Alexander Faludy's guest appearances

Alexander Faludy

The Church Times Podcast

Michael Leunig

Jared Diamond

Rob Bell

John Gray

Barbara Brown Taylor

Walt Whitman

George Herbert

Christina Rossetti

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Tom Wright

Richard Dawkins

Marilynne Robinson

Mark Russell

Malcolm Guite

Hilary Mantel

OwlTail

Ernest Hemingway

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway is the choice for this month’s Church Times Book Club. On this episode of the Book Club Podcast, the Revd Alexander Faludy, who has written about the book in this week’s Church Times, is in conversation with Sarah Meyrick.Published in 1940, Ernest Hemingway’s war novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is set in 1937, near Segovia, during the Spanish Civil War. The lead character, Robert Jordan, is a young American teacher who volunteers to help a group of guerrilla fighters blow up a bridge to stop the advance of Francisco Franco’s fascist forces. The drama evolves over three days at the cave hideout of the guerrilla fighters in the pine forests of the Spanish Sierra. During that time, Robert Jordan falls in love with a Spanish girl, Maria. As tension mounts and death seems certain, the book’s title, derived from one of the metaphysical poet John Donne’s meditations takes resonance: “Ask not for whom the bell tolls It tolls for thee.”Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) was an author and journalist, and is celebrated as one of the leading American 20th-century novelists.For Whom the Bell Tolls is published by Cornerstone at £8.99 (Church Times Bookshop £8.09); 978-0-09-990860-9.The Church Times Book Club is run in association with the Festival of Faith and Literature.Sign up to receive the free Book Club email once a month. Featuring discussion questions, podcasts and discounts on each book: churchtimes.co.uk/newsletter-signupDiscuss this month’s book at facebook.com/groups/churchtimesbookclubTry 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway is the choice for this month’s Church Times Book Club. On this episode of the Book Club Podcast, the Revd Alexander Faludy, who has written about the book in this week’s Church Times, is in conversation with Sarah Meyrick. Published in 1940, Ernest Hemingway’s war novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is set in 1937, near Segovia, during the Spanish Civil War. The lead character, Robert Jordan, is a young American teacher who volunteers to help a group of guerrilla fighters blow up a bridge to stop the advance of Francisco Franco’s fascist forces. The drama evolves over three days at the cave hideout of the guerrilla fighters in the pine forests of the Spanish Sierra. During that time, Robert Jordan falls in love with a Spanish girl, Maria. As tension mounts and death seems certain, the book’s title, derived from one of the metaphysical poet John Donne’s meditations takes resonance: “Ask not for whom the bell tolls It tolls for thee.” Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) was an author and journalist, and is celebrated as one of the leading American 20th-century novelists. For Whom the Bell Tolls is published by Cornerstone at £8.99 (Church Times Bookshop £8.09); 978-0-09-990860-9. The Church Times Book Club is run in association with the Festival of Faith and Literature. Sign up to receive the free Book Club email once a month. Featuring discussion questions, podcasts and discounts on each book: <a href="http://churchtimes.co.uk/newsletter-signup" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">churchtimes.co.uk/newsletter-signup</a> Discuss this month’s book at <a href="http://facebook.com/groups/churchtimesbookclub" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">facebook.com/groups/churchtimesbookclub</a> Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to <a href="http://churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader</a>

Book Club Podcast: Alexander Faludy on For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

This week, Ed Thornton talks to the Revd Alexander Faludy about George Orwell’s relationship with Christianity. Orwell died 70 years ago, on 21 January 1950, an avowed atheist. Faludy writes in this week’s Church Times, however, that Orwell had a complex relationship with faith intellectually and with Anglicanism institutionally.“Even as Orwell fought against Christianity, denying its metaphysical claims and finding it wanting in moral integrity, he had to acknowledge that the standards by which he judged it — and, indeed, the world — were Christianity’s own.”If you don't yet subscribe to the Church Times, check out our new reader offer: 10 issues for £10: www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-readerPicture credit: Alamy

