An audio version of this talk is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. The Last Judgement, William Blake argued, is not a terrifying forthcoming rapture but an awakening present moment, “Whenever any Individual Rejects Error & Embraces Truth”.
Tag: Jesus
Where is heaven? A response to Sam Harris & Jonathan Pageau
An audio version of this talk is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. Sam Harris raised the question of the location of heaven, not least in the space age, when “up there” is not straightforwardly a good answer. Jonathan Pageau responded eloquently, noting that up is, of course, an analogy that… Continue reading Where is heaven? A response to Sam Harris & Jonathan Pageau
Wrestling with Christianity. A Medicine Path podcast conversation with Brian James & Mark Vernon
An MP3 of this conversation can be found at my Talks and Thoughts podcast available via your podcast feed. A conversation on wrestling with Christianity – or perhaps more accurately, the Christianities that swirl around the figure of Jesus – at the Medicine Path podcast, #87, with Brian James. For more on Brian – http://medicinepathpodcast.com,… Continue reading Wrestling with Christianity. A Medicine Path podcast conversation with Brian James & Mark Vernon
Easter according to William Blake. Resurrection is neither miracle nor mystery
An MP3 version of this talk can be found on my Talks and Thoughts podcast, available via your feed. Is the resurrection a miracle? Are the events of Golgotha a mystery? And what of the resurrection of the body and attempts to prove what happened as an historical fact? William Blake argued passionately that treating… Continue reading Easter according to William Blake. Resurrection is neither miracle nor mystery
Contraries and Human Existence – William Blake and Cleansing the Doors of Perception
An MP3 of this talk, though without images, can be found on my Talks and Thoughts podcast via your podcast feed. Perception is cleansed in the struggles of life, William Blake realised, as his own life was lived between heaven and hell, innocence and experience, vision and labour. Opposites are the energy that bring the… Continue reading Contraries and Human Existence – William Blake and Cleansing the Doors of Perception
Jesus. A difficult child – a Christmas thought
“Was Jesus gentle?” William Blake asks in his poem, The Everlasting Gospel. “Was Jesus chaste?” he adds. The prophet of south London is turning his ire against the image of the Christ Child that dominates at Christmas. No crying he makes? “Wake up,” Blake cries! Read the Bible. “The Vision of Christ that thou dost… Continue reading Jesus. A difficult child – a Christmas thought
Christmas according to William Blake – a warning
An MP3 of the talk can be found at my podcast feed, Talks and Thoughts. An article on Blake’s view of the Christ Child, viewed through his infernal method, can be found here. Here I discuss how William Blake used his infernal methods subtly to critique Christmas via his illustrations to Milton’s ode, On the… Continue reading Christmas according to William Blake – a warning
The Experience of Life and the Nature of the Afterlife
Modern Christianity, at least as expressed by the church, has become very confused about the afterlife. So can our experience of life now, illuminated by wisdom traditions and modern science, offer a way into this perennial question? I’ve written more fully about these things in my book, A Secret History of Christianity. See here –… Continue reading The Experience of Life and the Nature of the Afterlife
The Meaning of Christmas by Owen Barfield
Owen Barfield agreed with the other Inklings, like JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis, that the life of Jesus marked a pivot point in history. But he had a particularly powerful way of capturing the truth… Reading from History in English Words by Owen Barfield. For more on his understanding of Christianity, and genius worldview, try… Continue reading The Meaning of Christmas by Owen Barfield
The tricky parable of the talents
The story of the master giving 5, 2 and 1 talent to slaves trips up those who see the parables as moral or justice tales. But there is another way of understanding them, asking us whether we have the eyes to see, the ears to hear of an entirely different economy and kingdom. Reading from… Continue reading The tricky parable of the talents