Unbelievable?

"The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ" is the latest book from the pen of prominent atheist author Philip Pullman.  It re-imagines the story of Jesus as the story of two twins - one called Jesus, the other Christ.  It is the twin Christ who writes the history of Jesus, turning him into the God-man of the Gospels. 

Philip Pullman joins Justin Brierley to discuss whether we should believe the Biblical stories of Jesus as historical fact or whether myth and invention are inevitable in the 2000 year old Gospel accounts.

Christian journalist Martin Saunders engages Pullman on his view of the Church and his scepticism of the miraculous while Bible Scholar Anthony McRoy challenges Pullman's view that the Gospels are the product of the mythologising and interpretation of its historical core.  He particularly takes issue with Pullman's recasting of the resurrection as a fabricated trick to create the foundation of the future church.

For "The book of Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ" see http://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Jesus-Scoundrel-Christ-Myths/dp/1847678254

For a further debate between Philip Pullman and Rt Revd Lord Richard Harries courtesy of English Pen go to http://www.premierradio.org.uk/shows/saturday/unbelievable/features.aspx

For Philip Pullman see http://www.philip-pullman.com/

Martin Saunders is a contributor to Christianity Magazine and reviews the book in their June edition http://www.christianitymagazine.co.uk/

For Anthony McRoy on the historical Jesus see http://www.bethinking.org/bible-jesus/introductory/debunking-channel-4s-conspiracy-theory.htm

If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy:

Unbelievable? 3 Jan 2009 Bart Ehrman & Peter Williams - "Misquoting Jesus: Do we have the original writings of the New Testament?"

Unbelievable? 29 Aug 2009 - and the Eyewitnesses part 1 : Richard Bauckham and James Crossley

Unbelievable? 6 Sep 2008 Christianity on trial pt 1: Can I trust the Bible? Atheist lawyer Ed Turner vs Theologian Andy Bannister

Jon the discussion at the Premier Community http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable

Test of Faith is an initiative aimed at showing that Christian faith and good science are perfectly compatible.  As the Tour reaches london on 19th May we ask "Do we need God, now that we have science?"

Denis Alexander is a biologist from the Faraday Insititute in Cambridge.  As a Christian he believes that his science coheres with and supports his faith.  Stephen Law of the Royal Institute of Philosophy believes that science together with philosophy can be used to refute the existence of God.

They discuss Evolution, the problem of evil,  the God of the Gaps, the cosmological and fine tuning arguments for the existence of God and more besides.

For Test of Faith and the London Tour (Wed 19th May, 7.30pm at The London Institute of Contemporary Christianity) visit http://www.testoffaith.com

For Stephen Law visit http://stephenlaw.blogspot.com/

For Denis Alexander visit http://graphite.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk/faraday/

For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the MP3 podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes

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Unbelievable? 27 Jun 2009 - "Is Christian faith at odds with science?" Atheist biologist PZ Myers & Christian biologist Denis Alexander

Unbelievable? 10 Jan 2009  Ehrman & Richard Swinburne - "God's Problem: does the Bible fail to answer the problem of suffering?"

Unbelievable? 29 Nov 2008 - Creation or Evolution - do we have to choose? Denis Alexander & Stephen Lloyd debate

Join the discussion at the "Unbelievable?" group of the Premier Community http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable

We mix things up a bit this week with a different format.  Four atheist listeners of the show get their chance to air their objections to Christian faith.  Taking their questions and criticisms is Church pastor David Robertson, author of "The Dawkins Letters".

Martyn Frame asks "Would the Universe look different without God?".  Trevor asks "What about Old Testament Laws that we find offensive?".  Alex Bryce probes David on the Moral argument for God.  David Moser questions whether the problem of suffering has been properly thought through by Christians.

The debate will continue online at the 'Unbelievable?' group of the Premier Community as each atheist posts up their questions and David responds.  Join in at http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable

For David Robertson see http://www.stpeters-dundee.org.uk

For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the MP3 podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes

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Unbelievable? 20 Feb 2010 - "Is Christianity Good for us?" US atheist Michael Shermer debates Scottish apologist David Robertson

Unbelievable? 13 Jun 2009 - The Moral Argument For God - Atheist Paul Orton & Christian David Robertson

What does it take for life to get going in our universe?  Is there intelligence in the stars or right under our nose? Renowned astrophysicist Paul Davies chats to Oxford Professor of Mathematics John Lennox.

