The Permanent Things

In this episode, I talk to Dr. Daniel Spillman, a professor in OBU's Western Civ. sequence, about the dangers of Utopian thinking and the death toll that comes from immanentizing the eschaton.  Books mentioned in this episode: Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville Communism: A History by Richard Pipes Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 1984 by George Orwell Animal Farm by George Orwell

In this episode I discuss Homer and Virgil with the eminent classicist and translator Stanley Lombardo. I am particularly taken by Lombardo's concept of "Locking eyebrows with the old masters," that is reading to see the world through the eyes of Homer or Virgil.  A note on audio quality: because my usual podcasting long-distance service failed us, I had to resort to speaking with Prof. Lombardo via cell phone. The audio quality in this episode is thus not up to the usual show standards. The quality of the conversation, however, more than makes up for that. Books mentioned in this episode: Homer's Iliad, trans. Stanley Lombardo  Homer's Odyssey, trans. Stanley Lombardo Virgil's Aeneid, trans. Stanley Lombardo

D.H. Dilbeck, author of Frederick Douglass: America's Prophet, discusses the role of faith in the life of the famous abolitionist and runaway slave. Books mentioned in this episode: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass My Bondage and My Freedom, by Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass: America's Prophet, by D.H. Dilbeck

Books mentioned in this episode: The American Revolution and the Press: The Promise of Independence by Carol Sue Humphrey Prelude to Independence: The Newspaper War on Britain, 1764-1776 by Arthur Schlesinger The History of Printing in America by Isiah Thomas

In this episode, I ask Dr. Christopher McMillion, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Oklahoma Baptist University, six questions about the American constitution. Books mentioned: The Constitution of the United State of America The Federalist Papers Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, by Pauline Maier

Alan Noble, editor of Christ and Pop Culture and author of Disruptive Witness, dives deep into modernity and secularization. He discusses the shift from external sources of meaning to individual interpretations and contrasts existential uncertainty in Hamlet with spiritual clarity in Dante. Noble explains how technology fosters an immanent worldview, complicating Christian witness. He emphasizes the value of art in revealing a longing for transcendence and critiques churches prioritizing efficiency over human dignity.

In this episode, I take a few minutes to explain why the liberal arts matter for the church. Books mentioned: Politics by Aristotle Confesssions by Augustine The Voice of Liberal Learning by Michael Oakeshott

I'm joined by Tawa Anderson, apologist and philosopher, to discuss points of agreement and points of conflict between the eighteenth-century Enlightenment and the traditional Christian view of the world. Books mentioned in this episode: An Introduction to Christian Worldview: Pursuing God's Perspective in a Pluralistic World, by Tawa Anderson, David Naugle, and Michael Clark The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog, by James Sire A History of Western Philosophy: From the Pre-Socratics to Postmodernism, by C. Stephen Evans "What is Enlightenment" by Immanuel Kant 

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Christopher Hair about the work of John Milton, particularly his Paradise Lost. We discuss the unique charms of Milton's work and what makes Milton such an important writer for understanding the past and for thinking about today. Books mentioned in this episode: Paradise Lost by John Milton Areopagitica by John Milton

In this episode I take a solo flight to talk about death and its inevitability. Starting from the Princess Bride and Hamlet, we take a brief tour of the memento mori topos in Western literature from Homer and the Bible to Gerard Manley Hopkins and Robert Frost.  Works Mentioned in the Episode: Hamlet by William Shakespeare The Book of Common Prayer The Iliad by Homer The Odyssey by Homer The Aeneid by Virgil Confessions by Augustine "The Wanderer"  Beowulf The Divine Comedy by Dante The Dance of Death by Hans Holberlin the Younger Everyman The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer Devotions Upon Divergent Occasions by John Donne  Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson In Memoriam by Alfred Lord Tennyson "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost "Spring and Fall" by Gerard Manley Hopkins