God Forbid

We live in a universe that sustains life – but what are the chances of that? 

And scientists now believe that if the laws of physics were different by just a fraction – our universe would be either empty, simple, or long ago extinct.

If the strength of gravity or the mass of an electron was different by even the tiniest amount, the universe as we know it would not exist. So tiny even that the difference itself is almost beyond comprehension.

Why has this cosmic fine tuning come about? The philosophical and even religious implications are so profound, that this is one of the most exciting questions in astrophysics.

Which is why it’s so exciting that this week on the God Forbid panel, we have two internationally acclaimed astrophysicists. 

GUESTS:

• Luke Barnes - Senior Lecturer and astrophysicist at Western Sydney University
• Geraint Lewis - Professor of astrophysics at The University of Sydney

This program was made on the land of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation

Truth used to be something we argued about. 

Now we can’t even agree on what it is. 

In a world of fake news and alternate facts, we each claim our personal truth, our own competing version of reality.

So, how does science, religion, and philosophy help us navigate truth when certainty is elusive?

What does it mean to live in a time when truth itself feels fractured? When the world is so complex – that we yearn for trust as much as truth?  

And how do we navigate moral or epistemic disagreement without falling into hostility or relativism?

GUESTS:

• DR CAROLYN FOSTER is an astro-physicist at the University of NSW.
• Prof ALAN DUFFY from Swinburne university of Technology in Melbourne, where he’s pro-vice chancellor too.
• DR VICTORIA LORRIMAR is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Notre Dame.

This program was made on Warrang, Naarm, and Walyalup

Can celibacy actually make us purer and closer to God?  

What is it about sex that gets in the way of our divinity?

What do some of the world’s major religions say about celibacy or even require of it’s devotees?

And, with the very noticeable global decline in the birth rate, are we already seeing a trend towards a more chaste life? 

If so, can abstinence draw us closer to our spiritual selves?

GUESTS:

• Dawn Eden Goldstein is a theologian, canon lawyer and author of TheThrill of The Chaste: Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On
• Dr Maeve Heaney is also a theologian, author, musician and composer and has written on the subject of celibacy and the Catholic Church and author of Suspended God: Music and a theology of doubt
• Dr Samishka Goyal is a philosopher and teacher at Monash University and has written extensively about Hinduism and Jainism

This program was made on the lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, and Naarm

Can we know God through machines? 

Can machines know God? 

And could machines, one day, become godlike themselves? 

While AI is still in its infancy, it is evolving at lightning speed, and ingraining itself in our lives. From writing our emails, creating our budgets and  even serving as our therapists, society is embracing AI as part of our everyday lives. 

But what about faith? Our spirituality, our souls, our connection to God - these are elements of the human experience that can’t be quantified by science, and reproduced in machines. Or can they? 

GUESTS:

• Dr. Declan Humphreys is a lecturer in Cyber Security and Ethics at the School of Science, Technology and Engineering at the University of the Sunshine Coast. He is also one of the winners of the ABC Top 5 Humanity residency programme for 2025.
• Dr. Jane Compson, Associate Professor of Comparative Religion and Ethics at the University of Washington, Tacoma. Jane is a practicing Buddhist and a trained chaplain. She is also a member of the research team at AI and Faith.
• Carl Youngblood, is the co-founder and current president of the Mormon Transhumanist Association, and has more than 20 years experience in software engineering and technology development. 

This program was made on the lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, and the lands of The Turrbal and Yuggera People. 

With the Coldplay "kiss cam" fiasco and two corporate careers in tatters we ask the question: Should leaders be held to a higher personal standard than the rest of society? 

Beyond the memes and outrage, what does this moment reveal about how we expect leaders to behave — not just at work, but in public and online?

And what does ethical leadership look like in an era where CEO pay is high, but trust is low?  

Guests:

• Dr Tim Dean, philosopher and ethicist from the Ethics Centre
• Dr Nelly Liyanagamage, PhD in Leadership and Lecturer, University of Wollongong, and author of How to Deal with a Machiavellian Boss
• Tim Duggan, Journalist and author of best-selling books including Cult Status, Killer Thinking and Work Backwards 

Is God multilingual? Does the divine speak Hebrew? Arabic? Latin? Or is it something more mysterious?

