Mythic Mission

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Cover of Book

Endorsements and Back Cover

Book Review by Dr. Brad Birzer at the Imaginative Conservative: https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2021/08/good-news-return-king-michael-jahosky-bradley-birzer.html

Book Review by Dr. Louis Markos at Reformation21: https://www.reformation21.org/blog/the-good-news-of-the-return-of-the-king

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S3 E1 Mythic Mission: "The Heart of the Wise is in the House of Mourning": An Interview with Pastor Mark Vroegop – Mythic Mission

This episode is dedicated in loving memory to my Dad, David George Jahosky, Sr. I miss and love you so much. — Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/michael-t-jahosky/support

1. S3 E1 Mythic Mission: "The Heart of the Wise is in the House of Mourning": An Interview with Pastor Mark Vroegop 56:32
2. S2 E 14 Mythic Mission: Titan Strong AMA #2 01:07:58
3. S2 E13 of Mythic Mission: "Things Don't Get Easier, But You Keep Getting Better": An Interview with Coach PJ Shirdan 01:09:42
4. S2 E12 of Mythic Mission: Titan Strong AMA #1 02:07:29
5. S2 E11: "The Sweet Science of 'Philoxophy'" with Dr. Gordon Marino 01:01:25

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About Me

Welcome!

Hello and thank you for visiting my website! My name is Michael Jahosky, and I am a Humanities professor at St. Petersburg College in Florida, as well as an author and podcaster. I have a Masters degree in Humanities and 2 Bachelor degrees (one in History and the other in Classical Humanities). I have also created, led, and taught 2 study abroad programs to Israel for St. Petersburg College in 2014 and 2016 and now am co-leading a 2023 trip to Italy with my colleague Dr. Matthew Sims! I also have extensive travel experience: so far, I have studied abroad in Italy for 6 weeks through UF, lived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and travelled throughout Europe. I spent most of my college career specializing in the history, philosophy, religion, and art of the ancient Greco-Roman and Middle-Eastern world and the early Italian Renaissance. This means I have what is called an “interdisciplinary” academic background. I did not attend Seminary, but I spent the majority of my time at University studying the civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean/Middle Eastern world. At various points in my academic studies, I also had opportunity to study J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, whose myths I love!

This reminds me of something Dallas Willard shared that the Lord spoke to
him: “Now if you stay in the churches, the university will be closed to
you; but if you stay in the university, the churches will be open to you.”
This resonates with me because I did once contemplate attending seminary–but I
do not believe this was the path God wanted me on. Nevertheless, I have spent
the last 12 years as a college professor doing professional development in
disciplines that I would have studied in seminary (alongside other topics that
teaching the Humanities have required me to train in!). In that time, I’ve
written a book which hopefully demonstrates all that I’ve learned about
theology, the Bible, and apologetics (among other things). I will continue to
pray and ask God for the path that he wants me to walk, but I am confident that
he wants me to continue teaching both in and out of the Church. I feel that God
has equipped me to be of great use to him in a secular environment, but I have
also felt his prompting lately to find a permanent church home for my family
and I where I can contribute my teaching gifts to the body of Christ more
significantly and consistently.

Although I have a Catholic background (I was baptized and received First
Communion), I have been an active member in a few Protestant churches the last
10 years teaching classes on apologetics, history, philosophy, and what would
be considered comparative religious studies/world religions . During the time
leading up to the publication of my book, my wife and I considered joining the
Catholic Church; for various personal and theological reasons and reservations,
we have decided not to and my family and I are now looking for a new permanent
church home. I am currently working on a NEW book examining the Chronicles of
Narnia as an example of what Lewis called a “supposal” (which, if
you’ve read my first book, you know is quite similar to a parable).

My book, which you can preview at the bottom of this website via Amazon.com,
is called “The Good News of the Return of the King: The Gospel in Middle
earth.” I am the creator and main host of the podcast Mythic Mission
(along with my wife Sarah), which you can find on Anchor, Spotify, ITunes,
Amazon Music, Audible, and other platforms! Mythic Mission is a podcast which
explores J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis’s understanding of myth as “grand
narrative” and its intersection with the various disciplines of the
Humanities from a Christian perspective. Subscribe to listen to interviews with
scholars from various disciplines and from me on subjects which participate in
the Truth, Goodness, and Beauty which God has woven into the “sacramental
tapestry” of the world.

