Podcasts about tolkien's lord of the rings

After producer Andy sounded the Horn of Helm Harmmerhand we knew the show would fly! Ben got a new best friend, Liam crashed Ben's golf game and Belle thought the actors in Titanic were ACTUAL people who were on the Titanic in 1912. Quote of the show: "What's your favourite race in Tolkien's Lord of The Rings universe?" The horn of Helm Hammerhand has sounded 610 Quiz: Hijacked by LOTR lore! Liam's a Snus Monster! Are you on the Snus? World's best: Juggler Liam crashed Ben and Jack Post's golf game Does your best friend have a new friend? Unreasonable bosses Give us ya fancy job title? Belle's going to the Titanic exhibition Friendship Amendship They're coming for the Swifties Liam's dropped another little song Cashieoke: Did she just swear? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EPISODE 1936: In this special KEEN ON show from DLD in Munich, Andrew talks to Martin Puchner, author of CULTURE: THE STORY OF US, FROM CAVE ART TO K-POP, about on the future of artistic creativity in the age of the smart machine​Martin Puchner, the Byron and Anita Wien Professor at Harvard University, is a prize-winning author, educator, public speaker, and institution builder in the arts and humanities. His writings range from philosophy and theater to culture and technology and have been translated into many languages. Through his best-selling Norton Anthology of World Literature and his HarvardX MOOC Masterpieces of World Literature, he has brought four thousand years of literature to audiences across the globe. His book, The Written World, which tells the story of literature from the invention of writing to the Internet, has been widely reviewed in The New York Times, The Times (London), the Financial Times, The Times Literary Supplement, The Atlantic, The Economist, among others, covered on radio and television, and has been translated into some twenty languages. It appeared on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list and received the Massachusetts Book Award. His book The Language of Thieves has been praised as an unusual combination of scholarship and memoir, and the writing, compared to Stevenson's Treasure Island and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. An adventurous foray into the philosophy of language, it is also a reckoning with Germany's past. His book Literature for a Changing Planet is based on the inaugural Oxford University Lectures in European History, delivered in November 2019, has been reviewed in the Financial Times, The New York Review of Books and other venues. It calls for a new approach to storytelling and climate change. His most recent book, Culture: The Story of Us, tells a global history of culture that raises fundamental questions about how culture works, and how different cultures should relate to one another.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.

Katy Morgan-Davies was born in a nondescript house in Lambeth in London, but thirty years later the world would discover she, and the other occupants in the house, were anything but ordinary. Katy was born into a strict communist-Maoist cult, didn't know who her parents were, wasn't allowed to get any education, leave the house or even look out the window. She escaped in 2013 when one of the other women held there memorised the number of a charity, who arranged their release. Katy tells Nicky how she learnt her worldview from a copy of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, how she never wanted her father to go to prison and forgiveness.Produced by Audio Always Producer: Ailsa Rochester Editor: Jo Meek Sound Design: Ailsa Rochester

Lil Onions, this week we are giving you a sneak preview of what's going on over on the Patreon here at the end of the year! We're covering Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, and wanted to give you guys a look at what you're missing! We're having so much fun, both with the deep lore, with the help of Gavin the Inkling, as well as our general disillusionment for Frodo Baggins' mission to get the ring to Mount Doom. If you want to hear the full episode, you'll have to go check it out at the link below, and stay tuned for more Lord of the Rings content for the rest of the year.  SUPPORT US ON PATREON!

In this episode of The Break, I discuss the difference between the Zombie Night Troopers in Star Wars Ahsoka and Rey's return from the dead in The Rise of Skywalker? In this special 'All Hallows' episode of The Break, I talk about the Afterlife in Star Wars, in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and in a couple of scary Anime series. The post The Break: Zombie Night Troopers and Force Ghosts appeared first on Father Roderick.

In this episode of The Break, I discuss the difference between the Zombie Night Troopers in Star Wars Ahsoka and Rey's return from the dead in The Rise of Skywalker? In this special 'All Hallows' episode of The Break, I talk about the Afterlife in Star Wars, in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and in a couple of scary Anime series. The post The Break: Zombie Night Troopers and Force Ghosts appeared first on Father Roderick.

Mike and Fulton are joined by music director Felix Halvorson to discuss the history, literature, and music behind J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. How can a deeper understanding of Tolkien's innovative methods and experience as a soldier contribute to our enjoyment of medieval history, fantasy writing, and role-playing games? Original music and commentary by Felix Halvorson. To learn more, visit https://innovativehistory.org/

Travel the last half of Route 66 with Charles James, the famous Chicago pitchman that everyone believes was killed in a plane crash. Dying, for Charles, was an eye-opener. He decides to walk from Chicago, IL to Santa Monica, CA, In The Road Home by Richard Paul Evans, readers join Charles about two hours from Amarillo, TX. Each chapter begins with a quote from the protagonist. The quotes are like chocolate chip cookies, fresh from the oven. I savored the flavors of wisdom, humor, insight, connection, and growth! Here's a sampling: “On the road again. Blisters and fatigue. Willie Nelson made it sound much nicer.” “Abandoned buildings along an abandoned road stand (barely) as a testament to the truth that nothing this side of heaven lasts forever.” “Today I came across a man I thought was killing another man. He was trying to save his life. How poor our judgment is. Too often we open our eyes wide to condemn others.” “I wrote my own Burma Shave poem: He who lives/ like he won't die/ won't find a mansion/ In the sky.” “In the oddity of today's culture, some create false battles just so they can choose a side.” “I feel like Frodo in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy–his errand more difficult, each footstep heavier, as he nears his destination.” “Don't give up. Everyone who got to where they are had to start from where they were.” As Charles helps others, he ends up helping himself. He evolves into his best self. Humility made his transformation possible. As he told the jilted Uber driver, “It is always good to process things to help us, not hurt us. Don't play the victim.” We use our challenges to grow us, move us beyond being the weak link in a relationship. The Uber driver asked Charles if he was a marriage counselor to which he replied, “No. I am a weak link.” This book will stretch you, entertain you, and impact you! Enjoy the journey, dear readers! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/recapbookchat/message

Can Joseph Campbell's "hero's journey" happen within metamodern storytelling?    In today's episode, I help you understand how the structure of great myths like Homer's Illiad and The Odyssey, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars can still exist within the emerging metamodern storytelling aesthetic. We'll explore how the critically acclaimed animated "Spider-verse" movies (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse & Across the Spider-Verse) give us a brilliant example of a metamodern hero's journey. If you find this podcast helpful and want to see it continue ad-free, would you consider becoming a supporter on Patreon? You're not only supporting this podcast, but you are also supporting my free Substack page and YouTube channel. We need 200 patrons to ensure that my work can continue in 2023. https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast   Connect with Paul Anleitner on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/PaulAnleitner

Moiya is joined by fellow nerds Connie Gibbs and Delia Gallegos to discuss the worldbuilding in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings! There is so much to unpack, from the creation of the world, origin of its magic, Tolkien's inspirations, and the little matter of having a FLAT WORLD! HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folkloristGUESTSConnie Gibbs is a nerd, writer, and social media manager for Scholastic. Find her on twitter at @Constar24.Delia Gallegos is a writer, speaker, and podcaster. Follow her work at deliaistyping.com and listen to her new podcast CULTURE BY CULTURE.MIDBREAKListen to JOIN THE PARTY! New episodes every TuesdayThis episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Visit betterhelp.com/worldbuilder for 10% off your first monthSign up for my worldbuilding class with Atlas Obscura! Class starts June 5thHOUSEKEEPINGOrder my book, THE MILKY WAY: https://www.grandcentralpublishing.com/titles/moiya-mctier/the-milky-way/9781538754153/BUY EXOLORE SWAG: store.dftba.com/collections/exoloreFIND US ONLINEpatreon: patreon.com/exolorepodtwitter: twitter.com/ExolorePodinstagram: instagram.com/exolorepodwebsite: exolorepod.comsubreddit: reddit.com/r/ExolorePodCREDITSMusic: https://www.purple-planet.comCover art: Stephen J. Reisig, http://stephenjreisig.com/Editing: Mischa Stanton, https://www.mischastanton.com/ ABOUT USHow would you like to swim in an ocean ruled by matriarchal squid, or fly over a planet as it rotates with a swarm of migrating wasps? No, it's not the latest VR craze (... yet); it's Exolore! Exolore helps you imagine other worlds with the help of facts and science. Every other week, host Dr. Moiya McTier invites experts to build a world from scratch or sits down with a fiction fan to dive deep into their favorite worlds. Every episode will make you laugh, go "huh?" and appreciate how special our world really is.Exolore is a member

