
Gospel Conversations podcast
Gospel Conversations takes a creative approach to attaining a deeper understanding of the gospel and what it means to us today. Our speakers are not ministers, but range from a diverse community of Christian thinkers who lead their various fields of knowledge in history, design thinking, theology, philosophy, and organisational leadership—among others. Each month we host a live event in Sydney, then publish it as a podcast. gospelconversations.substack.com
Latest episodes

Aug 28, 2020 • 48min
My quest for reality- a dialogue with Esther Meek
Welcome to a special guest for Gospel Conversations – Dr Esther Meek. Esther will be front-lining our next conference in 2021 so we decided to give us all a foretaste of her wisdom and she did not disappoint! She explains her lifelong story as to how she began a quest for truth and reality – as a 13 year old girl in a conservative Christian family. At first she thought her deep questions were sin, but eventually she found a bigger God at the end of them. Esther has pioneered an epistemology grounded in love not data. The great European scientist and thinker, Michael Polanyi, (a favourite of Mark Strom’s from many years ago) was her doorway to a human centred view of reality. Her message is full of passion and urgency – as she explains how everyone in the modern world are ‘babies of Descartes’ and thus have absorbed a lie about the nature of reality. This introductory talk will whet your appetite for more. So let’s pray that the borders relax next year and Esther can meet with us face to face. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Jul 2, 2020 • 48min
John Walton: Order not sin - part 2
In their second discussion John and Tony explore the theme of ‘order’ in more depth. They agree that ‘order’ is a bigger paradigm than the ‘sin/salvation’ paradigm – and that it cannot be separated from the presence of God. Anyone who tastes or yearns for ‘order’ is in fact tasting and yearning for God himself. John then develops order into three manifestations; rest, peace and coherence. In John’s own words, “these all come about through God’s presence in the world (not really having much to do with salvation). The gospel that we are to preach certainly involved Jesus died for us and our sins, but more importantly the gospel involves God’s presence in the world, the possibility of being in relationship and the rest, peace and coherence he can bring.” This is a very stimulating discussion that offers a fresh perspective for how we might be ‘disciples’ of Christ in the world today. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

May 26, 2020 • 44min
Why ‘order’ not ‘sin’ frames genesis
Tony interviews John Walton about his theory that ‘order’ not ‘sin’ is the dominant theme of the early chapters of Genesis – and that we have in fact ‘over emphasised’ sin as the major problem that the Bible and Genesis confront. In this free ranging conversation, Tony and John explore this new idea in some depth. John explains how the concept of ‘order’ is anchored in Ancient Near Eastern cosmology, and Tony jumps straight across to the twenty first century and links the concept of order with design and our role as sub-creators. This interview will be very stimulating for everybody – it does not discount the role of sin in the gospel but it does subordinate it to the wider purposes of God in desiring order in the cosmos. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Apr 29, 2020 • 47min
Creation Theology part 2 - Creators not Critics
Part one I charted the wider landscape that Creation theology gives us – a wider landscape I argued, than what I called the ‘Redemption’ gospel. I want to stress that the key theme was not either or choice between the two – we obviously need ‘redeeming’ or ‘saving’ and any thinking person who denies that is deceiving themselves as if humanity has no problem or blood on our collective hands…. No, my point was where does the gospel begin where does the story of the gospel begin. And we argued that the creation gospel begins with a deep anchor in Genesis one, whereas the redemption gospel begins – de facto – in Genesis three. I made the point that this creation gospel is not a soft gospel. It challenges the secular mind substantially – more substantially than the redemption gospel because its claims are wider and more stupendous. The claim of the creation gospel is that Jesus is Lord of all and there is therefore no one, no event, no system, that can claim immunity from his rule. He is not just Lord of the church, he is Lord of the cosmos. Whereas the redemption gospel feels more specialised – because it is religious. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Feb 25, 2020 • 48min
Brad Jersak: Plato, Plantinga, and Paul—toward Christian knowing
Rev Dr. Brad Jersak, Dean of Theology and Culture at St. Stephen's University, dives into the dynamic interplay of philosophy, theology, and scripture. He navigates the tension between conservative and liberal views of faith, advocating for a richer understanding of Christian knowing. Jersak discusses Plato's allegory of the cave, emphasizing the importance of personal experience and intuition. He presents the Bible as a narrative filled with love and redemption, positioning storytelling as a vital tool for deeper spiritual engagement.

