A single sentence can hold an entire war: “All quiet on the Western Front.” That understatement is exactly why Erich Maria Remarque’s novel still haunts readers almost a century later, and why we wanted to slow down and read it carefully rather than treat it like a history lesson.

Today we are joined by Jason Barnhart, a peace theologian and professor of historical theology, to talk through the transparency, humanity, and paradoxes that make All Quiet on the Western Front a true classic of war literature.

Christians Reading Classics is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.

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A beautiful story can still be brutal, and Billy Budd proves it. Christine Norvell, author of The Sycamore Fig Tree, joins to discuss Melville’s unforgettable portrait of a sailor who seems almost made for admiration—which makes his tragedy that much more thought-provoking.

Christians Reading Classics is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.

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Aristotle is everywhere in Western civilization, but most of us meet him as a difficult assignment instead of a real human being with a complicated story. We sit down with classicist and biographer Philip Freeman, author of Aristotle: The First Teacher, to follow Aristotle from an out-of-the-way town in northern Greece to the intellectual pressure cooker of Plato’s Academy and then into his own ambitious project at the Lyceum.

Christians Reading Classics is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.

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We’re joined by Miles Werntz, associate professor of theology at Abilene Christian University and editor of Nothing Can Separate Us: Healing for Souls and Nations, a reader of Thurman’s writings. Together we trace Thurman’s story from the segregated South to Morehouse and Howard University, through his journey to India to meet Mahatma Gandhi, and into his bold experiment of founding one of America’s earliest intentionally interracial churches. Along the way we explore why Thurman distinguishes “the religion of Jesus” from what Christianity has sometimes become, and how that distinction both helps and troubles readers who love the church.

Christians Reading Classics is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.

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The complicated struggle of faith is no new phenomenon. Philosopher and novelist Daniel McInerny joins today to revisit Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited and ask why this Catholic classic still feels like it is describing our own age, our own friendships, and our own hunger for beauty. Along the way, we tackle a surprisingly practical question for readers and writers alike: what is a classic, really? Not just a book that tells timeless truths, but a work that pushes a tradition forward and deepens the conversation about what a human being is for.

Christians Reading Classics is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.

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Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor known for his philosophical insights, penned his thoughts in a private notebook that became one of the most enduring classics of Western literature. In this episode, Nadya Williams speaks with Eric Hutchinson, Associate Professor of Classics at Hillsdale College, to delve into the essence of Aurelius's Meditations and the Stoic principles that shaped his life.

Christians Reading Classics is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.

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In this episode, we explore the enduring power of C.S. Lewis's 'Mere Christianity' and its place in the broader history of Christian apologetics. Daniel K. Williams, a historian and expert in apologetics, shares insights into what makes a work of apologetics a classic, how Lewis's work has influenced generations, and the evolving landscape of Christian defense strategies.

Christians Reading Classics is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.

Listen and read The Daily Liturgy by going to http://mereorthodoxy.com/daily-liturgy

Wallace Stegner scholar Matt Stewart talks with Nadya Williams about why quiet novels can hit harder than flashy ones and how Crossing to Safety turns friendship, academia, and marriage into real drama. We also ask what makes a classic, how books survive by luck as much as merit, and why long obedience in relationships might be the rarest plot of all.

Christians Reading Classics is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.

Listen and read The Daily Liturgy by going to http://mereorthodoxy.com/daily-liturgy