Unbelievable?

A re-broadcast of a classic debate that won a New York Radio Festivals Gold medal. Peter Hearty is an atheist who says that Evolution alone explains the living world around us.  Peter Williams, an Intelligent Design proponent claims that Evolution is a theory with serious problems that only an inference to design can explain.  They debate, and we take calls from Christian and atheist listeners. Fo...

Peter Hitchens is a well known journalist and Anglican Christian.  Unlike his atheist brother Christopher, he believes Christianity is an essential bedrock for society.  He says Islam will fill the spiritual vaccuum of Britain if secularists have their way. Ibrahim Mogra represents the Muslim Council of Britain.  He says that Muslims are only interested in living harmoniously within society. They...

Nabeel Qureshi converted to Christianity from Islam after being convinced that the weight of evidence was in favour of Christian faith.  Yahya Seymour's story is the opposite - he became a Muslim after having a Christian upbringing.  They discuss the issues in advance of debates coming up in London. For more information on the debates from Sun 12 Jul 09 to Sat 18 Jul 09 see www.thedebateinitiative...

Atheist Biologist PZ Myers is  an outspoken critic of Christianity.  He believes that faith in God and science are contradictory.  He debates theistic evolutionist Denis Alexander, Director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion. Is science is at odds with Christianity as PZ claims? They touch on Fine Tuning, Rationality, and whether God is an inference to the best explanation. For PZ M...

What did the first Christians believe about Jesus?  Muslim Abdul Haq, the author of "Before Nicea" claims that key doctrines of Christianity were formulated through later councils of the church.  He says that there is no good evidence that early Christians believed in Jesus' divinity or even his crucifixion. Evangelical Christian scholar Anthony McRoy counters Haq's claims, insisting that the key...

Atheist Paul Orton contacted the show saying he was unconvinced by the claim of some Christians that morality must be based in God, to make sense.  He claims that morality is a product of biological and social evolution and "the changing moral Zeitgeist" determines the morals we hold. Christian apologist David Robertson claims that you can't make sense of "right" and "wrong" without reference to a...

Laura Miller was captivated by Lewis' Narnia stories as a child.  As a teenager she learnt of the Christian parallels in the books and felt "cheated and betrayed".  Find out why in today's programme and how she has come to terms with Narnia by writing "The Magician's Book". Michael Ward is a leading expert on CS Lewis and author of "Planet Narnia".  As a Christian the Narnia stories served to deep...

What should Christians believe about the "infallibility" of the Bible?  Are the apparent contradictions that exist a problem? Derek Tidball is the former Principal of the London School of Theology.  He engages with atheist Gordon Livesey who has compiled a list of, as he believes, errors and contradictions in the Bible. Find out more about Derek Tidball's books  here You can hear more Christian/No...

Geshe Tashi Tsering has been a Buddhist monk since he was a teenager.  He claims that fulfillment in life involves shedding negative mental states and embracing the enlightened understanding of Buddhism.  We are the answer to our own salvation. Sunil Shivdasani is a Christian from a Hindu background.  He works with Christian Vision for Men.  He explains why he believes Jesus is the true way to enl...

Angels & Demons is the sequel to the film "The Da Vinci Code" - both by Dan Brown.  Is Angels & Demons as controversial as Da Vinci? Probably not, but some are worried at the way it represents the Catholic Church and the science/faith debate. Justin is joined by Jesuit communications director Ged Clapson and Susan Fani of the Catholic League with their reaction to the film.  Theologian & scientist...

Jesus was a Jew.  Christianity owes its birth to Judaism.  But did Jesus represent the fulfilment of Jewish Messianic hopes and prophecy? Jonathan Romain is Rabbi of a Reform Synagogue in Maidenhead and was recently named as one of the most influential Jews in the UK. He believes that whatever Jesus was, he was not the Messiah promised in the Old Testament. Stephen Pacht is a Messianic Jew.  He be...

Former UK Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt recently tabled an amendment to the Coroners and Justice Bill seeking to allow people not to be prosecuted for aiding others to die at overseas euthanasia clinics. Those who oppose Euthanasia see this is as part of a strategy to change the UK law that currently prohibits assisted suicide. In this edition of "Unbelievable?" Atheist Peer Lord Dick Taverne (...

