The Ad Fontes Podcast: Recent Episodes
Ad Fontes
The writers and editors podcast of Ad Fontes, a journal of Protestant letters from The Davenant Institute. We don't just think ABOUT the sources; we think THROUGH the sources.
This week Rhys, Colin, and Jonathan continue the podcast's readthorugh of Begotten or Made? This time they discuss the relational and procreative good of marriage and how they relate, why IVF is Nietzschean, and what Protestants think of contraception.
Timestamps
00:00:00-00:09:38 - intro, recap, the unitive/relation good of marriage
00:09:47-00:18:47 relation of various goods in marriage
00:18:57-00:37:51 - why IVF is Nietzschean
00:38:00-47:00:00 - Protestants and contraception
00:47:10-end - what we're reading; spotlight; wrap up
Texts DiscussedBegotten or Made? by Oliver O'Donovan
SpotlightOn the Death of Christ and Other Atonement Writingsby John Davenant
What We're ReadingJonathan: The Silmarillion by J.R.R Tolkien
Colin: Leviathan byThomas Hobbes
Rhys: Napoleon the Great by Andrew Roberts
Music
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This week, Rhys and Colin are joined by Davenant House Groundskeeper Jonathan McKenzie to discuss the virtue of moderation. Prompted by Davenant Press's recent publication A Treatise on Christian Moderation, they discuss the philosophical history of moderation, how it relates to both physical and intellectual pursuits, and how it fits into the pursuit of holiness.
Timestamps
00:00:00-00:14:00 - intro; defining moderation with Aristotle
00:14:11-00:32:57 - Joseph Hall and the civil war; physical and intellectual moderation
00:33:07-00:46:49 - objections to moderation; moderation as an extreme
00:46:49-end - what we're reading; spotlight; end
Texts DiscussedA Treatise on Christian Moderation by Joseph Hall
SpotlightAd Fontes Winter 2024 print edition available now!
What We're ReadingJonathan: David Pareus and Richard Baxter
Colin: King Lear by William Shakespeare
Rhys: Poet of Revolution: The Making of John Milton by Nicholas McDowell
Music
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Recorded in August 2023, Colin hosts this special live episode with the return of Onsi Kamel and our most featured guest, Colin's brother Justin.
Colin, Onsi, and Justin discuss a paper Onsi delivered at the Bay Area Thomas Aquinas Society conference on a Thomistic view of "place". Albert the Great, Thomas' mentor, saw close links between metaphysics and his view of place physics - a physics which we now know is outdated. What did he believe about place? Does it hold up today with modern science? Can we salvage anything from medieval views of place and metaphysics?
Timestamps
00:00:00-00:11:35 - theology and science; Thomistic physics and metaphysics; place
00:11:43-00:23:51 - Albert the Great on place; place and form; what the sun does
00:24:02-end four elements; is space relative or absolute?; why space matters
Texts DiscussedDe Natura Loci by Albert the Great
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Happy New Year! Rhys and Colin are back together to discuss Made Like the Maker, the second volume in Colin's modernization of Thomas Traherne's Christian Ethics. They talk about who Traherne was, before diving into the nature of Christian ethics, what wisdom of "the whole" means, and Colin's provocative introductory essay to the book.
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Timestamps00:00:00 – 00:08:31 - welcome; intro to Thomas Traherne
00:08:40 - 00:22:10 - the nature of Christian ethics
00:22:21 - 00:27:03 - wisdom and knowledge of the whole
00:27:13 - 00:42:00 - the spiritual technology of Christian poetics
00:42:08 - end - what we're reading; spotlight; wrap-up
Currently Reading
Colin:The Lord of the Ringsby J.R.R. Tolkien
Rhys: All the Pretty Horsesby Cormac McCarthy
Texts DiscussedMade Like the Makerby Thomas Traherne
"Errantry" by J.R.R. Tolkien
SpotlightNatural Theology: A Biblical and Historical Introduction and Defense (Second Edition)by David Haines
Music
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It's a Christmas special! This week, Rhys and Colin discuss an unlikely candidate for a Christmas story: The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Is there anything festive to be fount in this famously bleak post-apocalyptic story? Much in every way!
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Timestamps00:00:00 – 00:11:17 - welcome; introduction to The Road
00:11:28 - 00:21:18 - The Road as a love story; Platonic forms; materialism
00:21:28 - 00:31:54 - the Word of God; carrying the fire
00:32:04 -00:46:31 the truth about the world; effeminacy
00:46:41 - end - what we're reading; Davenant Spotlight, wrap-up
Currently Reading
Colin: The Harmonian Manby Charles Fourier
Rhys: Mystery in Whiteby J. Jefferson Farjeon
Texts DiscussedThe Road by Cormac McCarthy
SpotlightGive to Davenant's 2023 End of Year fundraising campagin!
Music
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This week, Rhys and Colin continue their readthrough of Begotten or Made? by Oliver O'Donovan. Continuing through Chapter 3, they discuss the realities of artificial insemination by donor, covering the ethics of donor anonymity, and the motives behind AID verses adoption.
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Timestamps00:00:00 – 00:19:08 Intro; recap; the ends of the procreative organs; representation by effacement or replacement
00:19:19 - 00:27:29 - donor anonymity
00:27:41 - 00:47:03 - is AID like adoption?
00:47:13 - end - What We're Reading; Davenant Spotlight; wrap up
Currently Reading
Colin: Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Defining Difference by Audre Lorde
Rhys: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Texts DiscussedBegotten or Made?by Oliver O'Donovan
SpotlightGive to Davenant's 2023 End of Year fundraising campagin!
Music
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This week, Rhys and Colin continue their readthrough of Begotten or Made? by Oliver O'Donovan. In Ch. 3, O'Donovan finally addresses the topic of artificial insemination, addressing questions about the ends of medical intervention; the differences between cure, compensation, and circumvention in treatment; and the ethics of involving a third party in the reproductive process.
Subscribe to Ad Fontes **from just $2.50 per month! Gain access to our quaterly print editions and exclusive interviews, and support our work.
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Timestamps00:00:00 – 00:10:39 - Intro; recap; the possibility of artificial insemination by donor
00:10:50 – 00:24:43 - the ends of AID; the multiple goods of the procreative organs; cure, circumvention, and compensation
00:24:54 – 00:38:39 - ethics of the third party in AID; reproduction a private act; proxy relationships and their limits
00:38:38 – 00:50:14 - the Patriarchal and Levirate patterns in Scripture; problematic anonymity of AID
00:50:23 - end - What We’re Reading; Spotlight; wrap-up
Currently Reading
Colin: The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Rhys: Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes
Texts DiscussedBegotten or Made?by Oliver O'Donovan
SpotlightDavenant Hall Hilary Term Class Registration (REGISTER NOW!)
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This week, Rhys and Colin are joined by Nathan Johnson, Provost of Davenant Hall, to discuss his Ad Fontes article "When Rights Go Wrong: Simone Weil on Uprootedness and the Way Forward". Why are obligations more important than rights? What roots do human societies need to flourish? And is rootedness compatible with multiculturalism? They discuss all these questions and more!
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Timestamps00:00:00-00:13:21 - Intro; introduction to Simon Weil and The Need for Roots
00:13:31-00:30:52 difference between rights and obligations; Weil vs. the social contract
00:31:03-00:54:14 the need for roots; roots and multiculturalism
00:54:24-end - what we're reading; spotlight; wrap up
Currently Reading
Colin: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglassby Frederick Douglass
Rhys: Covenant: The New Politics of Home, Neighbourhood, and Nationby Danny Kruger
Nathan: The Shining Human Creatureby Thomas Traherne
Texts Discussed"When Rights Go Wrong: Simone Weil on Uprootedness and the Way Forward" by Nathan JohnsonThe Need for Rootsby Simone Weil"The Iliad, or the Poem of Force" by Simone Weil
SpotlightMade Like the Makerby Thomas Traherne (pre-order now!)
Music
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This week, Rhys and Colin resume their walkthrough of Begotten or Made? by Oliver O'Donovan.
Having discussed "the psychological case" in transsexualism, they now discuss O'Donovan's account of "the social case". What are we saying when we refuse to admit someone is "in the wrong body", yet make social allowances for them? Should medicine be marhsaled in service of social problems? And whose job is it to make someone face reality? All these questions and more are hashed out this week.
Subscribe to Ad Fontes **from just $2.50 per month! Gain access to our quaterly print editions and exclusive interviews, and support our work.
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Timestamps00:00:00-00:07:00 - Intro; Begotten or Made? recap
00:07:13-00:30:30 - "The social case" in transsexualism; reality claims; changes in trans issues; accommodation at scale; can you put the breaks on?; thankfulness for reality
00:30:40-00:38:43 - Who is responsible for burdening someone with reality?; can we avoid the reductio ad absurdum?;00:38:53-00:45:23 - Welcome v. acceptance of reality; vocations of the body
00:45:33-end - What We're Reading; Davenant Spotlight; wrap up
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Colin: The Florentine Codexby Bernardino de Sagahun
Rhys: A Prefeace to Paradise Lostby C.S. Lewis
Texts DiscussedBegotten or Made?by Oliver O'Donovan
SpotlightCommunicating God's Trinitarian Fullness by Joe Rigney
Music
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We're back! This week, Rhys and Colin are joined by James Wood, discussing his recent Ad Fontes article "How Abraham Kuyper Lost the Nation and Sidelined the Church."