It has been quite a year for us at The Neutral Ground Podcast. In this first part of our year in review, I talk about the growth of our community, my goals for the next year, and I introduce the first of two themes that I want to end the year on: Literature in Conversation. My literature episodes have produced quite a bit of interest in the second season, and so I wanted to highlight some of the interesting conversations and thoughts that came through in our second season. We talk about Bram Stoker's Dracula, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, John Milton's Paradise lost, and Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. I'll be back with new episodes on January 10th. However, if you have not had the opportunity to check out the full episodes, you can use the links I've provided below. Also, make sure you are subscribed to the podcast. We're building a special community here, and we can always use more people. Thank you for a wonderful year. I could not have done any of this without you. Sincerely, -Joe // EPISODE LINKS // 1. Salvation for the monstrous and the horror of being | Dr. Jon Greenaway #33: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlHFk99ad60&t=3s 2. Paradise Lost Book 4 Satan's Soliloquy Analysis | Dr. Joe Meyer #30: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfYT4CRl96U 3. Tolkien, Psychoanalysis, and the Importance of Enchantment Today | Dr. John Rosegrant #47: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a90edupEJLU&t=6s 4. Moby-Dick's Captain Ahab, and a Warning We Need for Today| Dr. Joe Meyer #34: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a60nYRCpyRE&t=1842s 5. Why James Joyce's Ulysses Matters 100 Years Later | Dr. Sam Slote #43: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixXPo6RriYg&t=1683s 6.Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol - Why You Should Read the Actual Text | Dr. Joe Meyer #59: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3IIod2BNWo&t=2s // EPISODE OUTLINE // 00:00 Introduction 03:19 Bram Stoker's Dracula 08:51 Milton's Satan from Paradise Lost 15:40 Tolkien's Lord of the Rings 27:00 Chapter 135 of Moby-Dick 30:28 James Joyce Ulysses 43:45 Jacob Marley and Dickens' A Christmas Carol // WEBSITE // Head over to the website to learn more about me and to contact me. https://theneutralgroundpodcast.com/ // EPISODE SUGGESTIONS // 1. Why we crave narrative? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVqv1TIwLU4&t=129s 2. What we don't hear about incel culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynYdpuhqjLw&t=43s 3. Why not violence? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohhht-zwNaU&t=1010s 4. The need for the heroic narrative - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoCLHOpM03o&t=202s 5. Why are we fascinated with psychopaths? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQgL13gP9ZE&t=50s Would you like to do your part to help bring civility back to our conversations? We need to get The Neutral Ground message in front of more people, and you can help with just a few keystrokes and some clicks of a mouse. 1) Start by hitting the subscribe button and turning on notifications. 2) Then, hit the like button. 3) Leave a thoughtful/uplifting comment for others to engage with. 4) Watch another video on the channel. 5) Share the channel or a video with someone else on your social media accounts 6) Head over to my website at https://theneutralgroundpodcast.com/ Once on the website, you can actually go to the contact section and leave an audio comment for me to use on the podcast. 7) You can also subscribe to the podcast on any one of the following platforms as well: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music. #literature #ahab #milton #dracula #greatbooks #joyce #jamesjoyce #charlesdickens --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/joemeyer/message

Uriah, Job ... and Frodo. Part of being human is passing moral judgments. There are proper and improper ways of doing this. We look at the story of David and Uriah, and of Job. These stories tempt us to judge God, which requires us to take HIS position, His moral authority, His righteousness. We do this same thing in judgment of our fellow human beings. In doing so, we set ourselves up in our arrogance AS GOD, the very position of Satan himself, the pathology of Cain. This arrogation of God's position becomes a central theme for us moving forward with the Christian Atheist. We exemplify it in Tolkien's LORD OF THE RINGS in the character of Frodo as he interacts with Gandalf. If you enjoy our content, consider donating through PayPal to romanschapter5@comcast.net   https://www.youtube.com/c/TheChristianAtheist/featured https://www.facebook.com/JnJWiseWords https://wisewordsforyouroccasion.wordpress.com   #thechristianatheist #drjohndwise #drjohnwise #johnwise #christian #atheist #christianity #atheism #jesus #jesuschrist #god #bible #oldtestament #newtestament #nocompromise #rationality #faith #philosophy #philosopher #culture #society #hegelism #hegelianism #hegel #reason #incarnation #history#psychology #theology #literature #humanities #hardquestions #postmodernism #woke #wisdom #ethics #science #poetry #paradox #oxymoron

This week on our Narnia journey we are diving in to all things magic. We discuss the differences between hard and soft magic systems, how magic is expressed in the world of Narnia, and how it compares to the magic in other fictional worlds. We also look at Narnia as a touchstone of fantasy fiction, its relationship with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, and its influence on modern fantasy works like Star Wars and Lev Grossman's book series The Magicians. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pop-dna-podcast/message

Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy supercharged the genre of epic fantasy, giving rise to countless stories of heroic quests in settings that looked like Medieval Europe. How do we expand the map of heroic fantasy so it includes everybody who was marginalized, or left out completely, in those tales? Plus we talk to Tolkien scholar Helen Young about the racist backlash against the new TV show Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes  

Mia brings her nerd A-game to school John on a trilogy we both love, but one that for her isn't just a movie, but a lifestyle.  Fresh off Fellowship hitting its 20th anniversary (And Two Towers as well a month after this episode publishes), we look back at Peter Jackson's now-legendary adaptation of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy.  From Viggo Mortensen injuries to Hugo Weaving rapping in Elvish, we take a long look at all three films and additional material, including the earlier animated adaptations, Jackson's bonkers early films and his subsequent The Hobbit trilogy, brief talk regarding the recent Rings of Power, the alternate universe where The Beatles played the hobbits, and Sexy Shelob. WE'RE ON DISCORD: https://discord.gg/YAqjMUy John's Twitter: https://twitter.com/BehonArt Mia's Tumblr: https://patethenovice.tumblr.com/ John's Reanimated collab for WarioWare Gold's cutscenes: https://twitter.com/WarioReAnimated Show email (Send feedback and requests here): sketchwatchplay@gmail.com Show Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sketchwatchplay/ Show Twitter (Follow for updates, and send feedback and requests): https://twitter.com/sketchwatchplay Show Facebook (Follow for updates, and send feedback and requests): https://www.facebook.com/sketchwatchplay Show homepage: http://sketchwatchplay.blogspot.com/

Keith, the Fantasy Warrior Dragon from Middle Earth, reviews the corporatized adaptation of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.   iTunes  Google Podcasts  Twitter @beastgangpod Facebook @beastgangpodd Youtube @ /channel/UCKVLhLRljl5RJwGF9FySOgw Looking for older episodes @ beastgang.podbean.com  

The billion-dollar Amazon series Rings of Power is said to be based on the world of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. But is it a faithful representation of Tolkien's worldview, or is it a modern bastardization profiting off the Tolkien name?Links:Amazon's Tolkien (article)Rings of Power: Jeff Bezos's Billion Dollar Anti-Tolkien Fan Fiction (article) Ordinary People Extraordinary ThingsA podcast dedicated to sharing real life stories from ordinary people, just like you.Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the show

The billion-dollar Amazon series Rings of Power is said to be based on the world of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. But is it a faithful representation of Tolkien's worldview, or is it a modern bastardization profiting off the Tolkien name?

Big Brain Chungus and Boomer Death Squad combine forces to talk about the greatness of the British empire and morn the death of our Queen. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings has triggered some sweaty nerds. Follow Boomer Death Squad on: https://twitter.com/BoomerDeathPod Follow us on: twitter.com/RealBigBrain www.twitch.tv/realbigbrainchungus www.youtube.com/channel/UCatEo7-H91LgxkA8DIPWwkw

Heavy Blog is Heavy Editor in Chief, E den Kupermitz joins Josh to talk about 1994's Soul Music, focusing on the book's engagement with the literary tradition of "magical music" and how it is foundational to the fantasy genre (and perhaps even the universe itself!) through its depiction in the myths of Orpheus, Genesis, H. P. Lovecraft, J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, among others, as well as music's unmediated connection with spirituality and memory.* Follow Eden and Josh's music writing at heavyblogisheavy.com  Eden's other literature podcasts: Death // Sentence Anarchy SF  *May also contain copious amounts of Whitesnake.

WARNING: Bill Whittle's audio is terrible. We're sorry. The glitch wasn't discovered until after the weekly recording session. We record a new set of shows each Tuesday, so better quality is coming soon. Amazon's upcoming portrayal of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings world — The Rings of Power — has some startling departures from the classic series. Fans have already responded with hilarious spoofs of the early trailers. Can Amazon overcome the laughter to bring new audiences into this Tolkien-ish universe? Bill Whittle, Stephen Green and Scott Ott create five new episodes of Right Angle each week thanks to our Members.

In this episode--the 4th in a series exploring the value of books often found on lists of books to be banned from public school libraries and curriculum--Craig Bennett, Bob Wood, and host Jane Stahl offer insight into what folks have found disturbing and the value of a few books that made them think and question life as they knew it: John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men, the Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, and dystopian novels George Orwell's 1984, Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Lis Lowry's The Giver, and Madeleine L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time are among those discussed. 

Shafer Parker writes how fans of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy often remain unaware that he started writing a sequel he called The New Shadow. Tolkien gave up the idea after eight pages, but even in that brief effort, he succeeded in powerfully describing the spiritual malaise that afflicts generations that have never paid a price for the freedom and prosperity they enjoy. In doing so he well describes, whether wittingly or unwittingly, the prevailing moral and political climate in Canada and the United States. He also briefly explains the duty of those who remember what is eternally true.

Fans of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien have long known about their ability to connect with individuals on a level beyond simply plot and character development. In fact, Tolkien even had a word that he coined to help him account for moments in a story that can cause great emotional and spiritual connection: eucatastrophic. This week, our guest is Dr. John Rosegrant. Dr. Rosegrant is a clinical psychologist, and he has written a fantastic book about how Tolkien's works connect psychoanalytically with many of the concepts that help ground us in our humanity. The title of Dr. Rosegrant's book is Tolkien, Enchantment, and Loss. This is an exceptional book for Tolkien fans who want to learn more about how Tolkien is able to connect with us through the human condition. We talk about the importance of creativity; how we must be consciously aware of when we are becoming gollums; how Galadriel and Shelob are manifestations of feminine power; the role that mirrors play in reflective our true selves; and why we need to approach the abject with honesty and playfulness. Make sure you leave a comment, like the video, and hit the subscribe button. This is a great episode and we have more to come, so consider supporting the podcast. // EPISODE LINKS // Dr. Rosegrant's Book (affiliate): https://amzn.to/3NFR92J Author's website: https://www.johnrosegrantauthor.com/ // EPISODE OUTLINE // 00:00 Teaser 00:37 Introduction (I'm reading from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings) 4:00 Beginning of conversation 4:31 I only ask question; I never ax questions. 4:55 What effect did the Hobbit have on you at 6 years old? 6:10 Anecdotal story of a friend of mine who at a very young age chose to read the Hobbit over coming out to play. 7:21 How do you define enchantment and disenchantment in your study of Tolkien? 9:00 What was causing this threat in the Modern world to enchantment? 12:02 Is the potential loss of creativity also a part of this discussion within Tolkien's world? 13:55 What happens to the individual who loses the locus of creativity? 15:38 What do you mean when you say that enchantment can be disenchanting? 17:15 Does not engaging in enough enchantment or play in the individual have potential ramifications on the maturation process? 20:43 Are you seeing a lack of enchantment in our young adults today? 22:22 Can you talk about D.W. Winnicott's role in your book on Tolkien? 27:33 what happens if you become trapped in the two worlds Winnicott mentions? 29:31 Let's get abject for a moment with Julia Kristeva and Tolkien 32:13 Does a lack of honesty and playfulness with the abject lead us to become a type of Gollum? 33:37 How did Tolkien come up with the first line of the Hobbit? 38:55 How were Galadriel and Shelob representations of female empowerment in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings? 43:32 Is Tolkien commenting on motherhood and the ability to spark adventure and crush it? 46:54 What do Tolkien's reflective objects reveal to us about humanity? 52:16 What is your Eucatastrophic moment from Tolkien's works? 55:03 Closing thoughts // LINK TREE WITH PODCAST AND SOCIALS// https://linktr.ee/neutralgroundpodcast Would you like to do your part to help bring civility back to our conversations? We need to get The Neutral Ground message in front of more people, and you can help with just a few keystrokes and some clicks of a mouse. 1) Start by hitting the subscribe button and turning on notifications. 2) Then, hit the like button. 3) Leave a thoughtful/uplifting comment for others to engage with. 4) Watch another video on the channel. 5) Share the channel or a video with someone else on your social media accounts 6) Head over to my website at https://theneutralgroundpodcast.com/ Once on the website, you can actually go to the contact section and leave an audio comment for me to use on the podcast.< --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/joemeyer/message

