Quotes & Sayings


We, and creation itself, actualize the possibilities of the God who sustains the world, towards becoming in the world in a fuller, more deeper way. - R.E. Slater

There is urgency in coming to see the world as a web of interrelated processes of which we are integral parts, so that all of our choices and actions have [consequential effects upon] the world around us. - Process Metaphysician Alfred North Whitehead

Kurt Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem says (i) all closed systems are unprovable within themselves and, that (ii) all open systems are rightly understood as incomplete. - R.E. Slater

The most true thing about you is what God has said to you in Christ, "You are My Beloved." - Tripp Fuller

The God among us is the God who refuses to be God without us, so great is God's Love. - Tripp Fuller

According to some Christian outlooks we were made for another world. Perhaps, rather, we were made for this world to recreate, reclaim, redeem, and renew unto God's future aspiration by the power of His Spirit. - R.E. Slater

Our eschatological ethos is to love. To stand with those who are oppressed. To stand against those who are oppressing. It is that simple. Love is our only calling and Christian Hope. - R.E. Slater

Secularization theory has been massively falsified. We don't live in an age of secularity. We live in an age of explosive, pervasive religiosity... an age of religious pluralism. - Peter L. Berger

Exploring the edge of life and faith in a post-everything world. - Todd Littleton

I don't need another reason to believe, your love is all around for me to see. – Anon

Thou art our need; and in giving us more of thyself thou givest us all. - Khalil Gibran, Prayer XXIII

Be careful what you pretend to be. You become what you pretend to be. - Kurt Vonnegut

Religious beliefs, far from being primary, are often shaped and adjusted by our social goals. - Jim Forest

We become who we are by what we believe and can justify. - R.E. Slater

People, even more than things, need to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. – Anon

Certainly, God's love has made fools of us all. - R.E. Slater

An apocalyptic Christian faith doesn't wait for Jesus to come, but for Jesus to become in our midst. - R.E. Slater

Christian belief in God begins with the cross and resurrection of Jesus, not with rational apologetics. - Eberhard Jüngel, Jürgen Moltmann

Our knowledge of God is through the 'I-Thou' encounter, not in finding God at the end of a syllogism or argument. There is a grave danger in any Christian treatment of God as an object. The God of Jesus Christ and Scripture is irreducibly subject and never made as an object, a force, a power, or a principle that can be manipulated. - Emil Brunner

“Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh” means "I will be that who I have yet to become." - God (Ex 3.14) or, conversely, “I AM who I AM Becoming.”

Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. - Thomas Merton

The church is God's world-changing social experiment of bringing unlikes and differents to the Eucharist/Communion table to share life with one another as a new kind of family. When this happens, we show to the world what love, justice, peace, reconciliation, and life together is designed by God to be. The church is God's show-and-tell for the world to see how God wants us to live as a blended, global, polypluralistic family united with one will, by one Lord, and baptized by one Spirit. – Anon

The cross that is planted at the heart of the history of the world cannot be uprooted. - Jacques Ellul

The Unity in whose loving presence the universe unfolds is inside each person as a call to welcome the stranger, protect animals and the earth, respect the dignity of each person, think new thoughts, and help bring about ecological civilizations. - John Cobb & Farhan A. Shah

If you board the wrong train it is of no use running along the corridors of the train in the other direction. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

God's justice is restorative rather than punitive; His discipline is merciful rather than punishing; His power is made perfect in weakness; and His grace is sufficient for all. – Anon

Our little [biblical] systems have their day; they have their day and cease to be. They are but broken lights of Thee, and Thou, O God art more than they. - Alfred Lord Tennyson

We can’t control God; God is uncontrollable. God can’t control us; God’s love is uncontrolling! - Thomas Jay Oord

Life in perspective but always in process... as we are relational beings in process to one another, so life events are in process in relation to each event... as God is to Self, is to world, is to us... like Father, like sons and daughters, like events... life in process yet always in perspective. - R.E. Slater

To promote societal transition to sustainable ways of living and a global society founded on a shared ethical framework which includes respect and care for the community of life, ecological integrity, universal human rights, respect for diversity, economic justice, democracy, and a culture of peace. - The Earth Charter Mission Statement

Christian humanism is the belief that human freedom, individual conscience, and unencumbered rational inquiry are compatible with the practice of Christianity or even intrinsic in its doctrine. It represents a philosophical union of Christian faith and classical humanist principles. - Scott Postma

It is never wise to have a self-appointed religious institution determine a nation's moral code. The opportunities for moral compromise and failure are high; the moral codes and creeds assuredly racist, discriminatory, or subjectively and religiously defined; and the pronouncement of inhumanitarian political objectives quite predictable. - R.E. Slater

God's love must both center and define the Christian faith and all religious or human faiths seeking human and ecological balance in worlds of subtraction, harm, tragedy, and evil. - R.E. Slater

In Whitehead’s process ontology, we can think of the experiential ground of reality as an eternal pulse whereby what is objectively public in one moment becomes subjectively prehended in the next, and whereby the subject that emerges from its feelings then perishes into public expression as an object (or “superject”) aiming for novelty. There is a rhythm of Being between object and subject, not an ontological division. This rhythm powers the creative growth of the universe from one occasion of experience to the next. This is the Whiteheadian mantra: “The many become one and are increased by one.” - Matthew Segall

Without Love there is no Truth. And True Truth is always Loving. There is no dichotomy between these terms but only seamless integration. This is the premier centering focus of a Processual Theology of Love. - R.E. Slater

-----

Note: Generally I do not respond to commentary. I may read the comments but wish to reserve my time to write (or write off the comments I read). Instead, I'd like to see our community help one another and in the helping encourage and exhort each of us towards Christian love in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. - re slater

Showing posts with label Progressive Evangelicalism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Progressive Evangelicalism. Show all posts

Friday, December 15, 2023

What Is In a Christian Label? Examining Conservative, Progressive & Processual Christianity



EVERYDAY ATTITUDES

"Being is as much about Becoming
as Becoming is about Being." - R.E. Slater

Process Living is:

upLifting and uniting,
motivating and encouraging,
being and becoming...

bearing all things,
being all things,
becoming all things...

abiding all people,
reviving all relationships,
surviving all difficulties...

when pursuing faith,
overcoming obstacles,
suffering as Grace...

in sacrifice and service,
with diligence extended,
abiding, staying, doing...

reclaiming and redeeming,
renewing and resurrecting,
regenerating all about...

everyone,
everything,
everywhere,
ever and ever...

---

process amplification
is singing, throbbing,
all around and in us,

across heaven and earth,
hearts and lands,
about, within, and from us,

unstoppable,
instoppable,
withheld no hand,
no soul, no land,

we are... as creation is...
as life and death are,
immortal wonders,
are, and are becoming...


R.E. Slater
December 15, 2023
revised December 19, 2023


@copyright R.E. Slater Publications
all rights reserved




What Is In a Christian Label?
Examining Conservative, Progressive & 
Processual Christianity

by R.E. Slater

Introduction

When a Christian is advocating for social equality, nature, and justice, they are known as progressive Christians regarding their faith and denominational orientation.

Though labels should be unimportant we use them daily to identify who we are (rightly or wrongly), what is important to us, and why such things are important to us.

When speaking about today's present-tense church many wish to break free of the church-molds we find ourselves in but dare not because of the ostracism which may follow when doing so. Thus we continue to bind ourselves within societal structures which have become meaningless, useless, and unhelpful.

In the evangelical world of church-in-the-present-tense we hear a lot about conservative Christians but very little about progressive Christians... the kind which wish to live in a judgment-free world with people who are allowed to be who they chose to be or, are-in-themselves people who do not need to live up to another's (inappropriate, or binding) standards.

Conversely, progressive Christians are co-operating Christians co-ordinating their faiths with the disseparate (unlike) faiths of others. They yearn to live in co-hesive communities where difference is a strength and not a weakness.

