The Theosophical Society in America in Wheaton, IL welcomed Ron Miller inside their doors several times over the years. And fortunately, they recorded, edited and produced each of Ron’s talks, while also making them available for sale on their website. Very kindly, they sent me each of these talks and are allowing me to share them with you here on the Ron Miller’s World website. Simply click an image below to enjoy the particular topic. You can also hover over the thumbnail images to see the full name of the talk. These talks are also available in the website’s WATCH menu.
A huge thank you to the Theosophical Society in America and we hope you enjoy.
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Most people assume Christianity began as a unified movement and then fragmented in the course of its history, Eastern and Western Christianity split in the 11th century, Protestant and Catholic Christianity in the 16th. But today we realize that diversity was present from the beginning, as evidenced by ancient texts found buried in the deserts of Egypt and stories in some of the very books included in the Christian Testament. Ron will explore the very different story of Christianity found in the Letter of James. 2011
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We’re told that Jesus taught in parables. What is a parable and why is it such an effective teaching method? What do we learn about Jesus as a teacher and about his message from these parables? 2010
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What happens when a mildly committed Quaker from Brown University spends a semester at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia—a university created by Jerry Falwell as a center for teaching fundamentalist Christianity? 2010
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Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris are two representatives of a new wave of atheism in the post-9/11 world. Troubled by the fanaticism threatening our world, from both some Muslims in the Middle East and some Christians in the United States, they have decided that religion is the root of all evil; and the sooner we get rid of it, the better. Their arguments need to be tested. The speaker examines some of the more popular arguments used by this new breed of atheists to see if they have any merit. 2009
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Dr. Ron Miller speaks at the Theosophical Society in America in 2009 on pluralism and diversity, and what factors contribute to how we deal with it. Ron references Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’ books titled Dignity of Difference and The Home We Build Together: Recreating Society. “I can be different and yet not see that difference as a judgement about others who are unlike me.” 2009
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Two models of spiritual growth were in competition in the early Christian centuries. The first Ron calls “blessed participation” and it comes from the biblical tradition as understood in Judaism. The second he dubs “holy abstinence” and comes from Platonism. What are the differences between these two models? How does this difference in paradigms affect Christian spirituality to this day? 2008
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What will religion in America look like in 2020? No one has a crystal ball but if we look at current trends, Ron thinks we can draw some conclusions that have at least a high probability of accuracy. 2008
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To the many subcategories of Christianity, we can now add the “Thomas Believer.” That’s what Ron calls himself and other devotees of the Gospel of Thomas, a collection of Jesus’ sayings that have been circulating since the 19th century in fragmentary form, but were found as a complete Coptic text at Nag Hammadi in Egypt in 1945. 2007
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Judaism and Christianity have had a volatile relationship in their two-thousand-year history. Anger, rivalry, insensitivity, bloodshed and murder have marred the special connection these two Abrahamic faiths share. In the last several decades, scholars, activists, laypeople and clergy have attempted to expose and eliminate the struggles between Jews and Christians. 2006
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Are these in print
Hi. Not that I am aware of.
Some of the talks are prompted around a book. I highly recommend all of Dr. Ron Miller’s books. He was a wonderful man. I never met him but I miss him.