In today’s episode, Bishop Barron fields questions from people all over the world, including:
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The hit movie 1917 vividly depicts the horrors of World War I, including its great spiritual peril. In this episode, Bishop Barron reflects on the Great War, discussing its impact on twentieth-century theology and philosophy, the Pope, and the Catholic Church’s relationship to the world.
A listener asks why Jesus chose to live a quiet, mostly obscure life.
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Today, we share a sample lesson from a course inside our Word on Fire Institute on “Reaching the Different.” The course is taught by Dr. Matt Nelson and teaches how to evangelize friends and family who are apathetic about God and don't care about religion. To get the rest of the course, along with 10 other full courses and all sorts of bonuses, join the Institute at https://wordonfire.institute.
In this third and final part of our series on the Church Fathers (listen to Part 1 and Part 2), Bishop Barron examines four influential Fathers from the post-Nicene period:
A listener asks whether to pray for people who are sick or simply accept pain and suffering as part of God’s plan.
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In this second part of our series on the Church Fathers (listen to Part 1), Bishop Barron takes a look at some important Church Fathers from the pre-Nicene and Nicene periods, including:
A listener asks how we can understand Purgatory and Heaven in relation to time.
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With the new year coming up, many of us will make resolutions. Some of us will pledge to exercise more, lose weight, or pick up new habits. But what spiritual resolutions should we make for 2020? In this short episode, Bishop Barron offers three suggestions.
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How many Christmas cards and nativity scenes have you seen presenting the baby Jesus as soft and saccharine? Well, that’s not how the Bible describes him. There, Jesus is presented as a warrior king, who came with a heavenly army to battle against the dark powers of the world.
In this episode, excerpted from Bishop Barron’s CATHOLICISM film series, discover the real meaning of Christmas, and the extraordinary infant king at its center.
Click here to watch the video version of this episode!
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Who were the Church Fathers, and why do they still matter today? Bishop Barron introduces these spiritual masters and shares their key contributions. In the first episode of our three-part series, he also discusses the three main Apostolic Fathers:
A listener asks about the difference between faith and hope.
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At the recent USCCB meeting, Bishop Barron gave a presentation to all the American bishops in which he offered five ways to draw young people back to God. Today, we discuss each way.
A listener asks which books Bishop Barron would recommend to counter his biology teacher who tells him to read Bertrand Russell and Christopher Hitchens.
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Should theology be a core subject studied in universities? John Henry Newman certainly thought so. Today, we share a sample lesson from Bishop Barron’s Word on Fire Institute course on Newman, titled “The Queen of the Sciences.” It focuses on Newman’s book, Idea of a University, and his comments on the role of religion in the circle of university disciplines.
Join the Word on Fire Institute today and get access to all 12 lessons in Bishop Barron’s course on Newman.
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The first words out of Jesus’ mouth—and the central theme of his preaching—concerned the Kingdom of God. As we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, Bishop Barron explores three dimensions of his unique kingship.
A listener asks if God is love, and love is an act of the will, is God reducible to will?
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This week, Bishop Barron answers questions from listeners all over the world. These include:
If you have a question, be sure to send it in via AskBishopBarron.com.
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What did St. Ignatius mean when he counseled followers to “discern the spirits”? How do we do this? Bishop Barron unpacks the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and offers practical tips on how to discern God’s will in your life.
A listener asks how to discern whether God is calling him to marriage or the priesthood.
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oday we discuss the second half of Joe Rogan’s interview with atheist Richard Dawkins about Dawkins’ new book, Outgrowing God: A Beginner’s Guide. (If you missed the first half, check out last week’s episode!)
A listener asks whether Bishop Barron has considered making Word on Fire into a religious order.
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Joe Rogan, host of the one of the world’s most popular podcasts, recently interviewed Richard Dawkins about Dawkins’ new book, Outgrowing God: A Beginner’s Guide. It’s a follow-up book to Dawkins’ bestselling The God Delusion, although this one is aimed at younger readers. The Rogan/Dawkins interview went immediately viral, drawing over a million views within 48 hours.
Today, Bishop Barron and Brandon Vogt talk through the first half of the interview, responding to arguments raised against God and religion.
