Unbelievable?

In the first of two shows Justin is joined by Tim Mawson, the Oxford philosopher whose paper "Praying to Stop Being an Atheist" inspired the Atheist Prayer Experiment. 71 atheists and agnostics signed up to the experiment, comitting to pray for God to reveal himself to them over 40 days. Did anyone end up believing in God? We reveal the results and hear from a variety of people who took part, including Andrew, Kendra, Laura, Cang & Freki as well as exploring questions that arose.  Was this really an 'experiment'? What does an atheist pray? Does it matter which god is being prayed to? Do the results have any bearing on the question of God's existence? For the results and full interviews with some participants www.premier.org.uk/atheistprayerexperiment Watch the video promo for Unbelievable? the Conference 2012 DVD http://youtu.be/6g-5jTMeZew Order it at http://www.premier.org.uk/dvd For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the MP3 podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes You may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 24th March 2012 - Miracles today: Do they happen?Craig Keener & Geoff Lillis Unbelievable? 3 Jul 2010 - Is God a Failed hypothesis? Part 2Atheist Victor Stenger vs. Christian David Bartholomew Join the conversation: http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable and via Facebook and Twitter

Were the concentration camps of the Holocaust absolutely evil, or simply something that goes against people's tastes today?  Canon Angus Ritchie is the author of "From Morality to Metaphysics" in which he argues that God is the best explanation of moral realism (that there are objective moral facts). Kile Jones is an atheist studying for a PhD.  He argues that God is an unecessary entity when it comes to explaining why there may be a realm of objective morality. For Angus Ritchie www.theology-centre.org.uk For Kile Jones http://claremontlincoln.academia.edu/KileJones For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the MP3 podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes You may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 13 Jun 2009 The Moral Argument for God The Moral Argument For God - Atheist Paul Orton & Christian David Robertson Unbelievable? 16 Oct 2010 - The Moral argument for God Philosophers Arif Ahmed and Glenn People debate Join the conversation: http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable and via Facebook and Twitter

Marcus Brigstocke is a well known comedian on UK radio and TV. An atheist, last year he wrote the book "God Collar" about his problems with religion, but also why he wants to believe in God. He chats with David Robertson of Solas, the Centre for Public Christianity.  They talk about UK comedy's atheist leanings, Marcus' ciriticisms of both religion and new atheism, the problem of evil, the Old Testament and more besides. For Marcus Brigstocke http://www.marcusbrigstocke.com/ For David Robertson http://solas-cpc.org/ Watch the video promo for Unbelievable? the Conference 2012 DVD http://youtu.be/6g-5jTMeZew Order it at http://www.premier.org.uk/dvd For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the MP3 podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes You may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 13 Dec 2008 Atheist Christmas Comedy - Robin Ince & James Cary Unbelievable? 8 Oct 2011 - Old Testament Grill-a-Christian with Peter J Williams Join the conversation: http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable and via Facebook and Twitter

Jeff Cook is a Christian philosopher who tells his story of losing and returning to faith in his book 'Everything New'.  Jeff has critiqued contemporary apologetics for sometimes failing to present a God that people would want to exist. Alex Gabriel is a student and atheist activist. He engages with Jeff on what it would take for a sceptic to change their perspective - is evidence and argument enough? For Jeff Cook and 'Everything New' http://everythingnew.org/ Alex Gabriel writes at http://heresyclub.com/ Watch the video promo for Unbelievable? the Conference 2012 DVD http://youtu.be/6g-5jTMeZew Order it at http://www.premier.org.uk/dvd For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the MP3 podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes You may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 20 Nov 2010 - "What Good is God?" Philip Yancey speaking to atheist Paul Thompson Unbelievable? 14 Apr 2012 - What's wrong with the world? Christian Andrew Wilson & atheist Geoff Lillis Join the conversation: http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable and via Facebook and Twitter

Some of the key differences between Catholic and Protestant doctrine are explored in a friendly dialogue. Roman Catholic Peter D Williams and Protestant pastor David Robertson debate The Pope, Sola Scriptura and justification by faith.   For Premier's Coverage of the "Year of Faith" visit http://www.premier.org.uk/yearoffaith   For David Robertson & the "Confident Christianity" Conference http://bit.ly/SFtYCa   For Peter D Williams & the Abortion Debate http://bit.ly/TX3Tjh Watch the video promo for Unbelievable? the Conference 2012 DVD http://youtu.be/6g-5jTMeZew Order it at http://www.premier.org.uk/dvd Info on The Atheist Prayer Experiment http://www.premier.org.uk/atheistprayerexperiment For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the MP3 podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes You may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 18 Sep 2010 - Roman Catholicism - Is the Papacy Biblical? Unbelievable? 11 Sep 2010 - Is the Catholic church a force for good or evil? Join the conversation: http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable and via Facebook and Twitter

David Glass is a University lecturer in Northern Ireland. His book "Atheism's New Clothes" critiques the arguments of Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens and Dennett.  He says that, on the balance of probabilities, theism offers a better explanation of life and the Universe than atheism. James Croft works with the Harvard humanist community. He contests David's use of probability theory. They discuss whether God is a good explanation for the fine tuning of the universe. For David & Atheism's New Clothes http://www.saintsandsceptics.org/books/atheisms-new-clothes/ For James Croft http://harvardhumanist.org/authors/ Watch the video promo for Unbelievable? the Conference 2012 DVD http://youtu.be/6g-5jTMeZew Order it at http://www.premier.org.uk/dvd Info on The Atheist Prayer Experiment http://www.premier.org.uk/atheistprayerexperiment For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the MP3 podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes You may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 12 Dec 2009 - Dawkins Debate on Atheist fundemantalism  review with interviews Unbelievable? 18 February 2012 - Is apologetics a waste of time? Chris Sinkinson & James Croft Join the conversation: http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable and via Facebook and Twitter

Claims of UFO sightings and alien abductions have been widespread in the last few decades. Is there any substance to the sightings, do UFOs appear in scripture and would discovering alien life make a difference to the Christian faith? Is evidence for UFOs on a par with evidence for supernatural events like the resurrection of Christ as some atheists claim? Theologian Brendan Devitt and UFOlogist and sceptic John Wickham discuss the issues ahead of a live event at Hitchin Christian Centre on Sun 21 Oct 2012 For Hitchin Christian Centre http://www.hcc.org.uk For John Wickham at BUFORAhttp://www.bufora.org.uk Watch the video promo for Unbelievable? the Conference 2012 DVD http://youtu.be/6g-5jTMeZew Order it at http://www.premier.org.uk/dvd Info on The Atheist Prayer Experiment http://www.premier.org.uk/atheistprayerexperiment For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the MP3 podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes You may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 17 Apr 2010 - Are we alone in the universe?  Astrophysicist Paul Davies & Mathematician John Lennox Unbelievable? 9th January 2012 - Is there scientific evidence for the star of Bethlehem?Hugh Ross, Jeff Zweerink, Mark Kidger and Norman Bacrac Unbelievable? 16th April 2011 - Biblical evidence for the Resurrection?Bart Ehrman & Mike Licona Join the conversation: http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable and via Facebook and Twitter

A controversial blog post by Jared Wilson, quoting pastor Doug Wilson on the role of men and women in sex, recently reignited the debate between complementarians and egalitarians. Rachel Held Evans is a popular US author, blogger and speaker who believes the New Testament supports the equality of men and women in the church and in the home (Egalitarian). Owen Strachan is a theology professor at Boyce College, Kentucky and believes the Bible teaches that men and women have equal dignity but different roles in family and church (Complementarian). UK church blogger Adrian Warnock joins the conversation too as we discuss reactions to the Wilson blog post, how to interpret verses in the Bible about women "submitting" to husbands and "remaining quiet" in church, and more. For Rachel Held Evans http://rachelheldevans.com/ For Owen Strachan http://owenstrachan.com/ For Adrian Warnock http://adrianwarnock.com/ Watch the video promo for Unbelievable? the Conference 2012 DVD http://youtu.be/6g-5jTMeZew Order it at http://www.premier.org.uk/dvd Info on The Atheist Prayer Experiment http://www.premier.org.uk/atheistprayerexperiment For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the MP3 podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes You may also enjoy: The Mark Driscoll Interview - special podcast 14 Jan 2012Mark & Grace Driscoll interview with Justin Brierley Unbelievable? 14 May 2011 - Should women be church leaders?With Christina Rees & John Richardson Join the conversation: http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable and via Facebook and Twitter

Muslim protests and riots have been taking place around the world over an online video called "Innocence of Muslims" which mocks the prophet Mohammad. James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries and Muhammad Al-Hussaini of Scriptural Resaoning discuss the video and the reaction to it. As the death toll rises we ask questions like "what does this video say?" "Why do many Muslims respond this way when Muhammad is insulted?" "Can Islam cope with insult and criticism?" For James White: http://www.aomin.org For Muhammad Al-Hussaini: http://www.scripturalreasoning.org.uk Watch the video promo for Unbelievable? the Conference 2012 DVD http://youtu.be/6g-5jTMeZew Order it at http://www.premier.org.uk/dvd Info on The Atheist Prayer Experiment http://www.premier.org.uk/atheistprayerexperiment For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the MP3 podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes You may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 15 Nov 2008 Islam and the Trinity Does the Trinity lead to polytheism? James White of Alpha & Omega ministries debates Abdullah Al Andalusi Unbelievable? 7 May 2011 - Was Osama Bin Laden the true face of Islam? Anjem Choudary, Muhammad Al Hussaini & Jay Smith Join the conversation: http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable and via Facebook and Twitter

For a second week running we address the question of whether pornography is harmful, this time from the perspective of those in the porn industry. Former porn actress Danielle Williams explains why she feels the industry is abusive and detrimental to the women involved. Current adult entertainer Sophie Hirschfeld speaks in support of pornography.  In the studio atheist Steve Miller & Christian Peter Watts continue to debate the rights and wrongs. Justin also reads correspondence on the forthcoming Atheist Prayer Experiment. Premier's Safetynet campaign http://www.safetynet.org.uk/ Struggling with porn? Living Waters resources http://www.living-waters-uk.org/content/recovery-sexual-addictions-resources For Danielle Williams book http://amzn.to/OuE7Gy or on Facebook http://on.fb.me/O3y1Ng For Sophie Hirschfeld http://sexandscience.org/blog/ or http://www.swopusa.org/ Watch the video promo for Unbelievable? the Conference 2012 DVD http://youtu.be/6g-5jTMeZew Info on The Atheist Prayer Experiment http://www.premier.org.uk/atheistprayerexperiment For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the MP3 podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes You may also enjoy: Is pornography harmful to those who view it? Unbelievable?Peter Watts, Steve Miller & TC Ryan Unbelievable? 23 July 2011 - Are there good reasons for abortion? Join the conversation: http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable and via Facebook and Twitter