In this conversation I speak with Dr. Zachary Porcu about his book, Journey to Reality: Sacramental Life in a Secular Age, and the challenge of explaining true Christian thinking to modern people. We discuss how modern assumptions about the world make it difficult to understand ideas like sacraments, participation, and the relationship between the spiritual and material. Dr. Porcu explains why he wrote the book and how reframing basic categories—what we mean by God, religion, and reality—is often necessary before theology can make sense.YouTube version: https://youtu.be/Qd9xENDzfRo Please review the Symbolic World podcast on Spotify or Apple podcasts. Dr. Zac’s website and book: https://zacharyporcu.com/The Roots of Everything podcast (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@TheRootsofEverythingSubstack: https://zacharyporcu.substack.com/ =====NEW COURSE: Plutarch: Symbolism in History with Pavel ShchelinThe problem with history is that you are in it. Plutarch teaches us to read power symbolically—asking "whom does the hero serve?" to predict leadership patterns before they play out.Presenter: Pavel ShchelinDuration: 8 weeks studying the lives of Greeks and Roman Lycurgus, Alcibiades, Lysander, Pompey, Caesar, and Octavian –as living patterns, not dead men.Live classes are on Wednesdays at 4-6pm Eastern Time, starting March 18th through May 6th, 2026.Price: $180 USD, get the early bird discount of 15% off if you register by March 18th. Register now: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/plutarch-symbolism-in-history =====SUMMIT 2026: Join us for the Symbolic World Summit 2026! Speakers include Fr. Josiah Trenham, Mary Harrington, Jonathan Pageau, Dn. Seraphim Rohlin, and others.Date: May 14-16Place: Broadview Heights, OHBuy your tickets now and get $50 off with the early bird sale through March 26th. Don't miss out! Hope to see you there: https://symbolicworldsummit.com/Timestamps:00:00 - Coming up01:03 - Intro music01:29 - Introduction03:54 - Jargon05:46 - Matter and spirituality08:49 - Re-enchantment13:10 - What you see22:09 - The moral and physical laws31:01 - Occult converts36:39 - Supernatural experiences40:54 - What do we do?46:46 - Meditation49:47 - On American religion52:16 - The rational and the esoteric🔓 Become a patron to support us and unlock exclusive monthly symbolism content: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 🎧 Listen to and review The Symbolic World podcast:-Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0gI8bUwPtT3gkduHqNh6M5-Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-symbolic-world/id1386867488 Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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