S2E23 – TGD R – “Retrospective”
Sorry for the delay! This is the episode where Matt and I sit back and reflect on this past season going through The Great Divorce chapter by chapter. Click on the episode title for the Show Notes!
Jul 02, 2019•48 min
Pints with Jack: The C.S. Lewis Podcast
Discussing his works chapter-by-chapter and interviewing Lewis experts.
Episodes
S2E22.5 -Bonus – Packing for England!
Hey everyone, I'm afraid there's no substantial episode this week as I'm packing for my trip to England tomorrow. Click on the episode title for the Show Notes!
Jun 26, 2019•3 min
S2E22 – AH – Louis Markos
Today I speak to Dr. Louis Markos, Professor in English at Houston Baptist University and author of the book Heaven and Hell: Visions of the Afterlife in the Western Poetic Tradition. In this work, Professor Markos devotes a chapter to The Great Divorce, as well as the book to which Lewis was responding, Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Click on the episode title for the Show Notes!
Jun 18, 2019•1 hr 12 min
S2E21 – TGD 14 – “Sunrise”
We arrive today at the final chapter of The Great Divorce. Lewis sees a vision of a chessboard to help him understand the relationship between time and eternity and the sun, which throughout this book has been hidden, finally rises... Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
Jun 11, 2019•45 min
S2E20 – TGD 13 – “The Dwarf and The Tragedian”
Last week we read that Sarah Smith was starting to get through to her ghostly husband. In today's chapter we see the conclusion of that encounter and MacDonald explains why misery must one day be unable to affect joy... Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
Jun 04, 2019•44 min
S2E19 – TGD 12 – “The Great Lady”
The focus of today's chapter is not a ghost, but a Saint. According to MacDonald, she is "one of the great ones", although you'll have never heard of her before. This week we see even more clearly how fame on earth and fame in Heaven are two very different things. We also vividly see the danger of living behind masks as we meet her husband... Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
May 28, 2019•44 min
S2E18 – AA – Justin Thomas
In today's "After Hours" interview, I speak to Justin Thomas, a Pastor at Calvary: The Hill in Seattle. Justin's congregation was behind "The Great Divorce Project" YouTube channel. These are the videos I've been talking about over the course of this Season which Matt keeps forgetting to watch beforehand. In this episode, I sat down with Pastor Justin and asked about the origins and goals of The Great Divorce Project. Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
May 21, 2019•30 min
S2E17 – TGD 11 – “The Mother and The Lizard”
This week we meet two different ghosts, both of whom have disordered loves. The first is a mother who "loves" her son so much that it obscures everything, even God. The second is a man who struggles with lust, represented by a lizard on his shoulder. Fortunately, we finally have a ghost who chooses Heaven! Yay! Today's episode we continue discussing disordered loves and how certain kinds of love can be mistaken more easily for the real thing and, in setting themselves up as gods, become demonic....
May 15, 2019•45 min
S2E16 – Bonus – “Praise Him all His hosts!”
We're taking a brief break from The Great Divorce to give the listeners an opportunity to ask the question: "Who exactly are Matt and David? Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
May 07, 2019•50 min
S2E15 – TGD 10 – “The Controlling Ghost”
Lewis and MacDonald overhear the conversation between a Ghost whose husband is in Heaven. She initially says she wants nothing to do with him, but ends up demanding that he beg given to her. In between, we get a vivid picture of their marital life together... Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
Apr 30, 2019•44 min
S2E14 – TGD 9 – “The Grumbler and The Artist”
Last week we began looking at Chapter 9. It's an action-packed chapter so we decided to discuss it over the course of two episodes. As we finish the chapter we discuss two of the ghosts whom Lewis sees: The Grumbling Ghost and The Artistic Ghost... Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
Apr 23, 2019•35 min
S2E13 – TGD 9 – “Meeting George”
The chapter today is really the pivot of The Great Divorce. In it, we meet George MacDonald, a writer whom Lewis had read on earth, but who is now a Bright Spirit. MacDonald explains much to Jack, particularly concerning the troubling accusations raised by the Hard-Bitten Ghost. Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
Apr 16, 2019•39 min
S2E12.5 – Bonus – Jesus isn’t dull!
