Tag Archives: spirituality

An Author Who Has Changed My Life, Frederick Buechner, Has Died (1926-2022)

Posted on August 17, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

On Saturday, just as I was waiting to go onto a church platform to officiate a wedding, I heard that Frederick Buechner had passed away. At 96 years old, the news did not come as a surprise. And though he … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections, Reviews | Tagged Anne Lamott, Annie Dillard, autoethnography, Bebb, Frederick Buechner, Life Writing, Madeleine L'Engle, Marilynne Robinson, Memoir, Rachel Held Evans, research, spirituality, The Book of Bebb, The Remarkable Ordinary, The Sacred Journey | 9 Comments

My New Online Short Course: “Spirituality in the Writing of L.M. Montgomery” at AST in May, 2022

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Happy Friday fair readers! I am super pleased to announce my new Short Course with the Atlantic School of Theology: “Spirituality in the Writing of L.M. Montgomery.” This May 2022 4-week online audit course is completely open to anyone who … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links, Original Research, Reflections | Tagged Anne of Green Gables, Anne’s House of Dreams, Atlantic School of Theology, Each in His Own Tongue, Emily of New Moon, Jane of Lantern Hill, L.M. Montgomery, literature and theology, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Rainbow Valley, spiritual theology, spirituality, The Story Girl | 2 Comments

Michael Gorman’s Narrative Spiritual Theology and C.S. Lewis’ Logic of Cruciformity: A Conversation Across Generations and Disciplines by Brenton Dickieson

Posted on June 1, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

My past past few days has been taken up by Canada’s annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Congress2021–what scholarly Canadians used to call “the Learneds.” It was certainly a learning experience for me–and I am a bit mentally … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research | Tagged biblical theology, C.S. Lewis, Christian spirituality, Congress2021, cruciformity, Michael J. Gorman, spiritual theology, spirituality, St. Paul, The Shape of the Cross in C.S. Lewis’ Spiritual Theology | 7 Comments

Michael Gorman’s Narrative Spiritual Theology and C.S. Lewis’ Logic of Cruciformity: A Conversation Across Generations and Disciplines (Congress2021 Paper)

Posted on May 27, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

This week is Canada’s annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Congress2021–what scholarly Canadians used to call “the Learneds,” I believe, a short form of “the Learned Societies” that make up the conference. I am presenting twice, at two … Continue reading →

A Peasant Pagan Prayer in Till We Have Faces

Posted on February 24, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

My first two degrees in literature are in sacred literature, the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. In those texts, there is a constant conversation about the heart of true faith. From Hannah’s prayer to the spirituality of the Psalms, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Ancient Near East, Bible, C.S. Lewis, Classical Mythology, Greco-Roman World, Greek Mythology, Hebrew Bible, New Testament, paganism, spirituality, The Prayer of Manasseh, Till We Have Faces | 31 Comments

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 | 61 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 | 17 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 | 11 Comments

Girls, Boys, and the Maps in Their Heads: A Reflection on Narnia

Posted on January 24, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

I walk around with a map in my head. Or at least I try to. I have driven in Tokyo, Manhattan, Vancouver, Kobe, Toronto, Chicago, Montreal, and–most terrifying of all–Wales. There were times in the wilds of Japan or BC … Continue reading →

Posted in Memorable Quotes, Original Research, Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, feminism, leadership, Lewis and Gender, lion the witch and the wardrobe, Monika Hilder, Narnia, Prince Caspian, spirituality, The Last Battle, The Silver Chair, Voyage of the Dawn Treader | 192 Comments

On Listening to Your Life in Frederick Buechner’s “The Sacred Journey”

Posted on October 3, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

One of the series of books that I read every couple of years is Frederick Buechner’s set of four memoirs written over 20 years or so. It helps that I use three of these books in my teaching at Regent … Continue reading →