Author

  1. 443: O'Connor - The blind, prophetical, unsentimental eye of acceptance, which is to say, of faith

    book
    06/12/26
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Pretty Girls Make Graves. In this episode, we sit with Flannery O’Connor’s introduction to A Memoir of Mary Ann, A memoir of a little girl who lived for 12 years at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cancer Home in Atlanta, Georgia. Written by the nuns at the home, with a substantial introduction by Flannery O'Connor. This is a deeply moving meditation on pain, suffering, loss, and why the good hides himself behind the grotesque.
    443: O'Connor - The blind, prophetical, unsentimental eye of acceptance, which is to say, of faith

  2. 437: John of Damascus - Apologia Against Those Who Decry Holy Images

    book
    04/26/26
    8 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Every Picture Tells a Story. In this episode, we sit with John of Damascus to listen to him teach us about the veneration of icons — what that means, why it’s a subject of dispute, how scripture distinguishes between graven images and god- pleasing icons, and how this all ties into worship and vocation. This and much, much more on this week’s episode.
    437: John of Damascus - Apologia Against Those Who Decry Holy Images

  3. The CHA Weekend Edition Presents: A Brief History of Singing in the Early Christian Church

    book
    04/18/26
    5 mins
    By Daniel van Voorhis
    Weekend Edition for April 18-19, 2026
    The CHA Weekend Edition Presents: A Brief History of Singing in the Early Christian Church

  4. 436: Schuldheisz - Luther and the Lion

    book
    04/17/26
    12 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley | Sam P. Schuldheisz
    The Lutherans, the Lion, and the gifts of Narnia. In this episode, we talk with Pastor Sam Schuldheisz about his forthcoming book, Luther and the Lion: A Narnian Catechism. We discuss how Lewis (and other Inklings) can help us catechize children and adults, how stories lead us deeper into the biblical narratives, and vice versa. How can great myths and stories be employed in Christian apologetics when seen through Christian liturgy and sacraments? Now is the best time to reintroduce great Christian authors, great myths, and great stories, and the best of all stories — the gospel of Jesus Christ — can carry us out of our churches into a world that’s wounded and can’t find true healing that only Christ can give.
    436: Schuldheisz - Luther and the Lion

  5. The CHA Weekend Edition Presents: The Best Ever “Christian” Album You’ve Never Heard—The Mountain Goats and the Life of the World to Come

    book
    04/11/26
    5 mins
    By Daniel van Voorhis
    Weekend Edition for April 11-12, 2026
    The CHA Weekend Edition Presents: The Best Ever “Christian” Album You’ve Never Heard—The Mountain Goats and the Life of the World to Come

  6. 434: Guite - The Music of Creation

    book
    03/28/26
    10 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Where do the Children Play? In this episode, we read an Easter message from the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem. Then we read Malcom Guite’s Lenten meditation on creation, the embodiment of heavenly music, and why J.R.R. Tolkien expressed a profound, deep truth through not-so-fictional fiction stories. This and much, much more in this episode of the Banned Books podcast.
    434: Guite - The Music of Creation

  7. The CHA Weekend Edition Presents—O Sacred Head: The Curious Story Behind a Beloved Passion Hymn

    book
    03/21/26
    5 mins
    By Daniel van Voorhis
    Weekend Edition for March 21-22, 2026
    The CHA Weekend Edition Presents—O Sacred Head: The Curious Story Behind a Beloved Passion Hymn

  8. The CHA Weekend Edition Presents: The Lenten Mixtape

    book
    03/14/26
    5 mins
    By Daniel van Voorhis
    Weekend Edition for March 14-15, 2026
    The CHA Weekend Edition Presents: The Lenten Mixtape

  9. 430: Tolkien - The Journey Through the Desert: The Lenten Quest

    book
    02/27/26
    12 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Lent in Middle-earth. In this episode, we discuss the Lenten subtext, language, and images in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Return of the King.” What can Christians learn from fiction authors about the faith, devotional reading, understanding the world outside the churches through the view of the cross, and how all of reality is bent towards Easter at all times, in all places, by all people? This and much, much more on today’s show.
    430: Tolkien - The Journey Through the Desert: The Lenten Quest

  10. Monday, February 16, 2026

    book
    02/16/26
    13 mins
    By Daniel van Voorhis
    Today on the Christian History Almanac, we head to the mailbag to answer a question about Dan’s favorite books.
    Monday, February 16, 2026

  11. The CHA Weekend Edition Presents: Comfort Ye, the Story of Handel’s Messiah

    book
    01/24/26
    5 mins
    By Daniel van Voorhis
    Weekend Edition for January 24-25, 2026
    The CHA Weekend Edition Presents: Comfort Ye, the Story of Handel’s Messiah

  12. 425: Lewis - Myth Became Fact

    book
    01/23/26
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    The Hangman’s Nous. In this episode, we read an excerpt from The Maniac, by G.K. Chesterton, followed by Myth Became Fact, from C.S. Lewis’ book of essays, “God in the Dock.” The primary question we discuss, then, is whether men and women can live a healthy and sane life with mystery, without myth, and without higher truth. What has happened to modern churches that exorcised mystery from preaching, teaching, evangelism, and worship? What anchors the Body of Christ when it’s unmoored from Church history and tradition? What have been the consequences for churches that treat the Christian story as more fantasy than fact? What does Lewis mean that God is “mythopoeic”? What does it mean that Christianity is, according to Lewis, “perfect myth and perfect fact”?
    425: Lewis - Myth Became Fact