Life & Faith

Mark Leach’s life reads like the script of a blockbuster movie. There’s diamond smuggling, war and conflict, some romance, and a couple of major plot twists. He was born in a village in Zambia, trained as a doctor in South Africa, and is now based in Sydney as an Anglican Minister, a business and leadership consultant, and a Board Member for International Justice Mission. In this episode of Life &...

Gender and gender identity is one of the most fraught issues of our time. We run into gender stereotypes everywhere from nursery rhymes to department store catalogues, and much of our lives are ordered around the categories of male and female - school uniforms, bathrooms, and Olympic sporting events are just a few examples. But there’s a group of people for whom none of this is straightforward - p...

The relationship between religion and the media in the West has a long history. The first newspapers were often printed on the very same presses that were used to publish Bibles, and the first radio broadcast on Christmas Eve in 1906 included a reading from the Bible. But times have certainly changed. If you look at the media landscape today, there’s not a lot of room for religion. In this episode...

Dr Marvin Olasky is a leading proponent of compassionate conservatism – two words we don’t often hear together. But it’s not just political word candy. According to Olasky, it’s a philosophy that could transform the current US welfare system for the better. And, it’s worked before. In his book, Compassionate Conservatism: What It Is, What It Does,  and How It Can Transform America , Olasky writes:...

This month on Life & Faith, we’ve heard from experts and scholars about the influence of Christianity in the West. It’s all part of a sneak peek at our documentary due for release in 2017, For the Love of God: How the church is better and worse than you ever imagined. In this episode, we tackle the question of how Christianity has played a role for better - and for worse - in the global practice o...

In the second century, a Greek writer called Celsus criticised Christianity as a religion of women, children and slaves - that is to say, a religion not to be taken seriously. There are echoes of this sentiment in contemporary critiques of Christianity, and religion more broadly. For example, the idea of women being more religious than men, on the whole, can be seen as something that discredits re...

“Religion is the cause of all wars.” This is a popular assumption in the West – but also a lazy one. History suggests the relationship between religion and violence is much more complicated. One of the best-known episodes of violence in the history of the Christian church is the Crusades. But how much do we really know about this notorious conflict? In this episode of Life & Faith, we speak to exp...

In 2017, the Centre for Public Christianity will release a documentary, For the Love of God: How the Church Is Better and Worse Than You Ever Imagined . It takes a deep dive into the history of Christianity in the West, and unpacks its influence on our society and culture. Some of the key ideas the documentary will explore include the development of human rights, and why we often find Christians a...

Nuclear fusion energy has been heralded asthe answer to the global energy crisis, a virtually endless – and cleaner –source of power that will last several generations. If there’s anyone who should be singing itspraises the loudest, it’s Professor Ian Hutchinson from MIT, a leader in thisfield. While he’s certainly enthusiastic about the science and technologybehind fusion power, he’s quick to dow...

At 14 years of age, Tracy Trinita entered the Elite Model Look Competition - and won. The Balinese schoolgirl soon found herself gracing the runways of Paris, Milan and New York for the world’s biggest fashion houses. She was living her dream – a life of beauty and glamour, riches and fame.  But underneath Tracy’s smile and happy exterior, she battled feelings of insecurity and loneliness. In this...

It’s one of life’s biggest questions – where did we come from? Since ancient times, philosophers and scientists have offered answers – and so has religion. But they don’t often say the same thing. These differences are often highlighted in the classic science versus religion debate that pit, for example, evolution against intelligent design. But what if science and faith are less hostile towards e...

While statistics suggest that religion is in decline across most of the West, being irreligious is perhaps more complex than it seems. In the UK, for example, only 25 per cent of people who claim to have “no religion” are atheists or agnostics – but even within this group there is a mix of spirituality and beliefs. “Plurality and diversity define who we are,” Elizabeth Oldfield, Director of Theos,...

