0:00 - The Trisagion Prayers 1:43 - Prayer of Thanksgiving 2:40 - Prayer for Forgiveness 3:09 - The Nicene Creed 4:25 - Psalm 69 5:06 - Prayer for the End of the Day 5:55 - Benediction

In 1989, Ivan Illich made an extraordinary presentation to a convocation of American Lutherans. He began it by pronouncing a solemn curse on the contemporary conception of "life." He was thinking of the life that is imagined when one says, "Get a life!" or the life that so many current discourses seek to to conserve and manage. David Cayley was intrigued by Illich's argument that life had become a dangerous contemporary idol and sought an opportunity to talk with him about this theme, which had been entirely missing from their first conversation recorded in 1988. The opportunity came in the winter of 1992 in Bremen, and the results were broadcast as a single program later that year. A transcript of that conversation also comprised the final chapter of the book "Ivan Illich in Conversation" (https://www.amazon.com/Ivan-Illich-Conversation-David-Cayley/dp/088784524X). The broadcast remains probably the least commented and least listened to program Cayley ever put on the air. It was almost as if neither of the men had even spoken. This was especially striking, with Illich's claim so bold, so pertinent, and so illuminating: he was doing nothing less than identifying the very shape of contemporary religiosity. In the hope that it will get a better hearing in a post-pandemic world, when claims to manage and save "life" have justified unprecedented interventions, here it is... *** For more of Cayley's insights related to Ivan Illich and the idolatry of "life" - especially in the context of the recent pandemic - there are three tremendous essays (which we aspire to record and post on this channel, in the future): ** 4/8/20: Questions About the Current Pandemic From the Point of View of Ivan Illich (http://archive.is/4lOZN) ** 12/4/20: Pandemic Revelations (http://archive.is/TCtOv) ** 4/1/21: Gaia and the Path of the Earth: Lovelock, Illich, & Latour (http://archive.is/ic9da) And while not written by Cayley or directly addressing Illich's thought, Charles Eisenstein's essay "The Coronation" from March of 2020 has deep resonance with these ideas, as well (http://archive.is/181EJ) *** For those who would prefer to read rather than listen, David Cayley has graciously hosted the transcript of this episode, here: http://www.davidcayley.com/s/Life-as-Idol.pdf