Unbelievable?

One of the world's leading Intelligent Design proponents joins Justin to explain why he believes biological life exhibits "specified complexity" that runs against Darwinian evolution. William (Bill) Dembski is an American mathematician, theologian and professor of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, TX.  He debates the issue of ID with atheist Lewis Wolpert, Emeritus Professor of Biology at University College London. For Bill Dembski see  http://www.designinference.com/ or his blog http://www.uncommondescent.com/ For Lewis Wolpert's Wikipedia profile see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Wolpert For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or Get the podcast or via Itunes If you enjoyed this porgramme you may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 18 Jul 2009 - Intelligent Design vs Evolution - Peter S Williams and Peter Hearty debate Unbelievable? 30 Aug 2008 - Darwin vs Design - Dr. Tom Woodward & Peter Hearty Join the discussion at the Premier Community

Matthew and Luke are the two Gospel writers that include narratives of the birth of Christ.  The traditional Nativity Story is an amalgamation of the two accounts.  Critics claim the two stories do not match up.  Barrister Charles Foster wrote "The Christmas Mystery" to show that Matthew and Luke are different, but reliable accounts of Jesus' birth.  Atheist Robert Stovold believes that the stories are a blend of Pagan myth and later invention. Evangelical scholar Anthony McRoy also joins in the conversation. They debate issues such as Matthew's use of Old Testament prophecy, the Virgin birth, Bethlehem as the birth place and whether Luke dates the Census correctly. For Charles Foster see www.charlesfoster.co.uk  To buy "The Christmas Mystery" click here For Robert Stovold and his booklet "Did Christians Steal Christmas?" click here Hear more Christian/non Christian discussion at www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the podcast or via Itunes If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy Unbelievable? 22 Dec 2007 - Did Christians steal Christmas? Unbelievable? 20 Dec 2008 Virgin Birth: Fact or Fiction? Revd Michael Sayward debates Unitarian Sarah Tinker Join in the discussion at the "Unbelievable" group on The Premier Community

Dan Barker was a Christian evangelist and musician for 19 years before he lost his faith.  He tells the story in his book "Godless: How an evangelical preacher became one of America's leading Atheists".  Dan is now President of the Freedom from Religion Foundation in the USA. Charles Foster is a writer, barrister and traveller.  A committed Christian he has written books defending the Christian faith including "The Jesus Inquest: the case for and against the resurrection".  He says that, unlike Dan, when doubt came knocking he found the Bible to be trustworthy and the Christian story to be fulfilling.  They discuss Dan's deconversion, the case for the resurrection, and whether we are better off free from religion. For Dan Barker see http://ffrf.org/about/bio_dan.php For his Book "Godless" click here For Charles Foster see http://www.charlesfoster.co.uk/ For his book "The Jesus Inquest" click here For more Christian/non-Christian discussion visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the podcast or via Itunes If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 8 Mar 2008 Can we trust the Gospels? Unbelievable? 26 Apr 2008 Proof for the Resurrection - Evangelist Tony Costa & Atheist Ken Humphreys debate Join the discussion at the Premier Community

Atheists Richard Dawkins, and AC Grayling recently squared up against Christians Richard Harries and Charles Moore for a debate on the motion "Atheism is the new fundamentalism". Justin Brierley reviews the debate with audio clips from the speakers and Q&A session, as well as interviews with those who attended, including AC Grayling and the Chair of the debate Anthony Seldon. For the full debate visit http://www.intelligencesquared.com/ For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the podcast or Via Itunes If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy Unbelievable? 8 Nov 2008 Dawkins & John Lennox's Oxford debate - a review with interviews and comment. Unbelievable? 19 Jul 2008 Masters of Apologetics Pt 2: William Lane Craig Join the discussion at the Premier Community

Professor Lewis Wolpert is Emeritus Professor of Biology at University College London.  Professor Russell Cowburn is Chair of Nanotechnology at Imperial College. Wolpert is an atheist, Cowburn a Christian. Following on from a debate at Gunnersbury Baptist Church, the two scientists tackle the question "does science tell us anything about God?"  Wolpert believes it does - that belief in God is a product of evolution.  Cowburn believes that both science and scripture witness to a God who reveals himself to us. Their conversation ranges over evolution, the new atheism and whether God should reveal himself through the miraculous. To hear their original debate from November 2009 visit http://www.gunnersburybaptistchurch.org/events/opentoquestion/ For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the podcast or via Itunes If you enjoyed this discussion you may also enjoy Unbelievable? 21 Jun 2008 - Keith Ward on "The Big Questions in Science and Religion": Why Christians CAN believe in evolution Unbelievable? 21 Feb 2009 - DNA & the origin of life - the cosmic fingerprints of God? Perry Marshall and Peter Hearty debate. Join in the discussion at the "Unbelievable?" group of the Premier Community

