Trouble with Heaven:
Why does the dark and the dangerous attract us?

From Milton’s Paradise Lost to bad boys and femmes fatales, we are seduced by the dark and dangerous. Why does the devil have all the best tunes? Have we sanitised the good and made it vacuous, through religion as well as philosophy? Could we imagine a world where the good was exciting, dramatic and fun? Or are danger and denial somehow essential to being alive?

The Panel
Moral philosopher Christopher Hamilton, theologian and Zizek collaborator John Milbank, and author of Post-Human Ethics Patricia MacCormack debate darkness and light.

Watch it here.

Dr Conor Cunningham from the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at the University of Nottingham gives a brief history on the relationship between (psuedo) science and religion in this 6-part YouTube series.

“I thought I knew what science was and I thought I knew what religion was. I presume you do too. But is that the case? In our western culture, we think they’re ‘clashing’. Science is enlightened, and religion is old fashioned. Is that the case? What does it mean to think that science is enlightened and religion is superstitious?”

Begin watching this series here:

Also, see this previous video of Conor Cunningham’s “Apple Talk”: A piece of fruit, a quick healthy snack, but also the starting point for a more involved understanding of the universe and why there is ‘something rather than nothing’. Theology is about making connections, matters of ultimate concern to humans, and god-talk—theology—is part of us.

Why Study Transcendentals

Why Study Phenomenology

See more videos in the ‘Why Study’ series here.

Chris McGrath said that while this tip may seem crazy, “weight loss is too abstract and subjective to be stated as a legitimate goal.” Weight loss is an outcome that cannot happen without action, so your goals need to include specific actions that will lead to weight loss.

Jonathan Ross also said that goals should be small and attainable. This will save willpower because rather than focusing on the negative — fighting the urge to say “no” to certain foods and behaviors — accomplishing smaller, tangible goals will “build confidence, which builds hope, which builds consistency.”

2. Train like the celebrities and use a process called Internal Overload

Tanya Becker’s gym regularly hosts celebrities like Kelly Ripa. What does her gym provide that keeps these celebrities looking good and coming back? “At Physique 57, we do a combination of strength training, cardio and stretching using a process we call Internal Overload,” Becker said. “We work all your major muscles [in these full body workouts under an hour] to the point of fatigue and then stretch them for relief.” The result of this work is a “lean, supple, toned body.”

Internal Overload also provides these results quickly in varied classes, so celebrities never get bored and keep coming back.

3. Real Improvements — and the antidote to boredom — lie outside your comfort zone

Several pros suggested getting outside of your comfort zone to see results and keep boredom away. “Never let yourself get comfortable in your routine,” Riana Rohmann said. Just as we don’t go to school and stay in the third grade every year, we shouldn’t continually work out at the same level, she said.

Douglas Brooks said that mixing your routine up could mean taking a session or class you’ve never taken before. “This ‘change-up’ keeps you fresh mentally and physiologically.”

Todd Durkin said, “challenge yourself at a deep level at least three time per week.” The workouts don’t even have to be long, but “make sure you diversify your workouts so they don’t get stale and boring.”

4. Ripped abs aren’t made on the floor!

Get off the floor! Shannon Fable and Nancy Naternicola said that too many people try to get those tight abs by doing thousands of crunches on the ground. This tends to actually overwork your abs. “Instead, make sure your core is engaged during your strength, balance and cardio workouts,” Naternicola said. Visit https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/565430/prodentim-reviews-new-report-on-this-chewable-candy-for-healthy-gums/.

“Workouts that ask you to balance, flow and move in a variety of positions will do more for you [than crunches],” Fable said. “Core work is less about feeling the burn and more about learning how to move efficiently from the inside out.”

Try using a BOSU Balance trainer or the smaller, space-saving Balance Pod to create instability that will challenge your core even more.

5. Incorporate play! Give every workout an element of playing hard (like when you were a kid)

“Most of my workouts are 30 to 45 minutes max with non-stop movement that incorporates high-intensity and fun challenges,” Klinedinst said. “This means adding in competition, partner drills, cutting-edge equipment and even games or sports.”

She said she did a tennis workout with a friend last week and every time either one of them made a mistake, they had to do 10 push-ups, lunges, and sprint to the center of the court and back as punishment. This minimized mistakes while also giving Klinedinst the best workout!

6. The outside world is your gym.

Doug Balzarini’s favorite weekly training session has been, as he called it, his “play day.” He goes outside to a local park or a beach and moves using what’s there – literally. “I’ll use my surroundings and my creativity to craft the session for the day.” This may include climbing trees, but his clients – professional athletes and those stuck in cubicles every day – have all benefitted from moving outside.

