Unbelievable?

A festive edition of the show.  With studio guest Anthony McRoy and a host of phone guests from around the world Justin Brierley looks at various aspects of Christmas. Is Christmas based on Pagan festivals and myths?  What are the Christian roots of Father Christmas and Christmas trees?  Are there other valid narratives of the Christmas story apart from Matthew and Luke?  All these and more questi...

www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable  has undergone a major redevelopment and Justin Brierley uses this New Year Programme to take a tour around it. Visit it now to find out more about the new features, interviews, articles and ways to interact with the show that gets christians and non-Christians thinking. We're also on Facebook and Twitter Justin plays snippets of some of the exclusive extra content...

"The Third Choice" by Australian church pastor Mark Durie claims that Islam has a long history of oppressing those of other faiths under its power.  Durie claims that when Islam conquered a nation its inhabitants could either convert, die or become "Dhimmi" - forced to pay money for their life and live in subservience to Muslims.  He says that the doctrine lives on today. Adnan Rashid of the Hitti...

Asia Bibi is the first Christian woman in Pakistan to be sentenced to death for allegedly blaspheming against Mohammed.  In light of her case we discuss Pakistan's use of Islamic blasphemy law with Adnan Rashid of the Hittin Institute and Stuart Windsor and John Joseph of Christian Solidarity Worldwide.   Stuart Windsor is director of CSW who supports those suffering persecution.  John Joseph is a...

David Robertson is a Scottish church pastor and author of "The Dawkins Letters".  He recently hosted the first Conference of the newly established Solas Centre for Public Christianity. As a key respondent to Dawkins he has earned himself the nickname "The Wee Flea". He takes questions from three skeptics on today's prgramme. Stephen Lees has come to doubt his once-held faith.  He asks whether Chri...

This last week saw US Intelligent Deisgn proponent Michael Behe on the "Darwin or Design?" speaking tour of the UK. As well as hosting an evening event, "Unbelievable?" invited him to discuss ID with theistic evolutionist Prof Michael Reiss in front of an invited audience. Michael Behe is professor of Biochemistry at LeHigh University, Pennsylvania. His book "Darwin's Black Box" launched the moder...

Best-selling US Christian Author Philip Yancey writes books that address some of the hardest questions that Christians ask of themselves and skeptics ask of Christians.  His latest book "What Good is God?" looks at how Christian belief matters in the lives of those who suffer. He chats with atheist Paul Thompson (aka "Sinbad" on the Premier Community).  Paul was present at the Twin Towers on Sep 1...

Both guests on today's show are Christians, both are gay, and both run ministries supporting Christians of homosexual orientation. However a very different ethos underpins each.  The True Freedom Trust, run by Jonathan Berry believes that Christians with homosexual orientation should abstain from sexual practise.  Courage, run by Jeremy Marks accepts committed same-sex relationships between Christ...

Richard Dawkins has said that "the theory of evolution made it possible to be an intellecually fulfilled atheist". But what if belief in evolution becomes irrational on atheist naturalism? Alvin Plantinga is one of the foremost Christian philosophers in the world and is leading a resurgence of Christian philosophy in North America. He has formulated the "Evolutionary Argument Against Naturalism" w...

C.S. Lewis was one of the most influential Christian writers of the 20th Century and remains so today.  Many are familiar with his Narnia stories, but he was also a populariser of Christian apologetics, and continues to be the first place that many encounter the key arguments for Christian faith. 60 years on from when they were written, are his arguments for God and Christ still compelling?  We lo...

Michael Behe is professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University, Pennsylvania and the founder of the modern Intelligent Design movement.  His book "Darwin's Black Box" ignited the controversy 14 years ago when it claimed that certain molecular machines and biological processes are "irreducibly complex" and cannot be explained by Darwinian evolution. His new book "The Edge of Evolution" takes his co...

Torturing children for fun - is that absolutely wrong? The Moral Argument for God states that there are such things as objective moral facts, and that objective moral facts must have an immaterial source - namely God.  Therefore God Exists... Simple right? However, atheist Cambridge Philosopher Arif Ahmed disagrees with the first two premises.  He debates with New Zealand's Christian philosopher G...

