Life Issues

There are many competing voices about the role of Christianity in this nation. The Right Reverend Arun Arora, the Church of England’s co-lead Bishop for Racial Justice and the Bishop of Kirkstall, joins Vicky Gibbens for this Life Issues episode. He shares his personal experience of exploring identity and considers what is shaping some of our beliefs; be it certain public figures, our nation’s history and heritage, or the Bible, and our relationship with God?

How does the sanctity of life sit alongside compassion for the suffering in the Christian message around assisted dying? Dr Susan Marriot, Head of Public Policy for the Christian Medical Fellowship and the Reverend Canon Rosie Harper, Bishop's advisor for women’s ministry for the Church of England’s Oxford Diocese, join Paul Hammond for this Life Issues episode.

Just one in three children in the UK now enjoy reading, so how do we need to redefine the importance of literacy for the next generation in a digital age? An assistant head of a primary school and co-founder of Spy Readers, Andrew Vale-Taylor, and Sarah Grace, a counsellor and psychotherapist and the pioneer of the first dyslexia-friendly Christian publisher in the UK, Sarah Grace Publishing, joined Vicky Gibbens for this Life Issues episode.

How do you lose labels that others put on you, or perhaps even the labels we put on ourselves? Particularly when those labels tell you that you’ll never amount to anything? Rob Parsons OBE looks back on his life’s journey in this week’s Life Issues to share how he overcame discouraging words spoken over him one step at a time.

In the last few years, we’ve seen a real growth in understanding of Neurodiversity. Although for some, function is severely limited, we now seem to recognise not just need but also possibility, contribution and value to society, workplace, communities and churches that comes with a greater openness from the neurotypical to walk alongside rather than disparage, the neurodiverse, to engage rather than distance.

In this week’s Life Issues, Wired Differently: The Strengths of Neurodiversity, Paul is joined by Fiona MacMillan who herself is Neurodivergent and chairs the Church of England’s Neurodiversity working group and Bex Chapman who is Mum to Neurodiverse children and also part of the working group.

You have to feel it, to heal it. We've all experienced it, hurt, sometimes emotional, sometimes physical. What's the prescription Jesus gave to relieve us of the pain? Forgiveness... It can be a hard medication to swallow, but someone once said "unforgiveness and resentment can be like taking poison ourselves expecting the other person to experience the awful effects"... In reality it is us who suffer. Dr Amy Orr Ewing, author of Forgiveness joins Ashley Andrew to delve deeper into the reality of turning the other cheek in this week' s Life Issues - Forgiveness in an Era of Outrage.

Migration is one of the most talked-about topics in the UK right now. Whether the discussion is about refugees, immigration, or small boats, it raises difficult questions. In this episode of Life Issues, we explore how Christians might engage with the conversation. What does a compassionate, thoughtful, and truthful response look like? How can we discuss migration in a way that reflects both concern for people and the challenges facing society? Dr. Krish Kandiah OBE, Founder of the Sanctuary Foundation, and Katie Woo, National Church Hong Kong Communities Enabler, join Paul Hammond to discuss the topic and share their stories.

What’s the difference between a disciple and a follower or church goer?

Jesus said go into all the world & make disciples with the apparent expectation that all who would “follow Him” would also “deny themselves & take up their cross.”

So why, in the modern church do we seem to have a 2-tier system where all disciples are Christians but not all Christians are disciples? Mind you when you look back through history or read Paul’s letters maybe it’s not just a modern phenomenon.

So what can we do? Dave Criddle, Author of The DNA of Healthy Discipleship thinks a game of twister might help? Paul finds out why in this week’s Life Issues Am I a real Christian if I’m not a disciple?

Life can sometimes feel like you’re in constant transition. We can feel like we’re crushing it in some seasons and at other times life is crushing us. The women in the Bible had it tough too. They struggled with issues like marital challenges, relationship breakdowns, grief and unfulfilled dreams. Holly Satterthwaite invites us to lean into every facet of womanhood, in her book Glorious reminding us that we can encounter the goodness and glory of God in whatever season we find ourselves in. Holly joins Ashley Andrew for Life Issues this week - Does the life of a woman reveal God's glory?

Throughout history, the Bible has been used as a weapon to subjugate and oppress, to validate attitudes and positions of power that fly in the face of the example of Jesus’ life.  Well, the Word of God is like a two-edged sword, but Who are we supposed to deploy it against? And what are the risks if it is used wrongly?

Paul explores more, in this week’s Life Issues  Weaponizing the Bible with Revd Dr Helen Paynter.