A popular science author, Davies is also the Chair of the SETI post detection task force.  His latest book "The Eerie Silence" which marks SETI's 50th anniversary examines the likelihood of the universe producing life elsewhere.

John Lennox is a Christian Mathematician and philosopher.  He is the author of "God's Undertaker: has science buried God?" and has debated Richard Dawkins on several occasions.

Davies' work on the fine tuning of the universe for life has been sympathetic to theism.  In this programme Lennox challenges Davies to look to design not just in cosmology but in the cell.  They also chat about what the discovery of ET would mean for Christian theology.

For Paul Davies see http://cosmos.asu.edu/

For his book "The Eerie Silence" click here

For John Lennox see http://johnlennox.org/

For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or via iTunes

If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy:

Unbelievable? 8 Nov 2008 Dawkins & John Lennox's Oxford debate - a review with interviews and comment.

Unbelievable? 14 Mar 2009 Tuning of the Universe - is it evidence of God? Nicholas Beale vs Julian Baggini

Join the discussion at the "Unbelievable?" group of the Premier Community http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable

An Inter-Christian discussion on the beliefs and doctrines that are distinctive of Seventh Day Adventists.  Why do they hold to Saturday as the "true" day for worship and rest?  Are they too legalistic?  What about the failed prophecy of Christ's return that they grew out of?  What should we make of founder Ellen White's teaching on "Investigative Judgement"?

David Burnett and Victor Hulbert of the SDA church in the UK respond to these questions raised by Doug Harris of the Reachout Trust in a friendly encounter seeking to understand more about the denomination.

For the Seventh Day Adventist Church see http://www.adventist.org.uk or http://tottenham.adventistchurch.org.uk

Watch Doug Harris, Victor Hulbert and Gerard Chrispin's TV debate http://www.adventistinfo.org.uk/about/world-in-focus.php

For Doug Harris see http://www.reachouttrust.org/

Hear more theological debate at http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or subscribe to the podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or via itunes

If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy:

Unbelievable? 8 Sep 2007 - Mormonism and Christianity

Unbelievable? 9 Feb 2008 - Bahai faith and Christianity

Join the discussion at the "Unbelievable?" group on the Premier Community http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable

The Unification church of Revd Sun Myung Moon (aka The Moonies) is often regarded as a cult.  But what do they actually believe about Jesus and his death and resurrection?

Christian Nseka is a member of the religion and believes we need to see Jesus' death and resurrection in a new way.  He believes that Christ did not fulfil his mission and that Revd Moon is the new Messiah.

Doug Harris runs the Reachout Trust, a Christian organisation seeking to engage with Cults and the New Age.  He believes that Nseka's understanding of the Bible is skewed and he has missed the point of Jesus death and resurrection at Easter.

For Doug Harris visit http://www.reachouttrust.org/ or his TV show on Revelation TV http://www.revelationtv.com/progblog.php?progid=795

For Christian Nseka visit http://www.messiah101.com/

For more Christian/non Christian debate visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or via Itunes

If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy

Unbelievable? 5 Jan 2008 Christianity and Freemasonry - serving two masters? Doug Harris & Michael Donovan

Unbelievable? 26 Apr 2008 Proof for the Resurrection - Evangelist Tony Costa & Atheist Ken Humphreys debate.

Join the discussion at the 'Unbelievable?' Group of the Premier Community http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable

Richard Morgan and Todd Pitner both experienced adult conversions from atheism to Christian Faith. 

Morgan, whose conversion story two years ago has been told before on "Unbelievable?" questions whether atheists who rule out personal experience as evidence for God are acting consistently.

Todd Pitner who was converted two and a half years ago presents his own story and what he believes was a miraculous event.  He now runs a website http://www.iloveatheists.com that seeks to answer the main challenges to Christian belief.

Atheist Gordon Livesey interacts with both stories as we ask questions such as - "Is a Christian's testimony their best evangelistic tool?" and "Is there more to evidence than a purely scientific approach?"

