Believe to See

Matt sits down at the digital pub table with guest Aaron Damiani, an Anglican pastor in Chicago, to talk about how things like deconstruction and liturgies fit into God's story and how they might even be able to help us understand God's story and our own stories a little better. Aaron shares some of his own story, which he shares in his most recent book, Earth Filled With Heaven.

Earth Filled with Heaven, by Aaron Damiani: https://www.moodypublishers.com/earth-filled-with-heaven/

Is anyone too old to create art? What about too young? Or maybe just too untalented? Matt, Mandy, and Evangeline sit down to discuss who, if anyone, shouldn't be creating art. They also recall their own artistic endeavors as youngsters and bring up artistic mediums they want to try.

Mandy and Evangeline sit down at Anselm's digital pub table to talk with Mandy's long-time friend Nancy about her experience as a drama teacher. Nancy waxes eloquent about the value of performing Shakespeare, her aversion to changing dialogue without the playwright's permission, and shares her experience teaching Shakespeare to inmates in a state prison.

For longer than he'd care to admit, Matt has been designing an official coat of arms for the Anselm Society Arts Guild. After explaining the heraldic creatures he chose, he discusses the history and purpose of heraldry with Mandy and Christina. The three of them explore the ways that heraldry can describe what the Arts Guild is, where it came from, and what it aspires to be.

For centuries, Shakespeare has been widely accepted as the greatest writer in our language's history. For much of that time, maverick thinkers have argued that William Shakespeare didn't actually write his plays. One of those maverick thinkers is Mandy’s daughter, Bethany. She joins the table for a no-holds-barred debate with Matt about the authorship of Shakespeare. After the dust settles, the hosts explore the reasons why so many people feel compelled to doubt Shakespeare.

What is time, and how does time work in the context of story? As part of Anselm’s “Why We Create” series, our own Jane Scharl wrote an amazing essay on the nature of time. At the pub table, Matthew and Mandy use that article as a launchpad for discussing the use of time in fiction.

Sometimes, a beloved book or movie from childhood means just as much to you as an adult. Other times, going back to childhood stories makes you cringe. Why are some children's stories timeless, while others are time-bound? And can knowing the difference inform the stories we share with the kids in our lives? To answer these questions, Matthew goes to a trusted authority on children's stories: his wife, Danielle.

At the Anselm Society's May Pub Night, author Leslie Bustard presents her retelling of JRR Tolkien's story Smith of Wooton Major. Later, Leslie and Matt discuss the story's theme of enchantment.

Matthew Clark is both a singer/songwriter, and an Anselm Society Advisor. He joins the table to talk about his brand-new project: Only the Lover Sings. It's both an album and a book of essays, all centered around the woman at the well. Matthew shares how this story inspired the project, and why it has captured his imagination.

We talk all the time about Faerie Stories (Fairy Stories? Faeree Stories?). But what are they? The hosts discuss the elements of proper Faerie stories, as well as the value of Faerie for Christians. Then our resident Faerie expert, Evangeline, evaluates popular "Fairy Stories" to determine: is it Fae, or not Fae?