Life & Faith

By Centre for Public ChristianitySociety & Culture Religion & Spirituality

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38 min
per episode

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Life & Faith episodes

May 12, 2021 REBROADCAST: Missionary Doctor
“As a junior doctor I went to Ethiopia to work with my aunt in the desert area, and we were just wandering around the desert with camels, treating people under trees and shrubs and things in 50-degree heat … You’d have to sleep with a guard with a gun because the hyenas get quite close, so every now and then you’d get woken up with a gunshot and this hyena yelping off in the distance. And then a bit later that night a camel was bellowing just a few metres away from my head and gives birth, and I get splattered with all this amniotic fluid.”
Andrew Browning has spent more than 17 years in Africa as a missionary doctor. As a medical student, he spent time working with Rwandan refugees fleeing the genocide; as a junior doctor, he joined Catherine Hamlin at the Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia, dedicating his life to helping women who are suffering from debilitating childbirth injuries.
In this episode of Life & Faith, Andrew explains how he could give up a lucrative, comfortable life as a doctor at home in Australia to help thousands of women halfway round the world. He explains the risks of childbirth in rural places, what a fistula is, and his hope for a future where women don’t have to face this kind of suffering.
He also talks about the difference between being a missionary doctor or a secular healthcare worker somewhere like Africa – as well as how African and Western people respond differently to illness, suffering, and death.
“I remember telling people in Australia they’ve got cancer, or ‘You’ve got a life-threatening condition’, and the immediate reaction was ‘No, no, you’re wrong’ or ‘Give me a second opinion; that can’t be true’, or they’re angry. Whereas if you do that in Africa it’s much more ‘Oh, okay, sure. My time is up.’ I mean they’re much more attuned to death and accepting of suffering as part of life, they see it every day … The poor in Africa, the physically poor, people say that they’re spiritually rich, and the materially rich are often spiritually poor – at least in my experience.”
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Content warning: This episode contains explicit medical details, as well as descriptions of violence, that you may find distressing and that probably aren’t appropriate for kids.
Find out more about Andrew’s ongoing work to end obstetric fistula globally through the Barbara May Foundation.
The book inspired by this episode, A Doctor in Africa, is published by Pan Macmillan.
This episode was first broadcast on 23 May 2019
37 min
May 05, 2021 On Thinking
In the latest book from the CPX team, Mark Stephens asks: why is it so hard to think well?
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“Pretty much, this book is a recount of all of the ways that I’ve failed at thinking. So it’s really a confession from start to finish, because we’re all susceptible to this.”
Thinking is one of the most basic and obvious things we do - but that doesn’t mean we do it well. Mark Stephens says it’s actually quite hard, and that thinking about thinking is uncomfortable … but that it’s very much worth doing.
His brand new book The End of Thinking? is the latest release in the Re:considering series. In this conversation with Simon and Natasha, Mark helps us navigate the topic of thinking: from terms like the Dunning-Kruger effect, steelmanning, and ultracrepidarianism to why we should care about it in the first place - and what kind of person it will make you.
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Get your copy of The End of Thinking? here
31 min
May 05, 2021 On Thinking
In the latest book from the CPX team, Mark Stephens asks: why is it so hard to think well?
---
“Pretty much, this book is a recount of all of the ways that I’ve failed at thinking. So it’s really a confession from start to finish, because we’re all susceptible to this.”
Thinking is one of the most basic and obvious things we do - but that doesn’t mean we do it well. Mark Stephens says it’s actually quite hard, and that thinking about thinking is uncomfortable … but that it’s very much worth doing.
His brand new book The End of Thinking? is the latest release in the Re:considering series. In this conversation with Simon and Natasha, Mark helps us navigate the topic of thinking: from terms like the Dunning-Kruger effect, steelmanning, and ultracrepidarianism to why we should care about it in the first place - and what kind of person it will make you.
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Get your copy of The End of Thinking? here
31 min
April 28, 2021 Light Breaks Through
Makoto Fujimura and the healing power of art and faith
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Acclaimed artist Mako Fujimura talks to about the connection between beauty, art and faith. A particular emphasis is on the Japanese tradition of Kintsugi which repairs broken bowls, reassembling them with lacquer and then covering that in gold. The whole idea is that it takes broken things and not only restores them but makes them more beautiful than the original. Beauty out of brokenness is the idea - which has profound resonance with Fujimura’s understanding of his Christian faith and echoes his own experience in dealing with trauma and loss.