The one where we discuss Beorn & berzerkers & eagles & Russian novels and what a queer thing man is, what a queer thing language is, and what one has to do with the other. And also totemistic bear spirits. Did Tolkien read Dostoevsky? The protagonist in Dostoevsky's “The Double” is a fellow named Golyadkin (Голядкин); a neurotic individual on the verge of a nervous breakdown who has conversations with himself very similar to Gollum/Smeagol in Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings". Coincidence? Golyadkin debaters with himself, Everything, apparently, and even nature itself, seemed up in arms against Mr. Golyadkin; but he was still on his legs and unconquered; he felt that he was unconquered. He was ready to struggle. he rubbed his hands with such feeling and such energy when he recovered from his first amazement that it could be deduced from his very air that he would not give in. yet the danger was imminent; it was evident; Mr. Golyadkin felt it; but how to grapple with it, with this danger? - that was the question. the thought even flashed through Mr. Golyadkin's mind for a moment, "After all, why not leave it so, simply give up? Why, what is it? Why, it's nothing. I'll keep apart as though it were not I," thought Mr. Golyadkin. "I'll let it all pass; it's not I, and that's all about it; he's separate too, maybe he'll give it up too; he'll hang about, the rascal, he'll hang about. He'll come back and give it up again. Than's how it will be! I'll take it meekly. And, indeed, where is the danger? Come, what danger is there? I should like any one to tell me where the danger lies in this business. It is a trivial affair. An everyday affair. . . ." Tolkien's Library: An Annotated Checklist by Oronzo Cilli might give answer to this if the good professor had the Russian novel on his shelf (either in Russian or in translation as Tolkien new the Slavic language well). More likely, though is that It is from Old Norse. In The Annotated Hobbit with annotations by Douglas Anderson, Anderson claims that Gollum is from the Old Norse gull meaning Gold, and an inflected form of this is gollum meaning; gold, treasure or something precious. In the oldest manuscripts it is spelled goll. One inflected form would be gollum, 'gold, treasure, something precious.' It can also mean 'ring,' as is found in the compound word fingr-gull, 'finger-ring.'" As for Beorn, Tolkien's original name for this character was “Medwed” (Russian/Slavic: “medved” = “bear”) - which indicates Tolkien knew Slavic. So the question is still up for debate: did Tolkien read Dostoevsky?

Even the most mundane entrepreneurial workdays can feel like epic, near-impossible tests sometimes. We have so many details to keep track of, tasks to complete, shiny objects to avoid - and it seems like the bigger our hearts are, the shakier our boundaries become. How can we give ourselves the best chance of success? In this week's tender and hilarious episode, Steven Hyatt, The Accountability Wizard, offers two key ingredients of lasting success: energy management and companionship! He dismantles the myth of multitasking, illuminates the philosophy of Flow and how to achieve more of it, and keeps Annie P. laughing. Then, they embark on a journey through their mutual favorite film trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings (as perfected by Peter Jackson). He's a Gandalf, she's a Pippin, and together, this episode is unforgettable. *Parentpreneur advisory: this episode contains colorful language. Connect with Steve through his website, Facebook and LinkedIn! Tired of feeling sleazy when you sell - or avoiding "the ask" altogether? Text the word EASY to 411-321 for Annie P's guide to ditching your sales baggage. (Outside the US? No problem! Just text EASY to 1-909-741-1321 on WhatsApp!) For full show notes and more visit www.toolegitimatetoquit.com Extra Credit: Don't forget to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts! New episodes drop every Monday. Reviews and ratings really help our little show grow, so thank you for the boost.

CR Wiley is a husband, father, podcast host, pastor of a church outside of Portland, Oregon, and the author of the book “The Household and the War for the Cosmos.” For me his book was the crystal around which 20 years of thinking about masculinity instantly solidified. What most men of the Renaissance want is a plot of land, a wife to share our lives with, noble work, children, a God to worship, and to be left alone. It turns out there's a word for that. It's called a household. And not only does a household have significance for us as men, it has significance for God as well. The core themes of his book, namely piety, the household, and the cosmos How the household can rebuild society Advice for men on how to rebuild their household Advice for women on how to awaken the building spirit in their men And finally, his writing process, and his most recent book, "In the House of Tom Bombadil" about the character in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Many men today aspire to self-sufficiency, which is a noble goal. But Pastor Wiley's restoration of the word household gives the dream of self-sufficiency a purpose, giving us something good, beautiful, and true to fight for.  WATCH ON YOUTUBE https://youtu.be/jq3wo0H_79E CONNECT WITH C.R. WILEY https://crwiley.com/ https://crwiley.com/the-theology-pugcast/ https://www.instagram.com/christopher.wiley/ https://www.amazon.com/C-R-Wiley/e/B072KXZCH3 MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeneid PODCASTING 2.0 PodcastIndex.com Fountain.fm app More app platforms NOW ON PATREON! The Renaissance of Men is now on Patreon, with 6 tiers available for you to become part of the Renaissance. Get exclusive video and written content, insider news, community Q&A's, monthly calls with me, and even listen to podcast interviews one full week ahead of the public. Check out all the details here: www.patreon.com/renofmen Thanks so much for your kind and generous support. THE RENAISSANCE OF MEN www.renofmen.com Instagram: @renofmen Twitter: @renofmen YouTube: (link) Patreon: (link)

Debut novelists, Jo Browning Wroe and Miranda Cowley Heller go head to head in a war of the words... They discuss their books, "A Terrible Kindness" and "The Paper Palace" - as well as their writing journeys and inspirations. Miranda also discusses her former career at HBO - where she worked on shows such as The Sopranos and The Wire, whilst Jo explains how she came to the idea for her novel and how she approached such a sensitive subject. They also recommend some of the books they have been reading and enjoying recently - and pitch us a book that they both love in the Book Off. In this episode, we see J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord Of The Rings" go up against "A Manual For Cleaning Women" by Lucia Berlin...but which one will win??? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, I talk to Dr. Sørina Higgins, a professor of English literature at Signum University. We discuss how speculative fiction can teach us to take care of our planet, both ecologically and societally. Authors and works discussed include: Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars, Octavia Butler's Kindred, Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, and superhero fiction. (**NO SPOILERS** for any works.) Real world topics discussed include: climate change, racial and economic justice, terraforming, space colonization, permaculture, regenerative agriculture, and small scale activism. Dr. Higgins also tells us about TexMoot 2022, a speculative fiction conference that is currently seeking submissions for papers and round table discussion prompts from the general public (not just academics). Check the link below!      LINKS: TexMoot 2022: Call for Submissions http://texmoot.org/call-for-papers      TexMoot 2022 general info https://signumuniversity.org/event/texmoot-2022/      Register for TexMoot 2022: https://registration.signumuniversity.org/events/texmoot-2022/      Signum University https://signumuniversity.org/    SorinaHiggins.com https://sorinahiggins.wordpress.com/    Daily Choices https://sorinahiggins.wordpress.com/daily-choices/   Sørina Higgins' author page https://amzn.to/3rEDrEY       Sørina Higgins on Twitter https://twitter.com/SorinaHiggins    Signum University on Twitter https://twitter.com/SignumU    ENJOY THIS PODCAST? Tip us on Ko-Fi https://ko-fi.com/popmythology Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/popmythology

“I describe it as a fantasy novel about the real world we live in, or a realistic novel about the fantasy world we live in.” Anthem is Noah Hawley's terrific, page-turning sixth novel, and his first after his Edgar Award-winning bestseller, Before The Fall—it's also our January 2022 Barnes & Noble Book Club pick. Noah joins us on the show for a wide-ranging, spoiler-free conversation about breaking the fourth wall, the death of satire, how we can use fiction to help us make sense of a nonsensical world (even when our brains are working overtime “to maintain the illusion we believe in.”), writing for the screen vs. writing for the page, and more, including the ways Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five and J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings inspired Anthem. Featured books: Anthem by Noah Hawley, Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides, White Noise by Don DeLillo, and One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (and occasional bonus eps on Saturdays).

Join us as we begin the wheel of time book series! Robby has the read the whole series and Kyle is just beginning it so we will be breaking down this epic journey from two different perspectives! The Eye of the World is on par and similar to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series, so this is a highly recommended series to start or learn more about. 1Join us as we begin this awesome adventure!

