Was Jesus a Magician?

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Sources:
Heidi Wendt, "At the Temple Gates: The Religion of Freelance Experts in the Early Roman Empire," 2016
David Frankfurter, "Guide to the Study of Ancient Magic," 2019

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

Key takeaway: Jedi are thaumaturges. Also, subscribe to ESOTERICA: kzbin.info/www/bejne/enbadaukYtaki6s

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Wonderful to work together on this collaboration, Andrew! Your channel has been such an inspiration for me and I'm just so thankful for your trailblazing work making religious studies accessible on this platform. Hope to hang out at the AAR/SBL this fall!

[@nathangibbons9492]

Is Genesis 1 a polytheist creation story? As opposed to Genesis 2?

[@TulioG]

It would be interesting to see your opinion on Richard Carrier, he's got some very good points about Jesus not being a real person at all.

[@Benni777]

And Yoda is the Master Thaumaturge!🙏🏼🤭

[@Zevelyon]

@@TheEsotericaChannel Luke Woodham repented. Have you?

[@merrittanimation7721]

"Jesus performs miracles remotely" Jesus's Zoom based miracle service.

[@paulastalas8691]

I also thought of online activities when i heard that. Funny how now remotely has come to mean this more and more.

[@lj2265]

Wouldn't even need Zoom to do it really lol Energy workers do long distance healing by just thinking of the person.

[@MariaMartinez-ti6ko]

it's called the iN-turn-ET~

[@merrittanimation7721]

@A Baker Of course not, I was joking. Obviously a divine being like him uses Skype /s

[@justinwatson1510]

Don’t give ideas to the Prosperity Gospel people. Please.

[@undertheredhood0323]

Actually, Jesus was the first Stand User

[@SobekLOTFC]

💯

[@caelebfox21]

His stand is called Holy Spirit

[@nothereanymore3941]

Lol at people in the replies that are not in on the joke

[@nunyabiznes33]

Jojosus?

[@howarddewing6617]

speen

[@enemyofvirtue]

I cannot emphasize enough how well written this analysis is. Thanks so much for what you provide!

[@onthepath501]

I agree

[@electricearth1101]

This Great video has made me illiterate and now i tell people i dont need to read books because youtube lies are sufficient to put in my garbage brain.

[@conanwills4154]

He spat on the ground and rubbed it on his eyes because it was an ancient Jewish custom to spit on the ground beside blind people to disrespect them. So to hear the spit touch the ground and believe that you'll still be healed requires enormous faith.

[@robertdupree1224]

The fact that you put Harry Potter and Gandalf side by side as modern wizards is actually interesting in itself, because the nature of these two characters and their magic is very different. Harry Potter is a mostly normal human who was born with magical abilities, and is largely free to use them how he wishes. Gandalf, by contrast, is basically an angel taking on human form, sent by the other angels for a specific purpose (to rally Middle Earth against Sauron) and under significant constraints from those who sent him (specifically not to overpower the people he is trying to rally, or to fight power with power- Gandalf is reluctant to use his power directly). Both of these are called “wizards,” but the nature of their magic is very different with significant implications for how they act in the story. I guess this also demonstrates how categories that seem simple are usually fuzzier than they look

[@CatManThree]

I think youre putting too much thought into what was essentially generalized examples

[@caseyhamm4292]

i think it’s kind of like dc vs marvel where dc is heroes being human and marvel is humans being heroes. i also think tolkien’s soft magic system is more bible-like, as it truly does feel like gandalf is performing miracles instead of his magic being just a mechanic within the world like hp

[@Humphriestess33]

You forget Gandalf died and was returned . . .

[@deephouse2695]

Harry has the magic of the heart as well as Gandalf .. both are rebellious fools full of compassion

[@Cat_Woods]

Originally, in the Hobbit, Gandalf was your first kind of wizard. He didn't become an angelic being until Tolkien incorporated his other mythology into the tale.

[@SmartStart24]

Idk but for some reason referring to magicians as “ritual specialists” tickle me. Like my first job out of high school I was a “customer service associate” instead of a “cashier” 😂

[@Demetrius416]

You was a cashier I assume

[@user-realahhnikka]

Supervisor of monetary flow

[@MrArtVein]

Financial Computations Associate

[@pcenero]

Ambulatory Currency Receptacle

[@BoBandits]

I'm late but a 'ritual' is what archaeologists may call an unknown/lost practice. Like 'we don't know why "this" was done a certain way'..

[@FupaDoncic]

“You’re a wizard, Jesus.” -John the Baptist

[@YautjaSpacePirate]

Lol

[@druid139]

"Ah, John; you're off your feckin' head!" -JC

[@jeffgray4075]

💀❤️‍🔥

[@hackman669]

This is no ordinary mortal. This man must be a god!!!✌

[@BodhiPolitic]

@@hackman669 John the Baptist seems not to have become a follower of Jesus. Quite telling. He likely did not accept him as messiah.

[@JohnnyBarbells]

I grew up around the corner from this kid who became a Black Israelite when he grew up. I was raised in the Baptist church and did a lot of Bible study, so he and I used to have long discussions about religion. I'll never forget his take on Jesus based on his learnings. He believed Jesus existed, but that he was a sorcerer. He said there were texts that talked about the lost years of Jesus, and during those lost years he travelled to India where he learned the mystical arts, and the miracles he performed when he reappeared as an adult were the result of his sorcerery. I always found this very interesting. And we had that discussion way back in the 90's. So, of course the title of this video immediately caught my attention, as I have never heard anyone else bring this up...

