Talking Theology

Is the Bible more than history? How does the life of the Church show that the Bible is of enduring value? What is the similarity between reading the Bible and watching a soap?  How does the Bible help us when we feel like we've been dealt a bad hand?Walter Moberly is a Professor in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University.For more about Walter Moberly, see here.

How is studying the New Testament like tracing a family tree? Why were Christians in the early church called anti-social? What was so radical about that first generation of Christians calling on Jesus as Lord? And how does the early church help us to be faithful in the modern world?Larry Hurtado is Emeritus Professor of New Testament Language, Literature and Theology in the School of Divinity at Edinburgh University.For more about Larry Hurtado, see here.

What has feminism done to reveal forgotten corners of the New Testament? How can a few verses in Luke 8 change our understanding of Jesus and the disciples? Was Mary Magdalene a real leader in the early church? And what role does imagination have to play in reading the New Testament faithfully today?Helen Bond is Professor in Christian Origins with Specialisation in New Testament, and Head of the School of Divinity at Edinburgh University.For more about Helen Bond, see here.

What's the relationship between religion and conflict? How can we make peace with violence in the Bible? What do Christians have to contribute to peacebuilding? And how can we use the gift of forgiveness to resolve conflict?Jolyon Mitchell is Professor within the School of Divinity at Edinburgh University, specialising in religion, violence, and peacebuilding, and also the Director of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues.For more about Jolyon Mitchell, see here.

What is Protestant Christianity, and how did it start? Is Protestantism about the head or the heart? What does Protestantism look like in the world today? And what extraordinary things have ordinary Protestants done?Alec Ryrie is Professor of the History of Christianity at Durham University, and has written extensively on the history of Protestants in the world. He was recently elected as a Fellow of the British Academy.For more about Alec Ryrie, see here.

Who are the millennials? Why have some of them walked away from the faith, and why have some of them stayed? How do older Christian friends help to maintain youger people's faith? And why should the church talk about both faith and doubt?Ruth Perrin is a research fellow at St John College, Durham, one of the associate staff at King's Church, Durham, and an Associate Tutor within the Free Church Track at Cranmer Hall.For more about Ruth Perrin, see here.

Why do we say that God created out of nothing? Is God a being like any other being, only bigger? Does God relate to creation in the way that I relate to my car? Or is God intimately involved in every moment of our existence? And what difference does it make to see our own existence as a gift?Simon Oliver is the Van Mildert Professor of Divinity in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University, and a residentiary canon of Durham Cathedral. He is the author of Creation: A Guide for the Perplexed.For more about Simon Oliver, see here.

What's prayer all about? How can ancient forms of prayer speak to us today? What's the value in stopping to listen to God? And does formal prayer have to be unemotional and detached, or is there more going on?Jessica Martin is a canon at Ely Cathedral, and was previously an English lecturer at Cambridge University and a parish priest in rural Cambridgeshire.For more about Jessica Martin, see here.

What is a faithful way of living in a culture where Christian faith is not the majority view? Are there any similarities between the early church and today's church that make the issues they work out of relevance to us? Can a world without Facebook, the internet, or Strictly have anything to say to us today? And what has a man called Justin got to contribute?Nick Moore is Director of the MA Programmes at Cranmer Hall.For more about Nick Moore, see here.

Can we really speak of the Old Testament God as a God of love? Why would a God of love speak about his law so much? And why does a God of love endorse violence, both from and towards his own people? And what does love mean anyway?Richard Briggs is Director of Biblical Studies at Cranmer Hall.For more about Richard Briggs, see here.