This recording from December 10th, 2021. DUNE Description: The Mythgard Movie Club takes a look at Denis Villeneuve's 2021 adaptation based on the famous 1960s text, and we discuss what we loved, what we loathed, and how the film speaks to the wider genre or thematic elements like race, casting, and creativity. Links Mentioned in the talk: NPR's Throughline: The Deep History of Dune https://www.npr.org/2021/11/08/105362... Dominic and Trevor's upcoming book: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/di... Dominic's review: https://domnardireviews.wordpress.com... NYT Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/13/ma... Mythgard's Open-Access Dune course: https://mythgard.org/academy/dune/ Signum's Courses: https://signumuniversity.org/classes/ Spicy Dune Gear at Signum's Store: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/879... Panelists: Maggie Parke - Maggie is the director of the Mythgard Institute, and she has her Ph.D. in Adaptations and Fan Management. She lives in the wilds of north Wales, but teaches in London and at Signum University on the creative industries and business, fantasy, and science fiction literature, and she loves to facilitate conversation around books, films, and geekery. Amy H. Sturgis - Amy H. Sturgis earned her Ph.D. in Intellectual History from Vanderbilt University and specializes in the study of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and the Gothic. She serves as faculty at Lenoir-Rhyne University and Signum University, staff for the Hugo Award-winning StarShipSofa podcast, and Editor in Chief of Hocus Pocus Comics. Her official website is amyhsturgis.com. Dominic Nardi- Dominic is a political scientist with a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He has published academic articles about J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, and Blade Runner; coedited The Transmedia Franchise of Star Wars TV (Palgrave, 2020); and is a coeditor of and contributor to Dune for the 21st Century (McFarland, expected 2022). Trevor Brierly- N. Trevor Brierly is a software engineer with more than 20 years of experience in the industry. His background includes an MLIS from the University of Texas at Austin and a BA in English from George Mason University. He is currently working on a Masters in Language and Literature from Signum University and concurrently serves as Events Team Lead, coordinating national academic conferences. He is coeditor of and contributor to Discovering Dune, a volume of essays on Dune, expected from McFarland in 2022. For more information about Signum University and our degree program, please visit: https://signumuniversity.org/ We are open for Spring 2022 registration! The semester begins January 10th. To view our upcoming courses: https://signumuniversity.org/classes/... Learn about Signum University's mission, leadership and more: https://signumuniversity.org/about/ Want to enjoy Signum's educational offerings? Start here! https://signumuniversity.org/start/

Join Dr. Hellen Freeh in her Magnus Fellowship course Friendship and Freedom in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings as she unpacks the meaning of language, love, and friendship. Give to AMI's Great Campaign now to keep our work going strong. MagnusInstitute.org/give

This is a special episode of The Neutral Ground Podcast. I have two guests: Dr. Kimberly "Max" Brown and Dr. Bridget Murnaghan. We're going to talk about the important role that ancient cultures play in understanding our modern world; we talk about the difference between warriors and soldiers; and we talk about one of the most important and impressive programs that I've ever come across for helping veterans: Eternal Soldier. In the words of Dr. Brown, "Eternal Soldier is archaeologists, classicists, historians, clinicians and veterans working together to present ancient material on war, warriors, and combat re-purposed for modern Veterans" (eternalsoldier.org/about). What makes this program so unique is that veterans read texts like Homer's Iliad and Odyssey in order see connections between how ancient cultures handled war and the struggle to find purpose back home and how we struggle with it today. It's truly a remarkable program, and I urge everyone to check it out and help out as best as you can. We also talk about one of my favorite characters in the Odyssey that virtually no one ever talks about: Elpinore--well, I talk about Elpinore, but it was wonderful to have two other people to speak with about him. We also take a really interesting turn in talking about the differences between Frodo's and Sam's visions of home in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. It's a fascinating discussion. For more information about the magnificent Eternal Soldier program, please check out the following links: Main website: https://www.eternalsoldier.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EternalSoldierorg Here is some additional information about me. Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theneutralgroundpodcast/ Key episodes for understanding the show: 1) Postmodernism and a Joke Gone Too Far: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szjKBcbAW3I 2) Neomodernism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVHMm2A-fcA 3) Podcasting Rhetorics and Joe Rogan | My Conversation with Matthew Jacobson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsOMhCZORts 4) Fighting the War Not Seen | My Conversation with Tim Overton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJjGit4H_Q8 5) Hit Song, Hit Commercial, and Still More to Do | My Conversation with Musician/Actor DC Glenn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DyFYIfEFR4 Would you like to support the efforts to bring civility back to meaningful discourse? Well, you can, and with little more than a click of a button. Subscribe/follow the podcast on whichever platform you're currently using to listen to The Neutral Ground Podcast. Leave a rating and a comment wherever applicable. This will really help get the message out to more people. Let a friend know about the podcast by emailing them or posting an episode to your social media accounts. Visit the main website for The Neutral Ground Podcast at https://theneutralgroundpodcast.com/ and send me an email or leave an audio message for me with some thoughts or questions about one of our topics. I might end up using it on the podcast for all of us to grapple with together. Buy me a cup of coffee...err...I mean Ko-Fi at https://ko-fi.com/theneutralgroundpodcast. Donations are always appreciated and are useful to help fray the costs of maintaining The Neutral Ground Podcast. Finally, and most importantly, just be kind and patient with others in conversation. Try to model for those around you the difference between conversation and debate. Debate and dialogue are not the same things. We need more dialogue in our everyday speech, and we need to limit debate to where it is most needed and useful. Any one of the above items is equally important to me. I am ge --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/joemeyer/message

What happens when a bookworm meets an earworm? In this episode of On the Same Page, Blake and Seamus audibly discuss audiobooks. Some of the audiobooks discussed in this episode include:  Arthur Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes", read by Stephen Fry P. G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves & Wooster", read by a full cast.  Bram Stoker's "Dracula", read by a full cast.  John Banville's "The Sea", read by Jim Norton Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche's "Half of a Yellow Sun", read by Zainab Jah Virginia Woolf's "Mrs Dalloway", read by Annette Bening  Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "Love in a Time of Cholera", read by Armando Durán Hilary Mantell's "Wolf Hall", read by Simon Slater  J. R. R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings", read by Rob Inglis  Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein", read by Dan Stevens Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesamepagepod_ Email: seamusandblake@gmail.com IG: https://www.instagram.com/on.the.same.page.podcast/ ---------- #podcast #audiobooks #bookpodcast #audible   

Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “The question is not what you look at, but what you see.” In this essay, Dr. Gill recalls the story of a photography trip he took with his first camera, a Pentax K1000. While this story didn't end the way he had hoped, it was redeemed 25 years later when he had a second chance at photographing a beautiful red fox. Now, when he looks at that fox, he sees much more than the photo, he sees the heartache and joy that that image evokes. The title, "There and Back Again: Chapter 80," is taken from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. There and Back Again is the title of Bilbo Baggins' memoir that Frodo is tasked to finish. However, Chapter 80 of this red leather covered manuscript is unwritten and that is where one story ends and another begins. Be sure to listen as Brad Hill artfully reads this essay written by Dr. Bryan Gill entitled, "There and Back Again: Chapter 80." Questions and comments email us at thestoriedoutdoors@gmail.com Music Written and recorded By Brad Hill

Pastor Joel Webbon is joined by C. R. Wiley to discuss his latest book which addresses “TOM BOMBADIL” from J. R. R. Tolkien's “Lord of the Rings.” Who is this immensely powerful and mysterious character, and what can Christians learn from him? 

On this episode of Happy Hour, the Hamilton Bros. compare characters from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings to biblical figures. Also, the guys reminisce of their fanboy friend and their shared love of the films. To top it off, they take a trip the darkest parts of the web.WARNING: cannibalismFollow us on social media:Instagram: https://instagram.com/happyhourwiththehamiltonbrosTikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMdbwMWV1/Twitter: https://twitter.com/hamiltonbrospodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/HappyHourHamBros/Our website: https://www.hamiltonhour.comTheme song by Austin AcYd. For inquiries: austinacyd@outlook.comStay true, stay real, and stay righteous. 

