Award-winning author Jessica Hooten Wilson has written an exciting new book—“The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints”—on how we’re called to live beyond a merely mundane existence of settling for small goals. In fact, we’re called to live a life of holiness. Wilson instructs us on how hearing the call to holiness requires cultivating a new imagination—one rooted in the art and discipline of reading. Reading with eyes attuned to the saints who populate great works of literature enables us to see how God opens up ways of holy living. 
 
Sarah Negri, Acton’s research project coordinator, sits down with Wilson to discuss how literature has the power to show us what a truly holy life looks like. 
 
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The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints
 
About Jessica Hooten Wilson 
 
Jessica Hooten Wilson on Solzhenitsyn Against Propaganda | Acton Institute YouTube Channel 
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Literature and the scandal of holiness

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In 2022, the Acton Institute launched The Collins Center for Abrahamic Heritage. The mission is to advance research and education on economics, liberty, and human flourishing from Jewish, Christian, and Islamic perspectives.
As part of this mission, earlier this year the Collins Center launched a debate series on the relationship between government and religion, featuring robust dialogue between scholars and leaders of different faiths. 
On today’s episode, we present to you the second of these debates. Moderated by Acton’s director of research, John Pinheiro, senior editor of The European Conservative Sebastian Morello and professor of philosophy at Bowling Green State University Kevin Vallier discuss whether government and religion really should be separate. 
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The Collins Center for Abrahamic Heritage
DEBATE: Sebastian Morello vs. Kevin Vallier | Christianity and the State

DEBATE: Christianity and the State

During times of extreme divisiveness, civility can help us transcend important differences and flourish amid them. It is through true civility, the recognition of the innate dignity of others, that we can bridge social, cultural, and political disagreements.
In this episode, Alexandra Hudson discusses her new book, “The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves,” with Acton’s director of programs and education, Dan Churchwell. 
How can we empower people to live tolerantly with others? How should our shared humanity inform the respect that we have for others with different lives and opinions? We can’t change others, but if enough of us choose civility, we might be able to change the world.
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The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves | Alexandra Hudson
Acton Lecture Series

Seeking Civility: Important Principles for Divided Times

On today’s episode, Acton librarian and research associate Dan Hugger sits down with Acton research director John Pinheiro to talk about the state of higher education in America and contrast it with the philosophy of liberal learning advanced by the late Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. 
Has philosophy fled the academy? How does the crisis in higher education compromise the teaching and learning of the liberal arts? What are the perils and promises of liberal learning outside the university? Are the “Great Books” the solution to the crisis? What role should the Christian faith play in higher education? What practical steps can students and teachers take to advance liberal learning in institutions uncongenial to the cultivation of wisdom and virtue?
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Education for a Free Society | Acton Line Podcast
Rumble in the Christian College Jungle | Acton Unwind Podcast
On Christians and Prosperity | James V. Schall
The Great Books: Enemies of Wisdom? | Frederick Wilhelmsen
A Student's Guide to Liberal Learning | James V. Schall, S.J.
Another Sort of Learning | James V. Schall, S.J.
The Life of the Mind: On the Joys and Travails of Thinking | James V. Schall
On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs: Teaching, Writing, Playing, Believing, Lecturing, Philosophizing, Singing, Dancing | James V. Schall
Education of a Wandering Man: A Memoir | Louis L'Amour
Philosophy as a Way of Life | Pierre Hadot
The Book of Chuang Tzu | Martin Palmer, Elizabeth Breuilly (translators)

Fr. James Schall and the Crisis in Higher Education

In 2022, the Acton Institute launched The Collins Center for Abrahamic Heritage to advance research and education from Jewish, Christian, and Islamic perspectives on economics, liberty, and human flourishing.
As part of its mission, the Collins Center earlier this year launched a debate series on the relationship between government and religion, featuring robust dialogue between scholars and leaders of different faiths. 
On today’s episode, we present the first of these debates: dean of the Islamic Seminary of America Yasir Qadhi and Cato senior fellow Mustafa Akyol exchange a wide range of ideas on Islam and the state. The dialogue is moderated by Collins Center manager Nathan Mech.
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The Collins Center for Abrahamic Heritage
DEBATE: Yasir Qadhi vs. Mustafa Akyol | Islam and the State

DEBATE: Islam and the State

The modern world is a busy and complicated place for Christians. Obligations to jobs, friends, and family, along with personal interests, frequently overshadow our relationship with Christ. 
In spite of all this, John Michael Talbot shows there are many ways to deepen a connection to Christ with a busy life. He's written 28 books, produced 59 music albums, and still maintains an active ministry from Little Portion Hermitage in Arkansas, where he teaches the importance of community living and finding inspiration in the Scriptures.
In this episode, Acton's director of research, John Pinheiro, speaks to John Michael about converting to Christianity, the choice to live the monastic life, and the challenges of following Christ in today’s world.
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John Michael Talbot
Late Have I Loved You | Troubadour

Literature and the scandal of holiness

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