Unbelievable

Nov 15-21 2009 was the UK's first "Interfaith" week.  To mark this, Justin Brierley hosts a discussion on how faiths should relate to each other when it comes evangelism and missionary activity.  They discuss a document of Ten guidelines for witnessing to those of other faiths.  But does the document stifle freedom of speech?  Where should we draw the line between being honest and open and being offensive and demeaning in our interfaith encounters? Andrew Smith of Scripture Union is the director of "Youth Encounter" helping Christian young people live out their faith amongst Muslims.  He was involved in drafting 10 Ethical Guidelines for Christian and Muslim Witness in Britain. Jay Smith is a Christian evangelist to Muslims with a "no-holds-barred" approach.  He disagrees with aspects of the document and explains why. Dr Muhammad Al-Hussaini is fellow in Islamic studies and Jewish Muslim relations at Leo Baeck Rabbinical College.  He explains why he finds Jay Smith's style of evangelism harmful. Jay Lakhani is Director of the Hindu Academy and represents a Hindu perspective on the issue of evangelism and conversion. For the 10 Guidelines on Ethical witness click here For Andrew Smith see http://www.scriptureunion.org.uk/YouthEncounter For Jay Smith's Youtube videos http://www.youtube.com/user/PfanderFilms for his view on Muhammad and Aisha Click Here  For Justin's documentary on Jay's evangelism at Speakers Corner "Up the Laddder in Hyde Park" Click here For Dr. Muhammad Al-Hussaini visit http://www.scripturalreasoning.org.uk/index1.html For Jay Lakhani visit www.hinduacademy.org For more Christian/Non Christian discussion visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the podcast or via itunes If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy Unbelievable? 15 Aug 2009 - Scriptural reasoning - Imam Muhammad Al-Hussaini, Rabbi Mark Solomon and Christian Dr David Jackson discuss holy scriptures Unbelievable? 5 Jul 2008 Which is more relevant to 21st Century Britain: Islam or Christianity? Join the discussion at The Premier Community

In light of Premier's Faith Without Fear campaign, this discussion between Anil Bhanot and Sunil Raheja addresses the tensions that exist when Christians seek to evangelise Hindus in India. What is acceptable?  Is the response of some Hindus justified?  Is it wrong for Christians to state that Jesus is the "only" way to God? To sign the petition for Justice for Christians in Orissa State, India go to www.faithwithoutfear.org  For Anil Bhanot see www.hinducounciluk.org For Sunil Raheja see www.nlmg.org For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the podcast or via itunes If you enjoyed this programme you may also want to listen to: Unbelievable? 14 Jul 2007 - Hindu & Christian concepts of God - Paul and Rohit Unbelievable? 15 Sep 2007 Yoga and Christianity - is there a conflict? Join the debate at the Premier Community

Matthew Chapter 24's "Olivet Discourse" records Jesus saying that his followers will see him "coming on the clouds of the sky with great glory" and that "this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened." Two thousand years later Christians are still waiting for his return.  We explore different Christian responses to the apparent expectation of the imminent return of Jesus in the New Testament.  What do they make of other end time events such as The Tribulation and The Rapture? Terry Boyle Pastor for Insight For Living in the UK describes his "Dispensationalist" understanding of this and other passages. Dee Dee Warren describes her "Preterist" understanding of the passage and how she arrived at it. Andrew Whyte describes his journey of coming to a liberal view that early Christian writers were mistaken in their expectations. For more on Dee Dee Warren and Preterism see http://www.preteristsite.com/ or www.preteristblog.com where she will be posting extra responses to the programme.  For Terry Boyle and Insight for Living see http://www.insightforliving.org.uk/ For more Christian theology discussion visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the podcast or via Itunes If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 1 Aug 2009 - Debating doctrine - James White and Roger & Faith Forster debate predestination Unbelievable? 30 May 2009 Reconciling Bible Contradictions: Christian Derek Tidball vs. Atheist Gordon Livesey Unbelievable? 6 Dec 2008 Christian Zionism, Israel & the Church: Stephen Sizer debates Geoffrey Smith of Christian Friends of Israel Join the discussion at the Premier Community

