English L'Abri

Andrew Fellows, former L'Abri worker, walks us through the development of modernity and proposes life in community as a buffer against the more negative aspects of modern life.

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Many today feel uncertain about how to respond to a changing technological landscape. Having previously outlined a few rules for what technology is and how it behaves, this lecture explores what we should do about it and proposes a response that avoids the double dangers of fear and utopianism.
A lecture given by Andy Patton (L'Abri Worker) at English L'Abri on 23 June, 2017. For more information, visit labri.org/england and for more L'Abri lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library.
For further reading:
What Technology Wants (Kevin Kelly)
Reclaiming Conversation (Sherry Turkle)

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Many today feel uncertain about how to respond to a changing technological landscape. If neither technophobia nor technophoria are adequate responses, can we chart a middle way? This lecture outlines a few rules for what technology is, how it behaves, what we should do about it, and proposes a response that avoids the double dangers of fear and utopianism. 
A lecture given by Andy Patton (L'Abri Worker) at English L'Abri on 18 October, 2017. For more information, visit labri.org/england and for more L'Abri lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library.
For further reading:
What Technology Wants (Kevin Kelly)
Understanding Media (Marshall McLuhan)
Technopoly (Neil Postman)
The Technological Society (Jacques Ellul)
The Singularity Is Near (Ray Kurzweil)

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When asked what happened when Jesus was crucified, many Christians can give little more than short, pithy summaries: 'He was dying for our sins' or 'He was taking our punishment' or 'He was showing how much God loved us.' The Bible has more to say. As preparation for Good Friday, this lecture explores the deep terror and unspeakable comfort of the brutal execution at the heart of Christian faith.
A lecture given by Phillip Johnston (L'Abri Worker) at English L'Abri on 23rd March, 2018. For more information, visit labri.org/england and for more L'Abri lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library.
For further exploration:
Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament (Christopher J.H. Wright)
The New Testament and the People of God (N.T. Wright)
The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ (Fleming Rutledge)

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The culture is polarised—not just left and right but the centre and the periphery, the cosmopolitans and the provincials. This lecture will sketch some trajectories for where this might lead and consider what we should do about it.
A lecture given by Marsh Moyle at English L'Abri on 16th March, 2018. For more information, visit labri.org/england and for more L'Abri lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library.

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Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather: Part II (1974) are widely regarded as two of the greatest films of the twentieth century. The Godfather: Part III (1990) is often dismissed as a pale failure. This lecture explores how the trilogy as a whole reflects the work of a specifically Catholic imagination where the moral universe is viewed through the sacraments of the Church.
A lecture given by Andrew Jones (Vicar of Grace Church Hackney, London) at English L'Abri on 9th March, 2018. For more information, visit labri.org/england and for more L'Abri lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library.

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This talk explains what other-centred love looks like and how ‘the inferno of self-love’ works against it. We consider how Christ alone is the reference point for understanding the greatness of the highest love.
A lecture given by Andrew Fellows at English L'Abri on 24th February, 2018. Andrew is director of Christian Heritage, a study centre community serving Cambridge. Andrew was the former chairman of L'Abri International Fellowship and director of English L'Abri from 1995-2015.
For further study:
Radical Alterity (Jean Baudrillard)
In the Self's Place: The Approach of Saint Augustine (Jean-Luc Marion)
The Agony of Eros (Byung-Chul Han)

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In a time of busy, workaholic, multitasking, tired people, is there a space for rest? This lecture looks at reasons why rest has become such a distant concept and explores its powerful and transformative offer to our lives.
A lecture given by Lili Reichow (L'Abri Worker) at English L'Abri on 16th February, 2018. For more information, visit labri.org/england and for more L'Abri lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library.

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This lecture articulates a theological and philosophical definition of thankfulness, trying to find broader categories to think about a common concept in a more comprehensive way.
A lecture given by Josué Reichow (L'Abri Worker) at English L'Abri on 9th February, 2018. For more information, visit labri.org/england and for more L'Abri lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library.

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There is a renewed recognition in education, politics and business that character is crucial for the future of society and human flourishing. But what is character? Can it be educated into children? And what about us? This lecture will consider these questions with a look back to ancient wisdom and forward to the latest psychological research.
A lecture given by Tom Smiley (Clinical Psychologist) at English L'Abri on 2nd February, 2018. For more information, visit labri.org/england and for more L'Abri lectures, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library.
For further study:
Virtue Reborn (Tom Wright)
The Science of Virtue: Why Positive Psychology Matters for the Church (Mark McMinn)
The Psychology of Christian Character Formation (Joanna Collicutt)
Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification (Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman)

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