The Ad Fontes Podcast

Latest Episodes:

"Begotten or Made?" - Chapter 1 (Pt. 2) Feb 06, 2023

Show notes

Should technology have a role in human reproduction? This is the basic question tackled by Oliver O'Donovan's book Begotten or Made?, one of the 20th century's most important works of medical ethics, and recently republished by the Davenant Press. This week, our co-hosts continue their walkthrough of the book, unpacking its riches. They discuss what kind of art medicine is, why people seem to hate their own flesh, whether technocracy precedes technology, and more.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Tender is the Nightby F. Scott Fitzgerald
Colin: The Lord of the Ringsby J.R.R Tolkien
Rhys: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobeby C.S. Lewis (on Audible)
Texts Discussed
Begotten or Made?by Oliver O'Donovan
Spotlight
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The Shining Human Creature Jan 23, 2023

Show notes

Thomas Traherne is an overlooked figure from church history. But this 17th century cleric, poet, and mystic has grown in popularity since being rediscovered in the 1890s. The Davenant Press is now publishing a new edition of his "Christian Ethics", a rich Christian meditation on how God made man to live. Our very own Colin Chan Redemer has modernized the text, and so we discuss Traherne and the first volume of the work, subtitled "The Shining Human Creature."
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: A Farwell to Armsby Ernest Hemingway
Colin: Thus Spake Zarathustraby Friedrich Nietzsche
Rhys: Shakespeare in a Year 2023 and Lectures on Shakespeareby W.H. Auden
Texts Discussed
The Shining Human Creature: Christian Ethics Vol. 1by Thomas Traherne
"The Birth of Secularity: Henry More, Metaphysics, and the Battle for God's Spirit" by Onsi Kamel
Spotlight
The Shining Human Creature: Christian Ethics Vol. 1by Thomas Traherne (modernized and edited by Colin Chan Redemer) - published February 9th 2023

"Begotten or Made?" - Chapter 1 (Pt. 1) Jan 09, 2023

Show notes

Should technology have a role in human reproduction? This is the basic question tackled by Oliver O'Donovan's book Begotten or Made?, one of the 20th century's most important works of medical ethics, and recently republished by the Davenant Press. This week, our co-hosts begin a walkthrough of the book, unpacking its riches. They discuss definitions of begetting vs. making, the category of "appropriateness" in ethics, and more.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Diogenes Unveiledby Fr. Paul Mankowski
Colin: The Passengerby Cormac McCarthy
Rhys: Miraclesby C.S. Lewis
Texts Discussed
Begotten or Made?by Oliver O'Donovan
"C.S. Lewis as Sage of Modernity" by Joseph Minich
"The World Was Not Worthy: In Memoriam Fr. Paul Mankowski" by Onsi Kamel
Spotlight
Thank you to all who donated to our 12/20 fundraising campgin! You can still give to Davenant and Ad Fontes here.

Labor Pains Dec 26, 2022

Show notes

The workplace has changed beyond recognition. We live an an age of robots, offshored jobs, megacorporations and more. How can Protestant Christians begin to think about an economy that has undergone such sea changes? This week, Colin, Rhys, and special guest Joseph Minich discuss Colin and Joe's chapter on work and labor in Davenant's recent book Protestant Social Teaching to try and address some of these issues.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Colin: Commentary on Galatiansby Martin Luther
Rhys: That Hideous Strengthby C.S. Lewis
Joe: The Irreducibility of the Human Personby Mark Spencer/The Whole Mystery of Christ: Creation as Incarnation in Maximus Confessor by Jordan Daniel Wood
Texts Discussed
Luther on Vocationby Gustaf Wingren
Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII
Spotlight
Davenant End of Year Giving
Pilgrim Faith Podcast

Concerning Pipe-weed (Live from ETS 2022!) Dec 12, 2022

Show notes

Do you smoke? The question provokes a lot of reactions these days, including among Christians. This week (still together live at ETS!) Onsi, Colin, and Rhys discuss the topic of smoking from a Christian perspective, bringing the Westminster Larger Catechism, Aristotle, C.S. Lewis, and Tolkien to bear on the conversation.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: The Healing by Ibn Sina
Colin: "Tobacco and the Soul" by Michael P. Foley
Rhys: That Hideous Strengthby C.S. Lewis
Texts Discussed
Westminster Larger Catechism Q. 134
Prologue to The Fellowship of the Ring
"Slightly less than two drinks" from That Mitchell & Webb Look
Spotlight
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More Than Words? (Live from ETS 2022!) Nov 28, 2022