Want more? Todd, Richard and Gordon are discussing this show at the Unbelievable? group of the Premier Community http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable

For Richard Morgan see http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/profile/RichardMorgan

and read his story here (p8): http://www.freechurch.org/pdf/monthlyrecord/sept08.pdf

For Todd Pitner's website see http://www.iloveatheists.com/

For his story see: http://www.iloveatheists.com/about_us/dear-friends

For more Christian/non-Christian debate audio visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the mp3 podcast at http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes

If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy:

Unbelievable? 12 Sep 2009 From Atheism to Christian faith via richarddawkins.net - Christians Richard Morgan, David Robertson and Atheist Ed Turner

Unbelievable? 30 May 2009 Reconciling Bible Contradictions: Christian Derek Tidball vs. Atheist Gordon Livesey

The second of three shows debating the identity of Jesus. Orthodox Rabbi David Lister talks to New Testament scholar David Instone-Brewer.

They discuss the rabbinic credentials of Jesus and why they differ on whether he was the messiah of the Jews.

This programme is brought to you in partnership with www.springharvest.org & www.thegodquestion.tv

For more resources on the Bible TV series http://www.premier.org.uk/thebible

For Rabbi David Lister http://www.edgwareu.com/about/rabbi

For David Instone-Brewer http://www.tyndale.cam.ac.uk/index.php?page=david-instone-brewer

For more faith debates visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable

Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter

Get the MP3 podcast of Unbelievable? http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes

You may also enjoy:

Was Jesus the Messiah of the Jews? Rabbi Jonathan Romain vs Stephen Pacht

Jesus & Jewishness: are they compatible? Rabbi Shmuley Boteach & Michael Brown debate

New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman's latest explosive book How Jesus Became God claims that the early Church turned Christ into the son of God, but Jesus himself never believed it and nor did his first followers.

Cambridge scholar Simon Gathercole has contributed to a response book How God Became Jesus (released at the same time) and, in the first of two shows, debates with Ehrman about whether the Gospels present a human or divine character.

Book for Unbelievable? The Conference 2014 www.premier.org.uk/reasonablefaith

MP3 of this show http://media.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/76d00b68-7544-44e3-87dd-0b8d32948aa5.mp3

For 'How Jesus Became God': http://www.harpercollins.com/books/How-Jesus-Became-God-Bart-D-Ehrman/?isbn=9780061778186

For 'How God Became Jesus': http://www.zondervan.com/how-god-became-jesus.html

For Bart Ehrman www.bartdehrman.com

For the Euangelion Blog http://www.patheos.com/blogs/euangelion

This show brought to you in partnership with www.biola.edu/apologetics and in association with www.reasons.org

For more faith debates visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable

Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter

Get the MP3 podcast of Unbelievable? http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes

You may also enjoy:

Unbelievable? 10 Oct 2009 - Jesus and the God of Israel - Richard Bauckham & James Crossley.

Unbelievable? 15 December 2012 Did Jesus Exist? Richard Carrier vs Mark Goodacre.

Peter Hitchens is a writer and regular columnist for the Mail on Sunday.  Unlike his atheist brother Christopher, Peter is a committed Christian having himself been an atheist in younger years.

His new book "The Rage Against God" challenges the anti-theism of his brother and the 'new atheism', taking as its starting point a debate they both took part in two years ago.

He debates with atheist Adam Rutherford, a scientific broadcaster and writer, on whether society can function without a God-given moral compass at its centre.  They cover issues such as faith, secularism, the church, atheist states and abortion in this wide ranging discussion.

You can buy "The Rage against God" at http://premier.org.uk/shop

For Peter Hitchens' Blog see http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/

For Adam Rutherford see http://adamrutherford.com/

For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or Get the MP3 podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes

If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy

Unbelievable? 4 Jul 2009 - Peter Hitchens & Ibrahim Mogra debate "Is Islam or Christianity the best future for Britain?"

Unbelievable? 19 Sep 2009 - "Would Europe be better off as an atheistic or Christian society?" David Robertson, Ed Turner & Richard Morgan

Join the discussion at the Premier Community http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable