The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture - Bishop Robert Barron

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WOF 275: Understanding Violence in the Old Testament Mar 15, 2021

Show notes

Parts of the Old Testament depict God commanding the Israelites to massacre entire populations—every man, woman, child, and animal. How should Christians make sense of these passages? They seem to present God as angry, vindictive, and genocidal, contradicting the New Testament presentation of God as loving and merciful. That's what Bishop Barron and Brandon Vogt discuss in today's episode.

A listener asks, what are your thoughts on Carl Jung? What do you agree with and disagree with?

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WOF 274: Knocking Holes in the Buffered Self (Part 1 of 2) Mar 08, 2021

Show notes

Today we share the first half of Bishop Baron's talk titled "Knocking Holes in the Buffered Self: Approaches to the Question of God." He gave the talk at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary as part of their Kenrick Lecture series.

Many—especially the young—in today's time have absented themselves from the practice of faith. Our culture and time is anomalous in the extreme, in that it's the first ever to widely entertain God's nonexistence. Christians, at least in the West, are facing a practically unprecedented crisis of disaffiliation. But there are paths out of the cave, and that's what Bishop Barron reveals.

Word on Fire Vatican II Collection: https://wordonfire.org/vatican2

WOF 273: Abandonment to Divine Providence Mar 01, 2021

Show notes

Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade's spiritual classic, Abandonment to Divine Providence, taught that everything falls under God's will, from our delights to our challenges, and our happiness will only be fully realized in cooperating with that will. But does this include painful and traumatic experiences? What about COVID? Bishop Barron and Brandon discuss these questions as well as a priest, Fr. Walter Ciszek, who heroically embodied this spiritual principle.

A listener asks, if all of us were like Jesus, wouldn't the world be really boring?

LINKS

The Rosary with Bishop Robert Barron
Abandonment to Divine Providence by Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade
With God in Russia by Fr. Walter Ciszek
He Leadeth Me by Fr. Walter Ciszek

WOF 272: Talking to Princeton Students About God (part 2 of 2) Feb 22, 2021

Show notes

Bishop Barron recently joined students from Princeton University in a virtual Q&A about God, faith, reason, and evangelization. The event was led by Leah Libresco Sargeant, a fellow of the Word on Fire Institute, and graciously hosted by The Aquinas Institute at Princeton's Catholic Campus Ministry. Today on the podcast, we share the second half of the Q&A (click here to listen to the first half.)

WOF 271: How to Draw Young People Back to the Church Feb 15, 2021

Show notes

Why do so many young people drift away from God and the Church, and how can we help them return? This is a pressing question for all Catholics, but especially for parents who are brokenhearted about their own sons or daughters who have become unaffiliated.

In today's episode, Bishop Barron and Brandon Vogt discuss Brandon's new book, just published by Word on Fire, titled Return: How to Draw Your Child Back to the Church, which provides a game plan for parents hoping to see their loved ones come back to the faith.

A listener asks, what is the promise that God gives us if we keep His commandments? Eternal life, or something else? And what, exactly, is eternal life?

WOF 270: Evangelization 101 (part 1 of 2) Feb 08, 2021

Show notes

WOF 269: Kids Q&A w/ Bishop Barron (February 2021) Feb 01, 2021

Show notes

Today, Bishop Barron answers questions from children all over the world, including:

Is God bigger than an elephant?
Why did God make bad germs?
How did God come to exist?
How can God see us from up in heaven if we can't see him?
Do you think animals go to Heaven?
Why do bad things happen?
If God knows everything, did he make my thoughts?
Why did God not give the 10 commandments to Adam and Eve?

WOF 268: What Books Did J.R.R. Tolkien Read? Jan 25, 2021

Show notes

It's commonly assumed that J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, was an arch-conservative, a backward-looking person, and that he valued nothing that smacked of the modern day. But in a groundbreaking new book titled Tolkien's Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages, the first in our Word on Fire Academic line of titles, Dr. Holly Ordway reveals that Tolkien was a much broader reader than previously believed. He was quite familiar with contemporary writers and books, and those modern sources significantly shaped his Middle-earth stories.

Today, Brandon Vogt interviews Holly about her new book and some of the modern writers Tolkien enjoyed.

Pick up your copy of Tolkien's Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages at wordonfire.org/tolkien.

WOF 267: Do Not Fear Jan 18, 2021

Show notes

According to YouVersion, the popular Bible app, 2020's most-read Bible verse was Isaiah 41:10: "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Bishop Barron discusses this verse, the Bible's repeated encouragement not to be afraid, and how we can overcome our fears of sickness, loss, and death.

A listener asks, was Jesus subject to things like doubt and ignorance?

WOF 266: Falling Toward God Jan 11, 2021

Show notes

Listen to this sample lesson from Fr. Paul Murray's new course inside the Word on Fire Institute titled "Prayer, Beauty, Mission: The Hidden Springs of the New Evangelization." The spiritual life is typically understood to begin in ascent. However, in Christianity it begins with descent, namely the descent of God. As 1 John 4:10 says, God has loved us first. In this lesson, Fr. Paul Murray explores the significance of such a beginning.

Join the Institute and listen to the rest of the course! >> https://wordonfire.institute

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