Friends,
I’m so honored to be on one of my favorite podcasts, The Light In Every Thing, talking about horror with AEWCH 181 guest, Rev. Patrick Kennedy!
The Light In Every Thing is a podcast of the Christian Community; which is the non-dogmatic christian tradition developed in consultation with Rudolf Steiner, with over 100,000 members worldwide and churches on six continents.
I discussed this topic at length on AEWCH 201, a solo episode. But here, Patrick and I go deep into how, exactly, horror relates to Christ and the spirit. It was such an enlivening conversation for me.
Listen, enjoy, share,
X
C
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Here’s the description of the episode:
What begins to unfold and unfurl when we explore the presence and meaning of horror in art, in life and in the story of Christmas and Epiphany? We hope you will join us for this nearly two hour conversation between Patrick and Conner Habib. Its a wide-ranging conversation that takes us down many paths, including the call to christen Paganism and the wild nature spirits in our time, all while Conner and Patrick begin to uncover the meaning of the horrific elements woven into the mystery of Christmas and Christianity.
Many of our listeners will already know Conner from when Patrick was interviewed on his podcast, Against Everyone with Conner Habib. Conner is truly a rare voice in our time, connecting with people in the arts, sciences, philosophy, politics, music, literature, and spirituality and sharing these deeper conversations built on honest thinking and compassionate listening. Conner has schooled himself in entering what is often uncomfortable, uncommon territory and finds true treasure there.
One of those ‘territories’ is horror. A long time fan of horror fiction and film, Conner is also a published author, with his first full-length novel, Hawk Mountain, releasing in July of 2022. You can hear his own uninterrupted reflections on the value and power of art that includes the element of horror in this episode from his podcast.
In our conversation, we turn our attention to the Christmas mystery and look to understand the presence of horror – of true darkness – at the birth of Christ.
The festival of Christmas in its full form is not a one day event. It begins on the Holy Night of the 24th and lasts over twelve days, culminating in the festival of Epiphany on January 6th. Spiritually, there is a profound path taken from the shepherds, angels and peace of Luke’s gospel on Christmas Day to the Kings, the star and Herod’s massacre of children to protect his power and crown as described in Matthew’s gospel. From the paradisiacal innocence of Christmas we are led into the depths of moral darkness, danger and threat to the child, the true king, who is born. All of these “icons” of Christ’s nature foreshadow what we will all turn our attention to during Holy Week and Easter. The Christian story is told, without doubt, with profound elements of horror.
But why? And why does the genre of horror itself seem to be growing in popularity in mass culture? What is it that is revealed in the art of horror that has a role to play in our human becoming? What is it in the reality of true evil in our time that has to do with the new appearance of Christ?
A great and hearty thank you to Conner Habib for his willingness to explore these questions with us.
New Year’s and Epiphany blessing to you all!
Conner Habib 