Gospel Conversations podcast

Tony begins our Faith at Work series by stretching the scope from 'Faith at work' to 'God at work'. This immediately opens up the topic beyond the normal approaches of evangelism and ethics, to the role and nature of faith in the public space—indeed to the broad question of the relationship between the individual and the state. He gives us a broad framework with which to think about this important area in a fresh and expansive way. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Tony interviews Mark Scott about his experience of leading large organisations as a 'follower of Jesus'. Mark ran the Australian Broadcasting Commission (Australia's equivalent of the BBC) and helped it transform into the digital era. He now leads the NSW Dept of Education. How does a believer lead such large 'secular' organisations? Mark talks with remarkable candour and authenticity about how his worldviews framed his leadership and how his inner journey is fed by his highly personal walk with Jesus. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Lots of people think Iain shines best in question and answer sessions. He really ponders the questions and welcomes tough questions. He does not offer glib answers but has the gift of going behind the face value of the questions and addressing the assumptions they are making. The questions in this extended session were deep and wise—so it brought out the very best of Iain. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Iain finishes these first three talks by asking ‘So what?’ How are we expected to live in the face of the vast tension between our view of creation, and our experience of suffering and evil?  He makes a very significant claim at the start of this talk—how we frame our response to this tension will dictate our choices and views of the world and our faith. He gives us a simple but profound series of pathways to living the good life in the face of the Jerusalem view of the world—the Jerusalem Guide. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Perhaps this talk is the most radical of all the talks in this series. Having painted a wondrous picture of the Jerusalem view of creation and humanity, Iain confronts the question of evil and suffering. In fact, he claims that you simply cannot just paint a positive picture without addressing the dark side as well. How do we interpret the presence of evil and suffering in the face of Jerusalem story? Why do I say this talk is so radical? Because Iain differentiates from suffering and ‘evil’ that was caused by sin, from suffering and pain that existed in creation BEFORE the Fall and cannot be attributed to the Fall. This is a very important, bold and clarifying talk. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

This talk builds the foundation for the rest of Iain's talks in this series. In it, Iain describes the critical paradigm shifts that separated the ‘Jerusalem’ story from the rest of the great philosophies of the ancient world—from Greece to Egypt to China. Despite all of their differences, these philosophies came from a common worldview—the cosmos is eternal, the cosmos is built for the gods and humans being are an afterthought who survive by serving the needs of the gods. Moses smashed this view and laid the foundation for enterprise and human rights with a ‘blue sky’ conceptual structure that was not a gradual development of these views, but a radical innovative alternative. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

As always Iain shines in this important and extended question and answer session. As one participant observed to me about Iain’s ability to answer questions—‘He has the gift of understanding what the questioner was really trying to say and what lay behind the question—even if the asker could not articulate it well themselves. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

This talk is a fitting climax to the grand sweep of this series. Iain finishes with ‘hope’ or the vision of the future that Jerusalem gave the world. Importantly he begins by demolishing the Greek notion of the intrinsic immortality of the soul, and he explains that this is not the vision of hope here. He grounds God’s promises of the future in the great covenants of the Bible and their increasing scope until they climax in the incarnation where God became human in order that humans might become like God forever. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

This is a talk lots of us have been waiting for—what kind of position should believers take in politics? Iain confronts the fear that many people hold – ie involving faith and politics will result in a kind of ‘Christian Taliban’. Many Christians feel caught in a no-man’s land between the hard choice of involvement and detachment. We want our faith to be involved in politics and society but fear becoming hardcore fundamentalists—the ‘Christian Taliban’ comment. But we also fear to retreat into a totally private world of faith. Iain’s talk charts a brilliant third way and as such is one of the most important talks you will ever hear. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Having diagnosed the deep roots of modern thinking Iain moves on to the consequences. What are the practical implications of living within the ‘Jerusalem’ mindset? This talk is simple and profound: living with the Jerusalem legacy means building our lives around three archetypal relationships:Our relationship with God and the creational vision of cosmic realityOur relationship with our neighbours—where we find we ARE our brother’s keepersOur relationship with the creation Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe