Common Places

A lecture with Q&A entitled "A Very Celtic Christmas: Incarnation and Christology in Celtic Christian Theology" by Dr. Matthew Hoskin. Much is often made of the “closeness” of “Celtic” Christian spirituality to the rest of the created order and the “natural world”. At times, this approach is even presented as more “incarnational” than other forms of Christianity. Yet sometimes one wonders what is specifically “Christian” about all this. Holy wells are well and good, but what about the incarnation of Christ Himself? Did Celtic Christian have much to say about this? In this Fellows Lecture, Dr. Matthew Hoskin unpacks the the Celtic tradition's theology of the incarnate Christ, from the foundational Trinitarian orthodoxy of St Patrick's Confession and St Columba's hymn "Altus Prosator" and its specific expressions in liturgy and poetry, closing with a consideration of John Scotus Eriugena. He demonstrates that the early medieval Irish, Welsh, and Scottish church had a perfectly orthodox Christian faith that expressed itself in its very own mode, and that this can still help us worship the incarnate God more fully today. To learn more about Davenant Hall, and to register for Dr. Hoskin's upcoming course on Celtic Christianity, please visit: https://davenanthall.com/course/celtic-christianity/

What is the end of Protestant retrieval? After some lively response to a recent Ad Fontes article, "The End of Protestant Retrieval", we brought together Wyatt Graham, John Ehrett, Michael Lynch, and Steven Wedgeworth to discuss what Protestant retrieval is and isn't. "The End of Protestant Retrieval" by John Ehrett: https://adfontesjournal.com/web-exclu... Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Retrieval and Its Importance 05:22 The Purpose and Limitations of Theological Retrieval 10:01 Contextualizing Historical Theological Insights 15:16 Disagreements on Political and Social Retrieval 19:58 The Role of Prudence in Theological Application 24:48 Exploring the Nature of Protestant Tradition 29:47 Personal Reflections on Retrieval and Its Impact 32:16 The Value of Reading Old Texts 34:53 Prudence in Retrieval 39:57 Diverse Approaches to Retrieval 43:41 The Role of Published Works in Retrieval 52:35 End of Protestant Retrieval Intro

A lecture with Q&A given by Professor Ryan Hurd entitled "Introducing Lombard's Sentences: The Nature and Method(s) of Scholastic Theology." Professionalization is the word which best describes the advance from patristic to medieval theology (as the medievalist Philip Rosemann has claimed). But as a consequence, contemporary students stand hopeless until they have been inducted into scholastic theology, and they remain barred even from profitably reading the texts of scholastic theologians. Perhaps no more so has this been the case than for the very textbook of medieval theology itself: Peter Lombard's Sententiae. In this all-important text, which trained professional theologians for centuries, Lombard gifted all budding theologians sententiae patrum, the sentences of the Fathers. These were the patristic verdicts regarding various theological questions or contradictions. This bequeathed all future theologians with an initial and largely adequate set of truths about theology's various subjects (such as God himself). Nonetheless, Lombard expected much from his students, and did not issue these sententiae in a straightforward manner. Rather, he marshals authorities and arranges them so that their apparent conflicts are evident. Forced through this gauntlet and constantly pulled in both directions (yes and no), the student theologian was thereby trained to harvest from these sayings the patristic judgments, and to cement their truths in the cathedral of Christian doctrine. The success of Lombard's Sententiae is attested not only by the centuries it endured as the professional theologian's training-ground, but also in generating its own eventual replacement: the great summae, especially those of Thomas Aquinas. This lecture introduces Lombard's Sententiae, considering the nature of its content (sententiae) and method (conflicting authorities), with special and further attention to other termini technici–the many and various medieval “theologisms” which students are required to know. The lecture aims to induct the student initially into the nature and method(s) of scholastic theology, and to begin training him to read its texts as a medieval bachelor would. Ryan Hurd is a systematic theologian whose area of expertise is doctrine of God, specifically the Trinity. His primary training is in the high medieval and early modern scholastics as well as the 20th century ressourcement movement. He has written a number of articles and regularly does translations of early modern theology sources; but his primary project is writing a systematics of the Trinity.