[@michaelszczys8316]

If that were all true it would make the scripture wrong where the pharisee said that he had a demonic spirit and Jesus called them out and told them they blaspheme the Holy Spirit. Jesus really WOULD have had an evil spirit. If Jesus was just a magician then all of our faith is in vain, there is no hope of salvation, we are all doomed.

[@Skrap_G.A.P]

​@@michaelszczys8316he did let Solomon use a magic ring to summon and control demons. That's a fact.

[@michaelszczys8316]

@@Skrap_G.A.P where is that? I would like to see.

[@ana-zb7ix]

@@michaelszczys8316 The Testament of Solomon.

[@ana-zb7ix]

@@michaelszczys8316a.k.a Seal of Solomon. Give the Jewish Babylonian Talmud a reading too, more specifically Tractate Gittin 68: Demons and the Temple. Very interesting read, mentions the ring.

[@user-qu6my3ob3w]

Jesus: My son, is this your card? Dude: My God how did he know!?

[@lolly9804]

My dad grew up in Fiji. And used to tell stories about people who used to go to church on Sunday, but then go into forest at night to do magic. So of course the way he would tell it, gave me the impression that Fiji was chock full of evil wizards. Though in reality they were most likely just double dipping in religion, like in a lot of colonised lands. Still made my childhood feel very magicial thinking there's Islands full of secretive spell casters.

[@didack1419]

That's a cool anecdote.

[@HesderOleh]

In Europe it was the priests who were involved in magick and necromany and such. They were the educated and literate who kept up those traditions.

[@enzocompanbadillo5365]

I am from the Yucatan Península. I have and acquantaince who is a x'men (pronounced sh-men) a mayan shaman. He is also a very devout catholic who does voluntary work for a local Franciscan monastery and attends mass every sunday. I asked him if the priest has any issue with his "pagan" side and he answered that not only he doesnt but also sometimes recommends him to people in need of "healing". Also, one of his nephews is interested in becoming a priest.

[@JustMeRosh]

I'm born and raised in Fiji and I can surely confirm that double dipping in religion, is in fact a common practice here.

[@lolly9804]

@@JustMeRosh Yeah it's pretty much the same in New Zealand. As you have like the Ratana Church which is a blend of Māori spirituality/beliefs and Christianity. I once went on a forestry program. Where they rolled out an elderly tohunga to warn us all about ghosts in the forest for like two hours. He even said that if you're Christian to say a prayer to your god, if you don't know the right Karakia to say. In the event you run into one.

[@paulastalas8691]

Freelance Ritual Specialist sounds like something you can put on your resume.

[@diegobermudez8102]

Yeah... I suppose it is. *goes and edits resume*

[@labinsky]

you come to the same exact conclusion one of my friends is arguing in her thesis and you cite her thesis advisor, who was also one of my profs in undergrad! stumbling upon this video is so so cool

[@Kai-pn6dn]

thats actually awesome

[@Ragnarok540]

"You are a wizard, Jesus!" - Hagrid, probably.

[@Parmandur]

I mean, the curse tablet sounds slightly more practical than filing a police report.

[@stuartdryer1352]

I think I'm going to make one now.

[@scottygordon3280]

I'm really impressed by this video...I feels like it's much more than just an overview of a topic or question, but is rather a deep dive into the sources with the intention of demonstrating an actual thesis that engages with the literature. In short, it's academic discourse happening on KZbin. As a grad student, I find this very exciting. Keep up the good work!

[@juanausensi499]

@@MagicJesus Celsus also means: high, tall, noble, prominent, and it was a name purposely given to many kids. Some Celsuses: Aulus Cornelius Celsus (c. 25 BC - c. 50 AD), an encyclopedist best known for his medical writings Aulus Marius Celsus, a Roman senator whose career began under Nero Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, commonly known as Celsus (ca. 45 - before ca. 120); Roman senator, consul. Ephesus Publius Juventius Celsus (AD 67- AD 130), a Roman jurist, praetor, governor, consul Tiberius Julius Candidus Marius Celsus, aka Tiberius Julius Candidus; a Roman senator who lived during the Flavian dynasty. Saint Celsus (aka Celestinus or Cellach of Armagh), 1080-1129 AD); archbishop of Armagh Celsus and Marcionilla early Christian martyrs (in the time of Diocletian); Celsus, young son of Marcionilla. Celsus, a martyr; see Nazarius and Celsus: bodies discovered by Saint Ambrose. The most famous is not a proper Celsus, but one who made their own pseudonym referring to Celsus (the first of the list): Paracelsus (above or beyond Celsus) 'Celso' is a masculine proper name in Spanish, derived from Celsus, and i bet other languages have their own descendants of Celsus Celsus as an adjective is the root of the words excel, excellent, excelence I don't know if the anty-christian Celsus existed or not, but you can't dismiss it by the name alone.

[@me_gaming1085]

I really enjoy watching your videos, because they are so well structured and descriptive. Thank you for your work!

[@ana-zb7ix]

Thanks! Thanks to you I’m currently reading the book “Jesus the magician”. Your content is amazing.

[@elfarlaur]

A great video as always. As someone who studies magic and religion in the middle ages, the question of magic vs. miracle is always present, as well as the distinction between what we call magic and what people at the time did. 21:53 also Heidi Wendt was my professor for a class on Roman religion during my undergrad. She's such a great woman!

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

Indeed, every time I encounter a scholar attempting to define magic, I enter their definition into a big spreadsheet. Rest assured...each and every definition is different!

[@BaronEurchild]

Is that a spreadsheet you would be willing to share? If not, I understand. It is basically asking for the CliffsNotes of a large body of work that you have done.

[@didack1419]

@@ReligionForBreakfast What about "the supernatural" in general? Thank you for your work!

