English L'abri

Hyper-individualism and consumerism are failing to satisfy our hunger for meaning. We face an identity crisis in which real community is increasingly hard to find. The culture wars have been painful and polarising and have proved a poor way to agree any kind of moral standards. Is it even possible to find a vision for goodness that can bring us together?Rumours of a Better Country addresses our hunger for justice and a better way of living by awakening our moral imagination to the potential of a trusting community. Drawing on ancient wisdom and looking through the lens of daily reality, it shows how trust and trustworthiness must be the foundation for any kind of meaningful freedom.Join us in celebrating the launch of Marsh Moyle’s book: “Rumours of a Better Country:  Searching for trust and community in a time of moral outrage". To view a transcript of this lecture, listen here. For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and di

There is a lot of hype these days about what AI can do and perhaps in the near future be able to do. Questions arise: Will humans be out of work? Will human dignity and unicity be compromised with the rise of real thinking machines? Stefan argues that there are solid theological and philosophical reasons why a machine will never be able to think and that the greater problem is that we think that they will.To view a transcript of this lecture, listen here. For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

Since the rise of the MeToo movement in the mid-2010s, masculinity has reentered the cultural conversation with force. On the left, masculinity is often seen as a problem and rarely referenced without “toxic” as a descriptor. Men simply need to shape up and stand down. On the right, a pro-male movement has bubbled up in response. Men simply need to own their dominance and take charge. Does Christianity have anything different—or better—to say?To view a transcript of this lecture, listen here. For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

This lecture looks back at the ideas in Richard Winter’s book, “Perfecting ourselves to Death” and its relevance today.The slides to this talk are available here.This lecture is also available on all major podcasting platforms! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

Artificial Intelligence is progressing more rapidly than most of us expected. Chatbots have become scarily good at answering questions or generating just about any genre of text. A.I. image generation, video generation and voice cloning are making great strides. How do we evaluate and navigate such changes? What do such developments mean for our human identity, agency and relationships?The slides to this talk are available here.This lecture is also available on all major podcasting platforms! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

The books known as ‘the classics’ can seem intimidating, boring or culturally oppressive. However, they tend to represent the most psychologically and thematically complex, as well as the most technically accomplished and aesthetically satisfying, depictions of the reality in which we find ourselves. In spending time with these works throughout our lives, they and their authors become our teachers and friends, as we participate in ‘the great conversation’ that has been going on for centuries. We can receive solace, goodness, beauty, truth, growth in empathy for others, and experience delight and enjoyment. In pointing us toward that which is real, they can help to point us to God.This lecture is also available on all major podcasting platforms! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

We want to get our relationships right, particularly our romantic and family relationships, but often end up tired, discouraged, and feeling like failures.  A primary cause is when we set out to control & change others, making rules (mostly unwritten) and attempting to modify their attitudes & responses.  Understanding the difference between God's job and ours, allowing grace to replace manipulation & legislation, is a step to healthy relationships.This lecture is also available on all major podcasting platforms! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

In this lecture, Merran Paul (L’Abri Worker) engages cultural approaches to parenting. Sharing her first-hand experience as a “Christian Mum”, she presents a practical vision of Love, Authority, and Freedom for families.This lecture is also available on all major podcasting platforms! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

In this lecture, Merran Paul (L’Abri Worker) engages cultural approaches to parenting. Sharing her first-hand experience as a “Christian Mum”, she presents a practical vision of Love, Authority, and Freedom for families.This lecture is also available on all major podcasting platforms! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

In this lecture, Mary McCampbell (Author, Associate Professor of humanities at Lee University) will look at how the arts expand our imaginations and, in so doing, embolden our ability to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Additionally, from now on this email will exist to deliver the podcast every week for those who prefer listening through email. If you prefer to subscribe and listen through another platform, feel free to unsubscribe! Listen to and download recent lectures at englishlabri.org/podcast. For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscriber

In this lecture, Mark Meynell (Author, Langham Partnership) will explore how to understand the impact of living in a secular context for Christian witnesses and show how the Arts are crucial for breaking through the intellectual barriers that secularism uses to prevent people from grasping the gospel.Additionally, from now on this email will exist to deliver the podcast every week for those who prefer listening through email. If you prefer to subscribe and listen through another platform, feel free to unsubscribe! Listen to and download recent lectures at englishlabri.org/podcast. For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship.