Audio from The Davenant Institute's event "Beyond Rules and Roles: Scripture and the Sexes", held April 2024 at 3Crosses Church, CA. Lectures delivered by Dr. Alastair Roberts.

Audio from The Davenant Institute's event "Beyond Rules and Roles: Scripture and the Sexes", held April 2024 at 3Crosses Church, CA. Lectures delivered by Dr. Alastair Roberts.

Audio from The Davenant Institute's event "Beyond Rules and Roles: Scripture and the Sexes", held April 2024 at 3Crosses Church, CA. Lectures delivered by Dr. Alastair Roberts.

Audio from The Davenant Institute's event "Beyond Rules and Roles: Scripture and the Sexes", held April 2024 at 3Crosses Church, CA. Lectures delivered by Dr. Alastair Roberts.

Audio from The Davenant Institute's event "Beyond Rules and Roles: Scripture and the Sexes", held April 2024 at 3Crosses Church, CA. Lectures delivered by Dr. Alastair Roberts.

Audio from The Davenant Institute's event "Beyond Rules and Roles: Scripture and the Sexes", held April 2024 at 3Crosses Church, CA. Lectures delivered by Dr. Alastair Roberts.

Audio from The Davenant Institute's event "Beyond Rules and Roles: Scripture and the Sexes", held April 2024 at 3Crosses Church, CA. Lectures delivered by Dr. Alastair Roberts.

Audio from The Davenant Institute's event "Beyond Rules and Roles: Scripture and the Sexes", held April 2024 at 3Crosses Church, CA. Lectures delivered by Dr. Alastair Roberts.

Audio from The Davenant Institute's event "Beyond Rules and Roles: Scripture and the Sexes", held April 2024 at 3Crosses Church, CA. Lectures delivered by Dr. Alastair Roberts.

A lecture with Q&A given by Davenant Hall Teaching Fellow, Ryan Hurd. Today, Anselm is much maligned for doing theology which results in a heartless god, and central to this caricature is his doctrine of God's impassibility. However, critics often fail to understand the exact nature of this doctrine. Before one can even consider truth or falsity, one must determine: what does impassibility actually mean? In this lecture. Ryan Hurd determines what Anselm means by saying God is impassible, especially as found in Chapters 7 and 8 of his Proslogion, concluding that his judgment is akin to saying that someone is “invulnerable.” Although many adversities have power over us humans by virtue of our many vulnerabilities, none have any power over God, for he lacks all our vulnerabilities. This alone is what Anselm means when he says God is impassible. As he summarizes, “nothing has power against God.” Ryan Hurd is a systematic theologian whose area of expertise is the doctrine of God, specifically the Trinity. His primary training is in the high medieval and early modern scholastics as well as the 20th century ressourcement movement. He has written a number of articles and regularly does translations of early modern theology sources; but his primary project is writing a systematics of the Trinity. He is a Teaching Fellow at Davenant Hall. For more about Davenant Hall, visit our website here: https://davenanthall.com

A Davenant Hall Teaching Fellows lecture with Q&A by Dr. Miles Smith entitled "Finding a Christian America?" Since roughly 1980, the history of religion and particularly Protestantism in the United States has been litigated along a series of binaries: evangelical v. mainline, theocratic v. secular, liberal v. conservative. While these binaries are not artificial in themselves, they are particularly problematic if they are applied retroactively to the Early Republic or any point in history that precedes the so-called evangelical historiography created in the latter part of the twentieth century. Consequently, Americans have little understanding of religion in the nineteenth century and more importantly they have no idea how the fundamental laws of the United States reconciled Protestantism to a disestablished republican order. In this lecture, exploring ideas introduced in his forthcoming book Religion & Republic: Christian America from the Founding to the Civil War, Dr. Miles Smith explains there was not in fact any reconciliation needed between Protestantism and disestablishment. Rather, Christianity was always baked into the American republic's diplomatic, educational, judicial, and legislative regimes, and institutional Christianity in state apparatuses coexisted comfortably with disestablishment from the American Revolution until the beginning of the twenty-first century. To learn more about Davenant Hall and register for classes, visit here: https://davenanthall.com/ To pre-order Dr. Smith's book, Religion & Republic from the Founding to the Civil War, visit here: https://davenantinstitute.org/religion-republic

