Unbelievable?

Justin hosts a lively debate between John Lennox and Peter Atkins in front of a student audience at the University of Southampton. They debate whether science can answer all the questions we need to answer or whether some questions such as miracles, purpose and human morality require a supernatural explanation. Christian guest John Lennox is emeritus Professor of Mathematics and Philosophy of Science at Oxford University. Atheist guest Peter Atkins is emeritus Professor of Chemistry at Oxford University. For ‘Can Science Explain Everything?’ by John Lennox: https://www.thegoodbook.co.uk/can-science-explain-everything  For ‘Conjuring the Universe’ by Peter Atkins: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/conjuring-the-universe-9780198813378   Get signed copies of Unbelievable? the book and audiobook: www.unbelievablebook.co.uk  For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter Get the MP3 Podcast of Unbelievable? Via RSS or Via Itunes

Einstein said: “The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible”. In his new book ‘Logos: The mystery of how we make sense of the world’ atheist philosopher Raymond Tallis explores various explanations of why we have minds capable of understanding the universe.  US theologian/philosopher David Bentley Hart author of ‘The Experience of God: Being, Consciousness, Bliss’ joins the conversation to debate whether God is the ground of consciousness and our sense-making abilities. For ‘Logos’: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Logos-mystery-make-sense-world/dp/1788210875  For ‘The Experience of God’: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Experience-God-Being-Consciousness-Bliss/dp/0300209355   Get signed copies of Unbelievable? the book and audiobook: www.unbelievablebook.co.uk  For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter Get the MP3 Podcast of Unbelievable? Via RSS or Via Itunes

Dr Allan Chapman is an Oxford historian, fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a Christian believer. His new book ‘Comets, Cosmology and the Big Bang: From Halley to Hubble’ traces 400 colourful years of astronomical advance and the faith of those involved. Friend and colleague Lord Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal, joins the conversation to talk about his recent book ‘On The Future’ and why as an agnostic he doesn’t see God as the explanation for the mystery of the Universe, even though many before him have. At the end of the show Justin chats to Frank Viola about his new book ‘Insurgence: Reclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom’ For ‘Comets, Cosmology and the Big Bang’: http://www.lionhudson.com/page/detail/?k=9780745980317  For ‘On The Future’ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Future-Prospects-Humanity-Martin-Rees/dp/069118044X   For ‘Insurgence’ by Frank Viola http://insurgence.org/  Get signed copies of Unbelievable? the book and audiobook: www.unbelievablebook.co.uk  For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter Get the MP3 Podcast of Unbelievable? Via RSS or Via Itunes

Although he writes from a secular perspective, Jonathan Haidt’s books on moral psychology such as ‘The Righteous Mind’ have been praised by many evangelical Christians. His latest title is ‘The Coddling Of The American mind: How good intentions and bad ideas are setting up a generation for failure.’ Church leader and theologian Andrew Wilson is a fan of Haidt’s work. They discuss safe spaces, micro-aggressions, free speech, the Bible and the intersection of evolutionary psychology and faith. For ‘The Coddling of the American Mind’: https://www.thecoddling.com/  For Andrew Wilson https://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/peanuts_cbt_and_martin_luther_king  Get signed copies of Unbelievable? the book and audiobook: www.unbelievablebook.co.uk  For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter Get the MP3 Podcast of Unbelievable? Via RSS or Via Itunes

Does the church need a #MeToo moment? Does egalitarian and complementarian theology help or harm men and women in the church? Natalie Collins, a gender justice specialist and author of ‘Out Of Control: Couples, conflict and the capacity for change’, supports an egalitarian approach to male and female roles. Phil Moore, leader of Everyday Church in London and author of ‘Straight to the Heart’ argues that a good complementarian view of scripture enables flourishing of both men and women. For Natalie Collins and the Out Of Control conference: https://www.nataliecollins.info/outofcontrolevent  For Phil Moore http://www.philmoorebooks.com/ Get signed copies of Unbelievable? the book and audiobook: http://www.unbelievablebook.co.uk/ For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter Get the MP3 Podcast of Unbelievable? Via RSS or Via Itunes

