Life & Faith

A dangerous personality. The printing press. Social reform. What made the Reformation so successful? --- "His personality, the combination of being a good communicator, passionate, stubborn, belligerent, extraordinarily intelligent, all played a role. If any of those weren’t there, he probably would not have been able to succeed as well as he did." What was the X factor that gave Martin Luther an edge in changing the most powerful organisation in 16th Century Europe, which then changed the world? This was the question posed to a panel of experts at a recent forum hosted by Sydney Ideas and ABC Radio National’s The Spirit of Things, 'The X Factor in the Reformation'. In this episode of Life & Faith, we bring you highlights from this event - including the answer to the question. You’ll hear from: Mark Worthing, Lutheran professor and author of Martin Luther: A Wild Boar in the Lord’s Vineyard; Michael Jensen, a theologian and Anglican minister in Sydney; Kristina Keneally, former Premier of New South Wales and a Catholic feminist; and Carole Cusack, a religious studies specialist from the University of Sydney. Also, the panellists ponder whether the ideas of the Reformation still resonate today. "One of the things the secular world inherits from Christianity is the notion that human beings are imperfect and they need to be improved," says Carole Cusack. "So we work on making ourselves better people, making our societies more just … we’re on a perpetual journey of improvement. I see that as a secular inheritance of the idea that a Christian must continually strive towards virtue, and to be godly." --- Listen to full conversation on ABC Radio National’s The Spirit of Things: http://ab.co/2zlPOcm Find out more about Sydney Ideas events: http://bit.ly/2yGRtfs Buy Rev Dr Mark Worthing’s book, Martin Luther: A Wild Boar in the Lord's Vineyard: http://bit.ly/2m2fism 

A Martin Luther impersonator, a pastor, and an artist on an event that changed the world. --- "Martin Luther’s idea of the freedom of the Christian set up a certain understanding of freedom of the people. We are individuals, we have the right for freedom, and we are equal children of God like our prince, or like the emperor - they are not better at all than we are." When Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the doors of The Castle Church in Wittenberg, little did he know that it would be the beginning of an event that would change the world. His idea was simple: "That we are justified by God, only by grace, and not by our own deeds," explains Hans Kasch, Director of the Lutheran World Federation Centre in Wittenberg. "We can pray as much we want, we can be as good as we are, and we can do as much as we are able to do - but this doesn’t help us in God’s eyes. That was his discovery, and the starting point for the Reformation." From this idea came the birth of the Protestant church, the foundations of modern democracy, the priority of the individual, education for the masses (including women) … and this idea continues to inspire people five centuries on. In this episode of Life & Faith, we travel to Wittenberg, the birthplace of the Reformation, to speak with a Martin Luther impersonator, a Lutheran pastor, and more, about the far-reaching and long-lasting impact of the Reformation on our world. "For many people, Martin Luther was a hero of faith, a great professor. I want to show he was a man like you and me - in another time, of course, with other problems," says Bernhard Naumann, Church Master at the Town Church in Wittenberg, and Martin Luther impersonator. "Maybe we can learn not to say 'the times are like the times are', but we can change the things around us. Because Luther was at first a small monk only, and then step-by-step he became that great reformer." Then, join us on a tour of 'The Luther Effect' exhibition in Berlin by the Deutsches Historisches Museum. It showcases the effect – and counter-effect – of Protestantism around the world, including in Sweden, the US, Tanzania, and Korea. "We choose Korea for several reasons: one is that it's the 'boom land' of Protestantism, and the other is that Korea missionised itself. The first translation of the Bible into the Korean language was not made by European missionaries." "In the beginning, Protestantism played a very important role in the national identity of Korea," says Boris Nitzsche, an historian and press officer at the Deutsches Historisches Museum. "The Bible was translated into Korean at a time when the Korean language was in decline, and it introduced education for the masses, especially for women - they learned to read and write because they wanted to read the Bible." --- Watch ‘The Story of Martin Luther’ (Playmobil Animation): www.youtu.be/tox2TflUH90 Visit ‘The Luther Effect’ Exhibition in Berlin: www.dhm.de/en/ausstellungen/the-luther-effect.html Find out more about the Luthergarten project: www.luthergarten.de/welcome.html Read Barney Zwartz’s article in The Age: www.bit.ly/2ydJ0Ar 