They discuss Kuyper's approach to church and state, the critiques made by his forgotten foil Hoedemaker, and how their debates are relevant to contemporary debates about politics and the renewal of the church.
Subscribe to Ad Fontes **from just $2.50 per month! Gain access to our quaterly print editions and exclusive interviews, and support our work.
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Timestamps00:00:00-:00:11:09 - Intro and introduction to Abraham Kuyper
00:11:18-00:24:16 - Kuyper on church and state; Hoedemaker's objections
00:24:28-00:34:17 - Hoedemaker, a bridge between Reformation political theology and modern liberal politics; Christians and public schools
00:34:28-00:52:16 - important dead Dutch guys; staying or going in compromised denominations
00:52:26-end - what we're reading; conclusion
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Colin: Starry Messengerby Galileo Galilei
Rhys: Mansfield Parkby Jane Austen
James: City of Godby Augustine; Reformed Ethicsby Herman Bavinck; TheToxic War on Masculinityby Nancy Pearcey
Texts Discussed"How Abraham Kuype Lost the Nation and Sidelined the Church" by James Wood
"Calvin's Complex Ecumenism" by James Wood
Aaron's Rod Blossomingby George Gillespie
The Two Kingdoms: A Guide for the Perplexedby Brad Littlejohn
Music
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In Onsi's final episode as a host, he, Colin, and Rhys talk about the dominant force in American Protestantism: the non-denominational megachurch (or, to its truest admirers, "hot dog church"). Does Davenant do hot dog church? What are its strengths? How does it fit into the Reformation tradition?
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Texts Discussed"Catholicism Made Me Protestant" by Onsi Kamel
Confessionsby Augustine
SpotlightSecond Annual Bay Area Davenant Dinner (Saturday August 12 2023)
The classical education world has experienced some healthy internal debate recently. Two significant features of modern education - an emphasis on diversity and the prevalence of standardized testing - have come into focus in discussions around the increasingly popular Classical Learning Test (CLT). Here, we repost audio of a Twitter Spaces conversation between Colin Redemer and Jeremy Tate, Founder and CEO of the CLT as they discuss the state of the CLT and classical education more broadly.
Articles Behind the Discussion"Classical Education's Woke Co-Morbidity" by Matthew Freeman
"Awkward Family Dinner: A Review of Reforming Classical Education" by Austin Hoffman
"Revisiting Platonic Education: The Ever Shareable Feast" by Colin Redemer
"The Ends of "Mere Classical" Schools" by Clifford Humphrey
"Diverse Classics and Whole Person" by Jeremy Tate
"Toward A Classical Counter Elite" by Matthew Freeman
"Is the CLT going woke?" by Ben Merkle
Recorded LIVE at our 2023 National Convivium Irenicum, Colin and Onsi are joined by Pastor Daniel Doleys to discuss the sessions from our annual gathering, which focussed on "Christ and the Nations: A Protestant Theology of Statecraft". They talk about Schleirmacher, kingship, supererrogation (whatever that is), and more.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: "Against Aristotle on the Eternity of the World" by John Philoponus
Colin: "White Dress" by Lana Del Rey
Daniel: "Divine Providence" by Stephen Charnock
Texts DiscussedN/A
SpotlightSynopsis of a Purer Theology
This week, Onsi, Colin, and Rhys answer YOUR questions! They talk about Onsi's problem with C.S. Lewis, working in a Catholic college, a curriculum for the classics, Protestant and Thomism, whether modernity exists, and why they've remained silent on the topic of fairies.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: The Book of Khalidby Ameen Rihani
Colin: "She Walks in Beauty" by Lord Byron
Rhys: First Person Singularby Haruki Murakami
Texts DiscussedThe Iliad and the Odysseyby HomerTheogony and Works and Daysby Hesiod
Meditationsby Marcus Aurelius
Livesby PlutarchEnduring Divine Absenceby Joseph Minich
Bulwarks of Unbeliefby Joseph Minich
The Discarded Imageby C.S. Lewis
The Myth of Disecnhantmentby Jason Josephson-Storm
SpotlightItaly's Forgotten Reformation (Register by Wednesday 24th May!)
How does our society perceive gender confusion? Continuing their readthrough of Begotten or Made? Onsi, Colin, and Rhys discuss what Oliver O'Donovan calls "the psychological case", one of two ways our society tries to explain the problem, but which he argues is fraught with insonsistencies.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: The Philosophy of Historyby G.W.F. Hegel
Colin: The Social Contractby Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rhys: God's Clockmaker: Richard of Wallingford and the Invention of Timeby John North
Texts DiscussedBegotten or Made?by Oliver O'Donovan
SpotlightSubscribe to Ad Fontes to gain access to our upcoming Spring 2023 edition!
People talk a lot about "the image of God" these days, or the imago dei. But what do they mean by this? Often, it's not what people used to mean. This week Onsi, Colin, and Rhys talk about shifting views of "the image of God", the lack of traditional consensus on the topic, and whether you even need the idea to talk about human dignity.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: The Art of Bible Translationby Robert Alter
Colin: The Nixton Tapes: 1973, edited by Douglas Brinkley and Luke A. Nichter
Rhys: A Brief History of the Hundred Years Warby Desmond Seward
Texts DiscussedRhys' midwit meme
De Trinitateby Augustine
Categoriesby Aristotle
Summa Theologiae I.91.a3 by Thomas Aquinas (on angels and the image of God)Institutes1.15.3 by John Calvin
SpotlightFirst Annual Davenant Award Banquet (Wednesday 19th April 2023)
Should Christian classical education teach Plato? Or any philosophy, for that matter? This week, Onsi, Colin, and Rhys discuss Colin's recent Ad Fontes article, responding a to a review of his chapter in Reforming Classical Education. They discuss whether Christian high schoolers should really be learning philosophy, and why Christians who believe philosophical primary texts to be important should handle them with care.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: The Republic of Arabic Letters: Islam and the European Englightenmentby Alexander Bevilacqua
Colin: Discourse of Method and Mediations on First PhilosophybyRene Descartes
Rhys: The Dissolution of the Monasteries: A New HistorybyJames G.L. Clark
Texts DiscussedReforming Classical Education: A New Paradigm"Awkward Family Dinner: A Review of Reforming Classical Education" by Austin Hoffman"Revisiting Platonic Education: The Ever Sharable Feast" by Colin Redemer
"Same-Sex Marriage and Constitutional Law" by Martha Nussbaum
Republicby Plato
SpotlightThe New Albion- Rhys Laverty's new Substack (subscribe now!)
How did our society's view of freedom come about? And why would Christians ever have a problem with compassion? Continuing their readthrough of Begotten or Made?, Onsi, Colin, and Rhys discuss these big questions, which ends up involving a surprisng conversation about opera.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: The Passenger andStella Marisby Cormac McCarthy
Colin: Beyond Good and Evilby Friedrich Nietzsche
Rhys: Stories With Intentby Klyne R. Snodgrass
Texts DiscussedBegotten or Made?by Oliver O'Donovan
"Wartime broadcast, 1940" by Princess Elizabeth and Princes Margaret
That Hideous Strengthby C.S. Lewis The Abolition of Manby C.S. Lewis Meaning in Historyby Karl LowithThe Magic Fluteby Mozart
Fidelioby Beethoven
SpotlightThe Shining Human Creatureby Thomas Traherne
Procreation is linked to the male-female binary. But how do we respond to that reality: with welcome, or resentment? Onsi, Colin, and Rhys continue their readthrough of Oliver O'Donovan's Begotten or Made? and tackle this question and more as they reach Chapter 2, "Sex By Artifice."
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: The Search After Truthby Nicolas Malebranche
Colin: Mutlipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarterby Liz Wiseman
Rhys: They Were Countedby Miklos Banffy
Texts DiscussedBegotten or Made?by Oliver O'Donovan
That Hideous Strengthby C.S. Lewis
"St. Andrew's Day, 1935" by George Orwell
Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Bodyby Pope John Paul II
SpotlightRegister now for Spring Term Davenant Hall class! (Deadline 3/31/23)
How should Christians approach Bible translation? Should Scripture be fitted into out native language, or should our native language stretch to make room for Scripture?
This is a key question for Protestantism, which was birthed in the context of new biblical translations. Translations produced by Protestants, such as Luther's Bible and the KJV, have undoubtedly shaped their native tongues. This week, Onsi, Colin, and Rhys talk about different translations and their approaches.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Collected Poemsby C.P. Cavafy
Colin: A Secular Ageby Charles Taylor
Rhys: Richard IIby William Shakespeare
Texts Discussed"On the Different Methods of Translating" by Friedrich Schleirmacher
The Message by Eugene Peterson
"Presbyterians in Egypt" by Onsi Kamel
STEPBible
SpotlightAd Fontes Winter 2023 (coming Thursday 23rd February!)