We return to listener questions on whether Hawking was right or wrong to dismiss God as a cause of the universe in his new book "The Grand Design". John Polkinghorne is a theoretical physicist and Anglican Priest in Cambridge.  Hugh Ross is a Christian physicist and founder of "Reasons to Believe". They tackle questions on whether the multiverse is really an alternative to God in explaining our fi...

Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett & Sam Harris are all figures at the vanguard of the "New Atheism".  The books have sold well, but where does this form of confrontational and outspoken atheism have to go next? Alister McGrath is Theology professor at Kings College London and regularly speaks and writes against Atheism.  He says that there's nothing "new" about New Atheism and...

We return to listener questions on whether Hawking was right or wrong to dismiss God as a cause of the universe in his new book "The Grand Design". John Polkinghorne is a theoretical physicist and Anglican Priest in Cambridge.  Hugh Ross is a Christian physicist and founder of "Reasons to Believe". They tackle questions on whether the multiverse is really an alternative to God in explaining our fi...

As Pope Benedict XVI undertakes a four day tour of Britain we explore the theology of the Roman Catholic Church. What is the Catholic view of the role of the Pope?  How do they ground his authority as head of the church in Scripture?  Is he God's representative or mediator on earth?  What does it mean to speak of his "infallible" statements? Is Catholic tradition a part of God's revelation alongsi...

With the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the UK, some are protesting that his visit should not be sponsored by the State.  They say that the Catholic church is a force for bad in the light of its record on human rights, child abuse and past persecution. Peter D Williams, a young "revert" to Catholicism from atheism argues the Catholic church's record of wrongs has been overstated and misunderstood a...

Christians have traditionally held that humans comprise two things - a body and a soul.  Christian Philosophers have written in defence of the soul against a reductive atheism that claims we are material beings alone. But a new movement in Christian philosophy claims that the atheists are correct, at least when it comes to humans. Glenn Peoples is a Christian philosopher who subscribes to physical...

Peter Byrom says he is "very nearly" convinced of Christianity.  Having dallied with an atheist perspective he now rejects many of those arguments.  However one area of theology he doesn't feel is clear is the question of Adam and Eve and the Fall. Who were Adam and Eve -  a historical couple or a metaphor for the human condition?  Why did their rebellion impact the whole of humanity?  How can we...

The place where many Christians engage with atheists about belief is online.  But why do both sides turn up to engage in the conversation, and what is the fruit? Todd Pitner and Richard Morgan are adult converts to Christianity who often engage in apologetics debate online.  They meet face to face with Paul Baird - one of the many atheists they debate online. All three are members of the Premier C...

Should people suffering from terminal illness or in terrible pain be allowed to take their own life?  Should doctors help them?  British law currently forbids it but there are voices asking for a change.  At the forefront is "Dignity in Dying" whose Chief-Executive Sarah Wootton argues that allowing people to choose when and how they die is an extension of personal liberty. Revd George Pitcher is...

The resurrection of Christ is fundamental to the Christian faith.  However, not all Christians agree on how it should be interpreted. Adrian Warnock is a church leader, blogger and author.  His book "Raised with Christ" aims to put the resurrection of Jesus back at the centre of all Christian theology.  He says that acceptance of the doctrine of the physical resurrection of Jesus is fundamental to...

"Arguing against God's existence is on a par with arguing against air, breathing it all the while".  So says the website of Sye TenBrugencatte who believes that Christians need to rediscover the power of 'presuppositional apologetics'. Our use of the laws of logic, mathematics, science and morality cannot be accounted for unless we believe in a God who guarantees our perceptions and reasoning is t...

Is belief in the supernatural inherent from birth?  Is Christianity a psychological crutch or a path to emotional wholeness? Is God belief simply a result of evolution?  Would it make belief untrue if it were? These and other questions are discussed by atheist psychological therapist Martyn Frame and Christian tutor of psychology of religion Revd Dr Joanna Collicut McGrath. Martyn believes that re...

From shamanism, hallucenogenic drugs, out-of-body experiences, to being "filled with the Spirit".  Christian author and barrister Charles Foster draws on these and many more  to examine the biological evidence of what happens when people claim supernatural experiences. Is there room left for God?  Yes, says Foster, whose own experience of the Holy Spirit led him to research why our brains seem to...