Douglas Brooks also suggested getting outside and “cross training with the seasons” – running dirt trails, Nordic skiing, Alpine skiing, hiking, and rock climbing – as ways to use the environment to change up workouts. Check these Testoprime reviews.

7. Get to know your feet and find balance.

Intensity can make you feel alive, but taking some time during the week to stretch and work on balance – without shoes – is just as important, Fable said.

It’s easy to forget about the feet that keep us moving, but “growing your posture from your feet can help prevent knee, hip, back and even shoulder pain,” MaryJayne Rogers said.

Some equipment that may help you remember those feet include Power Plate, BOSU, Wobble Board, the Pilates Reformer and Pilates Chair.

Dr Conor Cunningham tells the story of the ways we can look at an apple. A piece of fruit, a quick healthy snack, but also the starting point for a more NYGoodHealth involved understanding of the universe and why there is ‘something rather than nothing’. Theology is about making connections, matters of ultimate concern to humans, and god-talk—theology—is part of us.

BBC ACTIVE: Video for Learning: Bringing Education and Training to Life

Can Darwin and religion exist side by side?  Did Darwin Kill God? is a thought-provoking programme where Anglican Christian, philosopher and theologian Conor Cunningham explains why these two beliefs are not in conflict.

Richard Dawkins, famous for his book The God Delusion, believes there is an irreconcilable clash between the theory of evolution and a belief in God. But Conor thinks Dawkins is mistaken. He uncovers traditional Christian thinking about the creation of life, reveals how Christians were never expected to read the creation account in Genesis literally and discovers that Creationism is a modern invention.

Communicating his passion for the subject with rich visual metaphors in Did Darwin Kill God? and making complex ideas accessible, Conor shows how Darwin’s vision of the universe enhances our appreciation of a natural world that is full of wonder and stunning intelligibility – a vision of existence which neither leads to nor precludes either atheism or faith.

Another BBC TV programme for schools and education of both science, philosophy and religion

Click here to access and for more details.

(Note: access restricted in the USA & Canada. See the sidebar on the left here for more details.)

The Body is there to ennoble the soul – Thomas Aquinas.
CUNNINGHAM BELL, 4 9 14

A Cunningham-Bell video which accompanies life size, kinetic sculptures in the solo show- Evolution of our Soul, in Belfast, Thursday 4th – 27th September, 2014. A limited edition book is available for purchase from the Gallery – The Engine Room, BT2 8DY

Today’s lecture is the first of three lectures by Cyril O’Regan in the Taylor Lectures series entitled “Apocalyptic Theology and the Construction of the Church” The first lecture compares and contrasts the two forms of apocalyptic theology that have dominated Protestant theology in the last thirty years, the European form of apocalyptic theology presented by Jürgen Moltmann, and the North American form of apocalyptic theology presented by John Howard Yoder and reshaped by Stanley Hauerwas. It will highlight their common critique of the Constantinian church and the theological tradition that indemnified the power and rule of such a church, and the different ways in which they seek to recover the original apocalyptic dimension of Christianity.

About
Cyril O’Regan, Huisking Professor of Theology at Notre Dame will deliver the 2014 Nathaniel W. Taylor Lectures in theology. O’Regan specializes in the intersection of religion and literature, mystical theology, and postmodern thought. Among the main purposes of his Taylor Lectures is (1) to show the surge in the apocalyptic inflection of contemporary theology not only in non-fundamentalist Protestantism, but in Catholicism and Anglicanism as well; (2) to provide representative apocalyptic examples from each of the three Christian confessions, and where possible illustrate within each the tension between different forms of apocalyptic in different epistemic registers, with variable ethical commitments, and above all, with very different configurations of the church; (3) to examine the role the biblical text plays, directly and indirectly, in the construction of an apocalyptic theology, and assess the preferences — if any — for particular texts and modes of interpretation; (4) to investigate the role philosophy plays in the construction of the construction of the various apocalyptic theologies, and identifying the various specimens, critically evaluate their use.

Taylor Lectures: Cyril O’Regan

Be sure to follow Yale Divinity School on Livestream to receive an email alert about the next two Taylor Lectures.

Not Afraid of Darwin or Christ

A Webinar on Theology, Evolution, and Human Nature

Wednesday, April 17, 2013
7:00 – 8:30 PM EST

Overview

Can science and religion coexist? Should Christians be afraid of Darwin or scientists afraid of Christ? We will tackle these and other provocative questions in a webinar with two dynamic professors who are currently fellows at the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton.

