Author: Mark Vernon

This year, 2020, marks the 700-year anniversary of the completion of the great Divine Comedy. The final part of Dante’s masterpiece, Paradiso, appeared the year before he died, in 1321. The poem is many things: a celebration of human qualities; a warning that this life matters; a path of awakening; an odyssey; a diatribe against… Continue reading Dante, Erotic Love, And The Path To God

Rupert Sheldrake and I have published the latest in our conversations, this time examining sacred spaces. Cathedrals are increasingly welcoming novel explorations of their tremendous interiors. They offer powerful experiences that come with feeling free in sacred spaces. The conversation looks at how to access the sense of presence they hold, from lying on the… Continue reading Sacred spaces, with Rupert Sheldrake

This review of my book, A Secret History of Christianity, is in the latest edition of the Journal of Inkling Studies. Huge thanks to Jacob Sherman for engaging with it so fully. And I agree: here’s to Owen Barfield’s vision! In ‘Philology and the Incarnation’, one his most provocative and theological essays, Owen Barfield describes… Continue reading “Eloquent, accessible, & richly stimulating work”

His re-appearances were questioned by the disciples. Only, it wasn’t about proof at all. One of the most initially perplexing moments described in the gospels comes from the morning of the resurrection. Mary Magdalene is in the garden and sees Jesus raised before he promptly says to her, “Do not hold onto me!”. It must… Continue reading Did Jesus Bungle the Resurrection?

If Coronavirus turns Christian leaders into exemplary citizens, the gospel is lost Will Covid-19 change our way of life, our politics, maybe even our civilisation? Personally, I doubt it. Business and political leaders are already charting a course back to familiar waters. But Eastertime is a festival of novelty. It celebrates spiritual liberation not social… Continue reading Easter And The End Of Christianity

I’m proposing to have a discussion about Dante’s Inferno on Saturday 11th April at 5pm BST. If that’s of interest, do email me, mail@markvernon.com, and I’ll get back to you.

What we lose in online meetings and how to survive them. Zoom drinks and Skype dinners were fun at first. And essential. Office life now revolves around online meetings. But as the coronavirus crisis lengthens, and the lockdown extends from days to weeks or more, what might we lose to virtual communication? At one level,… Continue reading Zoom fear and Skype fatigue

For some, probably most, the Covid-19 pandemic is a question of massive mitigation. The aim is to learn lessons and return to business as usual, as soon as possible. For others, it’s different. It’s not just a disaster to get through, but a moment to seize and change the world. The latter response interests me.… Continue reading The plague that changed the world

This piece was written for the Idler. The monastery has come to us. Life has gone on retreat. For the next period, we’ll be living in the refectory and cloister. And, as transpires when you go on retreat, strange things will happen. Part of that will be anxiety. There are those for whom Covid-19 gives… Continue reading Freedom in a time of crisis

The world is in a collective panic. The coronavirus Covid-19 is the understandable cause. Crises precipitate shared alarm when the groups to which we belong, from family to nation, realise that the terms of engagement have suddenly, unexpectedly, dramatically shifted. The group then regresses into primitive states of anxiety at not knowing who’s in control,… Continue reading How to survive a group panic