Tag: pantheism

Sorry, Chase

Gary Pollard

This week’s article is an introductory one, maybe the first of two or three. About a week ago, Chase Hughes (a popular YouTuber) posted a video that already has almost 2,000,000 views (The ancients decoded reality). He makes a lot of good points and is, understandably, skeptical of the mainstream historical narrative. But he makes some leaps that I think need to be addressed, since the topics he covers are becoming more and more accepted. In many ways this is awesome! The mainstream view of history is one of linear progression: primitive people become more advanced over time, and no ancient civilization was truly advanced in any way (despite all of the insanely precise megalithic structures, the math and astronomy encoded in them, and the sheer logistical impossibility of their construction). Anyway, this linear-evolution view of history is full of holes, and most people interested in the mysteries of our past have rejected it. 

What fills the vacuum? If a person’s ability to spit out the bones is tuned properly, there’s some excellent modern material out there: West, Hancock, Seyfzadeh, Velikovsky, de Santillana, de Lubicz, and many other heretics like them. What’s missing from this topic is a balanced Christian viewpoint that isn’t married to the mainstream historical (or even a traditionalist religious) narrative. That vacuum is filled by universalists, pantheists, self-professed pagans, and others who are hostile to Christianity (or who feel that it is just one of many paths to God). Even the eminent Graham Hancock once said on JRE (NP: Joe Rogan Experience), “I have little patience for the mainstream monotheistic religions…so much of the evil in this world came from them.” 

People are tired of a materialistic worldview, of capitalism-gone-wrong, of narrow-minded dogmatism, and, most of all, censoring or classifying the mysterious. There is so much potential here for good! People are searching for existential meaning and genuine truth. We need to produce some open-minded, grounded, honest alternative historians to bring balance to the decidedly-pagan framework dominating the conversation. 

Back to Chase Hughes’ video: his premise is that all ancients made observations about the nature of reality at the most fundamental level. These observations were filtered through the woefully inadequate lens of human language, so symbolism was employed. In the 190+ ancient writings he surveyed (Christian, Buddhist, Taoist, Gnostic, Egyptian, Mayan, Hermetic, Confucian, Sumerian, and Indigenous), he noticed significant overlap in their major themes. This despite them being “thousands of miles apart…with no way to communicate or influence each other…all whispering the same message” (01:35). 

Many of his observations are spot-on! I’ve seen the overlaps and similarities with my own eyes, especially in Egyptian and Sumerian and Jewish literature. The problems, which we will address in greater detail in a future article, come from his conclusions. A .22LR bullet has almost exactly the same base diameter as .223 Remington, but that similarity doesn’t make them compatible in the other’s platform. They’re both excellent varmint rounds. They’re both extremely popular and widely used. They’re both inexpensive. They’re both “.22” rounds — but they aren’t the same thing. Essentially, as we’ll hopefully see in a future article, Mr. Hughes sees the same level of Truth in all world religions because of the many similarities in their observations. Those similarities are absolutely there! His research is valuable for that reason, don’t misread me. But to conclude that one is just as true as another is like saying you can run a .223 Remington in your factory Ruger 10/22. It’s the differences between them that matter, and the same principle is relevant to this discussion. God-willing, we will use the structure and premises of Mr. Hughes’ video to address the topic as a whole and hopefully bring a balanced, Christian perspective to Truth and our pursuit of God. 

Apologia I (Why Origen?)

One of the fastest-growing threats to Christian faith today is deconstructionism. It’s not a tightly organized movement, which makes it hard to confront directly. It’s multifaceted, and some of the questions it raises are valid. I believe our enemy, the devil, has taken advantage of real, unresolved questions within modern Christianity and used them—combined with some Christians’ dismissive or defensive posture— to undermine the faith of millions.