Prostitution is a global industry that generates more than $186 billion worldwide and has more than 13 million “employees”. But these numbers tell you nothing about the people involved in the sex industry – the circumstances that led them to a life of prostitution, the experiences they have in the industry, and the struggle to leave. A new book changes this. Prostitution Narratives shines a light...

The FirstMonday in May is a new documentary that takes viewers into the opulent world ofart, fashion and beauty via the Met Gala. As the beauty and glamour unfolds onthe silver screen, two conflicting responses may arise: on the one hand, youmay feel a sense of appreciation towards this form of fashion and art; on theother hand, this extravagance can seem excessive and almost obscene. What is the...

Earlier this year, we posted a link on Facebook to an interview we did about a new museum being built in Washington DC, the Museum of the Bible. It’s a Smithsonian-sized project that will cost around $400 million. In the comments, someone wrote: “Surely it is better to spend the time, money and energy required for this project on putting what Jesus said into practice. What about feeding the homele...

In 2002, the Boston Globe’s investigativereporting team, Spotlight, published a series of reports exposing clergy childsexual abuse, and a cover up by the Catholic Church. As the horrific andheartbreaking instances of abuse and betrayal came to light, more stories ofclergy sexual abuse and the Catholic Church’s effort to hide it began tounravel across the US, and all around the world. “I don’t thi...

Religion plays a significant role in every US presidential election – and this year is no exception. The candidates on either side of the aisle, and the religious leaders who back them, claim to know where Jesus stands on various issues, or what the Bible says about the hottest political topics. But do they? In his latest book, ‘How Would Jesus Vote?’, Professor Darrell Bock that the Bible challen...

Research suggests that doing good is actually good for you. Stephen G. Post, author of Why Good Things Happen to Good People , explains why. Stephen G. Post is Professor of Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook University, and Director of the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics. He is recognised internationally for his work on unselfish, compassionate love at the interfac...

John Hull began losing his sight in his mid-forties. He describes it as a dark black disc that slowly progressed over his field of vision. “Do remember that day when I caught a glimpse of a church spire?” the Australian theologian asks his wife, Marilyn,in the documentary film, Notes on Blindness. “I think that's the last thing you ever saw,” she replies. As John was losing his sight, he was inten...

“The Ten Commandments are among the great cultural icons of the West,” John Dickson writes in the introduction to his new book, ‘A Doubter’s Guide to the Ten Commandments’.   For some, doubters and believers alike, the Ten Commandments conjures an image of a white-bearded Charlton Heston standing on top of a mountain, with the voice of God booming like thunder from the sky, and lightning bolts of...

“I see clearly that the thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else. Heal t...

“An equation for me has no meaning unless it expresses a thought of God.” – Srinivasa Ramanujan Ramanujan was a self-taught mathematical genius from India, who moved to Cambridge University in 1914 to work with the eminent mathematician, GH Hardy  His story, as told in the movie The Man Who Knew Infinity , not only tells of a brilliant mind capable of remarkable work, but of an unlikely friendship...

According to Hugh Mackay, Australia is in themiddle of a “soft revolution”. After 30 years of consumerism and theso-called happiness movement, Mackay says people are ready to rid themselves oftheir materialistic and narcissistic characteristics and embrace that there’smore to life. “Unless there’s something I put my faithin, life is meaningless.” This is essentially what dozens ofAustralians acros...

Neurons and genetics cannot explain away the existence of free will, according to Julian Baggini. --- When philosopher Julian Baggini – author of more than a dozen books, including Atheism: A Very Short Introduction and Freedom Regained: The Possibility of Free Will – hears someone talking about free will, they’re usually talking about why humans don’t have it. This doesn’t sit well with him. “The...

Can books be a cure for the common cold?   Can a novel help us navigate a midlifecrisis? Can reading be a remedy for a broken heart? These are just some of the questions that bibliotherapyclaims to be able to answer. Whatever your ailment may be, there’s a novel – ortwo – that will supposedly provide temporary relief of your symptoms. The first instance of bibliotherapy wasrecorded in an Atlantic...