Slideshow for this message is available Introduction Two weeks ago we looked at the miraculous resurrection of Lazarus. This is one of the few miracles in the Bible that is recorded where God intentionally contrives to make the miracle itself more dramatic. You will recall that Jesus had fled to Perea and he gets word that Lazarus was sick. And Jesus says, "This is not a sickness that leads to death." And that runner presumably carries that message back to Mary and Martha. Your brother, even though he looks terribly ill has a sickness that does not lead to death. Then we have the strange words. Jesus loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus; therefore, he stayed in the place where he was two additional days. And sometime during those intervening days Lazarus dies. And for Mary and Martha, this death represents an incredible faith crisis. They have built their entire lives upon the understanding that whatever Jesus says is true. The WORDS of Jesus are the WORDS of God and therefore can always be counted on. Jesus said very clearly, “This is not a sickness that leads to death.” And yet here I am staring at a dead body. All five senses confirm that Lazarus is dead. I see the drooping face indicating that the link between the brain and the involuntary muscles of the face are no longer activated. I see the change in skin color from rosy red to gray which indicates that the blood has stopped circulating. I feel his cold body. I feel the stiffening of his body as rigamortis sets in. I smell his bowels. I smell the beginning phases of decomposition. I cannot hear a single noise that indicates life. No breath. No heart. Just silence. Not the slightest movement. You have this horrific collision of realities. Which is more real? Which is more true? Either the words of Jesus are true - that this is not a sickness that leads to death. Or The information reported by my senses is true - Lazarus is dead? Both cannot be true. One of these trusted anchors in my life has betrayed me. Either it's my eyes or its Jesus. Given these two options which would you choose? How often do our eyes, ears, nose, touch betray us? Those have come to be pretty trusted companions. They rarely fail us. They rarely report incorrectly. On the other hand, how frequently do people let us down. How often have you leaned heavily on a person only to have them disappoint? What's the more likely explanation of what I'm experiencing? And this produces a crisis of faith. A crisis of faith is defined as a person moving from a place of belief and faith to a place of doubt. If this Word of Jesus isn't true, then what else is also not true? But everything resolves when Jesus commands the stone to be rolled away and speaks, “Lazarus, come forth!” and the decomposition process reverses itself and out hops Lazarus wrapped in cloths. Mary, Martha, what's the lesson? BELIEVE! Believe Jesus no matter what your eyes tell you. Believe Jesus no matter how confusing your interpretation of events are. Jesus can be trusted. - Jesus will never leave you or forsake you. Believe it. - All of Jesus' Words are yes and amen. Believe it. The Lesson is clear: Whatever Jesus says: Believe it. It almost makes you want to break out in spontaneous round of applause. The Response. This miracle is one of 8 signs that John gives us. We are told that the reason we are given these 8 signs is so that by observing them you will believe. But here's what's interesting: one of the central features of each of these signs is how it created unbelief in those who witnessed them. Last week we ended on a comma. John 11 In other words, some, instead of believing, ran to the Pharisees and ratted him out. They knew the Pharisees wouldn't like what just went down and they wanted to be the first to be congratulated in delivering the news. Now how can it be that some believed, but others went and betrayed him to the Pharisees? How can it be that some fall on their faces and worship and others pick up pitch forks? How can you have such violently different reactions to an indisputable demonstration of a divinity? This is all perfectly explainable if you understand one key thing: To illustrate this interpretive key, let me give you an analogy from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the rings. In you've read the novel, Gollum is this creature who has owned this powerful ring for thousands of years and he has been utterly destroyed by it. It is all he cares about it. He talks to it. He calls it his precious. He strokes it in the dark. His single goal in life is to protect it so that nothing can threaten it and nothing can ever take it from him. And his love of the ring creates all these paradoxes. For example, Even though the ring gives him power, his obsession with it causes him to become weak. The more he stares at its beauty the more ugly he becomes. - The more he believes that possessing it will give him freedom, the more it enslaves him. - He's totally, utterly, completely destroyed by his 'savior.' Now you wouldn't immediately know this by looking at him. Gollum appears to be a pretty innocent little creature, you might even say playful and cute until his ring is taken away. And then all of the sudden this hideous dark shadow emerges from within. The fangs come out. The blood-thirsty eyes narrow. And he's willing to destroy anything that threatens his precious. The Bible calls this sort of thing an idol. God is supposed to be in that ultimate place and if you put something else there, both God and it will destroy you. Here's the one key thing that unlocks the whole passage: The Pharisees had an idol. The Pharisees were guarding their precious. Everything is fine as long as they have what they want but then Jesus comes along. And Jesus always threatens idols. Jesus' mere existence threatens anything we dare to call precious. Jesus sees that idol and stares us down and says, that thing is killing you. It's sucking away your joy. He says, "Here's what I'd like to do. I'd like to take the place of that inferior god but in order to do so, I have to break the neck of that thing that is sucking the life out of you. And what we will discover in this passage is a SEVERE warning. Don't be threatened by Jesus' attack on your idols. Confess your sin before its too late. Confess your idolatry before you are destroyed.If we refuse to heed that warning there are two things that will happen and one thing that will not happen. Here are the two things that will happen. You will destroy others and you will destroy yourself. And here's the one thing that will not happen. You will not destroy God's plan. So that's our outline for today. Let's look at each of these points in turn. Now let's jump back to the narrative to the point where the Pharisees and Sadducees first hear the news of Lazarus' resurrection. You could imagine the Pharisees and Sadducees sitting around large tables with their Torah scrolls sprawled out debating some nuanced, esoteric point. *And in comes this messenger panting, his hand on the door frame steadying himself as he catches his breath, “Guys, you are not going to believe this but you know Jesus, the troublemaker?* He just raised a guy named Lazarus from the dead. And get this: Lazarus was four days dead and was in the tomb. He rolled away the stone and said Lazarus come forth and out comes the hopping body. I saw it with my own eyes. I smelled it. You guys need to do something. Word is spreading like wildfire.” The irony here is so thick. Imagine you were a scout for the Chicago Bulls. “This man is the best basketball player we've ever seen. He performs many miraculous moves.” What's the obvious next step? Recruit him. That's what a scout does. He looks for talent. The Pharisees are religious scouts looking for Messiah. This man performs many indisputable signs. What are we to do? Believe. But instead they say. Ah, we've found the precious. We've discovered the idol. Instead of belief we see fangs and claws. Why, because their place and their nation are being threatened. There's the idol. Now it all makes sense. The source code has been cracked. It's interesting how this is worded because there is a meaning and then there is a meaning behind the meaning. John is a master at the double meaning: “The Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” So on the surface, there's one meaning. It was the job of the local prefect, in this case Pilate, to keep the peace. If the Jews are making trouble, Rome will descend with merciless force and eliminate the trouble. Jesus' miracle working (whether he intends it or not) is going to arouse the attention of Rome. So on the surface this is a political statement, “The Romans will come and take away our place and our nation.” The Romans will come and take away our place (the temple) and our nation (the people)." But a layer beneath is the more sinister meaning. We claim to care about the people but what we really care about is our power over the people. If Rome comes sweeping in, they will take away our place (meaning our political/religious position of power) and our nation (the people our position allows us to control). They love the control they exercise over the massess. They love the adulation of the crowds and respect. They love the lucrative salary that attends that position. They love their precious This is one of the key signs of idolatry, where we hide behind the respectable to protect that which is not respectable. So for example, A man who idolizes his image on Social media will say, “I'm just catching up on the news.” A person who idolizes money will say, “Just making some wise investments for my kids future.” A person who idolizes leisure will say, “Just taking some time off to be with the family.” The Pharisees idolize their position of power but hide beneath, "We need to eliminate Jesus because the Romans will come and destroy God's temple and God's people. Power and control is the idol. Jesus threatens that idol. Solution: destroy Jesus. That's our first point. “Guarding your precious will destroy others.” They are willing to destroy Messiah in order to keep their precious. Presiding over the Sanhedrin was Caiaphas. Now again, the double meaning is so masterful. Let's start with Caiphas' meaning. One man needs to die for the people. In other words, "Either Jesus dies and we save Judea from the wrath of Rome or the whole nation dies." This is a purely POLITICAL STATEMENT. You have to understand that in recent years, they have experienced legitimate wrath from Rome. Let me give you just one case in point. Remember in the Christmas story, Joseph flees to Egypt because Herod was trying to kill baby Jesus. Well it says that when he heard that Herod had died he came home but then he heard that Archeleaus had been installed in his place he feared, and being warned in a dream he went to Nazareth. Why was Joseph afraid of Archelaus? You know what's behind that? Archeleus, in a demonstration of force, had killed 3000 animated Jewish demonstrators and in so doing cancelled passover. They are legitimately fearful of Rome. And Jesus is legitimately causing a stir making this a very real possibility. If that's the case, let me ask you a question, "Why didn't the Pharisees and Sadducees destroy Jesus a long time ago?" For chapters and chapters they have expressed their abject hatred of him. If they hate him and he's a political liability why not lynch him? They have wanted him dead since chapter 8. Why are they dragging their feet? Answer the crowds love him. The crowds adore Jesus and the religious leaders know that if they destroy Jesus, that will massively destroy their credibility. So you see Ciaphas is solving the dilemma. The question on the floor is this: If we kill Jesus, the crowds will hate us. If we let Jesus live, then Rome will hate us. Which is worse? Ciaphas breaks in, "You guys are idiots. This is a no brainer. If the crowds hate us, we suffer a PR setback. If Rome hates us we are all dead. There is a clear winner here: Kill Jesus. Of course we are not going to be popular, but let's rip the band-aid off and get this over with. “it is better for you that one man should die for the people, than the whole nation should perish.” Caiaphas spoke in defense of his idol. If we are to keep our place, our power, our position, Jesus needs to die. That's what Ciaphas meant. Destroy Jesus to save our power - save our precious. But that's not what God meant. Ciaphas assumed that by destroying Jesus that would spell the end of the Jesus threat. FAR FROM IT! This is our second point. Let's see what God meant by the phrase, “it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish” Ciaphas inadvertently uttered truth quite different from the message he intended. Had Ciaphas known what he had uttered he would have involuntarily shuddered. Ciaphas, an unbeliever who hates Jesus, utters the first and most profound theological treatise concerning the atonement. It's staggering how God conscripts the mouth of an unbeliever for his purposes. Here everyone is working their hardest to carry out the high priest's plans against Messiah. The last verse of John 11 says they resolved to put Jesus on the cross. In other words the decision has now been made; it remains only to carry it out, as efficiently as is compatible with political expediency. So into the think tank they go. Let concoct a plan, think it through to make sure it is air tight. Jesus is threatening us. All we need to do is eliminate him and we have won. So they wring their hands in a dimly lit room writing out decrees and declarations beneath the flickering candlelight. The smell of wax is heavy in the room as they press their signets into edicts and send runners here and there. We need to arrange these spies. We need to start greasing the wheels of Rome. Let's get a gift up to Pilate to start bribing him and warming him up. All these plans. They review their work and smile. Airtight. Jesus will end up crucified. Every escape blocked. Every door is closed. Every door that is, except the door to heaven. Listen to Psalm 2 describe God's perspective when men try to conspire against him. Psalm 2 What is this saying? God will do what he wants. And if you are not on his side, you will lose. Everyone is working completely of their own volition to try to destroy Messiah and they are actually carrying out the plan of God! God is laughing. Oh do you see it church? God cannot be stopped. You submit to God or be run over by him. Ciaphas tries to abuse God and God just laughes and uses him. And in so doing Ciaphas enters the long list of people who are used by God despite their best efforts. Jonah from last week, Cyrus, Nebuchadnezzar, Balaam. Oh how foolish we are? To think that we can use our minds to outwit the maker of minds? To think we can use our legs to run from the maker of legs? To think we can use our lips and lungs to speak words that would threaten the maker of lips and lungs? I know of unbelivers who have led people to Christ. Corrupt pastors preach the Word of God. They are like Balaam's ass, unthinking creatures uttering mysteries they know nothing about. It's such a rebuke to a rebel but such an encouragement to saint. Because you want to what else is true if God is sovereign? If you are a parent and you are screwing things up like crazy, guess what. God overrides that screw-up. If you are leading a ministry and you are thinking, man I am so inadequate. True. You say one thing and God does another. What's the principle? God's message is not bound to the performance of his pathetic messengers. God's message transcends the messengers. The power is in the WORD. The power is in this book which contains power unto salvation. You cannot stop God's plan. Your rebellion will only be used to further it. Your obedience will only be used to further it. Three warnings about what happens if we guard our precious. It will destroy others. It will not destroy God's plan. Here's perhaps the most frightening of all, it will destroy you. Do you hear that? Their entire goal in life is to murder Messiah. Let that land and cause you to shudder. Think about it: they had personally witnessed a man born blind healed in chapter 9. Now they hear of the public raising of a man four days dead. What does all this point to? What does the most elementry logic in the world conclude based off this indisputable evidence? Here's their conclusion: he must be from the devil. Kill him. All to guard their precious. What I want you to notice here is how stupid since makes you. Do you see the blinders? Do you see the lenses that they are looking through that create utter distortion? Think about it. They wanted to destroy Jesus but what they didn't realize was that it would utterly destroy them. Ciaphas assumed that by destroying Jesus it would spell the end of the Jesus threat. But in point of fact, it would be that act ‘destroying' Jesus that would elevate Jesus to the right hand of the throne of God and would utterly destroy his soul. Here we have a little Gollum, a sick creatures possessed by his idol. These religious men are literally hell-bent on destroying Jesus. It's so scary. How did they get there? Think about it. These guys were kids who grew up in Sunday School classes. They went to the Cole Valley's and Ambroses of the 1st century. They never missed a Sunday service. They went to all the Thirst Winter Camps. They went to the best Biola's and Talbots and Master's Seminaries of the 1st Century. They got hired on as pastors in respecible churches. And they are trying to murder Jesus. How does this happen? We have totally wasted our time here today if you can't answer that question. How does this sort of thing happen where you can walk around and talk Christianeze and fit into Christian circles and even be leading Christian ministries and be a conspirator in the murder of Jesus? Here's the answer: unconfessed sin. Harboring and coddeling unconfessed sin will blind you to the point where you will destroy your family, destroy the church, destroy your community, your friends so that you can have your precious. Having idols in your life will absolutely destroy you. How does something become an idol? Let me say this. In a very subtle, very inconspicuous, very innocent sort of way. It creeps in slowly, concealed in the ordinary. It slips in clothed in camouflage. And then suddenly, surprisingly you are in tremendous danger. A few years ago, we were waterskiing on cascade lake and a storm rolled in and lighting was just pounding the mountains around us. And the lighting was getting closer and the thunder louder. And my arms started tingling a bit and I looked at my wife and the two other girls on the boat and all of their hair was standing straight up. The static in the air was literally just crackling all around us. And so what did we do? We started laughing. It was so funny looking. It felt funny. It was entertaining. I went home and googled the phenomena and saw multiple articles that were entitled "Selfies taken seconds before being struck by lighting." We had no business being there. That's the DANGER ZONE. We were in a spot where we were literally flirting with life and death. And I think it appropriate to allow this passage to scare us in an that sort of way. Caiaphas, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, none of them thought they were being rebellious. They had logical reasons for the steps they were taking. They religious reasons. They could back up their moves from Torah. They felt fortified in every way and somehow they crucified Messiah. How does that happen? Nobody thinks they have an idol. Oh sure, I'm not perfect, but who is. But when you can't admit it, your in the most dangerous place of all. The longer that sin goes unconfessed the greater the grip that sin has on your life. What are you hiding? Sin of jealousy? Sin of pornography? Substance abuse? Are you bitter and unable to forgive someone who has hurt you? Are you angry and refuse to soften? Are you too prideful to admit you are wrong? Are your finances a total disaster because of your mismangement and your too embarased to admit it? So often we feel we can harbor and hide our sin and play the Christian game too. And when we do that successfully for a while we feel like we are getting away with something. But we are not. When you read the OT you see God acting in what seems like such severe ways. God opens up the ground and swallows a bunch of people for complaining. You were to stone people for what seem to us like minor offenses. Why? And the accusation rises: God is a monster. No. God is merciful. Because that sin is serious. That sin unaddressed will turn into an idol and destroy your soul. And God wants us to be freaked out. Every one of us can look at the pastor who committed adultery, or the poster child that walked away from the faith or the elder that was caught up in a pornagraphic addiction and wonder how did they get there? I would never go down that path. But if there is sin in your life and you are not dealing with it, if there is an idol you are unwilling to abandon, the lesson to be learned from today's text is simply this: you are on your way there. The one who falls into sin doesn't fall very far. If you are coddling your precious (which means if you have unconfessed sin in your life), you are in that DANGER ZONE. You might be having a great time. You might be having the time of your life. But your flirting with Spiritual death. I've watched several people in this church torch themselves in this way. How can you tell if I am in the danger zone. How can I tell if I have an idol? Ask yourself two questions. Will I sin to get it? And will I sin if I don't get it? If the answer is yes to either of those questions, congratulations, you have yourself an idol. Nobody pictures themselves as a Caiphas. Caiphas didn't grow up in Sunday school vowing to one day kill Messiah. But sin makes you blind. Sin make you stupid. At some point, sin left unconfessed long enough turns you into a Ciaphas. Of course, everyone wants to ask the question: how long does it take for a normal sin to turn into a soul destroying idol? There's no answer to that question. Have you ever heard of the fallacy of the beard? The fallacy of the beard says if one hair doesn't make a beard and neither does 2,3,4,5 then there is no such thing as a beard. We all know at some point it becomes a beard. And there is some point at which sin will plunge people into a spiral from which they cannot recover but that point is unknowable. Sin will bring you to the place where you make decisions that look to everyone around you like bottomless foolishness. But you are blinded. Sin becomes more and more thoroughly enslaving until one day you find yourself throwing off all restraints and surrendering all that's important to you so you can have your precious. That's what has happened in this passage. So what do you do? Here's the admonition: there is no moral faculty that God has given more important that you than your conscience. The Bible teaches that it is the standard by which you will be judged. Your conscience is like a fire alarm. When you start sinning, that thing goes off. God gave every one of us the gift of a spiritual fire alarm. Paul describes false teachers in 1 Tim 4:2 as those who have consciences that are seered. The greek word is cauterizomi from which we get our word cauterized and the picture is of a man in battle who gets his wound cauterized. What happens when you touch a cauterized part of your body? You can no longer feel. So to cauterize your conscience is to render your conscience unable to feel. There is only one way to do that. Sin against it. We've got a little alarm panel in our building that notifies us of a malfunctioning sensor. And every since we bought this building, it's been throwing false alarms. Originally it was super, super loud and so we couldn't listen to that all day long so we put a layer of tape over it. That helped a ton. If one layer, helps why not two. And now there's this giant wad of tape and you can barely hear it. I'm half tempted to go in their and snip the speaker wire. Every time you sin against your conscience you are putting a piece of tape over that warning signal and it's getting quieter and quieter and at some point, a point you don't know, that speaker wire is going to get snipped. You won't even recognize it as sin any longer. You will have no moral faculties left to warn you that you have become a Caiaphas. But here's the good news. If you sense that his applies to you, there's still time left. At any time you can repent. Don't leave here today and put another piece of tape over the alarm. It may be the last one. Don't sear your conscience further. Nourish it back to help through confession. I hope the elders and life group leaders and trusted counselors and all the pastors here get flooded with emails this week that say, “I've been harboring this sin and it's time to do business with God. Would you help me.” Yes! Yes, we will. You will be in good company. Welcome to the community of sinners. The feast of grace is only available to those who confess. So confess and feast. How do I confess? Use Psalm 51 as a template. Why? Because Psalm 51 is David pulling out of a spiritual death spiral. 1000's before him never did. But in God's grace, David confesses and was restored. Psalm 51 Let's do business with God this week. For David, that confession was hell. But it resulted in the epitaph, a man after God's own heart. Don't you want that?