A lecture with Q&A given by Dr. Michael Lynch entitled "The Jesuits Cannot Be Good Subjects: A Look at John Davenant's Political Theology" with respondent Dr. Glenn Moots. John Davenant is a long neglected Reformation figure, whose work on hypothetical universalism has had a renaissance. But what about his political theology? In this lecture, Davenant Hall Teaching Fellow Michael Lynch explores John Davenant's political theology in his early modern English context. Using lectures Davenant gave at Cambridge during his professorship and Davenant's untranslated Latin treatise on the Judge of Controversies, Lynch explains how Davenant conceived of magisterial jurisdiction relative to ecclesiastical jurisdiction and in opposition to Roman Catholic political theology.

A talk on relief for the poor and debtors in ancient Israel and beyond. Given by Scott Pryor, Campbell University Law School

The Fall Convivium's keynote lecture, given by Adam MacLeod, St. Mary's University

A talk given by Nick Higgins, Regent University

A Panel Discussion with Brad Littlejohn and Joe Minich, The Davenant Institute

In this address from our 2024 Davenant UK Convivium on "Renewing British Political Theology", Imogen Sinclair, Director of the New Conservatives and the New Social Covenant Unit, puts Philip Rieff and Sigmund Freud into conversation in an analysis of our current political decline.

In this address from our 2024 Davenant UK Convivium on "Renewing British Political Theology", Daniel Caballero (Ph.D candidate, Queen's University Belfast) delivers an overview of John Owen's understudied political theology and considers its relevance for today.

In this address from our 2024 Davenant UK Convivium on "Renewing British Political Theology", Dr. Graham Shearer, Lecturer in Theology at Union Theological College Belfast, draws on Augustine's famous distinction between things and signs to deliver as a diagnostic tool for the ills of modern British politics.

A lecture given at the 2024 UK Convivium by Oliver O'Donovan entitled "The Children of This Age and the Children of Light: A Biblical Apologia for Political Theology and a Critique of Its Traditional Defenders" In the keynote address of the 2024 Davenant UK Convivium on "Renewing British Political Theology", Prof. Oliver O'Donovan delivers an exposition of the Parable of the Dishonest Manager from Luke 16 in defense of the practice of political theology.

A lecture with Q&A given by Davenant Residential Teaching Fellow, Dr. Joseph Minich, entitled "C.S. Lewis as Historian of Religion." C.S. Lewis wore many hats: children's author, Christian apologist, literary scholar. But can he be read as a theorist of the history of religion? And can reconstructing his theoretical history speak into contemporary controversies about the doctrine of God? By putting Lewis in conversation with some of his major influences (e.g. Owen Barfield) and by reading his fiction (Narnia, The Ransom Trilogy, Till We Have Faces) in conversation with several didactic works (especially Miracles), this lecture argues that we can in fact infer an implicit “history of religion” in Lewis that reconstructs religious knowing from the time of Adam, to the Ancient Near East, to the dawn of philosophical thought. Lewis' implicit narrative reconstruction is likewise an attempt to situate his own modern moment within that same history. And while Lewis was not unaware of the risks of the modern project, he also took its goods for granted, and anticipated their preservation into the future. This lecture, then, likewise covers Lewis' anticipation concerning the possible future of religion. Moreover, one might read Lewis' own intellectual project is an attempt to enact a certain possible future, to publicly gesture man (through the renewal of an atrophied imagination) toward the telos of Christ, who is the human destiny. Joseph Minich (Ph.D, The University of Texas at Dallas) is a Residential Teaching Fellow at The Davenant Institute in Landrum, South Carolina. He is the author of Enduring Divine Absence (Davenant Press, 2017) and Bulwarks of Unbelief (Lexham Press, 2023), the editor of several works with The Davenant Press, as well as the founding editor of Ad Fontes. He is also a host of The Pilgrim Faith Podcast.

