The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne with Jeff Bilbro | American 250
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne with Jeff Bilbro | American 250  
Podcast: Christians Reading Classics
Published On: Thu Apr 16 2026
Description: Nadya Williams and Jeff Bilbro discuss Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter — its Puritan setting, Hawthorne's fraught ancestry, and the novel's three responses to sin: moralistic judgment, escapist relativism, and Hester's redemptive middle path. They also touch on Hawthorne's friendships with the Transcendentalists, the dangers of cancel culture, and Jeff's forthcoming book on AI and creaturely intelligence. —— Get the free ebook Spiritual Formation for the Family at http://mereorthodoxy.com/family. Christians Reading Classics is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership. Apply for fall 2026 admission to Beeson Divinity School's MDiv (or M.Div., your choice) and be considered for a full-tuition scholarship.: https://bit.ly/OurRisenLord — 00:00 - Introduction & What Is a Classic? 05:10 - American Classics & the Year 250 07:15 - Short Books vs. Long Books 09:33 - Hawthorne: Life & Context 14:11 - The Plot: Hester, Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, Pearl 17:23 - Three Responses to Sin 25:08 - Dimmesdale & Self-Deception 29:10 - Pearl & Spiritual Formation 33:43 - Chillingworth: Truth-Hunting for Power 36:17 - What Christians Should Notice 42:16 - Creaturely Intelligence (Jeff's Forthcoming Book) 47:31 - What Classic Would You Have Written? Christians Reading Classics is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.Listen and read The Daily Liturgy by going to http://mereorthodoxy.com/daily-liturgy