Episode 85: Mack Stirling on René Girard’s mimetic theory
Mack Stirling on René Girard’s mimetic theory
Feb 13, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Latter-day Contemplation
Latter-day Contemplation exists to largely explore and document our journey of study and faith as we seek to become more like our Savior, Jesus Christ. We are by no means experts in anything that we’re going to be talking about, but what we do have is an openness to questions, a hunger to discover truth wherever we can find it, and a desire to live a life of peace for ourselves, our families, and our community. We love that you’re here, and we hope that you find value in this discussion to enhance and strengthen your own discipleship of Jesus Christ.
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Episodes
Episode 84: René Girard's Mimetic Theory
Christopher and Riley are always searching out new theories and hermeneutics through which to interpret ideas, scripture, literature, or human experience. Recently, they embarked on a concerted study of René Girard’s mimetic theory and let’s just say it has been fruitful and paradigm shifting. They would love for others to join them in a study of this brilliant, Christian anthropologist’s ideas. Girard provides the faithful student a path for understanding the Christian message that doesn’t dilu...
Sep 07, 2023•1 hr 2 min
Episode 83: How it's Going
We recorded this follow up episode a few weeks after recording Episode #82, Where to Begin, as a follow up to report on our experiences with some contemplative practices we wanted to continue or inaugurate.
Jul 20, 2023•38 min
Episode 82: Where to Begin
In this shorter episode Christopher and Riley discuss the most frequent question we receive from those new to contemplative practice - Where do I begin? We offer some basic ideas, which can be implemented incrementally or all at once to put yourself on the path to becoming a contemplative. The core of contemplation is always stillness. To sit in silence, and preferably, solitude will do more to reveal the benefits of contemplation than anything else you will learn, and yet, there is much more to...
Jun 01, 2023•38 min
Episode 81: The Hero's Journey
In this episode Christopher and Riley discuss Joseph Campbell’s well-known model of mythology, The Hero’s Journey, and how it can be used as a model for personal transformation. Joseph Campbell was a renowned author and professor whose groundbreaking work in The Hero With a Thousand Faces did more than describe a pattern in cosmological storytelling, but unlocked a way of looking at our lives that gives us context for our ups and downs, helps us appreciate adversity, and, ultimately discover the...
Feb 22, 2023•59 min
Episode 80: Contemplative Consumption
“For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves.” D&C 89:17 Americans waste nearly 40% of all food, roughly 42 billion pounds per year, and even in this glut of supply we are undernourished nutritionally speaking, because of how our food is produced for appearance and taste. The same can be said for the media and other resources we consume; as long as it’s pleasing to the eye or ear or ...
Feb 08, 2023•51 min
Episode 79: Spiritual Autonomy & Responsibility
President Nelson has encouraged Latter-day Saints to take personal responsibility for their own learning, but not many members do, relying heavily upon borrowed testimonies and lessons at church. In 2018, as Pres. Nelson introduced the new home centered, church supported gospel instruction plan, he said, “We are each responsible for our individual spiritual growth”. In this episode Christopher and Riley discuss the implications of this individual, spiritual responsibility. They dig into methods,...
Feb 01, 2023•1 hr 13 min
Episode 78: Kathryn Knight Sonntag
In this episode, Christopher and Riley talk about Heavenly Mother with Kathryn Knight Sonntag, author of a collection of poems on the Divine Feminine entitled, The Tree at the Center (Common Consent, 2019) and a second book on the Goddess, The Mother Tree: Discovering the Love and Wisdom of Our Divine Mother (Faith Matters, 2022).
Jan 24, 2023•1 hr 11 min
Episode 77: Peace in Conflict with Sahar Qumsiyeh
In this episode Chris & Riley are joined by Dr. Sahar Qumsiyeh. Dr. Qumsiyeh is a Palestinian American Christian who grew up in Bethlehem under Israeli occupation, attended BYU, joined the Church of Jesus Christ, studied in Turkey, and returned to Palestine, before taking a permanent position at BYU-Idaho as a math professor. She recounts her vivid experiences living under a brutally segregationist regime and how it shaped her upbringing. She describes her conversion and ultimate reconciliat...
Jan 10, 2023•51 min
Episode 76: Ritual and Remembrance
For this episode Christopher and Riley were pleased to welcome artist, architect, husband, father, and scripture junkie, Bob Sonntag, to discuss the power of ritual in family and community spiritual practice, language, art, space, and song. Bob has spent considerable time studying ritual in sacred texts and his art reflects this focus on transformation through participatory remembrance. He has also integrated ritual into his family dynamics to connect individuals through generations. They discus...
