Where is the Church calling Australian society to accountability in the face of experiences of escalating racism and hatred against First Nations people?

This is a question Professor Anne Pattel-Gray asks as she recalls the times of church support for land rights and justice for the Stolen Generations, leaning into a Gospel message that proclaims equality and the dignity of all. Anne joins the podcast with a summons to a renewed commitment to addressing historical injustices and speaking truth to power. As the first Aboriginal person to gain a PhD in religious studies from an Australian University, Anne's prophetic voice has for decades been calling on the churches to own their past and present complicity in colonisation and commit to a reconciliation based on truth-telling and justice. 

Professor Anne Pattel-Gray teaches a theology founded on Aboriginal sovereignty and shaped by her experience as a Bidjara follower of Jesus. Author of the acclaimed text, 'The Great White Flood: Racism in Australia', Anne's new book, 'Red Ochre Theology' has just been published by ATF Press and is available now. 

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Often we hear colonialism spoken of as something that happened in the past. At other times in public discourse the term attracts heated resistance and the voices of the colonised are frequently not heard. If colonialism is not just the past but remains in the air we breathe, we can miss the ongoing effects in areas of diverse as class, economy, gender relationships and race. Dr Kwok Pui-lan joins the podcast to bring a global perspective to how colonialism is at play in political, religious and domestic relationships of power and in the legacy of social harm and intergenerational trauma. This means that colonialism is a current dynamic to which we need to be alive and alert if we are to work towards the healing of relationships through the ways of peace and justice. Dr. Kwok Pui-lan is a Scholar at Episcopal Divinity School, past president of the American Academy of Religion and has authored and edited numerous books on Asian and Asian American feminist theology, biblical interpretation, and postcolonial criticism. 

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There are plenty of reasons right now that we may feel inclined to despair. The news brings to us all the violence of the world and a sense that the all we have known is fundamentally changing. Dom, Sue and Peter gather for this 'check in' conversation on how we are adjusting to the shifting of the powers in the world and the unmasking of systems that have been for some time working against life and the flourishing of all. How do we find ways to navigate this time in life-affirming ways resting on a spiritual foundation that insists on the love and dignity of all in the midst of crisis? This conversation is a reminder of the power of community and of the love that holds us, and which faith reminds us, will  have the last word. 

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What soil did you come from? There is no self-made person and perhaps this is a lesson that emerges with greater clarity in the garden than in many of the other spaces and ways we live and work.  Our sacred texts are rooted in agrarian cultures and the Gospels are full of Jesus' stories of green and growing things, yet we often hear a Christianity preached that seems more comfortable with the spiritual world than our embodied lives. 

Jeff Chu left his job as a magazine writer and found himself at Princeton Theological Seminary's "Farminary"-a working farm where students learn to cultivate the earth while examining life's biggest questions. In his book "Good Soil: The Education of an Accidental Farmhand" Jeff writes about how such rhythms of death and life, growth, decay and regeneration can be our greatest teachers, revealing the grace of our interdependence and the love at the heart of everything. Jeff joins the podcast for this live conversation during his recent visit to Australia. 

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What if reconciliation is resistance? John Na'em Snobar, a Palestinian Christian and former Australian Diplomat, joins the podcast to speak from his lived experience both in diplomatic circles and on the ground in Israel/ Palestine of how speaking the truth is, in itself, a nonviolent response.  John speaks of the whole truth as that which names antisemitism as a centuries-old vile and violent hatred, along with its complex impact in the region, and shares his story to shed light on the current plight of Palestinians in Gaza.

John Na'em Snobar is a former Australian Diplomat and the Director of Advocacy for Palestinian Christians in Australia. He also is the grandson of the first Palestinian Bishop of the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem. In the tradition of Christian liberation theologies, John shines a light of hope on the steadfast refusal to dehumanise even enemies in living out nonviolent resistance and working for peace with justice.