Should technology have a role in human reproduction? This is the basic question tackled by Oliver O'Donovan's book Begotten or Made?, one of the 20th century's most important works of medical ethics, and recently republished by the Davenant Press. This week, our co-hosts continue their walkthrough of the book, unpacking its riches. They discuss what kind of art medicine is, why people seem to hate their own flesh, whether technocracy precedes technology, and more.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Tender is the Nightby F. Scott Fitzgerald
Colin: The Lord of the Ringsby J.R.R Tolkien
Rhys: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobeby C.S. Lewis (on Audible)
Texts DiscussedBegotten or Made?by Oliver O'Donovan
SpotlightSubscribe to Ad Fontes!
Thomas Traherne is an overlooked figure from church history. But this 17th century cleric, poet, and mystic has grown in popularity since being rediscovered in the 1890s. The Davenant Press is now publishing a new edition of his "Christian Ethics", a rich Christian meditation on how God made man to live. Our very own Colin Chan Redemer has modernized the text, and so we discuss Traherne and the first volume of the work, subtitled "The Shining Human Creature."
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: A Farwell to Armsby Ernest Hemingway
Colin: Thus Spake Zarathustraby Friedrich Nietzsche
Rhys: Shakespeare in a Year 2023 and Lectures on Shakespeareby W.H. Auden
Texts DiscussedThe Shining Human Creature: Christian Ethics Vol. 1by Thomas Traherne
"The Birth of Secularity: Henry More, Metaphysics, and the Battle for God's Spirit" by Onsi Kamel
SpotlightThe Shining Human Creature: Christian Ethics Vol. 1by Thomas Traherne (modernized and edited by Colin Chan Redemer) - published February 9th 2023
Should technology have a role in human reproduction? This is the basic question tackled by Oliver O'Donovan's book Begotten or Made?, one of the 20th century's most important works of medical ethics, and recently republished by the Davenant Press. This week, our co-hosts begin a walkthrough of the book, unpacking its riches. They discuss definitions of begetting vs. making, the category of "appropriateness" in ethics, and more.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Diogenes Unveiledby Fr. Paul Mankowski
Colin: The Passengerby Cormac McCarthy
Rhys: Miraclesby C.S. Lewis
Texts DiscussedBegotten or Made?by Oliver O'Donovan
"C.S. Lewis as Sage of Modernity" by Joseph Minich
"The World Was Not Worthy: In Memoriam Fr. Paul Mankowski" by Onsi Kamel
SpotlightThank you to all who donated to our 12/20 fundraising campgin! You can still give to Davenant and Ad Fontes here.
The workplace has changed beyond recognition. We live an an age of robots, offshored jobs, megacorporations and more. How can Protestant Christians begin to think about an economy that has undergone such sea changes? This week, Colin, Rhys, and special guest Joseph Minich discuss Colin and Joe's chapter on work and labor in Davenant's recent book Protestant Social Teaching to try and address some of these issues.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Colin: Commentary on Galatiansby Martin Luther
Rhys: That Hideous Strengthby C.S. Lewis
Joe: The Irreducibility of the Human Personby Mark Spencer/The Whole Mystery of Christ: Creation as Incarnation in Maximus Confessor by Jordan Daniel Wood
Texts DiscussedLuther on Vocationby Gustaf Wingren
Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII
SpotlightDavenant End of Year Giving
Pilgrim Faith Podcast
Do you smoke? The question provokes a lot of reactions these days, including among Christians. This week (still together live at ETS!) Onsi, Colin, and Rhys discuss the topic of smoking from a Christian perspective, bringing the Westminster Larger Catechism, Aristotle, C.S. Lewis, and Tolkien to bear on the conversation.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: The Healing by Ibn Sina
Colin: "Tobacco and the Soul" by Michael P. Foley
Rhys: That Hideous Strengthby C.S. Lewis
Texts DiscussedWestminster Larger Catechism Q. 134Prologue to The Fellowship of the Ring"Slightly less than two drinks" from That Mitchell & Webb Look
SpotlightSubscribe to Ad Fontes!
For the tirst time ever, all three of our hosts are together IN PERSON! Recorded live at ETS 2022, Onsi, Colin, and Rhys sit down to talk about rhetoric. What are our words for? Should we use words to shape the world? Is truth a monologue or a dialogue? Using Plato's Gorgias as a starting point, they get into these questions and more from a Christian perspective.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: The Confidence Manby Herman Melville
Colin: Revelations of Divine Loveby Julian of Norwich
Rhys: Wuthering Heightsby Emily Bronte
Texts DiscussedGorgiasby Plato
Confessionsby Augustine
SpotlightBegotten or Made? by Oliver O'Donovan (pre-order now)
This week, Alastair Roberts joins the crew to discuss his and Onsi's chapter on sex, marriage, and divorce in "Protestant Social Teaching: An Introduction", the Davenant Press's upcoming publication (due 10/13/22). The guys talk about how Augustine set the scene for Reformation debates on these topics, what Luther thought about marriage, Protestant views on divorce, and how Rome and the Protestants have influenced once another on this topic.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Heirs of the Apostles: Studies on Arabic Christianity in Honor of Sidney H. Griffith
Colin: TheOresteiaby Sophocles
Rhys: Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World by H.R.H. The Prince of Wales
Alastair: Nationalism: A Short Historyby Liah Greenfeld
Texts Discussed"On Marriage and Concupiscence" by Augustine
"The Estate of Marriage" by Martin Luther
"Commentary on Genesis 38" by John Calvin
"Gentle Discipline: Spenser's Faerie Queene and Christian Elites" by Joshua Patch
SpotlightProtestant Social Teaching(publication 10/13/22)The Anchored Argosy- Substack by Alastair Roberts and Susannah Black
Our very own Onsi Kamel has embarked upon his Ph.D studies, and is focussing on the intellectual relationship between Europe and the Islamic world in the early modern period. We take this chance to ask him what he'll be looking at, and what there is to be gained from digging into this neglected part of church history.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Essaysby Ralph Waldo Emerson
Colin: American Awakening: Identity Politics and Other Afflictions of Our TimebyJohsua Mitchell
Rhys: The Exodus You Almost Passed Overby Rabbi David Fohrman
Texts Discussed"Presbyterians in Egypt" by Onsi Aaron Kamel
SpotlightReforming Classical Education: Toward A New Paradigm
We're back! With summer over, Onsi, Colin, and Rhys are talking about the phenomenon of "going back to school." Why is our society built around this September rhythm, and the school year in general? Is it something that comes from Christendom? And how will it fare in an age where alternative online education options are becoming increasingly popular?
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age,1798-1939by Albert Hourani
Colin: Warspeak:Nietzsche's Victory Over Nihilismby Lise Van Boxel
Rhys: Perelandraby C.S. Lewis and The Romanovsby Simon Sebag Montefiore
Texts DiscussedN/A
SpotlightDavenant Hall Fall Term 2022 Courses (Register Before 9/11)
With Colin on vacation, Onsi and Rhys decide to talk about vocation. These days, people get pretty het up trying to find their "calling" or "vocation" in life - but they don't often realise that, in doing so, they're rehashing a foundational Protestant doctrine. Onsi and Rhys discuss how Luther kicked back against the medieval view of vocation, and gave dignity not just to our work but our other roles in life as well. But are there holes to pick in the Protestant doctrine? And is it still of us in a world much changed from that of the 1500s?
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: The Koran
Rhys: Piranesi by Susannah Clarke
Texts DiscussedThe Babylonian Captivity of the Churchby Martin Luther
The Freedom of a Christian by Martin Luther
On the Estate of Marriageby Martin Luther
Lectures on Galatiansby Martin Luther
"Inhabiting the Places of Promise: Luther's Teaching on the Three Institutions" by Michael Laffin
The Doctrine of the Church in the Theology of the Refomers by Paul D.L. Avis
SpotlightReforming Classical Education: Toward a New Paradigm(pre-order now, publication 8/2/22)
Colin recently wrote a provocative piece on the future of the university as an institution, and so he and Onsi have gone public with their longstanding personal debate about the topic. What is the university meant to be? What has it been seen as historically? Is it really in crisis, or just parts of it? Do we still need it today? And where does Davenant fit in?
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Acts of the Second Council of Constantinople
Colin: Thomism and Aristotelianismby Harry Jaffa
Texts Discussed"Creeds and Credentials: On Education and the Future" by Colin Redemer
Spotlight"How Davenant Can Redeem the DMV" with William Vega
Davenant DC Dinner Fundraiser
Marking the arrival of the Davenant Press's newest release, Serious Comedy, author Patrick Downey joins Onsi, Colin, and Rhys to discuss the republication of his work. They talk about the history of tragedy and comedy in the ancient world, how seriously Plato and Aristotle took writing, how the Bible changed everything, and how a post-Christian world is shifting in its relationship to its stories and acts of writing.