If you and a group in your congregation want to join the discussion, Princeton Seminary will provide you with free access to this webinar. Don’t miss this opportunity to enrich your church’s teaching ministry.

Agenda

Part 1:     What is Theology & What is Evolution—with an eye towards clarifying misconceptions and enhancing thoughtful reflection.
Part 2:     Why are some Christians afraid of Darwin and why are some scientists afraid of Christ?
Part 3:     How can we get it right? A discussion on human nature and the interface between faith, knowledge, and the quest for understanding.

For more information, see http://ptsem.edu/notafraid/.

Why Study Nature and Grace with Conor Cunningham

Previous videos with Conor Cunningham:

• Why Study Evolution
• Why Study Atheism

Why Study Scripture as Prophecy with Margaret Barker

Previous video with Margaret Barker:

• Why Study The Old Testament alongside the New with Margaret Barker

Why Study J.R.R. Tolkien with Alison Milbank

Previous videos with Alison Milbank:

• Why Study Dante
• Sacred Calendars – Advent
• The Hobbit; an unexpected theological journey
• Who is Father Christmas?

Why Study Plato with Simon Oliver

Why Study Aristotle with Simon Oliver

Previous videos with Simon Oliver:

• Why Study The Theology of Creation
• Why Study Systematic Theology
• Why Study Thomas Aquinas
• Why Study an MA in Systematic & Philosophical Theology at the University of Nottingham?

Why Study The Greek Eucharist with Andreas Andreopoulos

Previous video with Andreas Andreopoulos:

• Why Study Theology

Why Study The Theology of Creation with Simon Oliver

Simon Oliver explains what is meant by the belief, common to all three Abrahamic faiths, that God creates ‘out of nothing’ – at once a statement of God’s transcendence and creation’s dependence.

Why Study Evolution with Conor Cunningham

Why Study Henri de Lubac with John Milbank

Why Study Hans Urs von Balthasar with Karen Kilby

Also from Karen Kilby:

• Why Study The Proslogion of St Anselm?
• Why Study Karl Rahner?
• Why Study Systematic Theology at the University of Nottingham?

Why Study Systematic Theology with Simon Oliver

Also from Simon Oliver:

• Why Study Thomas Aquinas?
• Why Study an MA in Systematic & Philosophical Theology at the University of Nottingham?

Why Study Dante with Alison Milbank

Why Study The Lectionary with Tom O’Loughlin

Why Study James Ussher with Alan Ford

Also from Alan Ford:

• Why Study Historiography?
• Why Study Church History?
• Why Study Irish Church History?

And see the rest of the videos from the Department of Theology and Religious Studies here (48 in total):
Theology – Why Study Theology and Religious Studies?

Below are three videos of talks by Amy Hollywood, Jean-Luc Marion, and William Desmond, from the “Truth and Mystery” conference that took place on 12 April 2012.

Amy Hollywood, “‘Thin Wings’: On Reading, can you buy zolpidem online Death, and Devotion”

Jean Luc Marion, “Truth as a Saturated Phenomenon in St. Augustine”

William Desmond, “Being True to Mystery: On Saturated Phenomena and the Hyperbole of Being”

A new website project started by Anthony D Baker and Peter M Candler, Jr:

We’ve devoted this space to the exploration of new issues and ideas in academic theology.  We’ve begun putting together a library, posting interviews, profiling scholars in the field, and we’ve started our monthly podcast.  Check in bi-weekly for our blog postings about the lives and times of theology in the academy.

We’re devoting The Theology Studio to the formation of a common space for academic theological conversation.  Check out the first podcast (via our media player, and soon available for download via iTunes), the library, and our first blog postings:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Theology-Studio/254399654648244

@theologystudio

Already posted: Tony Baker and Scott Bader-Saye discuss Catholic solidarity and the Occupy movement, Islamic Finance, pluralism and pragmatism. [Click here]

Forthcoming: their first video-blog, an interview with Stanley Hauerwas.

In this video from the 2011 Telos Conference, held on January 15–16 in New York City, Adrian Pabst interviews Peter Candler from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Peter gave a controversial and provocative paper entitled “Outside the Church There is No Death.” The starting point of the paper is the recent health care reform in the United States and the dominant discourse on life and death. The conversation discusses how much of secular discourse reduces life to little more than chemical processes that terminate with death. By contrast, the Christian idea of Incarnation and Resurrection offers a different account of human life in terms of personhood and of death as a genuinely a tragic loss that nevertheless does not mark the end but the transition to a different kind of union of body and soul.