Unbelievable?

Ruth Jackson hosts this special edition of Premier Unbelievable? with Oxford scholar and C. S Lewis expert Dr. Alister McGrath.

Lewis - Jack to his friends - was a 20th Century British writer and lay theologian who is arguably one of the most influential voices in modern Christianity. On November 22nd 1963, Clive Staples Lewis died in Oxford, England. Ten years ago, McGrath’s definitive biography C.S.Lewis A Life - Eccentric Genius Reluctant Prophet was published giving readers a glimpse of McGrath’s extensive research and a thorough chronological examination of Lewis’ correspondence and archival materials to present a new picture of Lewis’s life. The book paints a portrait of an eccentric thinker who became a compelling, though reluctant, prophet for our times. Writing in the London Telegraph, Philip Womach described Dr. McGrath as a clear-eyed, and learned companion in exploring Lewis the man, and described his analysis of the Narnia books is illuminating.

Dr. McGrath continues to share his insights on Lewis weekly in The C.S. Lewis Podcast hosted by Ruth Jackson. 60 years after his death, Ruth Jackson puts a variety of listener’s questions to Dr. McGrath including is there an expiry date on C.S. Lewis’ relevance sixty years after his death?

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Vince Vitale hosts this timely discussion around faith and politics, with Pete Wehner, journalist and senior fellow at Trinity Forum and Jonathan Rauch who is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute. The topic is Should faith and politics mix? How can we take the fear out of politics and make it transcendent rather than transactional? Atheist Jonathan Rauch is an expert in governance studies and the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is also a contributing writer of The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. Across from him, is Pete Wehner a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, and also a contributing editor for The Atlantic. A graduate of the University of Washington, Pete Wehner served in the Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush administrations, including as Deputy Director of Speechwriting and later Director of the Office of Strategic Initiatives for President George W. Bush.  

These two, Pete Wehner, a Christian for many years, and Jon Rauch, an avowed atheist, have plenty of experience in the fray of politics and have distinct political differences. What they share is a deep respect for each other and a loyal friendship built over decades. Listen to the end of the podcast where Jonathan Rauch articulates the three defining characteristics of Christianity.  

@Peter_Wehner 

@jon_rauch 

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From 2016: Reformed apologist James White joins Justin again, this time to take calls from listeners on whether the apostles preached Jesus’ divinity, whether God is the author of evil, and whether Calvin wasn’t reformed enough. In the final part of the show Justin is joined by Larry Taunton to talk about his unlikely friendship with one of the world’s best known atheists, as detailed in his new book ‘The Faith of Christopher Hitchens’.

For James White http://www.aomin.org/

o read the interview with Larry Taunton on Christopher Hitchens https://www.premierchristianity.com/Past-Issues/2016/June-2016/My-unlikely-friendship-with-the-world-s-most-notorious-atheist For Unbelievable?

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Richard Swinburne and Philip Goff debate why are we here? Is it time we moved on from both God and Atheism, as Goff suggests in his new book Why? The Purpose of the Universe? Unbelievable Host Vince Vitale guides us through as Goff argues that the traditional God is a bad explanation of cosmic purpose. Instead, he explores a range of alternative possibilities for accounting for cosmic purpose, from the speculation that we live in a computer simulation to the hypothesis that the universe itself is a conscious mind. 

Richard Swinburne is a Fellow of the British Academy, and has received honorary doctorates from three overseas universities. He was Professor of the Philosophy of Religion at the University of Oxford from 1985 until 2002. Since then he has continued to lecture extensively in many countries. He is best known for his trilogy on the philosophy of theism -The Coherence of Theism, The Existence of God, and Faith and Reason. Richard Swinburne and James Sterba are launching a new debate Why would a good God allow so much suffering? early in 2024.

Dr Philip Goff is Professor of Philosophy at Durham University. His research focuses on consciousness and the ultimate nature of reality. Goff is best known for defending panpsychism, the view that consciousness pervades the universe and is a fundamental feature of it. 

Richard’s papers 'The existence of God', 'The problem of evil' are accessible on his website: https://users.ox.ac.uk/~orie0087/framesetpublications.shtml and his books are available here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/is-there-a-god-9780199580439?cc=gb&lang=en&

Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Why-Purpose-Universe-Philip-Goff/dp/0198883765

Website: https://philipgoffphilosophy.com/

Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@MindChat

Social Media: https://twitter.com/Philip_Goff

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From 2016: John E Sanders is one among a number of evangelical theologians such as Greg Boyd who have embraced Open Theism – the view that God does not necessarily have foreknowledge of all future events and that the future is open. Many evangelicals believe Open Theism is a heresy – denying the omniscience of God and going against Biblical teaching. James White of Alpha and Omega ministries believes Open Theism is a serious heresy and defends a Calvinist view of God’s sovereignty – that God has predestined all future events for his glory. They debate the issues.

For John Sanders https://www.hendrix.edu/religion/religion.aspx?id=6596

For James White http://www.aomin.org/

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The Big Conversation is a unique video series from Unbelievable? the flagship apologetics and theology discussion show from Premierunbelievable.com  In this bonus episode of The Big Conversation' formidable Daily Wire host and renowned political thinker Ben Shapiro goes head-to-head with Oxford graduate of philosophy and theology, now international public speaker and debater, Alex O’Connor. Hosted by Andy Kind, Shapiro and O'Connor debate Is religion good or bad for society? What is the concept of free will? Does it even exist? What about the idea of the self, and the foundations of morality in society, and do we all have to agree on them?

