Elizabeth Oldfield | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1983or1984(age 40–41) [1] |
| Occupation(s) | Christian podcaster and author |
| Known for | The Sacred podcast and Fully Alive book |
| Website | https://www.elizabetholdfield.com/ |
Elizabeth Oldfield is a British podcaster and author.
Oldfield has a degree in English and history. [1]
She worked as a journalist at the BBC, and was Director of Theos, a religious thinktank, for ten years. [1] [2] [3]
She is the host of The Sacred podcast since 2017. [4] Explaining its purpose in Church Times, Oldfield quoted Barack Obama: "If you listen hard enough, everybody’s got a sacred story. . . How did they come to believe what they believe?". She said that this story becomes a glue that perhaps can "mend our broken common life". [2]
She is the author of the book Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times ( ISBN 9781493446971, Hodder/Brazos, 2024). [4] The title is from a quotation of St Irenaeus: "The glory of God is a human being fully alive". [3] Anglican priest and poet Rachel Mann describes the book as "part spiritual memoir and part self-help manual". [3] Mann commends the book to those who appreciated Unapologetic by Francis Spufford, those who "can’t quite give up on the Song of Love despite all the evidence to the contrary". [3] Anglican pastor Aaron Damiani describes the book as a "lively conversation with poets, social scientists, cultural critics, philosophers, and psychologists". [5]
Oldfield considers that Spufford's Unapologetic changed the debate about religion and science introduced by New Atheism in the 2000s. [6] According to Oldfield, Unapologetic shifted the discussion from being about the Big Bang, Biblical criticism, and proofs of God and into the area of feelings: "for almost all of us, that’s what drives not just our metaphysics, but most of our deepest decisions". [6]
Oldfield is married to Chris, a philosopher. [1] Their two children are a boy and a girl. [1] She and her husband are committed Christians. [1] Since December 2020, she and her family live in an intentional Christian community in London. [1] [5]
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the largest branches of Christianity, with around 110 million adherents worldwide as of 2001.
Revelation or Divine revelation is the disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities, in the view of religion and theology.
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Sola scriptura is a Christian theological doctrine held by most Protestant Christian denominations, in particular the Lutheran and Reformed traditions, that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice. The Catholic Church considers it heresy and generally the Orthodox churches consider it to be contrary to the phronema of the Church.
Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Catholicism claims to restore liturgical and devotional expressions of church life that reflect the ancient practices of the early and medieval Church.
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We pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.
Elizabeth Clare Prophet was an American spiritual leader, author, orator, and writer. In 1963 she married Mark L. Prophet, who had founded The Summit Lighthouse in 1958. Mark and Elizabeth had four children. Elizabeth, after her second husband's death on February 26, 1973, assumed control of The Summit Lighthouse.
Christian tradition is a collection of traditions consisting of practices or beliefs associated with Christianity. Many churches have traditional practices, such as particular patterns of worship or rites, that developed over time. Deviations from such patterns are sometimes considered unacceptable by followers, or are regarded as heretical. There are certain Christian traditions that are practiced throughout the liturgical year, such as praying a daily devotional during Advent, erecting a nativity scene during Christmastide, chalking the door on Epiphany Day, fasting during Lent, waving palms on Palm Sunday, eating easter eggs during Eastertide, and decorating the church in red on Pentecost.
Sacred tradition, also called holy tradition or apostolic tradition, is a theological term used in Christian theology. According to this theological position, sacred Tradition and Scripture form one deposit, so sacred Tradition is a foundation of the doctrinal and spiritual authority of Christianity and of the Bible. Thus, the Bible must be interpreted within the context of sacred Tradition and within the community of the denomination. The denominations that ascribe to this position are the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Assyrian churches.
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Theos is a Christian religion and society think tank researching the relationship between religion, politics and society in the contemporary world. Theos aims to impact opinion around issues of faith and belief in society through research, publications, media engagement, podcasts, animated videos, and events such as debates, seminars and lectures. Theos is headquartered in the United Kingdom in Westminster, London.
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Christian views on environmentalism vary greatly amongst different Christians and Christian denominations.
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Justin Portal Welby is an Anglican bishop who served as the 105th archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 2013 to 2025.
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Francis Spufford FRSL is an English author and teacher of writing whose career has shifted gradually from non-fiction to fiction. His first novel Golden Hill received critical acclaim and numerous prizes including the Costa Book Award for a first novel, the Desmond Elliott Prize and the Ondaatje Prize. In 2007 Spufford was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Rachel Mann is a British Anglican priest, poet and feminist theologian. She is a trans woman who writes, speaks and broadcasts on a wide range of topics including gender, sexuality and religion. She has served as Archdeacon of Bolton and of Salford since 2023.