English L'abri

We will explore how Polanyi’s concept of tacit knowledge offers a path forward in an era of uncertainty and ideological division. As truth becomes increasingly contested, Polanyi’s insights remind us that knowledge is not merely objective data but a lived, embodied reality shaped by tradition, trust, and personal commitment. We will examine how reclaiming tacit knowledge can help restore coherence in public discourse and navigate the complex challenges of our fragmented world. What is at stake is not only truth, but justice and liberty. Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship.For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship.For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

Joyce will incorporate her research on MacDonald's love for Pilgrim's Progress as well as the influence of Thomas Chalmers's sermons.Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship.For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

How should we think of ageing? Is it the same as getting older? Is ageing or getting older good? Is being young and youthful the same thing? Does Christianity offer insights about ageing that are different from our secular culture?Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship.For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

Truth-telling through illusions and the suspension of disbelief. Mark will play around with a pan-arts approach and show that every art form is inevitably an illusion but that is necessary for their truth-telling.Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship.For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

How we think of nature is vitally important for shaping our relationship with the natural world. Many Christians are functional materialists in their attitude to nature, whilst many environmentalists tend towards pantheism. This lecture aims to help us understand a biblical view of the relationship of God with his creation, one which will help us better care for and love our world. Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship.For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

Philip Yancey is one of the highest-selling evangelical authors in the modern era, with over 15 million English books in print. He has made an impressive career writing about his doubts and questions of faith. Yancey recently released a personal memoir, which his wife labelled a ‘prequel’ to all of his other books. Together, we will look at Yancey’s life story and his large body of work, and consider his reputation as a beloved spiritual guide for the doubting and suffering. Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship.For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

Peter presents his recent work on Christian leadership. What makes someone a "leader"? What does leadership have to do with spirituality, rhetoric and values? What is the specific nature of "Christian leadership"? And what resources does "Christian leadership" have to offer that can mitigate against the abuse of leadership?Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship.For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

Whether we consider ourselves Christian or not, the Jesus movement is the most disruptive, influential and enduring revolution in history. Even critiques of Christianity turn out to be thoroughly Christian critiques. What does that mean for a culture that considers itself to have moved on from institutional Christianity? And what opportunities does the church have to proclaim Christ in a post-Christian culture?Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship.For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

After forty-plus years studying the understanding of womanhood throughout time, philosopher Prudence Allen confidently asserts that there are but ‘two fundamental principles of gender relation.’ Grasped together, they bring harmony. Grasped in isolation, there is frequently pain and injustice. This lecture will unpack the two realities of gender from the early pages of Scripture and encourage us to hold on to both.Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship.For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

Some philosophical reflections on the problem of divine hiddenness.Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship.For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

Since Peter and Miranda Harris co-founded A Rocha in 1983, it has grown into an international family of Christian conservation organisations. After Miranda’s tragic death in 2019, their daughter Jo found her mother’s diaries in which she described the beginnings of A Rocha in their home in Portugal at which there was always ‘A Place at the Table'. These stories became the inspiration for Jo’s recent book which explores the transformative way in which sharing food is at the heart of a shared life. This talk will be a conversation around the theme of the book, and of A Rocha, and how they may resonate with L’Abri’s own calling.Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship.For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with

Statistics of people reporting that they are feeling lonely is going up, and the number of people in cities living on their own is on the rise. Justin Whitmel Earley writes in his book Made for People, “The current of modern life is to become busier, wealthier people who used to have friends”. Is loneliness our future or can we move towards connection and friendship? In this lecture we will look at some of the components of building friendships, and why it is necessary that we keep pursuing the community we were made for.Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship.For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

Panpsychism is the theory that consciousness (or mentality) is fundamentally present throughout the natural world. It has been gaining popularity across a variety of disciplines, from author Phillip Pullman, to neuroscientist Iain McGilchrist, to philosopher Phillip Goff. Jordan Peterson’s ideas on consciousness intersect with panpsychism and it has a following amongst ecologists who want to advocate that non-human nature has rights. This lecture will attempt to describe and then evaluate panpsychism from a Christian perspective.Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship.For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

Sin has “surprising collateral benefits” writes Watkin. Chesterton said sin’s results were “pathos and brotherhood, and a thunder of laughter and pity”. In this lecture we will re-explore a core L’Abri theme, Living in the Shadow of the Fall and apply this truth to some of the current dilemmas facing our society.Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship.For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

In this lecture, we will explore the world of economics from a different angle. Borrowing upon the language of economics, we will be looking at transactions that do not require money and what they tell us about what it means to be human, discussing how they can enlarge our understanding of social life. From this perspective, our very categories of poor and rich are challenged and put in a different framework.Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship.For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

Although now spread all around the globe, universities first came into being in the middle ages in Western Europe and nowhere else. What was it about mediaeval Western Eruope’s culture that allowed for the rise of these particular communities of learning? This lecture will examine the roots of the university in relation to key aspects of the mediaeval Christian mind, namely its emphasis on rationality, logic, and the unity of all knowledge, pagan and Christian, under the God of the Bible.Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship.For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

This December marks the 200th anniversary of George MacDonald's birth. He is regarded by many as the father of modern fantasy literature, and wrote books that have baptised many people's imaginations, including C.S. Lewis, who said that he thinks he has "never written a book in which I did not quote from him". We want to spend an evening introducing him to those of you who might not know much about him, sharing a few of our favourite books (The Princess and the Goblin, Phantases, At the Back of the North Wind), and honouring this man, whose every printed word points to a God whom he believes comes to meet us wherever we are and to point and draw us to Himself.Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship.For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If y

For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

Marsh facilitates a discussion which seeks to examine some of the societal transitions that have taken place over the past 150 years and ask the question, “What do these transitions mean for us today?”For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com