Religious Programs...
John Bunyan: “A Pilgrim’s Progress”
1667. Bedford Jail. John Bunyan regales his fellow ‘prisoners’ with his progress from a worldly roaring boy and English Civil War soldier to his conversion, his imprisonment for preaching without a Bishop’s License, and the writing of his masterpiece, “The Pilgrim’s Progress”. He concludes with an abridged dramatic rendition of Christian’s epic journey from this world to the one to come.
John Wesley: “A Brand Plucked”
1789. The City Road, London. John Wesley in his 86th year receives a deputation of American Methodists. He tells them the story of his life from the Epworth Rectory Fire, though Oxford and Georgia to ‘the warming of the heart’ in the Aldersgate Chapel and the establishment of worldwide Methodism in the teeth of opposition from the leaders of his own Episcopal Church.
C.S. Lewis: “God’s Megaphone”
1952. Magdelene College, Oxford. C.S. Lewis is preparing for a meeting of ‘the Inklings’ (J.R.R. Tolkein, etc). A party of American tourists wanders in by error. He entertains them with the story of his life from his happy Belfast childhood, the death of his mother and WWI experiences causing a loss of faith, his gradual and reluctant return, Oxford academe and his popularity as a Christian apologist. He reads from –Mere Christianity, Screwtape and the Chronicles of Narnia.
St Thomas More: “The King’s Good Servant”
A composite program that combines a short accessible lecture on the life of More and the background of the early Tudor period with a ‘transformation’ into Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor, who gives an entertaining insight into daily Tudor life and concludes with readings from accessible passages from his theological writings.< KING JAMES AND 'HIS' BIBLE: The program starts with an account of the early attempts to translate the Bible into English. 'King James' then tells the story of his eventful life as the first king of Great Britain and his greatest legacy - the 'Authorized' 1611 King James version. The program ends with some thoughts on the Bible in America
ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI: the saint recalls his life and his love of animals. A program specially suited to the blessing of animals service.