According to Wikipedia, Naturalism is "the idea or belief that only natural laws and forces (as opposed to supernatural or spiritual ones) operate in the universe. Adherents of naturalism assert that natural laws are the only rules that govern the structure and behavior of the natural world, and that the changing universe is at every stage a product of these laws." In this episode, I'll take a look at some of the good points and valid concerns of Naturalism. Then, I'll discuss how it falls short, and what corrections it needs. Valid Concerns and Good Points One of the good points of naturalists is that we can attribute most things to natural laws and forces. Every little thing that happens doesn't have to be a supernatural intervention. And, we know it isn't random due to the consistency of events. There is a time in pagan cultures when everything was attributed to the supernatural. Even in the Judeo-Christian world much of the natural order was attributed to angel's intervention. I don't begin to say that I know how Heaven governs this world and it's laws. But it appears to me that there are natural laws and that God created the world with a discoverable order. When looking into that order, it is good to work within it's bounds, which is why we have science. Errors of Naturalism The cause of why I burn my tongue on hot coffee or the sun rises everyday can be naturally accounted for. But, the fact that all these beings exist as well as the laws that govern them, none of which fully account for the existence of the universe, has to have some other explanation. Naturalism cannot account for that. Instead, it seeks for a self-explaining cause that's within the natural order. Furthermore, there are well-attested events that do not fit into the natural world. Inexplicable miracles are one. But, there are phenomena like love and beauty that we do experience. However, the naturalist cannot explain these fully by neurons and brain chemistry. We need a deeper, spiritual explanation if we want to cohere with our universal experience. Corrections There is one major correction a naturalist needs to incorporate all truth into his worldview. That is a recognition of the spiritual. Miracles, religious experiences, emotions, and beauty aren't simply natural phenomena. Rather, they are true experiences of something outside of the natural order. To see this in art, read The Soul of the World, C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, or Tolkien's Lord of the Rings to see how this plays out. They demonstrate that there is more to this world than the naturalist can explain. And, they do it both with philosophy and story-telling. Related Episodes in this Series What is Objective Reality? What is Subjective Reality? Unity of Subject and Object The Golden Mean for Understanding Objective and Subjective Reality --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/conofourgen/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/conofourgen/support

Uriah, Job ... and Frodo. Part of being human is passing moral judgments. There are proper and improper ways of doing this. We look at the story of David and Uriah, and of Job. These stories tempt us to judge God, which requires us to take HIS position, His moral authority, His righteousness. We do this same thing in judgment of our fellow human beings. In doing so, we set ourselves up in our arrogance AS GOD, the very position of Satan himself, the pathology of Cain. This arrogation of God's position becomes a central theme for us moving forward with the Christian Atheist. We exemplify it Tolkien's LORD OF THE RINGS in the character of Frodo as he interacts with Gandalf.

