Friends, the prologue of the Gospel of St. John is one of the richest and most densely textured writings in the scriptures as John expresses the very nature of God and the profundity of the Incarnation that we celebrate every Christmas.
Merry Christmas to you on behalf of my whole Word on Fire team!
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Friends, is the Christmas story little more than a sweet, saccharine tale about a cute baby being born? Or do the Gospels present something more subversive and revolutionary, a battle between two great kings? That’s what Brandon Vogt and I discuss on today’s “Word on Fire Show” episode.
A listener asks, whose body is the Body of Christ in the Eucharist? Infant, crucified, or resurrected Jesus?
00:00 | Intro
01:31 | Bishop Barron at Good News Conference
03:56 | The surprising subversiveness of the Christmas story
05:44 | Christmas details—Caesar and his census
08:31 | Christmas details—“no room in the inn”
10:37 | Christmas details—swaddling clothes
12:06 | Christmas details—laid in a manger
13:36 | Christmas details—shepherds as first witnesses
15:47 | Christmas details—“do not be afraid”
18:38 | Christmas details—“heavenly host” of angels
23:47 | Why did God come as a baby?
25:16 | Listener question
26:43 | Join the WOF Institute
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Today, we’re excited to share with you Bishop Barron’s keynote talk from the 2023 Acton University conference, hosted by The Acton Institute.
“Wokeism” is arguably the most influential public philosophy in our country today. It has worked its way into the minds and hearts of our young people, into the world of entertainment, and into the boardrooms of powerful corporations. But what is it precisely, and where did it come from?
Bishop Barron argues in his presentation that “wokeism” is a popularization of critical theory, a farrago of ideas coming out of the French and German academies in the mid-twentieth century. Until we understand its origins in the thinking of Adorno, Horkheimer, Derrida, Marcuse, and Foucault, we will not know how critically to engage this dangerous philosophy.
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Friends, can everything in the world be reduced to atoms bumping against each other, and chemical reactions in our brains? Or is there something more to reality than its material elements?
That’s what Brandon Vogt and I discuss on today’s “Word on Fire Show” episode, with the help of a new book by Justin Brierley, titled The Surprising Rebirth of Belief In God: Why New Atheism Grew Old and Secular Thinkers Are Considering Christianity Again.
A listener asks, if feelings are not acts of the will, what is contrition? A feeling, an act of the will, both, or neither?
00:00 | Intro
00:58 | Word on Fire’s New Ressourcement Conference
03:10 | The problem with Materialism
07:56 | The problem with Determinism
10:57 | Consciousness and the problem it poses to Materialism
16:34 | Rationality, C.S. Lewis, and atheism
19:44 | Beauty as a path to transcendence
23:25 | Materialism’s inadequacy as a source of meaning
26:03 | The Meaning Crisis without the Highest Good
29:48 | Listener question
31:36 | New book—“Popcorn with the Pope”
NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a patron and get some great perks for helping, like free books, bonus content, and more. Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners…like you! So be part of this mission, and join us today!