This week on God Forbid, we’re asking: who gets to speak the language of God? And what happens when only a select few can read the sacred texts? 

From ancient scrolls to colonial classrooms, religion has often been shaped — and controlled — by language and literacy.

Guests:

• Prof Halim Rane, a scholar of Islamic theology and the sociology of religion from Griffith University, his latest book: Covenants with Allah: Keystone of Islam
• Dr Simon Holloway, a sessional lecturer at Melbourne University, his PhD in classical Hebrew and Biblical studies. Simon is the manager of Community and Corporate Programs at the Melbourne Holocaust Museum.
• Dr Laura Rademaker, ARC DECRA Fellow at ANU and historian of Indigenous Australia and Christian missions. Author of Lost in Translations: Many Meanings on a North Australian Mission

This program was made on the lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, and in Naarm.

What do dancing Mormons, blind dates, and superyachts have in common? They've all featured on so-called ‘reality TV’ shows. But just how ‘real’ are they? 

Some argue reality tv is anti-feminist – yet the genre is consistently popular with young women, and a new reality TV show is breaking records with religious women at the centre of it – The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.

It's not the first time The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints has been featured on reality TV, and it certainly won't be the last. So why the interest in the 'real' lives of religious people? And can 'trash' tv teach us complex lessons about gender, shame, and religion?

Guests:

• Siobhan Marin, writer and producer with ABC Radio National, and digital lead for ABC's Religion and Ethics unit
• Dr Elisha McIntyre, researcher on the intersection between pop culture, comedy, and The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints
• Hannah Ferrier, reality TV star made famous by Bravo TV's Below Deck, and host of the reality TV podcast Dear Reality, You're Effed!

First broadcast 19 October 2024

55 horror movies came out last year -  more than one a week - the most of any year this century.

But why would make-believe horror double its box office share in a decade which has seen real existential fear: wars, pandemics, and natural disasters.

And what do movies that scare us have to do with religions that comfort us?

Well, they’re both interested in what you believe, ask questions about evil, and want your attendance on a Sunday morning.

GUESTS:

• BARBARA CREED Professor of Screen Studies at the University of Melbourne. Author of Phallic Panic: Film, Horror & the Primal Uncanny and The Monstrous-Feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis
• Fr RICHARD LEONARD a parish priest and film scholar. Author of The Mystical Gaze of the Cinema: The Films of Peter Weir and Movies That Matter: Reading Film through the Lens of Faith 
• COLTAN SCRIVNER, research fellow at the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University and psychologist at Arizona State University and author of Morbidly Curious: A scientist explains why we can’t look away.

This program is made on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and in Naarm

The Prime Minister says our cultural diversity is a strength and calls for "progressive patriotism".

But global turmoil is making it's way to our shores in the form of demonstrations and violence on our streets. 

What does the future hold for the ties that bind us together?

And what IS progressive patriotism anyway?

GUESTS:

Prof, the Rev Peter Kurti, Director, Culture, Prosperity & Civil Society program, Centre for Independent Studies. His recent paper is The Ties That Bind: Reconciling value pluralism and national identity

 Dr Yassir Morsi, Lecturer, Aboriginal Studies, La Trobe University, Author: Radical Skin, Moderate Masks: De-radicalising the Muslim and Racism in Post-racial Societies

Dr Chloe Patton, Lecturer, RMIT. Research spans sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, and intersections of gender, race, identity and representation. Author: Visualising Young Muslims in the West

 This program is recorded on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and Naarm

With His Holiness the Dalai Lama turning 90 this month, every day that passes brings his succession closer. When he dies, the religious power struggle over his replacement will certainly be at the top of the Communist Party’s agenda.

So what might lie in the future for Tibet in it's ongoing struggle for autonomy from Chinese rule?

Is there a middle way that could be acceptable to both sides in the dispute?

GUESTS:

Dr Lobsang Sangay was the leader of the Central Tibetan Administration in India for ten years. He grew up in a refugee camp in India and has gone on to have a prestigious academic career. He is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the East Asian Legal Studies Program at Harvard Law School.

Professor Baogang He is the distinguished Chair in International Relations at Deakin University, and recognised internationally for his expertise on both the Tibet & Taiwan disputes.

This episode of God Forbid was made on Gadigal land of the Eora Nation.