Malcolm Guite pt. 2: When Doubt Meets Divine Beauty and Nightingales Lead to a Grail

Malcolm Guite pt. 2: When Doubt Meets Divine Beauty and Nightingales Lead to a Grail

May 11, 2026 · 30 min

About this episode

Malcolm Guite discusses how poetry and beauty can lead to a deeper understanding of faith in a post-Christian world.

What Can Lead a Weary Soul to the Divine in a Post-Christian World? Malcolm Guite is back for part two of our chat with him, and this time we go from atheism to awe, from the Psalms to the Holy Grail, and from Keats to King Arthur. Malcolm tells the wild story of how poetry cracked open his imagination and shattered his unbelief, leading him into the living presence of God — then shows why Galahad and the Grail might be the ancient, weird, luminous story our burned-out, disenchanted world needs now. 00:00 - The Sonnet Epiphany 1. Magi 01:28 - Introduction to Malcolm Guite Part 2 03:37 - From Atheism to Wonder 06:27 - Encountering Keats's "Ode to a Nightingale" 12:11 - The Augustinian Idea of Beauty 15:18 - You Are Not the Center of the Universe 20:44 - "Take Up the Tale" A Ballad Introducing Guite's Arthurian Epic 23:54 - Why Does Retelling the Arthurian Legends Matter Now? 25:06 - The Truth of the Wasteland in the Modern World 27:19 - Conclusion and Credits Listen to Malcolm Guite pt. 1: Does Theology Need an Imaginative Spark to Grasp God's Mystery? Sign up for The After Party Informational Webinars Mentioned In This Episode: Malcolm Guite's Galahad in the Grail Malcolm Guite's…

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Host: Good Faith

Guest: Malcolm Guite

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Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Ode to a Nightingale, The Confessions Of Saint Augustine, Surprised by Joy, Galahad in the Grail, Sounding the Seasons, The Psalms

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