“Why is the Bible more Entertaining & Instructive than any other book?” William Blake asked in a letter. His answer is that this text, along with some others, is not a work of history or record, theological analysis or moral teaching, but inspiration. He continues: “Is it not because they [he has all inspired texts… Continue reading History, record, teaching, creed? How to read the Bible, according to William Blake
Author: Mark Vernon
Pope Francis and the Greatest Sin. Uncertainty and the discovery of God
There is a pivotal moment early in the movie Conclave, the drama about the election of a new pope. The man in charge of the arcane procedures behind the Vatican’s sealed doors, Cardinal Lawrence (played by Ralph Fiennes), preaches a sermon. The prelate says he will speak from the heart. The scarlet-clad princes of the… Continue reading Pope Francis and the Greatest Sin. Uncertainty and the discovery of God
The Unity of Being – and the very great things that Ibn ‘Arabi makes of it!
An audio version of this talks is at my podcast, Inner Life, available via podcast feeds. Ibn ‘Arabi is arguably the greatest philosopher in the Islamic world, though controversial; Seal of the Mohammedan Saints, as he is known, alongside Shaykh al-Akbar, he is becoming more important again, especially against a backdrop of fundamentalism. Born into… Continue reading The Unity of Being – and the very great things that Ibn ‘Arabi makes of it!
Jesus is the only God. And so am I and so are you. William Blake’s mystical Christianity
New post on my Substack, A Golden String. I am now beginning in earnest to promote my new book, Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination, out in June/Sept (UK/US). Do have a read! And/or do consider pre-ordering! (Thanks: it really helps early sales and so bookshop notice.) “The best overall study of… Continue reading Jesus is the only God. And so am I and so are you. William Blake’s mystical Christianity
Andalusia and machine anxiety. How the Iberian philosophers can help us now
An audio version of this talk is at my podcast, Inner Life, available via podcast feeds. The extraordinary spread of Islam after 632 – from Central Asia to North Africa in a century – reached Europe in the eighth century, generating issues that still matter to this day. Not ones of religion, though, but of… Continue reading Andalusia and machine anxiety. How the Iberian philosophers can help us now
Christ at the turning point of history. Owen Barfield in a secular age
Owen Barfield was the genius Inkling, said CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien. But why does he so much matter today?They consider how Owen Barfield addresses the idea of secularism developed by CharlesTaylor and why that might matter in a cultural moment that feels like a fork in the road.They speak personally of how Barfield… Continue reading Christ at the turning point of history. Owen Barfield in a secular age
Why Humanity Evolves and Civilisations Pivot. But collapse and crisis are poor catalysts of change
Jerusalem rises as Albion falls asleep. William Blake understood that the modern mentality was uncoupled from the inside of the world New post on my Substack, A Golden String. Every so often the human imagination changes. Deep switches tend not to happen following major events, because people are inclined to react to wars and… Continue reading Why Humanity Evolves and Civilisations Pivot. But collapse and crisis are poor catalysts of change
Living in an Age of Spiritual Crisis. A conversation with Rupert Sheldrake & Mark Vernon
An audio version of this conversation is at my podcast, Inner Life, available via podcast feeds. Much of the modern world has become uncoupled from the transcendent in a cultural experiment Nietzsche called the death of God. But might this spiritual crisis prove to be a time of rebirth? In this episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon… Continue reading Living in an Age of Spiritual Crisis. A conversation with Rupert Sheldrake & Mark Vernon
The Abolition of Man, That Hideous Strength, Till We Have Faces. The importance of CS Lewis today
An audio version of the conversation is at my podcast, Inner Life, available via podcast feeds. A discussion with Jason Baxter, Nicholas Colloff and Mark Vernon. The Abolition of Man is a series of three lectures given by C.S. Lewis in defence of objective value, arguing that modernity has undermined our humanity by uncoupling intellect… Continue reading The Abolition of Man, That Hideous Strength, Till We Have Faces. The importance of CS Lewis today
Evolution. From natural selection to omega point. A conversation with Rupert Sheldrake
An audio version of this conversation is at my podcast, Inner Life, available via podcast feeds. Darwinian evolution shapes modern biology, but the notion of evolution has a wider history, too. In this episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon dialogues, Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon explore linear and cyclical conceptions of human and cosmic evolution and ask… Continue reading Evolution. From natural selection to omega point. A conversation with Rupert Sheldrake