Tag Archives: Christian spirituality

I Passed my Viva!

Posted on September 2, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

I am very pleased to announce that I have successfully defended my PhD at the University of Chester! The viva voce was strong, with critical feedback and some verbal sparring. Overall, though, it was a great experience, with some levity … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links, Original Research | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Christian spirituality, L.M. Montgomery, Narnia, PhD, PhD dissertation, PhD Research, phd students, PhD thesis, spiritual theology, spirituality, theology and literature | 55 Comments

On the Critical Missing Piece from the Best Part of Gary Selby’s Earthy Spirituality: C. S. Lewis and Incarnational Faith

Posted on August 26, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

I am about to defend my Ph.D. thesis on the “spiritual theology” of C.S. Lewis as part of a larger research project on Lewis and the spiritual life. I am on the lookout, then, for books and articles about Lewis … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reviews, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged A Fellowship of Differents, A Life Observed, American evangelicalism, Christian spirituality, Devin Brown, Earthy Spirituality: C. S. Lewis and Incarnational Faith, evangelicalism, Gary Selby, Joe Rigney, John Bowen, Lewis on Christian Life, Martin Luther King, PhD Research, Scot McKnight, spiritual theology, spirituality, The Hidden Story of Narnia, The Spirituality of Narnia, Theology of Culture, Will Vaus | 14 Comments

My Disappointed Review of Greg Boyd’s “Cross Vision”

Posted on June 8, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

Cross Vision: How the Crucifixion of Jesus Makes Sense of Old Testament Violence by Gregory A. Boyd My rating: 2 of 5 stars I approached Cross Vision: How the Crucifixion of Jesus Makes Sense of Old Testament Violence quite hopefully, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged Bible, Christian spirituality, Cross Vision, cruciformity, Greg Boyd, Gregory A. Boyd, Jürgen Moltmann, Matt Lynch, Michael Gorman, Open Theism, spirituality, Stanley Hauerwas, the cross, The Game of Thrones, theodicy, violence, Westminster Theological Centre | 4 Comments

“The Rood of Time,” a Poem by Sørina Higgins

Posted on May 20, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

For the last couple of years, I have been reading women Christian poets. As my devotional poetry has been so soaked in the work of John Donne and George Herbert, some of this is my curiosity about how women approach … Continue reading →

Posted in Memorable Quotes, Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Christian spirituality, Dorothy L. Sayers, George Herbert, John Donne, Joy Davidman, L.M. Montgomery, Poetry, Ruth Pitter, Salvador Dali, Sorina Higgins, spiritual theology | 3 Comments

On Embracing my Inner Nerd, Or Erasing the Division between Head and Heart (Throwback Thursday)

Posted on August 30, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

This summer I introduced an occasional feature I call “Throwback Thursday.” This is where I find a blog post from the past–raiding either my own vault or someone else’s–and throw it back out into the digital world. This might be an … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections, Thoughtful Essays, Throwback Thursdays | Tagged Anne Lamott, Athanasius, books, C.S. Lewis, Christian spirituality, Darwin, Marilynne Robinson, Old Books, On the Reading of Old Books, spiritual theology, Sr. Penelope, St. Augustine, Stephen King, theology | 21 Comments

Diana Butler Bass on C.S. Lewis and the Inklings

Posted on May 31, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

The work of C.S. Lewis is not lost on Church historians. Dr. Diana Butler Bass, a student of George Marsden and prominent columnist, author, and American church historian, turns to Lewis and some of his friends as an answer to … Continue reading →

Posted in Memorable Quotes, Original Research | Tagged apologetics, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, Christian spirituality, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dorothy L. Sayers, George Marsden, History, Inklings, J.R.R. Tolkien, Madeleine L'Engle, Mere Christianity, spiritual theology, Stanley Hauerwas, theology | 4 Comments

“Spiritual Formation in the Life of C. S. Lewis” by Dr. Lyle Dorsett

Posted on December 15, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

When I first met Marjorie Lamp Mead, I described the kind of work I was doing. Immediately she mentioned Lyle Dorsett. Marjorie has been associate director of the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College since 1977, but you might … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged Austin Farrar, Brothers and Friends, C.S. Lewis, Christian spirituality, Inklings, Letters to Children, Lyle Dorsett, Marion E. Wade Center, Marjorie Lamp Mead, spiritual theology, Wheaton College | 7 Comments

On Embracing my Inner Nerd, Or Erasing the Division between Head and Heart

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

The phrase, “doing your devotions,” still gives me the shivers. Early in my spiritual journey, my well-meaning leaders tried to instill a little religion in me. I was the Christian equivalent of Huckleberry Finn when it came to disciplines that … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged Albert Camus, Anne Lamott, Bart Ehrman, books, C.S. Lewis, Christian spirituality, Christopher Hitchens, Darwin, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, evangelicalism, Hans Kung, Margaret Atwood, Marilynne Robinson, Miroslav Volf, Old Books, richard dawkins, spiritual theology, St. Augustine, Stephen King, theology | 17 Comments

The Novelist as Listener, by Eugene Peterson

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Brenton Dickieson

Over the past few years I have had the luxury of being a TA and Instructor in Regent College’s phenomenal distance education program. Long past the days of correspondence tapes in the mail, distance ed is now highly relational and … Continue reading →

Posted in Creative Writing, Memorable Quotes, On Writing | Tagged art, books, Christian spirituality, Eugene Peterson, literature, prayer, Regent College, spiritual theology, The Message, theology, writing | 14 Comments

“Into the Region of Awe” by David C. Downing: A Review

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Brenton Dickieson

For some time I have suspected that David Downing was on to something here. Part of what I’m doing in researching C.S. Lewis is to see what is at the core of who he was as a Christian—not just what … Continue reading →