Justin chats to Kevin Palau of the Luis Palau Association, and Sam Adams, the first openly gay mayor of Portland. They talk about how they worked together, despite their differences, to make a difference in the city of Portland, and the lessons they have learned.  Later in the show Justin is joined by John Dickson of the Centre for Public Christianity in Australia to talk about the new video documentary ‘For The Love Of God: How The Church Is Better And Worse Than You Imagined’. For ‘Unlikely: Setting Aside Our Differences To Live Out The Gospel’: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Unlikely-Setting-Aside-Differences-Gospel/dp/1476797269  For Kevin Palau https://www.palau.org/kevin-palau/  For Sam Adams https://twitter.com/samadams_tweets  For The Love Of God doc: https://fortheloveofgodproject.com/  Get signed copies of Unbelievable? the book and audiobook: www.unbelievablebook.co.uk  For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter Get the MP3 Podcast of Unbelievable? Via RSS or Via Itunes

In a Christmas special Justin is joined by priest and physicist Revd Gillian Straine and agnostic astronomer Mark Kidger of the European Space Agency. They discuss the scientific theories for the star of Bethlehem, who the Magi were and how scientists reconcile the miracles of Christmas with science. And… cute kids alert! We hear the Christmas story retold by 6 and 7yr olds. Towards the end of the show Justin also asks NT Wright whether we can trust the Christmas stories in Matthew and Luke as historical. For Gillian Straine: http://www.gillianstraine.com/ For Mark Kidger’s blogs on the Star of Bethlehem https://openspacescience.blog/2017/12/01/star-of-bethlehem-reflections/  For a previous show on the Star of Bethlehem https://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable/Episodes/Unbelievable-The-Star-of-Bethlehem-Fact-or-Fiction-Colin-Nicholl-Aaron-Adair-Mark-Kidger  For the Ask NT Wright Anything podcast: http://www.askntwright.com Get signed copies of Unbelievable? the book and audiobook: www.unbelievablebook.co.uk  For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter Get the MP3 Podcast of Unbelievable? Via RSS or Via Itunes

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby gave a keynote speech at the UK Trade Union Congress in September 2018 calling for the government to change its tax and welfare policies in order to support the neediest in society. James Price of the Taxpayers Alliance strongly criticised Welby’s intervention, quoting Jesus’ words ‘Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s’ and saying the Archbishop should ‘stick to his theological work’. Left-leaning Christian journalist Andy Walton praised Justin Welby’s speech. He debates James on what Jesus’ famous statement means, and whether religious leaders should keep out of the politics of taxation and the welfare state.   For James Price: https://www.taxpayersalliance.com/comment_on_justin_welby_s_higher_tax_proposals For Andy Walton https://twitter.com/waltonandy  For Justin Welby’s speech in full https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QewjUsHmScs  Buy the Unbelievable? Christmas bundle: https://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable/Unbelievable-the-Book/Exclusive-Christmas-Offer    Get signed copies of Unbelievable? the book and audiobook: www.unbelievablebook.co.uk  For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter Get the MP3 Podcast of Unbelievable? Via RSS or Via Itunes

Are ‘social justice warriors’ a danger to the Gospel? In August 2018 a group of conservative Christians in the USA, led by John MacArthur, released The Statement On Social Justice And The Gospel to take a stand against the church being influenced by “questionable sociological, psychological, and political theories presently permeating our culture”. Some of the affirmations and denials in the document caused controversy among both evangelicals and progressives for its statements on political activism and racism. James White of Alpha and Omega ministries, was one of the framers of the document and a key signatory. He debates the Statement with Australian pastor and justice activist Jarrod McKenna, founder of Common Grace, on whether the concepts of privilege, intersectionality and identity politics should have any part to play in the Gospel. For the Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel: https://statementonsocialjustice.com For Jarrod McKenna: https://www.commongrace.org.au/jarrodmckenna/ For James White: https://www.aomin.org Buy the Unbelievable? Christmas bundle: http://www.premier.org.uk/shop    Get signed copies of Unbelievable? the book and audiobook: www.unbelievablebook.co.uk  For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter Get the MP3 Podcast of Unbelievable? Via RSS or Via iTunes

In a ‘classic playback’ edition of the show, Justin re-airs the debate he hosted with agnostic Bible scholar Bart Ehrman opposite Christian Bible scholar Peter J Williams. They debate the reliability of the Gospels, textual criticism, and Bart’s claim that we can’t know what some of the original texts actually say. For Peter J Williams new book ‘Can We Trust the Gospels?’: https://www.thegoodbook.co.uk/can-we-trust-the-gospels   For Bart Ehrman: https://www.bartdehrman.com/  Buy the Unbelievable? Christmas bundle: http://www.premier.org.uk/shop    Get signed copies of Unbelievable? the book and audiobook: www.unbelievablebook.co.uk  For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter Get the MP3 Podcast of Unbelievable? Via RSS or Via Itunes