Advertise on podcast: Theology Unpacked

In this “Theology Unpacked” episode, Dr John Moffatt SJ explores how European expansion, papal authority and Renaissance humanism reshaped Christianity in the late 15th and early 16th Centuries. As classical learning challenged established traditions and reformers questioned the Church’s wealth, practices and authority, the foundations were laid for the Protestant Reformation. 📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore the wide range of reading materials⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in the Heythrop Library 🤓 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join online or in-person courses⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at the London Jesuit Centre If you find our podcasts helpful, please consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠donating to the London Jesuit Centre⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Apologies to lovers of Italian epic for inadvertently putting Dante in the wrong century in this episode! In this “Theology Unpacked” episode, Dr John Moffatt SJ explores the restoration of papal authority and the movements for religious and intellectual reform that reshaped Western Christianity during the 15th century. The recovery of the Greek New Testament and a growing emphasis on reading Scripture in its original context opened new ways of understanding Christian faith, laying the intellectual and spiritual groundwork for Martin Luther’s critique of the Church and the coming Reformation. 📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore the wide range of reading materials⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in the Heythrop Library 🤓 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join online or in-person courses⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at the London Jesuit Centre If you find our podcasts helpful, please consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠donating to the London Jesuit Centre⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In this “Theology Unpacked” episode, Dr John Moffatt SJ explores the growing clashes between Kings, Emperors and Popes during the later Middle Ages, as political rivalries and disputes over authority challenged papal supremacy. Through figures such as Dante and William of Ockham, Dr John examines the growing desire for Church reform, alongside the emergence of new forms of personal devotion following the Black Death. 📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore the wide range of reading materials⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in the Heythrop Library 🤓 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join online or in-person courses⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at the London Jesuit Centre If you find our podcasts helpful, please consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠donating to the London Jesuit Centre⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In this “Theology Unpacked” episode, Dr John Moffatt SJ explores how Bonaventure takes Joachim’s approach in a new direction, placing Christ at the centre of his interpretation of Genesis. Bonaventure reveals a millennium of Christian history hidden within the narrative of the seven days, tracing patterns that connect biblical events with the unfolding life of the church. 📣 Register for "The Future of RE in Catholic Schools" Book Launch on 8 October.

In this “Theology Unpacked” episode, Dr John Moffatt SJ explores two medieval approaches to the end time, both of which read contemporary events as part of God’s plan for history. A seventh-century Syriac apocalypse foretold that a king of Rome would reclaim Jerusalem before Christ’s return. Joachim of Fiore instead described an emerging “age of the Spirit”, in which contemplative communities offered a glimpse of a more spiritual church, an idea that later inspired movements seeking church reform. 📣 Register for "The Future of RE in Catholic Schools" Book Launch on 8 October⁠.

