In this episode Dan chats with Professor Anna Whittaker about her expertise and how it relates to the Bible. There is plenty to learn from Jesus about stress and anxiety. He knows from experience of course, because he endured acute times of stress himself.
We invited Tom Gaston back onto the show to answer your questions on Unitarianism and the Trinity. The writer and editor of ‘One God, the Father, a defence of Biblical Monotheism’ gives us his thoughts on the opening of John 1, the influence of Justin Martyr, the virgin birth and why any of this matter should matter to Christians.
In chapters 2 and 3 we discover the difficulties facing some of the early church communities and it all seems quite familiar and down to earth. But suddenly with chapter 4 the perspective changes with a view of a throne in heaven. How can the church's down-to-earth experience and the view from heaven come together?
There's so much that could be said about the record of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection so we focus this discussion on just one phrase that Jesus said on the cross. It's a heart wrenching moment, but what we think he meant is guided by who we think Jesus is. We explore the narrative, the Psalm in the background and end up with the reflections of the Apostle Paul and the conclusion of Matthew's gospel with the glory of the resurrection.
In the second episode on the book of Revelation, we get our paper and pencils out and attempt to draw a diagram to represent the whole book! What can the structure of the book teach us about its message?
Who is Jesus? This gets to the heart of the gospel, so we think about what it means for Jesus to be Son of Man, Son of God, Son of David and Christ.
The book of Revelation is mysterious and confusing, so we start a new series by putting it in its place in the Biblical story - right at the transition from the Apostles to the next generation who are taking the early churches forward into … whatever comes next!
We reflect on what it means to be a believer as part of a community, both in the good times, and when times are tough, such as during a global pandemic.
When Jesus says "the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!" what kind of kingdom is he talking about? Is heaven a location or something else? Dan and Laurence discover that the kingdom concept is deeply rooted in the message of Israel's ancient prophets while also carrying a timeless call to action.
What is a soul? Can it be destroyed? Where does it come from and where does it go? In this episode Laurence and Paul get underneath the biblical meaning of 'soul' and they find that the Hebrew and Greek words for soul reveal something quite unexpected. Oh and there may be a few musical references...