[@NakedSageAstrology]

It's simpler than you think, in fact, it is what Thinks You. *RorriMaesu says useaMirroR*

[@kyleflanagan963]

@@ReligionForBreakfast The way I see it, magic is that which comes from a source that could otherwise be mundane, whether that be the magician themselves or some ritual tool that is made of otherwise mundane substance. A person who sees it in a negative light would say it is subverting a mundane thing to do what it is not meant to. A person who sees it in a positive light would say that it is bringing forth a power that is meant to be there but is normally inaccessible for some reason. Miracle, on the other hand, is brought forth by something that is meant to be beyond the power of the physical world. A god, demigod, or otherwise divine being enacts miracles and that is power that they are understood to have in their most natural state. In short, Gods enact miracles because they are by nature supernatural. Wizards conduct magic because it allows a mundane thing to access the supernatural.

[@HelmuthGerka]

Im not religious but i love learning about anything and this was really interesting, never heard someone speaking of religious themes in this way before.

[@EH23831]

Check out Useful Charts - excellent scholarly vids on religion

[@maxmickwilliams]

Dissertation in every video. Incredible work!

[@tghodosko7259]

You know of all the channels on KZbin about religion I really like yours the best, a lot of others seem to have bias, some a lot more than others towards subjects. You have never shown me even a hint of that. I also enjoy Esoterica. Thank you, Keep doing this brother bear, I will keep watching.

[@jacobtesta2765]

ReligionforBreakfast I love your videos! I love how unbiased and objective and critical you are when discussing your research and your work! It’s definitely something that we need to see more people doing!

[@mouldyfart]

It'll be such a plot twist if we learn that he's a raging evangelical all along

[@wesleywyndam-pryce5305]

unbiased would be acknowledging that its all utter nonsense and people like Jesus never existed pretty obviously.

[@chrispy1398]

I wish we'd had more youtube channels like this back when I was a student of history and religious studies! Also, really enjoyed the Star Wars clips, might not be a student anymore, but always a nerd.

[@Kosovar_Chicken]

Jesus is alpha but Star Wars is soy af

[@Orrphoiz]

describing things as 'alpha' and 'soy' is 'soy af', to use fragile masculinity terms.

[@Godshonestruth]

@@Orrphoizagree😂

[@RedHotMessResell]

I came here thinking this video was gonna sound like every Sunday school class and sermon I went to as a kid where they tell you you’re not allowed to even think that God is magic. But you are actually taking apart all the terms and types and giving a very detailed coverage of what and whatnot might be qualified as magic or good magic or black magic. Truly intrigued by this video.

[@cav89-]

I never came across your channel before, surprisingly. The video about the Good Samaritan parable just popped on my feed earlier today and this is the second video of yours I’m watching. The amount of information and knowledge condensed here is impressive, absolutely worth of praise. And you are non-partisan to a fault 😆. Been a while since I last came upon quality content like this! I’ll probably binge through all your videos in the next few days, heh.

[@Strick-IX]

As an undergrad, I took a class called "Magic and Medicine in the Ancient World." At the same time, I was delving into the world of medical anthropology. I was rather intrigued (and intellectually delighted) to find that there was a tremendous amount of overlap. Naturally, my interests in bioarchaeology implied, invariably, a fascination with medicinal traditions through time and space, including (but not limited to) the etiological and ontological elements of illness, disease, and well-being. It is important to remember, however, that similar "magics" are practiced today; likely influenced by preexisting, longstanding ethnomedical traditions. As such, I feel it is especially important to understand, holistically, the contexts in which many of these traditions arose, persist, and continue to evolve.

[@johnbarker256]

You're words are too big and your sentences hurt my brain

[@theMoporter]

People forget that the line between "folk medicine", magic, and allopathic medicine is not set in stone. They change over time. Aggressive scepticism towards "alternative" treatments is misguided and often a cover for dismissing Indigenous medicine. Not to rehash a different video, but the example of "meditation" is pretty instructive - first it was disbelieved and appropriated for aesthetics, but now that it's been stripped of it's Asian cultural context, it's been accepted into allopathic medicines.

[@HesderOleh]

@@theMoporter Evidence based medicine doesn't really care about where an idea originated. There are many drugs where the compound was isolated from a source that was looked into because it was used in traditional herbalism. artemisinin quinine willow ephedra poppy are just a few plants that have drugs made from them that were once used in herbal medicine. Most plants that have medicinal properties also have chemicals in them that cause bad side effects and depending on how they were grown and the specific plant will have wildly different amounts of active ingredients, so it makes sense to figure out what the chemical in the plant that is the active ingredient so you can have fewer side effects and be more sure of the dose you are actually getting. There were variolation ceremonies for smallpox in India, and when a safer method of protection from smallpox arrived - vaccination - sometimes ceremonial practices were observed in some regions so that people wouldn't feel they were losing their traditions when changing to a safer medical procedure. All of the contexts and traditions of any medical practice aren't actually part of what makes anything work, they are just acting as a placebo. If you want to do all that ok, go ahead, but there is no reason to do that from a medical perspective. I sometimes wonder if we should invent a new ceremony for vaccination that appeals to the people who like the aesthetics of the cultures that are antivax, New-Age or Chistian or any other group that is antivax. There is almost nothing that is more similar to homeopathy than vaccination, a tiny tiny amount of a harmful thing is put into your body that boosts your bodies natural immune system is ironically so in line with it. If we dressed it up as a ceremony maybe some people would get a vaccine that wouldn't otherwise.

