Unbelievable?

Joshua Ryan Butler, author of 'The Skeletons in God's Closet' discusses hell, judgement and holy war with Jeff Cook. They debate whether Old Testament warfare passages constitute divinely mandated genocide. For Joshua Butler: http://joshuaryanbutler.com For Jeff Cook: http://everythingnew.org/ For more faith debates visit www.premierchristianradio.com/unbelievable > Join the conversation: Facebook...

New Testament scholar, author and speaker Paula Gooder joins Justin to tackle a range of questions sent in by listeners. The Old Covenant, eyewitness testimony, how the Gospels were written and much more is covered. Justin also airs the audio of his “Dear Stephen…” response video to Stephen Fry… available here http://www.premierchristianity.com/Blog/What-Stephen-Fry-could-learn-from-Oscar-Wilde Fo...

Following atheist Stephen Fry's viral anti-God video, the question of how a good God could allow suffering has come into focus again. Justin is joined by Christian philosopher Vince Vitale, author of "Why Suffering?" as he debates the issues with atheist think Julian Baggini. To watch the video of this debate and Justin's own response to Stephen Fry go to http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows...

In a continuation of last week’s show David Marshall & John Loftus continue to debate whether Christianity is rationally tenable and unique among world religions. David Marshall author of ‘Why Jesus Passes the Outsider Test’, argues that Christianity uniquely fulfils the hopes and desires of all religious searching. Plus we hear from James Emery White, US theologian and church pastor on ‘The Rise...

Atheist John Loftus has challenged Christians with the 'Outsider Test of Faith'. He believes that if Christians examined their own faith with the same level of scepticism they do other faiths, they would reject it. Christian guest David Marshall is the author of 'How Jesus Passes the Outsider Test'. A resident of China, he debates Loftus, examining why, among other factors, the global success of C...

The term 'Humanism' is often seen as synonymous with atheism. But a recent Theos report titled: 'The case for Christian Humanism: why Christians should be Humanists and Humanists should be Christians' claims to show that atheism is ill-equipped to support the fundamental tenets of Humanism. Report author Angus Ritchie debates with atheist philosopher Stephen Law on whether atheistic humanism can a...

In 1960 physicist Eugene Wigner wrote a paper on the ‘unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics’. Christian philosopher William (Bill) Lane Craig has recently been developing arguments concerning the ‘applicability’ of mathematics as evidence for God as part of his wider research on abstract objects. Bill interacts with atheist/agnostic philosopher Daniel Came on whether the remarkable ability of...

Following an article in the New York Times about scholars who adopt an annihilationist (also called 'conditional immortality') view of hell rather than the traditional 'eternal conscious torment' view, Justin is joined by two evangelicals to debate the issue. Dr Al Mohler is President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He spoke against the annihilationist view in an edition of his daily pod...

Rt Revd John Pritchard is the recently retired Bishop of Oxford and the author of 'How to Explain Your Faith'. He joins Justin along with church-going atheist Andrew Nightingale and Christian philosopher and storyteller Mark Roques as they discuss what Andrew loves about the church he attends but why he finds it difficult to believe the claims of Christianity. For How To Explain Your Faith: http:/...

We hear it every year at Christmas in in our services. Matthew Chapter 1, quoting the prophet Isaiah - "look the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel". Critics say there's a problem: that the Isaiah passage is not talking about a virgin and Matthew misquotes him. So is it a problem for the virgin Birth? Is Christmas cancelled? Get the MP3 Alistair McKitterick...

Keith Ward is the former Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University. His new book “The evidence for God” picks up on various aspects of human experience as proof of a spiritual realm. He is joined by atheist philosopher Michael Ruse for a lively discussion. Ruse’s own recent book “Atheism: What everyone needs to know” sets out the case against belief. For Keith Ward: http://www.amazon.co.uk...

Eben Alexander is a neurosurgeon whose book Proof Of Heaven became a bestseller. It documented his visions of heaven while in a coma which had shut down much of his brain. He joins Justin along with Graham Nicholls, a researcher of Out of Body experiences and Jane Aspell, a psychology and cognitive science lecturer who believes that OBE & NDEs are a purely physical experiences produced by the brai...

