We Have Ceased to See the Purpose w/ Ignat Solzhenitsyn

What happens when a man who is a faithful husband, loving father, celebrated lawyer, incisive writer, and devoted son of the Church is asked to either violate his conscience or face being imprisoned, hanged, drawn, quartered, and beheaded? If you are most men, you capitulate. But if you are St. Thomas More, you guard your conscience, deepen your faith, and gird yourself for the trial to come. Join Hillsdale College Professor Stephen Smith and me as we explore the saint's powerful prison letters in Smith's new book, The Last Riddle: Advice on Living and Dying Well from the Imprisoned St. Thomas More, on The Evangelization & Culture Podcast. Stay up-to-date with the latest episodes of The Evangelization & Culture Podcast biweekly on WordOnFire.org, on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can get more content like this in the quarterly print journal of the Word on Fire Institute, Evangelization & Culture.

Coming out of the Second Vatican Council, there was a faction that saw the Council's outcome as a tragic rupture with enduring tradition, while another faction seemed eager to declare a rupture with what were deemed outdated, if not ossified, ways. In the face of this, Communio theology emerged with figures like Hans Urs von Balthasar, Henri de Lubac, Romano Guardini, and Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) who reminded us that our faith is Christocentric — Christ-centered. Without this understanding, the center cannot hold. Tradition is nothing without Christ and reform is nothing without Christ. Join Dr. Tracey Rowland and me as we explore her compelling new book, Introducing Communio Theology on The Evangelization & Culture Podcast. Stay up-to-date with the latest episodes of The Evangelization & Culture Podcast biweekly on WordOnFire.org, on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can get more content like this in the quarterly print journal of the Word on Fire Institute, Evangelization & Culture.

In America, it is not uncommon to ask what a president achieved in his "First 100 Days." If we asked the same of Adolf Hitler after being appointed Chancellor of Germany, we would learn that he suppressed political parties, suspended civil liberties, purged the civil service, imprisoned political enemies, terrorized the Jews, erected the first concentration camp, and achieved dictatorial power over the state. And that was just in the first 53 days. Join scholar Timothy Ryback and me as we explore the chilling descent of a nation into Nazi darkness in his new book 53 Days: How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy on The Evangelization & Culture Podcast. Stay up-to-date with the latest episodes of The Evangelization & Culture Podcast biweekly on WordOnFire.org, on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can get more content like this in the quarterly print journal of the Word on Fire Institute, Evangelization & Culture.

If philosophy is about the search for truth, what happens when the tool we use in the search — our very mind — is littered with abstractions, deformed by biases, and dismissive of experience? We will hardly arrive at the truth. In exploring our modes of experiences and the ways we think, philosopher Michael Oakeshott uncovered the popular mistakes and ideological misunderstandings that cloud instead of clarify, mislead instead of enlighten. Join Baylor University Professor Elizabeth Corey and me as we chat about the brilliant ideas of Michael Oakeshott and why he matters today on The Evangelization & Culture Podcast. Stay up-to-date with the latest episodes of The Evangelization & Culture Podcast biweekly on WordOnFire.org, on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can get more content like this in the quarterly print journal of the Word on Fire Institute, Evangelization & Culture.

How did a poor immigrant boy from Brooklyn rise to become Yale's Sterling Professor of Classics and History, achieve fame as the world's greatest scholar on Thucydides, and find himself compared to none other than Herodotus? Even more, how did he cultivate the wisdom of a mentor, the devotion of a father, and the kindness of a friend? Join Hillsdale Professor Paul Rahe and me as we explore the incredible journey and unlikely genius of Donald Kagan on The Evangelization & Culture Podcast. Stay up-to-date with the latest episodes of The Evangelization & Culture Podcast biweekly on WordOnFire.org, on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can get more content like this in the quarterly print journal of the Word on Fire Institute, Evangelization & Culture.