.

I

can’t…

03:38

unknow

it.

I

just

know.

And

so

why

does

academia

reject

the

knowledge

I

have

of

a

loving

supreme

being?

Well

you

can

blame

that,

you

guessed

it,

on

John

Locke,

David

Hume,

and

Immanuel

Kant,

among

others

like

René

Descartes

and

Francis

Bacon.

These

philosophers

beginning

in

the

17th

and

18th

century

argued

that

reason

and

sensory

knowledge

were

the

best

and

later

the

only

methods

04:07

by

which

one

could

acquire

knowledge

or

know

something

for

sure.

In

other

words,

they

argued

that

the

only

things

that

could

be

knowable

were

things

that

were

acquired

through

reason

and

the

senses.

Everything

outside

of

reason

and

the

senses

could

not

be

known.

What

they

did

was

essentially

convince

the

world

that

nothing

could

be

known

unless

it

was

according

to

the

methods

that

they

deemed

capable

of

producing

knowledge.

And

in

two

short

centuries,

they

convinced

the

world.

04:36

that

all

other

methods

of

acquiring

knowledge

outside

the

methods

they

privileged

were

incapable

of

producing

valid

knowledge.

Their

epistemological

movement

is

known

as

rationalism,

ratio

being

the

Latin

word

for

reason.

And

rationalism

is

alive

and

it’s

thriving

all

over

the

world.

In

fact,

it’s

so

deeply

embedded

in

society

that

we

could

even

refer

to

it

as

a…

05:03

Weltanschwang,

which

is

the

German

word

for

a

profound

philosophical

worldview,

one

that’s

so

comprehensive

it

permeates

and

shapes

a

person’s

entire

conception

of

the

world.

--- page 19 ---

Locke,

Hume

and

Kant’s

rationalist

Weltanschwang

is

so

powerful

that

it’s

socialized

into

every

rising

generation.

We

reinforce

it

every

day

in

the

ivy

towers

and

academic

halls

all

over

the

world.

05:34

And

John

Rochner,

who

I

mentioned

earlier,

he

says,

quote,

schools,

colleges

and

universities

and

nearly

every

major

social

institution

presented

in

the

lives

of

Western

people

have

inculcated

enlightenment

principles,

either

overtly

or

subliminally.

And

for

the

most

part,

they’ve

discouraged

belief.

And

he’s

talking

about

belief

in

God.

All

right,

so

rational

conditioning

is

so

much

a

part

of

our

daily

perception.

06:00

about

what

can

and

can’t

be

known

in

the

world

that

very

few

of

us

ever

question,

whether

rationalism

itself

is

a

valid

view

of

what

can

and

can’t

be

known,

or

whether

rationalism

is

the

only

way

one

can

come

to

know

something.

What’s

extremely

important

to

point

out

here

is

that

the

ancients

had

a

completely

different

view

of

what

could

be

known.

06:24

So

for

5,600

years

of

documented

history

before

these

rationalist

philosophers

arrived

on

the

scene,

the

ancients

were

really

uncompromising

in

their

claim

that

we

can

find

in

the

ancient

records,

mythologies,

liturgies,

and

symbols

that

there

was

a

spiritual

reality

outside

of

this

one,

a

reality

which

could

be

known

to

human

beings.

06:49

the

ancients

hadn’t

been

socialized

into

the

limitations

of

Lockean,

Humean,

Kantian

rationalist

epistemology.

And

so

the

ancients,

if

they

lived

today,

they

would

outright

reject

the

notion

that

knowledge

was

limited

to

these

analytical

or

sensory

functions.

Now,

I

wanna

stop

here

for

just

a

second

and

just

say

like,

I

love

science.

I’m

not,

this

is

not

about…

07:15

Bashing

science

because

I

love

science.

