Unbelievable?

The online atheist world is awash with memes that critique passages from the Bible. 

Dan Kimball is the author of the new book ‘How (not) to read the Bible: Making sense of the anti-women, anti-science, pro-violence, pro-slavery, and other crazy sounding parts of scripture’. 

He debates atheist memes on slavery, violence and warfare with Michael Wiseman, host of the atheist podcast ‘The Bible Says What’.

Dan Kimball: http://www.dankimball.com

Michael Wiseman: https://twitter.com/bswthepodcast 

USA listeners check out our new USA website for exclusive resources and to support us: http://www.unbelievable.show

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Richard Bauckham’s book ‘Jesus and the Eyewitnesses’ has been heralded as a paradigm shift in the way the authorship of the Gospels should be seen. Bauckham argues that the Gospels are based on eyewitness accounts and should be regarded as fundamentally trustworthy. New Testament historian James Crossley discusses the implications of Bauckham's work and whether the Gospel of John was written by the disciple John himself, as Bauckham claims.

Originally broadcast 29th August 2009.

They continue the debate next week...

USA listeners check out our new USA website for exclusive resources and to support us: http://www.unbelievable.show

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In today’s episode we’re taking a sideways step from the covid pandemic and instead are discussing social media and free speech.

The banning of Donald Trump from every social media platform following the deadly riot earlier this month at the US Capitol building has prompted fierce debates, not only about free speech and censorship online, but also the role of social media in fostering hate and lies. Why is it that so much horrendous stuff accumulates and spills out of social media, from deranged conspiracy theories about coronavirus all the way up to the violent and often racist political rhetoric which inspired the Capitol insurrection? Do we need more regulation and moderation of what people are saying online, or less? What are the implications of unaccountable tech CEOs barring anyone they choose from the world’s dominant communications networks? And how should we, as Christians, think about the ethics of free speech and censorship in our always online 21st century world?

Our previous episode on conspiracy theories and misinformation online about coronavirus - https://shows.acast.com/matters-of-life-and-death/episodes/coronavirus-misinformation

Research on the spread of false and true news online, published in Science - https://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6380/1146

'Information Overload Helps Fake News Spread, and Social Media Knows It', published in Scientific American - https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/information-overload-helps-fake-news-spread-and-social-media-knows-it/

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sam Devis is a former Christian and produces a podcast called When Belief Dies. One of the triggers for his faith deconstruction was reading Yuval Noah Harari’s ‘Sapiens’ and the consequent questions this raised, particularly around evolution. Andrew Halestrap is emeritus professor of biochemistry and senior research fellow at Bristol University and was previously the national chair of Christians in Science. They join Justin to discuss faith, proof and the relationship between science and God.

For Sam Devis: https://linktr.ee/whenbeliefdies

For Andrew Halestrap: https://youtu.be/sSCqW40vKFQ

USA listeners check out our new USA website for exclusive resources and to support us: http://www.unbelievable.show

Everywhere else, subscribe to our newsletter https://www.premier.org.uk/Unbelievablenewsletter and support the show https://resources.premier.org.uk/supportunbelievable 

For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable 

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You don't have to look far for claims of the miraculous. But what constitutes a ‘miracle’ and do Christian beliefs in this area make sense? Michael Shermer is a well-known atheist in the USA and founding publisher of Skeptic magazine. He says miraculous claims always have a natural explanation. Adrian Holloway is a London pastor and apologist. He claims to have witnessed the miraculous and says that Michael's scepticism is unjustified.

USA listeners check out our new USA website for exclusive resources and to support us: http://www.unbelievable.show

Subscribe to our newsletter and receive the free Unbelievable? e-book ‘In Conversation With…’ https://www.premier.org.uk/Unbelievablenewsletter  

Support the show: https://resources.premier.org.uk/supportunbelievable   

For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable 

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Following the pro-Trump riots and storming of Congress at Capitol Hill, many fear white evangelicals in the USA are in the grip of political idolatry in their support of the outgoing president.

