Unbelievable?

Mark Shrime tells Justin Brierley about his journey of faith and career as a surgeon, which now sees him deliver life-saving treatment around the world with Mercy Ships. Mark is the author of ‘Solving For Why: A surgeon’s journey to discover the transformative power of purpose’.   To support Mercy Ships  https://www.mercyships.org.uk/premier/ • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast:  https://pod....

Joseph D'Souza, bishop of the Good Shepherd Church network in South Asia and Andrew Scott of Operation Mobilisation join Justin to talk about a new paradigm for mission work in the Global South and how it impacts church and culture in the Global North.   For Joseph D'Souza: https://josephdsouza.dfnusa.org/ For Andrew Scott: https://scatterthebook.com/   • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast:  h...

From Dec 2012. Richard Carrier is the world's foremost proponent of the "mythicist" view of Jesus - that he never actually existed as a historical person. He explained his theory that St. Paul only ever spoke of Jesus in the spiritual realm and that the Gospels are "extended parables". Mark Goodacre is NT professor at Duke University. He contended that Carrier's mythicist view is extrememly far fe...

The Queen's state funeral was watched by billions of people and marked by deep Christian symbolism. However, during the ceremony, atheist journalist Ian Dunt tweeted that he found it "empty and platitudinous, a cardboard shield against existential despair".   Ian engages with Christian thinker Andy Bannister who wrote a response article to Ian's tweet. They discuss the royal funeral, meaning, purp...

From Nov 2012. Were the concentration camps of the Holocaust absolutely evil, or simply something that goes against people's tastes today?  Canon Angus Ritchie is the author of "From Morality to Metaphysics" in which he argues that God is the best explanation of moral realism (that there are objective moral facts). Kile Jones is an atheist who was studying for a PhD.  He argued that God is an unec...

How should we understand Old Testament accounts of warfare and violence where God seems to command the slaughter of men, women and children?   Paul Copan, author of 'Is God A Vindictive Bully?' aims to show why the Old Testament accounts, severe as they may seem, are not incompatible with Jesus in the New Testament. Randal Rauser, author of 'Jesus Loves Canaanites', says that too many 'apologists...

From Nov 2012, the second of two shows where Justin was joined by Tim Mawson, the Oxford philosopher whose paper "Praying to Stop Being an Atheist" inspired the Atheist Prayer Experiment. 71 atheists and agnostics signed up for the experiment, committing to pray for God to reveal himself to them over 40 days. Did anyone end up believing in God?   • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://p...

As the global pandemic subsides, the way the Covid lockdowns were implemented in churches still divides Christians. The Frankfurt Declaration has been signed by church leaders who are concerned that civil and religious liberties are being eroded by Government overreach.   One of the signatories is Anglican priest Jamie Franklin, a co-host of the Irreverend podcast. He has been critical of the chur...

From Nov 2012. The first of two shows where Justin was joined by Tim Mawson, the Oxford philosopher whose paper "Praying to Stop Being an Atheist" inspired the Atheist Prayer Experiment. 71 atheists and agnostics signed up to the experiment, comitting to pray for God to reveal himself to them over 40 days. Did anyone end up believing in God? We revealed the results and heard from a variety of peop...

Justin Brierley was joined by four guests and hundreds of attendees for a live webinar event 'Falling From Grace: Addressing power, leadership and abuse in the church'.   Panellists: Abuse survivor and advocate Rachael Denhollander; author, theologian and former RZIM vice-president Amy Orr-Ewing; Rise And Fall Of Mars Hill Podcast presenter Mike Cosper; and trauma and abuse specialist Diane Langbe...

Marcus Brigstocke is a well-known comedian on UK radio and TV. An atheist, he wrote the book "God Collar" about his problems with religion, but also why he wants to believe in God. He chatted with David Robertson, who at the time led Solas, the Centre for Public Christianity.  They talked about UK comedy's atheist leanings, Marcus' criticisms of both religion and new atheism, the problem of evil,...

From rapturous joy to inexplicable terror, angelic encounters to near death experiences, New Testament scholar Dale Allison has researched a wide range of phenomena in his new book 'Encountering Mystery: Religious Experience in a Secular Age'. He tells of his own experiences and explains why they are more common than many people realise, and why skeptics shouldn't dismiss them out of hand. Justin...

