The Commentary

154 - Myth Became Fact

This Spring at Grace, we are reading Till We Have Faces, the final — and, according to Mark, best — novel by C. S. Lewis. In this episode, Mark shares with Cameron some of his tips for reading the novel, short cuts that should help readers pick up on the deeper layers. The most important of these is understanding what Lewis meant by saying that Christianity was a myth that had become fact. His short essay “Myth Became Fact,” collected in God in the Dock, unfurls a fascinating conception of myth as the isthmus between abstractions and the concrete … and it helps explain how Lewis adapts and transforms the myth of Cupid and Psyche in his novel. Myth Became Fact, [https://judithwolfe.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/files/2017/08/Myth-Became-Fact.pdf] by C. S. Lewis THE COMMENTARY is an in-depth conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church. Subscribe on Stitcher [https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-commentary], Apple Podcasts [https://graceforsiouxfalls.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ff3561b457de081d965209ecc&id=8b60bc00ea&e=a3d0b7254f] or Spotify [https://graceforsiouxfalls.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ff3561b457de081d965209ecc&id=8695614e6b&e=a3d0b7254f]

153 - Protestants in a Post-Literate Culture

It’s an old theory that has recently gotten a facelift: the era of print literacy has come to an end, superseded by an age of screen time and short attention spans. Neil Postman’s class Amusing Ourselves to Death looks ever more prophetic, leading Times of London journalist James Marriott to conclude that this is the dawn of the “post-literate society.” In this episode, Mark and Cameron unpack the hypothesis and ask whether the culture shift has special implications for Protestantism, the word-saturated form of Christianity that emerged side-by-side with the explosion of literacy. The Dawn of the Post-Literate Society [https://jmarriott.substack.com/p/the-dawn-of-the-post-literate-society-aa1], by James Marriott THE COMMENTARY is an in-depth conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church. Subscribe on Stitcher [https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-commentary], Apple Podcasts [https://graceforsiouxfalls.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ff3561b457de081d965209ecc&id=8b60bc00ea&e=a3d0b7254f] or Spotify [https://graceforsiouxfalls.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ff3561b457de081d965209ecc&id=8695614e6b&e=a3d0b7254f]

152 - Forbearance

One of the most humbling things that’s happened to Cameron since the publication of his first book of poetry, titled Forbearance, came when former poet laureate Ted Kooser posted one of the poems with a note saying he wished he’d written it! In this episode, Mark asks Cameron about that experience, and about the creative process behind this collection of poems. Some reading, some analysis, and a lot of storytelling make this a fascinating window into Cameron’s work, especially touching on its biblical, theological, and even cosmological layers. Get your copy here: Forbearance by Cameron Brooks (Cascade Books) [https://wipfandstock.com/9798385232857/forbearance/] Read more of Cameron’s writing on his Substack: Conversant [https://brkscmrn.substack.com] THE COMMENTARY is an in-depth conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church. Subscribe on Stitcher [https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-commentary], Apple Podcasts [https://graceforsiouxfalls.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ff3561b457de081d965209ecc&id=8b60bc00ea&e=a3d0b7254f] or Spotify [https://graceforsiouxfalls.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ff3561b457de081d965209ecc&id=8695614e6b&e=a3d0b7254f]

151 - Cathedral Thinking

The Commentary is back — and we’re on a mission to recover the generational mindset of the Church, something we might call “Cathedral Thinking.” Spurred by an essay on this topic, Cameron and Mark ask what lessons the cathedral builders of old can teach us, not just about ecclesiastical architecture, but about investing our time and gifts in work that won’t come to fruition in our lifetimes. Read Jonathan Thompson’s “The Rise and Fall (and Rise?) of Cathedral Thinking.” [https://taking-time.webflow.io/articles/the-rise-and-fall-and-rise-of-cathedral-thinking] THE COMMENTARY is an in-depth conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church. Subscribe on Stitcher [https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-commentary], Apple Podcasts [https://graceforsiouxfalls.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ff3561b457de081d965209ecc&id=8b60bc00ea&e=a3d0b7254f] or Spotify [https://graceforsiouxfalls.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ff3561b457de081d965209ecc&id=8695614e6b&e=a3d0b7254f]

150 - Raising Kids to Get Grace

If we raise our kids to be rule-followers, they may very well grow up to follow the world’s rules rather than God’s. That’s the problem with mere moralism. On the other hand, part of raising children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord involves teaching them … well, the rules. In this episode, Cameron and Mark think through the challenge of moral instruction, especially when it comes to raising kids to “get” grace. THE COMMENTARY is an in-depth conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church. Subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts or Spotify