Counterflow with Buck Johnson

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 366 - From Calvinism to Orthodoxy, with Ambrose McReynolds Jun 10, 2025

Show notes

My guest today was raised wonderfully by a loving family in the Protestant Calvinist church. He grew to become so involved in the church that he was giving sermons and leading youth groups, Bible studies, veterans groups, and so on. One day his sister, previous Counterflow guest Monique Mathiesen, introduced him to the Orthodox faith. This challenged Ambrose to confront the possible wrongs of Calvinism, which he had been believing and teaching for years. Join us in this great story, as you'll find Ambrose to be humble, smart, and able to deal with uncomfortable truths.

Please support Monique Mathiesen's children's book: "Who Can Cleanse Me Of My Sin?" https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cleanheart/who-can-cleanse-me-of-my-sin

Sponsor: Sheath Underwear: https://sheathunderwear.com/counterflow Code: Counterflow

Get the new Counterflow T-shirt before it sells out! Visit https://www.counterflowpodcast.com/store or send $30 via PayPal to buck@counterflowpodcast.com with your size and shipping address!

Donate to the show here: https://www.patreon.com/counterflow

Visit my website: https://www.counterflowpodcast.com

Audio Production by Podsworth Media: https://www.podsworth.com

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Ep. 365 - Kabbalah, the Reformation, and Christianity, with Anthony of Westgate Jun 03, 2025

Show notes

Anthony of Westgate from the Reversion Substack joins us this week. Anthony writes and speaks about a number of issues including Judiasim, Zionism, Kabbalah, the Reformation and Chrisitianity. Today, we get into several of those issues. How did Kabbalah play a role in the founding of the US? Why did it impact Protestantism and the reformation? What does Zionism have to do with American Christianity? We get into all of this and more.

Follow his work here: https://substack.com/@thereversion/posts

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Get the new Counterflow T-shirt before it sells out! Visit https://www.counterflowpodcast.com/store or send $30 via PayPal to buck@counterflowpodcast.com with your size and shipping address!

Donate to the show here: https://www.patreon.com/counterflow

Visit my website: https://www.counterflowpodcast.com

Audio Production by Podsworth Media: https://www.podsworth.com

Leave us a review and rating on Apple Podcasts! Thanks!

Ep. 364 - Power & Cover Ups: The Papacy, the Feds, & More, with Fr. Emmanuel Lemelson May 27, 2025

Show notes

Reverend Father Emmanuel Lemelson is a force of nature—a Greek Orthodox priest, activist investor, and social commentator who fearlessly confronts the collision of faith, finance, and power. In this episode, we get into a discussion on the issue of Papal infallibility and the structures of power within the Catholic Church. It has led to many coverups and abuses throughout the decades. Fr. Emmanuel has also been brave enough to challenge another source of corrupt power: the United States Federal Government and big pharma. He tells his wild tales of this ongoing battle, how it started, and where he's at with it now.

For more from Fr. Emmanuel, please go here: https://www.youtube.com/@Lemelson

...and here: https://lemelsoncapital.com

Sponsor: Perfect Spiral Capital: https://PerfectSpiralCapital.com/counterflow

Get the new Counterflow T-shirt before it sells out! Visit https://www.counterflowpodcast.com/store or send $30 via PayPal to buck@counterflowpodcast.com with your size and shipping address!

Donate to the show here: https://www.patreon.com/counterflow

Visit my website: https://www.counterflowpodcast.com

Audio Production by Podsworth Media: https://www.podsworth.com

Leave us a review and rating on Apple Podcasts! Thanks!

Ep. 363 - Orthodox Fasting Could Save the World, with Dr Peter Patitsas May 20, 2025

Show notes

My guest this week is author of "The Athos Diet" and director of the emergency department at UPMC, Dr. Peter Patitsas. Informed by his Greek Orthodox heritage, he has discovered a method to stay healthy with high energy to meet the daily grind. Dr. Pete visited Greece many times as a youth and lived there after graduating college. He was forever impacted by his journey to Mt. Athos and has spent countless weeks living at monasteries across the globe: a place where time stops and meaning is the highest good. It is no coincidence that within a place of the True, the Good, and the Beautiful, there would be found something that can bring a salve to suffering. We discuss the spiritual and physical benefits that the diet governed by the liturgical calendar of the Orthodox Church can give to us.

For more on Dr. Pete Patitsas and his work, go here: https://www.theathosdiet.com

Sponsors: Fox n Sons Coffee: https://www.foxnsons.com Code: BUCK15

Perfect Spiral Capital: https://PerfectSpiralCapital.com/counterflow

Get the new Counterflow T-shirt before it sells out! Visit https://www.counterflowpodcast.com/store or send $30 via PayPal to buck@counterflowpodcast.com with your size and shipping address!

Donate to the show here: https://www.patreon.com/counterflow

Visit my website: https://www.counterflowpodcast.com

Audio Production by Podsworth Media: https://www.podsworth.com

Leave us a review and rating on Apple Podcasts! Thanks!

Ep. 362 - Let's Talk About Joseph Smith and Mormonism, with Erick K. May 14, 2025

Show notes

This week, I have an ex-Mormon on the show. For the sake of anonymity, he will go by Erick K. Erick and I have been talking a lot about Mormonism offline, so I wanted to bring him on because, if you knew as little about the LDS as I did, this is definitely worth the education. Are Mormons Christian? Who was Joseph Smith? How do they differ from the Orthodox Church? We get into some fascinating details. I think you'll enjoy this episode.

