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Before he was Dr. Charles Howell, Lecturer in Theology and the Arts at King's College London, he was an undergraduate in the B.A. in Philosophy program at Trinity International University, sitting in Dr. Chris Firestone's classes. In this episode of The Firestone Files, recorded at the AAR/SBL Annual Meetings in Boston in November 2025, teacher and former student sit down to trace the road from Deerfield, Illinois, to St Andrews, Scotland.They look back on their years together at Trinity: the conferences they attended, the papers, the road trips, and the academic adventures that turned a philosophy major into a theologian. Charles then tells the story of his quest for the PhD: an MPhil in Modern Theology at the University of Oxford, a doctorate in Systematic Theology at the University of St Andrews on the theological aesthetics of Eberhard Jüngel, and a post-doctoral post at St Andrews as Research Assistant on the Widening Horizons of Philosophical Theology project. Along the way they talk about what it takes to finish a doctorate, what a mentor owes a student, and what a student owes himself.Dr. Howell worked professionally in architectural drafting and design and as a musician before entering academia, and his scholarship still draws on both. He is the author of Too Sick to Pray: A Theology of Outlaw Country (Fortress Press, 2026) and Beauty in the Absence of God: The Theological Aesthetics of Eberhard Jüngel (Mohr Siebeck, forthcoming), and he has written on theology, music, visual art, and architecture for Religions, Spiritus, Logos, Drawing Matter, Plough, and Transpositions.Find Dr. Howell's work here:King's College London: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/charles-howellAcademia.edu: https://kcl.academia.edu/CMHowellToo Sick to Pray (Fortress Press): https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9798889836926/Too-Sick-to-PrayThe Firestone Files: Letters to My Grandchildren is a podcast hosted by Dr. Chris Firestone. In it, Dr. Firestone uses his expertise in philosophy and worldview to bring answers to profound questions to bear on the mundane of life through personal anecdotes and family stories.Dr. Firestone is Vice President of Academic Excellence and Strategic Partnerships as well as Director of The Great Writings Honors Program at Champion Christian College in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He is Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, and former Director of the Humanities Division at Trinity College in Trinity International University, where he taught and conducted research for over twenty-five years.Facebook: The Firestone FilesYouTube: @FirestoneFilesSpotify: The Firestone FilesInstagram: @TheFirestoneFilesTwitter: @FirestoneFilesTikTok: @thefirestonefiles#TheFirestoneFiles #CharlesHowell #Theology #Philosophy #StAndrews #KingsCollegeLondon #TrinityInternationalUniversity #PhD #GradSchool #OutlawCountry #Jungel #TheologyAndTheArts