[@angelnunez8014]

Tidbit... Did you know "Jesus" is suffering from a toothache in the entire bible. If you notice, he is the light and the path... The word and Son of God. An open mouth gets fed!(Light and the way)...Cleansings is close to Godliness(The Son Of God). If you go backwards, you'll see that "God"; a father before Jesus, does not seem to know the importance of washing out the mouth after eating.. but The Child learns to do so. In those days tooth decay and cavities were a great problem..and the solution was worst. So Jesus spoke and all was good... For he had the "Good" word and he was "Pure". Another: did you know ;medically, a person's diet is what makes the difference in us ALL. Calcium and protein usually means your northern and are Anglo-Saxon....high sugar (starch and unrefined sugars) means your closer to the equator... Even down to having Tea or Coffee affects your entire flora/fauna and in turn you are as unique as an ecosystem and require special attention within your ecosystem.. meaning , You Could Be Your Own Medicine!

[@willbass2869]

@Buddy "...these things will be back..." Nope, spirituality has always played second fiddle to materialism. Been that way since Ugh, the cave man, knapped the first handheld chopper from a flint cobble. Humans seek to materially alter the world around them for practical and mundane reasons. Drawing pictures on walls deep in caves was, at best, a sideline activity

[@psychic-moon]

As a Persian familiar with Zoroastrianism, I always thought that Jesus was probably a Magi similar to Zoroaster; that is why the three wise men predicted his birth. Magi in Persia were actually people with knowledge in philosophy and science as well as metaphysic and not sorcerers. Sorcery is forbidden in Zoroastrianism.

[@paracletus3166]

Salam khoobin?

[@strangerinastrangeland6865]

So what’s the definition of sorcery in Zoroastrianism, and the bible for that matter?

[@QTpatootie95]

@@strangerinastrangeland6865look it up bud

[@ShahanshahShahin]

​@@strangerinastrangeland6865 Black magic

[@strangerinastrangeland6865]

@@ShahanshahShahin yeah but actually is sorcery, it’s forbidden in the bible, so there has to be a definition for what it is, and like the commenter said forbidden in Zoroastrianism, Like is it just lying and deceiving and putting on a show to convince people you have power? Or is it a practice that actually has results?

[@SanjayMerchant]

Learning about the contemporary connotations of the word magus kinda makes the whole Simon Magus story read pretty differently. Like, it's not just that he thought he could buy the power of God, but that it's specifically the author wanting to distinguish that what the Apostles (and by implication Jesus himself) were doing was emphatically NOT mageia.

[@KevinWarburton-tv2iy]

Except it was. Moses too fought the Magic of Egyptian Priests with his own Magic granted by God.

[@nicolesawyer-jm6ir]

This is really wonderful. So grateful ! Clear and focused !

[@the_purple_mage]

Jesus had to use material components like most spell casters, but as a Divine Soul sorcerer, he also had access to metamagics that could allow him to cast without components, or perhaps at a range beyond the normal range of the spells, assuming of course he had either the sorcery points available or the spells slots available to convert TO sorcery points.

[@anchorthesun3438]

Or you know , he’s God and decides to use his creation in order to enact his miracles

[@the_purple_mage]

@@anchorthesun3438 /facepalm

[@ethanjacobrosca7833]

Well I would like to see a video from RFB about religion in DnD.

[@enriquepenanieto4398]

Magic isnt real

[@enriquepenanieto4398]

“The Church has no reason to seek out or persecute any witches because their powers do not exist” - St Augustine

[@valritz1489]

There's a bit from Dan Carlin's series on Persia that speaks to this blurred line a lot, where he says the Babylonians are so fascinating because they're meticulously scientific about things like astrology and sorcery, like if one of the tools in the physicist toolbox was a ouija board. Things that today we define as "magic" were, at the time, just The Way The World Worked. You went to someone wise, told them your problem, and they prescribed you an anti-demon talisman, cause you sounded super cursed. Sometimes it was more medicinal, sometimes it was more religious, sometimes it was political science by way of star charts. Magic is just technology that wound up not actually working.

[@RelivingHistory1]

Thanks to the placebo effect, I'm sure it did help in a lot of cases!

[@getahanddown]

Alchemy also advanced science greatly as repeatability, note taking and method analysis were valued.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

They basically went with the old system of writing stuff down. And the same mix of history and mythology also is common in old literature. There wasn't much difference between Gigamesh, who was two thirds god, riding to the edge of the world to find immortality and Paris fighting at Troy for the most beautiful woman on earth or the Imperium Romanum doing a census in the client state of Judea. But not all of these stories have equal amounts of history.

[@EdgarStyles1234]

Because modern science works so well right? Gotta tow the line, the consensus, the cancelling of common sense in lieu of political correctness. Remember, there are 52+ genders, men can become women, IQ is racist, and the COVID vaxx is safe and effective.

[@stephaniecuevas8451]

Love listening to your videos. So informative

[@isaacrenne6031]

Outstanding work. Congratulations!

[@oldmanballs]

Jesus: "Go wash in the pool of Siloam." Blind man: "okay....uhhh can you point me in the right direction?"

[@theflaggedyoutuberii4311]

He could have been just blind in one eye I'm didn't want to or you know have very dim vision.

[@nirazarazara7634]

🤣🤣🤣

[@paulastalas8691]

I would like to make a distinction regarding Gandalf's in-universe characterization. The word wizard is a translation of the elven word istari which are a group of imortal beings sent to help the men against Sauron. So he is more like an angel and not a mere human wizard. Tolkien makes this distinction between good forces who want to heal and protect and malevolent forces who want to opress.

[@j.g.4942]

To add, wizard etymologically just means 'wise one' yet wisdom can cover all knowledge and the use of it

[@MariaMartinez-ti6ko]

is-star-i (?) yes, [I] is [R]eal refer to: pinned post comment section: my post was prior to watching cause: I understand you! lol ✌ in-inter: net!

