This piece was published at Christian Today. Pascal’s Wager has become a notorious reason to believe in God. The French mathematician and philosopher proposed that it’s rational to believe in God because if you’re wrong it won’t make any difference, but if you’re right it might make every difference as to where you spend eternity.… Continue reading Was Pascal right about belief?
Posts
The evolution of the self
Human consciousness has shifted dramatically over the last 5000 years. Evidence as diverse as prehistoric archeology, ancient social structures and the history of words suggests as much. In particular, it looks as if our sense of being individual selves is a relatively recent perception. It changes our relationship to nature, the cosmos and gods. In… Continue reading The evolution of the self
Introducing Owen Barfield
The words of the last Inkling himself open this discussion I had on Barfield’s thought with the editor of the Barfield Literary Estate website, Rory O’Connor. It was a pleasure to talk about thinking and imagining, rainbows and spirit, climate change and the future. For our conversation, click here.
The front line of parapsychology
youtubeembedcode es add-link-Exchange youtubeembedcode.com/pl/ check this out In this new episode of The Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues, Rupert Sheldrake and I discuss how psi experiences can best be understood. The evidence for these phenomena is dismissed by sceptics with increasingly dogmatic assertions. But that’s no surprise because the data in support of phenomena from telepathy to pre-sentience… Continue reading The front line of parapsychology
Romanticism and the meaning crisis
The Toronto psychologist, John Vervaeke, has reached romanticism in his series, Awakening from the Meaning Crisis. He is moving into the area that Owen Barfield considered core. In this discussion, that ranges across the ideas of Kant, Romanticism, psychotherapy and Christianity, I sketch how Barfield’s notion of final participation offers a sense of the way… Continue reading Romanticism and the meaning crisis
Testing Christianity and the Evolution of Consciousness
A couple more podcast talks have been published. Skeptiko with Alex Tsakiris – a penetrating exchange considering not only the place of Christianity in the evolution of consciousness but the significance of everything from NDEs to UFO experiencers today, and how Owen Barfield’s ideas help illuminate them. Challenging Opinions with William Campwell – another feisty… Continue reading Testing Christianity and the Evolution of Consciousness
Living in an Age of Spiritual Crisis
Rupert Sheldrake and I have published the latest in our series of conversations, this time on Living in an Age of Spiritual Crisis. The depth of the environmental crisis is becoming clearer. Social crises are around us, too. But do these realities stem from a deeper spiritual crisis? We discuss whether we’ve become uncoupled from… Continue reading Living in an Age of Spiritual Crisis
Fossils of consciousness
I very much enjoyed this conversation with Paul VanderKlay, talking about Owen Barfield, CS Lewis, Christianity then and now…
How modern myths are subversive
This article was published in the Church Times. Here’s an excerpt. In short, modern myths celebrate what is proscribed in a secular age. The secret of their success is appealing to an inner awareness of energies that are not material. Further, the stories suggest that we can learn to relate to this dynamism, and not… Continue reading How modern myths are subversive
Celtic Christianity and nature
Anxiety about the natural world is high and with good reason. Surprisingly, perhaps, the earliest days of Christianity in the British Isles have something vital to teach us. In this new episode of The Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues, Rupert Sheldrake and I take a lead from a wonderful new book, The Naked Hermit: A Journey Into the… Continue reading Celtic Christianity and nature