There are some minor audio issues with this episode which means the standard is slightly below what would normally adhere to. Please accept our apologies for that.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: The Rise of Christian Theology and the End of Ancient Metaphysicsby Johannes Zachhuber
Colin: "The Vial Poured Out Upon the Sea" by Cotton Mather
Rhys: "In Memoriam A.H.H." by Alfred Lord Tennyson
Patrick: The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesisby Leon Kass
Texts DiscussedPhaedrus by Plato
Symposiumby Plato
Poeticsby Aristotle
The Gay Scienceby Friedrich Nietzsche
Confessionsby Augustine
The Divine Comedyby Dante
"The Beloved Icon: An Augustinian Solution to the Problem of Sex" by Onsi A. Kamel
SpotlightSerious Comedy: The Philosophical and Theological Significance of Tragic and Comic Writing in the Western Traditionby Patrick Downey
In another special episode recorded at our 2022 National Convivium, Onsi and Colin are joined by Tim Jacobs, Davenant Teaching Fellow and (in a surprise apperance) Evan Zhuo, our Davenant House intern. They talk about the unique vibe of the Convivium, the surprising appeal of Reformed irenicism among Baptists, Herman Bavinck's forgotten teacher, and the diversity of philosophical positions within the Davenant Institute.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Tim: Richard Hooker and Peter Martyr Vermigli
Evan: Lyrical Balladsby Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth
Texts DiscussedA whole lot.
SpotlightFoundations of Virtue: Aristotle and Aquinas (registration is officially closed, but contact us to see if there are spaces left!)
In a special episode recorded at our 2022 National Convivium, Onsi and Colin are joined by Sam Bray, editor of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (International Edition). They talk about Thomas Cranmer, the prayer book's development, and the nature of liturgy, regulating worship, and the endless debate about the regulative principle.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi:A Perfect Spy by John Le Carre
Colin: C.S. Lewis and Leo Strauss on historicism
Sam: The City of Godby Augustine
Texts Discussed1662 Book of Common Prayer (International Edition)
Spotlight1662 Book of Common Prayer (International Edition)
It comes to us all: death. This week, Onsi, Colin, and Rhys talk about the last enemy, discussuing what death actually is metaphysically, how different philosophical traditions like the Socratics, the Stoics, and Existentialists have said we should prepare for death, and how Christianity uniquely transforms our approach to death.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Theodore Abu Qurrah
Colin: "A Prayer for the Ice Age" by Marion Shore
Rhys: "Death" by George Herbert
Texts DiscussedCrito by Plato
Republic by Plato
Tragic Sense of Lifeby Miguel De Unamuno
Fear and Tremblingby Soren Kierkegaard
What is the Hope for Humanity? A Discussion of Technology, Politics, and Theology by N.T. Wright and Peter Thiel
City of God Book XIII by Augustine
SpotlightUK Convivium 2022
Man is the rational animal - but what are the limits of his reason? That's this week's question. Onsi, Colin, and Rhys discuss the limits of human reason with regard to God, with some help from Descartes, Pascal, and Aquinas.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Pensees and Other Writingsby Blaise Pascal
Colin: "The Greek Ideas of Immortality" by Werner Jaeger
Rhys: Autumn Journal by Louis Macneice
Texts DiscussedPensees and Other Writingsby Blaise PascalDe Anima, Book III by Aristotle (on knowledge)Meditation III by Rene Descartes
"Descartes Among the Ancients" by Onsi KamelSumma Prima Pars Q. 12by Thomas Aquinas
SpotlightNatural Theologyby David Haines
Why is online theological education as exciting as an NFL draft? Davenant's Chief Development Director, Justin Redemer, joins the show again to talk about the first ever Davenant Hall Apocalypse - a special event unveiling the year ahead at Davenant Hall, and changes to our programs. The hosts use this as a chance to talk about the revolutionary work of Davenant Hall, and the state of higher education.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Collected Worksby Martin Luther
Colin: Lycurgusby Plutarch
Rhys: The Imperfect Life of T.S. Eliot by Lyndall Gordon
Justin: Economy and the Future: A Crisis of Faithby Jean-Pierre Dupuy
Texts DiscussedDavenant Fellows Lectures
SpotlightWatch out for our end of fiscal year fundraiser!
Davenant Hall Apocalypse
It's all about the Council of Nicaea folks. This week, Onsi, Colin, and Rhys begin a new series on the Seven Ecumenical Councils, kicking off with the Council of Nicaea. They talk about Constantine and church-state relations, the power of "homoousios", eternal generation, medieval astronomy, and more.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Lectures on Romansby Martin Luther
Colin: Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethicsby Thomas Aquinas
Rhys: Reformation Theology: A Reader of Primary Sources With Introductionsby The Davenant Press
Texts Discussed
Defending Constantineby Peter Leithart
Nicaea and Its Legacyby Lewis Ayres
From Nicaea to Chalcedonby Frances M. Young
Retrieving Nicaeaby Khaled Anatolios
SpotlightGod of Our Fathers: Classical Theism for the Contemporary Church
Dead languages are pointless, right? Wrong. This week, our hosts have a blast when they're joined by Ryan Hammill of the Ancient Language Institute, a partner of the Davenant Institute. They discuss the different reasons we learn ancient languages, whether they're for "normal" people, whether some languages are better than others, and more.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: THE BIBLE
Colin: What Is Political Philosophy? And Other Studiesby Leo Strauss
Rhys: W.H. Auden: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter
Ryan: The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Texts Discussed
N/A
SpotlightThe Ancient Language Institute
Why is preaching not a sacrament? That's the question this week. Onsi and Colin talk about what Protestants mean by "means of grace", look closely at some different confessions, explore the Law-Gospel distinction, and meditate on the nature of salvation and union with Christ.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Objections to Descartes' Meditations and Descartes' Repliesby Rene Descartes
Colin: Eudemian Ethicsby Aristotle
Texts Discussed
Westminster Larger Catechism, Q.154-155
"Article V. Law and Gospel" in the Book of Concord
"Of the Sacraments" (Institutes 4.14) by John Calvin
Explanation of the 95 Thesesby Martin Luther
"Charles Hodge, Wrong About and the Reformed Doctrine of the Eucharistic Presence" by Steven Wedgeworth
Spotlight"Old Aristotle, or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Aquinas" - April Fellows Lecture, Thursday 8pm ET on Zoom
John Calvin, father of Presbyterianism thought Anglicanism was a wishy-washy compromise, right? Wrong - dead wrong. This week, Rev. Steven Wedgeworth joins the hosts to discuss his recent writing on Calvin's surprisingly positive appraisal of the Church of England, and what contemporary Reformed Christians can learn from Calvin's approach. They also discuss Steven's own move into Anglicanism, and what ministry looks like in a Reformed Anglican church.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Invectivesby Petrach
Colin: Lives by Plutarch
Rhys: "The Discourse on Language" by Michel Foucault
Steven: Grace and Conformity by Stephen Hampton and England's Second Reformationby Anthony Milton
Texts Discussed"Calvin on the Church of England" by Steven Wedgeworth
SpotlightThe Irenic Protestant Podcast (ft. Steven Wedgeworth)
This week, our hosts are talking about the Psalms. What role have they played in Christian piety and worship over the centuries? Why did the Reformers place such importance on them? And why have they lost their spiritual primacy today?
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Deep Workby Cal Newport and The Intellectual Life by A.G.
Colin: Surprised By Joyby Colin Redemer
Rhys: Metamodernism: The Future of Theory byJason Josephson Storm
Texts Discussed"They Even Let The Heretics Keep the Psalms" by Rhys Laverty
"The Desert Island Book of the Massachusetts Colony" by Rhys Laverty
"Why Lewis and Keller Are Wrong About The Imprecatory Psalms" by Rhys Laverty
"Don't Keep The Imprecatory Psalms At Arm's Length" by Rhys Laverty
"The Return of the King? A Canonical Reading of Psalm 137" by Rhys LavertyThe Art of Biblical Poetryby Robert Alter
Interpreting Hebrew Poetryby David Peterson and Kent Harold Richards
"Why Even Non-Christians Lose From Growing Ignorance About The Bible" by Colin Redemer
SpotlightA Learned Discourse on Justificationby Richard Hooker
In a LIVE special Colin is the sole regular host, and is joined (again!) by Justin Redemer, and Davenant's new Research Fellow, Paul Shakeshaft. This motley crew debrief on our First Annual Bay Area Fundraiser, and how Davenant is supporting Christian witness in a hostile culture.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Colin: The Age of Anxietyby W.H. Auden
Justin: T.S Eliot Selected Poems by T.S Eliot
Paul: The Collected Essays of George Orwell by George Orwell/Boomers by Helen Andrews
Texts DiscussedN/A
SpotlightN/A
With a ground war in Europe filling the news once again, this week Onsi, Colin, and Rhys discuss the long Christian tradition of "Just War" theory. Rather than discussing current events specifically, they take a step back to consider what the tradition has to say, and discuss whether just war theory is actually of any practical use to political leaders.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age: 1798-1939by Albert Hourani
Colin: A Grief Observed and The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis
Rhys: Cezanneby Ulrike Becks-Malorny
Texts Discussed"Just War In Ukraine?" by Colin Redemer
Contra Faustum Book XXII by Augustine
City of God Book XIX by Augustine
Laws Book Iby Plato
Summa Theologiae II.II.40 by Thomas Aquinas
Contra Celsum by Origen
"The Justice of the Present War Examined" by G.E.M. Anscombe
Battling to the End: Conversations With Benoit Chantreby Rene Girard
"Jesus and Pacifism: A Correspondence" by Myles Werntz and Andrew Fulford
SpotlightJesus and Pacifism: An Exegetical and Historical Investigation by Andrew Fulford
Is there more to Tolkien than The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings? You betcha. This week, Colin and Rhys are joined by Dr. Jason Lepojärvi to discuss Tolkien's intellect and imagination, and to preview Jason's upcoming course on the subject next term at Davenant Hall (register by March 25th!)
