Alex, I gotta tell you man - I've been a YouTube follower since your high school "Hitchens stan" years (😆), so it just delights me to no end to see you engaging with other folks I've hitched my feed too, like Dan, Kipp, and Bart. Really, man - bravo and cheers. Hit me up for a drink if you're ever in Denver. 🍸🖖
Alex - Can I have your permission to share some of this content on my upcoming vidoes?? I am working on my first season series at DECONSTRUCTING PATRIARCHY and diving into doing intro videos into understanding History as we have been taught - and this video is phenomenal at proving my points. In the first video, I am talking about how there is not consensus within the historian community on how to evaluate data and make sense of it, how it changes over time based on what Bart Ehrman says in his book "Jesus Before the Gospels" about Collective Memory and the need for the past to read a certain way by the present, etc ...hoping to prove to people how history is more of a mirage, shifting and changing with time and as we find out new information. As was done with the Dead Sea Scrolls. Wanting to prove to people as clear as I can that we cannot always trust what we are taught about history -- because of what Wes has done here (which BTW I wonder if it is his own mind gymnastics and cognitive biases that keep him misquoting this stuff, and it is not so much of a blatant attempt...just wondering). I mean this entire episode ALSO proves how easily people are swayed (Joe Rogan) by incomplete or misinformation into believing a certain point. Bringing out the fact that the bible is no different in translation to translation than other ancient manuscripts -- yet Wes used it as a "wow" moment....brilliant on your part. Thanks - let me know!
Alex, your sincere efforts at searching for the truth, which takes a lot of hard work, is everything to me as well as your humility. Thank you for you.
My understanding of the use of the word "miraculous" when scholars discuss the Dead Sea Scrolls is that it was exciting to discover that the book wasn't completely different 1000 years ago. There seems to be a lot of localizing of doctrines and borrowing from local gods and myths in a lot of original sources, therefore to find that there was a singular authoritative text that was faithfully preserved was the exciting promise of the discovery. Before that, the version they had could've been invented to serve the worldly interests of people in power.
Although the essence of the books maintained their authority and fidelity over the years, the textual variants are still problematic if the goal is to prove that "the word" hasn't been manipulated by flawed men on earth. If you remember Bill Clinton's famous perjury defense that earned him the title "The Wizard of Is", small adjustments in the use of language can affect how the word is interpreted and therefore how the law is applied. Because the Bible wasn't just a religious doctrine but also the foundation for the oldest continuously operating system of law, the textual differences could indicate that edits over time were done not as a matter of faith, but on the instructions of power.
Hi Alex, we all know that religion and its critics sell best. But this discussion is futile. Instead of engaging they deserve dead silence. I mean the Bible folks. Dead Sea scrolls are what the name suggests. Dead. Who seriously believes in those legends? You may be earning some money but you are probably wasting your precious time boosting their message in the proces.
Well, then you might wanna check out my work because that’s exactly my mantra. Deconstruct patriarchy by learning to see the past through a patriarchal lens, which then therefore allows us to rewrite the past and the present on into the future. And yes, I would be in complete agreement with you. I just listened to the new evangelicals on YouTube, even though I’m not a Christian anymore. I find them some of the best news I can find, and ask them the same thing can we please focus on what we can do and not get lost in attackingall the negativity
I wholeheartedly disagree. Yesterday, as I listened to one of my podcast series that exposes the MLM industry and hear what all the ANTI-MLMers have done to slow people from joining, and to shift so much in that industry -- I could not help but apply that to the Christian/Religious Right/Christian Nationalist movement. We need brave souls like Alex loudly shouting from the rooftops that history and Biblical history are not what we have been taught...but only a small fraction of what we have been taught that allows so many of us to be continually misled and deceived in this present age. We need more people ot understand what Alex did in this last video specificially: exposing how misinformation gets spewed across the largest podcast out there and people are "wowed" by it. We need this vital work.
I completely agree with the importance of exposing harmful systems and misinformation, but I also believe that negation alone is not enough. While the work Alex is doing is critical and commendable, we also need to focus on building solid alternatives that give people viable options to turn to. Without alternatives, many people may see the flaws in systems like MLMs or Christian Nationalism but feel trapped because they don’t see a better path forward.
Criticism is powerful, but constructing a vision for what could replace these systems is equally vital or even more important . I’d love to see talented individuals like Alex not only shining a light on the problems but also working to design and promote solutions that empower people to make better choices. Education, community-building, and ethical alternatives could make a profound difference. Let’s aim for transformation, not just deconstruction.
I discovered Dan last week after he responded to your video and have been watching a lot of his content and have been thinking the whole time how great it would be to see you guys do a podcast! Looking forward to watching
Alex, I gotta tell you man - I've been a YouTube follower since your high school "Hitchens stan" years (😆), so it just delights me to no end to see you engaging with other folks I've hitched my feed too, like Dan, Kipp, and Bart. Really, man - bravo and cheers. Hit me up for a drink if you're ever in Denver. 🍸🖖
Big fan of Dan. His intellectual honesty matches your vibe. I'd enjoy many more conversations between you two.