A Davenant Hall Fellows Lecture with Q&A offered by Prof. Ryan Hurd with a response by Dr. David Haines. In recent years, there has been a welcome resurgence of interest in Thomas Aquinas among Protestants. Many have recovered his masterwork, the Summa Theologiae, as a go-to resource for dogmatic questions. Even where they disagree with it, it has once more become an indispensable tool for doing theology. However, when reading the Summa, students can quickly max out the resources helpful for introductory learners. Careful reading on their own often hits a wall which can be difficult to climb. Students may feel they have a basic grasp of some of Aquinas's big ideas and way of working, but sense that there is much more to be unlocked. In this lecture, Ryan Hurd gives some more advanced tips for reading the Summa and understanding the greater logic of Aquinas's thought. Anyone desiring to go to “the next level” in understanding Aquinas will benefit. David Haines then offers a response to Ryan's lecture, before an open discussion and Q&A time.

A lecture given at the 2023 National Convivium entitled “Non-violent Resistance for Just War Theorists” by Darren Yau. Darren is Ph.D. candidate at Princeton University. His research interests lie at the intersection of political theory and Christian political theology. Prior to joining the Religion department, Darren received a B.A. in Philosophy and a certificate in Early Christian Studies from Wheaton College.

A lecture given at the 2023 National Convivium “Rooted and Obliged: Simone Weil's Vision for the Post-Liberal West” by Nathan Johnson. Nathan is Assistant Dean of Academics, Head of Program, and Teaching Fellow at New College Franklin in Tennessee. He is also Provost of Davenant Hall and author for The Davenant Institute's magazine, Ad Fontes Journal.

A keynote seminar given at the 2023 National Convivium entitled “Supererogation and Statecraft ” led by Dr. Eric Gregory. Dr. Gregory is Professor of Religion at Princeton University. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Religious Ethics and sits with the executive committee of the University Center for Human Values. He is also author of a number of books and articles which includes Politics and the Order of Love: An Augustinian Ethic of Democratic Citizenship. His keynote address draws from his work in Augustian studies for advancing the theme of this convivium, “Christ and the Nations: A Protestant Theology of Statecraft.”

A lecture given at the 2023 National Convivium entitled “Theological Reflections on the Coronation of Charles III” by Dr. Alastair Roberts. Alastair is a teaching fellow with The Davenant Institute as well as with the Theopolis Institute. He has a Ph.D. from Durham University in the UK. He is coauthor of Echoes of Exodus: Tracing Themes of Redemption through Scripture. His talk is a captivating explication of Scriptural themes and events on coronation with rich theological implications. The culmination of this talk on the royal office of Christ brought a capstone to the convivium theme, “Christ and the Nations: A Protestant Theology of Statecraft.”

A lecture given at the 2023 National Convivium entitled “The New England Dilemma: John Cotton, Increase Mather, and the Perils of Puritan Political Theology” by Flynn Evans. This talk was a break-out session on the theme of this convivium, “Christ and the Nations: A Protestant Theology of Statecraft.” University of Mississippi). Flynn is a graduate student in history at the University of Mississippi.

A lecture given at the 2023 National Convivium entitled “Commerce and the Order of Love: A Case for Economic Nationalism” by Jonathan Tomes. This talk was a break-out session on the theme of this convivium, “Christ and the Nations: A Protestant Theology of Statecraft.” Jonathan, former Library Manager at Baylor is the Academic Library Director for the US Army.

A lecture given at the 2023 National Convivium entitled “Schleiermacher as Protestant Political Theologian” by Enoch Kuo. Enoch is a Ph.D. candidate at Princeton University. His research sits at the intersections of theology, political theory, and the history of science. This talk is a development of the theme of this convivium, “Christ and the Nations: A Protestant Theology of Statecraft.”