As the world marks the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Justin Brierley presents a special edition of Unbelievable? speaking to New Testament scholar NT Wright about his memories of the queen when he preached for her as Bishop of Durham. Former chaplain to the queen Gavin Ashenden asks whether the end of her reign marks the end of Christendom in the UK, and Ruth Jackson reflects on the hope that comes...

Some of the key differences between Catholic and Protestant doctrine were explored in a friendly dialogue in this show from the archives. Roman Catholic Peter D Williams and Protestant pastor David Robertson debated The Pope, Sola Scriptura and justification by faith.   • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://pod.link/267142101 • More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbeli...

Katherine Mathieson, director of the Royal Institution and Nick Spencer of Theos discuss the recent report 'Science and Religion: Moving away from the shallow end', which surveyed the British public's attitudes towards science and faith. They explore questions such as: Why does the public believe there is a conflict? How has New Atheism played into the debate? Is science the only way of knowing tr...

A controversial blog post by Jared Wilson, quoting pastor Doug Wilson on the role of men and women in sex reignited the debate between complementarians and egalitarians. Our guests on this episode from the archives were: Rachel Held Evans: popular US author, blogger and speaker who believes the New Testament supports the equality of men and women in the church and in the home (Egalitarian). Owen S...

  Podcast version: In the 19th Century John Draper and Andrew White conjured up one of the most successful and enduring myths of the modern world - the supposed historical conflict between science and faith.   Justin explores their story with David Hutchings and James Ungureanu, authors of 'Of Popes and Unicorns: Science, Christianity and how the conflict thesis fooled the world'. They are also jo...

We continue to bring you taster episodes of our wide range of Premier Unbelievable podcasts during August. Our newest podcast 'Unapologetic' offers weekly conversations with leading Christian thinkers, apologists and evangelists. In this episode Justin meets former NFL player Derwin L Gray, who founded Transformation Church in South Carolina and is author of the new book 'How To Heal Our Racial Di...

Why doesn't God seem to reveal himself to people who are open and seeking him?   Recorded at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University, atheist Alex O'Connor (aka Cosmic Skeptic) and Christian apologist Lukas Ruegger join Justin discuss the hiddeness of God. OCCA tutor Max Baker-Hytch also joins the discussion for a post-script commentary.   For OCCA: https://www.theocca.org/ For Wycliffe Hall: https://www...

During August we are profiling some of the other great podcasts from Premier Unbelievable? In this taster episode from the CS Lewis Podcast with Alister McGrath, he opens up 'Surprised By Joy', the autobiography of Lewis' conversion.   Subscribe to the CS Lewis podcast: https://pod.link/1560959545 See episodes at our website: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/shows/cs-lewis   • More shows, free...

Author and academic James Mumford recently wrote an article for The New Atlantis magazine about his experience undergoing therapy at a clinic for bipolar disorder and his concerns about its value neutral approach. He engages with psychologist Roger Bretherton, creator of The Character Course, on what role faith can play for those struggling with depression.   For James Mumford: https://www.jamesmu...

Justin presents a mid-week taster episode of our popular Ask NT Wright Anything podcast. This episode saw Tom Wright answer listener questions about salvation and new creation from his popular book 'Surprised By Hope'.   Subscribe to the Ask NT Wright Anything podcast: https://pod.link/1441656192 See episodes at our website: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/shows/ask-nt-wright-anything   • More...

Theologian Randal Rauser defends 'progressive' Christians such as Rob Bell, Richard Rohr and Brian Mclaren, against 'heresy hunters' in his new book 'Progressive Christians Love Jesus Too' a response to Alisa Childers' book 'Another Gospel?'.   Christian philosopher and apologist Douglas Groothuis explains why he thinks some progressive Christians are outside the bounds of orthodoxy and shares Chi...

Justin introduces a taster episode of 'Matters Of Life And Death' one of Premier Unbelievable's new podcast offerings, presented by Christian bioethecist John Wyatt and his journalist son Tim. As the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope are beamed back to Earth, they are joined by theologian Andrew Davison to consider the spiritual value of cosmology and astrophysics.   Subscribe to Th...

The Big Conversation - Episode 6 | Season 4 Almost half of Millenials and Gen Z in the USA identify as 'nones' (having no religious affiliation). Mikhaila Peterson who runs a popular Youtube channel and Podcast talks about her own recent journey to faith along with the journey of her father, renowned psychologist Jordan Peterson. Jon McCray who runs 'Whaddo You Meme' a popular Youtube channel resp...