In Part II of our conversation with Viggo Mortensen, we delve into this protean artist's multidimensional engagements following his landmark success in the film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. From music, to photography, painting and publishing, his multilingual acting roles and even his fascination for a masterpiece of silent film, Viggo delights and astonishes with his boundless curiosity, creativity and passion.

In Part II of our conversation with Viggo Mortensen, we delve into this protean artist's multidimensional engagements following his landmark success in the film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. From music, to photography, painting and publishing, his multilingual acting roles and even his fascination for a masterpiece of silent film, Viggo delights and astonishes with his boundless curiosity, creativity and passion.

Episode 1 of Unseen Academicals, discussing our titular Discworld novel, Unseen Academicals (2009), and using it to discuss Terry Pratchett's critical and academic reception, football/soccer, Academics, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Eddie McGuire, fashion, gender expression, RuPaul's Drag Race, the racial implications of orcs and their origins in J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Dungeons and Dragons, creation, corruption and definitely not psychoanalysis! Referenced transcripts: independentresearcher.academia.edu/JoshuaBulleid/Podcasts Contact: unseenacademicalspod@gmail.com Alice's other podcast, Of the Devil's Party: https://ofthedevilsparty.sounder.fm/ Support: patreon.com/doctorprometheuspod

In this week's episode, we're talking about something that's big and also true---from a certain point of view. We're kicking off an intermittent series called Big If True in Literature and Culture with a discussion of ents, giant tree-people in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series. We learn about what they are, what they do, and why they're so cool.Check out our show notes at bigiftrue.abbymullen.org! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this leg of the journey to Book Island, Lisa and Tim check out some of the supports that the contemporary fantasy genre is built on. While Tim takes on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Lisa decided to check out George RR Martin's first novel in the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series, A Game of Thrones.

We're back! Today we discuss the second adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Two Towers, written and directed by Peter Jackson. We talk about what this movie means to us personally as well as what it is saying about the world in general, and specifically discuss it through the lens of nostalgia. While the three of us may disagree about some of the choices thematically and narratively, we do agree that this movie does have a bit of middle child syndrome, and a lot of the answers and things we crave come in the final film! Stay tuned! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/htbn/support

With Amazon's scheduled 2021 release of its adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, controversy is already brewing. The Plugged In team explores why explicit content has found its way into mainstream entertainment. You'll be clued in to this type of programming and learn how to navigate it with your family. Seven Traits of Effective Parenting: https://donate.focusonthefamily.com/don-plugged-in-2020-11-05?refcd=1020301 Get More Episode Resources: If you've listened to any of our podcasts, please give us your feedback: focusonthefamily.com/podcastsurvey

Today we (but mostly Chandler) discuss the first adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring, written and directed by Peter Jackson. We (but, again, mostly Chandler) talk about how the world of The Lord of the Rings is iconic, and what that impact means for future fantasy storytellers. This movie received eleven nominations, winning four of them, and though Chandler might disagree, we feel that The Lord of the Rings films were more than recognized and decorated when you include their wins from the following films. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/htbn/support

Regina joins this episode to discuss her background, her book, how she launched her production company in the face of obstacles, the importance of family, and her best practices for success!Regina Curry is an author, producer, and CEO of Pearl Productions, Publishing, and Distribution. The Washingtonian and mother of two is now a Christian-based author who began her own company for herself and other Christian artists to share their work. Through music, novels, television programming, and film, Regina will not only tell her stories but provide avenues for other great stories.Struggling to find true Christian stories, Regina Curry only found satisfaction in creating her own work, Marked: The Beginning of the End, the first installment of the Marked trilogy. Marked: The Beginning of the End is a Christian fantasy - a genre attributed to authors such as C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia and J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, which, in her opinion, “They are not Christian novels at all.” “My story won't fit comfortably in any genre. I would say Marked is the precedent for a new genre,” Regina Curry said.MARKED: THE BEGINNING OF THE END is available now at www.pearlppd.com or on Amazon.Podcast is powered by The Binge Podcast Network!

Deacon Nathan Allen begins this 4-part exploration into Tolkien's Lord of the Rings by examining his biography to uncover the religious symbolism behind Tolkien's masterpiece.

WHY LORD OF THE RINGS IS GREAT! Jay, Daryl, and special guest, Andrew Peterson--author of the Wingfeather Saga--dig deeper into one of the most iconic stories of all time... J.R.R. Tolkien's LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy! Do you love stories and storytelling--especially sci-fi, fantasy, and comic book movies? Join The Story Geeks Club! It's FREE! Join The Story Geeks Club here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thestorygeeks/ Want MORE from The Story Geeks? Become a VIP Member of The Story Geeks Club: https://www.patreon.com/thestorygeeks   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PURCHASE TIMESLINGERS! Jay and Nathan's time travel novel is available now! TIMESLINGERS currently has 4.5/5 stars on Amazon.com! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   LINKS: The Story Geeks Club - Keep up to date and join our deep discussions! The Story Geeks Club - VIP - Benefits and rewards for our supporters. TIMESLINGERS - Jay & Nathan's time travel novel. More Info at TheStoryGeeks.com - All the content.   SUBSCRIBE iTunes | Podbean | Stitcher | Spotify   SOCIAL Facebook Group | The Story Geeks YouTube Channel | Reclamation Society YouTube Channel Twitter | Instagram | Email: thestorygeeks@gmail.com | Jay: @JaySherer | Daryl: @darylhsmith | Sandra: @sand_rad | Justin: @justintheweaver | Nick: @ndukie

(Discussion begins at 19:00) Dan and Scarlet open the episode with an astrology and Tarot forecast for the week of January 27, 2020, to February 2, 2020, followed by an interview with astrologer, author, and scholar, Becca Tarnas.  We talk with Becca all about her introduction to spirituality and astrology, her metaphysical views on what archetypes are and how they work, her study of the connections between the Red Books of both Carl Jung and J.R.R. Tolkien, plus a whole lot more!  This was an amazing conversation that you wont want to miss!  Check out Beccas links below: Website: beccatarnas.com New Course "Songs of the Spheres" : https://music-as-medicine-project.teachable.com/p/songs-of-the-spheres/?fbclid=IwAR128Tk2wIDOx_7qYHacBsTIPwrZo__aQrwh-r0u-fKSNQyVZmjCvuSGnd0 New Book "Journey into the Imaginal Realm: A Reader's Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings" : https://revelore.press/product/journey-to-the-imaginal-realm/ Archai, The Journal of Archetypal Cosmology: http://www.archai.org/ Instagram: @becca.tarnas Twitter: @BeccaTarnas Don't forget to enter our January giveaway!  To enter, simply write a review for our podcast on Itunes and tag your social media handle.  Winners will be announced next week!  

An elf, a dwarf, and a hobbit sat down to make a “precious” podcast episode about Lord of the Rings. (36:30) Leading out with a tangent, the guys discuss the fastest growing sport in America (9:50). Is Pickleball more like ping pong, racquetball, or badminton? In a quick review of the classic 1957 flick Funny Face, Matt contests whether Hepburn can really pull off her character, simply because her face doesn't quite fit the bill. (14:10) Tying the movie back to recent events, Matt discusses some scenes of the movie and how they relate to the #metoo movement. With a bit more commentary on Venom (24:00), Fantastic Beasts (the audiobook), and rumors of Henry Cavill's departure as DC Comics' Superman (29:00) the guys discuss the implications of changing a superhero and how important it is to maintain the integrity of an original character. Their discussions of character development carry into capturing the legendary nature of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. (36:30) Described as “the king with the healing hands”, fans of LOTR have drawn a parallel between Aragorn and Christ for years, but why? (43:15) From Sam's pep talks to Gandalf's gentle and powerful leadership, these are the “stories that stay with you”. Please leave us a review on iTunes: https://bit.ly/2SZFLmO We want to hear from you: Email: GeekNerdTangent@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/geeknerdtangent Instagram: instagram.com/geeknerdtangent Twitter: twitter.com/geeknerdtangent Voice/Text Line: 801-769-6668 (Please, let us know who you are and where you're from in the message.) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/geeknerdtangent/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/geeknerdtangent/support

