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Books
Podcasts
Re-enchanting
1 min read

Holly Ordway: re-enchanting... Middle Earth

Why Tolkien’s world of hobbits, elves, wizards and warriors continues to enchant so many in our world.

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

a woman seated in front a mic, looks to the left will gesturing both hands to the right.

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Holly Ordway is a scholar of English literature who is a professor at the Word on Fire Institute in the USA and Houston Christian University. 

Holly has written about literary and imaginative apologetics, edited and annotated a volume of Gerard Manley Hopkins' poetry, and has also gone on to publish major books on the works of one of her literary heroes JRR Tolkien. These are the award-wining Tolkien’s Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages and the recently published book Tolkien’s Faith: A Spiritual biography.

Today we’ll be exploring Holly’s own journey and why Tolkien’s world of hobbits, elves, wizards and warriors continues to enchant so many in our world.

Visit Holly's web site.

There’s more to life than the world we can see. Re-Enchanting is a podcast from Seen & Unseen recorded at Lambeth Palace Library, the home of the Centre for Cultural Witness. Justin Brierley and Belle Tindall engage faith and spirituality with leading figures in science, history, politics, art and education. Can our culture be re-enchanted by the vision of Christianity?

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Podcast
GodPod
Podcasts
War & peace
1 min read

Ziya Miral: global conflict and religion's role

Does religion shape violence or does violence shape religion?

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

a dirt barricade blocks a cross roads, behind which stands a roadside cross
A crossroads in Ukraine.
Jonny Gios on Unsplash.

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Is John Lennon right, would all wars cease if religion were to vanish? And, finally, what is the theology of conflict? These are topical, real-time, questions – all of which are explored in this episode of GodPod, with the help of Dr Ziya Meral.

Ziya is a lecturer in International Studies and Deplomacy at SOAS (School of African and Oriental Studies), researcher and advisor specialising in global conflict and the role of religion.

For Ziya’s book: How Violence Shapes Religion: Belief and Conflict in the Middle East and Africa : Meral, Ziya: Amazon.co.uk: Books