Unbelievable?

Following atheist Stephen Fry's viral anti-God video, the question of how a good God could allow suffering has come into focus again.

Justin is joined by Christian philosopher Vince Vitale, author of "Why Suffering?" as he debates the issues with atheist think Julian Baggini.

To watch the video of this debate and Justin's own response to Stephen Fry go to http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable/Videos

For Vince Vitale: www.theocca.org

For John Loftus: www.microphilosophy.net

For more faith debates visit www.premierchristianradio.com/unbelievable

Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter

Get the MP3 podcast of Unbelievable? http://www.kaltura.com/api_v3/getFeed.php?partnerId=618072&feedId=1_jlj47tkv or Via Itunes

In a continuation of last week’s show David Marshall & John Loftus continue to debate whether Christianity is rationally tenable and unique among world religions.

David Marshall author of ‘Why Jesus Passes the Outsider Test’, argues that Christianity uniquely fulfils the hopes and desires of all religious searching.

Plus we hear from James Emery White, US theologian and church pastor on ‘The Rise of the Nones’ as he addresses how the church needs to re-engage with culture ahead of the UK Church and Culture Conference. www.churchandculture.org

For David Marshall: http://christthetao.blogspot.com

For John Loftus: http://debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com/

For more faith debates visit www.premierchristianradio.com/unbelievable

Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter

Get the MP3 podcast of Unbelievable? http://www.kaltura.com/api_v3/getFeed.php?partnerId=618072&feedId=1_jlj47tkv or Via Itunes

Atheist John Loftus has challenged Christians with the 'Outsider Test of Faith'. He believes that if Christians examined their own faith with the same level of scepticism they do other faiths, they would reject it.

Christian guest David Marshall is the author of 'How Jesus Passes the Outsider Test'. A resident of China, he debates Loftus, examining why, among other factors, the global success of Christianity means that it passes the Test.

For David Marshall: http://christthetao.blogspot.com

For John Loftus: http://debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com/

For more faith debates visit www.premierchristianradio.com/unbelievable

Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter

Get the MP3 podcast of Unbelievable? http://www.kaltura.com/api_v3/getFeed.php?partnerId=618072&feedId=1_jlj47tkv or Via Itunes

The term 'Humanism' is often seen as synonymous with atheism. But a recent Theos report titled: 'The case for Christian Humanism: why Christians should be Humanists and Humanists should be Christians' claims to show that atheism is ill-equipped to support the fundamental tenets of Humanism.

Report author Angus Ritchie debates with atheist philosopher Stephen Law on whether atheistic humanism can account for the human dignity, morality and reason it espouses.

For the Theos report: www.theosthinktank.co.uk

For Stephen Law's response: click here

For more faith debates visit www.premierchristianradio.com/unbelievable

Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter

Get the MP3 podcast of Unbelievable? http://www.kaltura.com/api_v3/getFeed.php?partnerId=618072&feedId=1_jlj47tkv or Via Itunes

In 1960 physicist Eugene Wigner wrote a paper on the ‘unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics’. Christian philosopher William (Bill) Lane Craig has recently been developing arguments concerning the ‘applicability’ of mathematics as evidence for God as part of his wider research on abstract objects.

Bill interacts with atheist/agnostic philosopher Daniel Came on whether the remarkable ability of maths to describe the universe we live in is evidence for a transcendent designer.

For Bill Craig & Reasonable Faith : http://www.reasonablefaith.org.

For Daniel Came: click here

For more faith debates visit www.premierchristianradio.com/unbelievable

Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter

Get the MP3 podcast of Unbelievable? http://www.kaltura.com/api_v3/getFeed.php?partnerId=618072&feedId=1_jlj47tkv or Via Itunes

Following an article in the New York Times about scholars who adopt an annihilationist (also called 'conditional immortality') view of hell rather than the traditional 'eternal conscious torment' view, Justin is joined by two evangelicals to debate the issue.

Dr Al Mohler is President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He spoke against the annihilationist view in an edition of his daily podcast The Briefing.

Chris Date is one of the founders of Rethinking Hell and adopted an annihilationist view after he became convinced the Bible teaches it. They debate the scriptural evidence and whether scholarship is moving away from the traditional view.

For the NY Times article: click here.

For Rethinking Hell: www.rethinkinghell.com

For Al Mohler's The Briefing: http://www.albertmohler.com/category/the-briefing/

For more faith debates visit www.premierchristianradio.com/unbelievable

Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter

Get the MP3 podcast of Unbelievable? http://www.kaltura.com/api_v3/getFeed.php?partnerId=618072&feedId=1_jlj47tkv or Via Itunes

Rt Revd John Pritchard is the recently retired Bishop of Oxford and the author of 'How to Explain Your Faith'. He joins Justin along with church-going atheist Andrew Nightingale and Christian philosopher and storyteller Mark Roques as they discuss what Andrew loves about the church he attends but why he finds it difficult to believe the claims of Christianity.

For How To Explain Your Faith: http://www.twitter.com/andynighting

For Mark Roques: http://www.realitybites.org.uk/

For more faith debates visit www.premierchristianradio.com/unbelievable

Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter

Get the MP3 podcast of Unbelievable? http://www.kaltura.com/api_v3/getFeed.php?partnerId=618072&feedId=1_jlj47tkv or Via Itunes

We hear it every year at Christmas in in our services. Matthew Chapter 1, quoting the prophet Isaiah - "look the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel".

Critics say there's a problem: that the Isaiah passage is not talking about a virgin and Matthew misquotes him. So is it a problem for the virgin Birth? Is Christmas cancelled?

Get theMP3

Alistair McKitterick is a theology lecturer at Moorlands College. He says there's good reason why Matthew used, but adapted Isaiah's prophecy in his birth narrative. Robert Stovold is a sceptic and atheist and believes that the first Christmas is an invention of the gospel writers.

For Alistair McKitterick: http://www.moorlands.ac.uk/staff/alistair-mckitterick/

For Robert Stovold: http://www.brightonhumanists.org/publications_and_downloads.html

For more faith debates visit www.premierchristianradio.com/unbelievable

Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter

Get the MP3 podcast of Unbelievable? http://www.kaltura.com/api_v3/getFeed.php?partnerId=618072&feedId=1_jlj47tkv or Via Itunes

Keith Ward is the former Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University. His new book “The evidence for God” picks up on various aspects of human experience as proof of a spiritual realm.

He is joined by atheist philosopher Michael Ruse for a lively discussion. Ruse’s own recent book “Atheism: What everyone needs to know” sets out the case against belief.

For Keith Ward: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Evidence-God-Keith-Ward/dp/0232531307

For Michael Ruse: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Atheism-What-Everyone-Needs-Know/dp/0199334587

For more faith debates visit www.premierchristianradio.com/unbelievable

Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter

Get the MP3 podcast of Unbelievable? http://www.kaltura.com/api_v3/getFeed.php?partnerId=618072&feedId=1_jlj47tkv or Via Itunes

Eben Alexander is a neurosurgeon whose book Proof Of Heaven became a bestseller. It documented his visions of heaven while in a coma which had shut down much of his brain.

He joins Justin along with Graham Nicholls, a researcher of Out of Body experiences and Jane Aspell, a psychology and cognitive science lecturer who believes that OBE & NDEs are a purely physical experiences produced by the brain.

For Eben Alexander: www.ebenalexander.com

For Graham Nicholls: www.grahamnicholls.com

For Jane Aspell: http://www.anglia.ac.uk/ruskin/en/home/faculties/fst/departments/psychology/staff/dr_jane_aspell.html

Get the MP3

For more faith debates visit www.premierchristianradio.com/unbelievable

Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter

Get the MP3 podcast of Unbelievable? http://www.kaltura.com/api_v3/getFeed.php?partnerId=618072&feedId=1_jlj47tkv or Via Itunes