We chat to author, Martha Sales, about her zany novel, The Enormous Tiny Experiment, and how a perfect world free from suffering is all but impossible. The conversation ranges from the New Atheists and questions about suffering to plate tectonics, go-karts and the universal existence of morality.
Exploring how churches were organised, we find ourselves discussing the significance of sharing the bread and cup of wine to remember Jesus. As in previous episodes, there are some similarities with churches today, but also some differences that are worth reflecting upon.
It’s been trending for some time now. Christian deconstruction is a phenomenon that is hard not to notice. But once the deconstruction bug has bitten, is it possible to build a resilient faith back up again?
We investigate the many and varied Biblical images for the judgement and discuss whether we should think that any of those word-pictures and metaphors describe what will actually happen - or are they designed to teach us something else?
Continuing a mini-series on themes from early church history, we look at Jesus' prediction that Christians might be persecuted for believing in him and how that unfolded over the first few centuries of the church. We discover how the church emerged from periods of persecution as a changed institution. Was that a good thing?
We are regularly reminded that the earth is in a dangerous state. The impact of waste, pollution, climate change and unsustainable living threaten to transform this planet. What should a Christian do? And does the Bible provide any kind of guidance on this issue? Will the earth be destroyed or will it survive?
We finish our conversation discussing whether the text of the New Testament is reliable by diving into some examples of accidental copying mistakes as well as more deliberate changes that a scribe might make when copying texts.
In this two-part episode we begin a conversation about the discipline of Textual Criticism and what it can tell us about the New Testament that we read today. Is it reliable? How strong is the evidence behind it? Can we ever know how close it is to the original?
Who is God addressing in Genesis 1:26 when he says "Let us make man in our image"? Is this evidence for the Trinity? Despite the verse often being used in this way, it doesn't take long to find some problems with this conclusion.
We kick off a new 3 part series on aspects of church history and start by exploring the Christian practice of baptism from the early church, through the Middle Ages and beyond. How and why does it change over time, and does it matter?