  Physicist Tom McLeish thinks of science as a way of healing our relationship with the natural world. --- "I’ve become really upset that science is something for most people so distant, something they feel they can’t enjoy, it was difficult when they were at school, they didn’t get the hang of it. I think it’s like music, art, dancing, drama or painting - it’s one of those sorts of things that everyone can enjoy to some extent." Tom McLeish is a theoretical physicist at Durham University and the author of Faith and Wisdom in Science. As a young man, he was impressed by Christianity because it offered the best explanation of this world and everything in it. "For me, Christianity has lit the world up in a helpful, consistent, and challenging way that no other worldview does," he says. "And science sits within it." In this episode, Tom 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. --- This episode was first broadcast on 15 October 2015.

An alcoholic describes her long, complicated, and ongoing journey to recovery. --- "I came out of church one Sunday morning with a really bad hangover." Penny Wilkinson started drinking when she was in high school. But it wasn’t until she was well into her 30s, living in the Eastern suburbs with her husband and three kids – she was living a seemingly perfect life – that it occurred to her that her drinking might be a problem. "There’s this strange mental twist that goes on in the alcoholic mind. You can’t recall the damage at the point in time when you make the decision to take the first drink." The road to recovery has not been easy or straightforward, but Penny eventually sought and received help from family and friends, addiction specialists, her church, and Alcoholics Anonymous. Then, she started running Overcomers Outreach to help others, particularly those who had the same faith as her, along their addiction recovery journey. "Going into AA with a Christian higher power was a really hard experience. I knew I needed church. But I also knew that I desperately needed to be part of a fellowship that understood my mental condition." --- Find out more about Overcomers Outreach: www.overcomersoutreach.net

  Love exceeds "tolerance" and "diversity" when it comes to living with others, says David Smith. --- "There’s a risk that this tips over into naiveté. There are bad things in the world. Cultures are not benign. There are things in all cultures that need to be resisted. But that doesn’t give me license to approach the world as if my culture is basically, in most things, right, and the other culture is mostly threat and darkness - because it’s always going to be more complicated than that." Living alongside people from cultures different to our own is a fact of life, but even after decades of officially embracing and celebrating multiculturalism, it’s not always clear how we can do this well. David Smith discusses what it means to learn from - and to love - the stranger. "Tolerance is a willingness to let someone be, whereas love is a commitment to someone else’s wellbeing – which is not the same as saying I’m willing for them to exist and I’m not going to attack them. I mean, that’s a good starting point. Tolerance is not a bad thing. But love is going a step beyond that, and saying the other’s wellbeing is important to me, and when that wellbeing is threatened I’m willing to step out of my way and seek to secure their wellbeing." David Smith is Professor of Education and Professor of German at Calvin College in Michigan. --- This episode was first broadcast on 13 August 2015.

Peter Hughes shares his experience of mental illness, and explains why it doesn’t define him. --- "When I was a teenager, I’d go through different bouts of being in a fog, so to speak. I just thought it was part of adolescence, I thought that’s what everyone went through. It wasn’t until university that somebody said, 'hey that’s not normal and you should go and see someone.'" Peter Hughes is a minister at St Stephens Anglican Church in Sydney’s northern suburbs. He holds degrees in theology and neuropsychology - and he has a mental illness. "So I went and saw someone, to prove this person wrong, but the counselor quickly diagnosed me with a form of high frequency bipolar disorder." One in five Australians will experience mental illness every year. Internationally, the World Health Organisation reports that one in four people will be affected by mental disorders at some point in their lives. In this episode, we look beyond the statistics and explore what it’s like to live with a mental illness. "Through the year, I’ll go through periods of two weeks or so where I just feel like I’m in a fog - mentally, emotionally, physically - I have a lot of trouble sleeping and concentrating. But at the same time I’ll have a couple of days where I feel great. I can do anything." Peter’s story is just one of many. "I am somebody who has bipolar, but it’s not the thing that defines me. It’s not who I am. The thing that defines me is my relationship with God through Jesus. And that’s something I can hold on to through the rocky and stormy periods." --- If this story raises any concerns for you, or someone you know, please talk to someone. In Australia, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or chat to someone online at www.lifeline.org.au. --- If you’re in Sydney on Thursday, 12 October, Peter Hughes will be speaking at The Edge’s next event - ‘Beyond Worry: The science and stories behind anxiety, fear and depression’. Book your tickets here: www.bit.ly/2x2lPHL --- SUBSCRIBE to Life & Faith on Apple Podcasts: www.bit.ly/cpxpodcast