[@dudeistpreist5721]

Yes if I remember correctly he's a spirit of good who can appear how he wants but prefers that form. Like the other wizards.

[@jorgegonzalez-larramendi5491]

try cs lewis

[@Hollylivengood]

Jeezuz, you know you're quoting fiction to debate fiction.

[@TheWizardArtist]

This is one of your most interesting videos, it's a shame you don't have many videos about magic on your channel, greetings!!

[@cartoonraccoon2078]

They absolutely have videos 'about magic' in that they point out how they are all stories created by people who either didn't understand the world or were actively trying to convince you of something.

[@limitisillusion7]

You are helping me a lot. Much needed, thank you.

[@ryanmunro4438]

Just to comment on the first example of using mud as a means of healing, you would hear the argument from some Christians that it is reflective of a pattern of God to use physical means for spiritual benefit (ex: water used in regeneration in baptism, or bread and wine in the Eucharist). There’s also something to be said for the combination of spit/water from the Pool of Siloam (symbolizing physical and spiritual cleansing) and dirt (calling back to Adam being made from dust) being used to restore a man’s body.

[@suicune2001]

I love archeology and anthropology so this was right up my alley even though I'm not religious. Thanks!

[@cartoonraccoon2078]

Makes sense. My Grandaddy used to fool the masses like a shaman with simple mechanical tricks. I imagine it was much easier to do that in the preindustrial ages.

[@Von_Sky]

Mere fact that now we have more advanced technology does not mean that people are more wise. I don't think it is more difficult to fool people than it was 2000 years ago...

[@allwillberevealed777]

Yeah, I saw that episode of Family Guy. 🤡

[@icarojose6316]

His most complicated trick to perform was the reviving, since he revived and still had some of his wounds and his followers touched his wounds to believe

[@PaPi0141]

Could u image how easy it was to manipulate people then esp if u had a lot of time to think and come up with things. Or how many times these story have been rewritten. Almost impossible to know the real truth of those times.

[@mihakabercic4457]

@blakejamesiam1410 the bible today is if I can remember 99.3% the same as the 2000 year old ones but then again their are words in Hebrew that can't be translated into English properly

[@Emymagdalena]

This was so thorough! I loved it. I felt like I was in class again. I love coming to this channel and always learning something I didn’t know before.

[@dudethatsnotok7334]

I really appreciate how carefully you define terms. Helps to understand the journey of your research, and avoid undue offense. Obviously important for theological discussions. Also, you've got a really nice moustache

[@BernasLL]

I've always wondered this. Thanks!

[@casenstiber9728]

Your research is so thorough and precise please keep up the great work. I’m curious what sorts of sources you use for those subtle contextual clarifications of Koine words. Anything like that would really help kickstart some research I’ve always wanted to do. Either way you got a new sub!

[@fugithegreat]

I love your videos! This is exactly what I want from religious studies, and what I never got back when I was in school and university: scholarly, nuanced, unbiased, contextualized analysis.

[@FollowerOfTheLight2782]

Explain more pls

[@joeymamba2575]

@@FollowerOfTheLight2782 oooo Ooooo Pp O

[@77XTINA]

There is no such thing as unbiased history.

[@giulianodeconti4233]

Excellent work! Ona side Note: Magos and mageia have positive connotation in some contexts. For example Apuleius of Madaura in his apology, frames mageia as the sacred religion of persian priests, making the distinction with goeteia ( in the interes of refuse an accusation of magic), and in some Magical Papyri, like PGM IV the ritual specialist calls himself magician, and the rite magic, framing the concept as a form of mysteric and ancient religious knowledge.

[@skram1000]

Feels like it could have a good and bad connotation or attitude towards the word. Same as it has today in some instances... interesting.

[@Traewing]

I love it, just one correction, the Magi were not Persian, they were very African. The tale of the three wise men being from India and Persia is an Armenian retelling of the story.

[@MADMACHlNE]

​@@Traewing Source? The Gospels don't specifically say that the wise men came from Persia-or even that there were three of them-but it does call them “magi from the East”.

[@oscarquintero2209]

​@@MADMACHlNEand considering the Zoroastrian origin of the term and the Greek trope of eastern miracle-workers it's safe to assumed they were implied to be Persian if anything

[@KG-jx8zt]

I just found ur channel after watching your interview with Alex O'Connor. I am enjoying your videos. I like your unbiased approach so far. You mentioned historical references to Jewish exorcists. There is a reference in Acts about this: Acts 19:13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.

[@onthepath501]

You do great work brother 🙂

[@senecapickers4837]

Love your channel, as well as Esoterica! Yall are among the best content creators! True Academic Scholars!

[@IDreamOfLogic]

As a Greek, I enjoyed the use of greek words and the explanation of their meaning. And, oddly enough, I learned some new things. Thank you for that.

[@IDreamOfLogic]

@Isolated Pixels where did it go? I didn't feel moving...

[@RobespierreThePoof]

I know it is claimed that ancient and modern Greek are remarkably by similar for the number of centuries that have passed. But surely ancient vocabulary and pronunciation are exactly what a modern Greek speaker would expect to find more challenging about the ancient language.

[@RobespierreThePoof]

​@@IDreamOfLogic oh dear. This person doesn't realize modern Greece exists. Actually, you could argue that the modern nation state of Greece is the first time Greece appeared in the world, since anfient Greece was not one political entity but several.

