Unbelievable?

Christian commentator David French debates Christian radio host and author Eric Metaxas on whether Christians should vote for Donald Trump in the US Elections in November. With thanks to John Brown University’s Center for Faith and Flourishing who hosted the debate:  https://faith-and-flourishing.org/ USA listeners check out our new USA website for exclusive resources:  www.unbelievable.show Subsc...

Amy Orr-Ewing, co-director of OCCA and author of ‘Where Is God In All The Suffering?’, discusses the problem of pain with Jon Steingard, whose own doubts around Christian faith were triggered by seeing the suffering of children in Uganda. For ‘Where is God in All the Suffering?:  https://www.thegoodbook.co.uk/where-is-god-in-all-the-suffering For Jon Steingard:  http://www.steingardcreative.com/ U...

Did God punish Jesus in our place on the cross? William Lane Craig’s new book ‘Atonement and the Death of Christ’ is a major new defence of Penal Substitutionary Atonement. He discusses the doctrine of atonement with Greg Boyd who has been a critic of PSA and an advocate of the Christus Victor view of the cross. Atonement and the Death of Christ:  https://www.amazon.com/Atonement-Death-Christ-Phil...

In this ‘classic replay’ Justin shares the 2009 radio debate in which New York pastor Tim Keller defended his best-selling book ‘The Reason For God’ opposite UK atheist Norman Bacrac.  Tim Keller:  https://timothykeller.com/ Norman Bacrac:  https://conwayhall.org.uk/speaker/norman-bacrac/ USA Listeners check out our new USA website for exclusive resources:  www.unbelievable.show Subscribe to our n...

Six months on from Justin’s first lockdown show looking at Coronavirus he’s joined again by virologist AJ Roberts from California, Australian church and culture guru Mark Sayers, his wife Rev Lucy Brierley and new Unbelievable? team member Ruth Jackson.   They discuss the politics of Coronavirus, conspiracy theories, rebel churches and what the future of the world and the church looks like. For ou...

Notable atheists like Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett claim we live in a deterministic universe and that free will is an illusion. But does losing human free will pose a problem for justice, morality and even the very act of reasoning itself? Dan Barker of the Freedom From Religion Foundation and author of 'Free Will Explained' defends determinism. Christian guest Braxton Hunter defends libertarian...

Is a quasi-religious left wing ‘cancel culture’ shutting down free speech, or is the right wing just as much to blame? Christian commentator David French of The Dispatch and atheist blogger Jonathan Pearce debate JK Rowling, the Harpers letter and Cancel Culture. For David French:  https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/america-is-in-the-grips-of-a-fundamentali For Jonathan Pearce:  https://www.pat...

In the second of two shows dealing with racism and the church, Justin Brierley hosts a discussion on the UK Church between Chine McDonald of Christian Aid, Gavin Calver of The Evangelical Alliance and Bishop Dr Joe Aldred of Churches Together in England. For Chine McDonald https://twitter.com/ChineMcDonald For Gavin Calver: https://www.eauk.org/   For  Bishop Joe Aldred: https://drjoealdred.info/...

Is the approach and ideology of Black Lives Matter and anti-racism advocates such as Robin DiAngelo, a help or a hindrance in combating racism in the USA?  Anti-racism theologian Dr Drew Hart and Christian sociologist Dr George Yancey discuss their different perspectives on racism, 'white fragility' and Black Lives Matter in the wake of the George Floyd protests, and what role the church can play...

Theologian John Hick (1922-2012) was well known for his defence of pluralism - the view that all religions stem from one ‘Ultimate Reality’. In this replay of his 2011 debate with Chris Sinkinson of Moorlands Theological College, they debate whether all religions lead to God. For John Hick: http://www.johnhick.org.uk/jsite/ For Chris Sinkinson: http://www.moorlands.ac.uk/chris-sinkinson/   Subscri...

Nabeel Qureshi first appeared on Unbelievable? in 2009 for a dialogue on his conversion from Islam to Christianity with Muslim convert Yahya Seymour. Justin shares this replay of their conversation and reflects on the ministry of Nabeel who died in 2017 from cancer. For Justin’s 2016 interview with Nabeel Qureshi https://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/The-Profile/Episodes/The-Profile...

Laura Miller loved the Narnia stories as a child, but felt she had been hoodwinked when she discovered their Christian symbolism as an adult skeptic. She engages in a discussion on the enduring appeal of Narnia with leading CS Lewis scholar Michael Ward in this replay of their 2009 dialogue. For Michael Ward http://www.planetnarnia.com/ For Laura Miller https://lauramiller.typepad.com Subscribe to...

