The Lord of Spirits Podcast: Storytime with Fr. Stephen

Episode Theme: The Seen and Unseen World in Orthodox Christian Tradition
Date: July 25, 2025
Host: Fr. Stephen De Young (solo episode; Fr. Andrew absent)

Episode Overview

In this unique episode, Fr. Stephen De Young fills in for his co-host by engaging in “storytime” with the Lord of Spirits audience. He reads and comments on two ancient texts of very different character and origin:

1. The Memphite Theology from ancient Egypt – an example of early theological synthesis in a period of newly unified Egypt.
2. A Babylonian comedic dialogue – an ancient, darkly humorous text between a master and his servant that reveals Mesopotamian cultural attitudes toward life, virtue, and meaning.

Fr. Stephen uses these readings to illuminate how ancient civilizations grappled with questions of the divine, unity, and the meaning of life—and how these methods differ from both modern and Christian approaches to theology.

Section 1: The Memphite Theology (00:00–59:10)

Introduction to the Text (00:01–07:00)

• The Memphite Theology is a crucial text in understanding Egyptian religious belief at the formative stage of national unification.
• The version we have was carved on stone in Memphis around 710 BC by royal order, but the text itself is much older, dating back to the Old Kingdom, over 1,000 years earlier.
• The restoration reflects the Pharaoh’s intent to preserve a particular text deemed central to Egyptian religious and political unity.

Notable Quote:
“Self, I thought, what could I possibly do to slake the insatiable thirst of our listeners for content?”
— Fr. Stephen, (00:02)

Historical & Political Context (00:07–13:00)

• Upper Egypt (south, “upstream”) and Lower Egypt (north, “downstream”) are unified under one Pharaoh in Memphis.
• The need arises to integrate divergent local gods, traditions, and practices into one cohesive religious-political system.
• The text accomplishes this by projecting the earthly political reality into the heavens: “Things happening among the gods... paralleled by this socio political transformation that is happening on earth within Egyptian society.” (00:10)

Content & Analysis of the Memphite Theology

The Peace of the Gods & Unification (00:14–21:00)

• Geb (the remote “Most High God”) calls together the gods to broker peace between Horus (patron of Lower Egypt) and Seth (patron of Upper Egypt).
• The mythological settlement justifies current division and later unification: Horus and Seth receive their respective regions.
• The political order is thus given a mythic foundation.

Notable Quote:
“Once the two are joined together into this new political reality... Well, clearly, Horus and Set must have made up, right?”
— Fr. Stephen (00:19)

Osiris and the Narrative of Integration (00:21–30:00)

• The story fast-forwards to incorporate the Osiris myth (death and resurrection), further uniting the political-religious order.
• Important narrative techniques: assuming an audience familiar with details, abbreviating the myth for polemical and integrative purposes.

Notable Quote:
“This story, this central story unites everything. So really, were we really all that disunited ever?”
— Fr. Stephen (00:28)

Rise of Ptah as Unity Deity (00:30–41:00)

• The cult of Ptah (a god associated with craftsmanship, creation, and magic, particularly in the South/Upper Egypt) is elevated over Seth.
• The text reconfigures Ptah as the source and “heart and tongue” of all other gods—even the creator and shaper of their forms.
• Includes theological sleight-of-hand: merging the gods’ creation/mythic functions with the supremacy and universality of Ptah.

Notable Quote:
“Ptah is here being put forward as this summation not just of Horus and Seth now, but sort of all the gods, the worship of all the gods of all these diverse places...”
— Fr. Stephen (00:35)

Theological Argument & Idolatry (00:41–50:00)

• The text employs myth, analogy, and argument (e.g., Ptah as “heart and tongue”) to assert theological supremacy.
• Explains the making of idols: “He made their bodies” (idols), which is justified by Ptah as the earth/giver of all material.
• This is positioned as a new norm for Egyptian religious observance, reflecting the new political reality.

Notable Quote:
“This is an argument being made. It’s not presenting things that were already believed. It’s being imposed.”
— Fr. Stephen (00:47)

Socio-Religious Outcomes (00:50–59:10)

• The text concludes by reasserting the unity of Egypt under the cult of Ptah, symbolized through mythic retelling.
• Fr. Stephen emphasizes how these techniques—retelling and reframing stories for polemical and unifying ends—are echoed in the Old Testament’s use of familiar ancient stories for new theological purposes.