A keynote lecture given at the 2023 National Convivium entitled “Liberal Internationalism and the Protestant Augustinian Tradition” by Dr. Eric Gregory. Dr. Gregory is Professor of Religion at Princeton University. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Religious Ethics and sits with the executive committee of the University Center for Human Values. He is also author of a number of books and articles which includes Politics and the Order of Love: An Augustinian Ethic of Democratic Citizenship. His keynote address draws from his work in Augustian studies for advancing the theme of this convivium, “Christ and the Nations: A Protestant Theology of Statecraft.”

A lecture given at the 2023 National Convivium entitled “Between Capitulation and ‘Christian Nationalism': Looking Backward to Move Forward” by Dr. Brad Littlejohn. In this talk, Brad, President of the Davenant Institute, gave introductory remarks and welcome to this annual event. The theme for the 2023 National Convivium Irenicum was “Christ and the Nations: A Protestant Theology of Statecraft.”

A lecture with Q&A given at the Fall 2022 Convivium at the Davenant House by Joshua Janniere entitled “‘An Ordinance of Reason for the Common Good': Junius's Reformed Thomist Theory of Law.” The theme for this convivium was “Law and Wisdom."

A lecture given at the Spring 2023 Regional Convivium by Dr. Katherine Wyma entitled "“Resisting the ‘Machine:' CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien as Models for Embodied Friendship in an Increasingly Encroaching Digital Age.” Dr. Wyma is Senior Lecturer of English at Anderson University in South Carolina. This talk is preview of a book Dr. Wyma has been working on related to navigating both the positives and negatives of living in a 24/7 digital environment.

A lecture given at the Spring 2023 Regional Convivium by Paul Shakeshaft entitled "C.S. Lewis: Author of Literary Criticism, Children's Fiction, and…Papal Encyclicals? Love and Friendship in Lewis, Pieper and Ratzinger" Paul Shakeshaft is a Research Fellow with the Davenant Institute and holds an M.A. from the University of Buckingham where he was trained in philosophy by Sir Roger Scruton. He holds a J.D. from Regent University Law School and a B.A. from Elmhurst College. His popular writing has been published in Mere Orthodoxy, The Federalist, and Providence Magazine, and he is a former scholar-in-residence of the Kilns, the home of C.S. Lewis. Paul is currently on the development staff of the Manhattan Institute.

A lecture given by Robin Harris at the Spring 2023 Regional Convivium entitled "Virtue and Friendship in Jane Austen's Emma" Robin Harris is a Bible curriculum writer based in North Carolina. This talk develops the friendship aspect of the theme of this conference, “The Inklings and the Great Conversation: Friendship through Literature.”

A lecture given at the Spring 2023 Regional Convivium by Dr. Kathryn Wagner entitled “Intellectual Friendship and Academic Vocation in The Place of the Lion, Gaudy Night, and That Hideous Strength.” Dr. Wagner is a scholar of medieval English literature and current Director of Academic Programming at the Center for Christianity and Scholarship at Duke University. This talk develops a contrast and convergence of intellectual conviviality in the work of Dorothy Sayers and C. S. Lewis.

Nathan Johnson, Provost of Davenant Hall, interviews Joshua Shaw on his upcoming courses, the significance of the Hellenistic tradition in early Christianity, and the calling of the teacher to help students climb the ladder of knowledge up to God. To register for Joshua Shaw's course on "Alexandrian Theology from Philo to Origen" please visit https://davenanthall.com/product/alexandrian-theology-from-philo-to-origen/ To register for classes or begin a degree at Davenant Hall, please visit Davenanthall.com

A keynote address delivered at the Spring 2023 Regional Convivium by Dr. Harry Poe entitled "The Allegory of Love and the Launching of the Career of C. S. Lewis." Dr. Poe is the Charles Colson University Professor of Faith & Culture at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. He has written and edited several books, however his book "The Inklings of Oxford: C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Their Friends," was of special interest to this Convivium.

A lecture given at the 2023 Spring Convivium by Dr. Donald Williams entitled "Jurassic Jubilee: Dinosaurs and the Revivification of our Literary Legacy." Dr. Williams is the retired Professor of English at Taccoa Falls College. In keeping with the conference theme, “The Inklings and the Great Conversation: Friendship through Literature,” Dr. Williams presents a defense of a traditional hermeneutic vs various iterations of deconstruction.

