Christian humanists
Christian humanism regards humanist principles like universal human dignity, individual freedom, and the importance of happiness as essential and principal or even exclusive components of the teachings of Jesus. Proponents of the term trace the concept to the Renaissance or patristic period, linking their beliefs to the scholarly movement also called 'humanism'.
9 episodes
Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Bonhoeffer's ideas about Christian ethics, the role of the Church in a secular world, and his attempts to overthrow Hitler.
27 September 2018
Featuring: Stephen Plant, Eleanor McLaughlin, Tom Greggs
ReligionChristian humanistsAnglican saintsProtestants in the German Resistance20th-century German philosophersPeople celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendarChristian ethicistsHumboldt University of Berlin alumniChristian poetsExecuted philosophersChristian radicalsLutheran saints20th centuryGermanyErasmus
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of the Dutch humanist scholar Desiderius Erasmus, one of the most significant figures of the Renaissance.
9 February 2012
Featuring: Diarmaid MacCulloch, Eamon Duffy, Jill Kraye
John Wesley and Methodism
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the difference John Wesley made during the Christian Revival of the 18th Century, developing Methodism into a major movement around the world
10 December 2020
Featuring: Stephen Plant, Eryn White, William Gibson
ReligionChristian humanistsEnglish letter writersEnglish Anglican theologiansEnglish pamphleteersAlumni of Christ Church, Oxford18th-century evangelicalsChristian radicalsLutheran saintsChristianity in OxfordAnglican saints18th-century Anglican theologiansPeople celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendarEnglish abolitionistsEnglish sermon writersFounders of English schools and collegesFounders of religionsGerman–English translatorsEnglish evangelicals18th-century English diaristsPeople educated at Charterhouse SchoolTranslators of the Bible into EnglishChristian vegetarians18th centuryTheologyKierkegaard
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rich and radical ideas of Soren Kierkegaard, often called the father of Existentialism.
20 March 2008
Featuring: Jonathan Rée, Clare Carlisle, John Lippitt
PhilosophyChristian humanistsPhilosophers of cultureExistentialist theologiansPhilosophers of mindMetaphilosophersPhilosophers of lovePhilosophers of religion19th-century male writers19th-century pseudonymous writersChristian poetsEpistemologistsChristian ethicistsPhilosophy writersPhilosophers of artChristian radicalsPhilosophers of psychologyIrony theorists19th-century essayistsMetaphysiciansPeople celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendarUniversity of Copenhagen alumni19th-century deaths from tuberculosisPhilosophers of deathOntologistsSocial philosophersAphoristsExistentialistsPhilosophers of literature19th centuryMedicinePsychologyTheologyMilton
Melvyn Bragg examines the literary and political career of the 17th century poet John Milton, examining work such as Paradise Lost as well as his role as propagandist during the English Civil War.
7 March 2002
Featuring: John Carey, Lisa Jardine, Blair Worden
Critics of the Catholic ChurchChristian humanistsBritish free speech activistsNeoclassical writersRhetoricians17th-century writers in Latin17th-century English writersMythopoeic writersRhetoric theoristsEnglish Anglican theologiansLiteracy and society theoristsBlind poetsEnglish political philosophersEnglish essayistsEpic poets17th-century English poetsEnglish male dramatists and playwrightsMetaphor theoristsWriters about activism and social changeChristian poetsSonneteersEnglish male poetsCalvinist and Reformed poetsDeaths from kidney failure in the United KingdomAnglican philosophersAnglican poetsBlind writersAnti-Catholicism in the United KingdomMale essayistsWriters from LondonPeople from the City of London17th-century English male writersEnglish writers with disabilitiesEnglish non-fiction writersLiterary theoristsBritish philosophers of religionEnglish DissentersAlumni of Christ's College, Cambridge17th-century English educatorsEnlightenment philosophersSocial philosophersPamphleteersEnglish educational theorists17th-century English philosophers17th-century English dramatists and playwrightsEnglish theologiansEnglish republicans17th centuryTheologyMontaigne
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and work of Michel de Montaigne. Best known for his influential Essays, Montaigne is regarded as the father of modern sceptical thought.
25 April 2013
Featuring: David Wootton, Terence Cave, Felicity Green
Pascal
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of the French polymath Blaise Pascal.
19 September 2013
Featuring: David Wootton, Michael Moriarty, Michela Massimi
CultureChristian humanistsFrench physicistsPeople with hypochondriasisCritics of atheismRoman Catholic mysticsChristian apologistsCatholic philosophersFrench fluid dynamicists, French mathematicians, French probability theoristsAphoristsFrench Roman Catholic writersCartesianism17th-century Christian mysticsConverts to Roman Catholicism17th centuryFranceMathematicsSimone Weil
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the French philosopher and social activist Simone Weil. Admired by Albert Camus and Iris Murdoch, she achieved a great deal in her short life.
15 November 2012
Featuring: Beatrice Han-Pile, Stephen Plant, David Levy
PhilosophyChristian humanistsTuberculosis deaths in EnglandFrench socialistsConverts to Christianity from JudaismPhilosophers of religionCritics of work and the work ethicFrench feministsFrench philosophers of scienceDominican mysticsPlatonistsLycée Henri-IV alumniMarxist theoristsÉcole Normale Supérieure alumni20th-century deaths from tuberculosisFrench anarchists, French anti-capitalists, French anti-fascists20th-century French philosophers20th-century French women writersChristian radicalsFrench political philosophersAnti-Stalinist leftFrench communistsFrench Resistance membersJewish philosophersWriters from ParisChristian anarchists, Nonviolence advocatesFrench women philosophersWomen mysticsCritics of Marxism20th centuryFranceWyclif and the Lollards
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the medieval philosopher and theologian John Wyclif and his followers, the Lollards.
16 June 2011
Featuring: Anthony Kenny, Anne Hudson, Rob Lutton
ReligionCritics of the Catholic ChurchChristian humanistsAnglican saintsEnglish Reformation14th-century writers in Latin14th-century English writersEnglish evangelicalsPeople excommunicated by the Catholic ChurchTranslators of the Bible into EnglishProto-Protestants, Roman Catholic biblical scholarsTranslators to EnglishChristian radicalsDamnatio memoriae14th century