If a progressive Christian attends a mainline church the fellowships therein are usually progressive... as in progressive Methodists, Lutherans, Nazarenes, etc. Here, one may discover diverse congregational attributes supportive of social equality, ecological, and social justice. Where people who have different cultures and backgrounds with one another are usually accepted, welcomed, and embraced.

In the Catholic Church, progressive Catholic faiths may be more equally divided with that of conservative Catholic faiths demographically.

Broadly, a conservative faith is more traditionally-orientated, keeping with the familiar, unwanting change, and refusing racial introspection regarding feminism, gender difference, or race and religious heritage. All congregants are to be as one and to be assimilated into one conservative attitude (much as Picard's crew on the USS Enterprise were assimilated into the Borg).

Hence, some Catholic Churches may be more conservatively evangelical in their outlook or character or they may be more progressively evangelical in the same.


What is Conservative Evangelicalism?

Evangelicalism is a recent descriptor of a traditionalized church's acclaimed creeds and doctrines:

  • They generally are Cross-centered in Christ;
  • Preach repentance from sin and salvation by Christ;
  • Assimilating in outreach community programs;
  • Broadly authoritative in their church's social and political structures; and,
  • Usually Patriarchal in orientation restricting women to serve under the guidance of men because women are thought to be unequal in the home, church, office, or generally, in society with men.
  • This is known as complementarianism:

 

Wikipedia - Complementarianism is a theological view in some denominations of Christianity, Rabbinic Judaism, and Islam, that men and women have different but complementary roles and responsibilities in marriage, family life, and religious leadership. Complementary and its cognates are currently used to denote this view. Some Christians interpret the Bible as prescribing complementarianism, and therefore adhere to gender-specific roles that preclude women from specific functions of ministry within the community. Though women may be precluded from certain roles and ministries, they are held to be equal in moral value and of equal status. The phrase used to describe this is "ontologically equal, functionally different".
Complementarians assign primary headship roles to men and support roles to women based on their interpretation of certain biblical passages. One of the precepts of complementarianism is that while women may assist in the decision-making process, the ultimate authority for the decision is the purview of the male in marriage, courtship, and in the polity of churches subscribing to this view.
The main contrasting viewpoint is Christian egalitarianism, which maintains that positions of authority and responsibility in marriage and religion should be equally available to both females and males.
Roles in the Church: Based on [a fellowship's] interpretation of certain scriptures complementarians view women's roles in ministry, particularly in church settings, as limited. The complementarian view holds that women should not hold church leadership roles that involve teaching or authority over men. For instance, Frank Page, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, has written that "...while both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of Pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture" while the office of deacon are open to both men and women (excluding Catholicism). According to complementarianism, women are not completely forbidden from speaking within a church since Paul speaks about women prophesying inside the church....

 

  • Further, a conservative faith, fellowship, or church are oriented to living for-and-in the future seeing the present day and its times as having little worth except in waiting for Jesus' thunderous return to put down all evil and wickedness in the Last Days Which is to say that except for providing for one's family or community all other things in life carry little value... such as the restoring of ecology, or ecological living, or building mansions for one's self. All are rags and meaningfully unimportant in light of dying and going to heaven to be with God.


And because Jesus' Return is of high importance to a conservative Christian faith this "biblical" form of governmental structure has carried over into their jargon relative to a preferred form of governance... that of a "theocratic kingdom" over-and-above all other forms of governance... including that of an open democracy.

  • A theocratic kingdom is a realm led by a godly king rather than by a people's republic. It is known as a theocracy and is at all times preferred, possible, and desired:
Wikipedia - Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs.

Consequently, the idea of the "divine-rights of kings (and queens)" is accepted into the conservative church's "kingdom language"... regardless the king or god.

In the cinema's 2023 flick on "Napoleon" we see the difficulty France had in overthrowing a bad king as they willing tried to establish a "people's government".  However, (New) France's revolutions repeatedly failed thus allowing figures like Napoleon to fill in as a quasi-emperor until the French form of democracy could finally prevail and survive.