While non-Christians may doubt the miracles and resurrection of Jesus, few doubt his actual existence.  However, Ken Humphreys believes the evidence for Jesus' very existence is scant and that Christian belief in him is the result of "late and fake" accounts. JP Holding is a vociferous defender of Christian history and doctrine and believes Ken's scepticism is unfounded and biased. They examine th...

Premier is inviting Christians to sign the "I am a Christian" declaration at www.iamachristian.org.uk and stand up for their Christian faith. It's in response to the fact that over 100,000 have downloaded the National Secular Society's "Debaptism" certificate, renouncing childhood baptismal vows. There have been a number of stories that suggest Christians are being restricted form being open about...

Steven Carr has a prolific presence on the internet as an atheist blogger and debater.  He contends that  the early Christians did not believe in Jesus' resurrection and that the Biblical views of resurrection are contradictory. Canon Michael Cole is a veteran defender of Christian faith and responds to Steven's criticisms of the resurrection. For Steven Carr see http://stevencarrwork.blogspot.com...

Did Jesus rise from the dead?  What if he never actually died on the cross? As Easter approaches we hear from one of the best respected Muslim scholars in the world - Shabir Ally.  He explains why he does not believe Jesus rose from the dead, namely because he never actually died upon the cross - he merely 'swooned'. Christian Apologist Tony Costa presents his case for the resurrection of Christ a...

Are atheists guilty of misunderstanding morality and the Bible?  David Robertson is a Free Church Minister in Scotland and author of the best selling book "The Dawkins letters - Challenging atheist myths".  He meets "atheist blogger" Adrian Hayter again to discuss the "myths" of Godless morality, the cruel Old Testament God and the Immoral Bible. Read Richard Morgan's testimony here  (mentioned du...

Church minister David Robertson authored a series of Open Letters to Richard Dawkins after the publication of "The God Delusion" that sought to expose the flaws in his argument and the "atheist myths" that he was guilty of. Those missives became a book called "The Dawkins Letters: Challenging atheist myths" and has propelled David into the spotlight as he addresses sceptical audiences on whether C...

Timothy Keller started Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York in 1989. It now attracts several thousand members to worship every week. His book "The Reason for God" answers the questions he is commonly asked by sceptical New Yorkers. He engages with Atheist Norman Bacrac editor of the "Ethical Record" - a Humanist publication. They debate whether Christianity's exclusive claims are arrogant, and...

The most recent scientific evidence shows that the universe had to be incredibly "fine tuned" in its fundamental constants to allow life.  Is this the ultimate proof of a designer God?  Nicholas Beale believes so.  He is the co-author of "Questions of truth" (WJK) with Christian physicist John Polkinghorne.  Atheist Julian Baggini argues against Nicholas' conclusion. To order "Questions of Truth"...

In 19th Century America Joseph Smith claimed to have been given a new revelation of God and Jesus Christ. Almost 200 years later, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints numbers more than 13 million members. Justin explores the key differences in belief between Mormons and Christians as he meets two men breaking the mould of interfaith dialogue. Robert Millet is a Mormon and professor at B...

Could the DNA that makes up the building blocks of life of every living thing on the earth be the clue to a cosmic designer? That's the view of Christian guest Perry Marshall. An electrical engineer by background, he is now a leading authority on information systems and the internet. He says that anybody who comes at the topic of how life originated from an engineering background will see that DNA...

"The Atheist's Bible" (Duckworth & Co) has been a bestseller in the USA. It brings together a mass of quotes from atheists, agnostics and more. Its compiler Joan Konner speaks to Justin Brierley about why she put it together and her own thoughts on atheism. She interacts with Christian apologist Peter Williams whose own book "The Sceptic's Guide to Atheism" (Paternoster) has just been published. J...

As the world marks Darwin's bicentenary, Nick Spencer of Christian thinktank Theos and author of the book "Darwin & God" explains where Darwin actually stood in relation to belief in God. Although Darwin lost his Christian faith he was never an atheist. Atheist biologist Robert Stovold argues that Darwin's "Big Idea" paves the way to atheism. Denis Alexander of the Faraday Institute also contribut...

On the surface Christadelphians look very similar to Christians - they read the same Bible, go to church, believe Jesus died for our sins and rose again. So what's the difference between a Christian and a Christadelphian? Justin finds out from Christadelphian Andrew Bramhill and Baptist pastor Ken Brownell. Find out why Christadelphians don't believe in the Trinity or Jesus as the Son of God in th...