Cary has words with friend of the show, Randy Newman, author of Questioning Evangelism, Mere Evangelism and a new book about spiritual journey called, Questioning Faith.  This is a conversation about how God uses us despite our terrible attempts at evangelism, and how non-believers are often stopped in their tracks by unexpected things. And it turns out there's one book by CS Lewis that neither Cary or Newman can understand or get into.  Find out what it is in this episode.

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Encouragement and/or open derision should be addressed here: [email protected]

Production and music by Cooper & Cary. Opening theme by Beyond Our Galaxy.

From November 2022. Cooper and Cary have words about THAT line in the Apostles' Creed. What exactly was Jesus doing between his death and resurrection?

https://journal.rts.edu/article/he-descended-into-hell/
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Unlock extended ad-free episodes, advance access, a huge episode archive, and bonus content, by subscribing to Cooper & Cary+ on Apple Podcasts. Or get everything on C&C+, together with video, and access to the exclusive C&C Discord server, by becoming a Patron.

Encouragement and/or open derision should be addressed here: [email protected]

Production and music by Cooper & Cary. Opening theme by Beyond Our Galaxy.

Well, that was 2023. Join James and Barry as they choose their favourite episodes, dive into the C&C mailbag, and talk about their favourite books, films, tv, podcasts, and moments of 2023. Pull up a cocoa, recline by the glowing hearth, and - sure, go ahead - stoke the auld acquaintance, as we see out another year together.

Support the show

Unlock extended ad-free episodes, advance access, a huge episode archive, and bonus content, by subscribing to Cooper & Cary+ on Apple Podcasts. Or get everything on C&C+, together with video, and access to the exclusive C&C Discord server, by becoming a Patron.

Encouragement and/or open derision should be addressed here: [email protected]

Production and music by Cooper & Cary. Opening theme by Beyond Our Galaxy.

James and Barry have extended words about Unidentified Autonomous (or Anomalous, or Aerial) Phenomena - UAPs to their friends. Strange things are being seen in the skies, even by highly trained and highly sceptical USAF fighter pilots, there is video evidence which has been made publicly available, and these things are being discussed at the highest levels of government. What's going on? Why have governments previously wanted to keep quiet about it? And how should Christians think about these things? Is it a threat to historic, biblical Christianity - or confirmation of it?

UAP footage on NBC News: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nSIKYlm2eE

Declassified UAP footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO_M0hLlJ-Q

Haunted Cosmos podcast: https://www.thehauntedcosmos.com

Medieval X-Files courtesy of the Middle Ages Music YouTube Channel

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Encouragement and/or open derision should be addressed here: [email protected]

Production and music by Cooper & Cary. Opening theme by Beyond Our Galaxy.

Cooper and Cary have words about spiritual revivals with Jonathan Thomas, writer and presenter of the documentary Welsh Awakenings. Jonathan is pastor of Cornerstone Church Abergavenny, and the presenter of All Things Considered on BBC Radio Wales.

Watch the documentary trailer here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/welshawakenings

Jonathan's book, Intentional Interruptions: Learning to be Interrupted the Way God Intended: https://tinyurl.com/2e4nrdam

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Encouragement and/or open derision should be addressed here: [email protected]

Production and music by Cooper & Cary. Opening theme by Beyond Our Galaxy.

James and Barry have words about the TV juggernaut that is The Chosen. Lots of their friends love it. But James and Barry have... thoughts. Is The Chosen a 2CV - second commandment violation - and if not, is it still worth watching?

Here's the Justin Peters Youtube Video

Cary’s Water into Wine show

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Encouragement and/or open derision should be addressed here: [email protected]

Production and music by Cooper & Cary. Opening theme by Beyond Our Galaxy.

Cooper and Cary have words about power and its abuse with Mark Stirling, former medical doctor and pastor. He's the author of Not So with You: Power and Leadership for the Church.

Mark's book: Not So With You (Amazon UK)
Not So With You (Amazon US)
 
The spate of recent scandals of power abuse by leaders within the evangelical world suggests something is wrong in our churches. When a leader misuses power, they have misunderstood and misrepresented God and the gospel. This volume addresses the key underlying issue of what a biblical and healthy use of power in the church actually looks like. Authors from a variety of Christian backgrounds and traditions help frame a biblical and theological understanding and practice of power use, describe what it looks like when things go wrong (and how to recognize the signs), and suggest how the contemporary church can and must do better in this area. This book is a rigorously grounded biblical challenge to much contemporary practice. It is a call to reformation.

Support the show

Unlock extended ad-free episodes, advance access, a huge episode archive, and bonus content, by subscribing to Cooper & Cary+ on Apple Podcasts. Or get everything on C&C+, together with video, and access to the exclusive C&C Discord server, by becoming a Patron.

Encouragement and/or open derision should be addressed here: [email protected]

Production and music by Cooper & Cary. Opening theme by Beyond Our Galaxy.

James and Barry have words about the shift from "being anxious" to "having anxiety". What does anxiety have to do with idols? What are the reasons behind the current "anxiety epidemic"? Is anxiety a condition that ought to be pathologised? Is looking back at historic "trauma" always a helpful way to improve mental health? And how does our new identity in Christ change things?

References
The Student Health Crisis Is A Myth https://unherd.com/2023/09/the-student-mental-health-crisis-is-a-myth/

Why Do Teenage Girls Feel Unsafe? https://unherd.com/thepost/why-do-so-many-teenage-girls-feel-unsafe/

Humans Are More Resilient Than You Think (podcast about "trauma") https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/humans-are-more-resilient-than-you-think/id1570872415?i=1000547660535

Common Questions About Mental Illness (podcast with David Murray)
https://www.crossway.org/articles/podcast-answering-common-questions-about-mental-illness-david-murray/

Jon Haidt's Substack, After Babel:  https://jonathanhaidt.substack.com/

Jon Haidt's article about the decline in mental health since 2013, and how colleges have been performing "*reverse cognitive behavioral therapy": https://jonathanhaidt.substack.com/p/mental-health-liberal-girls

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Encouragement and/or open derision should be addressed here: [email protected]

Production and music by Cooper & Cary. Opening theme by Beyond Our Galaxy.

James and Barry have extended words with Thomas Umstattd (@ThomasUmstattd) about writing. In 2009, Thomas started AuthorTechTips.com, a website to help authors use the web to promote their books. In 2014, Thomas’s blog post Why Courtship is Fundamentally Flawed went viral and reached over a million people in just a few weeks. As a podcaster, he hosts the Novel Marketing Podcast, and the Christian Publishing Show.

Support the show

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Encouragement and/or open derision should be addressed here: [email protected]

Production and music by Cooper & Cary. Opening theme by Beyond Our Galaxy.

James and Barry discuss the art of listening. What does the Bible have to say about it? And how does it relate to anger? Are we bad at listening because it's a selfless thing to do? After all, there's no "I" in "LISTENING" is there? Oh wait.

Support the show

Unlock extended ad-free episodes, advance access, a huge episode archive, and bonus content, by subscribing to Cooper & Cary+ on Apple Podcasts. Or get everything on C&C+, together with video, and access to the exclusive C&C Discord server, by becoming a Patron.

Encouragement and/or open derision should be addressed here: [email protected]

Production and music by Cooper & Cary. Opening theme by Beyond Our Galaxy.