(Check back next week for our discussion of the second half!)
A listener asks whether Bishop Barron has considered making Word on Fire into a religious order.
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!
Surveys show 61% of people sleep with their phones and 75% grab their phones as soon as they wake up. We’re addicted to our smartphones. In this episode, Bishop Barron reflects on this problem (including his own smartphone use), offering guidance from some of the greatest saints and spiritual masters in the Catholic tradition.
A listener asks whether saints feel emotions in heaven, such as feeling sad when friends or family on earth struggle with sin.
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Last month, Bishop Barron visited Reddit for another #AMA (ask me anything). Over 15,000 comments poured in from young skeptics around the world, making it the third most-commented on #AMA of the year, and the ninth most popular in Reddit history. Today, Bishop Barron reflects on the experience and four main patterns of questions he noticed.
A listener asks for a concrete example of mercy mocking justice.
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How do we make sense of all the names, groups, and movements surrounding the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965)? What are the key things to know, and how have they shaped today’s Catholic Church? Bishop Barron explains.
A listener asks why secular philosophy departments tend to discount Scholasticism in favor of modern philosophy.
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A recent article in The Atlantic claimed “A Famous Argument Against Free Will Has Been Debunked". It focused on a famous experiment during the 1980s that seems to show our brain "decides" on our behavior before we actually make particular choices. Many believed this confirmed we don't have free will, that all our thoughts and behaviors are determined.
But is this the case? Is free will just an illusion? Bishop Barron explains some of the classic arguments for free will and its relationship to God and Christianity.
A listener asks why in Catholicism pride is a deadly sin, but Aristotle describes it as a virtue.
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This week, we share the second half of a talk from Bishop Barron on John Henry Newman’s book, The Grammar of Assent. We shared the first half last week, so be sure to listen to that first.
The Grammar of Assent concerns question about how we come to believe in God, and is widely considered Newman’s most important text.
Also, it’s a timely topic, since John Henry Newman will be canonized in just a couple weeks, on October 13. Bishop Barron will be attending the canonization, then a few days later will deliver a talk at Oxford University on “John Henry Newman and the New Evangelization.” That talk, which we’re planning to livestream, will focus primarily on The Grammar of Assent.
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This week, we share the first half of a talk from Bishop Barron on John Henry Newman’s book, The Grammar of Assent. The book concerns the question of belief–how we come to believe in God–and is widely considered his most important text.
Also, it’s a timely topic, since John Henry Newman will be canonized in just a couple weeks, on October 13. Bishop Barron will be attending the canonization, then a few days later will deliver a talk at Oxford University on “John Henry Newman and the New Evangelization.” That talk, which we’re planning to livestream, will focus primarily on The Grammar of Assent.
So enjoy the first half of this talk, and we’ll share the second half next week.
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!
Bishop Barron takes questions from kids, including:
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The annual United Nations World Happiness Report, which measures the happiness of different countries, is always dominated by Scandinavian nations. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Finland have always been in the top ten. But what’s striking is that these happiest countries are also those which rank among the least religious. On the flip side, most African countries, which tend to be the very religious, consistently land near the bottom of the U.N. Happiness Report.
What does Bishop Barron make of this? How should we actually define happiness, and what have the great thinkers and saints throughout time said about finding happiness? That’s what we discuss in today’s episode.
A listener asks how we reconcile all the violence/competition seen in nature with the Creator God of peace.
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Today, Bishop Barron answers questions from all over the world about God, the Church, and the culture. Will it be possible to upload one’s consciousness to a computer and attain immortality? Why was Christianity started in the West? If humans are born with original sin, then why does the Bible encourage us to have children and increase the amount of sin in the world? Listen for Bishop Barron’s answers!
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A recent Pew Research Center study revealed that “just one-third of U.S. Catholics agree with their church that Eucharist is body, blood of Christ.” What’s the cause of this? And moving forward, how do we fix the problem? Bishop Barron discusses in today’s episode.
(Explore a collection of my resources on the Eucharist here: https://www.wordonfire.org/presence)
A listener asks if the Eucharist gives us life, why do we reserve it only for Catholics?
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!