  • Lastly, conservative evangelicalism fails or succeeds in growing love amongst it's assembly and with it's community. Usually they tend to be guarded and isolating to themselves and their practices with like-minded assemblies. At other times a congregation feels relatively comfortable in their witness and cooperative working relationships with their community.
  • However, being literal in their reading of the bible - rather than reading the bible as source-literary redactionists  qua the bible's era-specific cultures as progressives would do - conservative evangelics seek to emulate / institute a "biblical morality" rather than a societal "humane morality" as relating to all things civilly ethical and equal.

And so, various levels of discrimination are kept and maintained into naturally occurring societal fellowships. Anything less than some form of interpretive "biblical morality" is sinful and of the devil.

  • Lastly, conservative evangelics preach a God who is holy first, and loving second. Which means God's holiness informs all the rest of God's divine attributes of God's divine presence or divine separation from an unholy Christian or secular world.

Conservative fellowships live in binary worlds of their own making:
  • Holiness through Christ using forms of penal substitutionary atonement; that,
  • God may leave or stay, come or go, from an unholy society or sinful Christian; that,
  • God's sovereignty is measured in retributive divine power upon all God's enemies or wayward children; and that,
  • Outreach and assimilation into their interpretations of the bible and creedal beliefs of God is their main obligations in preparing the world for Christ's return.
And underneath all these character traits of a conservative fellowship is one last attribute... that of revering the past believing yesteryear (perhaps Eden? Victorian England? Etc.) held some form of utopia which made it more preferable than the present societies experiential dystopias.
  • That any traditionalism - such as Israel's early kingdom forms in the Old Testament - favoring an unequal patriarchal-based economy along with cultural standards are preferrable to conservative church in comparison to any other form of civil-societal arrangements such as those based upon constitutional forms of  governance allowing men and women, free and slave, rich and poor, black, red, white, or brown races to govern themselves in fully equal, fair, and just civil relationships with one another.

What is Progressive Evangelicalism?

In comparison, progressive Christians feel completely out-of-place in an open democracy or an open-form of progressive church ministry. This feeling of unethical treatment of the feared Other is what has motivated progressive Christians towards re-balancing the theological equations in their church or leaving altogether to find fellowships which are welcoming and affirming in their reception of all members of a community.
WikipediaProgressive Christianity represents a postmodern theological approach, and is not necessarily synonymous with progressive politics. It developed out of the liberal Christianity of the modern era, which was rooted in the Enlightenment's thinking.

Progressive Christianity is a postliberal theological movement within Christianity that, in the words of Reverend Roger Wolsey, "seeks to reform the faith via the insights of post-modernism and a reclaiming of the truth beyond the verifiable historicity and factuality of the passages in the Bible by affirming the truths within the stories that may not have actually happened." [Wolsey's statement confuses me... - re slater]

Progressive Christianity, as described by its adherents, is characterized by a willingness to question tradition, acceptance of human diversity, a strong emphasis on social justice and care for the poor and the oppressed, and environmental stewardship of the earth. Progressive Christians have a deep belief in the centrality of the instruction to "love one another" (John 15:17) within the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Progressive Christianity focuses on promoting values such as compassion, justice, mercy, and tolerance, often through political activism. Though prominent, the movement is by no means the only significant movement of progressive thought among Christians. It draws influence from multiple theological streams, including evangelicalism, liberal Christianity, neo-orthodoxy, pragmatism, postmodern theology, progressive Christian reconstructionism, and liberation theology. The concerns of feminism are also a major influence on the movement, as expressed in feminist and womanist theologies [I prefer the wider form of theology known as "intersectional theology. - re slater].

Although progressive Christianity and liberal Christianity are often used synonymously, the two movements are distinct, despite much overlap.

What Is Processual Christianity?