Dec 30, 2022•1 hr 11 min
Episode 75: A Tribute to Richard Rohr
In this episode of Latter-day Contemplation, Christopher and Riley were joined by Jana Johnson Spangler to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Franciscan friar, Richard Rohr. Father Rohr, as an ecumenical teacher, speaker, and author is largely responsible for the modern resurgence in popularity of contemplative practices. He has successfully brought together teachers from many Christian denominations into The Living School, teaching perennial truths about the universal nature of the Christ, o...
Dec 01, 2022•1 hr 1 min
Episode 74: Renouncing War
In Episode 74, Christopher and Riley revisit a topic they’ve previously spoken about on the podcast, but from a different perspective. Episode 5: On Peace deals with inner peace, while this one deals with interpersonal, relational, and world peace. They explore the LDS doctrinal case for renouncing war in Sec. 98 as a springboard to a larger discussion about practical application of peace, as exemplified by Jesus, the anti-nephi-lehis, St. Maximilian and others. They make a case for a non-violen...
Nov 18, 2022•54 min
Episode 73: Contemplating Justice
For this episode, Christopher and Riley are joined by LDPS member and contributor, Jeffrey Goddard, for a wide-ranging discussion on justice, sin & righteousness, good & evil, and atonement. In the past year Jeff read or listened to 200 books, and wrote one of his own – The Physician Christ. As a medical practitioner he tends to see the world through a scientific lens which adds critical context to the discussion of individual and social development. Our hosts make it a point to avoid st...
Nov 11, 2022•59 min
Episode 72: The Shadow
In this episode of Latter-day Contemplation, Christopher and Riley are joined by a friend of the program and Carl Jung fan, Morgan Aldous, to discuss the concept of the Jungian Shadow. Morgan is a life coach who has spent considerable time in the study of psychology, philosophy, and religion as the means to personal transformation. This concept of The Shadow, which historically finds expression in scripture, mystical poetry and experience, visual & performance art, great literature, and form...
Oct 14, 2022•51 min
Episode 71: Stoic Objectivity and Amor Fati
In this episode Christopher and Riley draw upon the teachings of Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus, Byron Katie upack the stoic concepts of Amor Fati (love of fate, consent to destiny) and Objectivity as a means of better understanding Christ and our duties as disciples. The evidence surrounds us; life is filled with adversity, or as a Buddhist might say, “life is suffering”. Thermodynamics further affirms the inevitable death and dissolution of all matter. Recognizing and accepting this inevit...
Sep 08, 2022•59 min
Episode 70: Contemplating Emotions
In this episode, Christopher & Riley take up a discussion on emotions and emotional intelligence. They start from the premise that humans are (contrary to popular opinion) primarily emotional, not rational, beings. Taking this as a given, they search for meaning in the emotional journey, and recognizing our emotional drivers, suggest practices to help us respond appropriately to our emotional triggers. They meander into a discussion about sincerity in emotion (as opposed to manipulation) and...
Aug 04, 2022•1 hr 5 min
Episode 69: Contemplative Habits & Rituals
For this episode of Latter-day Contemplation Riley welcomes back Phil McLemore to discuss the power habits and rituals. Habits can be positive or negative and ultimately become the structural backbone of our lives. As we learn to use them in productive ways we are led to lives of inner and outer transformation. However, habits have the potential to become an unconscious, soul and agency destroying cancer that compounds the problems of the “natural man”. Bringing conscious awareness to the indivi...
Jun 21, 2022•1 hr 5 min
Episode 68: Contemplating Art with Greg Olsen
In this episode Christopher and Riley welcome artist Greg Olsen. Greg is particularly well-known in LDS circles as a painter of Jesus. Our hosts had the opportunity to mine his experiences becoming a professional painter of religious iconography and images that convey the relatable nature of the Savior. Of course, he is much more than his public works and this conversation takes them through his contemplative practices, the nature of symbols, and simplifying our faith by practicing loving-kindne...
May 13, 2022•1 hr 1 min
Episode 67: The Bhagavad Gita (Part 2)
In this episode Christopher and Riley welcome Phil McLemore and Ben Heaton, Bhagavad Gita enthusiasts and students of Vedic wisdom, to finish our discussion of the seminal Hindu scripture. Our hosts dive into the usefulness of the book, approaches to understanding it, and a few favorite passages.
May 05, 2022•1 hr 7 min
Episode 66: On Exodus
The Book of Exodus can be divided into three parts: First, we witness the power of the Lord as he extends his arm against Pharaoh, sending the ten plagues and finally parting the Sea of Reeds, which swallows up Pharoah and his army, letting Moses and the Israelites escape into the wilderness. In the second part, Moses will ascend Mount Sinai and receive the law (Torah). The final section of the book is devoted to the construction and description of the tabernacle, or the portable temple the Isra...
