Verum Fabula Fellowship Review

Belbury vs St Anne — the sides are being chosen. Ransom is the King Fisher of St Anne’s and Wither the Deputy Director of NICE. Both sides are pursuing Jane and another to be named later. We truly see the dichotomy of the choices of our heroes Mark and Jane. We are introduced to all the other characters who will play a role in either the salvation of England (the World) or the destruction of it. W...

The gang begins by talking about fireplaces and fuzzy socks. Haha! In this episode we remember and honor the life and death of Lewis as Nov 22nd is the anniversary of his passing. Nina and Wes have visited his grave and even placed a toy lion there in homage. Once we get into THS we pull at many threads; mainly those involving the two protagonists: Jane and Mark. The are the feminine and masculine...

The innocence of the Green Lady, the deviance of the Unman, and the doubt and inadequacy of Ransom make for tantalizing dialogue. Lewis keeps us on the edge with gut wrenching questions and thoughts. One of thoughts Ransom has is devastating in our real fight against evil: “How could Maleldil expect him to fight against this, to fight with every weapon taken from him, forbidden to lie and yet brou...

This is the introduction to the 2nd book in the Ransom Trilogy. This one begins without the Science aspect and moves directly to the Spiritual; Ramsom’s space craft is made by Maleldil. And he’s on a secret mission from Maleldil. He is brought to a new world, a new Eden and pondering the question, “Could man do what God desired freely, without falling, so God could fully bestow what he planned?”

Wes and the gang wrap up the end of this first book of the trilogy. There so many spiritual and metaphysical mysteries that Lewis delves into. He is a master of pulling apart complex topics with poignant dialogue. It is so interesting to see the dichotomy between Weston and Ransom in the judgement of the Malachanrian Oyarsa. We dissect both men’s responses and what we can pull from it to inform ou...

The Green Lady in all her purity, the new Eve, is wrestling with Ransom, the interstellar sinner, over “right thinking” about reality. To listen to one smudged by sin/experience and one unmarred, still walking with God in the Garden, we really get to see that disobeying did bring some “new” knowledge but was that worth the price humanity must bear? Could that suffering be avoided in the new Eden?...

Ransom finds himself encountering the Hross, the Sorn, and sea monsters. He learns an extraterrestrial language and valuable lessons. Lewis is a master at dialogue. He creates an imaginative atmosphere and then brings in poignant questions to allow us to wrestle with them via Ransom, Weston, and Devine. The gang breaks all this down while discussing other books and movies that correspond to the to...

We are introducing Lewis’s Sci-Fi or Ransom Trilogy. “Out of the Silent Plant is the first in the series. It is also his 2nd book to be published. “Pilgrim’s Regress” was the first, 1933. This book was published five years later. For many in the group it was their first time reading the series. The book is a catalysts for so many other things he will do stylistically and with atmosphere in the res...

What can we learn from an ancient text? A lot!! This is the foundational work that has allowed us to enjoy “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit.” JRR Tolkien was a Beowulf scholar and is so fun to see things words “middle-earth” and reading about throne room scenes that seem to be straight from Rohan! Many think that a book like this is too hard but once you get into the characters and themes you w...

This is the final and most thrilling installment of “The Nobel Prize on Literature!” This book was “red beef and strong beer” for all of us! Amid all of his counsel Solzhenitsyn leaves us with illuminating hope, “One word of truth outweighs the whole world!” I believe it and I try to live speaking the truth...or at least not lying! Do you?? This is definitely worth a listen!

Solzhenitsyn talks about cultural and social value judgments. He discusses the benefits to cultures being dynamic and not clones of each other. Technology and the speed of information can be detrimental to the heart of a people who are not conditioned for it. Listen in as the VFF gang engage with the questions and thoughts raised by Solzhenitsyn in this section.

Part three of our society’s insights into the book. There are some strands of disagreement within the group about the efficacy of Solzhenitsyn’s philosophies and how they could be applied in today’s world. I love that we are a philosophically diverse group, it truly allows for us to wrestle our own prejudices and heresies in real time.

