Particular Good St. Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry

Charles talks with Grant Kaplan about his new book Faith and Reason through Christian History: A Theological Essay. Kaplan's book covers an extraordinary breadth with clarity and verve. Each section surfaces the complexities of several crucial thinkers in clear, generous treatments. Kaplan resists imposing any sort of overarching narrative on the scope of his project, but he also resists a bland descriptiveness: his own intellectual judgments are incisive and charitable.
External Links:
Faith and Reason through Christian History: A Theological Essay (CUA 2022)
St. Bernard's School of Theology & Ministry

In this episode, Charles talks with Joseph K. Gordon, Ph.D. about his book Divine Scripture in Human Understanding, which is a systematic theology of Christian Scripture. Joe draws on Henri de Lubac and Bernard Lonergan to propose a theology that accounts for traditional Christian exegesis, modern historical-critical methods, and postmodern concerns.
External Links:
Divine Scripture in Human Understanding: A Systematic Theology of the Christian Bible by Joseph K. Gordon
Certificate in Catholic Biblical Studies at St. Bernard's School of Theology & Ministry

Charles and Heather talk with Fr. Isaac Slater, a Cistercian Monk of the Strict Observance, about his book on St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Beyond Measure: The Poetics of the Image in Bernard of Clairvaux. Along the way, they also talk about the monastic life, attention, and Weil and Murdoch.
External Links:
"Beyond Measure: The Poetics of the Image in Bernard of Clairvaux" by Fr. Isaac Slater, OCSO
"The Mystical Theology of St. Bernard" by Etienne Gilson
Abbey of the Genesee
St. Bernard's School of Theology & Ministry

Danny, Heather, and Charles discuss stories "The Forks" and "Look How the Fish Live" by the 20th-century writer J.F. Powers, whose first novel, Morte d'Urban, won the 1963 National Book Award for fiction. Powers applied his gentle satire to a wide range of fictional worlds, but it best known for his stories about the domestic lives of priests. Flannery O'Connor wrote of Powers "Powers and I are, I suppose, the only two young writers in this country who are well thought of and connected with the Church. We both have the same kind of horns." (23 Dec. 1958, HB 309-310).
External Links:
The Stories of J.F. Powers
St. Bernard's School of Theology & Ministry

In this episode, Charles and Heather discuss Iris Murdoch's philosophy and literature. We talk about her philosophical work The Sovereignty of Good, her novel The Bell, and the relationship between her philosophy and her art.
External Links:
"The Bell" by Iris Murdoch
"The Sovereignty of Good" by Irish Murdoch
St. Bernard's School of Theology & Ministry

Charles, Danny, and Heather talk about Alice Munro's extraordinary short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain" and Alice Munro's craft. Munro, who won the Nobel Prize in literature in 2013, writes rich stories that delve deep into human nature. In this episode, we talk about her use of time and structure, the very human tensions in the story itself, and the role small decisions have in shaping lives.
External Links: The Bear Came Over the Mountain by Alice Munro