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Links:
Makoto Fujimura Art & Faith: A theology of Making.
https://www.waterfall-gallery.com/makoto-fujimura
https://makotofujimura.com/
31 min
April 28, 2021 Light Breaks Through
Makoto Fujimura and the healing power of art and faith
--------
Acclaimed artist Mako Fujimura talks to about the connection between beauty, art and faith. A particular emphasis is on the Japanese tradition of Kintsugi which repairs broken bowls, reassembling them with lacquer and then covering that in gold. The whole idea is that it takes broken things and not only restores them but makes them more beautiful than the original. Beauty out of brokenness is the idea - which has profound resonance with Fujimura’s understanding of his Christian faith and echoes his own experience in dealing with trauma and loss.
----
Links:
Makoto Fujimura Art & Faith: A theology of Making.
https://www.waterfall-gallery.com/makoto-fujimura
https://makotofujimura.com/
31 min
April 21, 2021 The Jane Austen Episode
Why do Austen’s novels inspire an almost religious fervour?
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“There’s no one to touch Jane when you’re in a tight spot,” declares a character in the Kipling short story “The Janeites”, in which a group of soldiers in the trenches of World War I bond over their shared love of Austen.
Today, Austen fandom approaches levels of devotion unrivalled by almost any other author. At the same time, her six novels are often dismissed as “chick lit”.
In this episode, Simon agrees (with some reluctance) to finally read Pride and Prejudice - and is surprised by what he finds. Natasha speaks with Katrina Clifford, Dean of Academics at Robert Menzies College and a scholar of eighteenth-century literature, about why so many people over the last two centuries have been so obsessed with Austen.
From Mormon or Amish adaptations to the handful of surviving prayers we have from Jane’s pen; from Austen’s male historical mega-fans (Churchill, Tolkien) to the BBC’s famous lake scene; this conversation has something for everyone - whether you’re a diehard Janeite, or need a bit of convincing to give Austen a go.
35 min
April 21, 2021 The Jane Austen Episode
Why do Austen’s novels inspire an almost religious fervour?
---
“There’s no one to touch Jane when you’re in a tight spot,” declares a character in the Kipling short story “The Janeites”, in which a group of soldiers in the trenches of World War I bond over their shared love of Austen.
Today, Austen fandom approaches levels of devotion unrivalled by almost any other author. At the same time, her six novels are often dismissed as “chick lit”.
In this episode, Simon agrees (with some reluctance) to finally read Pride and Prejudice - and is surprised by what he finds. Natasha speaks with Katrina Clifford, Dean of Academics at Robert Menzies College and a scholar of eighteenth-century literature, about why so many people over the last two centuries have been so obsessed with Austen.
From Mormon or Amish adaptations to the handful of surviving prayers we have from Jane’s pen; from Austen’s male historical mega-fans (Churchill, Tolkien) to the BBC’s famous lake scene; this conversation has something for everyone - whether you’re a diehard Janeite, or need a bit of convincing to give Austen a go.
35 min
March 31, 2021 Great Moral Teacher
If Jesus offers wisdom for how to live, how necessary is the “Son of God” stuff?
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“I do think Jesus is a much more challenging figure than he is often presented to be. And a lot of the challenges he presents I think Christians find it quite hard to really look square in the eye.”
Julian Baggini is a philosopher, an atheist, and the author most recently of The Godless Gospel: Was Jesus A Great Moral Teacher? It’s the latest contribution to a centuries-long effort to discover what’s left of Jesus of Nazareth if you subtract the miracles and “God talk”.
Jonathan Pennington is a New Testament scholar at Southern Seminary in Kentucky, and his book Jesus the Great Philosopher also places Jesus within a tradition of offering wisdom for life. However, he thinks that ultimately, you can’t separate the moral teaching of Jesus from the Easter story of his crucifixion and resurrection. His argument is that Jesus is more than a philosopher - but not less than one.
