In this episode of Christianity for the Everyday we have a conversation with Calvin Seerveld who served as professor Emeritus in Aesthetics at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto for many years. Now in his 93rd year of life, it was a privilege for us to hear his thoughts on a variety of subjects such as art, God’s call on us to be playful in creation, ageing, reading the Bible, and receiving and embracing the ‘hugs’ God gives his children through the creation.
In this episode of the podcast we have a conversation with Tracy Balzer about her work in the areas of contemplative and Celtic spirituality, pilgrimage and Christian holy places. We discuss the nature and importance of “Thin Places”, where God seems powerfully present; “Thick Places”, where God seems far from us; and the experience of pilgrimage to Christian holy sites. From her research, writing and teaching, to her own experience and travel, Tracy is an insightful and instructive guide for us on the pilgrim’s journey.
In this episode of the podcast we speak with Mike Bird, Australian Anglican priest, theologian, and New Testament scholar, about his recent book: Religious Freedom in a Secular Age: A Christian Case for Liberty, Equality, and Secular Government. Drawing on a variety of examples of challenges facing religious freedom in secular societies, Mike helps us to define a healthy secularism that actually protects religious liberty and fosters true diversity, while highlighting the dangers present in both Christian nationalism on the one hand and secular progressivism on the other. Mike manages to speak to these issues with equal parts incisiveness and humour, and provides hopeful suggestions for Christians (as well as people of other religions and no religion) who wish to engage constructively in the public sphere today.
In this episode of Christianity for the Everyday we sit down with Paige Vanosky to discuss her new book, The 30-Minute Bible: God’s Story for Everyone, co-authored with Craig Bartholomew. She recounts her life-changing ‘ah ha!’ moment after trying to summarise the story of the Bible for an everyday audience and realising how profoundly cohesive the stories of Scripture are, the overarching story they tell, that Jesus comes out of an unfolding story that began in the garden of Genesis 1, and how we are to take our place in the great story God is telling.
In this episode of Christianity for the Everyday we speak with author and professor Jerry Sittser about his profound book A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows through Loss, in which he recounts his experience of losing his wife, his daughter and his mother in a tragic accident and the journey from despair to hope that followed. We also talk about his desire to be a bridge between the academy and the church; the major landmarks along the road of suffering and loss; the necessity of being attentive to our present experience; having a deep root system in Scripture and practical spirituality; memorising the Psalms and other scriptures; the human capacity to live in tension; the spiritual life as pilgrimage; the way our souls grow as we learn to carry our wounds and find we become able to help others carry theirs; and to choose life, especially amidst the darkness.
In our first episode of Christianity for the Everyday, our team sits down with KLC Director Craig Bartholomew to have a ranging conversation exploring, among other things, Craig’s experience of coming to faith and being a young clergyman in Apartheid South Africa; his unfolding realisation that the very Good News of Jesus relates to all of life; the goal of the Christian life as being who God made you to be and doing what God made you to do as a creature in his good creation; and his conviction that as Christ increases in our lives and we decrease, the Spirit works to make us more fully human.