Prof John Lennox answers viewer questions in a livestream Q&A hosted by Justin and Lucy Brierley. He talks about his new book ‘2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity’ and addresses issues around science, technology, faith, atheism and the Bible. For ‘2084’ https://2084book.com/ Subscribe to our newsletter and receive the free Unbelievable? e-book ‘In Conversation With…’ https://r...

Prize-winning author Francis Spufford discusses his book ‘Unapologetic: Why despite everything Christianity can still make surprising emotional sense’ with famed atheist writer Philip Pullman in this replay of their 2012 conversation. For Francis Spufford https://www.premier.org.uk/Unbelievablenewsletter Support the show and receive all the videos sessions from Unbelievable? USA 2019 https://resou...

Does Islam or Christianity go back to the true person of Jesus? Richard Shumack, author of 'Jesus through Muslim Eyes' and Mustafa Akyol, author of 'The Islamic Jesus', debate the issues. For Richard Shumack https://www.premier.org.uk/Unbelievablenewsletter Support the show and receive all the videos sessions from Unbelievable? USA 2019 https://resources.premier.org.uk/supportunbelievable/ For mor...

Justin introduces a classic debate from the Unbelievable? archive in which megachurch pastor Rob Bell defended his controversial 2011 book 'Love Wins’ opposite Adrian Warnock. For Rob Bell https://www.premier.org.uk/Unbelievablenewsletter Support the show and receive all the videos sessions from Unbelievable? USA 2019 https://resources.premier.org.uk/supportunbelievable/ For more faith debates and...

Jon Steingard of the band Hawk Nelson is the latest in a number of Christian personalities who say they've renounced their faith. Jon joins Justin along with Christian thinker Sean McDowell who has written a response blog to Jon’s Instagram announcement. Jon Steingard https://www.instagram.com/jonsteingard Sean McDowell https://seanmcdowell.org/blog/christian-rockstar-loses-his-faith-3-big-lessons...

Tim Farron is an MP and former leader of the Liberal Democrats. His Christian faith came under scrutiny during the 2017 UK General Election, leading to his resignation as party leader. His autobiography ‘A Better Ambition: Confessions of a faithful liberal’ (SPCK) tells his story. Polly Toynbee is a well-known journalist, political commentator and vice-president of Humanists UK. Her new book ’The...

Dr. Francis Collins is a renowned geneticist who oversaw the Human Genome Project and is currently the director of the National Institutes of Health, USA responding to Covid-19. He founded Biologos, an organisation seeking to show the complementarity of science and faith. His book ’The Language of God’ tells his faith journey. Having been awarded the Templeton Prize 2020, Francis joins Justin to t...

Is Christianity a positive force for compassion in the world? Prof Paul Gilbert and Dr. Roger Bretherton join Justin for a conversation on psychology, the brain, Christianity and what makes us choose compassion over callousness. Prof Paul Gilbert is a clinical psychologist and leading expert in the study and promotion of compassion. Dr Roger Bretherton is an academic psychologist and chair of the...

Historian Tom Holland, author of ‘Dominion’ recaps his debate with AC Grayling and talks about his recent article for The Telegraph arguing for the Christian roots of the response we are seeing to the Coronavirus pandemic. Also joining the conversation are New Testament scholar Mike Bird co-author of ‘The New Testament In Its World’, and Rev Marcus Walker, priest as St Bartholomew the Great, Londo...

Would the followers of Jesus have been willing to suffer and die for something they knew to be false? Can we be historically confident they were martyred at all? Sean McDowell defends his book ‘The Fate of the Apostles’ against atheist YouTuber Paulogia (aka Paul Ens) following a critical video exchange. For Paulogia’s video  https://youtu.be/Hb4w4xoei2o For Sean McDowell’s response video  https:/...

Zach Broom is the author of ‘Without God: Science, belief, morality and the meaning of life’ in which he claims that many of our most basic intuitions don’t make sense in the absence of God. The book is dedicated to his atheist friend Michael Brady, who engages with Zach on the question of whether life can have meaning in the absence of God. For Zach’s book ‘Without God’  zachbroom.com For Michael...

In a bonus mid-week episode Justin shares his own thoughts on why God doesn’t step in to stop ‘natural evils’ like coronavirus, plague and natural disasters. Read Justin’s blog on the subject: https://www.premierchristianity.com/Blog/Why-doesn-t-God-stop-Coronavirus-and-mend-the-world For the book ‘Unbelievable? Why, after ten years of talking with atheists, I’m still a Christian’  https://www.pre...

Peter Hitchens and Christina Dent, two Christians with very different views on drug legalisation, debate whether or not decriminalisation is the way to combat drug abuse. Justin also chats with Christian thinkers William Lane Craig and Amy Orr-Ewing about their response to Coronavirus and atheist critiques of Christianity. For Peter Hitchens’ book ‘The War We Never Fought’ https://www.amazon.com/W...