Emerging Church leader Brian McLaren and evangelical leader Andrew Wilson debate whether we need to rethink scripture in a podcast special hosted by Justin. The two debates examine whether we’ve made an idol of the Bible and the way that Jesus read scripture. They cover issues such as Old Testament law, homosexuality, contradictions, the use and abuse of scripture, the resurrection and male and fe...

Graham Veale is the author of "New Atheism: A Survival Guide" which looks at some of the popular objections of new atheism, including the 'Flying Spaghetti Monster' parody of God. Rory Fenton represents Secular Humanist student groups and defended the atheist society at London's South Bank University when their Flying Spaghetti Monster posters were removed. They debate the use of parody and balanc...

We hear highlights from this year's Unbelievable? Conference, including the opening address by Os Guinness, Ruth Jackson on reaching young people, Craig Hazen on the resurrection, William Lane Craig & Jeff Zweerink on science and atheism, Jay Smith on Islam, Tim McGrew on the Gospels and part of the Panel Q&A.

Lynn Wilder was a temple-recommend holding Mormon who taught at Brigham Young University in Utah. She describes what led her to abandon the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and embrace Biblical Christianity. Michael Flournoy is a Mormon apologist. He debates issues of racism, salvation, the nature of Jesus and what Joseph Smith wrote in the Book of Mormon with Lynn.

Mark Lanier is a successful US trial lawyer. He’s also a keen theologian and apologist and has used his skills as a lawyer to make the case for Christ in ‘Christianity on Trial’. Paul Beaumont is a former Christian who lost his faith after coming under the influence of new atheists such as Richard Dawkins. His novel ‘A Brief Eternity’ is a critiques of Christinaity nad claims of heaven and hell. M...

Elliot George is a retired science teacher whose new book “Godbuster: Exorcises all known gods” claims that science is about evidence whereas religion is about ‘belief’(and should therefore be rejected). Jonathan McLatchie is a Christian currently studying for a PhD in cell biology. He says Elliot’s book is badly flawed, and that Christian belief is evidence-based because science itself lends supp...

It's100 years since the outbreak of WWI. Two of the world's leading Christian thinkers on Just War & Pacifism join Justin to discuss their different views on whether war is ever justified. Nigel Biggar is Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at Oxford University and author of "In defence of war". Stanley Hauerwas is a noted US theology professor at Duke University and longtime proponent...

Bible scholar Peter Enns was fired from his position at Westminster Theological Seminary after his views on scripture were deemed to be too liberal. He has continued to question evangelical views of scripture in his book 'The Bible Tells Me So: Why defending Scripture has made us unable to read it'. David Instone-Brewer of Tyndale House, Cambridge discusses why he disagrees with some of Enns' view...

As Halloween approaches Justin meets Tam, a Wiccan who explains what he believes and the significance of Halloween (or Sam'hain) to the witchcraft community. Steve Hollinghurst is a Christian with a ministry to the new age and pagan community. He engages with Tam as well as explaining what Christians can learn from those involved in alternative spirituality. MP3 of this show http://cdnapi.kaltura....

When Richard Dawkins tweeted 'abort it and try again' to a follower who raised a question about pregnancy and Downs Syndrome, there was a public outcry. Yet each year over 1000 pregnancies are terminated in the UK because of screening for Downs Syndrome. Ann Furedi is head of BPAS, the UK's largest independent abortion provider. She believes parents should be able to choose to abort for any reason...

Christian Philosopher Michael Murray wrote a book in 2008 making a defence of God in the face of millennia of animal suffering. He presents his arguments to atheist Phil Harper (aka Skydivephil). They also discuss the contentious issue of whether animals experience pain differently to humans, after William Lane Craig ignited a debate on the subject after quoting Michael Murray's work in a debate....

Several high profile evangelical have converted to The Orthodox Church in recent decades. Is it just for the cool beards and robes? In this discussion we find out about the history of the Orthodox Church and some of its distinctive features. Justin is joined by Bishop Angaelos of the Coptic Orthodox Church, evangelical theologian Elaine Storkey and Andrew Walker, a convert to Eastern Orthodox Chur...

Blaise Pascal was a 17th century Christian philosopher and mathematician who said that we all bet our life on the existence of God. So, you are better off believing in God because you've everything to gain if it's true and little to lose if it's not. But you've plenty to lose if you bet on God not existing and it turns out that He does. Kevin Moore is a young philosopher whose new book 'Untrumpabl...