Rebekah Ann Lamb is Lecturer in Theology, Imagination, and the Arts at the University of St. Andrews. Her work explores intersections between theology, visual arts, and literature, and she has additional interests in Biblical Studies, Dante, and Christian Personalism, which asserts the ultimate value of persons, human and divine. We speak with her today about …
Our Denial of Death and the Religious Impulse, with guest Kelsey Osgood, freelance writer
Kelsey Osgood is a freelance writer and the author of How to Disappear Completely: On Modern Anorexia. Her work has appeared in such venues as The New Yorker’s Culture Desk Blog, Time, Harper’s, the New York Times, and Salon. Recently, in Plough Quarterly, she published “The Yahrzeit of Ernest Becker,” a personal essay about coming to terms with large existential questions and …
On Prayer and Abundance, with guest Tish Harrison Warren, Resurrection South Austin
The Reverend Tish Harrison Warren is a priest in the Anglican Church in North America, a former campus minister, and current writer-in-residence at Resurrection South Austin. She is a regular columnist for the magazine Christianity Today and has also written for such venues as The New York Times, Religion News Service, and Comment magazine. She …
Faith and Literary Criticism, with guest Mark Knight, University of Lancaster
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 …