Alister McGrath combines a background in science with a passion for theology and apologetics.  "The Dawkins Delusion" - his critique of Richard Dawkins and the New Atheism has been a bestseller. In this wide-ranging interview McGrath shares his own journey of faith and why Christianity makes best sense of the world as he sees it.  He addresses the way atheism is currently making its case, as well as fine tuning of the universe, the resurrection, heresy and much more besides! You can read the Christianity Magazine profile of Alister McGrath here For Alister McGrath's website visit http://users.ox.ac.uk/~mcgrath/ For more Christian debate and dialogue visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or Get the podcast or via Itunes If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy the following: Unbelievable? 12 Jul 2008 Gary Habermas - American Masters of Apologetics pt 1 American Masters of Apologetics Pt 1: Gary Habermas Unbelievable? 19 Jul 2008 William Lane Craig - American Masters of Apologetics pt 2 American Masters of Apologetics Pt 2: William Lane Craig To join in the debate visit the Unbelievable group of the Premier Community

In light of Premier's Faith Without Fear campaign, this discussion between Anil Bhanot and Sunil Raheja addresses the tensions that exist when Christians seek to evangelise Hindus in India. What is acceptable?  Is the response of some Hindus justified?  Is it wrong for Christians to state that Jesus is the "only" way to God? To sign the petition for Justice for Christians in Orissa State, India go to www.faithwithoutfear.org  For Anil Bhanot see www.hinducounciluk.org For Sunil Raheja see www.nlmg.org For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the podcast or via itunes If you enjoyed this programme you may also want to listen to: Unbelievable? 14 Jul 2007 - Hindu & Christian concepts of God - Paul and Rohit Unbelievable? 15 Sep 2007 Yoga and Christianity - is there a conflict? Join the debate at the Premier Community

Matthew Chapter 24's "Olivet Discourse" records Jesus saying that his followers will see him "coming on the clouds of the sky with great glory" and that "this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened." Two thousand years later Christians are still waiting for his return.  We explore different Christian responses to the apparent expectation of the imminent return of Jesus in the New Testament.  What do they make of other end time events such as The Tribulation and The Rapture? Terry Boyle Pastor for Insight For Living in the UK describes his "Dispensationalist" understanding of this and other passages. Dee Dee Warren describes her "Preterist" understanding of the passage and how she arrived at it. Andrew Whyte describes his journey of coming to a liberal view that early Christian writers were mistaken in their expectations. For more on Dee Dee Warren and Preterism see http://www.preteristsite.com/ or www.preteristblog.com where she will be posting extra responses to the programme.  For Terry Boyle and Insight for Living see http://www.insightforliving.org.uk/ For more Christian theology discussion visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the podcast or via Itunes If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 1 Aug 2009 - Debating doctrine - James White and Roger & Faith Forster debate predestination Unbelievable? 30 May 2009 Reconciling Bible Contradictions: Christian Derek Tidball vs. Atheist Gordon Livesey Unbelievable? 6 Dec 2008 Christian Zionism, Israel & the Church: Stephen Sizer debates Geoffrey Smith of Christian Friends of Israel Join the discussion at the Premier Community

John Shelby Spong is one of the most influential liberal Christians in the world and advocates that Christianity needs to re-interpreted for the modern world leaving behind supernatural beliefs.  In his latest book "Eternal Life: a new vision" he claims that we need to transcend belief in God, heaven and hell to undesrtand what "Life in all its fullness" means. Terry Boyle, Uk Pastor of Insight for Living, defends an evangelical view of Scripture and doctrine and asks "what is left if we gut Christianity of its core beliefs?" For the Book "Eternal Life: a New Vision" click here For John Shelby Spong visit http://www.johnshelbyspong.com/ For Terry Boyle visit http://www.insightforliving.org.uk/ For more Christian debate and dialogue visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or Get the podcast or via Itunes If you want to explore some of the issues raised by Spong in this programme then visit: Unbelievable? 29 Aug 2009 - Jesus and the Eyewitnesses part 1 : Richard Bauckham and James Crossley Unbelievable? 20 Dec 2008 - The Virgin Birth: Fact or Fiction? Revd Michael Sayward debates Unitarian Sarah Tinker Unbelievable? 15 Nov 2008 - Does the Trinity lead to polytheism? James White of Alpha & Omega ministries debates Abdullah Al Andalusi Join the discussion at the Premier Community Email the show unbelievable@premier.org.uk

"The Evangelical Universalist" was published several years ago.  The author claimed to be an evangelical Christian who believes that everyone will ultimately be saved.  He published under a pen name, but recently revealed his true identity as Robin Parry, editorial director of UK Christian publisher Paternoster. While Robin's views do not represent those of Paternoster, he tells why he has personally come to believe that the Bible teaches that everyone will ultimately be saved. Laurence M Blanchard, a pastor and author in California responds to Robin's arguments and raises questions such as "what's the point of evangelism if everyone will be saved?" Read Robin's blog here: http://theologicalscribbles.blogspot.com/ Read his blog as the Evangelical Universalist here: http://evangelicaluniversalist.blogspot.com/ Read about Laurence Blanchard here: http://http://www.charteroaklighthouse.org/about_us.htm To order "The Evangelical Universalist" book: Click here for the UK Click here for the US To hear more Christian and non-Christian debates visit the showpage at www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the podcast or via Itunes If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy the original show when Parry's voice was disguised: Unbelievable? 15 Mar 2008 Christian Universalism - Will everyone be saved? For information on the Zacharias Trust apologetics training day mentioned at the end of the programme visit http://www.zactrust.org/ Join the discussion at the Premier Community