Thursday, June 04, 2009

Radio Ulster: Calvin 500 and 1859 Revival

Thanks to Laura for the tip-off on these - they look like excellent programmes:

Calvin at 500
Sunday 14 June 1.30pm

The '59 Revival: The Outpouring
Sunday 21 June 1.30pm

The '59 Revival: The Debate
Sunday 28 June 1.30pm

"...“If you want to understand today’s Northern Ireland, you simply have to understand what happened in 1859. The great Revival of that year changed the religious, moral and political landscape of the north of Ireland and many of the conservative attitudes for which this society
is now famous across the world were shaped by the 1859 Revival. That’s why this is such a fascinating journey - we’re not just visiting the past, we’re trying to make sense of the controversies of the present. In many respects, the ’59 Revival was a Presbyterian phenomenon; it was certainly a mostly northern phenomenon. So, what exactly is a “revival”, how did this one come about and what is its legacy today? Those may sound like academic questions, until you hear some of the amazing stories that surround this chapter in Ireland’s history. Thousands of converts falling to the ground in ecstatic states, people overcome with laughter or great weeping: one person seemed to pass on the revival, like they’d been “smitten” by it, in a kind of domino-effect. It’s a fascinating story, with some surprising implications for our society today.”

All are presented by William Crawley, and all three will be repeated on the following Thursday evening at 7.30pm. For overseas readers, I expect these will be available on the BBC iPlayer. Well done BBC Radio Ulster!

[ edit - thanks to Elaine for pointing out that the iPlayer isn't available outside of the UK. What a shame! ]

1 comments:

Elaine Briggs said...

Thanks for putting this up. We will try to listen. I don't think we'll catch the Sunday run of Calvin as it will be 5:30am in the morning for us, but we will get it on the Thursday. We can't watch BBCiPlayer in USA.