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
N/A
Texts Discussed"On Fairy-Stories" byJ.R.R Tolkien
Leaf By Niggle by J.R.R Tolkien
Smith of Wootton Majorby J.R.R Tolkien
The Hobbitby J.R.R Tolkien
Tolkien in Oxford
SpotlightDiscovering J.R.R Tolkien: Intellect and Imagination (Spring Term Davenant Hall Course - regsiter by March 25th!)
Medieval England - a land of tyrannical kings and popish superstitions, right? Maybe not. This week, Onsi and Rhys are joined by Matthew Hoskin, Visting Fellow at Davenant Hall, to discuss the Church in medieval England, stretching from Anglo-Saxon times to the Reformation. Matthew is teaching an upcoming course on this topic for Davenant Hall next term, and you can register now.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Selected Discourses of Shenoute the Great
Rhys: Real England: The Battle Against the Blandby Paul Kingsnorth
Matthew: Pendragonby Stephen R. Lawhead
Texts DiscussedA whole lot of medieval stuff
SpotlightThe Church in Medieval England: 597-1485 (Davenant Hall Spring Term Course - register by March 25th!)
What's the role of financial generosity as the Church moves into an increasingly hostile culture? To mark the first annual Davenant Dinner Bay Area fundraiser (March 11th), Colin and Rhys are joined by Justin Redemer, Davenant's Chief Development Officer, to talk about generosity and magnificence from a philosophical and church historical perspective.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Colin: Battling to the End: Conversations with Benoit ChantrebyRene Girard
Rhys: Real England: The Battle Against the Bland by Paul Kingsnorth
Justin: Human Forever: The Digital Politics of Spiritual WarbyJames Poulos
Texts Discussed"The Three Worlds of Evangelicalism" by Aaron Renn
"The Power of the Catholic Intellectual Ecosystem" by Onsi Kamel
SpotlightChristian Witness in a Hostile Culture - 2022 Davenant Bay Area Dinner Fundraiser
What on earth is the Coptic Church? Most of us only know about the 21 Coptic martyrs of 2015, or about the Coptic Church rejecting the Council of Chalcedon in 451. But who are the Copts? Why did they part ways with the rest of the Church? And has persecution prompted us to reconsider if we're closer to them than we think? This week, Onsi (our resident Copt!) gets quizzed by Rhys and Colin.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Three Arabaic Treatises on Aristotle's Rhetoric: The Commentaries of Al-Farabi, Avicenna, and Averroes
Colin: his own tweets
Rhys: The Warden by Anthony Trollope
Texts Discussed"Unity Across the Chalcedonian Divide" by Lukas Stock
The 21: A Journey Into the Land of Coptic Martyrsby Martin Mosebach
"Cyril of Alexandria, letter to John of Antioch (Formula of Reunion)" by Cyril of Alexandria
SpotlightSubscribe to read the Winter 2022 edition of Ad Fontes
David Brooks recently gave evangelicals some advice in the New York Times about how to do evangelism. But should the Church take advice from the World about how to reach the World? Onsi, Colin, and Rhys discuss whether, biblically and historically, we should listen to the unbaptized about how we should do things.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: What Makes A Church Sacred?by Mary K. Farag
Colin: "Why Your Friends Have More Friends Than You Do"
Rhys: "The Impercipient" by Thomas Hardy
Texts Discussed"The Dissenters Trying to Save Evangelicalism from Itself" by David Brooks
Review of Silenceby Colin Redemer
Confessionsby Augustine
SpotlightDescartes in Context - Spring Term 2022 Davenant Hall Class with Onsi Kamel
The Aristotle Seminar II: Phenomenology and Psychology with Colin Redemer
Family devotions can, for many, feel like a continuous struggle. Is there anything historically minded Protestants can bring to the table to help? Onsi, Rhys, and Colin get real about family life this week.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Billy Budd, Bartleby, and Other Storiesby Herman Melville
Colin: Ressentiment byMax Sheler
Rhys: The One and the Many: A Contemporary Thomistic Metaphysicsby W. Norris Clarke
Texts DiscussedLuther's Small Catechism
Alastair Roberts on Small Groups
SpotlightWORLD Opinions
What is beauty? Is it on par with truth and goodness? And why don't people who agree about truth and goodness agree about beauty? This week, Rhys, Colin, and (eventually) Onsi discuss what a Christian philosophy of beauty means, and get into the weeds of music, architecture, and some good old-fashioned exegetical debate.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Synopsis of a Purer Theology Vol. 1
Colin: Friendshipby Victor Lee Austin
Rhys: The Rattle Bag by Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes
Texts DiscussedAugustine on the pre-eminance of sight among the senses in Confessions Book XJohn Calvin on musical instruments as being of the Old Covenant
Davenant SpotlightSubscribe to Ad Fontes!
What do you think of when you think of Zwingli? Sausages? Memorialism? Warfare? Despite his huge influence in the Reformation (and since), most Reformed Protestants know very little about Huldrych Zwingli. This week, Onsi and Rhys have read Zwingli: God's Armed Prophet, Bruce Gordon's fantastic new biography, and Colin quizzes them on the Reformer we hardly know.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Celestial Mattersby Richard Garfinkle
Colin: The Wife of Bath's Taleby Geoffrey Chaucer
Rhys: Alexandria by Paul Kingsnorth
Texts DiscussedZwingli: God's Armed Prophet by Bruce Gordon
Davenant SpotlightPhilosophy As A Way Of Life - Winter 2022 Davenant Hall class with Colin
Augustine's Anthropology, Ethics, and Politics - Winter 2022 Davenant Hall class with Onsi
Theme Music"Midnight Stroll" by Ghostrifter. Free to use under Creative Commons. Available here.
The Church Calendar is BACK - didn't you know? This week Onsi, Colin, and Rhys talk about why that might be. Should non-liturgical churches think twice about retrieving the calendar? How does it fit with Word ministry? And what can it tell us about the natural calendar of the seasons?
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Discourse on Metaphysics by G.W. Leibniz
Colin: "Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex" by Kimberle Crenshaw
Rhys: Richard II by William Shakespeare
Texts Discussed"Redeeming Forgiveness: The Keys of the Kingdom in Richard Hooker and Thomas Cartwright" by Onsi Kamel
Davenant SpotlightEnd of Year Giving 2021
Theme Music"Midnight Stroll" by Ghostrifter. Free to use under Creative Commons. Available here.
What is poetry? Why were Greek philosophers so wary of it? How do Scripture and the Christian tradition shape our view of it? And why is it like technology? Onsi, Colin, and Rhys consider a Christian approach to poetry in this week's episode, and are glad to find just how gloriously useless poetry can be.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading (Poems Read!)
Onsi: "Hearing of harvests, rotting in valleys" by W.H. Auden
Colin: Beowulf trans. by Seamus Heaney
Rhys: "Days" by Philip Larkin
Texts DiscussedRepublicby Plato
"Commentary on Genesis 1-4" by Martin Luther
Davenant SpotlightAd Fontes poetry submissions
Theme Music"Midnight Stroll" by Ghostrifter. Free to use under Creative Commons. Available here.
Coming to you LIVE from the Evangelical Theological Society Annual Meeting in Forth Worth, TX! Colin and Onsi, joined by Davenant colleagues Dale Stenberg and Michael Hughes, shoot the breeze and wonder about how Davenant fits into the evangelical world. Why do we attract more Millenials than Boomers? Can we build an evangelical intellectual ecosystem? And why do you wish you'd been at our after hours party?
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
N/A
Texts DiscussedThe Power of the Catholic Intellectual Ecosystem by Onsi Kamel
Davenant SpotlightN/A
Theme Music"Midnight Stroll" by Ghostrifter. Free to use under Creative Commons. Available here.
It's easy to dump on evangelicalism these days. But we do love it, and owe it a great deal. This week, Colin and Rhys take some time to talk about what they love about evangelicalism, for all its faults. They talk about its stress on a personal encounter with the external Word of the Gospel, the fruit its borne and how its outliving liberal Christianity, as well as what it actually is and how it differs in the US and UK.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Colin: Purgatorioby Dante (trans. by Mark Musa)
Rhys: Beast by Paul Kingsnorth
Texts DiscussedOrthodoxyby G.K. Chesterton
Pilgrim's Regressby C.S. Lewis
Davenant Spotlight2022 Convivium Irenicum: Philosophy and the Christian
Theme Music"Midnight Stroll" by Ghostrifter. Free to use under Creative Commons. Available here.