Apr 20, 2022•1 hr 7 min
Episode 65: The Bhagavad Gita (Part 1)
In this episode, Christopher and Riley discuss one of their favorite religious texts, an excerpt from the Mahabharata, called the Bhagavad Gita. This seminal Hindu work introduces the various forms of Yoga as an allegorical discourse between the warrior prince, Arjuna, and the reincarnated God, Krishna. Contrary to the Western understanding of Yoga, this has less to do with stretching muscles and more to do with stretching the soul. Christopher and Riley share some favorite commonplaces from the...
Mar 31, 2022•59 min
Episode 64: Contemplating Satan
Christopher is joined by guest co-host Shiloh Logan to talk about the history of “Satan” from the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible through today. This is not a theological discussion but a historical discussion of how the idea of Satan has evolved. Shiloh and Christopher use scholar Ryan Stokes to show how the idea of “the Satan” was understood before the Jewish captivity in Babylon, how that changed and was possibly influenced by Zoroastrianism, and how the Dead Sea Scrolls solidified the idea of ...
Mar 25, 2022•1 hr 13 min
Episode 63: Beyond the Great Apostasy
In a church with global proselytizing reach, which must outgrow its geographic origins theologically and practically, the Great Apostasy, as historically understood in LDS theology, has become problematic. For this episode we welcome back our friend, Sufi al-hajj Daud, a.k.a. Dr. David Peck ( www.ofsaintsandsufis.org ) to discuss his contribution to the book, Standing Apart, a scholarly collaboration on the historiography of the Great Apostasy. He describes how to deconstruct and reframe the Gre...
Mar 18, 2022•1 hr 13 min
Episode 62: On Sufism
Among the world’s many religions are shadow traditions that express the esoteric or mystical experience of divine union. In Christianity this is manifest in ecstatic, revelatory examples, such as within restorationist movements, in monastic cloisters, and through spontaneous re-emergence among individuals and small groups accessing truth through mystical experience. Parallel to the ascendance of the Islamic faith was a movement that drew from a deep and ancient well of mystical practices and und...
Mar 14, 2022•1 hr 6 min
Episode 61: Our Faith and Identity
In the opening of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches that the kingdom of heaven belongs now to the "poor in spirit", which translates as "the very empty ones". What does that kind of poverty or emptiness imply? Surely Jesus wants us to have an abundance of His Spirit, but is our vessel empty? In this episode, Christopher and Riley break down identity recognition, formation, and cleansing. They hit on what might be considered positive and negative aspects of the identity formation process, wi...
Mar 03, 2022•59 min
Episode 60: Certainty From Doubt
In this episode, Christopher sits down face to face with Riley on a visit to Heber, Utah from Bakersfield California to talk about arriving at certainty through methodological doubt. The conversation begins with the uncannily similar methodological doubt of medieval Muslim philosophical theologian and Sufi mystic al-Ghazali (1056 or 1057-1111) and the first modern philosopher, René Descartes (1596-1650), by which each arrives at certainty through direct experience of what Descartes calls “clear ...
Feb 23, 2022•1 hr 2 min
Episode 59: On Knowing
In this episode, guest-host Lindsey Ohlin is joined by educator Tom Bogle as they discuss their similar experiences with an unhealthy relationship surrounding the idea of knowing. What stumbling blocks might we encounter in our pursuit of perfect knowledge and how might that influence how we see our place in the world? What is the relationship between knowledge and faith, and where does wisdom fit into that equation? The pursuit of knowledge can often lead us toward better answers, but can the p...
Feb 10, 2022•1 hr 28 min
Episode 58: Stillness, Spirit, and Awareness
In this episode Riley and Christopher discuss the contemplative value of stillness. While we’ve referenced meditation multiple times, this means of approaching God in stillness offers us the opportunity to connect with the divine by quieting the sensory processes and becoming aware of autonomic processes such as breathing and heartbeat. So what are we to learn from this? Could it be that chasing answers all the time has become a distraction to communion and revelatory knowing, which is not alway...
Jan 20, 2022•49 min
Episode 57: A Journey of Faith: Building Bridges of Trust and Reconciliation
In this episode Christopher and Riley are joined by Latter-day Peace Studies co-founder and former Latter-day Contemplation co-host Shiloh Logan to discuss his journey of faith. Shiloh’s family’s recent decision to resign from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints created an opportunity to explore faith transition and its relationship to religious identity from a personal perspective. Shiloh, Riley, and Christopher approach the subject both from the perspective of those who remain and ...
Jan 14, 2022•1 hr 39 min
Episode 56: A Contemplative Approach to the Old Testament
In this episode, after Christopher read a couple of dozen books on the Bible in a couple of weeks and recorded a three-hour introduction to the Old Testament on our sister podcast, LDPS Presents: Come, Follow Me with his co-host Ben Petersen, Christopher and Riley sat down to record this briefer conversation on the Old Testament. After touching on the complexities of authorship, canonization, translation, hermeneutics, exegesis, etcetera, Riley and Christopher set all of those complexities aside...
Jan 06, 2022•1 hr 2 min
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