Venn Presents

In the second episode of this two-part series, Sam Bloore and Andrew Shamy continue their deep dive into the life and imagination of J.R.R. Tolkien. In 2020, Andrew offered a Conversation Evening and article, titled "There and Back Again: How Reading Tolkien Can Restore the World to Us." In his talk and article, Andrew helped us see how Tolkien's imagination and the genre of fantasy literature offers recovery of meaning in the world, an escape or flight to reality, and consolation in the midst of our deep longings for beauty, goodness, courage, and hope.

Now, in this conversation, Sam and Andrew continue further into the life of Tolkien, exploring the events, relationships, and deep Christian faith that shaped so much of the author' writing. We've released both episodes together so you can enjoy the full conversation during this Summer break (for those in the southern hemisphere) and Winter rest (for those in the northern hemisphere).

In the first episode of this two-part series, Sam Bloore and Andrew Shamy take a deeper dive into the life and imagination of J.R.R. Tolkien. In 2020, Andrew offered a Conversation Evening and article, titled "There and Back Again: How Reading Tolkien Can Restore the World to Us." In his talk and article, Andrew helped us see how Tolkien's imagination and the genre of fantasy literature offers recovery of meaning in the world, an escape or flight to reality, and consolation in the midst of our deep longings for beauty, goodness, courage, and hope.

Now, in this conversation, Sam and Andrew continue further into the life of Tolkien, exploring the events, relationships, and deep Christian faith that shaped so much of the author' writing. We've released both episodes together so you can enjoy the full conversation during this Summer break (for those in the southern hemisphere) and Winter rest (for those in the northern hemisphere).

In this third and final episode of Ascension, Pentecost, and the Church, Nathan and Sam talk more on the doctrine of the Church and what it means in the life of believers.

In this episode, Sam and Nathan talk more about Pentecost, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, and what this means for the Christian life.

In our first three-part series, Sam talks with Venn's CEO, the Revd Dr Nathan McLellan, about the doctrine of Ascension, Pentecost, and the Church. Earlier this year, Nathan wrote a piece for Common Ground exploring the "forgotten doctrine" of the ascension and what it means to call Christ our victorious king and high priest. In this first episode, Sam and Nathan talk more about the ascension.

Welcome to Venn Presents, a series of conversations exploring the depth and richness of the Christian tradition, between your host Sam Bloore and members of the Venn team and wider Venn community. The topics will be wide-ranging: from exploring Christian faith and doctrine, to engagement with wider culture, including family, business, the arts, education, music, and sport.

For more on Venn Foundation's work and resources, go to www.venn.org.nz.