Talking Theology

How does storytelling help make sense of the stuff that happens? How does story and meaning connect with how we see ourselves? What is God's story, and how does it connect with our story? Why is being part of a church community good for our mental health? Jocelyn Bryan is the Academic Dean of Cranmer Hall, holds a doctorate in Psychology, and is also a Licensed Lay Minister in the Church of E...

How are people coming to faith today? What do Christians and viruses have in common? How do we speak about Jesus in a society where words are cheap? What is the Good News of Jesus in a culture that says 'It's all about me'? Rachel Jordan-Wolf is HOPE Together's assistant director, and was previously the Church of England's National Mission and Evangelism Advisor. You can f...

What is the job of the church in relation to the world? Is there a theology of the parish church? Is church planting replacing the parish church, or do both have a part to play? Why does God work through communities rather than through individuals? Our guest is Will Foulger, who is the Director of Mission and Evangelism at 2019. Prior to this, Will served his curacy as part of the planting team of...

How can be both receive and share faith through journeying? What does enough look like as we walk the path of life? Can we go on pilgrimage without leaving behind our everyday lives? What can pilgrimage teach us about Christ? Stephen Cottrell is Bishop of Chelmsford. For more about him, see here .

How do we become forgiving people? What's the relationship between God's forgiveness of us, and the way we should treat others? Can forgiveness happen when there's no repentance? What's the relationship between forgiveness and justice? Anthony Bash is a Professor in Theology at the University of Durham.  To find out more about Anthony, click here . 

Is the Bible more than history? How does the life of the Church show that the Bible is of enduring value? What is the similarity between reading the Bible and watching a soap?  How does the Bible help us when we feel like we've been dealt a bad hand? Walter Moberly is a Professor in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University. For more about Walter Moberly, see here .

How is studying the New Testament like tracing a family tree? Why were Christians in the early church called anti-social? What was so radical about that first generation of Christians calling on Jesus as Lord? And how does the early church help us to be faithful in the modern world? Larry Hurtado is Emeritus Professor of New Testament Language, Literature and Theology in the School of Divinity at...

What has feminism done to reveal forgotten corners of the New Testament? How can a few verses in Luke 8 change our understanding of Jesus and the disciples? Was Mary Magdalene a real leader in the early church? And what role does imagination have to play in reading the New Testament faithfully today? Helen Bond is Professor in Christian Origins with Specialisation in New Testament, and Head of the...

What's the relationship between religion and conflict? How can we make peace with violence in the Bible? What do Christians have to contribute to peacebuilding? And how can we use the gift of forgiveness to resolve conflict? Jolyon Mitchell is Professor within the School of Divinity at Edinburgh University, specialising in religion, violence, and peacebuilding, and also the Director of the Ce...

What is Protestant Christianity, and how did it start? Is Protestantism about the head or the heart? What does Protestantism look like in the world today? And what extraordinary things have ordinary Protestants done? Alec Ryrie is Professor of the History of Christianity at Durham University, and has written extensively on the history of Protestants in the world. He was recently elected as a Fello...

Who are the millennials? Why have some of them walked away from the faith, and why have some of them stayed? How do older Christian friends help to maintain youger people's faith? And why should the church talk about both faith and doubt? Ruth Perrin is a research fellow at St John College, Durham, one of the associate staff at King's Church, Durham, and an Associate Tutor within the Fre...

Why do we say that God created out of nothing? Is God a being like any other being, only bigger? Does God relate to creation in the way that I relate to my car? Or is God intimately involved in every moment of our existence? And what difference does it make to see our own existence as a gift? Simon Oliver is the Van Mildert Professor of Divinity in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham...

What's prayer all about? How can ancient forms of prayer speak to us today? What's the value in stopping to listen to God? And does formal prayer have to be unemotional and detached, or is there more going on? Jessica Martin is a canon at Ely Cathedral, and was previously an English lecturer at Cambridge University and a parish priest in rural Cambridgeshire. For more about Jessica Marti...

What is a faithful way of living in a culture where Christian faith is not the majority view? Are there any similarities between the early church and today's church that make the issues they work out of relevance to us? Can a world without Facebook, the internet, or Strictly have anything to say to us today? And what has a man called Justin got to contribute? Nick Moore is Director of the MA...

Can we really speak of the Old Testament God as a God of love? Why would a God of love speak about his law so much? And why does a God of love endorse violence, both from and towards his own people? And what does love mean anyway? Richard Briggs is Director of Biblical Studies at Cranmer Hall. For more about Richard Briggs, see here .

How many followers do you have on Twitter? Has social media made us all into celebrities? What do celebrities tell us about ourselves? And how do we live faithfully in a world of social media? Pete Ward is Professor of Practical Theology in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University. For more about Pete Ward, see here .

Where is God when we suffer? How does the Bible speak into dark times? Should we expect God to resolve our suffering? Or is God at work in ways that perhaps we've not even imagined? Libby Lane was recently appointed as Bishop of Derby. For more about Libby Lane, see here .

Are human rights part of God's mission? How do non-Christians reflect the image of God? Does the parable of the Good Samaritan say more about human rights than we might think? And how does all this speak into how we engage with faith in the public square today? Joel Edwards has served as General Director of the Evangelical Alliance, International Director for the Micah Challenge, and a commis...

Why do we give and receive gifts? How is the Apostle Paul's understanding of gift different to that of the world in which he lived? How does the gift of Christ challenge our sense of status and hierarchy? And what might a community of gift look like today? John Barclay is Lightfoot Professor of Divinity in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University. For more about John Barcl...

Are Sunday services part of evangelism today? Does your church need to blow its annual budget on a smoke machine and a light show? And how big is the gap between the Book of Acts and the mission of the church today? Miriam Swaffield is the Global Student Mission Leader for Fusion, and a Visiting Fellow of St John's College, Durham. She Tweets at @MiriamSwaff .

What do we do when the Bible seems just plain offensive? In particular, what about John's Gospel, which many people have seen as anti-Jewish? If Jesus was a Jew, why does John record him speaking negatively about "the Jews"? Would John be surprised by how his Gospel has been used over the years? And in a divided world, what hope can John's Gospel bring to us today? Dr Andy (And...

What has comedy got to do with theology? What does the Bible have to say about laughter? What power does comedy have to convey truth about God and his world? Can God minister to us through humour? And how can comedy give us hope? Kate Bruce was formerly Deputy Warden at Cranmer Hall, and is now an RAF chaplain. She is the author of Igniting the Heart: Preaching and Imagination (SCM Press).

Why does theology need to listen to science? What does it have to say about the beginning of the world? Or the end? What happens when we pray? Is there intelligent life on other planets? (Or this planet?) And what's it like to be both a scientist and a theologian? Professor David Wilkinson is Principal of St John's College, Durham. David has PhDs in both astrophysics and theology, and is...