Ben Shapiro is a distinguished figure in the realm of political discussion, recognised for his bold opinions and remarkable debating skills. Ever-innovative in thought and influential in culture, Shapiro brings a fresh and compelling perspective to this philosophical conversation.  

Atheist Alex O’Connor, the YouTuber formerly known as the Cosmic Sceptic, and host of the Within Reason podcast brings thoughtful philosophical rigour and insight to provoke deliberation on varying timeless faith-science-philosophy topics. Religion’s effects in the evolution of consciousness, Nihilism’s counter to the concept of free will and, ultimately, the basis of varying worldviews serve as crucial discussion points in this thought-provoking exchange.   

 

This debate wraps up this season on a captivating note, leaving audiences across the belief spectrum increasingly inquisitive of the ever-disputed questions among various worldviews and intricacies in the crossover realms of science, faith, philosophy and culture.   

 

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The Big Conversation is a video series from Premier Unbelievable? featuring world-class thinkers across the religious and non-religious community. Exploring science, faith, philosophy and what it means to be human. The Big Conversation is produced by Premier Unbelievable? in partnership with John Templeton Foundation.

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From 2016: Richard Weikart, professor of history at California State University, joins Premier Unbelievable? to talk about his new book 'The Death of Humanity'. He says the loss of belief in the value of human life is leading to disastrous consequences for society. Peter Singer is an Australian ethicist who believes we should dispense with the concept of the sanctity of human life in favour of a view of 'personhood'. Humans who are less capable of having preferences, such as babies, have less claim to be kept alive. They debate whether this view of humanity is dangerous and Susan Blackmore, atheist psychologist and philosopher also joins the conversation.

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Ruth Jackson hosts a discussion about a 20th Century British writer and lay theologian who is arguably one of the most influential voices in modern Christianity. On November 22nd 1963, Clive Staples Lewis – Jack to his friends – died in Oxford, England. However, 60 years after his death, is CS Lewis still relevant?

We hear from former pastor-turned atheist, Dan Barker, who suggests that many of Lewis’ arguments are fundamentally flawed. Literature professor, Dr Carolyn Weber, highlights where she disagrees with Dan and shares some of her story about coming to faith at Oxford University, in part through CS Lewis. Looking at some of Lewis’ key works, Dan and Carolyn discuss whether faith and reason are antithetical, if Christianity is true and in what ways Lewis speaks to us today.

Dan Barker spent many years as a Christian pastor before becoming an atheist. He is co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation and co-founder of The Clergy Project. Dan is an accomplished musician and author of many books, including God: The Most Unpleasant Character in all Fiction.

Dr Carolyn Webber is an award-winning author, professor and international speaker. Carolyn’s first memoir, Surprised by Oxford, recently became a feature film. Both the book and film tell her story of coming to faith from scepticism – a journey that, in many ways, mirrors CS Lewis’ own.

 

For the CS Lewis podcast, including an episode with Dr Carolyn Weber sharing more of her story and numerous episodes with Dan Barker discussing Lewis’ apologetics alongside Michael Ward: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/shows/the-cs-lewis-podcast

 

For Dan Barker and Martin Kuhrt discussing whether the God of the Bible is a capriciously malevolent, misogynistic, sadomasochistic bully: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/unbelievable/unbelievable-is-the-god-of-the-bible-a-capriciously-malevolent-misogynistic-sadomasochistic-bully-dan-barker-vs-martin-kuhrt/11653.article

 

For Dr Carolyn Weber: https://www.carolynweber.com/about/

 

For Dan Barker: https://ffrf.org/about/staff-board/item/38960-dan-barker

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From 2016: In his new book ‘Go Is No Thing’ Rupert Shortt argues that many ‘new atheists’ have a faulty view of God that doesn’t take seriously the philosophical arguments that thinkers like Thomas Aquinas gave many centuries ago for the existence of God. Rupert discusses the issues with atheist Jeremy Rodell, dialogue officer for the British Humanist Association. We also hear some feedback to the most recent Bauckham vs Ehrman shows.

For God Is No Thing: http://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/god-is-no-thing/

For Jeremy Rodell: https://humanism.org.uk/about/our-people/trustees/

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Unbelievable shows often benefit from a second listen and some even become classics. Today we are dipping into the concluding part of a conversation between noted Bible scholar Bart Ehrman and Richard Bauckham who debate each other with Justin Brierley in the hosting seat. This show was recorded following the publication of Ehrman's 2016 book "Jesus Before the Gospels". Bart Erhman recently debated Justin Bass on The Big Conversation which you can watch here. But in this show Bart Erhman makes the case that eyewitness testimony is very fallible and that the stories about Jesus that were written down in the Gospels would have changed shape over time. Noted scholar Richard Bauckham, author of "Jesus and the Eyewitnesses", disagrees and defends the trustworthiness of eyewitness testimony and addresses the question of how Jesus' sayings and stories would have been memorised and passed along. Coming soon the latest course from Premier Unbelievable Did it happen? The Birth of Jesus will explore Bauckman's work further on the veracity of the details of Jesus's birth in the Gospel accounts.

For Richard Bauckham: http://richardbauckham.co.uk

For Bart Ehrman: http://www.bartdehrman.com

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