Some of you, I know, subscribe to my sister-in-law Solrunn Nes’s newsletter Reflections on Christian Iconography and so may already have seen the link below. For those who have not, however, I supply it here. It is a short feature on her art, recorded and produced by a fellow named Steven HAuse (and that is not a typographical error). It is worth watching.
I have received a number of questions recently about an interview Robert Wright conducted with me a few years ago after the appearance of That All Shall Be Saved. Apparently, it was recently re-posted on a few websites, including Alvin Kimel’s Eclectic Orthodoxy. I remember it as a good conversation, expertly kept on track by Wright. It was principally about universalism, but in its second half some other topics—philosophy of mind in particular—insinuated themselves into the exchange. Most of the questions that have come my way are, as it happened, covered in the conversation itself, so I too am re-posting it, for those who may be interested but who missed it the first time around.
Thank you for this interview with Wright. It's a good condensation of some of the arguments in your book. . . I also appreciate the humility expressed in refusing to speculate on an afterlife, and the implied regret as to difficulties of adequate contemplative practice to experience unity consciousness (a few people--see work of Shinzen Young in Univ. of AZ SEMA Lab-- are, thankfully, finding some success in releasing this bottleneck). I also enjoyed your beautiful expression of insights regarding the purpose of the cosmological project, as well as the collective nature of humanity (if not extrapolated to "all of creation") and the logical failure of thinking of individuals "winning or losing" salvation separate from all the conditions and connections we clearly experience throughout history--the larger "self" we are a part of. Looking forward to reading your book on mind and consciousness!
I appreciated your interview with Wright. He's probably the most secular person you've been interviewed by in a while. I wouldn't want to give you the Herculean task, but I would appreciate your ideas getting more popular attention. There's another popular podcast called very bad wizards that Wright has done collaboration with. While many aspects of the show are unappealing, the very name is an insult to the human race, I'd be happy if you could ever make an appearance. They often address existential topics and sort of paw at religion without ever talking to any religious people.