English L'Abri

Drawing on research conducted in a small town in the American Midwest to explore some of the motivations and meanings attached to white evangelical support for Donald Trump, this lecture reflects on the puzzling relationships between religion, race, and politics that have unfolded in the United States over the last eighteen months.A lecture given by Jessamin Birdsall (PhD candidate, Princeton University) at English L'Abri on 3 November, 2017. For more information, visit labri.org/england and for more L'Abri lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library.For further study:"White Evangelicals for Trump" (Jessamin Birdsall)Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s (David Bebbington) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

Many voices in our culture extol the value of authenticity. But what does it mean to be authentic? Does it mean being real, genuine, not fake—completely honest? Or is our current use of the word closer to the Latin root author, i.e. to be your own author, true to yourself no matter what? This lecture explores these definitions of authenticity as a way of approaching an even bigger question: Is God ‘I am’ or am I?A lecture given by Edith Reitsema (L'Abri Worker) at English L'Abri on 27 October, 2017. For more information, visit labri.org/england and for more L'Abri lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

A look at how the theology of Martin Luther and John Calvin effected significant changes in the musical forms of the medieval church.A lecture given by Judy Raines at English L'Abri on 21 October, 2017. For more information, visit labri.org/england and for more L'Abri lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

Many today feel uncertain about how to respond to a changing technological landscape. If neither technophobia nor technophoria are adequate responses, can we chart a middle way? This lecture outlines a few rules for what technology is, how it behaves, what we should do about it, and proposes a response that avoids the double dangers of fear and utopianism. The second part of this series is now available.A lecture given by Andy Patton (L'Abri Worker) at English L'Abri on 18 October, 2017. For more information, visit labri.org/england and for more L'Abri lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library.For further reading:What Technology Wants (Kevin Kelly)Understanding Media (Marshall McLuhan)Technopoly (Neil Postman)The Technological Society (Jacques Ellul)The Singularity Is Near (Ray Kurzweil) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

In their recent book Modern Art and the Life of a Culture, Jonathan Anderson and William Dyrness offer a rereading of the history of modern art, including such important artists as Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Warhol, and others. In the book and this lecture, Anderson explores episodes in modern art history that are more shaped by religious contexts and theological concerns than they are usually given credit for, questioning the narrative Hans Rookmaaker offered in his influential book, Modern Art and the Death of a Culture (1970).A lecture given by Jonathan Anderson (Assosciate Professor of Art, Biola University, USA) at English L'Abri on 13 October, 2017. For more information, visit labri.org/england and for more L'Abri lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

The sixteenth-century reformer John Calvin is not generally know for his enthusiasm for the visual arts. Yet he widely praised the arts in general as good gifts of God's creation for the common good and enjoyment of all. In this 500th anniversary year of the Reformation, this lecture takes a closer look at Calvin's comments on the arts in his Institutes of the Christian Religion and considers what may still be of value.A lecture given by Adrienne Chaplin (Independent Scholar and Visiting Research Fellow, King's College London) at English L'Abri on 6 October, 2017. For more information, visit labri.org/england and for more L'Abri lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

T. S. Eliot is among the greatest poets of the twentieth century. However, his masterpiece The Four Quartets, remains an evocative mystery to many readers. In The Four Quartets we see a Christian poet at the height of his maturity. It is a meditation on time, suffering, modernity, God, the human experience, and much more that rewards an evening's study and a lifetime's reading.A lecture given by Andy Patton (L'Abri Worker) at English L'Abri on 29 September, 2017. For more information, visit labri.org/england and for more L'Abri lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

Contemporary sociologists argue that the way we see the world is socially created within cultures. “Girls wear pink and boys wear blue,” for example, is not a universal law but something created within twentieth-century Western culture through discourse around what it means to be male and female. If reality is socially created, then it can be recreated. But is this true of all of reality? Can gender, religion, morality, and even our own humanness be shaped and reshaped as we choose? A lecture given by Jim Paul (L'Abri Worker) at English L'Abri on 22 September, 2017. For more information, visit labri.org/england and for more L'Abri lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library. For further reading:The Social Construction of Reality (Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann)The Abolition of Man (C.S. Lewis) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

The third and final talk from our summer day conference on the Bible. Printed materials from the event are available at this link. This is a partial recording of a longer, interactive session.For further study, visit Myrtlefield House for a very useful source for ideas about reading the Bible as literature. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

The second of three talks from our summer day conference on the Bible. Printed materials from the event are available at this link.For further study:Jesus and the Eyewitnesses (Richard Bauckham)How We Got the Bible (Neil R. Lightfoot)The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? (F. F. Bruce)The Historical Reliability of the Gospels (Craig Blomberg) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com