“When you study philosophy, you recognise the best philosophers are really asking very important questions - some big ideas, and some really practical questions about what it means to be human. … My suggestion to you all is that when you go to the Bible and when you go to Jesus with that same set of questions, you are going to find remarkably thoughtful, remarkably practical, remarkably beautiful answers.”
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Links:
Julian Baggini, The Godless Gospel: Was Jesus A Great Moral Teacher?
Jonathan Pennington, Jesus the Great Philosopher: Rediscovering the Wisdom Needed for the Good Life
Listen to our previous interview with Julian Baggini on Life & Faith, on the topic of free will: Freedom Regained
33 min
March 31, 2021 Great Moral Teacher
If Jesus offers wisdom for how to live, how necessary is the “Son of God” stuff?
---
“I do think Jesus is a much more challenging figure than he is often presented to be. And a lot of the challenges he presents I think Christians find it quite hard to really look square in the eye.”
Julian Baggini is a philosopher, an atheist, and the author most recently of The Godless Gospel: Was Jesus A Great Moral Teacher? It’s the latest contribution to a centuries-long effort to discover what’s left of Jesus of Nazareth if you subtract the miracles and “God talk”.
Jonathan Pennington is a New Testament scholar at Southern Seminary in Kentucky, and his book Jesus the Great Philosopher also places Jesus within a tradition of offering wisdom for life. However, he thinks that ultimately, you can’t separate the moral teaching of Jesus from the Easter story of his crucifixion and resurrection. His argument is that Jesus is more than a philosopher - but not less than one.
“When you study philosophy, you recognise the best philosophers are really asking very important questions - some big ideas, and some really practical questions about what it means to be human. … My suggestion to you all is that when you go to the Bible and when you go to Jesus with that same set of questions, you are going to find remarkably thoughtful, remarkably practical, remarkably beautiful answers.”
---
Links:
Julian Baggini, The Godless Gospel: Was Jesus A Great Moral Teacher?
Jonathan Pennington, Jesus the Great Philosopher: Rediscovering the Wisdom Needed for the Good Life
Listen to our previous interview with Julian Baggini on Life & Faith, on the topic of free will: Freedom Regained
33 min
March 24, 2021 Rebroadcast: Life on Mars
An aerospace engineer and an astrogeologist discuss the whether and why of space exploration.
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"For all these wonderful technologies, for all these incredible achievements that you see – rockets that can be reused, drones that can fly long missions, every discovery by the Hubble or the Kepler – there’s this realisation that when all the really, really good stuff comes along, I’m going to be dead."
When James Garth was a young, budding aerospace engineer, he came across an ad in his copy of Aviation Week that read: "In 200 years, space flight will be routine. You, however, will be dead." It was an existential-angst-inducing moment. But it hasn’t kept him from being constantly excited about the work he gets to do now.
"My main job is to make sure the wings don’t fall off – if the wings fall off, it’s a bad day, and if the wing stays on, it’s a good day," James says. He’s not being flippant – the wings of an aircraft, he explains, are designed to not fall off, of course, but only just.
"Aerospace is a really demanding profession because you’re pushing yourself up against the extremes of what is actually possible," he says. "You’ve got to shave out weight at every opportunity, you’ve got to constantly innovate and use new materials and new technologies … and that’s actually why I love doing aerospace engineering."
In this episode, we’re celebrating National Science Week in Australia with two conversations on space travel, the wonder of the cosmos, the possibility of life on other planets, and – of course – the best science fiction on offer.
Hear from two Australians with very cool jobs: James Garth, an aeronautical engineer, and a man who has travelled to Mars. Twice. Well, sort of.
"In the Canadian Arctic the ground is frozen, there’s permafrost, and we know there’s permafrost on Mars," Jonathan Clarke says about the location of his first Mars simulation experience. "In Utah you’ve got a red, dry desert with rocks that are full of clay, full of sulphates, just like we see on Mars," he says of the second.
An astrogeologist, Jon would love to go to Mars for real one day.
"I love beautiful places. Mars has grandeur. It’s got volcanos with cliffs eight kilometres high and canyons 12 kilometres deep, it’s got blue sunsets and pink skies, and great dust storms - it’s an extraordinarily beautiful landscape and I’d just love to be able to explore that in person."
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These interviews were conducted at ISCAST’s Conference on Science and Christianity. Find out more about ISCAST here: www.iscast.org
31 min