[@joeschmoe24-7]

Is it odd for you to learn ? You must be a genius Share your knowledge

[@IDreamOfLogic]

@@joeschmoe24-7 you are mean for no reason. Does it make you feel good? It was odd that I learned something about the language I speak since birth. I did not expect that, on a channel about religions.

[@nekaylasmith]

I enjoy returning to this ❤

[@richardglady3009]

Thank you for all your hard work in the production of this video. It gives such a great introduction into the subject of “magic” in this time frame and locale. Thanks for the discussion of sources which can be independently viewed. I have watched Esoterica and like the channel. Rhetorically, I have two questions: how did other figures from this time-Simon Mago and Apollonia of Tyana differ from Jesus and did John the Baptist perform “magic” (even if not documented)?

[@tasmarkou5681]

And show me a,magician that can turn off the sun for 3 hours world wide when he was on the cross ,as Amos prophesied I will make the sun go down at noon. And thers are historian that recorded it .

[@2Sor2Fig]

Knowing that this is one of your areas of personal interest, I've been looking forward to more expansion on this topic. Thank-you for opening my eyes to the fact that religion can be analyzed without all the extra fluff and moralizing.

[@NinaR478]

Of course religion can be analyzed lol

[@2Sor2Fig]

@@NinaR478 My point is that very few people can do it from an objective, rational stand-point. Most people that talk about a religion are doing so because they're trying to sell you an idea. Religion for Breakfast does it to provide an accurate summary of what we factually know about them.

[@JakobNoone]

@J Lund A connecting principle , linked to the invisible? Almost imperceptible? Something inexpressible! Science insusceptible, logic so inflexible. But acausally connectible.

[@coryfehr1070]

@@JakobNoone Is that a line from Mary Poppins?

[@JakobNoone]

@@coryfehr1070 'Synchronicity' by The Police. :)

[@EidanArdabor]

Adoro estos vídeos y al canal en general. Gracias por traernos tan interesantes investigaciones.

[@meimei8718]

Thank you for your information. I appreciate that you are giving information in the context of history rather than from a religious perspective loaded with some kind of agenda.

[@musicisajourney]

The second video of yours that I’m watching and I’m loving your topics and presentation. It makes me wish I had taken religious studies in university. By the way, have you ever seen the Rowan Atkinson performance where he reads from the Bible and Jesus is portrayed as a magician? It’s so funny!

[@ericinoregon5726]

Wow! Thank you for posting this. Not only entertaining, you’ve expanded my knowledge of Jesus and given me much to think about.

[@AB-fg4mh]

As for myself, I can say that I grew up with the idea of Jesus as a teacher and grew up around books and teachers in my life. Funny how that builds the relationship with the way we experience life.

[@elsosa7863]

Something I have always thought he might of existed, people witnessed sight if hand tricks were amazed and chinese wispers do the rest and a story is created that has been changed and adapted over hundreds of years by people who could read and write and took advantage of people who could not.

[@dr.kennethnoisewater26]

Very interesting vid. I appreciate it

[@felixcharles9773]

Interesting stuff - I’ve always found it fascinating that sorcery was seen as a real opposition to the early church, especially in Acts with the stories of Simon Magus and Elymas. Do you know if there is any indication that the ‘Holy Spirit’ as conferred in Acts 8:19 was a known power to sorcerers/magicians of that time and place, or could this passage be an indication that early Christian authors wanted to show the superiority of the Holy Spirit/Miracles in Jesus’ name (greater authority or prestige) compared to those of other magicians? Thanks for the great videos!

[@mnm8818]

For those that want real Bible Godly witchcraft read Leviticus 14:48-53 Anti- Mold Potion: You'll need 2 birds, fresh water, a knife, mint, herbs, red string and something to splatter bird blood with.

[@mnm8818]

My 1.25 cent for OP Qs based on lots of stuff- Ancient Israel was always in competition with other gods since Genesis. Eg the light on fire tree branches drenched in water competition. N.T. authors may have modernised it to fit with Greek trends just as OT did with the surrounding cultures. They are just a small nation amongst empire sized ones. culture works from greater to the smaller, not the other way around, as in the Bible. Psychologically, ancient Israel writers possibly over exaggerate and compensate, expressing themselves to a fantasy of escapism and guidance. Which nearly all ancient writers do. Earth was a fantasy world to them. Mystery and wonder. As such so too are their stories.

[@CleverNameTBD]

It's a miracle if it's your religion. It's magic if it's someone else's

[@JaysonT1]

@@CleverNameTBD Right?

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

The jewish mystics / priests seem to have suffered from criticism and inferiority complexes for a long time, compare Moses and Aaron competing with the egyptian priests and magicians or ... i forgot which prophet it was that had the "miracle off" with the wet altar but the scene is pretty unforgettable.

[@Vak_g]

Propably the most interesting video I 've seen recently! This moral dimension of wonders is very helpful when you think about the way people understand reality. Thank you very much for this great video

[@AnglandAlamehnaSwedish]

Great content wish many would watch or be brave enough to watch this

[@baileywright1656]

Great video! I actually had a similar debate a few weeks ago. I loved hearing your well thought out examination - wish I could have pointed the others towards it while we were still discussing it :)

[@jonunciate7018]

There was an interesting pen and paper rpg I played years ago that portrayed Magic as a reality defying effort that could drive the mage insane, especially if others witnessed the magic. However, a particularly pious mage could take a feat that let them perform a finite number of "miracles" allowing them to perform magic without risking their sanity. Other than that, there was very little difference between the two.

[@thedappermagician6905]

Mage: The Awakening

[@MichaelMarko]

Very good point! Truth is to be found in the mundane. The clarity of this is, well, miraculous!

[@glamourweaver]

I’m recalling that the only miracles that Jewish and Greco-Roman critics of early Christianity actually disputed the entire occurrence of were the virgin birth and the resurrection. All those supernatural occurrences attributed to Jesus in between those events were culturally normative for that time and place, the only question was how it was done (see the Beelzebul accusation) not that they happened. If Jesus walked the land performing healings and exorcisms as described in the Gospels the only thing shocking and note worthy about it was him not charging people.

[@Carlos-ln8fd]

Amazing video! Love learning about all of these scholars and their work.

[@sirdryden42]

What I expected: “Did Jesus actually perform miracles or was he a charlatan?” What I got: “What D&D class was he?” (No offense intended, it was informative regardless)

[@shannadaul6438]

A Cleric dude. 😉 With Thaumaturgy, healing touch, remove curse etc. What if his background was charlatan...rather than the usual acolyte?

[@danhtran6401]

If jesus was fake. The blind man would have told everyone. If Jesus didnt walk on water, he wouldn't have 2 billion followers. To think he stays up at night setting up magic tricks for the next day just to die in the end is illogical. Besides, they couldn't bring any charges against him during trial and surely being a charlatan was not one of them....

[@Sharkakaka]

​@@shannadaul6438nah, his background was guild artisan, he was a carpenter after all.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

@@Sharkakaka The guy was multiclassing...

[@leeshiflett1863]

This was great. Really raised a mess of fun to think about.

[@kaleidoscopicvoid]

What was the formatting for quoting other works back then? Like how would Origen have quoted Celsus in his refutation? In reading the original formatting of Origen's text would we stumble a bit knowing when Origen gave his commentary on what Celsus said?

[@cramerfloro5936]

I found the idea that these "magic" objects were produced by religious figures interesting. In Italian folktales, when the role typical of a fairy is played by a male figure, he usually gets called either a "wizard"/"magician" (mago) or a "monk"/"hermit" (monaco/eremita)

[@quickpaint3]

This concept adds so much color to a verse that I always found suspicious: "And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith." - Matthew 13:58

[@IanUnslaved]

Here's a question.... how can a man sin before he is even born?

[@Ebvardh]

Nah 😊

[@BlackKippahActivity]

That question baffles me as well. Religion is so odd to me 😂 But it’s interesting nonetheless.

[@andreamandato5605]

I really like your videos (by far the best I found on the matter). Thanks for the detailed and excellent explanations! :) Greetings from Italy

[@ilirlluka6789]

You are an educational gem, well done sir, keep up the great work.

[@innerspacesurfer]

my 2 favorite youtube channels in the realm of religion have finally joined forces. thanks guys.

[@curiodyssey3867]

What's the other channel?

[@innerspacesurfer]

@@curiodyssey3867 esoterica

[@georgefranklin8513]

Heard this on mssp. Was listening over a speaker. My phone must have heard it and now this video is here.

[@Firmus777]

popping in to say that this is a great channel and to ask how the intro to Hinduism and intro to Islam series are coming along

[@mistermagoo8685]

You’re the best Religion scholar on KZbin. You aren’t Judgement and you sincerely seek the humanity in different religions from around the world. This is not an easy thing to do, but you do this with ease and that’s impressive!

[@loganwakefield6583]

Bro is super smug

[@nachtegaelw5389]

This is such an interesting discussion, thank you for this video! I (a Christian) was recently discussing with a friend (former Christian, current witchcraft/divination practitioner in the Norse neo-pagan stream) about the blurry line between “witchcraft” & religious practice in the Bible. You can find examples curses, ritual objects, & sanctioned forms of divination (Urim & Thumim, casting lots, etc.) in the Bible alongside prohibitions against practicing magic/fortune telling. It’s very interesting! As far as freelance ritual experts…also very interesting! In the book of Acts Paul (& I think Peter) are said to have performed a few healings/miracles in the style of Jesus. All three of them make a big deal of offering their services for free (according to the New Testament), which I guess may have been a difference from other ritual experts who made their livings from their work?

[@thewb8329]

Check out Darren Brown’s channel for a contemporary practitioner.

[@DanielLopez-sh2pp]

What people dont realize is God gambles with humans and their lives as well as their futures. Including forcefully attempting against people for his own reasons. Illusion is a choice but so is freewill.

[@thewb8329]

Most humans still place meaning on random occurrences and create reasons or things to explain the unknown.

[@thewb8329]

The great thing about faith is that anything is true if you believe it.

[@thewb8329]

I have to go home and feed my unicorn now if you’ll excuse me.

[@ClavicleCleric]

Absolutely putting Freelance Ritual Expert on my resume.

[@bluwng]

Your content is good.

[@jd190d]

In my Social Psychology class the teacher was also an amateur magician. In one of the classes he said he was going to do some tricks and some readings, emphasizing that these were all tricks. After some readings two of the people in my class said that they did not want to see this anymore because it was demonic. This is a college class and the teacher made it known these were simply tricks. If some of these people responded that way what would people without the combined knowledge that is our present world have made of someone who managed to learn some simple reading and distraction tricks. I still think one of the best examples of the magic ability of Jesus is in the clip of Family Guy, Jesus magic tricks.

[@semperfi-1918]

Just because someone says its a simple trick doesnt mean it doesnt have demonic familiar spirits behind it or them. Not saying he used them knowingly or unknowingly but demonic forces have been used behind a majority of majic. And secondly Jesus was not Jesus so by name only to it as a magician is negated right there. Secondly... not sure which one but a magician came to purchase and learn the miracles inwhich was denied. Secondly Yeshua aka Jesus never went away from Torah inwhich called magic evil and a sin... so this guys analogy is far from the truth.

