Trinity Forum Conversations

Our Summer 2025 series, Beside Still Waters, focuses on the places where creativity brings life into a world fatigued by brokenness and division. From jazz to Jane Austen and in between, this season we’ll focus on the ways literature and the arts can refresh and challenge our inner lives—and connect us with the Creator of the good, the true, and the beautiful.Our guest this episode is the poet Christian Wiman, a master of the written – and spoken – word. After long wandering, he returned to the Christian faith in which he’d been raised, in part because of a terminal cancer diagnosis – one he has now long outlived. Both before and after his diagnosis, and his return to faith, his experience of despair has fueled his powerful poetry. In grappling with it, Christian uses words in ways that are a tonic against despair.“I deal with despair because…I don’t know how not to, and it would be an evasion not to. And I think if you don’t feel it, then you’re not paying attention.”This podcast is drawn from an online conversation from 2024. We hope this conversation will resonate with you as you explore the good, the true, and the beautiful in your own corner of creation. If it does, please consider joining the Trinity Forum community as a member, at ttf.org. You can find the full video of this conversation there too. And while you’re here, please subscribe to this podcast on your chosen platform. Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair, by Christian WimanMarilynne RobinsonDanielle ChapmanWilliam BronkWilliam WordsworthEvery Riven Thing, by Christian WimanMy Bright Abyss: Meditations of a Modern Believer, by Christian WimanPrayer, by Carol Ann DuffyThe Bible and Poetry, by Michael Edwards Augustine of HippoBittersweet, by George HerbertSurprised by Joy, by C.S. LewisRichard WilburJürgen MoltmannWhen the Time’s Toxins, by Christian WimanRelated Trinity Forum Readings:Augustine’s ConfessionsDevotions by John Donne, paraphrased by Philip YanceyGod’s Grandeur: the Poems of Gerard Manley HopkinsBulletins from Immortality, by Emily DickinsonWrestling with God, by Simone WeilRelated Conversations:Connecting Spiritual Formation & Public Life with Michael WearThe Kingdom, the Power & The Glory with Tim AlbertaA Life Worth Living with Miroslav VolfTowards a Better Christian PoliticsChristian Pluralism: Living Faithfully in a World of DifferenceWhat Really Matters with Charlie Peacock and Andi AshworthScripture and the Public SquareHow to be a Patriotic ChristianLife, Death, Poetry & Peace with Philip YanceyThe Fall, the Founding, and the Future of American DemocracyFear and Conspiracy with David FrenchTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum Society.

Join Lanta Davis, author of *Becoming by Beholding* and a professor of humanities at Indiana Wesleyan University, for an enlightening discussion on imagination's impact on spiritual formation. She highlights the rich interplay between faith and the arts, encouraging listeners to see deeper meanings in Jesus' parables. Davis shares insights on practices like Lectio Divina, emphasizing how engaging with art can enhance our relationship with the divine. Explore how virtues, vices, and global artistic traditions shape our understanding of faith and beauty.

Our Summer 2025 series, Beside Still Waters, focuses on the places where creativity brings life into a world fatigued by brokenness and division. From jazz to Jane Austen and in between, this season we’ll focus on the ways literature and the arts can refresh and challenge our inner lives—and connect us with the Creator of the good, the true, and the beautiful.In this episode, our guides are modern hymn writers Keith and Kristyn Getty. Back in 2019, we hosted a live Evening Conversation in which they explored the ways in which music can speak to our spiritual hunger and shape our sense of beauty, truth, and purpose: "Our singing doesn't just affect each one of us. We are a witness to the world around us. When we sing, we are always a witness."We hope this conversation will resonate with you as you explore the good, the true, and the beautiful in your own corner of creation. If it does, please consider joining the Trinity Forum community as a member, at ttf.org. You can find the full video of this conversation there too. And while you’re here, please subscribe to this podcast on your chosen platform. Learn more about the Gettys. Watch our Evening Conversation. Authors, artists, and books mentioned in the conversation:Peter KreeftThe Republic, by PlatoDamon of AthensSing: How Worship Transforms your Life, Family, and Church, by Keith and Kristyn GettyUnwearied Praises: Exploring Christian Faith Through Classic Hymns, by Dr. Jeff GreenmanThe Pedagogy of Praise, by Dr. Jeff GreenmanJohn LennoxLucy ShawEugene PetersJ.I. PackerMartin LutherLeonard BernsteinAmy CarmichaelCecil Frances AlexanderOs GuinnessCharles SpurgeonLloyd JonesD.L. Moody Related Trinity Forum Readings:Handel’s Messiah Related Conversations:Waiting on the Word with Malcolm GuitePoetry & Beauty in Solitude with Dana Gioia