A lecture given at the 2023 Spring Convivium by Mr. Mark Olivero entitled "Something to Talk About: An Introduction to the Great Conversation & Its Affinity for Great Ideas." The theme for the 2023 Spring Convivium was “The Inklings and the Great Conversation: Friendship through Literature.” Mark is the organizer for this annual convivium on literature. In this talk, Mark presents a framework for returning "ad fontes" (to the sources) in the study of literature and the wisdom of doing so.

Nathan Johnson, Provost of Davenant Hall, interviews Charles Carman on his upcoming courses, the importance of knowing ancient languages, and the exciting research being done in Arabic and Syriac Christianity. To register for classes or begin a degree at Davenant Hall, please visit Davenanthall.com

Nathan Johnson, Provost of Davenant Hall, interviews Jordan Steffaniak on his upcoming courses, the relevance of philosophy for theology, and how studying the great texts of the Christian tradition is a historically Baptist endeavor. To register for Jordan Steffaniak's course on Baptist History, please visit https://davenanthall.com/product/baptist-history-i-europe/ To register for classes or begin a degree at Davenant Hall, please visit Davenanthall.com

Nathan Johnson, Provost of Davenant Hall, interviews Dr. Michael Lynch on his upcoming courses, the importance of reading early modern theology, and why it's important to wrestle with controversial ideas. To register for his upcoming course on Richard Baxter's Political Theology, please visit https://davenanthall.com/product/richard-baxters-political-theology/ To register for classes or begin a degree at Davenant Hall, please visit Davenanthall.com

Nathan Johnson, Provost of Davenant Hall, interviews Dr. Joseph Minich on his upcoming courses, the unique challenges of being a Christian in the late modern world, and how to approach theology as a whole person for the sake of all of human life. To register for classes or begin a degree at Davenant Hall, please visit Davenanthall.com To register for Dr. Minich's upcoming fall course Approaches to Defending the Faith, please visit https://davenanthall.com/product/approaches-to-defending-the-faith-2/ To purchase Dr. Minich's new book Bulwarks of Unbelief, please visit https://lexhampress.com/product/229474/bulwarks-of-unbelief-atheism-and-divine-absence-in-a-secular-...

Nathan Johnson, Provost of Davenant Hall, interviews Teaching Fellow Tim Jacobs on his upcoming courses, the relevance of philosophy for theology, and the importance of ethics and moral theology for the thoughtful Christian. To register for classes or begin a degree at Davenant Hall, please visit our website: Davenanthall.com

Nathan Johnson, Provost of Davenant Hall, interviews Dr. Alastair Roberts on his upcoming courses, Biblical typology, and the importance of listening and attending to the voice of Scripture. To register for classes or begin a degree at Davenant Hall, please visit Davenanthall.com To register for Dr. Robert's upcoming course on John and Revelation, please visit https://davenanthall.com/product/john-and-revelation/ To purchase Dr. Robert's 20-lecture course on an introduction to Biblical Wisdom, please visit https://davenantinstitute.org/biblical-wisdom-lectures

Nathan Johnson, Provost of Davenant Hall, interviews Professor Matthew Hoskin on his upcoming courses, ancient Christian theology, and the importance of knowing the philosophy, history, and literature of cultures of the great theologians of the past. To register for classes or begin a degree program at Davenant Hall, please visit Davenanthall.com To register for Professor Hoskin's upcoming course Augustine the Preacher, please visit https://davenanthall.com/product/augustine-preacher/

Nathan Johnson, Provost of Davenant Hall, interviews Professor Ryan Hurd about his upcoming courses at Davenant Hall, Reformed Scholasticism, Thomas Aquinas, and the love and mercy of God. To learn more about Professor Hurd's courses, and to register, please visit: Thomas Aquinas Seminar I: The Sentences https://davenanthall.com/product/thomas-aquinas-seminar-i-the-sentences/ Master of the Sacred Page: Senses of Holy Scripture https://davenanthall.com/product/senses-of-holy-scripture/