Can't wait to watch this one! I've been a fan of data over dogma for a while
Great content, thank you for doing this. I can't wait to watch the second part regarding the New Testament.
Epic, can’t wait for this!
Alex - Can I have your permission to share some of this content on my upcoming vidoes?? I am working on my first season series at DECONSTRUCTING PATRIARCHY and diving into doing intro videos into understanding History as we have been taught - and this video is phenomenal at proving my points. In the first video, I am talking about how there is not consensus within the historian community on how to evaluate data and make sense of it, how it changes over time based on what Bart Ehrman says in his book "Jesus Before the Gospels" about Collective Memory and the need for the past to read a certain way by the present, etc ...hoping to prove to people how history is more of a mirage, shifting and changing with time and as we find out new information. As was done with the Dead Sea Scrolls. Wanting to prove to people as clear as I can that we cannot always trust what we are taught about history -- because of what Wes has done here (which BTW I wonder if it is his own mind gymnastics and cognitive biases that keep him misquoting this stuff, and it is not so much of a blatant attempt...just wondering). I mean this entire episode ALSO proves how easily people are swayed (Joe Rogan) by incomplete or misinformation into believing a certain point. Bringing out the fact that the bible is no different in translation to translation than other ancient manuscripts -- yet Wes used it as a "wow" moment....brilliant on your part. Thanks - let me know!
Alex, your sincere efforts at searching for the truth, which takes a lot of hard work, is everything to me as well as your humility. Thank you for you.
My understanding of the use of the word "miraculous" when scholars discuss the Dead Sea Scrolls is that it was exciting to discover that the book wasn't completely different 1000 years ago. There seems to be a lot of localizing of doctrines and borrowing from local gods and myths in a lot of original sources, therefore to find that there was a singular authoritative text that was faithfully preserved was the exciting promise of the discovery. Before that, the version they had could've been invented to serve the worldly interests of people in power.
Although the essence of the books maintained their authority and fidelity over the years, the textual variants are still problematic if the goal is to prove that "the word" hasn't been manipulated by flawed men on earth. If you remember Bill Clinton's famous perjury defense that earned him the title "The Wizard of Is", small adjustments in the use of language can affect how the word is interpreted and therefore how the law is applied. Because the Bible wasn't just a religious doctrine but also the foundation for the oldest continuously operating system of law, the textual differences could indicate that edits over time were done not as a matter of faith, but on the instructions of power.
Hi Alex, we all know that religion and its critics sell best. But this discussion is futile. Instead of engaging they deserve dead silence. I mean the Bible folks. Dead Sea scrolls are what the name suggests. Dead. Who seriously believes in those legends? You may be earning some money but you are probably wasting your precious time boosting their message in the proces.
Well, then you might wanna check out my work because that’s exactly my mantra. Deconstruct patriarchy by learning to see the past through a patriarchal lens, which then therefore allows us to rewrite the past and the present on into the future. And yes, I would be in complete agreement with you. I just listened to the new evangelicals on YouTube, even though I’m not a Christian anymore. I find them some of the best news I can find, and ask them the same thing can we please focus on what we can do and not get lost in attackingall the negativity
I wholeheartedly disagree. Yesterday, as I listened to one of my podcast series that exposes the MLM industry and hear what all the ANTI-MLMers have done to slow people from joining, and to shift so much in that industry -- I could not help but apply that to the Christian/Religious Right/Christian Nationalist movement. We need brave souls like Alex loudly shouting from the rooftops that history and Biblical history are not what we have been taught...but only a small fraction of what we have been taught that allows so many of us to be continually misled and deceived in this present age. We need more people ot understand what Alex did in this last video specificially: exposing how misinformation gets spewed across the largest podcast out there and people are "wowed" by it. We need this vital work.
I completely agree with the importance of exposing harmful systems and misinformation, but I also believe that negation alone is not enough. While the work Alex is doing is critical and commendable, we also need to focus on building solid alternatives that give people viable options to turn to. Without alternatives, many people may see the flaws in systems like MLMs or Christian Nationalism but feel trapped because they don’t see a better path forward.
Criticism is powerful, but constructing a vision for what could replace these systems is equally vital or even more important . I’d love to see talented individuals like Alex not only shining a light on the problems but also working to design and promote solutions that empower people to make better choices. Education, community-building, and ethical alternatives could make a profound difference. Let’s aim for transformation, not just deconstruction.
I discovered Dan last week after he responded to your video and have been watching a lot of his content and have been thinking the whole time how great it would be to see you guys do a podcast! Looking forward to watching