Gary Pollard

Now that we’re several sections into Origen’s On first principles, I want to explain why I’m taking on this project. Why Origen? Why devote time to a writer who isn’t considered “inspired”? Aren’t there enough lost and dying souls as it is? Why focus on something like this? Shouldn’t I be spending my energy elsewhere? And if Origen sometimes says things that seem strange or uncomfortable to modern Christian ears, why publish them at all?

One of the fastest-growing threats to Christian faith today is deconstructionism. It’s not a tightly organized movement, which makes it hard to confront directly. It’s multifaceted, and some of the questions it raises are valid. I believe our enemy, the devil, has taken advantage of real, unresolved questions within modern Christianity and used them—combined with some Christians’ dismissive or defensive posture— to undermine the faith of millions. I won’t go into specific details here, but this movement deserves serious attention.

We’ve inherited a bit of theological and traditional baggage over the centuries—not enough to undermine the legitimacy of our faith, but enough to create some distance between us and the beliefs of first-century Christians. Much of this divergence can be traced to the fourth-century ecumenical councils. These councils took unsettled questions—once considered open for discussion and not barriers to fellowship—and hardened them into dogma. Today there are over 45,000 Christian denominations worldwide. Deconstruction is one of Satan’s most effective weapons in this decade.

I’ve spent the past couple of years “behind the lines” of this movement—reading their writings, listening to their podcasts, joining their forums and servers. Here’s what I’ve noticed:

  • A widespread rejection of materialism and the wealth-driven mindset of previous generations. While not universal, this pattern appears frequently.
  • A growing disdain for shallow, mindless entertainment. Most are searching for deeper meaning, esoteric knowledge, and truth. They seek intellectual stimulation, not dilute copium. Jordan Peterson may have played a key role— his unabridged deep dives into philosophy, psychology, and biblical themes deepen hunger for significance and intellectual engagement. Not a bad thing! But as we’ll see, many (especially our own) are looking for depth, meaning, and truth elsewhere. 
  • This hunger often leads to other similar podcasts, YouTube channels, and alternative history theories. Again, not bad things. These sources rarely align with the mainstream historical or scientific views, but they seem to resonate with reality far better. The problem is that this skepticism extends to religion. Many consider themselves spiritual, so they reject Christianity for universalism, neo-paganism, or other alternatives. The consistent thread is that they don’t trust religious leaders to be honest or unbiased. Many cited the church’s inability—or unwillingness—to address difficult questions as being what drove them away.

The outcome is usually one or more of the following: pantheism, paganism, gnosticism, universalism, agnosticism, Epicureanism, occultism, even nihilism. I know this reads like something from an 80s church pamphlet warning about Led Zeppelin and pinball machines— but this is actually real, and it’s happening by the millions. You can see its symptoms for yourself: search YouTube for “Gnosticism,” “esotericism,” or “alternative history.” Most of the top videos have millions of views. Even obscure channels discussing niche topics may have hundreds of thousands of views. Do some research on the growth of all of the groups listed above. 

So, why am I dragging both of my readers through Origen’s writings? Because millions of people (again, many of our own) are searching for truth—and they don’t trust the modern Christian’s interpretation of ancient texts. Origen was probably the first Christian to organize the church’s teachings into a coherent theological system. He did this before the government-sponsored councils of the fourth century began enforcing orthodoxy. His work offers powerful responses to many of the questions fueling deconstructionism. It also gives us a glimpse of what Christians believed before AD 325—and that’s exactly what many of these seekers are hungry for. 

My goal is simple: to make On first principles accessible to the average truth-seeker or questioner. Origen provides the most complete early summary of Christian theology. He’s not considered canonical by any denomination, and his work may irritate some Christians. That’s why I think these seekers and questioning believers will be willing to read it. If it also encourages the faithful, even better. But I’m doing this primarily for the seekers and questioners, not the saved.

This project is my attempt to patch a breach in the dam and help pull at least some of these wandering souls back toward the light. Many of us have watched friends or loved ones fall victim to this movement. Origen’s work—especially when stripped of later editorial influence—may be one of the most effective tools we have right now.