Unfortunately I've been run off my feet this week and haven't had time to edit a full episode. However, rather than just post nothing, I thought I'd read an extended quotation from "The Dogmas Is The Drama" by Dorothy Sayers, a good friend of C.S. Lewis. Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
Apr 09, 2019•5 min
S2E12 – TGD 8 – “The Self-Conscious Ghost”
Today in our journey into Heaven we meet "The Self-Conscious Ghost"... Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
Apr 02, 2019•39 min
PWJ: S2E11 – TGD 7 – “The Hard-bitten Ghost”
Once again we return to The Great Divorce! Today we get to meet a new visitor from Hell, "The Hard-Bitten Ghost"... Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
Mar 26, 2019•42 min
S2E10 – AA – Joseph Pearce
In this episode, Joseph Pearce and I will be discussing his book C. S. Lewis and the Catholic Church, which looks at Jack's relationship to the Catholic Church and addresses the question asked by many Catholic C.S. Lewis fans: Why did Lewis not convert to Catholicism? Why didn't he "Swim the Tiber"? We hope that all our listeners, regardless of denomination, will find this discussion interesting and very thought-provoking! Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
Mar 19, 2019•41 min
TEA: Life in Christ, not just improvement, but transformation
Lent at St. Ignatius in Los Angeles. This is a longer version of the talk I gave the previous week in Dodge City which was called "What is the point of Christianity?". The first 20 minutes is basically identical, after which I get into new material.
Mar 14, 2019•47 min
S2E9 – TGD 6 – “The Apple Thief”
We're back discussing The Great Divorce this week. In today's chapter "The Intelligent Ghost" attempts to take some apples back to the grey town... Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
Mar 12, 2019•40 min
S2E8 – Bonus – “What is the point of Christianity?”
I was in Kansas this weekend speaking at a retreat so I didn't get a chance to put together an episode with Matt. Rather than deprive you of an episode this week, here is the audio of a talk I gave at the weekend which draws heavily from Lewis and Mere Christianity. Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
Mar 05, 2019•30 min
S2E7 – TGD 5 – “The Episcopal Ghost”
Today we meet my favourite character in The Great Divorce, the extremely frustrating Episcopal Ghost. Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
Feb 26, 2019•40 min
S2E6 – TGD 4 – “I gotta have my rights…”
We now begin the main body of The Great Divorce. In each subsequent chapter, Lewis will witness an encounter between a Ghost and a Bright Spirit where we will see what they are willing to choose in place of Heaven. In today's episode we spend time with the Bright Spirit, Len, and his former boss, The Big Ghost, who is very insistent that he gets "his rights"... Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
Feb 19, 2019•35 min
S2E5 – TGD 3 – “Landing in Heaven”
Today we take our first steps into Heaven! The bus in which Lewis had been travelling alights in a new country and the passengers take their first tentative steps into this strange land... Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
Feb 12, 2019•40 min
S2E4 – AA – Patti Callahan
Our episode today is rather special. I sat down with New York Times best selling author, Patti Callahan, to discuss her recent book, Becoming Mrs. Lewis, which recounts the Improbable love story between Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis. Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
Feb 05, 2019•57 min
S2E3 – TGD 2 – “The bus ride in the clouds”
When we last left Lewis, he had got on a bus in a grey town and was now flying through the sky towards an unknown destination. In today's episode we learn more about the passengers on the bus. Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
Jan 29, 2019•40 min
S2E2.5 – Bonus – “The language we use…”
This week is a short episode and Matt and I are not discussing The Great Divorce. Instead I talk about an interaction I recently had on Facebook and how we'd all be better off if we took to heart a little piece of Lewisian wisdom... Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
Jan 22, 2019•9 min
S2E2 – TGD 1 – “The bus stop in the grey town”
In today's chapter we begin the actual story of The Great Divorce. Our protagonist, Lewis, finds himself in a grey town at twilight in the rain. He attaches himself to a queue at a bus stop and watches as people leave the line. Eventually the bus arrives and he begins his journey to his mysterious destination... Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
Jan 15, 2019•30 min
S2E1 – TGD P – “Preface”
Today we start a new book! The Great Divorce is my favourite book by Lewis. Through the vehicle of Jack's story, we get to see more clearly the daily choices which we make which takes us closer to either Heaven or Hell. Click on the episode title for Show Notes!
Jan 08, 2019•29 min
S1E45 – Bonus – “Christmas Do-Over”
Matt and I wanted a little break, so today's episode is a replay of our Christmas episode from last year. We'll see you all in the New Year for Season 2 and "The Great Divorce"!
Dec 25, 2018•26 min
S1E44 – Narnia – “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”
themes and ideas found in this fantasy work which we see taught didactically in Mere Christianity. Since Matt hadn't read the Chronicles of Narnia, it was also a perfect opportunity to begin to correct his deficient education...
Dec 18, 2018•49 min
S1E43 – AA – Joe Heschmeyer
will be discussing theosis with Joe Heschmeyer from Holy Family School of Faith. He writes at Shameless Popery and is also on The Catholic Podcast. Earlier in the year, Joe came to San Diego and gave a presentation on the subject of theosis, so I invited him onto the podcast to help give us a clear Biblical basis for this doctrine which Lewis discussed at great length in Mere Christianity.
Dec 11, 2018•40 min
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