Notable Quote:
“They did theology by taking these familiar stories... and reframing them... to teach certain things, a polemic intent, often to say, well, no, these other folks have it wrong...”
— Fr. Stephen (00:56)

Section 2: The Babylonian Dark Comedy (59:10–End)

Introduction: A Change of Tone (59:10–01:02:00)

• Fr. Stephen introduces an ancient Babylonian comedic dialogue, describing it as an example of “very dark comedy” and a window into the pessimistic worldview of Mesopotamian civilization.
• Warns the audience: “I mean it's funny. Like the genre of this Babylonian text is dark comedy, very dark comedy.” (01:01:30)

The Text: Dialogue of Master and Servant (01:02:00–01:09:00)

Structure & Dynamics

• The format is a back-and-forth between a master and his servant. The master proposes an action; the servant eagerly agrees; the master renounces it, and the servant just as eagerly encourages the opposite.
• Actions range from traveling, dining, making a household, doing dishonest acts, falling in love, sacrificing to the gods, making loans, and even doing good for the country.

Highlights & Memorable Moments

• On eating:
  “Dine, master, dine. Regular dining expands the inner self. He who eats well is his own God. Shamash goes with him whose hands are washed.”
  (Servant, c. 01:03:00)

• On honesty and dishonesty:
  “Do it, master, do it. Unless you do something dishonest, what will you have to wear?”
  (Servant, c. 01:06:00)
  “Do not do it, master. Do not do it. The man who does something dishonest is executed or skinned alive, or blinded or apprehended or jailed.”
  (Servant, c. 01:06:20)

• On good deeds:
  “The man who does a good deed for his country, his good deed rests in Marduk's basket.”
  (Servant, c. 01:08:30)
  “Go up on the ancient ruin heaps and walk around. Look at the skulls of the lowly and great. Which was the doer of evil and which was the doer of good deeds?”
  (Servant, c. 01:08:45)

• The punchline and ending:
  After cycling through all possible actions and their negations, the master proposes, “To break my neck and your neck and throw us in the river is good.” The servant refuses—breaking the comedic cycle.
  (Master & Servant, c. 01:09:30)

Fr. Stephen’s Commentary & Takeaway (01:09:00–End)

• The genre is yes-man satire, skewering the master surrounded by those who affirm whatever he wishes.
• The conclusion is bleak, reflecting Mesopotamian resignation: nothing ultimately matters, and a life surrounded solely by affirmation can end in nihilism.
• Fr. Stephen relates this ancient insight to modern times:
  “In order to have things make a difference, there has to be good and bad, right and wrong, better and worse. And that means someone might have to point out that what you think is right might be wrong in some situations.” (01:11:00)

Key Takeaways

• Ancient Theology as Story Reframing: Both in Egypt and in the Old Testament, theology was constructed by retelling and reframing familiar stories for new community or polemical purposes.
• Political Power and Religion: In the Memphite Theology, religious argumentation is inseparable from political realities—myth is shaped to justify new orders.
• Nihilism in Ancient Comedy: The Babylonian text reveals an ancient weariness, a “nothing matters” that arises when everything is affirmed and nothing is challenged.
• Relevance to Today: The episode subtly invites reflection on our own cultural temptations—be it in the search for affirmation or the eagerness to reframe old stories for contemporary relevance.

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• “What could I possibly do to slake the insatiable thirst of our listeners for content?” — Fr. Stephen, 00:02
• “Things happening among the gods... paralleled by this socio political transformation that is happening on earth within Egyptian society.” — 00:10
• “Once the two are joined together... Well, clearly, Horus and Set must have made up, right?” — 00:19
• “This story... unites everything. So really, were we really all that disunited ever?” — 00:28
• “Ptah is here being put forward as this summation not just of Horus and Seth now, but sort of all the gods...” — 00:35
• “They did theology by taking these familiar stories... and reframing them... to teach certain things, a polemic intent...” — 00:56
• “Go up on the ancient ruin heaps and walk around. Look at the skulls of the lowly and great. Which was the doer of evil and which was the doer of good deeds?” — Servant, 01:08:45

Final Thought

Fr. Stephen’s “Storytime” episode demonstrates how stories—sacred and comedic alike—reveal the heart of civilizations and how both ancient and modern people use narrative to make sense (or nonsense) of life’s deepest realities. His commentary invites listeners to discern differences in ancient and Christian theological method, to beware of being surrounded by uncritical agreement, and to consider how narrative still shapes our understanding of the seen and the unseen world.