More Christ

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/

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 fourth episode in a series of discussions, I'm joined by Paul Kingsnorth.    Paul 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/

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 third episode in a series of discussions, I'm joined by Pastor Paul Vander Klay.  This conversation took place at Benburb Priory in Ireland, as a part of Paul's European tour.    We spoke about the church as a stumbling block to Christ, the role of Jordan Peterson in opening the door for people, Paul's burgeoning friendship with figures like Jonathan Pageau and John Vervaeke, the place of redemption in suffering, and much more besides.

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 second episode in a series of discussions, I'm joined by Dr Paul Ladouceur.  Paul Ladouceur is Adjunct Professor at the Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College, University of Toronto, Canada, and Professeur Associé, Faculté de Théologie et de Sciences Religieuses, Université Laval, Canada.

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 first episode in a series of discussions, I'm joined by Andrew Youssef.  Andrew Youssef was born in Egypt where he grew up. After high school, Andrew attended McMaster University where he received his Bachelor degree in Religious Studies. He then continued his education at the Orthodox School of Theology, in Trinity College, Toronto, where he received his Masters of Theological Studies. His thesis was titled, “Humanity of Christ in Oriental Orthodox Christology.”   Please see his website here:  https://www.andrewyoussef.ca/ Andrew is currently working on his PhD at Trinity College focusing on the Christology of Severus of Antioch, a saint of the Oriental Orthodox Church, and Maximus the Confessor, a saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church.  In addition to theological education, Andrew is working on finishing his training to become a hospital chaplain/Spiritual Care provider. Currently, Andrew serves as a Spiritual Care Practitioner at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center.    Andrew currently serves in the following capacities:  Lecturer of Church History – Patriarchal Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy Course Instructor at the Orthodox School of Theology President of the Orthodox Christian Fellowship chapter of Toronto Board Member of the North American Academy of Ecumenists Member of the Canadian Association of Spiritual Care  Publications:  Andrew co-translated Norman Russell’s Deification in the Greek Patristic Tradition from English to Arabic. Furthermore, Andrew translated articles by Fr. Matthew the Poor on ecumenism which are to be published by the Monastery of St. Macarius. In 2019, Andrew published a book review with the American Academy of Religion on Andre Stephanous’ Arabic Christian Theology and Gregg Blanton’s Contemplation and Counselling. In 2020, Andrew published his first book titled Father God or Mother Nature? From the Great Flood to COVID-19 where he explored themes such as divine wrath, natural disasters, suffering through Biblical and patristic lenses.   Lectures: To watch Andrew’s lectures, feel free to visit his YouTube channel.

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 eightieth episode in a series of discussions, I'm joined by Steven Jonathan Rummelsburg.   Steven holds a degree in History from the University of California, Santa Barbara. A school teacher, he is also a writer and speaker on matters of faith, culture, and education.    Mr. Rummelsburg is a member of the Teacher Advisory Board and writer of curriculum at the Sophia Institute for Teachers, a contributor to the Integrated Catholic Life, Crisis Magazine, The Civilized Reader, The Standard Bearers, Catholic Exchange, and a founding member of the Brinklings Literary Club.   For more on Steven, please see here:  https://theimaginativeconservative.or...

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 seventy ninth episode in a series of discussions, I'm joined by Dr Martin Shaw.    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. A few day tickets remain, and you can still join us for an evening talk on Saturday 26th November:   https://benburbpriory.com/event/marti...  Please also check out Martin's marvellous 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 seventy eighth episode in a series of discussions, I'm joined by once again by Dr Jens Zimmermann and Pastor, Paul Vander Klay.   Dr. Jens Zimmermann was born and raised in Germany. He studied at the University of British Columbia, earning his first Ph.D in Comparative Literature in 1997.  He taught at UBC briefly before moving on to Trinity Western, where held the Canada Research Chair of Interpretation, Religion and Culture from 2006-2016.    In 2010, he earned a second Ph.D in Philosophy from the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany. He was awarded a research fellowship at Cambridge University (Trinity Hall) for 2016-17, and a British Academy Visiting Fellowship in theology at the University of Oxford (Christ Church College) for 2018-2019.  He is currently visiting fellow at Oxford University’s Centre for Theology and Modern European Thought and also a research fellow at the University of the Free State, South Africa (2021-2023).  His main intellectual interests are anthropology and epistemology. He has pursued these two central questions across a broad range of interests that include theological anthropology, hermeneutics, European literature, Martin Heidegger, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Paul Ricoeur, the church fathers, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Eastern Orthodox theology.     His published works include the monographs Hermeneutics: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2015) and Humanism and Religion: A Call for the Renewal of Western Culture (Oxford University Press, 2012), and the collection Reimagining The Sacred: Debating God with Richard Kearney, co-edited with Richard Kearney (Columbia University Press, 2016). His most recent book is Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Christian Humanism (Oxford University Press, 2019).    Current Research     Dr. Zimmermann directs “Human Flourishing in a Technological World: A Christian Perspective,” a three-year research project through which several scholars work toward a comprehensive Christian perspective for human flourishing in a world of technology. Scholars meet annually to share research, which is then published as essays, blogs, and finally an edited volume with Oxford University Press.  Visit Human Flourishing (christianflourishing.com) and https://www.jenszimmermann.ca/ for more.   Paul 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 see more of his work, please see the link below:  https://www.youtube.com/c/PaulVanderKlay

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 seventy seventh episode in a series of discussions, I'm joined by Dr Jens Zimmermann.   Dr. Jens Zimmermann was born and raised in Germany. He studied at the University of British Columbia, earning his first Ph.D in Comparative Literature in 1997.  He taught at UBC briefly before moving on to Trinity Western, where held the Canada Research Chair of Interpretation, Religion and Culture from 2006-2016.    In 2010, he earned a second Ph.D in Philosophy from the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany. He was awarded a research fellowship at Cambridge University (Trinity Hall) for 2016-17, and a British Academy Visiting Fellowship in theology at the University of Oxford (Christ Church College) for 2018-2019.  He is currently visiting fellow at Oxford University’s Centre for Theology and Modern European Thought and also a research fellow at the University of the Free State, South Africa (2021-2023).   His main intellectual interests are anthropology and epistemology. He has pursued these two central questions across a broad range of interests that include theological anthropology, hermeneutics, European literature, Martin Heidegger, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Paul Ricoeur, the church fathers, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Eastern Orthodox theology.     His published works include the monographs Hermeneutics: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2015) and Humanism and Religion: A Call for the Renewal of Western Culture (Oxford University Press, 2012), and the collection Reimagining The Sacred: Debating God with Richard Kearney, co-edited with Richard Kearney (Columbia University Press, 2016). His most recent book is Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Christian Humanism (Oxford University Press, 2019).     Current Research      Dr. Zimmermann directs “Human Flourishing in a Technological World: A Christian Perspective,” a three-year research project through which several scholars work toward a comprehensive Christian perspective for human flourishing in a world of technology. Scholars meet annually to share research, which is then published as essays, blogs, and finally an edited volume with Oxford University Press.   Visit Human Flourishing (christianflourishing.com) and https://www.jenszimmermann.ca/ for more.