Show notes

For the tirst time ever, all three of our hosts are together IN PERSON! Recorded live at ETS 2022, Onsi, Colin, and Rhys sit down to talk about rhetoric. What are our words for? Should we use words to shape the world? Is truth a monologue or a dialogue? Using Plato's Gorgias as a starting point, they get into these questions and more from a Christian perspective.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: The Confidence Manby Herman Melville
Colin: Revelations of Divine Loveby Julian of Norwich
Rhys: Wuthering Heightsby Emily Bronte
Texts Discussed
Gorgiasby Plato
Confessionsby Augustine
Spotlight
Begotten or Made? by Oliver O'Donovan (pre-order now)

An Institute You Can't Disparage Oct 12, 2022

Show notes

This week, Alastair Roberts joins the crew to discuss his and Onsi's chapter on sex, marriage, and divorce in "Protestant Social Teaching: An Introduction", the Davenant Press's upcoming publication (due 10/13/22). The guys talk about how Augustine set the scene for Reformation debates on these topics, what Luther thought about marriage, Protestant views on divorce, and how Rome and the Protestants have influenced once another on this topic.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Heirs of the Apostles: Studies on Arabic Christianity in Honor of Sidney H. Griffith
Colin: TheOresteiaby Sophocles
Rhys: Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World by H.R.H. The Prince of Wales
Alastair: Nationalism: A Short Historyby Liah Greenfeld
Texts Discussed
"On Marriage and Concupiscence" by Augustine
"The Estate of Marriage" by Martin Luther
"Commentary on Genesis 38" by John Calvin
"Gentle Discipline: Spenser's Faerie Queene and Christian Elites" by Joshua Patch
Spotlight
Protestant Social Teaching(publication 10/13/22)
The Anchored Argosy- Substack by Alastair Roberts and Susannah Black

Go East, Young Man Sep 20, 2022

Show notes

Our very own Onsi Kamel has embarked upon his Ph.D studies, and is focussing on the intellectual relationship between Europe and the Islamic world in the early modern period. We take this chance to ask him what he'll be looking at, and what there is to be gained from digging into this neglected part of church history.
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Essaysby Ralph Waldo Emerson
Colin: American Awakening: Identity Politics and Other Afflictions of Our TimebyJohsua Mitchell
Rhys: The Exodus You Almost Passed Overby Rabbi David Fohrman
Texts Discussed
"Presbyterians in Egypt" by Onsi Aaron Kamel
Spotlight
Reforming Classical Education: Toward A New Paradigm

School's In Sep 05, 2022

Show notes

We're back! With summer over, Onsi, Colin, and Rhys are talking about the phenomenon of "going back to school." Why is our society built around this September rhythm, and the school year in general? Is it something that comes from Christendom? And how will it fare in an age where alternative online education options are becoming increasingly popular?
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age,1798-1939by Albert Hourani
Colin: Warspeak:Nietzsche's Victory Over Nihilismby Lise Van Boxel
Rhys: Perelandraby C.S. Lewis and The Romanovsby Simon Sebag Montefiore
Texts Discussed
N/A
Spotlight
Davenant Hall Fall Term 2022 Courses (Register Before 9/11)

Away On Vocation Jul 18, 2022

Show notes

With Colin on vacation, Onsi and Rhys decide to talk about vocation. These days, people get pretty het up trying to find their "calling" or "vocation" in life - but they don't often realise that, in doing so, they're rehashing a foundational Protestant doctrine. Onsi and Rhys discuss how Luther kicked back against the medieval view of vocation, and gave dignity not just to our work but our other roles in life as well. But are there holes to pick in the Protestant doctrine? And is it still of us in a world much changed from that of the 1500s?
NOTE: most books below are linked via Bookshop.org. Any purchases you make via these links give The Davenant Institute a 10% commission, and support local bookshops against chainstores/Amazon.
Currently Reading
Onsi: The Koran
Rhys: Piranesi by Susannah Clarke
Texts Discussed
The Babylonian Captivity of the Churchby Martin Luther
The Freedom of a Christian by Martin Luther
On the Estate of Marriageby Martin Luther
Lectures on Galatiansby Martin Luther
"Inhabiting the Places of Promise: Luther's Teaching on the Three Institutions" by Michael Laffin
The Doctrine of the Church in the Theology of the Refomers by Paul D.L. Avis
Spotlight
Reforming Classical Education: Toward a New Paradigm(pre-order now, publication 8/2/22)

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