Critical Faith

In a moment of political strife and complexities, Christians have no shortage of powerful examples who left behind a creative and subversive legacy. Among them is Dorothy Day, a feisty New Yorker who is currently being considered for canonization in the Catholic Church. During her life, Day founded the Catholic Worker, a ragtag group of Christian activists that is still going strong today, known for a commitment to radical hospitality and peace. Scholarly studies of Day and the Catholic Worker are easy to come by, but ICS had the privilege of hosting Kate Hennessy, Day's youngest grandchild, to hear firsthand about her life, her community, and her legacy.

In this first of two episodes, Kate Hennessy talks about her book Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved by Beauty. The book provides an intimate look into the story of Dorothy Day and those she touched. Vulnerable, complicated, funny, and inspiring, Hennessy's book offers a unique window into a life marked by a deep Christian faith and love for the least of these. 

Critical Faith is sponsored by the Centre for Philosophy, Religion, and Social Ethics at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. For more, visit icscanada.edu.

Music by Matt Bernico.

In the previous episode, Dean Dettloff interviewed DeRoo on his paper from episode one, "Material Spirituality," along with some general themes about Christian philosophy. In this episode, DeRoo takes questions from the audience, expressed by ICS student Grace Carhartt, on his paper and themes in the interview, engaging thinkers like Charles Taylor and William Cavanaugh and issues like ecclesiology and pluralism. The recording is the third and final of three parts, all from a Scripture, Faith, and Scholarship Seminar hosted at the Institute for Christian Studies.

Neal DeRoo is Canada Research Chair in Phenomenology and Philosophy of Religion and Associate Professor of Philosophy at The King's University in Edmonton, Alberta, and the author of Futurity in Phenomenology: Promise and Method in Husserl, Levinas, and Derrida (Fordham: 2013).

Critical Faith is sponsored by the Centre for Philosophy, Religion, and Social Ethics at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. For more, visit icscanada.edu.

Music by Matt Bernico.

In the previous episode, Neal DeRoo presented a paper on "material spirituality," considering how phenomenology might illuminate our spiritual lives. In this episode, Dean Dettloff interviews DeRoo to pull out some themes in the paper and in DeRoo's approach to faith and scholarship more generally. Ranging from questions about phenomenology to what it means to be "spiritual, but not religious," DeRoo offers a bridge between academic philosophy and everyday life. The recording is the second of three parts, all from a Scripture, Faith, and Scholarship Seminar hosted at the Institute for Christian Studies.

Neal DeRoo is Canada Research Chair in Phenomenology and Philosophy of Religion and Associate Professor of Philosophy at The King's University in Edmonton, Alberta, and the author of Futurity in Phenomenology: Promise and Method in Husserl, Levinas, and Derrida (Fordham: 2013).

Critical Faith is sponsored by the Centre for Philosophy, Religion, and Social Ethics at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. For more, visit icscanada.edu.

Is spirituality one part of our lives that we experience in worship? Or does it permeate our whole being? Are we able to pull spirituality and religion apart? What would happen if we considered how our spirituality is embodied, deeply, in our world? In this inaugural episode of Critical Faith, Neal DeRoo explores these questions in his lecture "Toward a Material Spirituality: Religion and Phenomenological Expression." The recording is the first of three parts, all from a Scripture, Faith, and Scholarship Seminar hosted at the Institute for Christian Studies.

Neal DeRoo is Canada Research Chair in Phenomenology and Philosophy of Religion and Associate Professor of Philosophy at The King's University in Edmonton, Alberta, and the author of Futurity in Phenomenology: Promise and Method in Husserl, Levinas, and Derrida (Fordham: 2013).

Critical Faith is sponsored by the Centre for Philosophy, Religion, and Social Ethics at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. For more, visit icscanada.edu.