From the Center

Director Hodges chats with Ken Myers at the Circe National Conference in Charleston, SC where they both were speaking. The two talk about the development and redefinition of Reason in the Modern world, since the 16th century, and how even the Church is more influenced by Modern thought than she realizes. Modern Rationalism is not so much the result of unbelieving philosophers, but Christian philos...

Hodges and Vowell discuss how we communicate, and whether or not technology can limit our ability to communicate.

Hodges and Vowell use our culture's judgment of races as a jumping off point to discuss the place of and means by which judgment is a properly human activity.

Hodges and Vowell discuss the Revoice Conference to be held in late July, a conference to address how the Church can minister to those who are homosexually attracted but celibate. They raise and discuss the question of whether or not it is meaningful to speak of "Gay-Christians." Is there any prefix to "Christian" that contributes to the identity of a faithful believer? Is it meaningful to speak o...

One of our recent Sunday night discussions was centered on the debate surrounding the upcoming conference on how the Church might engage the so called LGBTQ community.  That conversation is discussed here, as well as commentary on the articles pro and con.  Is there such a thing as a "gay-Christian"?  What does that mean?   Hodges and Vowell discuss the details of the Revoice mission statement, vi...

Hodges and Vowell celebrate the end of the Center year by reviewing some of the highlights from the study of books read this year.  Marriage and the "Inner Ring" seen in That Hideous Strength; the importance of hospitality in the Odyssey; the relation of sin to punishment in The Inferno; the worst of all sins in Dante and Victor Hugo.

"Human dignity is more than the right to be left alone."  What are the limitations of Libertarianism for Christians?   Does a decent society require a religious foundation?  Surely there are atheists who are kind, but as a society, there needs to be a moral culture that gives definition for freedom.  Freedom is not the same as autonomy.  Freedom is the ability to do the good.  But who is to say wh...

Spun off from the discussion of the Paris Statement, Hodges and Vowell discuss the problem of simultaneously loving our neighbors, and defending national security in the midst of a complicated immigration debate.  Can Christians be in favor of assimilation?  Can they not be?  There are three kinds of immigrant: legal, illegal, and refugee, and each poses a separate set of problems for a country an...

What is the real definition of Conservatism?  Hodges and Vowell continue their analysis of the Paris Statement, addressing the question of whether or not the public square can be "naked" as Richard John Neuhaus wrote.  Is there anyone who isn't conservative in some ways?  What do the authors mean when they suggest that Europe should secularize the public arena?  What is a working definition of sac...

What the Paris Statement addresses:  A False Europe is being built that embraces a secularized pluralism that they claim is neutral.  But it is not.  It also advocates the goodness of being disconnected from your own land, culture, and traditions -- exiled orphans.

Europe has divided, just as the US has become divided.  A group of Conservatives from many different countries in Europe have put together a statement that defines the two approaches, and advocates for a "Europe We Can Believe In."  Center Director John Hodges and Podcast Host Jack Vowell discuss a few of the points in the document, mainly that deal with economics: Marxism, Socialism, Capitalism, ...

We have been gone for so long!  The Center has spent the better part of the last month preparing for and enjoying a trip to Europe.  But we have missed talking with you about issues of culture and faith.  In this episode, Director Hodges and host Jack Vowell discuss the importance of stories, especially today, in the lives of "millennials."

When you vote for a candidate, does it mean you agree with everything he says or does?  Or is there a way to vote for someone without endorsing?  Hodges and Vowell address a question brought up on a Sunday night Center dinner discussion:  If 80% of Evangelicals voted for President Trump, does that prove that 80% of Evangelicals are now OK with divorce and adultery?

Is Beauty the way to reach today's generation with the Gospel?  Hodges and Vowell discuss what Beauty is, how it relates to Goodness and Truth, and how intangible ideas and experiences can only be communicated through material means.  This is the craft of an art:  to be able to shape material things (sound, clay, paint, stone, words, film) into a means of communicating those ideas and experiences....

What exactly is a Millennial?  Is a Millennial different than his older and younger relations?  What are the myths about this curious creature?  How can we best communicate with one?  Sign language?  Gifts of video games?  Just kidding - Hodges picks Vowell's brain (a Millennial brain, by the way), to discern the unique experiences and motivations that come with being born after the fall of the So...

What are the pros and cons of Institutions in general?  Are they necessary?  Is an Institutional Church the same as the Body of Christ?  How does the Bible call believers to be organized?  Many today deride the Institutional Church, with its organization and its creeds.  But don't we need both in some fashion?  Director Hodges and Host Jack Vowell discuss the need for both in their right places, a...

Is everything political?  Are all communications simply attempts to gain power?  Was Nietzsche right that we are all doomed to play a real-life version of SURVIVOR where we are all pitted against each other in a battle to be the last man standing?  What is the realm of Politics in God's economy?  What is government for?  Where does holiness fit in with politics?  Hodges and Vowell discuss the poss...

What does Liberation Theology do to the Christmas story?  Host and Center faculty member Jack Vowell and Center Director John Hodges discuss an article in which the "real" meaning of Christmas is described as liberation from oppressive economic and political forces.  The author claims that this can be done without a need for a historical Person of Christ.  The article is used only as an example of...

The 60s sexual revolution has come around to bite us.  Maybe prudish Christians have something to say after all?  With influential members of the Media, Hollywood, and Politics falling right and left by way of accusations of sexual misconduct, are we heading back toward sexual chastity?  Probably not...but everyone agrees that there are limits that need to be put on sexual behavior, and no one any...

Hodges and Vowell discuss the question of purpose of worship:  is it primarily for God, for believers, or for unbelievers?  The answer to this question can give guidance to such questions as, "what music should we sing in church?" and "what constitutes good music?"  and "what exactly is style in music?"

Frustrations with both sides of the political spectrum lead to a discussion of how political solutions cannot address the real problems of a society.  We relate the moral and idyllic imaginations (Burke, Eliot), and show how left and right seem to assume the idyllic view.  We underestimate the depth of evil in the hearts of men when we think that if we only change political and social systems we w...

Could God have had a hand in the birth of Western Civilization?  Hodges and Vowell talk about why the Center reads in Western Civ, and how the story in Acts 16 played a part in the history that follows.

Hodges and Vowell have a conversation with Dr. E. Calvin Beisner, in which they discuss the way truth is understood.  Do we follow reason or emotion?  Are they two different ways to know?  In debates are we missing each other because one side is reasoning and the other is feeling?  The problem arises in more than debates about global warming, it becomes a key element of discussions about sex and m...

OED names 2016 word-of-the-year, "post-truth".  We talk about the influence of this idea on American community, and give some explanation for some of the tribalism we see on the political and social landscapes.  Human beings need both unity and diversity at the same time.  How can we find it?

What can laws accomplish?  Are they able to stop evil?  The Center discusses the purpose of the Bill of Rights, in light of the recent Las Vegas shooting, and asks the question, can a set of laws hold a civilization together without a transcendent point of reference?  Quotes from various founders, and a comparison of law and grace.