If you haven’t read this book then you are missing out. It is filled with “earned wisdom” from an artist who survived hell and offers the truths that sustained him, and defeated tyranny. Not many can say their words helped bring down and evil empire. In this episode we discuss chapter 2 of the 38 page bombshell of a book. He begins with a quote from Dostoyevsky, “Beauty will save the world.” Then...

This is a beginning discussion on Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and his Nobel Prize lecture on Literature. He did not give the speech as he would have been arrested had he given it. It was his book, “The Gulag Archipelago” that helped take down the USSR and Stalin. He spent many years in these Gulags as a political dissident. This may be the most important book you read this year. We begin by talking abo...

Part One is the Jack and Beren take on “A Wrinkle in Time.” We discuss the purpose of literature like L’Engle, Lewis, and Tolkien.

Beren and Jack discuss the their closing thoughts on A Wrinkle in Time. This was the first time Jack had read Wrinkle in Time as an adult and it solidified many of this literary theories. Both our hosts had a great time reading the book and pull at the theological and philosophical threads to uncover and reveal many truths to help sustain the human heart throughout our human experience.

Randy and Wes take on the similarities between Tolkien’s “On Fairie Stories” and Lewis’s “On Stories.” It is a killer convo that delves deep into what drives stories and why “good” stories are necessary for human’s to be able to understand and live their lives more fully. This is not one to be missed. (Sorry for the background noise, Drinkling’s neighbor didn’t know we were doing a podcast. It was...

JRR Tolkien is not as well known for his essays but there was one that Randy and Wes wanted to discuss as Verum Fabula Fellowship gets ready to delve into Fairy Tales and Myths. In "Perilous Tales from the Perilous Realm" Tolkien has an essay on Fairie Stories where he dissects the difference between Fairies and Fairie. The element or essence of Fairie is atmospheric and has nothing to do with tin...

Randy and Wes rabbit trail today via Zoom on topics from Frankl, life’s mysteries, to their daily lives. Verum Fabula Fellowship recently read “Man’s Search For Meaning” and this is a follow up to that discussion. Since we are on Covid restrictions and the group is meeting via Zoom we have only been recording the meeting for posterity sake and not for podcasting. Randy and Wes will try and pick up...

Randy and I took this podcast into nature...at an approved social distance. We were at my nearly finished cabin near Hickman Creek. It was a great time of cohesive rabbit trails yet we delve into core beliefs that anchor both of us. It is a real and raw moment that should not be missed.

Randy and I are socially distant at Drinklings Roastery, his coffee cafe and roasting facility in Wilmore, Kentucky. We discussed Covid-19 and other rabbit trails. We feel like rabbit trails are our bread and butter and very Inkling-esque ... as they rabbited nearly every time in the Rabbit Room of the Eagle and Child pub. Walter Hooper noted once that the Inklings met and talked about "Public Sch...

Episode IV was the best Star Wars movie hands down. We hope this is the best "Transposition" episode! Lewis evokes thoughts of creativity and priority of information that aid us in exploring reality to discover Truth via the brain and the mind. "And the sceptic's conclusion that the so-called spiritual is really derived from the natural, that it is a mirage or projection or imaginary extension of...

Randy and Wes invite Asbury University Adjunct Professor David Whitaker, a core member of the VFF, to discuss his Lewis and Tolkien influences. We delve in to parenthood, childhood, and Narnia (of course). This is really worth the listen as the three of explore ourselves as both the influencee and the influencers. This is a can't miss episode!

Randy and Wes wrap up "Transposition." Lewis ends with Hope. Yes, we are limited. Yes, we can never get close to the mountain (Leaf By Niggle) or get to the Island (A Pilgrim's Regress)...But we can get close to Truth and take a transpositional approach so close that a paper drawing of fire can seem to warm one's hands.

We have reached to end of Transposition for now. I am sure we will all personally travel back and revisit it again and again. There are so many deep truths in this essay. As will all challenging essays on should end with hope and Lewis does not disappoint. "Transposition can be in its own way adequate. I said before that in your drawing you had only plain white paper for sun and cloud, snow, water...