EP 45: Dead Sea Scrolls / No God but God
From Pathways with Joseph Campbell by Joseph Campbell Foundation
November 4, 2025 · 1h 20m · Episode 46
About this episode
This episode features archival lectures by Joseph Campbell discussing the Dead Sea Scrolls and the evolution of spiritual thought.
In this episode, we present audio from two rare televised lectures from Joseph Campbell’s early public-broadcast career — Dead Sea Scrolls and No God but God — originally aired on WNDT in New York in the early 1960s. In these archival recordings, Campbell traces humanity’s spiritual crossroads — from Paleolithic caves and Near Eastern temples to the Essene community at Qumran and the dawn of apocalyptic thought. He examines the Dead Sea Scrolls as the voice of a community bracing for the end of days, and explores how Greek philosophy, Persian dualism, Hebrew prophecy, and emerging Christian teachings collided and transformed one another. Broadcast decades before The Power of Myth, these talks capture Campbell in a more structured, scholarly television mode — yet still pulsing with the fire of myth, history, and spiritual imagination. A window into the mythic ferment before the birth of Western religious consciousness — and a glimpse of Campbell before he became a household name. Host Bradley Olson offers an introduction and commentary at the end of the lecture.
People in this episode
Host: Bradley Olson
Topics covered
- spirituality
- mythology
- history
- apocalyptic thought
- philosophy
- religion
Keywords
- Dead Sea Scrolls
- Joseph Campbell
- spiritual crossroads
- apocalyptic thought
- Greek philosophy
- Persian dualism
- Hebrew prophecy
- Christian teachings
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Joseph Campbell Foundation
Books & works: Dead Sea Scrolls, No God but God
Places: Qumran
More episodes of Pathways with Joseph Campbell
- EP 49: Myth & The Body · June 2, 2026 · 1h 25m
- Bonus: Maya and the Mask of the Divine · February 17, 2026 · 48 min
- EP 48: The Vitality of Myth · February 3, 2026 · 1h 28m
- Bonus: Archetypes of the Christ Legend · January 20, 2026 · 1h 5m
- EP 47: Mythology & Folklore · January 6, 2026 · 1h 22m
- Bonus: The Gods of Egypt · December 16, 2025 · 27 min
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