To conclude, I have personally discovered and chosen a third option. One that is not conservative but one that is also more broadly progressive than an evangelical basis can provide in itself, its traditions, and its histories.
To illustrate, say my heritage and education always preferred to painting with the bolder colors of the spectrum... however, with time's passage and cultural preference, I now wish to paint using the softer, pastel colours rather than with bold colours.
In the former instance I was a "conservative painter" whereas in the latter instance I had become more "progressive as a painter." That is, until science came along with a new "species" of paints fallen into the broader category of "quantum paint spectralysis applications".
In this new science of paints I find I no longer need to be defined by my preference between binary forms of painting but may approach painting in its truer quantum forms of spectralysis application.
And so, I have found a more naturalized foundation replacing the binary forms I was at first acquainted with. Let's call this naturalized process of growth "process-based painting" which speaks to both i) the foundation of the science as well as ii) its application of the science into my beliefs and ways I might chose to live within the many evolving forms of society.
Over the years as I deconstructed by conservative faith and explored others forms of Christian belief and living, I eventually tripped over AN Whitehead's process philosophy of cosmological metaphysics, ontology and ethics.

Much as Westernized philosophical forms have held biblical faiths to unnatural forms of inorganic, binary thinking (such as Platonic Hellenism, etc) so as Whitehead's process-based thinking provided a more natural way of looking at God and creation, humanity and society.

I found it was unnecessary to force progressive beliefs out of a culturally bound, unevolving, binary system of Christian belief such as present day forms of evangelicalism. But in process philosophy I could participate fully and freely in its derivative... that of process theology. It is more organic, naturally relational and intersecting within-and-about itself with greater or lesser forms of processual metaphysics and cosmology. And at its core, process-panpsychism play abouts its being, novelty, imagery, imagination, and becoming.

In sum...
  • God becomes less restrictive;
  • A Christian theology may be centralized in-and-around a God of love;
  • Whose loving divine attribute informs all other attributes of God's divine person;
  • God may be both "Other" in Ontological transcendency but always abiding in God's divinely loving immanency within-and-about creation;
  • God's always abiding presence recharges creation with God's divine character of love;
  • A divine character which creation was born with while not lessening our responsibility to recharge ourselves, our world, and nature about us, with redeeming qualities;
  • Divinely loving qualities which are... and are becoming.

Conclusion

In short, our being-ness in God is always in the evolving redemptive stages of becoming-ness:

  • Process-based Salvation is what defines Christ's crucifixion and the church's direction to teach love, be love, and do love;
  • We are to approach this life in processual hope and energy;
  • A process Christianity must always be mindful to nurture it's processual faith which at it's core is always progressive and without need for any withholding (evangelical) theological basis.
  • Lastly, any Christian or religious (cultural) background can be re-centered around a loving, processual God and faith. As example, I can take my past (Calvinistic) Baptist (Reformed) heritage and training, remit it, grind it up, and come back with the kind of loving God and theology which Jesus was clearly teaching the rabbis and showing to his countrymen and disciples.

This is how Relevancy22 was birthed and why it is designed to teach processual Christianity from as many angles as I have time to write of all the ways in which Whiteheadian process philosophy may be applied as a third / fourth generational Whiteheadian Christian philosophic-theologian.

So what is in a Christian Label?

Everything and nothing. It may, or may not, describe who we are but cannot inhibit us in our interiority from growing and evolving and becoming more than we once believed we were in our faith, our behaviors, our hopes, and dreams.
A processual ME is the best God-redeemed Me we can be in this life or the next. We are. And are becoming. Praise God !
Peace,

R.E. Slater
December 15, 2023




Amazon link

ORT Theology is more properly described as
Open and Relational PROCESS Theology


Building the Basileia: Moving
the Church into the 22nd century

by Ulrick Dam (Author)  |  November 10, 2023
Year after year, a familiar narrative unfolds: Church attendance declines, communities wither away, and once-thriving churches shutter their doors. But does this spell the end of Christianity and the relevance of church communities? Absolutely not. We have the power to breathe new life into the church and restore its significance by embracing the ideas of Open and Relational Theology, allowing it to shape our ecclesiology. Within this transformation lies a profound summons – to actively engage in constructing the very kingdom of God, here and now. We are called to partake in the building of the kingdom of God, or the what the biblical writers called the Basileia, even as we keep our gaze fixed on the ultimate kingdom that awaits. This will be the key to new life for churches moving into the 22nd century.