The newest Davenant Institute staff member, Development Diretor Justin Redemer (and yes, Colin's brother) joins Onsi and Colin this week to talk about how that came about, and why he's psyched to work here. They use this as a chance to talk about the institute's mission, where it might be going, and how our work has impacted Justin as both a high-school teaher and a men's pastor at church.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Augustine of Hippo: A Biographyby Peter Brown
Colin: Theaetetus and Sophistby Plato
Justin: The Epic of Gilgamesh
Texts Discussed--
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You have friends - don't you? Well, to answer that,you need to know what friendship is, and that's what our hosts try to work that out this week - beginning with Aristotle, before moving onto Cicero, Augustine, Aquinas, and the Scriptures.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Retrieving Nicaeaby Khaled Anatolios
Colin: The Oresteiaby Aeschylus
Rhys: The Unbroken Threadby Sohrab Ahmari
Texts DiscussedThe Nicomachean Ethicsby Aristotle
On Christian Teachingby Augustine
Confessionsby Augustine
Sermon 336by Augustine
On Friendshipby Cicero
Summa IIaIIae 23 by Thomas AquinasDavenant SpotlightSupport The Davenant Institute
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How do you do philosophy? Or, to put it in the industry's terms, what is "philosophical method"? This week, Onsi and Rhys grill Colin on what the right method of philosophy is - not a dry academic pursuit of experts, but a dialogue of questioning about reality.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: The Canons of our Fathers: Monastic Rules of Shenouteby Bentley Layton
Colin: Meditationsby Marcus Aurelius
Rhys: Zwingli: God's Armed Prophetby F. Bruce Gordon
Texts DiscussedThe Soul of the Worldby Roger Scruton
"Minerva Has Left the Building" by Colin Redemer
A Discourse on the Method by Rene Descartes
The Tao Te ChingDavenant SpotlightPhilosophy and the Christian: The Quest for Wisdom in the Light of Christ
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Can Protestants be friends with Roman Catholics? After all, the Reformers equated Roman Catholic doctrine to false teaching, and the New Testament has harsh and clear words regarding false teachers. This week, our hosts discuss why Protestants can still enjoy true friendship with Catholics, considering the differences between today and the Reformation. And Colin invites the Pope to a barbecue.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: some German thing
Colin: The Book of Optics by Ibn Al-Haytham
Rhys: The Poetry of D.H. Lawrenceby D.H. Lawrence
Texts Discussed"Catholicism Made Me Protestant" by Onsi Kamel
Onsi's interview with Alastair Roberts on conversion to Catholicism
"The World Was Not Worthy: In Memoriam Fr. Paul Mankowski" by Onsi Kamel
Documents of the Council of Trent
Documents of Vatican II
Davenant SpotlightA Protestant Christendom? The World the Reformation MadeJurisdiction Regal, Episcopal, Papal by George Carleton
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How should Christians think about profanity? Scripture makes clear commands about our speech, yet Scripture itself seems to use some choice language at times. How do we reconcile this? And how have great Christian minds of the past approached these things?
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.Currenly Reading
Onsi: The Idiotby Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Colin: The Aeneidby Virgil Rhys: The White Ship by Charles Spencer
Texts DiscussedCommentary on Ephesians by John Calvin
Selected Literary Essays by C.S. Lewis
Davenant SpotlightMaps of Misreading: The Hidden Influence of Horace in Augustine's Confessions - Davenant October Fellows Lecture
Colin's back, and he thinks that on our previous episode (with John Ahern), Rhys and Onsi gave contemporary Christian music (CCM) too hard a time. Isn't it a good thing that the best songwriters and producers in the world are making CCM, and that Christian music is worth so much money? Doesn't writing the perfect pop song for Christ demonstrate virtuosity and poetry? And isn't it sustaining the church the last place where communal singing happens?
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Best and Worst CCM Songs:
Onsi BEST: "Creed" by Rich Mullins/"Soul Will Sing" by Travis Greene
Onsi WORST: "Oceans" by Hillsong
Colin BEST: "We're Blessed" by Fred Hammond
Colin WORST: "Way Maker" by Leeland/"Graves Into Gardens" by Elevation Worship
Rhys BEST: "Blessed Be Your Name" by Matt Redman/"Great is the Lord" by Steve McEwan
Rhys WORST: "Who You Say I Am" by Hillsong
Texts DiscussedFour Birds of Noah's Arkby Thomas Decker
Review of Four Birds of Noah's Arkby Colin Redemer
Davenant SpotlightA Protestant Christendom? The World the Reformation MadeJurisdiction Regal, Episcopal, Papal
Somewhere, right now, people are arguing about church music - and it's been that way for nearly 2000 years! Why is that? This week, Onsi and Rhys are joined by John Ahern to discuss big questions which have recurred again and again in church history: music or lyrics? Performers or laypeople? How (if at all) do we fund church music? With particular reference to the Middle Ages, our hosts consider how church history can inform our CCM dominated moment.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Schuyler Quntel RSV Bible
Rhys: The History of Christianity in Britain and Irelandby Gerald Bray
John: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susannah Clarke/Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
Texts DiscussedConfessionsby St. AugustineDocta Sanctorum Pactum by Pope John XXII
Davenant SpotlightQuarter for the End of Blogs
Calling something "practically medieval" is never really a positive thing. But were the so-called Dark Ages really so dark? Onsi, Colin, and Rhys set out to bust some medieval myths prominent among Protestants, and in Western culture at large. They talk about technology, science, sex, death, feudalism, personal piety, and more.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Retrieving Nicaeaby Khaled Anatolios
Colin: History of the Pelopennesian Warby Thucydides
Rhys: The Stripping of the Altarsby Eamon Duffy
Texts Discussed"Petrarch's Conception of the 'Dark Ages'" by Theodor Ernst Mommsen
The Lay-Folks' Catechism
The Light Agesby Seb Falk
The Pillars of the Earthby Ken Follett
"The Neglected Craft: Prudence in Reformed Political Thought" by Adam Carrington
The Lamp
Davenant SpotlightA Protestant Christendom? The World the Reformation MadeJurisdiction Regal, Episcopal, Papal
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We talk a lot about the sin and scandal of public figures in the Church... but do we talk about talking about it? That's what Onsi, Colin, and Rhys do this week! How can a philosophy and theology of sin affect the way that we talk about it?
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: The Arabs: A Historyby Eugene Rogan
Colin: Dune by Frank Herbert
Rhys: The Pillars of the Earthby Ken Follett
Texts DiscussedThe Rise and Fall of Mars Hill Podcast
Kanye the Pious
Unintended Consequences of Failure Porn
Davenant SpotlightMere Orthodoxy
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Have childless philosophers ruined Western civilization? Why are great intellectuals usually such terrible fathers and husbands anyway? And is it easier to be a theologian parent than a philosopher parent? This week, Onsi and Rhys are joined by Davenant Teaching Fellow Alastair Roberts to discuss the relationship between celibacy and the intellectual life.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: America's Great Game: The CIA's Secret Arabists and the Shaping of the Modern Middle East by Hugh Wilford
Rhys: The Light Ages: The Surprising Story of Medieval Scienceby Seb Falk
Alastair: assorted commentaries on Joel!
Texts DiscussedThe tweet that started the discussionBeyond Good and Evilby Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
JD Vance on the "childless left"
Fear and Tremblingby Soren Kierkegaard
On the Affections of Fathers to Their Childrenby Montaigne
Davenant SpotlightNatural Law and Scriptural Authority - Davenant Hall Fall 2021 Class (register by September 10th!)
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It's the middle of summer... so we're talking about spring! Launching off of "Ver Erat Aeternum", an Ad Fontes essay by E.J. Hutchinson, Onsi, Colin, and Rhys discuss the season. Why is it historically associated with Paradise in different cultures, and is that right? And are created phenomena like the seasons meant to teach us anything?