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams **Today's guest(s):** Fr. Roderick Vonhögen, founder and CEO of the Star Quest Production Network * [SQPN](http://www.sqpn.com) * [Catholic New Media Celebration](http://cnmc.sqpn.com) * [Catholic Media Guild](http://www.catholicmediaguild.com/) * [Father Roderick on Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/FatherRoderick) **Today's topics:** Dutch priest Fr. Roderick Vonhögen, a leader in Catholic new media, on his vocation as a priest and media evangelist **Summary of today's show:** Fr. Roderick Vonhögen, a Dutch priest who is a leader in Catholic new media, joined Scot and Fr. Matt to discuss how he discerned his vocation to the priesthood as a Dutch teen at Lourdes, and how Star Wars and the isolation of his first pastoral assignment led to the creation of the premier Catholic new media apostolate in the world, SQPN. **1st segment:** Scot welcomed Fr. Matt back to the show. Fr. Matt said this past weekend he was in Billerica for a young adult retreat, "Life is Good in the Holy Spirit" and then on Monday for the youth harbor cruise. The retreat is about moving deeper into the gifts of the Holy Spirit that we received at baptism and confirmation. In the middle of July they have their [Witness to Truth](http://www.one4boston.org/witness-to-truth) high school leadership institute and in August the [Witness to Hope](http://www.one4boston.org/witness-to-hope) middle school leadership institute. Institute is a misnomer because it's really a lot of fun. It's about getting to meet peers from all over the Archdiocese while going deeper into their faith. For the high school institute, they marry Steven Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" to elements of the faith. Today is the 60th anniversary of Pope Benedict's ordination and in Rome is the special celebration of the imposition of the pallium on new archbishops of the past year. Today is also Cardinal Seán's birthday. Wish him happy birthday tonight at the Cathedral during a Holy Hour in honor of Pope Benedict's ordination. **2nd segment:** Scot and Fr. Matt welcome Fr. Roderick Vonhögen to show. He is a priest of the Archdiocese of Utrecht, the Netherlands and CEO of SQPN. Some of our listeners may have met Fr. Roderick last year at the Catholic New Media Celebration here in Boston. Scot asked him about his journey to the priesthood. He never thought of himself as a priest as a child. He didn't think of it as a glamorous or exciting life. He wanted to travel the world and experience new things. He's always worked in media. As a child, he and his brother bought one of the first consumer computers on the market. When he was about 17 years old, he was one of the few young people going to church on Sundays and remembered fierce debates with his classmates. At the time, Pope John Paul II came to visit the Netherlands and it was a disastrous visit because, basically, he wasn't welcomed. The criticism of the Church made him ask, if the Church was so outdated, why had it lasted for 2,000 years. So he started to study his faith and began to see the beauty and truth of the Church.He began to conclude that if faith was so important, he started to feel the pull of prayer and didn't know how to do it. His father gave him an abbreviated version of the Breviary and he began to pray during the day. That's when God saw the door open and Fr. Roderick felt God pulling him. He began to ask God to show him that God is real in order for his life to be changed and God took that invitation. His parents became concerned he was praying so much because it was so atypical. His parents were regular parishioners, but they were not welcoming to the idea of the priesthood for him because it was so counter-cultural. They did send him on a weeklong youth conference at Lourdes, France, and that was such an amazing experience, kind of like world Youth Day. There were 50,000 youth there and he finally found lots of young people like him. He was also introduced to Eucharistic Adoration there. He met many young priests, which he'd never seen. During that pilgrimage, he realized God wanted something from him, although he still had not thought of the priesthood. So he began to pray to Mary at the grotto in Lourdes and asked her to tell him. He told her that he would not leave until he got an answer. Around 2am, it suddenly dawned on him that he was to become a priest. There was no doubt in his mind. So he went home to tell his parents and they were shocked. From that day on, he had to continually convince his parents he was serious and it wasn't just wacky idea from France that would go away. They sent him to their parish priest for whom he had an immense respect. The priest told him that if he had to choose again he wouldn't have become a priest and said it wasn't a good life. Fr. Roderick was shocked and felt sorry for him, but it didn't change his mind. Since then other priests have confirmed him in his vocation. Since that experience in the grotto, he's never had a doubt. Scot said in his life, he's also been very direct in his prayer when seeking God's will in difficult decisions. He's also found that God has always answered his prayer in those circumstances. Fr. Roderick said God never lets you down, even if the answer is not always what you expect. Fr. Matt said it's amazing that when you give God that time in prayer, He does speak to us in that perseverance. God delights when we come before Him in that way. Fr. Roderick said Mary played a significant role in his faith. She was the go-to person in his faith because he was a complete newbie in faith. Even the idea of praying to God was difficult. But praying to Mary felt so easy because she's a mother and she knows how children behave and misbehave sometimes. He felt she could bring him closer to her Son.After all she was Jesus' own teacher and guide. Fr. Matt pointed out how John Paul in his pontificate always pointed us to Mary, to go through her to Jesus. He asked how Mary helped him grow in his priesthood. Fr. Roderick said in his media work, Mary is his guide. She literally carried Jesus to the world in her pregnancy and at the wedding at Cana she was there to mediate the situation and bring people to Christ. In his media work, he tries to model that work in a Marian way. His job is to bring people into contact with Jesus. When he records a show or writes a blog post, he's doing what Mary has done, bringing people to Jesus. **3rd segment:** Scot said Fr. Roderick helps lead the Church in new media. He asked Fr. Roderick why he went into this work. Fr. Roderick said it goes back to his first pastoral assignment as a priest when he was assigned to a small, remote Dutch village. It was such a different life for him as someone who grew up in a city. There were little means of communication with the outside world and he felt very isolated from the world. At about that time, the Internet was becoming popular and he had been used to working with it at the university. So he got an early dial-up connection and started to notice that there was a huge community of Star Wars fan, which had been an ongoing passion of his. He'd felt like Luke Skywalker, stuck in a little village, dreaming of going out into the world. At the time George Lucas was working on the Star Wars prequels and he started to blog about it. He got many visitors to his website, up to 40,000 per day. Then people knew he was a priest so people began to ask him questions about faith related to Star Wars and he started doing pre-catechesis. He eventually got invited by Lucasfilm to go to San Francisco to visit their studios. And at a convention of fans, people recognized him as the Star Wars priest and he learned that people returned to their faith because of their contact with him. Scot said Pope Benedict has encouraged Catholics to move into the "digital continent" and use the elements of the culture to bring Christ to people. Fr. Roderick said you often just need a spark to kindle the faith. After his assignment ended in that village, his bishop sent him to Rome to study for doctorate in theology. While there, he encountered some people doing media training at the Pontifical Gregorian University, and he was told he could do a second study in social communications for free. After two or three weeks, he felt suddenly that this is what he needed to do. He was learning how to engage people and how to reach people who are not Catholic. His bishop gave him permission to change from his theology doctorate to just social communications. After 2 years he returned to the Netherlands in the village of Amersfoort, where he has 10 churches. That's when he discovered podcasting, which is like radio, but you could download it over the Internet to your computer or iPod (or when they became available years after, iPhones). at the time he received an invitation from the Vatican to speak at a conference on Church and the media. While he was there, he decided to record a podcast of Pope John Paul to show the conference how you could make one so easily. But while he was there, John Paul became sick and was rushed to the hospital. On a reflex, he jumped in a cab to the hospital and began recording an audio diary of those days. He put that online and within a couple of days he had thousands of listeners around the world. People asked him to tour Roman sights and explain them so he began doing that. After John Paul recovered, he returned home. But not long after, John Paul fell sick again and Fr. Roderick wanted to be in Rome at that moment when the Pope needed. He was in St. Peter's Square the night John Paul died and was continuously recording as it happened. This was unlike anything that was being done in the regular media. He was a priest giving his personal take on the events, not a reporter doing a stand up. He was also there during the conclave when Pope Benedict XVI was elected. That was  the beginning of SQPN. Scot asked him what it was like for him when he heard Pope Benedict's name announced after the election. Fr. Roderick remembers how excited he was to hear Cardinal Ratzinger's name announced. He recalls being able to get inside the Vatican before the conclave to interview the cardinals. So he went in where the priests were allowed to go to concelebrate Mass at noon and then was standing in the place where the cardinals gathered during their lunch. He met Cardinal Lustiger of Paris and Cardinal Ratzinger was there and said at the time saying that he could be standing in the presence of the next Pope. Because Fr. Roderick has a responsibility to his parish, he needed to make other kinds of programs than travelogues to draw people into the life of the Church. So he went back to his roots in the Star Wars blog, and thought about audio programs on topics like Star Wars and J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and even Harry Potter, which was controversial at the time. He saw how he could use those topics to talk about the Catholic symbols and themes within those works. He called the first series, The Secrets of Harry Potter, and immediately had a huge audience. Just a few years ago, Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code was all the rage and then his book Angels and Demons became a movie too, so he decided to expose the ridiculousness within those books. He went to Rome for one day, starting at 6am, and went to all the places described in Dan Brown's books and told the real story of them. He made thirteen or fourteen episodes of an hour each. He called it the Secrets of Angels and Demons. Apple put that series on the front page of the iTunes store as a recommended pick and he had 50,000 people who'd never listened to what he'd done before. Many of them came into other programs and became part of the SQPN community. He's heard from many people who started listening to his first episodes of Harry Potter and Angels and Demons who have since converted with their whole families to the Catholic faith. **4th segment:**  It's time to announce the winner of the weekly **WQOM Benefactor Raffle**. Our prize this week is a copy of the EWTN DVD [Crossing the Goal: Our Father](http://www.ewtnreligiouscatalogue.com/CROSSING+THE+GOAL+OUR+FATHER+-+DVD/cid=534/page_no=1/edp_no=18645/shop.axd/ProductDetails), featuring Danny Abramowicz.    This week's winner is **David Kirby from Lynn**. Congratulations David! If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit [WQOM.org](http://www.WQOM.org). For a one-time $30 donation, you'll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for WQOM's weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We'll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program. **5th segment:** Scot asked how many programs Fr. Roderick has done and how many he's currently doing. Fr. Roderick said on the weekends he's busy celebrating Mass at all his parishes. During the week, he has three different jobs in media. In addition to the podcasting, he has a television show on Catholic life in the Netherlands and a radio show, both in Dutch. On the other days, he does his podcasts, including the Break, in which he talks about anything he's passionate about, including movies, TV, computers, and more. He produces two Tolkien-based shows, including the Secrets of Middle-Earth where he talks with co-hosts about the writing of Tolkien while they "walk" around in the online game about Middle-Earth. He also has a show about the production of the two movies about the Hobbit called Secrets of the Hobbit. He also does a show about an online game called Farmville, where they talk about any Christian themes that come about as they also talk about the game itself. They start with something that's popular in modern culture, and do the show with faithful Catholics, and by an invisible process that Catholic identity comes across. They build a friendship with the audience, which is the cornerstone of evangelization. If you trust someone, you trust the faith and ideals of someone. He does a show called Health and Holiness, combining the topic of becoming fit physically and spiritually. It started when he started training to run a marathon. the Catholic approach to health concerns all aspects of life, including the spiritual. We're called to become saints, so the show is a progress report on the work to become a saint. Fr. Matt asked how priests and parishes could better utilize new media to reach out and better evangelize their communities. Fr. Roderick said it's the same advice Pope Benedict gave when he encouraged priests not to think of new media as something not for them. We need to give a heart and a soul to the Internet. You don't have to force yourself to learn all kinds of technology that aren't you. The moist important thing is to be out in the social networks as a priest in a personal way to help people, to be with them, and to share their life with the people. He's found his own parishioners who might be old and not tech-savvy and they connect with the personal life he shares with them. Young people are looking for models of identification. They need to see the personal face of the Church in the priest and if they see a priest concerned.