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To be human is to find oneself bound to multiple things that are conflictual yet at the same time compelling. The interplay of desire and morality creates one such 'double bind'. It is possible to follow desire and disregard the claims of morality in such a way that you can ruin your life. Equally it is possible to devote oneself to morality and disregard the voice of desire and ruin your life. Desire is fundamentally central to being human, forming in unique ways in each of us, and we are also responsible fundamentally for others in the choices we make. Dr Peter Kline rejoins the podcast for a conversation that explores the unresolvable tensions of the human condition, why the idea of balance is so unhelpful and how freedom and joy can be found within the anxieties and complexities that attend every human life.

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While society has advanced in its understanding of mental health, with advances in treatment, wider awareness and a reduction in stigma, there seems to be no abating of the mental health crisis. Tracing the history of modern psychotherapy, and the systematic approach taken by the medical sciences, Jim Schirmer returns to the podcast to reflect on the academic heritage of psychotherapy and the therapeutic direction of our understanding of human mental health and wellbeing.While recognising the enormous gains and gifts of medical precision, diagnosis and classification systems, is it possible that something could be gained from greater inclusion of other traditions that think deeply about the human condition?  And how does Christian faith with its central image of the cross speak to an age which seems to pursue the goal of eliminating suffering and pursue individual happiness as the highest good? And where, in all of this, is there space for the mystery of the human soul?

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Anyone who describes an experience with the sacred will find themselves often struggling for words because they find the sacred is not a 'thing', nor a set of beliefs, but rather an encounter in open and vulnerable relationship which requires a far more humble and receptive form of knowing. Dr Iain McGilchrist, neuroscientist, philosopher and author, joins the podcast for a second conversation, this time in person in Australia with Dom, Sue and Peter. Those familiar with Iain's work about the two hemispheres of the brain will know that there is a connection traced between the way we attend to reality and a more utilitarian left hemisphere way of seeing and being which has become more culturally dominant in the West. The right hemisphere, Iain contends, is better equipped for perceiving the whole, appreciating paradox and engaging with the sacred. Thinking that we know it all is characteristic of the left hemisphere, robbing us of the sense of awe and wonder which makes life both beautiful and meaningful. 

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So often we think of leaders as born rather than made, or at least as having some kind of specialist predisposition such as charisma or perhaps an extraverted, more dominant personality. Dr Donna Ladkin joins Dom, Peter and Sue to explore the idea that maybe leadership is much more complex and may be better understood as a lived experience rather than a checklist of traits or behaviours. While recognising that individuals do matter, this conversation explores the idea of ‘a leadership moment’ that happens when context, purpose, followers and leaders align. How a leader is perceived, but also how the context and meaning of any given moment is understood all contribute to linking these four factors that come together in the moment. This thoughtful conversation about the making of leaders is of critical importance in current global contexts, but also in our own where understanding the nature and importance of leadership is vital for healthy and thriving communities.

Dr Donna Ladkin is the Professor of Leadership and Ethics at Graduate School of Management, Plymouth University, and the author of many books including “Rethinking Leadership: A new look at old leadership questions”.

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What if dignity is a way of seeing that changes the kind of attention we pay to each other and to our world?

Authenticity, human dignity and the courage to confront difficult truths are a common thread in the writing of Dr Beth-Sarah Wright who joins the podcast for this conversation during her recent visit to Brisbane. 

The Latin root of the word 'respect' is to look again. Everyone is worthy of respect, but sometimes we need to 'look again' to see beyond what we think we know about one another. Using 'dignity' as a lens has the power to shift conversation, prompting us to something different from our normal patterns and bridging the gap between what we say we believe and what we do. Beth-Sarah contends that, "Authentic people build authentic communities, creating a more just and dignified world for all."

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr Beth-Sarah Wright has over 27 years of experience in education, organisational culture and senior leadership, and is a sought after speaker for organisations as they seek to assess integrity and remain authentic to their identity. 

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