Becky Lewis discusses with Paul Davenport whether it’s right to think of God as distant and unfeeling, as is often the portrayal in popular culture. By drawing from the Bible from the creation narrative through to how Jesus treated people and on through to the final chapters of Revelation, we find God revealed as deeply invested in seeking close relationships with people and indeed connecting people together in a family.
Jesus taught many things that have become so common place in the western world that it’s so easy to ignore them. One of those things was a prayer that he gave to his followers to use.
This episode is all about the new book “Founding a Faith” by Tom Gaston. Dan Weatherall asks Tom about some of the concepts explored in the book, such as whether we should build our faith like a tower with a foundation or as a flexible web of interconnected ideas – which is more resilient?
This conversation asks another big question – what is human nature really like? Dan Weatherall and Stephen Blake, a professional counsellor, explore this topic and find that, although the Bible starts with the ideal of humans reflecting God’s image, it more often paints a picture of struggle and failure. Why is that and can anything be done about it?
The Hole in History is a short book that systematically goes through the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus in a clear and accessible way.
You might know it as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Or perhaps as the Parable of the Lost Son. Or perhaps even “sons”; plural. Or you may not know it at all, nor any of the parables of Jesus. But however much or little you know about this teaching of Jesus in Luke 15, it’s always worth looking afresh at these stories because they reach beyond the characters involved and encourage us to ask questions about ourselves. In fact, that’s exactly the point of parables.
The title of this episode is a question from one of our listeners. Dan Weatherall and Jon Davies explore what’s behind it and find that there are even bigger questions to consider, like why are there differences between the Gospels? How we answer that gets to the heart of what the Gospels are for and how we read them. Listen in and see what you think!
In a two part mini series Paul Davenport talks to Josh Dean about pride and the power of parables. This is all about how human pride is characterised in the Biblical narrative and then also about how the Bible uses stories, or parables, to help us think deeper and challenge ourselves.
Paul talks to Dan Parsons about another important word in the New Testament - the concept of 'grace'. The conversation focuses on Ephesians chapter 2 and shows how a religion based on rules and laws is bound to fail, but grace is much more powerful. Listen in to find out why!
When Jesus was “led up by the Spirit into the wilderness” (Matthew 4:1) to be tempted, he had just been baptised, received the Spirit of God, and had heard an astonishing proclamation by God from heaven.