John Shelby Spong is one of the most influential liberal Christians in the world and advocates that Christianity needs to re-interpreted for the modern world leaving behind supernatural beliefs.  In his latest book "Eternal Life: a new vision" he claims that we need to transcend belief in God, heaven and hell to undesrtand what "Life in all its fullness" means. Terry Boyle, Uk Pastor of Insight for Living, defends an evangelical view of Scripture and doctrine and asks "what is left if we gut Christianity of its core beliefs?" For the Book "Eternal Life: a New Vision" click here For John Shelby Spong visit http://www.johnshelbyspong.com/ For Terry Boyle visit http://www.insightforliving.org.uk/ For more Christian debate and dialogue visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or Get the podcast or via Itunes If you want to explore some of the issues raised by Spong in this programme then visit: Unbelievable? 29 Aug 2009 - Jesus and the Eyewitnesses part 1 : Richard Bauckham and James Crossley Unbelievable? 20 Dec 2008 - The Virgin Birth: Fact or Fiction? Revd Michael Sayward debates Unitarian Sarah Tinker Unbelievable? 15 Nov 2008 - Does the Trinity lead to polytheism? James White of Alpha & Omega ministries debates Abdullah Al Andalusi Join the discussion at the Premier Community Email the show unbelievable@premier.org.uk

Many have suggested that Christian belief in the divinity and worship of Jesus as God was a late development, and that Jesus' early followers did not regard him as being equal with God.  So was Jesus merely regarded as an "elevated" being? Was high Christology at odds with the Jewish monotheism of the first century? New Testament scholar Richard Bauckham argues against these views.  His book "Jesus and the God of Israel" claims that the worship of Jesus as God was both very Jewish and very early.  Agnostic scholar James Crossley contests Richard's claims. Click here for the book "Jesus and the God of Israel" (Paternoster) For Richard Bauckham visit http://www.ridley.cam.ac.uk/people/rbauckham.html For James Crossley see http://shef.ac.uk/bibs/staff/jgc.html Listen to more Christian/non-Christian debates at www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or via podcast or itunes If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 29 Aug 2009 - Richard Bauckham on the Gospels - pt 1: Richard Bauckham and James Crossley Unbelievable? 24 Jan 2009 - How did Christianity begin?" Pt 2 - James Crossley & Michael Bird Join the discussion at the Premier Community

"The Evangelical Universalist" was published several years ago.  The author claimed to be an evangelical Christian who believes that everyone will ultimately be saved.  He published under a pen name, but recently revealed his true identity as Robin Parry, editorial director of UK Christian publisher Paternoster. While Robin's views do not represent those of Paternoster, he tells why he has personally come to believe that the Bible teaches that everyone will ultimately be saved. Laurence M Blanchard, a pastor and author in California responds to Robin's arguments and raises questions such as "what's the point of evangelism if everyone will be saved?" Read Robin's blog here: http://theologicalscribbles.blogspot.com/ Read his blog as the Evangelical Universalist here: http://evangelicaluniversalist.blogspot.com/ Read about Laurence Blanchard here: http://http://www.charteroaklighthouse.org/about_us.htm To order "The Evangelical Universalist" book: Click here for the UK Click here for the US To hear more Christian and non-Christian debates visit the showpage at www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the podcast or via Itunes If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy the original show when Parry's voice was disguised: Unbelievable? 15 Mar 2008 Christian Universalism - Will everyone be saved? For information on the Zacharias Trust apologetics training day mentioned at the end of the programme visit http://www.zactrust.org/ Join the discussion at the Premier Community

Andrew Wilson is an author and church leader.  His book "GodStories" describes the Bible as "the gospel of God". He says the story is told in multiple ways of sins forgiven, shame removed, beauty restored, and meaning reinstated. Atheist Norman Bacrac of the Ethical Society contends that the picture the Bible paints of God is not as beautiful as Andrew claims - for instance how can the story of The Flood tell of a loving God? Find out about Andrew and GodStories at www.godstoriesbook.com For Norman Bacrac and the Ethical Society visit www.ethicalsoc.org.uk To hear more Christian/non-Christian debate visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the podcast or via itunes If you enjoyed this show you may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 25 Aug 2007 - Deluded by Dawkins? Andrew Wilson debates atheist Gordon Livesey Unbelievable? 7 Mar 2009 - The Reason for God" - Pastor Timothy Keller & Atheist Norman Bacrac Join the debate at the Premier Community's "Unbelievable?" group

Ian Thorpe is an atheist and Jenni Hutchinson a Christian. They got chatting about faith after bumping into each other on the internet. They discuss whether the church is having a beneficial effect on society, Ian's concerns over "fundamentalism" and whether you need to believe in God to be good. See Ian's blog at http://machiavelli.blog.co.uk/ See Jenni's blog at http://vieira.blog.co.uk/ To hear more discussions between Christians and non-Christians go to www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable. Join the discussion on the Premier Community www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable.

Christian Apologist David Robertson, Atheist blogger Ed Turner and Christian convert Richard Morgan return to debate the rights and wrongs of Christian and atheist influence in society. For David Robertson's book "The Dawkins Letters" Click here For David Robertson see http://www.stpeters-dundee.org.uk/ For Ed Turner see http://edthemanicstreetpreacher.wordpress.com For Richard Morgan see http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/profile/RichardMorgan For more Christian non-Christian debate visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the podcast or via itunes If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 13 Jun 2009 The Moral Argument For God - Atheist Paul Orton & Christian David Robertson Unbelievable? 4 Jul 2009 Peter Hitchens & Ibrahim Mogra debate "Is Islam or Christianity the best future for Britain?" Join the discussion at the Premier Community

The film "Creation" is released in the UK Sep 2009.  Telling the story of how Charles Darwin came to write "On the Origin of Species" 150 years ago, the film highlights the clash of evolutionary theory and Christian belief.  The problem of suffering is also addressed in the death of Darwin's daughter Annie. Justin Brierley interviews Randall Keynes, a great-great grandson of Darwin and the author of the book "Creation" that the film is based on.  We also hear the discussion on evolution vs. creation that took place between invited guests (see below) at a church leaders screening of the film recently. For the movie see http://www.creationthemovie.com/flash For church resources see http://www.damaris.org/creationmovie For Nicholas Beale see http://www.questionsoftruth.org/authors/ For Steve Lloyd see http://www.biblicalcreationministries.org.uk For Charles Foster see http://www.amazon.co.uk/Selfless-Gene-Charles-Foster/dp/0340964367 Hear Christian/non-Christian discussion at www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the podcast or via itunes If you enjoyed this show you may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 14 Mar 2009 Fine Tuning of the Universe - is it evidence of God? Nicholas Beale vs Julian Baggini Unbelievable? 29 Nov 2008 Creation or Evolution - do we have to choose? Denis Alexander & Stephen Lloyd debate Join the debate at the Premier Community

Continuing on from their discussion last week, believing and non-believing New Testament historians Richard Bauckham and James Crossley discuss whether the testimony of eyewitnesses in the Gospels is trustworthy. Bauckham fills out his reasoning for the Gospels being credible eyewitness testimony of Jesus' life, while Crossley disputes whether testimony of the miraculous can be used as historical evidence. For the book "Jesus and the Eyewitnesses" click here For Richard Bauckham see http://www.ridley.cam.ac.uk/people/rbauckham.html For James Crossley see http://shef.ac.uk/bibs/staff/jgc.html For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the podcast or via itunes If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 18 Oct 2008 Why Should I believe in Jesus? Ex-Christian Norman Hansen vs. Amy Orr-Ewing of the Zacharias Trust Unbelievable? 12 Jul 2008 Masters of Apologetics Pt 1: Gary Habermas Join the discussion at the Premier Community

Richard Morgan was a confirmed atheist for much of his life and a keen poster on the richarddawkins.net website.  However, after becoming disillusioned with the mentality of some atheists on the website, he subsequently experienced a dramatic conversion to Christianity in 2008.  He relates the story, along with Christian apologist David Robertson who had a hand in his conversion.  Ed Turner a forthright atheist blogger (aka Manicstreetpreacher) joins the discussion as they look at the world of Christian and Atheist chat forums. Chat to this week's guests at the "Unbelievable?" Group of the "Premier Community": www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable For Richard Morgan see:  http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/profile/RichardMorgan For David Robertson see: http://www.stpeters-dundee.org.uk/ For Ed Turner see: http://edthemanicstreetpreacher.wordpress.com For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the podcast or via Itunes If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 21 Mar 2009 - "Challenging Atheist Myths" pt 1 Christian David Robertson & Atheist Adrian Hayter Unbelievable? 6 Sep 2008 - Christianity on trial pt 1: Can I trust the Bible? Atheist lawyer Ed Turner vs Theologian Andy Bannister

Many "New Atheists" have written books claiming that Christianity is bad for people.   Barry Duke is editor of "The Freethinker" - a longstanding humanist magazine and website that seeks to show why religion is bad for the world.  Barry claims that most religious people are weighed down by guilt and that atheism sets people free. Tom Price is an apologist with Damaris and the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics.  He says that his search for happiness was fulfilled when he found Christ as an adult. For Tom Price see: The Damaris Trust www.damaris.org and the Oxford Centre for Christian apologetics http://www.theocca.org/ For Barry Duke see: http://freethinker.co.uk/ For more Christian/non-Christian debates visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 24 Nov 2007 "I Sold My Soul on eBay" - the friendly atheist at a church near you...  Tom Price & Hemant Mehta Unbelievable? 3 Nov 2007 - The "New Atheism" - Barry Duke and David Marshall Debate You can also listen via podcast and Itunes Join the discussion at the Premier Community

"Jesus and the Eyewitnesses" has been heralded as a paradigm shift in the way the authorship of the Gospels should be seen.  Richard Bauckham is the author of the book, which won the 2009 Michael Ramsey prize.  He 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. They continue the debate next week... Click here For Jesus and the Eyewitnesses For Richard Bauckham visit http://www.ridley.cam.ac.uk/people/rbauckham.html For James Crossley see http://shef.ac.uk/bibs/staff/jgc.html Listen to more Christian/non-Christian debates at www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or via podcast or itunes 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? 17 Jan 2009 A believing and a non-believing New Testament scholar debate "How did Christianity begin?" - Michael Bird & James Crossley - Pt 1 Join the debate at the Premier Community

Scriptural Reasoning is an organisation committed to honest interfaith dialogue that promotes "better quality disagreement".  Its founder Muhammad Al-Hussaini explains how they hope to bring greater understanding of the scriptures of the three Abrahamic religions.  He is joined by Liberal Judaism Rabbi Mark Solomon and Dr David Jackson, formerly of the London School of Theology.  They discuss the purpose of interfaith dialogue and engage in some on-air scriptural reasoning on the theme of "servant leadership" reading from the Koran, the Torah and the Bible. Find out more at www.scripturalreasoning.org.uk You can hear more interfaith discussion at www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the podcast or via Itunes If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 4 Aug 2007 - Judaism and Christianity Unbelievable? 4 Oct 2008 - Does Islam or Christianity oppress women? Jay Smith and Mohamed Ali Join the discussion at the Premier Community