Shows
The Weight of GloryScrewtape rejects the TaoMy friend Kale Zelden and I finish discussing the second chapter of The Abolition of Man: “The Way.” We discuss the rebellion of the branch against the tree; whether authority can be interrogated from within or without the Tao; addressing moral relativity before making an apologia for faith; and how the end of this chapter of The Abolition of Man echoes the tower of Babel and The Screwtape Letters.Click here for the show notes.2022-08-271h 09
The Weight of GloryThe WayMy friend Kale Zelden and I begin discussing the second chapter of The Abolition of Man: "The Way." We discuss Innovators and Debunkers, the limits of instinct, and the indispensable role of the Tao.The Abolition of Man - C.S. LewisAfter Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man - Michael WardBishop Barron's conversation with evolutionary biologists Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein Macbeth - William ShakespearePlato's Allegory of the Cave2022-05-271h 03
The Weight of GloryMen Without ChestsMy friend Kale Zelden and I complete our conversation about the first chapter of The Abolition of Man: "Men Without Chests." We discuss debunking, the cultivation of just sentiments, the Tao, the poem Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen, and the chest as essential mediator between the head and the belly.The Abolition of Man - C.S. LewisAfter Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man - Michael WardAwakening from the Meaning Crisis - John VervaekeShadowlandsTheology after Wittgenstein - Fergus K...2022-03-271h 35
The Weight of GloryThe grammar of The Green BookMy friend Kale Zelden returns to the podcast to discuss with me The Abolition of Man, a collection of lectures on ethics that C.S. Lewis first delivered in 1943 at the University of Durham. Today's episode contains our opening conversation about The Abolition of Man.The Abolition of Man - C.S. LewisAfter Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man - Michael WardThe Stranger - Albert CamusA Critical Look at The Stranger: The Culpability of Moral EstrangementThat Hideous Strength - C...2022-03-151h 16
The Weight of GlorySeason 2: Humanity and the Abolition of ManThe second season of this podcast will be focused on the theme of humanity: Specifically, the topic of how to ground our humanity within a truly ethical framework. It's something to which C.S. Lewis gave close attention in a book titled The Abolition of Man, first published in 1943. My friend Kale Zelden will return to discuss the book with me, as we have both appreciated the book for a long time and are eager to revisit it.The Abolition of Man by C.S. LewisAfter Humanity by Father Michael Ward2022-01-1002 min
The Weight of GloryJudgment as a setting for learning and practicing hopeIn today's episode, Kale Zelden and I complete our discussion of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on Christian hope. In the last major section of the letter, Benedict XVI speaks of the experience of judgment as a setting for hope. We pick up our reading at paragraph 39.This episode concludes the first season of the podcast. I'd really appreciate your feedback on the first season of this podcast -- what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd like to see in season two -- by taking a moment to complete a survey. Podcast Survey: doxaweb.c...2021-09-021h 22
The Weight of GloryPrayer and suffering as schools of hopeIn today's episode, Kale Zelden and I resume our discussion of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on Christian hope. Specifically, we read and reflect on paragraphs 32 through 38: Settings for learning and practicing hope. Benedict XVI speaks in these paragraphs of prayer and suffering as two "schools of hope."The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by Dennis Crommett. Learn more about Dennis at DennisCrommett.Bandcamp.com or in the show notes. If you're enjoying this podcast, or wish to send along a question or friendly critique, drop me a note o...2021-06-301h 05
The Weight of GloryThe true shape of Christian hopeToday's episode will cover paragraphs 24 through 31 of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on hope, which asks the question: what is the true shape of Christian hope? I had recorded a conversation about these paragraphs with my friend Kale Zelden, but the audio somehow didn't survive the recording process, so today's episode will be a simple reading of these paragraphs. But more than any other part of the letter, this section is the culmination of everything that has been discussed before, so it really needs no additional commentary. At the midpoint of the letter, with characteristically clear prose a...2021-05-1321 min