This week, Ed Thornton talks to the Revd Alexander Faludy about George Orwell’s relationship with Christianity. Orwell died 70 years ago, on 21 January 1950, an avowed atheist. Faludy writes in this week’s Church Times, however, that Orwell had a complex relationship with faith intellectually and with Anglicanism institutionally. “Even as Orwell fought against Christianity, denying its metaphysical claims and finding it wanting in moral integrity, he had to acknowledge that the standards by which he judged it — and, indeed, the world — were Christianity’s own.” If you don't yet subscribe to the Church Times, check out our new reader offer: 10 issues for £10: <a href="http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader</a> Picture credit: Alamy

George Orwell and God: Alexander Faludy on the writer's complex relationship with Christianity

Anna Rowlands

The sudden fall of the Berlin Wall, on 9 November 1989, was an iconic and decisive moment that marked the end of the Cold War. It was, however, neither the first nor the last episode in the end of Com­munism in Eastern Europe.The Revd Alexander Faludy is an Anglican priest who holds dual British and Hungarian nationality, and lives in Budapest, where he is presently pursuing legal studies. Dr Anna Rowlands is the St Hilda Associate Professor of Catholic Social Thought &amp; Practice in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University.On this week's podcast, they discuss their memories of the momentous events of 1989 and reflect on the impact that they had on Europe. Dr Rowlands visited Berlin on a school trip shortly after the initial fall of the wall, as the city was beginning to experience the euphoria of unification. "That made an enormous impact on me,” she says. "I think really it was my political awakening."Fr Alex says: "It was the first political thing I remember, but for slightly unusual reasons, because my family were Hungarian refugees during the Cold War. My grandparents were very courageous Social Democrat opposition journalists, my grandfather had spent three years in a political prisoners camp doing a forced labour sentence — on a starvation diet for much of that time. . ."I remember seeing my father cry for the first time, because his father could go home from exile. The exile that was the foundational and framing fact of all of our lives." In a fascinating conversation, they reflect on, among other matters, the way in which Roman Catholicism in Eastern Europe was shaped by the legacy of the Cold War, and the rise of Christian nationalist governments in countries such as Hungary and Poland.Alexander Faludy has written this week's cover feature for the Church Times on the events leading up to and including the fall of the Berlin Wall.You can also listen to the Church Times Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and most other podcast platforms.If you don't yet subscribe to the Church Times, check out our new reader offer: 10 issues for £10: www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

The sudden fall of the Berlin Wall, on 9 November 1989, was an iconic and decisive moment that marked the end of the Cold War. It was, however, neither the first nor the last episode in the end of Com­munism in Eastern Europe. The Revd Alexander Faludy is an Anglican priest who holds dual British and Hungarian nationality, and lives in Budapest, where he is presently pursuing legal studies. Dr Anna Rowlands is the St Hilda Associate Professor of Catholic Social Thought &amp; Practice in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University. On this week's podcast, they discuss their memories of the momentous events of 1989 and reflect on the impact that they had on Europe. Dr Rowlands visited Berlin on a school trip shortly after the initial fall of the wall, as the city was beginning to experience the euphoria of unification. "That made an enormous impact on me,” she says. "I think really it was my political awakening." Fr Alex says: "It was the first political thing I remember, but for slightly unusual reasons, because my family were Hungarian refugees during the Cold War. My grandparents were very courageous Social Democrat opposition journalists, my grandfather had spent three years in a political prisoners camp doing a forced labour sentence — on a starvation diet for much of that time. . . "I remember seeing my father cry for the first time, because his father could go home from exile. The exile that was the foundational and framing fact of all of our lives." In a fascinating conversation, they reflect on, among other matters, the way in which Roman Catholicism in Eastern Europe was shaped by the legacy of the Cold War, and the rise of Christian nationalist governments in countries such as Hungary and Poland. Alexander Faludy has written this week's cover feature for the Church Times on the events leading up to and including the fall of the Berlin Wall. You can also listen to the Church Times Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and most other podcast platforms. If you don't yet subscribe to the Church Times, check out our new reader offer: 10 issues for £10: <a href="http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader</a>

The fall of the Berlin Wall: the Revd Alexander Faludy and Dr Anna Rowlands in conversation