The Pugcast

On today's show the Pugs look back on their trip to Oxford and talk about some of the things they learned and enjoyed from the trip. Glenn leads off with three things he got a deeper appreciation for about C. S. Lewis, each of which brings in further discussion, ideas, and tangents from Chris and Tom. Throughout the conversation, all of the Pugs share experiences, ideas, and appreciation for Oxford and their time there.

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The Theology Pugcast is a ministry of Trinity Reformed Church in Huntsville Alabama. To view more media from TRC, visit their website: https://trinityreformedkirk.com/trc-media/

After a week at Oxford, surrounded by some of the best buildings to be found anywhere in the world when it comes to higher education, the Pugs discuss architecture on today's brief episode. "Why does beauty matter?" and “Why are all the science buildings ugly?” are among a host of questions addressed. Tune in as the guys long for a world that builds things the way they used to.

Today’s episode is sponsored in part by David Stocker and SHM Architects: https://www.shmarchitects.com/

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The Theology Pugcast is a ministry of Trinity Reformed Church in Huntsville Alabama. To view more media from TRC, visit their website: https://trinityreformedkirk.com/trc-media/

The Pugs continue their adventure in Oxford with an interview with Dr. Simon Horobin, the man behind the recently released book C. S. Lewis's Oxford. Dr. Horobin is an authority in medieval literature and teaches at Magdalen College. The Pugs joined Dr. Horobin in his room at Magdalen, not for from the rooms where Lewis taught and met with the Inklings. The conversation was rich and covers a lot of ground. Enjoy!

Order C. S. Lewis's Oxford: https://a.co/d/05QZ0wdj

Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

The Theology Pugcast is a ministry of Trinity Reformed Church in Huntsville Alabama. To view more media from TRC, visit their website: https://trinityreformedkirk.com/trc-media/

Another Christian college has closed its doors. This time, one of Chris's alma maters, Eastern Nazarene College, aka, ENC. ENC was a small Christian college on the south shore of Massachusetts, not far from Boston. The usual things were cited by the Trustees of the college as reasons for its demise--declining enrollment, financial challenges, etc. What the announcement didn't mention was the growth of liberalism, or in contemporary parlance, "wokeism" among the faculty and administration, and how that undermined the support of the school among its constituency. Today the Pugs are joined by Dr. Phil LaFountain, an old friend and classmate of Chris's. Phil was a professor of theology at ENC for 20 years, and at the end, one of the few conservatives still there. Listen in as the guys discuss what happened at ENC, and what might be happening at a Christian college you might be connected to.

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The Theology Pugcast is a ministry of Trinity Reformed Church in Huntsville Alabama. To view more media from TRC, visit their website: https://trinityreformedkirk.com/trc-media/

The Pugsters welcome back Dr. Ken Boa to talk about the importance of beauty for the Christian. Ken talks about seeing the beauty of the natural world and how we can use it as a force multiplier for our faith. This connects into a discussion of science and how it reveals the beauty in the world. The guys also talk with Ken about his upcoming events at the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC, and his Museum of Created Beauty app, both of which are designed to help Christians see and appreciate the wonders of creation and through that to enhance our worship.

Learn more about Reflections Ministries and Ken Boa at https://reflections.org

Find the Museum of Created Beauty app in your App Store or online at https://museumofcreatedbeauty.org/

Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

The Theology Pugcast is a ministry of Trinity Reformed Church in Huntsville Alabama. To view more media from TRC, visit their website: https://trinityreformedkirk.com/trc-media/

The Pugs are still in Oxford, and today they're at the Kilns (Lewis's home) with their friend, Dr. Michael Ward, author of Planet Narnia and After Humanity: A Guide to C. S. Lewis's Abolition of Man. The conversation naturally cover's Dr. Ward's books. Join us for a conversation over tea at the Kilns as the Pugs speak with him about Narnia and the post-human dystopia Lewis predicted would follow a loss of objective value.

Connect with Dr. Ward and find his books at michaelward.net

Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

The Theology Pugcast is a ministry of Trinity Reformed Church in Huntsville Alabama. To view more media from TRC, visit their website: https://trinityreformedkirk.com/trc-media/

The Pugs are still enjoying themselves at Oxford, and today they are joined by the venerable Alister McGrath at the Lamb and Flag, a pub known to have been frequented by C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and the other Inklings. (The famed Eagle and Child pub is just across the street and hopefully soon to reopen follow a Covid shutdown and change in ownership.) The crew is also joined by a live audience of loyal Pugcast fans at the end of an entertaining pub crawl across the city! The conversation with Dr. McGrath is rich, ranging widely over both Lewis's work in apologetics and Dr. McGrath's.

Order Christian Apologetics: An Introduction by Dr. McGrath: https://a.co/d/05lejP2B

Order C. S. Lewis -- A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet by Dr. McGrath: https://a.co/d/0g8DyDzG

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The Theology Pugcast is a ministry of Trinity Reformed Church in Huntsville Alabama. To view more media from TRC, visit their website: https://trinityreformedkirk.com/trc-media/

While in Oxford, the guys had the opportunity to visit the Duke Humfrey's Room at the Bodleian Library. This houses part of the library’s collection of rare books as well as some more recent sets. The conversation ranges over volumes in the collection that caught the attention of one or the other of the Pugsters, the architecture and decorations of the room, and the importance of the atmosphere and the sense of place in rooms like this for scholarly work. This is an episode you’ll want to see!

Learn more about Duke Humfrey’s Library: https://www.oxfordvisit.com/university-and-colleges/old-library-duke-humfreys/

Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

The Theology Pugcast is a ministry of Trinity Reformed Church in Huntsville Alabama. To view more media from TRC, visit their website: https://trinityreformedkirk.com/trc-media/

Today begins the first of the shows recorded in Oxford! Today Tom and Chris are joined by Dr. Ben Merkle, President of New Saint Andrews College. Ben was visiting Oxford at the same time as the Pugs, and this afforded an opportunity to discuss with Tom and Chris what Ben learned at Oxford about post-secondary education and how those lessons are being applied at New Saint Andrews College half a world away.

On today's show the Pugsters consider the definitions of sacraments vs. ordinances before taking a closer look at baptism and the Lord’s Supper. They spend some time on the less discussed images of baptism in the New Testament (the Flood and the Exodus) and the use of the Greek word baptizo in the Septuagint. They then talk about the Lord’s Supper, noting the use of the phrase “body of Christ” in 1 Corinthians and both the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the Supper.

Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

The Theology Pugcast is a ministry of Trinity Reformed Church in Huntsville Alabama. To view more media from TRC, visit their website: https://trinityreformedkirk.com/trc-media/