I

love

I

love

learning

about

science

and

teaching

science

I

love

all

the

wonderful

things

that

science

has

taught

me,

especially

in

things

like

astronomy

I

just

I’m

kind

of

a

little

bit

of

an

astronomy

nerd

So

I

really

do

appreciate

science.

The

point

here

is

is

that

science

is

limited

and

Having

taught

the

scientific

method

quite

a

bit

in

my

career.

I

have

a

pretty

healthy

understanding

of

these

limitations

--- page 20 ---

07:43

So

I

wanna

take

a

moment

and

outline

those

limitations.

And

this

is

not

about

throwing

the

baby

out

with

the

bath

water,

as

I

mentioned,

I

love

science

and

all

that

wonderful

knowledge

that

I’ve

gained.

But

it’s

about

challenging

the

unwarranted

dogmatic

position

that

scientists

take,

that

science

is

the

only

method

by

which

something

can

be

known.

In

fact,

the

word

science

itself

is

derived

from

the

Latin

word

08:13

scientia

which

means

knowledge.

And

as

one

scholar

said

it,

quote,

to

define

science

as

knowledge

has

its

own

problems.

It

gives

the

impression

that

science

is

the

totality

of

knowledge

and

the

totality

of

science

is

knowledge.

So

they

use

knowledge

as

the

word

for

science

to

convey

that

they

are

kind

of

one

and

the

same.

And

this

gives

the

impression

that

anything

that

is

not

08:42

it

invalidates

any

knowledge

that

has

not

come

via

the

scientific

method,

which

of

course

is

an

extremely

dogmatic

statement.

What

most

in

academia

won’t

tell

you

is

that

rationalism,

which

led

to

the

scientific

method,

is

itself

a

social

construct.

And

in

many

ways,

rationalism

and

the

scientific

method

are

built

on

less

stable

ground

than

most

people

think.

09:09

And

I

wanna

take

a

moment

here

and

walk

you

through

some

of

those

philosophical,

metaphysical,

evidentiary

and

technological

limitations

of

science.

All

right,

so

number

one,

science

and

the

scientific

method

were

invented

by

philosophers.

Quote,

scientific

method

was

formulated

by

philosophers,

the

preeminent

dealers

in

ideas.

These

philosophers

not.

09:37

scientists

are

responsible

for

the

package

of

ideas

now

called

scientific

method.

Scientific

method

was

not

divinely

given

to

scientists

on

stone

tablets.

And

that’s

taken

from

a

book

called

What’s

Behind

the

Research

and

I’m

going

to

quote

them

a

couple

more

times

as

I

out

like

this

because

they

do

a

really

nice

job

of

articulating

some

of

these

points.

What’s

important

to

point

out

is

that

when

students

are

taught

the

scientific

method,

it’s

usually

taught

as

if

10:05

--- page 21 ---

it

were

given

to

philosophers

and

scientists

on

stone

tablets.

Imagine

the

irony

in

that.

But

students

are

left

with

the

impression

that

the

scientific

method

is

infallible,

that

it’s

the

ultimate

culmination

in

evolutionary

thinking

that

we’ve

arrived

in

some

way

in

our

quest

for

finding

a

method

that

will

lead

us

to

absolute

truth,

that

there’s

no

other

10:31

epistemological

frontiers

left

for

us

to

explore

or

find

because

we’ve

already

found

it.

Very

few

students

leave

with

the

impression

that

what

we

call

science

and

the

scientific

method

is

actually

a

social

construct,

the

product

of

philosophers,

invented

by

philosophers

and

advocated

by

philosophers.

10:55

Thomas

Kuhn

argues

in

the

most

widely

cited

article

in

Social

Science,

The

Structure

of

Scientific

Revolutions,

that

science

is

a

socially

constructed

paradigm

of

knowledge.

It’s

a

subjective

consensus

about

how

truth

is

achieved

and

defined.

Number

two,

the

scientific

method

is

a

theory.

11:19

This

is

from

what’s

behind

the

research,

quote,

science

itself

is

based

on

theories

or

speculations.

