Theology Thursday: 4 Ancient Faith Podcasts that All Christians Can Enjoy

It’s been a very long time since I’ve done one of these, partially because I’ve been on a theological journey myself. I don’t want to get too personal, but I’ll say briefly that I’ve decided to “swim the Bosphorus,” and I’m now in the process of joining the Orthodox Church. You can ask me about that in comments if you’re interested, but I really don’t want to overshare. I just wanted to explain the new featured image for Theology Thursday and the reason for this post!

Even though I’m heading East myself, I still have a great liking and respect for many aspects of Western Christianity, and I’m always looking for common ground between the traditions of the East and the West. So today I’m going to share 5 podcasts from Ancient Faith Radio that I think any Christian could enjoy, even those who aren’t specifically Orthodox.

Theology Thursday: Severus Snape and the Ordo Amoris (Part II)

“I can’t pretend anymore. You’ve chosen your way, I’ve chosen mine.”

-Lily Evans to Severus Snape, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

*WARNING:* Lots of Harry Potter spoilers, for all seven books.

Theology Thursday: Severus Snape and the Ordo Amoris (Part I)

“No natural feelings are high or low, holy or unholy, in themselves. They are all holy when God’s hand is on the rein. They all go bad when they set up on their own and make themselves into false gods.”

-C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

*WARNING:* Lots of Harry Potter spoilers, for all seven books.

Theology Thursday: “Sonnet on his Blindness” by John Milton

Yet another Poetry Friday disguising as a Theology Thursday! Poetry is great and so is theology–I can’t resist the urge to combine them. Neither, apparently, could John Milton. Today, we’re taking a look at his famous “Sonnet on his Blindness.”

Theology Thursday: “God’s Grandeur” by Gerard Manley Hopkins

This past semester, my English teacher announced that today, we were going to read a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins.

The girl next to me groaned. “Ugh,” she said. “Not Hopkins.”

Now, this girl happens to be a lovely person and a good friend of mine, but in that moment, it was as if the devil himself sat in that chair. I spun around. “Hopkins is the best poet in the English language.”

“That’s subjective,” she said. “He’s boring.”

Um, hell no. The quality of poetry is not, and can never be, subjective. It is not dependent on one’s personal enjoyment of the poem.

Theology Thursday: Reading Scripture with the Quadriga

Christians today often want to interpret Scripture either completely literally or completely metaphorically: either everything in the Bible is scientific fact, or it is all a myth. Traditionally, the Church has not seen things this way. In the Middle Ages, Christians read Scripture with a method of interpretation called the “Quadriga” (“a four-horse chariot”). The Quadriga has four “yokes,” or ways to interpret, that help you think about every level of truth that Scripture reveals.

Theology Thursday: The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer

 Who is God? What is He like? A.W. Tozer aims to answer these questions in his book The Knowledge of the Holy. Tozer explores several of God’s attributes in order to reintroduce a correct view of God into the Church. Everyone who strives to follow Christ should read The Knowledge of the Holy because it presents crucial doctrines through clear, simple arguments, verse from Scripture, and quotes from great Christian thinkers.