* * * * * *



Amazon link


Revelation for Normal People:
A Guide to the Strangest and Most 
Dangerous Book in the Bible 
(from "The Bible for Normal People" Series, Pete Enns)

by Robyn J. Whitaker (Author)  |  November 24, 2023


It has never been more important to read Revelation well.

Whether you love it, hate it, or avoid it like the plague, the last book of the Bible’s influence permeates our cultural, political, and religious landscapes. From the so-bad-they’re…still bad actually…Left Behind series, to conspiracy theories about microchips and barcodes, to all-too-real political discourse and actions, John’s visions in Revelation reach far beyond anything their ancient author could have imagined.

But what did John imagine? Who was he writing for and why? And what’s the deal with all the hideous horned beasts?

Join New Testament scholar Robyn Whitaker as she uncovers the real-world contexts behind this ancient apocalyptic text. A world occupied by an oppressive empire, a marginalized people, and a God committed to justice. Where a beast overthrown was a declaration of authority and a falling star was a statement of evil’s demise. Where symbols gave voice to resistance and visions provided a glimpse of hope. A world utterly and entirely ancient.

Only when we understand Revelation’s ancient contexts can we begin to find meaning for our own.

Learn to read Revelation well with The Bible for Normal People—bringing the best in biblical scholarship to everyone. 

Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Brian McLaren - The Second Pandemic: Authoritarianism and Your Future



The Second Pandemic:
Authoritarianism and Your Future

by Brian McLaren

Dec 4, 2020


An unexpected political challenge we face as we journey into the third decade of the 21st century is the resurgence of authoritarianism in the United States and Europe. While many Americans and, perhaps especially, American Christians believed that we were somehow beyond or above the authoritarian impulse, a generation of politicians, religious leaders, and social commentators seem intent on disabusing us of that notion through increasingly violent nationalism and strong-man affectations. At this critical juncture, it is important for us to reflect upon how we got here, the ways in which our social structures are conducive to authoritarianism's resurgence, and how the Christian tradition itself has institutionally and ideologically contributed to authoritarianism. On December 4 at 7:30 pm, we'll be joined by best-selling author, public theologian, and activist Brian McLaren, who will lead us in an exploration of Christianity's darker actions and impulses, past and present.

Brian just published a new e-book on authoritarianism called The Second Pandemic: Authoritarianism and Your Future. You can download it here: https://brianmclaren.net/store/ 

Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English teacher and pastor, he is a passionate advocate for “a new kind of Christianity” – just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good. He is a faculty member of The Living School, which is part of the Center for Action and Contemplation, and he co-leads the Common Good Messaging Team, which is part of Vote Common Good. He is also an Auburn Senior Fellow and podcaster with Learning How to See. He works closely with the Wild Goose Festival, the Fair Food Program, and Progressive Christianity. His most recent projects include an illustrated children’s book (for all ages) called Cory and the Seventh Story and The Galapagos Islands: A Spiritual Journey. Two important new releases are in process: Faith After Doubt (January 2021) and Do I Stay Christian? (Spring 2022).



more books by Brian McLaren





Thursday, September 15, 2022

THE RINGS OF POWER - Episode by Episode Breakdown & Interviews


Explanation of Resources
by R.E. Slater

RESOURCE 1 - VID LIBRARY
I chose video-author "Nerd of the Rings" for his full historical overviews of Tolkien's Middle-Earth which histories are viewable here.  On that link you will find a vast library of short videos explaining Tolkien's Middle-Earth.
Below, however, will be all things related to "The Rings of Power" which are not from Tolkien's pen but are speculative stories based upon Tolkien's incomplete histories of the First and Second Ages of Middle-earth.
In essence then, I have developed two indexes... one index related to Tolkien and the other index here to derivatives works from Tolkien's writings imagined in Prime Video's film series of "The Rings of Power." Enjoy.

 

RESOURCE 2 - WRITTEN LIBRARY
I have created an even fuller list of Middle-Earth articles over the past month to further assist in understanding Middle-Earth's vast fictional histories. This will include:
  • my take on Christian process philosophy and theology including relevant indexes related to that subject. Like Tolkien's writings, this is the subject matter which has captivated me to invest ten years of updating a Christianity which has become radically out-of-date with its source, Jesus, requiring its deconstruction and reconstruction on better grounds than it has had traditionally.
  • Next, there will be found a very full list of Tolkien's legendarium which I felt is related to "The Rings of Power" (Ages 1 and 2 of Middle-Earth); and finally,
  • An Index of five (5) videos discussing Tolkien's Middle-Earth from a contemporary Intersectional-Process view through a series of podcasts hosted by Homebrewed's Tripp Fuller.

 

RESOURCE 3 & 4 - THE RINGS OF POWER
  • Here, on this site today, with the help of "Nerd of the Rings" we will complete Prime Video's remake of Tolkien's Second Age of Middle-Earth, The Rings of Power week to week. as they come out. Enjoy! 

-----------------------------------------------------------------


The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Official Trailer | Prime Video
Jul 14, 2022
The legend begins. #TheRingsOfPower

The Rings of Power brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.
Beginning in a time of relative peace [beginning of Middle-Earth's Second Age], the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.


The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Official Trailer | Prime Video
Aug 23, 2022

The Rings of Power brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.
Beginning in a time of relative peace [beginning of Middle-Earth's Second Age], the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.

Rings of Power Episode 1 BREAKDOWN
Lord of the Rings on Prime Explained
Sep 2, 2022 

Deep dive into Rings of Power Episode 1: "Shadow of the Past" !  We'll look for all the references to Tolkien's deeper lore, explain what is happening, and I'll give some thoughts along the way.

Rings of Power Episode 2 BREAKDOWN
Lord of the Rings on Prime Explained
Sep 2, 2022



Rings of Power Episode 3 BREAKDOWN
Lord of the Rings on Prime Explained
 Sep 9, 2022



Episode 4 - missing

Episode 5 - missing


Rings of Power Episode 6 BREAKDOWN
Lord of the Rings on Prime Explained
 Sep 30, 2022



The History of Mordor & Mount Doom
Tolkien Explained
Oct 1, 2022



LIVE with Tyroe Muhafidin (Theo, The Rings of Power)
Streamed live on Oct 4, 2022



Rings of Power Episode 7 WATCH PARTY
Streamed live on Oct 6, 2022



Rings of Power Episode 7 BREAKDOWN
Lord of the Rings on Prime Explained
Oct 7, 2022



Sauron the Shapeshifter
Tolkien Explained
Oct 8, 2022



LIVE with Jed Brophy, Phil Grieve, Luke Hawker,
& Robert Strange - Uruks in The Rings of Power!
Streamed live on Oct 12, 2022



Rings of Power Episode 8 Finale WATCH PARTY
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A Complete Video History of Middle-earth - by Nerd of the Rings





Recommended: View by "Full Playlist"
for chronological historical ordering
R.E. Slater
I chose video-author "Nerd of the Rings" for his historical overviews of Middle-Earth. Here, on this page I've tweaked the main lists to jive chronologically with Tolkien's dates. Otherwise, all sub-lists are as the video-author intended. Many thanks to his efforts and the help they may provide to traveller's journeying through Tolkien's vast lands and legends of Middle-Earth!

By Nerd of the Rings 

Sharing a passion for all things Tolkien!  On Nerd of the Rings, I'll post videos explaining characters and concepts from Middle-earth history, map the travels and events, gaming, Amazon's Rings of Power series ( #LOTRonPrime ), and more!

If you love the Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, the Silmarillion, the books, the movies, the music - any and all of Middle-earth, please subscribe and join me in this adventure.  I am honored to share this love of Tolkien with such excellent and admirable hobbits!





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TOLKIEN THEORY

In these videos, we speculate on some of the mysteries
of Middle-earth and play out some "What If" scenarios!



What if Gandalf Took the Ring? | Tolkien Theory