The

method

used

to

support

or

disprove

other

theories

is

itself

a

theory

about

how

this

supporting

and

disproving

is

done.

There’s

no

foreordained

or

self-evident

truth

about

how

science

is

to

be

conducted

or

indeed

whether

science

should

be

conducted

at

all.

11:44

So

when

we

understand

this,

that

what

we

call

science

and

the

scientific

method

is

really

just

a

theory

about

what

constitutes

knowledge

and

how

that

knowledge

is

obtained,

we

can

see

that

there

is

the

possibility

that

this

theory

could

be

mis-defining

knowledge

or

it

could

be

too

narrow

or

it

could

be

flat

out

wrong.

It’s

a

theory

after

all,

which

leads

us

to

the

next

limitation.

Number

three.

12:12

Science

itself

is

not

empirically

provable.

Science

can’t

validate

itself.

Quote,

and

this

is

again

from

what’s

behind

the

research,

scientific

method

cannot

itself

be

experimentally

tested.

Scientific

method

has

what

some

philosophers

call

the

bootstrap

problem.

Just

as

those

who

wear

old

fashioned

boots

cannot

raise

themselves

into

the

air

by

pulling

on

the

straps

of

their

boots,

--- page 22 ---

12:40

So

practitioners

of

the

scientific

method

cannot

use

its

method

to

validate

itself.

In

other

words,

you

can’t

use

the

scientific

method

to

validate

whether

the

scientific

method,

which

we

just

established

was

a

theory

of

knowledge,

is

valid

or

not.

There’s

just

no

way

to

test

whether

or

not

this

scientific

theory

of

knowledge

is

really

giving

us

the

correct

understanding

of

what

constitutes

knowledge.

13:05

or

whether

its

methods

actually

lead

to

knowledge.

We’re

left

with

no

way

to

verify

science’s

veracity.

So

what

do

we

do?

What

does

this

mean?

Well,

that

leads

me

to

number

four.

Number

four,

belief

in

science

and

the

scientific

method

requires

faith.

You

heard

that

right.

Since

you

can’t

use

the

scientific

method

to

prove

the

scientific

method

is

a

valid

theory,

13:33

on

how

to

acquire

knowledge

or

how

to

know

something,

it

requires

that

anyone

who

uses

it

have

faith

that

it

does

what

it

claims

to

do

since

there’s

no

way

to

prove

it

does.

In

other

words,

the

scientific

method

is

not

built

on

sturdy

pillars

of

established

validity.

It’s

now

sand,

lots

and

lots

of

sand.

13:58

We

just

have

to

take

the

scientist’s

word

that

it

leads

to

valid

knowledge

and

we

have

to

have

faith

in

the

scientists.

But

see,

the

scientists

didn’t

invent

it,

so

we

really

have

to

have

faith

in

the

philosophers

who

invented

it,

which

means

we

have

to

have

faith

in

Locke,

Hume,

and

Kant.

So

see

how

quickly

we

went

from

the

wide-held

perception

that

science

equals

valid

knowledge,

anything

not

using

the

science

being

invalid,

to

really,

it’s

all

about

faith.

14:27

in

particular

philosophers.

Now,

how

is

that

better

than

faith

in

a

supreme

being

who

is

infinitely

smarter

than

human

beings?

Number

five,

scientific

success

does

not

necessarily

equate

with

validity.

So

now

you’re

probably

thinking

to

yourself,

well,

what

about

all

the

great

things

we

get

from

science,

like

the

iPhones

or

vaccinations,

airplanes,

gene

therapy?

One

scholar

said

it

like

this.

14:56

--- page 23 ---

The

prestige

that

science

enjoys

today

is

no

doubt

attributable

in

large

measure

to

the

striking

successes

in

the

rapidly

expanding

reach

of

its

applications.

What’s

behind

the

research

say

some

people

argue

that