Justin is joined by Johnnie Moore who chaired Trump’s Evangelical Executive Council and defends Trump’s administration, and Christian justice activist Shane Claiborne who has been an outspoken critic of the president.

For Johnnie Moore: https://twitter.com/JohnnieM

For Shane Claiborne: https://twitter.com/ShaneClaiborne 

USA listeners check out our new USA website for exclusive resources and to support us: http://www.unbelievable.show

Everywhere else, subscribe to our newsletter https://www.premier.org.uk/Unbelievablenewsletter and support the show https://resources.premier.org.uk/supportunbelievable

For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable

Atheist Biologist PZ Myers is an outspoken critic of Christianity. He believes that faith in God and science are contradictory. He debates theistic evolutionist Denis Alexander, (now Emeritus) Director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion. Is science is at odds with Christianity as PZ claims? They touch on Fine Tuning, Rationality and whether God is an inference to the best explanation.

For PZ Myers Blog: http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/ 

For The Faraday Institute: http://www.faraday-institute.org/ 

USA listeners check out our new USA website for exclusive resources and to support us: http://www.unbelievable.show  

Subscribe to our newsletter and receive the free Unbelievable? e-book ‘In Conversation With…’ https://www.premier.org.uk/Unbelievablenewsletter   

Support the show: https://resources.premier.org.uk/supportunbelievable    

For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable  

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/UnbelievableJB   

Twitter https://twitter.com/unbelievablejb   

Insta https://www.instagram.com/justin.brierley 

It’s often been argued that the prosperity and welfare of Scandinavian countries such as Denmark, Norway and Sweden are proof that secular societies do better than religious ones. 

Christian Lomsdalen of the Norwegian Humanist Association & Stefan Gustavsson of Apologia – Centre for Christian Apologetics in Sweden join Justin to debate the issues.

Stefan Gustavsson: https://apologia.se/  

USA listeners check out our new USA website for exclusive resources and to support us: 

http://www.unbelievable.show

Everywhere else, subscribe to our newsletter 

https://www.premier.org.uk/Unbelievablenewsletter and support the show https://resources.premier.org.uk/supportunbelievable

For more faith debates visit 

http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable

Geshe Tashi Tsering has been a Buddhist monk since he was a teenager. He claims that fulfillment in life involves shedding negative mental states and embracing the enlightened understanding of Buddhism. We are the answer to our own salvation.

Sunil Shivdasani is a Christian from a Hindu background. He works with Christian Vision for Men. He explains why he believes Jesus is the true way to enlightenment, why he believes in a creator God and that we need help from God to be saved.

USA listeners check out our new USA website for exclusive resources and to support us: http://www.unbelievable.show

Subscribe to our newsletter and receive the free Unbelievable? e-book ‘In Conversation With…’ https://www.premier.org.uk/Unbelievablenewsletter  

Support the show: https://resources.premier.org.uk/supportunbelievable   

For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable 

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/UnbelievableJB  

Twitter https://twitter.com/unbelievablejb  

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JRR Tolkien was a devout Catholic and friend of CS Lewis. Justin is joined by Michael Jahosky author of ‘The Good News of the Return of the King: The Gospel in Middle Earth’ and Holly Ordway, author of ‘Tolkien’s Modern Reading: Middle Earth beyond the Middle Ages’. They discuss the Christian themes in Tolkien’s fantasy writing, his friendship with Lewis, and the way their literature portrays the Christian story.

For Holly Ordway: http://www.hollyordway.com/

For Michael Jahosky: https://wipfandstock.com/9781725263161/the-good-news-of-the-return-of-the-king/

USA listeners check out our new USA website for exclusive resources and to support us: http://www.unbelievable.show

Everywhere else, subscribe to our newsletter https://www.premier.org.uk/Unbelievablenewsletter and support the show https://resources.premier.org.uk/supportunbelievable 

For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable 

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/UnbelievableJB

Twitter https://twitter.com/unbelievablejb

Insta https://www.instagram.com/justin.brierley