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Church Dogmatics by Karl Barth
Colin: Republic by Plato
Rhys: Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist and Other Essays by Paul Kingsnorth
Texts DiscussedMetamorphosesby Ovid
"East Coker" by T.S. Eliot"The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot
Hexameronby St. Ambrose
Through New Eyesby James B. Jordan
God of All Thingsby Andrew Wilson
Davenant SpotlightAd Fontes Print + Digital Subscription
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What is piety? What happened to it? And can we make it great again? This week Onsi, Colin, and Rhys talk about piety (not to confused with "pietism" or "piousness") - our natural bonds and relationship to those around us. They cover its place in the ancient world, what the Reformation had to say, and what (if anything) it might look like today.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: The Iliadby Homer (trans. Robert Fagles)
Colin: Children of Menby P.D. James
Rhys: The Odyssey (Audiobook)by Homer (trans. Robert Fagles; read by Ian McKellan)
Texts DiscussedEuthyphroby Plato
The Aeneidby Virgil
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
Institutes III.ii by John Calvin
The Hidden Structure of the Ten Commandmentsby Rabbi David Fohrman
Man of the Houseby C.R. Wiley
The Household and the War for the Cosmos by C.R. WileyMinari
Davenant SpotlightSupport the work of The Davenant Institute
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Do you have free will in listening to this podcast? Listen and find out! This week Onsi, Colin, and Rhys discuss free will, launching off of The Davenant Institute's new translation of Peter Martyr Vermigli''s On Free Will and the Law. They discuss the Greek myths and philosophers, totaly depravity, God's foreknowledge, and the pastoral relevance of a clear doctrine of free well.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Walkmanby Michael Robbins
The 21: A Journey into the Land of the Coptic Martyrsby Martin Mosebach
Colin: After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis' 'The Abolition of Man' by Michael Ward
Rhys: Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayerby C.S. Lewis
Texts DiscussedOn Free Will and the Lawby Peter Martyr VermigliThe Odyssey by Homer
Treatises Against the Anabaptists and the Libertinesby John Calvin
Paradisoby Dante
The Enchiridion on Faith, Hope, and Loveby Augustine
Journal of Inklings Studies
Davenant SpotlightThe Ad Fontes Website
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Does this podcast have a hidden meaning? Probably not. But plenty of history's great writings have hidden meanings (well, maybe they do). This week, Rhys and Colin discuss esoteric writing, where the author's real meaning is veiled, and apparent only to a small inner group with the right knowledge (often to prevent themselves getting killed). Springing off of Leo Strauss' Persecution and the Art of Writing they talk about the benefits and dangers of esotericisim in philosophy and literature, and then wonder whether Scripture is esoteric in some way.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Colin: The Blind Guides of the Classical Education Movementby Shawn Barnett
Rhys: Either/Orby Soren Kierkegaard
Texts DiscussedThe New Thinkery PodcastPersecution and the Art of Writing by Leo Strauss
Planet Narniaby Michael Ward
Either/Orby Soren Kierkegaard
Fear and Tremblingby Soren Kierkegaard
Politicsby Aristotle (section on natural and unnatural slaves)
The Art of Biblical Narrativeby Robert Alter
Davenant SpotlightDavenant House
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How should Christians think about law? Not the Levitical law, but law itself in our nations and societies. What even is a law? How is our legal tradition founded in Greek philosophy? How did Augustine and Aquinas develop that? This week, Onsi and Rhys grill Colin on these questions and more, off the back of his recent Davenant House intensive on the topic.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently ReadingOnsi: Survival is a Style: Poemsby Christian Wiman
Colin: Leo Strauss and the Problem of Political Philosophyby Michael P. Zuckert and Catherine H. Zuckert
Rhys: Fear and Tremblingby Soren Kierkegaard
Texts DiscussedPlato: Complete WorksTreatise on Law by Thomas Aquinas
Davenant SpotlightIf you take a Davenant Hall course, become a Davenant Partner by making a monthly donation, or have made a single donation of $250 within the past year, you can join the conversation and community in the Davenant Discord server! Find out more about giving here, or about Davenant Hall here.
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John Donne is one of history's great poets. He taught us that "no man is an island" and to not ask "for whom the bell tolls". Yet he is often overlooked by Protestants as a Protestant. This week Onsi, Colin, and Rhys talk about Donne's life and divine poetry, the limits of language, and what we can learn from him as a Protestant poet.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently ReadingOnsi: If You Love Me: Serving the Church of Christ in Spirit and Truthby Matthew the Poor
The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine Vol. 2 - The Spirit of Eastern Christendom by Jaroslav Pelikan
Rhys: Simply Christian by Tom Wright
Texts Discussed"Retrieving John Donne: Poetic Companion for Conflict Protestants" by Rhys Laverty
"Holy Sonnet XI (Spit in my face you Jews)" by John Donne
"Holy Sonnet XIV (Batter my heart three person'd God)" by John Donne
"Holy Sonnet XVIII (Show me, deare Christ)" by John Donne
"Satire III" by John Donne
"A Litany" by John Donne
Theo-Poetics: Hans Urs Von Balthasar and the Risk and Art of Being by Anne M. Carpenter
Davenant SpotlightIf you buy books we recommed, buy via the links above to Bookshop.org!
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This week we come to you direct from Davenant House! Recorded during our Annual Convivium Irenicum (and so apologies for slightly subpar audio quality), Onsi and Colin talk with Michael Lynch about classical education. Or rather, how much of what calls itself classical education isn't that classical at all.
How can we remedy that? What should a real Christian classical education look like? Surprisingly, it may involve fart jokes.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently ReadingOnsi: Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Colin: Walkman by Michael Robbins
Michael: Dreams of El Dorado: A History of the American Westby H.W. Brands
Texts Discussed--
Davenant SpotlightJohn Davenant's Hypothetical Universalism: A Defense of Catholic and Reformed Orthodoxy by Michael Lynch
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Did you know you're already a philosopher? Sorry to break it to you.
This week Onsi, Colin, and Rhys discuss the role of philosophy in the Christian life, but not how you might think. Springing off of "Philosophy As A Way of Life", a Davenant essay by Peter Escalante and Joseph Minich, they lay out the current divide between analytic and continental philosophy, and explore how true philosophy is a different thing altogether: a search for truth, wherever it is found, in God's world.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently ReadingOnsi: The Making of the Medieval Middle Eastby Jack Tannous
Colin: The Republic and Other Worksby Plato
Rhys: The Same God Who Works All Thingsby Adonis Vidu
Texts DiscussedPhilosophy and the Christian: The Quest for Wisdom in the Light of ChristOnsi's Tweet RE: Christianity Today
Davenant SpotlightPhilosophy and the Christian: The Quest for Wisdom in the Light of Christ
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Something's changed when it comes to evangelicals and evolution. One of the hottest and most divisive topics in the early 2000s doesn't cause the arguments it used to - and it's not because everyone now believes in evolution. This week Onsi, Colin, and Rhys consider why these debates have cooled, and whether that gives us a chance to consider what a "mere Christian" position on evolution, creation, and Adam and Eve might be when we look a historic Christian sources.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently ReadingOnsi: --
Colin: Swallowing the Sunby Rumi
Rhys: Spirit and Fire: A Thematic Anthology of His Writingsby Origen
Texts Discussed"Giving Up Darwin" by David Gelertner
Confessionsby St. Augustine
Westminster Confession of Faith
Smalclad Articles
Three Forms of Unity
1689 Baptist Confession
"The Abraham Myth" by Peter Leithart
Davenant Spotlight--
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Is the Lord's Supper really a big deal in the Christian life? The Reformers thought so - arguably, more so than the Roman Catholics. Yet we seem to have lost that in the Reformed world today. This week, Onsi and Rhys and joined by Brad Littlejohn, President of The Davenant Institute (i.e. their boss) to talk about the distinctives and importance of the Reformed view of the eucharist.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently ReadingOnsi: Luther's Works Vol. 26 (Lectures on Galatians Ch.1-4)by Martin Luther
Rhys: Scriptureas Real Presence: Sacramental Exegesis in the Early Churchby Hans Boersma
Brad: What's Wrong With Rights?by Nigel Biggars
Texts Discussed"The Real Presence and the Presence of Reality: In Defense of Reformed Sacramentology" by Brad Littlejohn
The Oxford Treatise and Disputation on the Eucharistby Peter Martyr Vermigli
Given For You: Reclaiming Calvin's Doctrine of the Lord's Supper by Keith A. Mathison
"Of the Lord's Supper, And the Benefits Conferred By It" - Book 4.17 of Institutesby John Calvin
"Of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ" - Book 5.67 of Laws by Richard Hooker
Davenant SpotlightPolitics and Faithful Citizenship: Living as Dual Citizens - Davenant House residential with Brad Littlejohn, July 26-30 2021 ($375 before June 12; $500 after)
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That's right - aliens. Belief in extra-terrestrial lifeforms no longer belongs to society's fringes, but is widespread in academia and the scientific community. NASA are returning to the moon, and Elon Musk has made space great again. Does the Christian tradition have the resources to offer counsel in a world turning again to the stars? And what does this spreading belief tell us about modernity?
This week Onsi, Colin, and Rhys were joined by Davenant Teaching Fellow Joe Minich to think through these questions.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently ReadingOnsi: Selected Writingsby Meister EckhartColin: Fin-de-Siecle Viennaby Carl E. Schorske
Rhys: The Cure At Troy by Seamus Heaney
Joe: Running the Lightby Sam Tallent and The Discarded Imageby C.S. Lewis
Texts Discussed"No Longer in the Shadows, Pentagon's UFO Unit Will Make Some Findings Public" in The New York Times (July 2020)
"Flying Saucers and Other Fairy Tales" by Ross Douthat (New York Times, December 2017)
Summa Theologiae Prima Pars Q.50-64 (on angels)by Thomas Aquinas
How To Live Forever: Science Fiction and Philosophy by Stephen R.L. Clark
Dimensions: A Casebook of Alien Contact by Jacques Vallee
The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mindby Julian Jaynes
Davenant SpotlightEnduring Divine Absence: The Challenge of Modern Atheismby Joseph Minich
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Some people think the revolutions of the 18th century can be blamed on Protesantism. Yet others think that Protestant churches are too often the handmaidens of the state. What gives? This week Onsi, Colin, and Rhys are joined by Dr. Miles Smith to discuss the history of Protestants and revolution, and what we can learn from Protestants of the past.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently ReadingColin: Middlemarch by George Eliot
Rhys: Black and British: A Forgotten Historyby David Olusoga
Miles: Erebus: One Ship, Two Epic Voyages, and the Greatest Naval Mystery of All Timeby Michael Palin
Texts Discussed"Generous Self-Illusions": Protestants and the French Revolution by Miles Smith (subscribe to Ad Fontes to access!)