(Photo Credit: Kelly Sims and Vince Courtney; Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2020)

You might be wondering…myth? Really? One of those people? Aren’t myths
lies? Untrue stories? Wastes of time? No! I wrote an entire book on the subject
that myths can actually be more true to reality than non-fiction can.
In ancient Greece, mythos meant something like “grand
narrative” or “account of reality.” According to Alister E.
McGrath, “Myths are stories that people tell to make sense of the
world.” Myths show us that truth and reality (which is what truth is about)
are much more capacious than we previously imagined. My wife and I created this
podcast (which we also consider to be a ministry) to share this with the world.
If you’re new to this way of thinking about myth and still have concerns,
that’s ok. I’d recommend you listen to Episodes #2, 3, and 12 in particular to
learn more about my views on myth, Jesus, and Christianity. What I can tell you
is that I fully agree and affirm what C.S. Lewis said about Christianity here: “We
should, therefore, expect to find in the imagination of great Pagan teachers
and myth-makers some glimpse of that theme which we believe to be the very plot
of the whole cosmic story—the theme of incarnation, death and rebirth. And the
differences between the Pagan Christs (Balder, Osiris, etc.) and the Christ
Himself is much what we should expect to find. The Pagan stories are all about
someone dying and rising, either every year, or else nobody knows where and
nobody knows when. The Christian story is about a historical personage, whose
execution can be dated pretty accurately, under a named Roman magistrate, and
with whom the society that He founded is in a continuous relation down to the
present day. It is not the difference between falsehood and truth. It is the
difference between a real event on the one hand and dim dreams or premonitions
of that same event on the other.”–“Is Theology Poetry” in The
Weight of Glory.

If you want to learn more about my reflections on this amazing quote from
Lewis, subscribe to the Mythic Mission Podcast and consider reading my book! The podcast is available on ITunes Podcast, Spotify, Anchor, and many other podcast platforms! If you’re already a Christian,
I hope it will deepen your love of Jesus and the Gospel; if you’re not, I hope
and pray both my book and podcast musings will open up new doors in your heart
that prompt you to give Jesus and the Gospel a fair hearing. Here is the official description of our podcast: Welcome to Mythic Mission with Professor Michael Jahosky, a podcast which explores J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis’s understanding of myth as “grand narrative” and its intersection with the various disciplines of the Humanities from a Christian perspective. Subscribe to listen to interviews with scholars from around the world and from me on subjects which participate in the Truth, Goodness, and Beauty which God has woven into the “sacramental tapestry” of the world. 

NEW! As of June 2022, our Mythic Mission YouTube Channel has a new direction! Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/c/MichaelJahosky

In the past, our interviews had an audio and a video version, but moving forward, our YouTube Channel will now be dedicated to what we are calling “Tabletop Apologetics.” Starting in the Summer of 2022 (there’s already one episode as of 6/3/2022!), I will be playing through Fantasy Flight Games’ The Lord of the Rings The Living Card Game and/or Marvel Champions the Living Card Game while hosting conversations about myth, literature, philosophy, and theology! Future episodes will feature live playthroughs of these card games streamed either to YouTube or Facebook Live with me and other players discussing the aforementioned topics while exploring the lore of Middle-earth or the Marvel Universe! I will be featuring AMA’s (Ask me Anything) during these episodes so feel free to drop by and ask a question or just tune in to learn how to play these games or enjoy learning about a variety of interesting subjects centered around either the lore of Middle-earth or the Marvel Universe. I am hoping it will be a safe and exciting environment to discuss a variety of important relevant topics, encourage fellowship, and have fun while also learning about these amazing myths and the card games that feature them. Please note that I have purchased all of these games on my own over many years and am not receiving any endorsements from Fantasy Flight Games or any of their products. Nothing that I say in relation to the lore featured on these card games is in any way sponsored or endorsed by Fantasy Flight Games–they are my professional and personal opinions/commentary. I have followed Step #7 of Fantasy Flight Games’ Guidelines for Community Use of their Intellectual Property in offering a “Commentary Creation.” Again, I am receiving no direct or indirect monetary sponsorship for offering this commentary creation. My videos are completely free and are not behind any kind of paywall. Patreon supporters are considered a donation to both branches of the Mythic Mission Podcast and their monetary contributions do not grant them access to any of my commentary creations. Please check out FFG’s website to learn more about these amazing games if you want to join in the fun sometime and join me for an adventure sometime: https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/index/

My hand on the Western Wall in Jerusalem

Early morning hike up Masada, Israel

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Please check out the links above for my Facebook page, Twitter account, and YouTube Channel (Subscribe please!). The other links will take you to some of the interviews I’ve done with others about my book, book reviews, and more!

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