Life & Faith

If stories in the American news media are anything to go by, free speech is under assault on American college campuses. On this Life & Faith, we discuss this recent trend, as well as the banning of the Lord’s Prayer from UK cinemas, and explore the implications of excluding certain ideas from discussion.

Domestic abuse within the church dominated headlines early in 2015. On this Life & Faith we speak with Sandy Grant, who is heading up the Task Force to address Domestic Abuse within the Sydney Anglican Diocese, and speak with Barbara Roberts, survivor of domestic abuse, victim advocate, and author of a book on abuse and divorce within the church. If you are experiencing domestic abuse, we urge you to please seek help. Australian resources: If you are in immediate danger, ring 000. Ring the Respect Line for counselling, information and support 1800 737 732 or see www.1800respect.org.au You can also visit Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre online at www.safesteps.org.au or call 1800 015 188 Visit Barbara Roberts’ blog A Cry for Justice for information, education, and stories particularly relevant to a Christian context www.cryingoutforjustice.com

On the occasion of the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, we talk about modern slavery with Jenny Stanger, National Manager of the Salvation Army’s initiative The Freedom Partnership, and explore slavery in the biblical context with John Dickson, historian and co-founder of the Centre for Public Christianity. For more information on The Freedom Partnership, see endslavery.salvos.org.au    

In The Life of I: The New Culture of Narcissism Anne Manne has written a sobering, and at times depressing, account of the way that our hypercompetitive, capitalist culture is making us more narcissistic: eager to seek our own interests at the expense of others. In this podcast she talks about what narcissism is, its negative effects, and what role religion and politics might have to play in producing empathy—what she regards as the antidote to narcissism. 

Awarding winning journalist Michael Ware talks to CPX about his film “Only the Dead.” This documentary recounts Ware’s many years reporting on the very front lines of the war in Iraq and describes being confronted not only with human darkness in those he filmed but that within himself as well. Ware saw some of the best and also the worst that human beings are capable of. Despite coming very close to losing his life many times and suffering the associated trauma of war, Michael Ware has managed to return home to build a life in Australia. He is forever changed, but able more than most, to recount the layers of complexity and tragedy that is the Iraqi war and its ongoing consequences.

In Captains of the Soul: A history of Australia’s army chaplains, Michael Gladwin tracks the role of chaplains as they’ve served and supported countless troops in every campaign where Australia has served abroad. He provides a fascinating insight into how chaplains went about their work providing spiritual and pastoral care to the soldiers in their charge. Michael’s book recently won the 2015 Australian Christian Book of the Year Award.

Trevor Hart speaks to Simon Smart about art, theology, and imagination, covering the relationship between art and the Church, the idea of God as an artist, human creativity, and the way art points us to the divine.

We live in a world that enthrones romantic love above all else – often to the detriment of friendship. On the program we explore the spiritual dimensions of friendship and pay tribute to this often sidelined love.

If young people struggle with depression and anxiety, how can faith help? Psychologist Collett Smart talks about wellbeing, resilience, and the role of belief and community in lifting the spirits of our young people.

Tom McLeish is a theoretical physicist at Durham University and the author of Faith and Wisdom in Science. In this interview he talks about what he loves about science, how the history of science goes much further back than we usually think, and why a “theology of science” can be a very useful thing.

It’s widely assumed that colonial missionaries destroyed local cultures in the effort to convert people to Christianity, but Robert Woodberry’s research – which was at first roundly rejected, but is now the recipient of numerous academic awards – bears out the remarkably positive democratic effect missionaries had on the places they went.

As editor of the ABC’s Religion Ethics website, Scott Stephens spends his days trawling through the best of contemporary theological and ethical thinking. But the story of his life, as lived so far, proves just as intriguing as the material he daily immerses himself in—featuring a brilliant but paranoid Republican father, a peacenik mother who exposed Scott to a love of art and literature, and a sojourn in the Solomon Islands as a teen that brought him to Sydney and set Scott on his current course in life. It’s a fascinating tale told in two parts.

As editor of the ABC’s Religion Ethics website, Scott Stephens spends his days trawling through the best of contemporary theological and ethical thinking. But the story of his life, as lived so far, proves just as intriguing as the material he daily immerses himself in—featuring a brilliant but paranoid Republican father, a peacenik mother who exposed Scott to a love of art and literature, and a sojourn in the Solomon Islands as a teen that brought him to Sydney and set Scott on his current course in life. It’s a fascinating tale told in two parts.

Pope Francis says there are more martyrs today for the Christian faith than at any other time in history. It’s estimated that Christians are the victims of 4 in 5 religiously motivated attacks around the world. Hear Mike Goor of Open Doors Australia talk about the organisation’s work to support beleaguered people of faith.

Westerners take religious freedom for granted but as a teenager growing up in Eastern Ukraine in the 1970s, Victor Akhterov’s Christian faith was challenged by the Soviet state’s hostility to religious commitment. Along with sharing stories from his past, Victor gives us an insider’s take on religious freedom in Russia today, and some of the country’s social issues that particularly affect its next generation.