Hieroby Xenophon
Would That It Really Were 'Christian Nationalism' by Miles Smith
Defending Constantineby Peter Leithart
Davenant SpotlightThe Paleo-Protestant Pudcast
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St. Augustine is probably the Western church's greatest ever theologian, foundational for Protestants and Catholics alike. But didn't he say lots of weird (and bad) stuff about sex? And hasn't that had a long and damaging legacy? Springing off of a recent article of Onsi's, this week the hosts take a closer look at what Augustine said about sex and how the Reformation interpreted it.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently ReadingColin: Middlemarch by George Eliot
Onsi: Selected Writingsby Meister Eckhart
Rhys: The Frailest Thing: Ten Years of Thinking About the Meaning of Technologyby L.M. Sacasas
Texts Discussed"The Beloved Icon: An Augustinian Solution to the Problem of Sex" by Onsi Kamel
"Feeling Right: Augustine on the Passions and Sexual Desires" by John C. Cavadini
On Marriage and Concupiscenceby Augustine
Confessionsby Augustine
On The Estate of Marriageby Martin Luther
Davenant SpotlightOn Original Sin by Peter Martyr Vermigli
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Was the novel an inevitable result of Protestantism? And has the decline of mainline Protestantism led to the decline of the novel? Onsi, Colin, and Rhys bat these questions around this week, jumping off of Joseph Bottum's recent book The Decline of the Novel (reviewed by Rhys in the forthcoming edition of Ad Fontes!)
APOLOGY: the quality of some audio in this episode is below our usual standard, due to issues undetected during recording. We're sorry about this and will do our best to avoid it happening again. But the overall experience is fairly unimpeded!
NOTE: below, for works and books discussed on the show, we link to the products on Amazon for ease. However, we would strongly encourage you to find an alternative bookseller from which to purchase any books if possible.
Currently ReadingColin: Middlemarchby George Eliot
Onsi: Coptic (the whole language - there's no link for that...)
Rhys: Confessionsby Augustine
Texts DiscussedThe Decline of the Novel by Joseph Bottum
Ulyssesby James Joyce
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
The Handmaid's Taleby Margaret Atwood
The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
The Quiet American by Graham Greene
Davenant SpotlightAd Fontes
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To find out more about The Davenant Institute, visit our website.
Do the Bible, the church, and philosophers agree on what the soul is? Far from it. This week, Onsi, Colin, and Rhys ask how (if at all) we can fit together the contributions of Scripture, Aristotle, and Descartes to work out what the soul is, how much reason can know about it, and if it's immortal (before descending into metaphysical bickering).
NOTE: below, for works and books discussed on the show, we link to the products on Amazon for ease. However, we would strongly encourage you to find an alternative bookseller from which to purchase any books if possible.
Currently ReadingColin: Body-Self Dualism in Contemporary Ethics and Politicsby Patrick Lee and Robert P. George
Onsi: Commentary on Dionysius' Mystical Theology by Albert the Great
Rhys: The Temple by George Herbert
Texts DiscussedMetaphysicsby Aristotle
De Anima by Aristotle
Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy by Rene Descartes
Davenant SpotlightPhilosophy of Law and the Natural Law Tradition- Summer Residential with Colin Redemer (June 7-11 2021)
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To find out more about The Davenant Institute, visit our website.
So how about that secularity huh? What is secularity (if it even exists)? This week our hosts bat around some of the most famous analyses of "secularity" to see whether or nor they're found wanting.
NOTE: below, for works and books discussed on the show, we link to the products on Amazon for ease. However, we would strongly encourage you to find an alternative bookseller from which to purchase any books if possible.
Currently ReadingColin: The Captive Mindby Csezlaw Milosz
Onsi: Either/Orby Soren Kierkegaard
Rhys: The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis
Texts DiscussedUS Church Membership Falls Belows Majority for First Time - Gallup PoleA Secular Ageby Charles Taylor
Straw Dogsby John Gray
The Myth of Disenchantmentby Jason Josephson-Storm
The Odyssey by Homer
Ulysses by James Joyce
Letters and Papers from Prison by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Davenant SpotlightBeing A Pastor: Pastoral Treatises of John Wycliffe (published April 13th!)
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To find out more about The Davenant Institute, visit our website.
Can anything be said about Easter that's not yet been said? Our hosts give it a good try in a wide-ranging conversation about whether the universe is a tragedy or a comedy!
NOTE: Below, for works and books discussed on the show, we link to the products on Amazon for ease. However, we would strongly encourage you to find an alternative bookseller from which to purchase any books if possible.
Currently ReadingColin: On The Social Contractby Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Onsi: Christmas 1530 Sermon on Luke 2:1-14 by Martin Luther
Rhys: The Righteousness of One: An Evaluation of Patristic Soteriology in Light of the New Perspective on Paulby Jordan Cooper
Texts DiscussedPoeticsby Aristotle
Oedipus Rexby Sophocles
Works and Daysby Hesiod
Tragic Sense of Lifeby Migel de Unamuno
Phaedoby Plato
The Symposium by Plato
1530 Sermon in Coburg by Martin Luther
Christus Victorby Gustaf Aulen
Institutes 3.11 (on justification) by John Calvin
Institutes 4.17 (on the Lord's Supper) by John Calvin
Of Christ the Mediator from The Westminster Confession
Homily on the Resurrection from The Book of Homilies
Davenant Spotlight"Interpreting Herman Bavinck with Dr. James Eglington" on the Pilgrim Faith Podcast
Theme Music"Midnight Stroll" by Ghostrifter. Free to use under Creative Commons. Available here.
To find out more about The Davenant Institute, visit our website.
What is classical education? Does it provide moral formation? Is it responsible for Boris Johnson? And why are Christians interested in it?
This week Onsi, Colin, and Rhys looks at this ever-growing movement, which is a key interest of The Davenant Institute. They discuss some key texts by Leo Strauss, Augustine, and Dorothy Sayers can inform how Christians think about "classical education."
NOTE: Below, for works and books discussed on the show, we link to the products on Amazon for ease. However, we would strongly encourage you to find an alternative bookseller from which to purchase any books if possible.
Currently ReadingColin: Leviathanby Thomas Hobbes
Onsi: The Myth of Disenchantmentby Jason Josephson Storm
Rhys: The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter
Texts Discussed"What Is Liberal Education?" by Leo Strauss
On Free Will by Saint Augustine
"The Lost Tools of Learning" by Dorothy Sayers
Davenant Spotlight2021 National Convivium: Education and the Kingdom of God
Theme Music"Midnight Stroll" by Ghostrifter. Free to use under Creative Commons. Available here.
To find out more about The Davenant Institute, visit our website.
Are reason and Scripture at odds with tradition? Can the Emperor tell church leaders to work out their differences? And is Martin Luther really "the Disney princess of the Reformation?"
Onsi, Colin, and Rhys dig into all these questions and more this week as they talk about the Diet of Worms, where in 1521 Martin Luther was famously excommunicated. On its 500th anniversary, Worms still encapsulates many key questions and ideas which would animate the Reformation and Protestant theology - notably the relationship between Scripture, reason, and tradition, as well as that between civil and spiritual authorities.
Davenant Product SpotlightProtestantism and Christian Mysticism: Martin Luther and the Renewal of Medieval Spirituality(Davenant Hall Spring 2021 Course - $149 - register by March 29th!)
Currently ReadingColin: Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy by Rene Descartes
Onsi: Principles of Philosophyby Rene Descartes
Rhys: The Meaning of Protestant Theologyby Phillip Cary
Texts DiscussedExsurge Domine by Pope Leo X
Luther's Speech at Wormsby Martin Luther
Edict of Worms by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V Natural Theology (Comprising "Nature and Grace" by Emil Brunner and "Nein!" by Karl Barth)
Theme Music"Midnight Stroll" by Ghostrifter. Free to use under Creative Commons. Available here.
To find out more about The Davenant Institute, visit our website.
In the debut episode of The Davenant Institute's Ad Fontes podcast, Onsi, Colin, and Rhys talk about Lent. Lent has enjoyed a revival among evangelicals of late. Ash Wednesday is even still the third most attended day of the year in Roman Catholic churches, after Christmas and Easter.
We throw out (wild and baseless) speculation as to why that is: a need for reminders of mortality? The endless churn of the evangelical publishing industry? Modern rootlessness?
We also try to piece together what Lent actually is, what Protestants should make of it, and whether we can see the church calendar as word ministry.
Davenant Product SpotlightReformation Theology: A Reader of Primary Sources with Introductions($35.99)
Currently ReadingColin: Leo Strauss on Plato's Symposiumby Leo Strauss
Onsi: Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche
Rhys: The Crucifixionby Fleming Rutledge
Theme Music"Midnight Stroll" by Ghostrifter. Free to use under Creative Commons. Available here.
To find out more about The Davenant Institute, visit our website.