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Get the new Counterflow T-shirt before it sells out! Visit https://www.counterflowpodcast.com/store or send $30 via PayPal to buck@counterflowpodcast.com with your size and shipping address!

Donate to the show here: https://www.patreon.com/counterflow

Visit my website: https://www.counterflowpodcast.com

Audio Production by Podsworth Media: https://www.podsworth.com

Leave us a review and rating on Apple Podcasts! Thanks!

Ep. 361 - From Medical Hospitals to the Hospital for the Soul, with Stevie Rudko May 06, 2025

Show notes

Stevie Rudko joins me this week to discuss the ups and downs of the wild adventure that has been his life. Born to a Pentecostal preacher and loving mother, Stevie grew up in the Protestant faith. After a painful heel shattering incident, he slowly became addicted to pain pills. After that, predictably came a heroin addiction. Fast forward and he's a loving husband and father who's about to be baptized into the Orthodox Church. I think you'll enjoy Stevie and his tales of this life.

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For the official CounterFlow T-shirt, send $30 via PayPal to buck@counterflowpodcast.com with your size and shipping address, or order online: https://www.counterflowpodcast.com/store

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Audio Production by Podsworth Media: https://www.podsworth.com

Leave us a review and rating on Apple Podcasts! Thanks!

Ep. 360 - Geopolitics and the Prophecies of the Saints, with Conrad Franz Apr 29, 2025

Show notes

Conrad Fraz is back with us this week. Conrad is one of the two excellent hosts of the World War Now podcast. Conrad and I discuss the kinetic conflicts going on in several hot spots around the globe as viewed from an Orthodox lens. We discuss what happened in Syria as well. Why is Israel always pushing for war and conflict around the globe? Many Orthodox Christian Saints have prophecies they've made regarding these issues. We discuss those and more on this episode of Counterflow.

For Conrad's work, go here: https://worldwarnow.co

Sponsor: Perfect Spiral Capital: https://PerfectSpiralCapital.com/counterflow

Get the new Counterflow T-shirt before it sells out! https://www.counterflowpodcast.com/store

Donate to the show here: https://www.patreon.com/counterflow

Visit my website: https://www.counterflowpodcast.com

Audio Production by Podsworth Media: https://www.podsworth.com

Leave us a review and rating on Apple Podcasts! Thanks!

Ep. 359 - Questioning Heresies and Looking for Truth, with Jay Dyer Apr 23, 2025

Show notes

My guest this week needs no introduction. Jay Dyer is back with us to discuss what eventually led him to Orthodoxy. This discussion allows us to look at heresies within Protestantism and Catholicism which Jay encountered during his time in each. We get into dispensationalism, John Hagee, Judaism, John Nelson Darby, Papism, the value of Jay's online debates, and lots more.

For all of Jay's work, go here: https://jaysanalysis.com

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Donate to the show here: https://www.patreon.com/counterflow

Visit my website: https://www.counterflowpodcast.com

Audio Production by Podsworth Media: https://www.podsworth.com

Leave us a review and rating on Apple Podcasts! Thanks!

Ep. 358 - An Orthodox Look at Christian Nationalism, with Ben Dixon Apr 16, 2025

Show notes

Ben Dixon is back with us this week, and we are discussing Christian Nationalism. Ben is the Editor-in-Chief of the North American branch of the Union of Orthodox Journalists as well as the author of the "Where the Wasteland Ends" Substack. Ben contrasts what he calls Christian Patriotism with Christian Nationalism and what he sees as the Orthodox view of each. We get into Ukraine/Russia, Trump, conservatism, Protestantism, Orthodoxy, and more.

For Ben's work go here:

https://substack.com/@dixonb https://uoj.news https://southernorthodox.org

Sponsors: Tiger Fitness: https://www.tigerfitness.com/CounterFlow Sheath Underwear: https://sheathunderwear.com/counterflow Code: Counterflow

Donate to the show here: https://www.patreon.com/counterflow

Visit my website: https://www.counterflowpodcast.com

Audio Production by Podsworth Media: https://www.podsworth.com

Leave us a review and rating on Apple Podcasts! Thanks!

Ep. 357 - Scofield, Darby, Dispensationalism, and Bad Theology, with Father John Whiteford Apr 08, 2025

Show notes

Father John Whiteford is back with us this week to discuss C.I. Scofield, J.N. Darby, and their incorrect theology. The Scofield Reference Bible is a very common Bible found in homes and churches all across America. It is where the very modern ideas of dispensationalism, the pre-tribulation rapture, and a few other incorrect theological issues come from. We discuss who invented these ideas, how Zionists have used them to further dangerous policies, and why no Christian ever believed these ideas before the 19th century.

Fr. John Whiteford is the pastor of St. Jonah Orthodox Church (ROCOR) in Spring, Texas. He is the author of Sola Scriptura: An Orthodox Analysis of the Cornerstone of Reformation Theology, published by Conciliar Press, and the general editor of the St. Innocent Liturgical Calendar.

https://fatherjohn.blogspot.com https://saintjonah.org

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Donate to the show here: https://www.patreon.com/counterflow

Visit my website: https://www.counterflowpodcast.com

Audio Production by Podsworth Media: https://www.podsworth.com

Leave us a review and rating on Apple Podcasts! Thanks!