Centre for Christian Living podcast

Whom should you be able to employ or not employ in your business? If you run a school, should you be able to hire only those who agree with the stated values of your school? What if your school is a religious school? Should those you employ support your faith position? All of these questions are about discrimination: when, if ever, should someone be excluded from an activity or occupation because of their support for or denial of a faith position? While these matters involve discrimination, they stand at the forefront of public discussion about religious freedom. It’s in cases where exclusion is seen or felt most is freedoms are being tested. In this episode of the CCL podcast with Emeritus Professor Patrick Parkinson of the University of Queensland, we look at how religious freedom is gradually being squeezed in Western society. We’ll consider why this is happening, how Christians can prepare for what is coming, and why we have good reason to continue to hope. For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-092/ Send us your ethical questions using the contact form on our website: https://ccl.moore.edu.au/contact/

Most of us struggle to keep pace with the speed of societal progress. This means that many Christians are unsure how to approach and even answer questions to do with LGBTQ issues. We’re concerned about fitting the stereotypes of Christian hatred or intolerance. We’re nervous about the names we might be called. We’re worried that we won’t really be heard. So what do we do when WorldPride comes to town? Sydney is hosting WorldPride in 2023, and many Christians wonder how we should respond. How can we genuinely care and show concern for people in this space when the LGBTQ agenda seems to be so against what we believe as Christians? In this episode of the CCL podcast, we’ll hear from a same-sex-attracted Christian about his reflections on how to think and live in such times. For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-091/ Send us your ethical questions using the contact form on our website: https://ccl.moore.edu.au/contact/

Discovering sexuality and coming of age is never simple, and tends always to be awkward. This awkwardness is intensified when your sexuality is not typical. Christians have a long way to go to help adolescents grapple with sexuality, especially when their sexuality differs from what the Bible says is good. How can we help same-sex attracted people be confident to live as God’s children, and share how they feel and experience the world with other Christians in gospel confidence? We’re exploring this on the podcast today as we hear one man’s story of coming to terms with his same-sex attraction. For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-090/ Send us your ethical questions using the contact form on our website: https://ccl.moore.edu.au/contact/

Do you remember the ALS ice bucket challenge of 2014? To promote awareness and raise money for ALS (that is, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which is also called Lou Gehrig’s disease), millions of people took to social media and posted videos of themselves getting buckets of ice water dumped on them. Celebrities, politicians and athletes took part. People made more and more elaborate videos documenting the challenge—many of which went viral. And the whole thing raised over $220 million for ALS research. Here’s the thing, though: even though many, many people took part in the ice bucket challenge, only a fraction actually donated to the cause. It seems that the majority were more interested in being _seen_ to be doing good, and thus being thought of as a good person, than actually doing good. We call this kind of behaviour “virtue signalling”, a way of demonstrating to others that you have good character without actually needing to change yourself. As Christians, we want to be people of virtue who walk the walk as much as we talk the talk. But what _is_ virtue? What are _Christian_ virtues, as opposed to virtues that aren’t that Christian? Why is cultivating virtue important—important enough that the Centre for Christian Living has devoted an entire year to examining the subject? These are the sorts of things Karen Beilharz and Chase Kuhn discuss in this episode of the Centre for Christian Living podcast. For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-089/

When does the season feel like Christmas? Is when the decorations are hung, carols are playing, the shopping centres are full, the air turns crisp (or hot and humid, in the case of Australia), and when all the media is filled with festive ads? Or is it when we make a deliberate attempt to mark the season by turning our focus to the reason for all these celebrations? Marking the Advent season is a great way for Christians to be intentional in their celebration of Christmas. Advent means “the arrival of someone important”, and for Christians, we celebrate the arrival of the King, Jesus the Christ, God’s Son incarnate. But this is not simply a look back in history to the first coming of Christ; for Christians today, we live expectant of Christ’s second coming. If we want to be purposeful about valuing the gift of God’s Son at Christmas, we should mark the season. So for our last episode of 2022, CCL Director Chase Kuhn shares short devotion from an advent devotional he is currently writing. Our hope is that this short study on Luke 1 will help you better appreciate Christ this Christmas. For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-088/

Today it’s very easy to be suspicious of people in places of authority. We’ve heard countless stories of how power has been abused. With our increased suspicion comes a level of distrust. This quickly leads us to criticise leaders, watching their every move and picking through their every word. The trouble that we have as Christians is that this sort of behaviour is destructive to our church relationships. Rather than appreciating the leaders that God has given to us, we tear them down. Sadly, this does more than just compromise our relationship with our leaders; it actually demonstrates a pervasive thanklessness in our relationship with God. In an effort to restore health to our churches and encourage those who God has placed over us, in this episode, we’re considering the need to fight for your pastor. For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-087/

From the dawn of time, systems of justice have demanded recompense for wrongs. The most fundamental systems have been kind for kind—such as, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or a life for a life. In fact, this sort of rudimentary justice system is biblical and it lies at the heart of so much of the law in Scripture. But in God’s kingdom, Jesus tells us that there is no room for vengeance. Instead, life in the kingdom demands forbearance and forgiveness. What does this mean for us practically? Can there be any justice? In this episode of the podcast, we bring you some of the audio from our most recent live event on vengeance, where we considered how Jesus transforms our expectations and pursuits of justice, and leads us away from vengeance. For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-086/

Imagine being part of a church that wasn’t confused, reluctant or reticent about complementarianism, but rather embraced it. Imagine being so convinced of what God says that you’re able to express it confidently in what you say and do. Imagine being so compelled by the goodness of what God says that you express it positively in church life. This is the vision set forward in the new book, “Embracing Complementarianism” by Graham Beynon and Jane Tooher. In this episode of the CCL podcast, we consider the practicalities of complementarianism in our second episode with Priscilla & Aquila Centre Director and Moore College lecturer Jane Tooher on the matter. For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-085/ To find out more about Jane and Graham's book, visit https://www.thegoodbook.com.au/embracing-complementarianism

Relationships can be difficult. One of the perennial issues for humans is how to relate as men and women. These conversations have changed over time, but they have not gotten any easier. For Christians, there is a deep conviction that God has made us male and female, equal but distinct. This is good. But what does it mean for this deep conviction to be realised in our practical life? In this episode of the CCL podcast, we explore how we might embrace complementarianism with Priscilla & Aquila Centre Director and Moore College lecturer Jane Tooher. For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-084/

Integrity seems almost mythical in our current culture. Suspicion runs deep—largely because of a history of lying and deception. At some points, our culture celebrates this sort of slight in order to gain the upper hand. This problem isn’t novel; we may use a variety of “guarantees” to back up our words—for example, “I swear …”, “On my mother’s grave …”, and so on. But often we fail to be people of our word. However, Jesus says that Kingdom living leaves no room for deception. As recipients of the truth, disciples must live a life of truth. In this episode of the podcast, we bring you the audio from our most recent live event, in which Dr Tony Payne leads us to discover discipleship without deception. For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-083/