Welcome to More Christ. We seek to bring some of the world's most interesting and insightful guests to discuss life's central and abiding questions.  In this ninety fourth episode in a series of discussions, I'm joined by Dr Christopher Watkin.    Chris is a Senior Lecturer in French Studies at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. At its broadest, his research seeks to make sense of how people make sense of the world, and how they interact with ideas and positions different from their own.   In his first book Phenomenology or Deconstruction? (2009) he explored the complex relationship between two major philosophical tendencies in the thought of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Paul Ricoeur and Jean-Luc Nancy. Difficult Atheism (2011) then examined how three contemporary thinkers—Alain Badiou, Jean-Luc Nancy and Quentin Meillassoux—make sense of the world without the gods of metaphysics, poetry and religion, and how their three positions critique and refine each other.    In French Philosophy Today: New Figures of the Human in Badiou, Meillassoux, Malabou, Serres and Latour he shifted the focus from God to a humanity, arguing that very different contemporary thinkers each rely on a ‘host’ to make sense of the human, whether it be a capacity, substance or narrative.    His later book, Michel Serres: Figures of Thought continues his investigation into different ways of making sense of the world by presenting the first systematic treatment in English of a key twentieth and twenty-first century philosopher whose genuinely cross-disciplinary work finds complex ‘North-West passages’ between the sciences, humanities and arts.   His latest book, Biblical Critical Theory, is the focus of our discussion and builds upon his previous endeavours in fascinating ways.   Please see:   https://christopherwatkin.com/  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christopher-...  https://twitter.com/DrChrisWatkin

Welcome to More Christ. We seek to bring some of the world's most interesting and insightful guests to discuss life's central and abiding questions.  In this ninety third episode in a series of discussions, I'm joined by Dr Norman Wirzba. Norman Wirzba pursues research and teaching interests at the intersections of theology, philosophy, ecology, and agrarian and environmental studies. He lectures frequently in Canada, the United States, and Europe.  In particular, his research is centered on a recovery of the doctrine of creation and a restatement of humanity in terms of its creaturely life. He is currently the director of a multi-year, Henry Luce-Foundation-funded projected entitled “Facing the Anthropocene.” In this project, housed at Duke’s Kenan Institute for Ethics, he is working with an international team of scholars to rethink several academic disciplines in light of challenges like climate change, food insecurity, biotechnology and genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, species extinction, and the built environment.   Professor Wirzba has published several books, including Agrarian Spirit: Cultivating Faith, Community, and the Land, The Paradise of God: Renewing Religion in an Ecological Age, Living the Sabbath: Discovering the Rhythms of Rest and Delight, Way of Love: Recovering the Heart of Christianity, From Nature to Creation: A Christian Vision for Understanding and Loving Our World, Food and Faith: A Theology of Eating (in its 2nd Edition), and (with Fred Bahnson) Making Peace with the Land: God’s Call to Reconcile with Creation.  He also has edited several books, including The Essential Agrarian Reader: The Future of Culture, Community, and the Land and The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry. Please see: Amazon.co.uk: Norman Wirzba: Books, Biography, Blogs, Audiobooks, Kindle Norman Wirzba

Welcome to More Christ. We seek to bring some of the world's most interesting and insightful guests to discuss life's central and abiding questions.  In this ninety second episode in a series of discussions, I'm joined by Dr Robert M. Woods.    Robert has been involved with Classical Christian education for over twenty-five years. He currently serves as the Headmaster of Veritas Christian Academy in Fletcher, NC, U.S.A.    Robert also serves as Professor of Great Books and Liberal Arts with the MA/PhD program at Faulkner University. He is greatly indebted to Mortimer J. Adler and Robert M. Hutchins for their contribution to Classical education in the modern world. Please see his books, here: Mortimer Adler: The Paideia Way of Classical Education (Giants in the History of Education) : Woods, Robert: Amazon.co.uk: Books Dwelling on Delphi: Thinking Christianly about the Liberal Arts : Woods, Robert M.: Amazon.co.uk: Books

Welcome to More Christ. We seek to bring some of the world's most interesting and insightful guests to discuss life's central and abiding questions.  In this ninety first episode in a series of discussions, I'm joined once more by Jonathan Pageau and Dr Martin Shaw.    Jonathan carves Eastern Orthodox and other traditional images. He also designs products, teaches, and makes fantastic videos for The Symbolic World that explore how ancient patterns can re-enchant our contemporary life.    Please check out Jonathan's channel:   https://www.youtube.com/c/JonathanPageau    Martin is regarded as one of the most outstanding new teachers of the mythic imagination. Visiting fellow at Schumacher college in the U.K., he has also devised and lead the Oral Tradition course at Stanford university in the U.S.   He is the author of the award winning; A Branch from The Lightning Tree, Snowy Tower, Scatterlings, Smoke Hole, and other classics.  Martin now leads a bustling schedule of conferences, gatherings, and wilderness retreats over several continents.    You can see our first conversation, here:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=317oK...  Martin's website: https://drmartinshaw.com/

Welcome to More Christ. We seek to bring some of the world's most interesting and insightful guests to discuss life's central and abiding questions.   In this ninetieth episode in a series of discussions, I'm joined once more by Jonathan Pageau and Dr Martin Shaw.    Jonathan carves Eastern Orthodox and other traditional images. He also designs products, teaches, and makes fantastic videos for The Symbolic World that explore how ancient patterns can re-enchant our contemporary life.  Please check out Jonathan's channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/JonathanPageau    Martin is regarded as one of the most outstanding new teachers of the mythic imagination. Visiting fellow at Schumacher college in the U.K., he has also devised and lead the Oral Tradition course at Stanford university in the U.S. He is the author of the award winning; A Branch from The Lightning Tree, Snowy Tower, Scatterlings, Smoke Hole, and other classics.    Martin now leads a bustling schedule of conferences, gatherings, and wilderness retreats over several continents.  One I want to mention, will involve Martin and Paul Kingsnorth at Benburb Priory in November. (Saturday 26th November 2022)    You can see our first conversation, here:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1nGK...  Martin's website:  https://drmartinshaw.com/

Welcome to More Christ. We seek to bring some of the world's most interesting and insightful guests to discuss life's central and abiding questions.  In this eighty-ninth episode in a series of discussions, I'm joined by one of my favourite podcasters, Dr Spencer Klavan.   With a PhD in Classics, Spencer Klavan is the assistant editor of The Claremont Review of Books and The American Mind at the Claremont Institute.  Spencer's literary expertise is aided by his knowledge of many languages, including Ancient Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. As a scholar who enjoys exploring how great works of literature provide valuable insights into today's world, Klavan hosts Young Heretics every Tuesday.   Please see his website and some of his excellent articles, here:   https://youngheretics.com/ Spencer A. Klavan - Claremont Review of Books

Welcome to More Christ. We seek to bring some of the world's most interesting and insightful guests to discuss life's central and abiding questions.  In this eighty-eighth episode in a series of discussions, I'm joined once more by Jonathan Pageau and Dr Bernardo Kastrup.    Jonathan carves Eastern Orthodox and other traditional images.  He also designs products, teaches, and makes fantastic videos for The Symbolic World that explore how ancient patterns can re-enchant our contemporary life.   Please check out Jonathan's channel:  https://www.youtube.com/c/JonathanPageau  Bernardo Kastrup is the executive director of Essentia Foundation. His work has been leading the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism, the notion that reality is essentially mental. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy (ontology, philosophy of mind) and another Ph.D. in computer engineering (reconfigurable computing, artificial intelligence).    As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the 'Casimir Effect' of Quantum Field Theory was discovered). Formulated in detail in many academic papers and books, his ideas have been featured on 'Scientific American,' the 'Institute of Art and Ideas,' the 'Blog of the American Philosophical Association' and 'Big Think,' among others.

Welcome to More Christ. We seek to bring some of the world's most interesting and insightful guests to discuss life's central and abiding questions.  In this eighty seventh episode in a series of discussions, I'm joined once more by Paul Kingsnorth and Carlo Lancellotti.   Paul Kingsnorth is an English writer who lives in the west of Ireland. He is a former deputy-editor of The Ecologist and a co-founder of the Dark Mountain Project.  Kingsnorth's nonfiction writing tends to address macro themes like environmentalism, globalisation, and the challenges posed to humanity by civilisation-level trends. His fiction tends to be mythological and multi-layered.  Follow him here: https://www.paulkingsnorth.net/ https://paulkingsnorth.substack.com/ Prof. Carlo Lancellotti is a Professor and Chair in the Department of Mathematics at the College of Staten Island. He received his Doctorate in Applied Mathematics from the University of Virginia in 1998. His main field of scholarship is the kinetic theory of plasmas and gravitating systems. He has also translated and edited two volumes of works of 20th-century Italian political philosopher Augusto Del Noce. He is one of the organizers of the New York Encounter, a large weekend long cultural festival held once a year in New York City. He was one of the co-founders of the Crossroads Cultural Center, which for over fifteen years has been organizing cultural events around the country. If you'd like to learn more about Carlo and his work, then please see the links below: https://twitter.com/_clancellotti https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/arti... https://delnoceinenglish.files.wordpr... https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/de...

Mark Clavier was born in Greenville, SC but grew up mainly in south Florida and Virginia. After earning an A.B. in History from The College of William & Mary and an M.T.S at The Divinity School, Duke University, he spent more than twelve years in Anglican parish ministry first in Maryland and then in North Carolina.  In 2008, he moved to the UK where he earned a PhD from Durham University for his dissertation on the role of delight in Augustine of Hippo's theology.  While living in Durham, he served as an assistant priest in four post-industrial pit villages and lectured at Cranmer Hall, Durham.  After briefly returning to full-time parish ministry in the idyllic countryside of north Oxfordshire, Mark moved to the Cardiff area of Wales to serve as the Acting Principal and Dean of Residential Training at St Michael's College, Llandaff and lecture at Cardiff University.  Afterwards, he spent two years as Vice-Principal and Charles Marriott Director of Pastoral Studies at St Stephen's House, Oxford.  He is now Residentiary Canon of Brecon Cathedral in Wales where he also directs Convivium, an initiative to foster a vision of the Church that stands apart from consumerism. He is regularly invited to give public talks and lead retreats in both the UK and USA.  He is also regular contributor to BBC Radio Wales programmes such as Prayer for the Day and Weekend Word.  He spends much of his free time walking in the beautiful Brecon Beacons with his wife, Sarah, and their two Spaniels Cuthbert and Humphrey.  If you'd like to learn more about Mark and his work, please see the links below: Convivium – Living Well with God, Creation & Each other (convivium-brecon.com) Mark Clavier – Covenant (livingchurch.org) Amazon.co.uk: Mark Clavier: Books, Biography, Blogs, Audiobooks, Kindle

Welcome to More Christ. We seek to bring some of the world's most interesting and insightful guests to discuss life's central and abiding questions.  In this special eighty fifth episode in a series of discussions, I'm joined by Paul Kingsnorth and Paul Vander Klay.    Paul Kingsnorth is an English writer who lives in the west of Ireland. He is a former deputy-editor of The Ecologist and a co-founder of the Dark Mountain Project.  Kingsnorth's nonfiction writing tends to address macro themes like environmentalism, globalisation, and the challenges posed to humanity by civilisation-level trends. His fiction tends to be mythological and multi-layered.   Follow him here:   https://www.paulkingsnorth.net/  https://paulkingsnorth.substack.com/  Paul Vander Klay is the pastor of Living Stones Christian Reformed Church in Sacramento, California, USA, and host of a marvellous YouTube Channel which wrestles with being a Christian in a secular age, the struggle for ultimate meaning, identity, and more.   He has worked at length to share and critique insights from Jordan Peterson, Jonathan Pageau, and other figures to a worldwide audience, adding his own unique contributions, and somehow producing videos at a prolific rate without diluting quality.  If you'd like to learn more about Paul and his work, please see the links below:    https://www.youtube.com/user/paulvand...  https://paulvanderklay.me/