Mark Knight is Professor in Literature, Religion, and Victorian Studies at the University of Lancaster and also general editor of the journal Literature and Theology. Mark’s expertise includes nineteenth-century fiction, theology, and postsecular criticism. We talk about his 2019 book Good Words: Evangelicalism and the Victorian Novel, about the difference religion makes to how we understand …
Virtues of Renewal, with guest Jeffrey Bilbro, Grove City College
Jeffrey Bilbro is associate professor of English at Grove City College, editor-in-chief at Front Porch Republic, and the author of several books, including Virtues of Renewal: Wendell Berry’s Sustainable Forms, published in 2019. Jeff discusses how Berry’s thinking stands in stark contrast to many of the norms and habits of modern society and how greater mindfulness of …
Spirituality as Study and Practice, with Mary Frohlich, Catholic Theological Union (emerita)
Mary Frohlich is Professor Emerita of Spirituality at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. She is a former president of the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality and also author of the 2019 book Breathed into Wholeness: Catholicity and Life in the Spirit. Mary believes that spirituality informs all aspects of life and being, not just our …
Belief and Belonging, with guest Mark Eaton, Azusa Pacific University
Mark Eaton is Professor of American Literature at Azusa Pacific University and also, since 2015, editor of the journal Christianity and Literature, now in its 70th year. Last year, Mark published Religion and American Literature since 1950, a book that shows how prominent American novelists portray America’s evolving religious landscape. We talk about the complexity of religion in modern America, literature’s engagement …
Wilderness Spirituality, with guest Belden Lane, Saint Louis University
Belden Lane is Professor Emeritus of Theological Studies, American Religion, and History of Spirituality at Saint Louis University. He is the author of several books, most recently two we discuss today that beautifully combine attention to nature, the long tradition of Christian mystical writing, and the rhythms of Lane’s own spiritual life – and ours …
On Refugia, or Places of Refuge amid Disturbance, with guest Debra Rienstra, Calvin University
Debra Rienstra is Professor of English at Calvin University, where she teaches early modern British Literature and creative writing. She is the author of several books and is a respected voice on various aspects of Christian life. Presently she is developing a project, and hosts a podcast, associated with refugia, which are places of environmental, …
Shusaku Endo’s Christ of Silence and Suffering, with guest Van Gessel, Brigham Young University
Van Gessel is Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature at Brigham Young University, where he also served as dean of the College of Humanities. He is a distinguished scholar of Japanese literature, including of the Japanese Catholic writer Shusaku Endo, six of whose novels (and two short story collections) Van has also translated. Endo writes hauntingly …
Faith, Serious Illness, and the Virtual Body of Christ, with guest Deanna Thompson, St. Olaf College
Deanna Thompson is Martin E. Marty Regents Chair in Religion and the Academy at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, where she also serves as Inaugural Director of the Lutheran Center for Faith, Values, and Community. A distinguished Christian theologian, she has written powerfully in recent years about her experience of living with cancer – the …
A Conversation about Literature and Religion, with guest Romana Huk, Notre Dame University
Romana Huk teaches in the English Department at the University of Notre Dame, where she also serves as editor-in-chief of the journal Religion and Literature, a prominent journal in literary studies. A former guest of the BYU Humanities Center, she spoke on this episode of the Faith and Imagination podcast about her experience teaching at …
On Seeing and Becoming Like God — the Long Christian History, with guest Arthur Holder
Arthur Holder is a priest of the Episcopal Church and also a historian and professor of Christian Spirituality at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, where for many years he served as dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs. His current research explores how medieval Christians imagined what it means to see God and become …