In this “Theology Unpacked” episode, Dr John Moffatt SJ explores how the medieval Church sought to tolerate and tame the Spirit, distinguishing accepted forms of personal revelation from prophetic movements that threatened its teachings and structures. Through Hildegard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe, he examines how vivid visions of divine love could be tested, guided and brought within the boundaries of ecclesiastical authority. 📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore the wide range of reading materials⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in the Heythrop Library 🤓 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join online or in-person courses⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at the London Jesuit Centre If you find our podcasts helpful, please consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠donating to the London Jesuit Centre⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In this “Theology Unpacked” episode, Dr John Moffatt SJ explores Christian prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit, tracing how medieval Christians understood prayer as an encounter with God that could transform both the intellect and the will through consolation, love and spiritual discernment. 📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore the wide range of reading materials⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in the Heythrop Library 🤓 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join online or in-person courses⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at the London Jesuit Centre If you find our podcasts helpful, please consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠donating to the London Jesuit Centre⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In this “Theology Unpacked” episode, Dr John Moffatt SJ explores how medieval Christianity was communicated and experienced through the everyday lives of ordinary people, offering glimpses of 14th-century society in Chaucer's colourful cast of characters alongside the Church's official vision of salvation. He highlights the crucial work of the friars, whose preaching, drama, art, and pastoral presence brought Christian teaching into towns and marketplaces, while simple devotions such as the Rosary and the Angelus offered accessible forms of Christian mindfulness that helped ordinary believers enter more deeply into the story of Christ's incarnation, passion, and resurrection. 📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore the wide range of reading materials⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in the Heythrop Library 🤓 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join online or in-person courses⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at the London Jesuit Centre If you find our podcasts helpful, please consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠donating to the London Jesuit Centre⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In this “Theology Unpacked” episode, Dr John Moffatt SJ explores how ordinary medieval Christians encountered the sacred through both the Church’s official sacramental life and the rich world of popular devotion, where relics, pilgrimages, charms and local traditions often existed alongside formal theology. 📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore the wide range of reading materials⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in the Heythrop Library 🤓 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join online or in-person courses⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at the London Jesuit Centre If you find our podcasts helpful, please consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠donating to the London Jesuit Centre⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In this “Theology Unpacked” episode, Dr John Moffatt SJ explores who does the thinking in the Church, tracing the shift in theological leadership from monasteries and monks to the new universities and the friars, especially the Dominicans and Franciscans, who became some of the Church's leading scholars. He explains how figures such as Peter Lombard and Thomas Aquinas developed Christian doctrine through rigorous debate, while new learning from the Islamicate world, including the rediscovery of Aristotle through Arabic scholarship, provided fresh philosophical tools for expressing the faith. 📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore the wide range of reading materials⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in the Heythrop Library 🤓 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join online or in-person courses⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at the London Jesuit Centre If you find our podcasts helpful, please consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠donating to the London Jesuit Centre⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In this “Theology Unpacked” episode, Dr John Moffatt SJ explores how the growing distinction between state law and canon law strengthened papal authority, illustrated by the conflict between Church and Crown in the case of Thomas Becket and the Church's increasing claim to govern its own affairs. It also examines how Pope Urban II used this new authority to launch the First Crusade to Jerusalem, while the Lateran Councils, especially under Innocent III, consolidated papal leadership, defined key doctrines and practices of the Latin Church, and reinforced the pope's role as the Church's supreme legislator. 📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore the wide range of reading materials⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in the Heythrop Library🤓 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join online or in-person courses⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at the London Jesuit CentreIf you find our podcasts helpful, please consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠donating to the London Jesuit Centre⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In this “Theology Unpacked” episode, Dr John Moffatt SJ explores the growing struggle for control of the Church between the Pope and Christian monarchs, tracing the shift from imperial oversight in both East and West to the sweeping reforms of the eleventh century. He explains how Pope Gregory VII asserted the Pope as the supreme lawgiver for all Christians, claiming authority over bishops, councils, and even emperors, culminating in the dramatic confrontation with Henry IV at Canossa.📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore the wide range of reading materials⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in the Heythrop Library🤓 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join online or in-person courses⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at the London Jesuit CentreIf you find our podcasts helpful, please consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠donating to the London Jesuit Centre⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In this “Theology Unpacked” episode, Dr John Moffatt SJ explores the intriguing story of how Christianity spread into Asia and Africa beyond the control of Constantinople and Rome, taking root through missionaries, trade and local kingdoms while developing a rich diversity of languages, liturgies and theological traditions. 📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore the wide range of reading materials⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in the Heythrop Library🤓 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join online or in-person courses⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at the London Jesuit CentreIf you find our podcasts helpful, please consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠donating to the London Jesuit Centre⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In this “Theology Unpacked” episode, Dr John Moffatt SJ explores the rise of a new Frankish dynasty that took charge of the Latin Church, as Charlemagne and his successors forged a close alliance between emperors, popes, and monastic reform while expanding Latin Christianity across Europe. He then traces the growing struggle between imperial and papal authority, showing how reform movements, monastic networks, and evolving claims of papal supremacy reshaped the Western Church. 📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore the wide range of reading materials⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in the Heythrop Library 🤓 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join online or in-person courses⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at the London Jesuit Centre If you find our podcasts helpful, please consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠donating to the London Jesuit Centre⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In this “Theology Unpacked” episode, Dr John Moffatt SJ explores how, between 500 and 750, the pope navigates a changing political landscape, negotiating with emperors in the East while forging new alliances with the emerging dynasties of the Latin West, as Christianity spread through kingdoms, monasteries and pilgrimage to Rome. 📚 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore the wide range of reading materials⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in the Heythrop Library 🤓 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join online or in-person courses⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at the London Jesuit Centre If you find our podcasts helpful, please consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠donating to the London Jesuit Centre⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.