[@theodorejenkins6066]

@@semperfi-1918 Lol @ the torah calling magic a sin. Ever heard of the cabbala?

[@semperfi-1918]

@@theodorejenkins6066 cabala is not based on Torah but other writtings. Should do some homework on it. Show me where Torah says its ok to do magic?

[@m.935]

@@theodorejenkins6066 Deuteronomy 18:9-12 "When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you."

[@m.935]

@@theodorejenkins6066 Kabbala appeared in the 12th century, and it is completely heretical to Judaism and Christianity. It belongs to a few sects, and (not suprisingly) popular in Hollywood.

[@NormBoyle]

there were also an ancient examples of turning water into wine, where you had a pottery container with two sections up to the spout, so you could cover one side and pour water, or the other side to provide wine to the VIP.

[@joe18750]

the assassin's pot.

[@mattmathematics3591]

😂

[@hackman669]

So you want to be an assassin! Are you ready for a distant shore. Hey there's no going back...

[@jclive2860]

@@joe18750 too bad the assassins pot originated from China dating back to the Ming dynasty. Nowhere to be found anywhere near where Jesus roamed

[@joe18750]

@@jclive2860 good grief, you've tripped over yourself to make an embarrassingly irrelevant point. read what N Boyle posted. that's what I responded too. no mention of China or Jesus. go back to Tic-Toc. Adults are talking here.

[@dontwanadisplaynameonutube2951]

28:00 The whole left half of my body got chills when you read the exorcism.

[@franktalarico689]

Thank God for educated people on KZbin

[@awogbob]

Was wondering what the tone of this video may be and was bracing myself for cringey over simplification of history and someone trying to cope with their repressed religious trauma. Was pleasently surprised to find an articulate and fair exploration of the sources and history. Thank you!

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

Haha, I get that a lot. The secular study of religion is so rare on YT, that people are surprised when they stumble upon videos from that perspective.

[@realmothchu]

you must be new here lol

[@andybunn5780]

This channel is legit bro

[@DAG_42]

My family and I have been enjoying this channel a lot. Growing up in a religion but never really learning its history is strange and tragic. That's our family though.

[@enriquepenanieto4398]

“religious trauma” is itself a cope

[@luke.friesen]

As someone who grew up in a Pentecostal church, believing in & even witnessing the ritual of exorcism & wonder workings, this research means so much to me. Thank you for helping me understand my own humanity.

[@slxt4k3tamine]

Woah you really witnessed an exorcism?

[@Alice-mv9pj]

Mental health is amazing, isn't it?

[@wesleywyndam-pryce5305]

what witnessed was the traumatizing and probably torture of another person. the world is a worse place because of those toxic delusions.

[@caswavala9624]

@@wesleywyndam-pryce5305 fr

[@flxj1]

​@@wesleywyndam-pryce5305 you need a exorcism session too?

[@anonymoushuman8344]

Is there a related historical and anthropological critique that needs to be done regarding our concepts of 'natural' and 'supernatural'? Are we reading these categories back into antiquity, or did they already exist there?

[@annwood6812]

Good show!

[@MythVisionPodcast]

This was extremely well done! I really enjoyed the depth you went into defining the terms allowing us to try perceiving what the usage would have meant in the 1st and 2nd century CE. Great plug for the wonderful scholar Robyn Faith Walsh.

[@arthurtornabene-zalas3501]

as always always always, a pleasure to watch these videos. my consumption of Religion For Breakfast assuredly must upset the food pyramid, and i can only assume the food pyramid needs to be adjusted. thank you so much for these videos about which i am so ravenously interested. and thank you for being in such a form that i can send to friends of any political persuasion to elucidate points of discussion.

[@user-ow9oe6mq9o]

GOD is not MOCKED 🙏🙌❤️💯🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@hannahberg3251]

Such an interesting and scholarly video! (It frequently reminded me of the fantastic novel, Rav Hisda's Daughter, about a Babylonian Jewish woman who made incantation bowls.)

[@jacquolen1952]

Sir- your well produced and informative presentations are the best on KZbin. You never act as if you had a dog in the fight- only using the discipline of of historical textual criticism to flesh out a well crafted argument. I await your next presentation- Rich

[@MaryamMaqdisi]

So THAT'S why the Tremere's signature discipline is Thaumaturgy lol. In all honesty, amazing video. Extremely interesting and very well researched and written. Thanks.

[@wolfsbanealphas617]

I was not expecting a vampire the masquerade fan

[@kaarlimakela3413]

I don't think you left out any details. Fascinating. 😊 At the end of the story, thinking of the number of magic practitioners and some conmen at the time 😆 my mind always goes back to Monty Python's Life of Brian.

[@tiagofelicio4113]

Really amazing and insightful piece! Tho i can't help but question the interpretation of the Beelzebul accusation, as most Solomonic magic rituals, like the one mentioned in the Josephus account, are based on using the name of God to gain power and control over demonic entities (through seals and incantations mostly i believe) and as such if the accusation does not seem to relate to him being possessed but rather having gained control over Beelzebul.

[@CliffCardi]

Performs magic tricks in 33AD: “Messiah! Praise him!” Performs magic tricks in 17th century: “Witch! Burn him!”

[@wungabunga]

Dude, they crucified him.

[@CliffCardi]

@@wungabunga because they thought he would start an insurrection, not because of magic tricks

[@jonathacirilo5745]

@@CliffCardi it was kinda both. some called him a devil worshiper servant, which is kinda what a witch is, or something like that.

[@CliffCardi]

@@jonathacirilo5745 well Jews hated him because he preformed miracles on the Sabbath

[@jonathacirilo5745]

@@CliffCardi some jews. and yeah, among other things.