About

An episode for the Epiphany. I spoke with author, philosopher, and psychotherapist Mark Vernon about his 2019 book: A Secret History of Christianity: Jesus, the Last Inkling, and the Evolution of Consciousness. You may have already listened on Mark's YouTube channel. Great, but also be sure to tune in below for a new introduction. Mark has a PhD in ancient philosophy, with two other degrees in physics and theology. What brought us together was a mutual interest in the evolution of consciousness; Mark, by way of the Oxford Inkling Owen Barfield, and myself by way of the Swiss cultural philosopher and poet Jean Gebser. Mark read my book and I read his. We agreed that we simply needed to have a chat. To my knowledge, Gebser and Barfield never actually talked with one another in life, even though their ideas find many significant convergences; the theme of participation, for instance, plays a prominent role in both of their works. Mark's A Secret History of Christianity is also a history of religion, which is to say the history of consciousness. His documentation of pivotal transformations in the evolution of religion were highly illustrative. (For a direct reading of Barfield I recommend starting with Saving the Appearances: A Study in Idolatry). I mentioned earlier this year in the episode with Dr Becca Tarnas that J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth cosmology also has interesting synergy some of Gebser's ideas, particularly how the consciousness structures unfold (a series of gains and losses as we move further "away" from spiritual origin in time and becoming). We need a general "The Inklings and the Evolution of Consciousness ft. J. Gebser Remix" episode. Roundtable scholarly nerd-out imminent. Mark, Becca, and I are talking about making it happen. Stay tuned. MUSIC: Artist: Billy Mays III / Infinite Third. Album: Channel(s) Tracks: "Vision(s)" for intro/outro, "In(to)" for intermezzo PATREON: Join the Mutations Patreon community here for access to our Discord channel, Zoom salon calls, early podcasts and featured writing content. ARTWORK: Featured art by Archan Nair. Sponsorships: off for this episode --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mutations/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mutations/support