"We are travellers…not yet in our native land" – St. Augustine
Having completed Mere Christianity, Matt and I take this episode to discuss the book as a whole, share some of our favourite parts, as well as what it was like to read a book “in public” over the course of a year…
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Episode 42: Mere Christianity Retrospective (Download)
I thought I would do a follow-up to yesterday’s post about friendship…
Since the earliest times, as pilgrims traveled towards some holy site, they would travel together in groups. They would band together for support, encouragement and safety as they journeyed towards their pilgrimage destination. Likewise, in our pilgrimage towards Heaven, good friends along the way can offer us all kinds of support.
Given my personality type, I benefit greatly from time by myself, but in recent years I’ve come to understand how much I need friends. Good, virtuous friends support and encourage, but also tell us the cold, hard truth about ourselves when we really need it.
A while ago I was praying The Office of Readings and read about the beautiful friendship between St. Basil and St. Gregory of Nazianzen. These were two of the three “Cappadocian Fathers” who were Early Church Fathers in Fourth Century Turkey. On Wednesday, in the Eastern calendar, it will be their feast day, the “Feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs“, I thought I’d share an extract from one of Gregory’s sermons where he describes his relationship with Basil.
This past week was the March For Life in Washington DC, so I thought I’d do a post on the subject of abortion…
A couple of weeks ago, I published a brief post a blog post related to Martin Luther King. Earlier in the week, I had been speaking to someone on Facebook about abortion. The pro-choice advocate had been arguing against any legal restrictions against abortion. He said that ethical behaviour isn’t brought about by the law, it only cultivates fear of being caught. I responded with a quotation from Dr. King, to show why laws which protect people are necessary:
The other day I was looking at the management panel for the Restless Pilgrim Facebook Page and noticed that someone had left a response:
Read more“A clump of cells is not a person”
Facebook user
Today I wanted to talk about an apologetic strategy I use a lot: asking questions. You see, regardless of the topic, be it abortion, Christianity or Catholicism, there is always the temptation to spend most of your time telling someone what they should believe. People are rarely very receptive to being told. When I’m in that mode, it becomes very easy for me to become pompous and prideful. Questions help prevent this.
Rather than telling someone what they should believe, I find it is generally much more effective to ask the person what they believe and why. This communicates to the other person that you care what they think and you want to know more. Even though you are talking less, you have guiding control over the conversation through the questions that you ask. Not only that, but if you ask questions, it will probably encourage your friend to open up and ask you questions about what you believe. This allows you to follow the advise a wise priest once told me: “It’s best to start giving answers only once they’ve started asking you questions”
I would suggest that the goal is to ask questions which reveal the flaws in that person’s worldview. Once these are revealed, you can then present your own perspective, thereby giving you an opportunity to demonstrate the cohesiveness of your own world view.
“He who asks questions has control”
– Socrates (387 BC)
A while ago, Aggie Catholics put together a great list of questions to ask when you’re evangelizing…
Dr. Devin Brown came on the show to discuss the biography he wrote about C.S. Lewis, “A Life Observed”.
S4E66: “After Hours” with Dr. Devin Brown (Download)
If you enjoy this episode, you can subscribe manually, or any place where good podcasts can be found (iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Podbean, Stitcher, TuneIn and Overcast), as well as on YouTube. The roadmap for Season 4 is available here.
More information about us can be found on our website, PintsWithJack.com. If you’d like to support us and get fantastic gifts, please join us on Patreon.
Read more
Carolyn Curtis, co-editor of “Women and C.S. Lewis”, came on the show to discuss her book which was recently rereleased as an audiobook. In this work she gathers together a large number of C.S. Lewis writers to examine C.S. Lewis’ life and literature in order to understand his relationship with women and respond to those who would charge Lewis with sexism.
S4E43: “After Hours” with Carolyn Curtis (Download)
If you enjoy this episode, you can subscribe manually, or any place where good podcasts can be found (iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Podbean, Stitcher, TuneIn and Overcast), as well as on YouTube. The roadmap for Season 4 is available here.
More information about us can be found on our website, PintsWithJack.com. If you’d like to support us and get fantastic gifts, please join us on Patreon.
Read moreI wrote earlier about my New Year’s Resolutions. One of the items was “Complete Reading List”. Here are the books I’ve selected:
I’m sure this little bundle will inspire a blog entry or two…
The Church and the New Media – Brandon Vogt
The Path of Life – Cyprian Smith OSB
I’m Not Being Fed! – Jeff Cavins
Jesus of Nazareth – Pope Benedict XVI
Rediscover Catholicism – Matthew Kelly
Godless Delusion – Patric Madrid & Kenneth Hensley
The Passion of Jesus Christ – John Piper
How To Listen When God Is Speaking – Mitch Pacwa, SJ
Father Brown of the Church of Rome – G.K Chesterton
Jesus Among Other Gods – Ravi Zacharias
The Story of Christianity – Justo Gonzalez
Philosophy For Dummies – Thomas Morris
I will be beginning with the one at the top of the pile The Church and the New Media which I recently won in a competition over at the author’s blog, The Thin Veil. Thanks Brandon! 🙂