In this lecture, we will be thinking about the (still) deeply Christian nature of what we could call the soul of western culture and the importance of having a robust sense of this in light of the challenges of our time.Listen to and download recent lectures at englishlabri.org/podcast. For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

This lecture explores the way both church and Western culture have interpreted the Biblical word soul (nephesh) through a Greek philosophical paradigm, leading to a strong body-soul dualism which reduces the real person to a state of inner consciousness. This has led Christians to be disengaged from the worlds around us of nature and culture, and is the great-great-great-grandfather of transgender theory where our inner psychological sense of ourselves trumps our physicality.Click here for a PDF of the slides.Listen to and download recent lectures at englishlabri.org/podcast. For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. This i

The Bible describes reality in a unique way. All other worldviews are fundamentally different from the Biblical one, although many details can be the same. This lecture looks at the similarities and differences between Monism, Dualism and Trinitarianism and works to bring clarity concerning many questions and confusions. Purchase a copy of Ellis’ book on the same topic here.Listen to and download recent lectures at englishlabri.org/podcast. For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.

Andrew shows readers how secularism has reshaped church culture, changing the way many Christians and churches live and worship without being noticed. Both provocative and practical, he challenges Christians to live with radical Christ-like distinctiveness that requires both reformation by the church and revival by the Holy Spirit.Purchase a copy of Andrew’s book here.Listen to and download recent lectures at englishlabri.org/podcast. For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

Christians rightly argue for the legal protection of plural political visions and excessive regulatory bureaucratic constraints on both personal and institutional religious freedom. They do this pursuant to a theologically well-grounded commitment to religious toleration and a limited state. But how does this championing of pluralism relate to our equally compelling duty of solidarity with our fellow citizens, facing common human challenges and possibilities, needing cooperative action, and with whom we share the image of God? In an age when many claim religious grounds for extreme political positions, how can we defend religious pluralism without destroying society itself?Listen to and download recent lectures at englishlabri.org/podcast. For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which

This lecture will explore the way that the purpose of education has changed through time and what this tells us about how societies have viewed reality and what it means to be human. The purpose of education has always been connected to the idea of human flourishing. This lecture will explore the theme of telos or purpose in education and what this tells us about the values and goals that various societies pursue.Listen to and download recent lectures at englishlabri.org/podcast. For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bo

In a culture that encourages us to explore and keep our options open, we've forgotten the joys to be found in radical acts of commitment to particular things–whether that be people, places, vocations, or even to a particular idea of the good life. Joel helps us understand what commitments are and how they function in our lives. He unpacks why it’s so difficult for us to commit in this cultural moment and then offers some thoughts on why it’s still worth trying as we look at the joys found in committing. Lastly, for those who are interested in attempting a committed life, he’ll want to offer a few simple ideas of how we might view commitment as an apprenticeship.Click here to download a brief outline of the lecture.Listen to and download recent lectures at englishlabri.org/podcast. For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respe

Trust is the glue of a healthy social life. This lecture will reflect on how trust grows and how questions of identity disrupt the process. Listen to and download recent lectures at englishlabri.org/podcast. For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

How does the renewal of our imaginations shape our Christian life and witness? How do we cultivate the renewal of our imaginations by the Spirit through the Word, for life in the world? This lecture explores the nature of the imagination and how it connects to the biblical theme of the heart, the importance of imaginative renewal for our discipleship, and suggests some steps we can take to help participate in God's redemption of our imaginations. Listen to and download recent lectures at englishlabri.org/podcast. For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other