Jan 12, 2020 • 38min
My journey into Christ's Cosmic Redemption—Tony Golsby-Smith
How broad are God's plans? Tony shares his life story: from his childhood in Fiji to becoming a teacher and then, to everyone's surprise, a strategy consultant to some of Australia's largest corporations. He began to see God working everywhere and this led him to ultimately discover Christ's Cosmic Redemption—which is good news for the entire cosmos!Video:https://youtu.be/8fq7xvqQoHQSlides:https://www.slideshare.net/gospelconversations/my-journey-into-christs-cosmic-redemptiontony-golsbysmith-217420845iTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud:https://GospelConversations.com/podcastSocial Media:https://Facebook.com/GospelConversationshttps://Twitter.com/GospelConvershttps://YouTube.com/user/GospelConversationsWebsite:https://GospelConversations.comMailing List:http://eepurl.com/guDp4n Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Dec 30, 2019 • 9min
Knowing and Mystery speakers and talks
Brad Jersak (Feb 14th), Esther Lightcap Meek, Rikk Watts, Tony Golsby-Smith, Ron Winestock, & Leisa Aitken will help us explore "Knowing and Mystery"—2020 theme. Talks will include: —Is Design the new theology? —What is the Gospel's offer of hope to a postmodern world?—Will Artificial Intelligence save humanity or make us obsolete? —Loving to Know —Mystery in the Quantum world —What were Maximus the Confessor and Origen's views on Mystery? Video:https://youtu.be/_w2BkOKbWdk iTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud:https://GospelConversations.com/podcast Social Media:https://Facebook.com/GospelConversationshttps://Twitter.com/GospelConvershttps://YouTube.com/user/GospelConversations Website:https://GospelConversations.com Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Nov 21, 2019 • 55min
Gerard Manley Hopkins: Inscape & the Glory of God
Gerard Manley Hopkins only lived a short life and he never published a single poem during his lifetime. However, this intense and brilliant Jesuit priest revolutionised forever how poetry was written and laid the foundations for twentieth-century poetry. He is arguably the greatest religious poet of all time, and yet some psychiatrists also believe that nobody wrote about depression with such penetrating insight as he did. He was a true manic genius. The theory of ‘inscape’ underpinned lots of his poetic philosophy and inspired such greats as Tolkien. In this talk, Tony will open up the wondrous world of Hopkins for us.Video:https://youtu.be/4OYpGH7_WCU Slides:https://www.slideshare.net/gospelconversations/gerard-manley-hopkins-inscape-the-glory-of-god iTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud:https://GospelConversations.com/podcast Social Media:https://Facebook.com/GospelConversationshttps://Twitter.com/GospelConvershttps://YouTube.com/user/GospelConversations Website:https://GospelConversations.com Mailing List:http://eepurl.com/guDp4n Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Oct 30, 2019 • 56min
Coleridge: transformation through participation
Sarah will extend our series on Poetry and Faith by taking us into the world of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the great philosopher and poet of Romanticism, who lived at the tumultuous time of the French Revolution abroad and the Industrial Revolution at home. In the face of this tumult, Coleridge and the Romantics championed humanity, the imagination and the mystery of Nature as the source of all meaning. Coleridge, a troubled Anglican spirit, found the origin of humanity’s imagination in the great ‘I AM’ of God.Video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuwhxRWxZZY Slides:https://www.slideshare.net/gospelconversations/coleridgeunity-and-the-abrahamic-covenantsarah-golsbysmith iTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud:https://GospelConversations.com/podcast Social Media:https://Facebook.com/GospelConversationshttps://Twitter.com/GospelConvershttps://YouTube.com/user/GospelConversations Website:https://GospelConversations.com Mailing List:http://eepurl.com/guDp4n Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Oct 18, 2019 • 42min
Living in the Light of the Future: Universal Restoration and Practical Theology—Robin Parry
Robin's final talk in our series explores perhaps the most significant question of all: "How does a belief in universal salvation influence my life and service in the world—including things like evangelism, counselling, and taking funerals?" Robin is a pastor as well as a theologian, and he brings a wealth of practical experience to this huge question. Does universal salvation mute the gospel and just make us melt into a kind of uncritical pantheism? Robin argues that universal salvation, far from muting our voice in the world, amplifies our voice, and the many ways through which we can bless the world.Video:https://youtu.be/mvkVU-iPKXo Slides:https://www.slideshare.net/gospelconversations/living-in-the-light-of-the-future-universal-restoration-and-practical-theologyrobin-parry iTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud:https://GospelConversations.com/podcast Social Media:https://Facebook.com/GospelConversationshttps://Twitter.com/GospelConvershttps://YouTube.com/user/GospelConversations Website:https://GospelConversations.com Mailing List:http://eepurl.com/guDp4n Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe