Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Paul Kingsnorth about his spiritual journey from agnosticism, gnostic experimentation and Buddhism, to Christianity. He describes the ways in which the Orthodox tradition is shaping his engagement with the modern world and especially that of the “Machine”, the term he uses to describe the overarching colonization of modern life by technology. He describes how becoming a Christian has called him beyond the intellectual posture of his past writing to somewhere completely different, to a connection with spiritual reality and to right relationship with God. From these new centerings, Paul finds himself on a new path of discovery, recognising he is not in control. He believes that Christians need to regain what has been lost, namely the sense that we already know from our tradition what to do. He senses that the Orthodox Church has held onto an authenticity that will become increasingly compelling as the unravelling of our societies rolls on, and this gives him cause for optimism.
Originally from London, Paul Kingsnorth is a writer and thinker whose spiritual journey has become very public. His experience has brought him from agnosticism to Christian conversion, culminating in his baptism into the Romanian Orthodox Church in 2021. Before that, as an environmentalist, novelist and a poet, he had written many books. Since his encounter with Christ, Paul has been compelled to write and speak about the reality of God and the threat to human life of what he calls “the machine”. His message has gathered a huge following, with some describing him as a secular prophet. Paul is a smallholder in rural Ireland living on the land with his family.
- Links -
For Alan J Roxburgh:
https://www.themissionalnetwork.com/author/alan-roxburgh/
https://journalofmissionalpractice.com/alan-roxburgh
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alanjroxburgh?lang=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetwork
Joining God in the Great Unraveling https://www.amazon.ca/Joining-God-Great-Unraveling-Learned/dp/1725288508/ref=sr_1_
Leadership, God’s Agency and Disruptions https://www.amazon.ca/Leadership-Gods-Agency-Disruptions-Confronting/dp/1725271745/ref
Joining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our Time https://www.amazon.ca/Joining-Remaking-Church-Changing-World/dp/0819232114/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2NHGW8KB7L0SQ&keywords=Alan+J+Roxburgh&qid=1687098960&s=books&sprefix=alan+j+roxburgh%2Cstripbooks%2C130&sr=1-3
For Jenny Sinclair:
Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclair
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/T4CG
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUK
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/
For Paul Kingsnorth:
https://unherd.com/newsroom/paul-kingsnorth-how-to-resist-the-machine/
https://unherd.com/author/paul-kingsnorthunherd-com/
https://www.paulkingsnorth.net/
https://www.firstthings.com/article/2021/06/the-cross-and-the-machine
EP#26 Being Church in the Age of the Machine with Paul Kingsnorth