This pandemic has compounded the acceleration of change, disorientation and, in many ways, hopelessness. But is there something rooted in our history that can give us hope for the possibility of change in the present day?
With a diverse and impressive career, historian Sarah Williams grapples with the very heart of what it means to be human. As a teacher of the history of Christianity to international postgraduates at Regent College, Sarah’s research interests lie more recently in the relationship between Christianity and perceptions of gender, sexuality and the spirituality of time.
In this interview, hear Sarah share powerfully from her own story, as well as draw on her work, which seeks to empower the church by looking at history, language and prayer. Her aim is that we may learn to wonderfully articulate the beautiful gospel to a culture that is suspicious of it.
You can discover more about Sarah Williams by visiting the Regent College website.
ACT I (00:00)
03:00 Introducing Sarah and the painful yet redeeming journey that shaped her book Perfectly Human.
10:41 In this moment of disorientation, Christians must come back to the presence of God in prayer.
12:37 The collapse of the relationship between Christianity and culture, and recognising the church’s role in weaponising language.
17:55 Within a culture that needs construction, not only deconstruction, we cannot go on communicating a gospel second hand from modernity.
ACT II (25:18)
25:20 What does it mean to have a received identity rather than a projected one?
32:50 Language can bring peace, clarity and precision, and yet society has stripped itself of the ability to think well about the complex tension between sex and gender.
37:10 We should interrogate, but also importantly, celebrate, the rich history of the Christian tradition to help us shape our heart postures today.
