English L'abri

2021 is the 50th anniversary of L’Abri here in Greatham. Current director Jim Paul will be in conversation with Ranald Macaulay, who together with his wife Susan founded English L’Abri, exploring the story of how English L’Abri started and the enduring legacy of Francis and Edith Schaeffer.For more lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. Subscribe at englishlabri.substack.com

Although many people think that political life is a neutral zone walled off from religion, it is actually in the grip of competing visions, each of which tells its own story of salvation.For more lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. Subscribe at englishlabri.substack.com

Pledging allegiance to the American flag and to the “Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” was once a common practice to begin the school day. But from the beginning of the American Republic, women were only one group not included in the “all!” We will be considering the rise of American feminism as a response to the long history of the abuse of gender difference and asking what light the Bible sheds on these issues.For more lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. Subscribe at englishlabri.substack.com

As we continue into the 21st-century, our culture, including the church, is increasingly focused on outcome measurements and efficiency. But in “The Lord’s Work in the Lord’s Way,” Francis Schaeffer emphasized that to do the Lord's work we need also to do it in the Lord’s way. Ends are not all-important, but means are crucial in the kingdom of God.For more lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. Subscribe at englishlabri.substack.com

Reflections on how Francis Schaeffer and L’Abri shaped Richard Winter’s thinking in the relationship between theology, medicine, psychiatry and counseling.For more lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. Subscribe at englishlabri.substack.com

Forty years ago Francis Schaeffer urged the church to live up to its calling in order to be ‘fit for purpose’ in a post-Christian world.  The core of his message speaks with a relevance and vibrancy the church needs to hear more than ever. In this talk, we explore what ‘Schaeffer’s burdens’ were and why they are applicable today.For more lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. Subscribe at englishlabri.substack.com

The Protestant Reformation’s 500-year anniversary and recent calls to reform the religion of Islam prompt the question of what reformation might entail for Muslims. What has and what will reformation look like in Islam? Keefer considers this question by exploring the history of the religion and its theological tenets. Subscribe at englishlabri.substack.com

Transgender rights have gone from a minor issue to becoming the cultural battlefield of the past few years, with major gains made by the transgender lobby in terms of law, educational policy, media coverage and celebrity endorsement. How has the transgender lobby been so successful in changing public opinion and the voices against transgenderism so unsuccessful in holding back this cultural change?A lecture given by Jim Paul (L'Abri Worker) at English L'Abri on 19th January, 2018. For more information, visit labri.org/england and for more L'Abri lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library.For further study:"The Gender Equality Paradox" (from NRK 1's Hjernevask series)"Susie Orbach on women’s bodies and why the panic about gender is disturbing" (Janice Turner, The Times, 11 January 2018)Roots of Western Culture (Herman Dooyeweerd) Subscribe at englishlabri.substack.com

The current gender debate often flattens out the meaning of gender - male and female are merely the result of evolutionary developments and therefore we can construct and reconstruct gender in any way we see fit. But the Bible sees a deeper meaning behind gender, as well as giving a more nuanced account of our experience of what it means to be male and female. Subscribe at englishlabri.substack.com

In the early days of the modern 'green' movement, Francis Schaeffer published Pollution and the Death of Man, a short book occasioned by impoverished assumptions about humanity's place in nature among both evangelical Christians and secular environmentalists. This lecture will look at Schaeffer's Christian ecology and put his ideas in dialogue with an influential preacher (John MacArthur) and a lauded novelist (Richard Powers).For more lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. Subscribe at englishlabri.substack.com

To celebrate release of his new book, What On Earth Is Heaven?, we present a discussion on the theme of heaven between Jim Paul, Dr Mary McCampbell (associate Professor of Humanities, Lee University and Andrew Peterson (singer/songwriter, author and co-founder of The Rabbit Room) with Lindsey Patton facilitating. For more lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. Subscribe at englishlabri.substack.com

All too often, Christian imaginations show evidence of having been hacked by the materialistic consensus in which we live. When it comes to the invisible dimension of reality, most Christians live as functional materialists, giving lip-service to the reality of the supernatural but denying its power. This lecture explores how materialism became so rampant in the church and how to live, as Francis Schaeffer said, in the “supernatural now”.For more lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. Subscribe at englishlabri.substack.com

Exploring ethical and theological understandings of hospitality.-Lois Lindholm, Former L'Abri WorkerFor more lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. Subscribe at englishlabri.substack.com

Curiosity is a quality that most children seem to possess. It is this hunger to know and understand that spurs on their many questions. While some people remain curious into adulthood, for many of us it does not come as naturally as when we were young. Neither do many Christian people consider curiosity to be significant to the life of faith. What are some ways in which being genuinely curious can aid us as we live under Christ's lordship? Is there any hope for the jaded among us to grow in curiosity? For more lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions which explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. Subscribe at englishlabri.substack.com

In ’The Last Battle’, the final book in CS Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, the children witness the end of Narnia before walking through a door between worlds into a land of "warm daylight' and "blue sky, with flowers at their feet”. They eventually come to see that this ’new’ land is the real Narnia, “which has always been here and always will be”, and that the old Narnia was only its shadow or copy. Digory Kirke (the Professor in ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’) comments by way of explanation that “It’s all in Plato, all in Plato."  What did Lewis mean by this and how does Plato help us understand the relationship of creation to new creation? For more lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions which explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which

What is a Map? How does it work and what does it do? In a general way, maps help us to orient ourselves. As we talk about this broad category such as reality, is it even possible to map it? This panel will explore the way we engage, think and represent the world around us, reflecting on the different sources we use to make sense of everything that is around us. For more lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions which explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. Subscribe at englishlabri.substack.com

The Social Sciences have become central in the way people think about our times and the issues of the day. Its constitution and origin as a science need to be understood if we are to reflect on the roots of the contemporary social movements. Besides, as we go deeper into its roots we may come to a clearer perspective on how meaning is framed within the modern times. So, this lecture will explore its history and impact on ideas and its consequences for the way we experience reality. For more lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over one thousand lectures and discussions which explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. We ask you to respect the copyright for this audio file which belongs to L’Abri Fellowship. Please note that views expressed in the lecture and discussion times do not necessarily represent the views of L’Abri Fellowship. Subscribe at englishlabri.substack.com

In the last 20 years the world seems to have rediscovered the concept of gratitude, and found to its surprise that it is strongly related to health and well-being.We will look at the science that has explored this, including a quick assessment of our own gratitude levels, and  consider the overlap with the age-old Christian understanding of the concept, which emphasises seeing ourselves as receivers of gifts. How can we employ gratitude in every possible way in our lives?Tom Smiley, Psychologist Subscribe at englishlabri.substack.com

What is genuine human flourishing and how do we come close to experiencing such? Chiefly drawing upon Scripture but with secondary insights from Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Wendell Berry, and James K.A. Smith, this lecture may point us in the right direction. Gavin McGrath, Associate Rector at St Nicholas Church, Sevenoaks Subscribe at englishlabri.substack.com

Christians don’t have the monopoly on seeing what’s wrong with the world. This talk examines three secular sin labels as a diagnosis of the problem. Each adds something significant to our understanding of why everything is so bent out of shape. While each of these labels are useful they are inadequate to the Bible's better diagnosis. -Andrew Fellows, Director of Christian Heritage Cambridge Subscribe at englishlabri.substack.com