What is loneliness and how does the Bible, and particularly the Old Testament, talk about it?How does the Old Testament's description connect with what we've learned about loneliness in the last 20 years?Why does God care about lonely humans and what does God do about it?How can Christians learn to live well with loneliness, and how can we be good friends in a world where people are lonely?In today’s show  we are talking to Elizabeth Hare.  Lizzie is a pastoral tutor lecturer in the Old Testament here at Cranmer Hall.  She is passionate about the Hebrew Bible and her doctoral research investigated the subject of loneliness in the Hebrew Bible.  Lizzie’s current research interests include biblical lament and trauma-informed biblical hermeneutics.  

What are the different voices in Scripture across the Old and New Testaments on war and conflict?How can a war ever be just?  And why does the Just War tradition still matter today?How does the story of Anglicans living in a time of war provide a cautionary tale for the Church in todays world?How has the relative peace in Europe since World War II led to a functional pacifism in many churches?  And how does the current conflict in Ukraine challenge that view? In today’s show we are talking to Canon Professor Michael Snape. Michael is the inaugural Michael Ramsey Professor of Anglican Studies at Durham University, and an ecumenical lay canon at Durham Cathedral. He has written extensively on church history, religion and war. His forthcoming book A Church Militant: Anglicans and the Armed Forces from Queen Victoria to the Vietnam War will be published with Oxford University Press this July, based on the 2020 Hensley Henson Lectures. 

What does it mean to be a theologian, and how does it relate to the everyday faith of the Church? What is a wise theological response to the problem of evil? How can we approach suffering without denying it on the one hand, or sacralising it on the other? How might Julian of Norwich help us hold together our unanswered questions with hope for God's unimaginable future? What's wrong with thinking of the doctrine of the Trinity as a tool for solving practical problems, and what then is the doctrine of the Trinity for? How can an apophatic approach help theology know its limits? In today’s show we are talking to Karen Kilby. Karen is the Bede Professor of Catholic Theology at Durham University and is one of the world’s leading systematic theologians. She has written numerous books and articles on a wide range of topics including the Trinity, suffering, apophatic theology, and the major Catholic theologians Karl Rahner and Hans Urs von Balthasar, as well as the medieval theologian Julian of Norwich. Her 2020 book God, Evil and the Limits of Theology was published with Bloomsbury and collects a number of seminal essays published over the last two decades. 

What does it mean to approach theology ‘feet-first’? Why should churches in the UK and the West more generally engage with global theologies, and what might they learn in the process? What are some ways in which the history of Christian mission is being complexified and re-storied? For instance, how have Dalit Christians been missionaries to the missionaries? And finally, how can learning about different contexts in the global church help reinvigorate the ways we work together for justice and peace? In today’s show we are talking to the Rev’d Dr Peniel Rajkumar.  Peniel is an Anglican priest and a theologian.  Last summer he was appointed as the Global Theologian at USPG and as an associate tutor at Ripon College, Cuddeston.  Prior to this he was Programme Coordinator for Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation at the World Council of Churches. He has also held teaching positions at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey and the United Theological College in Bangalore, and has written extensively on Dalit theology, missiology and interfaith dialogue.  

How should we think about the place of experience in Christian discipleship, and in what ways can the doctrine of the Holy Spirit help us to approach it wisely? How might paying attention to the emotional and embodied dimension of Christian doctrine help us to retrieve the riches of theologians such as St Augustine and Martin Luther? What can academic theology and the wider church learn from Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity, and what's it got to do with play? How does scientific research on social cognition help us to get beyond the binary of individual vs collective salvation? And what does all of this mean for the plausibility and persuasiveness of Christian mission? In today’s show we are talking to Simeon Zahl. Simeon is the University Associate Professor in Christian Theology in the Divinity Faculty at the University of Cambridge. In recent years, Simeon’s research has focused on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and the role of emotion and embodiment in Christian experience. His most recent book on The Holy Spirit and Christian Experience was published in 2020 with Oxford University Press. 

How do culture and belief affect the way different people see faith and science? How can faith and science work together for healing? How does the concept of a creative tension help us see faith and medicine as complementary? And how is scientific exploration discovering the footsteps of God? In today's show we are talking to the Right Reverend Dr Karowei Dorgu. Karowei is the Bishop of Woolwich in the Diocese of Southwark. Born and brought up in Nigeria, he trained as a medical doctor before training for ordination in the Church of England. This season of podcasts exploring science and faith is supported by @eclasproject Science in Seminaries.  For more information see www.eclasproject.org.

How might the study of astronomy shape the way we see the world and the way we see ourselves?  How might scientific endeavours be part of pursuing knowledge about God?  What role do questions pay in the work of science and faith?  What are the challenges and opportunities that scientists in churches encounter?  How does the perspective of space remind us of the beauty and fragility of our planet?In today’s show we are talking to Dr Althea Wilkinson. Althea was formerly project manager of the University of Manchester’s Square Kilometre Array Group, building the world’s largest radio telescope. She now works with the same project part time. She was formerly project manager on the UK low frequency instrumentation for Planck, the European Space Agency cosmology mission. She has previously been involved in science-faith communication with Scientists in Congregations and the God and the Big Bang project.This season of podcasts exploring science and faith is supported by @eclasproject Science in Seminaries.  For more information see www.eclasproject.org.

Is Artificial Intelligence just about robots in the future or technology in the present? What are the tensions between human flourishing and human fallibility in the development of AI? How do different world views and value systems affect the way AI is being developed and implemented? How can Christian perspectives on being human shape our approach to new technology? How can the Beatitudes speak to humans amidst the growth of AI technology?The Right Revd Dr Steven Croft is the Bishop of Oxford and a founding member of the UK Centre for Ethics and Innovation. He has served on the House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence. His blog can be found here. This season of podcasts exploring science and faith is supported by @eclasproject Science in Seminaries.  For more information see www.eclasproject.org.

Professor Tom McLeish discusses the role of imagination in scientific exploration, medieval history's impact on science, creativity as reflecting God's image, poetry's unity with science, and the importance of churches embracing science. The podcast explores the interdisciplinary journey in science and humanities, the goal of science through natural reflection, the intersection of imagination and science through DNA and poetry, the unity of science and faith, and the interplay of science, theology, and poetry in contemplation.

Why is genomics one of the most exciting areas of scientific discovery today?  Where is God to be encountered in the study of the human genome?  What role do faith and doubt play in scientific exploration?  How do genomic discoveries invite us to worship a God who gives us room to change and grow?Our guest today is Praveen Sethupathy. Praveen is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences and Director of the Center for Vertebrate Genomics at Cornell University, where he directs a research lab focused on genomic approaches to understand human health and disease. He received his BA degree from Cornell University and his PhD in Genomics from the University of Pennsylvania. After completing a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Human Genome Research Institute, he moved in 2011 to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics. In 2017, he returned to Cornell University as an Associate Professor. Praveen has authored over 95 peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals and has served as a reviewer for over 35 different journals. Alongside his career in genomic science, Praveen is a prominent speaker and advisor on the relationship between science, ethics and religion.This season of podcasts exploring science and faith is supported by @eclasproject Science in Seminaries.  For more information see www.eclasproject.org