Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Fun with Eric Metaxas - Alice von Hildenbrand, Canon Andrew White, & Tim Keller

I've long been a fan of Eric Metaxas - his brilliant biographies of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and William Wilberforce have both impacted me significantly, but I also enjoy his social side, delivering speeches (once before the President at the National Prayer Breakfast) and interviewing interesting public figures. A stand-up comedian who roasts each guest before they come on stage, Metaxas is consistently entertaining, and it takes a rare guest to be able to match him stride-for-stride. But these are usually my favorite exchanges. Here are a few of them...

First, Alice von Hildebrand, a ninety-year-old Belgian Catholic, whose husband Hitler tried to have assassinated. He escaped Germany before the war, and was called by Pope John Paul II "one of the great ethicists of the twentieth century." But despite her husband's accomplishments, she's quite a lady on her own grounds - she's a doctor, and was named by the Pope a Dame Grand Cross of the Equestrian Order of St. Gregory. She has some very interesting things to say about femininity and feminism, though I start to get a little off-track when she goes full-on Catholic.



The second guest completely floors poor Eric, who is kept on his toes the whole time. Canon Andrew White, vicar of the only Anglican church in Baghdad, Iraq, is like a living example of Chesterton's Father Brown - a slightly foolish, charming, hilarious and devastatingly intelligent Christian priest with a heart for the children.



The third is here because of the interviewee: Tim Keller, one of my favorite people. Keller's podcasts have had a huge effect on my thinking.



So, enjoy - and if you have the time, check out Eric's new talk show: 100 Huntley St.

UPDATE:
So this happened, over on Facebook...


Longish

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