Our Summer 2025 series, Beside Still Waters, focuses on the places where creativity brings life into a world fatigued by brokenness and division. From jazz to Jane Austen and in between, this season we’ll focus on the ways literature and the arts can refresh and challenge our inner lives—and connect us with the Creator of the good, the true, and the beautiful.In this episode, our focus is Jane Austen, and our guide is Karen Swallow Prior, one of our Trinity Forum Senior Fellows.Karen explores the faith-informed perspective on virtue that Austen’s novels reflect:"Underneath the surface [Austen] is inviting us to look at our own interactions with one another, our own misperceptions, and misreadings, and I think that’s really why her work has remained so endearing to us today; because she reveals the truths of our human condition that never change, and that we’re always wrestling with."Jane Austen’s world and concerns seem distant from ours. Yet across the centuries, she illuminates the importance of the seemingly mundane, and the path towards repaired and rightly ordered relationships. If this work resonates with you, consider joining the Trinity Forum community as a member, at ttf.org. This episode is drawn from an online conversation held in 2021. You can find the full video of this conversation here. And while you’re here, please subscribe to this podcast.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility,   by Jane AustenAmusing Ourselves to Death, by Neil PostmanPraying with Jane, by Rachel Dodge  Alasdair MacIntyreWilliam ShakespeareRelated Trinity Forum Readings:Pride and Prejudice, a Trinity Forum Reading by Jane AustenBulletins from Immortality, a Trinity Forum Reading by Emily DickinsonRevelation, a Trinity Forum Reading by Flannery O’Connor God's Grandeur , a Trinity Forum Reading by Gerard Manley Hopkins 

Diana Glyer, an author and professor specializing in C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, discusses the enchanting world of the Inklings. She highlights how small communities of like-minded individuals foster creativity and collaboration, transforming rivalry into deep friendships. Glyer explores the necessity of thoughtful inquiry and active listening in bridging differences, and the lasting impact of their literary contributions. Her insights illuminate how nurturing connections can inspire culture-shaping creativity in our own lives.

Our Summer 2025 series, Beside Still Waters, focuses on the places where creativity brings life into a world fatigued by brokenness and division. From jazz to Jane Austen and in between, this season we’ll focus on the ways literature and the arts can refresh and challenge our inner lives—and connect us with the Creator of the good, the true, and the beautiful.How should we live faithfully within a world created to be good and beautiful, and yet everywhere marred by ugliness and injustice? Jazz vocalist and composer Ruth Naomi Floyd will guide us in bringing together music, creativity, and justice, and help us think about our roles in repairing, re-envisioning, and creating new places of beauty and flourishing:We know that art shapes and reshapes us and that it’s there in the cross of Jesus, I believe, where beauty and violence collided and beauty won. And so that act of loving someone…purposely trying to love someone, especially those that seem or are viewed or deemed unlovable, is…directly connected and intrinsically connected to our art making.We hope you are encouraged by Ruth’s artistic journey, as she helps us to find beauty in the midst of suffering, and to express love through creativity.This podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in 2021. Watch the full video of the conversation here, and learn more about Ruth Naomi Floyd.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:The Frederick Douglass Jazz WorksIt Was Good, Making Music to the Glory of God, by Ruth Naomi FloydThe Problem of Good, by Ruth Naomi FloydDr. John NunezToni MorrisonMartin Luther King Jr.Vincent van GoghHans Christian AndersenMiles DavisFrancis SchaefferJoshua StamperRelated Trinity Forum Readings:A Narrative of the Life of Frederick DouglassLetters from Vincent van GoghLetter from Birmingham Jail, by Martin Luther King Jr.Revelation, by Flannery O’ConnorBulletins from Immortality, by Emily DickinsonRelated Conversations:A New Year With The Word with Malcolm GuiteTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum Society

In this episode we’re joined by theologian and bestselling author Miroslav Volf of Yale Divinity School. His latest book is The Cost of Ambition: How Striving to Be Better Than Others is Making Us Worse.  The question he explores is one that relates to all of us: how can we find a way to strive for excellence, rather than for superiority over those around us? Finding new insights in familiar Biblical passages and the Christian tradition, he’ll help us to defy our culture of merciless ambition:Let’s dare trust in the God who comes down to serve those who are a refuse of society. And let’s trust in that unconditional love of God that takes those of us who are nothing and places us to become sharers of the community of those who are God’s beloved children.This episode is drawn from an online conversation held in 2025. It’ll give you a sense of what the Trinity Forum is about: a community of people working to keep the Christian intellectual tradition alive, and to nurture new growth in it in our time, for the renewal of our culture.  If that resonates with you, please join the Trinity Forum as a member at ttf.org. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Lydia Dugdale, a physician and medical ethicist in NYC, dives deep into the complexities of life and death through the lens of the Christian tradition. She champions open discussions about death, emphasizing its significance in our lives. The conversation touches on the decline of historical practices surrounding dying, the role of faith communities in end-of-life decisions, and how modern technology intersects with compassionate care. Ultimately, Lydia encourages embracing life fully while holding a profound understanding of mortality's place in our journey.

Ross Douthat, a New York Times columnist and author of 'Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious,' discusses the importance of belief in an increasingly secular world. He argues that traditional faith offers essential truth and purpose, pushing back against materialism. The conversation explores the obligation of faith and the complexities of navigating spiritual landscapes today. Douthat addresses contemporary paganism and the fragmentation of belief while emphasizing that doubt and faith coexist, inviting listeners to rethink their spiritual journeys.

In this engaging discussion, Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist known for his insights into morality and politics, teams up with culture expert Andy Crouch, whose work bridges creativity and faith. They delve into the seductive grasp of technology on human connection, arguing that it distorts relationships and community. The duo critiques social media's role in undermining democracy and mental health while championing the need for trust and ancient wisdom in overcoming modern challenges. Their conversation illuminates the path to reclaiming authentic relationships in a tech-dominated world.