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Discussions about ideas, the arts, and culture, with Director John Hodges with friends and faculty of the Center for Western Studies.
103 Episodes
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We're back! In this episode, the first of a series on the state of Western Civilization, Director Hodges wades into the definitions of "civilization" and "culture" with Ben Cumming.
We would love you to engage with us! Please send comments and questions to our email, director@centerws.com, and we will interact with you in future episodes!
Starting back in February, we have been attempting to piece together elements that would assist in addressing the large and multi-faceted notion of "Social Justice." We discussed biblical definitions of terms like justice and forgiveness, we reviewed the history of the social justice movement starting in the 19th century, we had a conversation with a philosopher to address the reasons social justice is so persuasive among Evangelicals, and we have tried to find the good in the movement. In this episode, Director Hodges gathers together some of the salient points in those past episodes, and draws 8 conclusions that might serve as a Christian response. We invite you to write us if you would like to ask questions that might arise from these episodes, or debate (serious debate only - we have no time for flaming) with us. We all want to grow in our understanding and to walk in the Spirit, for the glory of our Lord. Director@centerws.com.
In this episode, Director Hodges gives an apology for Fairy Tales. Borrowing extensively on the writings of GK Chesterton, he shows how our present culture often misunderstands the purpose for Fairy Tales, and thus misses out on what can be learned from them.
We live in an interesting time. Christians and Atheists find themselves on the same side in a debate against those who would reject Reason and put the ideology/religion of "Theory" (Critical Theory) in its place. In this episode, Director Hodges and Pastor Kyle Dillon discuss the book "Cynical Theories" written by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay. These two self-described atheists investigate the various facets of "Theory" -- anti-colonialism, feminism, homosexuality, and critical race theory, among others, and reveal the dangers of embracing them. The fact that SOME Christians and SOME atheists have joined together on the side of Theory, while others of each stripe are against it proves this issue is not an easy one to discern. This episode attempts to show the strengths and weaknesses of the book's arguments.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?" How many times have we heard that? But the implication that beauty is purely a subjective thing is a relatively recent notion. It comes originally from Plato, but Irish novelist Margaret Hungerford may have coined the phrase in the 19th century...but what about the Medieval notions of beauty? Those are pre-modern, pre-Romantic, and quite profound. In this shorter-than-usual podcast, Director Hodges investigates some of the ways beauty has been understood in the long past. The builders of the great cathedrals of the 12th and 13th centuries had some specific ideas about number, light, and symbol that were specially relevant in their day, as they still held that there is an invisible spiritual realm that could be reflected to us in materials like stone, light, music, and space. Perhaps they are still relevant today?
In this, the second part of a discussion with Cal Beisner, Director Hodges and he continue their discussion on the nature of rights. What is justice, and how can it be properly understood? What is the place of forgiveness, and grace, and can they be distributed by a government? And as Christians, do we have any rights before God? Is it wrong to demand that we be treated fairly, or given what we want in life? Director Hodges discusses these questions and more with Dr. Cal Beisner of the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of the Earth. The hope is to clarify what we can and should expect from government and from the Church by considering the government's role in God's economy.
Government, charity, rights, church, critical theory, racism, sexism
Negative rights and positive rights are not the same things. To provide what you do not have is a positive, to keep you from losing what you already have is a negative. Are either of them truly rights in the way that the American Declaration describes unalienable rights? The government is geared to provide the second, that is, protection by law, but completely unable to provide first, that is, charity, without coercion. Director Hodges discusses this aspect of our cultural debate with Dr. Cal Beisner of the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of the Earth. The hope is to clarify what we can and should expect from government and from the Church by considering the government's role in God's economy.
Government, charity, rights, church, critical theory, racism, sexism
Director Hodges sits down with Philip Himebook and talks about Christians in the performing arts, their collaborations (Hodges conducting, Himebook on stage), and their approaches to social media.
The Evangelical Church is struggling to make sense of the Social Justice movement. Why is it so attractive? How does it engage with bible-believing Christians? What does it offer the Church? Director Hodges discusses these questions with Dr. Doug Groothuis, professor of philosophy and apologetics at Denver Seminary. This episode refers to some articles that Dr. Groothuis has written. These can be found here, and here. We also recommend his book TRUTH DECAY.
Director Hodges discusses the roots of what is called "Critical Theory," with faculty member Jonathan (Jack) Vowell, who is working on his PhD in literary criticism. In this second of two parts, they discuss how Marx's ideas have been adjusted to address more generally the entire culture, going beyond economic conflicts alone.
In this episode, Director Hodges and Ben discuss the nature of children's stories and how they offer another world for contemplation, a world beyond our own that lives on in our minds long into adulthood.
Are there similarities between the decline of the West today and the decline of the Republic of Rome after the Punic Wars? Director Hodges muses about the similarities, and comments on an article written by H. A. Scott Trask, in Chronicles Magazine.
Other important recommendations: Tom Holland's book RUBICON, Will and Ariel Durant's CAESAR AND CHRIST, and the podcasts History of Rome (Mike Duncan), and Hard Core History (Dan Carlin).
We will be going into further detail in future podcasts.
As we continue to consider the cultural works of the West, this is another of our Director's live conference lectures, given in 2011, just months after the death of the composer Henryk Gorecki, a Polish Catholic, who's Symphony #3 became an international hit on the popular song charts of 1993. In this work, Gorecki departs from his more avant-garde styles, and takes up a kind of minimalism, into which he injects his Faith. The recording excerpted here is with Dawn Upshaw singing.
As we continue to investigate the great books, music, and ideas of our Western Civilization, we thought it would be good to offer a live conference lecture from 2010 that Director Hodges gave on Olivier Messiaen's masterful QUARTET FOR THE END OF TIME, for violin, cello, clarinet, and piano. Coming as it did out of his time in a Nazi prison camp during WW II, it is a sobering work, but its purpose is one of liberation of the soul. We hope you like it.
In 1970, Alexandr Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel prize for literature, but due to the repressive regime of the USSR, was not allowed to leave his native Russia to receive it. His speech, written with the intention of reading it in Sweden, was never given -- but it has circulated ever since as a great apology for the true, the good, and the beautiful, and for the importance of the work of the writer. We have it here, and Director Hodges reads it for us. It ends with his famous line "One word of truth shall outweigh the whole world."
In this episode, we dive into the second part of the great myth of Cupid and Psyche, told from the perspective of one of her ugly stepsisters -- and we finally come to the meaning of the title.
Director Hodges and Ben Cumming discuss CS Lewis' marvelous fiction, TILL WE HAVE FACES, a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche.
In this episode, our culture samplers dive into another of Flannery O'Connors great short stories, REVELATION. In it we compare Mrs. Turpin with Mrs. May of GREENLEAF, and the point of pride that tempts us all to judge one another.
In this episode, Director Hodges, and co-host Ben discuss the great Flannery O'Connor short story GREENLEAF. If you have not read it, we suggest that you take the 20 minutes to read it before you listen, as we give spoilers...who is this Mrs. May, and does she see the world correctly?
Director Hodges and co-host Ben Cumming discuss Joseph Conrad's book HEART OF DARKNESS and address the death of Romanticism and the beginning of the 20th century.
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