  To be irreligious is to live as a stranger in this world, says Dutch philosopher Evert-Jan Ouweneel. --- It may feel like we’re living in an increasingly secular world, but the numbers tell a different story. According to a recent study, by the year 2050, the number of people in the world without any religious affiliation will decline as a share of the global population. At the same time, Muslims and Christians are on track to make up nearly equal shares of the world’s population – around one-third each. So, if you’re not religious or if you’re uninterested in religion, "you will be a stranger on this planet," Dutch philosopher Evert-Jan Ouweneel says. "Just for the sake of feeling at home in the world - learn about other religions." In this episode, we discuss how to learn about other religions well, ways of bridging gaps between different religious groups, and what it means to reach out beyond borders to make a positive impact in the world. --- SUBSCRIBE to Life & Faith on Apple Podcasts: www.bit.ly/cpxpodcast --- This episode was first broadcast on 19 May 2016.

Andy Bannister on how life’s biggest questions are not just abstract, but deeply personal. --- "I think the gospel has something to say in every area of life. Christianity is a public truth. One of the mistakes Christians make is answering yesterday’s truth. One way to address this is to do a lot more listening and a lot less talking." In the West, it’s safe to say that there are many obstacles that come between people and taking faith seriously. There’s the idea that science holds the answer to all things; that religion is the cause of all wars; that all religions are the same. "It’s far more respectful to my Muslim friends to recognise that what they believe is different, and to take the effort to understand those differences, and not to assume they’re just like me." Andy Bannister is the Director of Solas Centre for Public Christianity in the UK, and author of the book The Atheist Who Didn't Exist: Or, The Dreadful Consequences of Bad Arguments. He’s dedicated the better part of his life to encouraging people to consider faith, to think carefully and seriously about it. In this conversation we talk about life’s big questions; some of the key differences between Islam and Christianity; and what Christian faith has to offer our culture that might be worthwhile. "The reason I treated you with respect and dignity was because I believe you’re a person made in the image of God and that your life bears incredible value and dignity. You, on the other hand, have told me three times during our lunch that you believe human beings are nothing more than atoms and particles - nothing more than biology. But you haven’t treated me as a person made of atoms and particles, you’ve actually treated me as a person made in the image of God. You’ve treated me on the basis of my worldview, not yours. I’m very grateful for that." --- SUBSCRIBE to Life & Faith on Apple Podcasts: www.bit.ly/cpxpodcast 

Bioethicist Margaret Somerville talks about rights, choices, and why she’s against euthanasia. --- Do we - or should we - have the right to choose when and how we die? "A physician intervening with the intention to kill is a radical change in the law, it’s a radical change in medicine, and it’s a radical change in the most fundamental of society’s values, namely, respect for life." Margaret Somerville is an Australian bioethicist. She’s sympathetic to those who see euthanasia as a way of easing suffering - but also strongly disagrees with them. Simon Smart talks to Professor Somerville about what’s happening with euthanasia around the world, how we make ethical choices, and what kind of society we want to leave for future generations. "You can’t judge a society by how it treats its strongest, most powerful, most privileged members. You can judge it by how it treats its weakest, most in need, most vulnerable people. People who are old and fragile and dying - they belong in the latter group. So if all we’re going to do for them is give them a lethal injection, I think we’re a pretty sad and sick society." --- This episode was first broadcast on 30 July 2015.

Personal stories of terror, forgiveness, and faith from around the Middle East. --- "I have nothing against them. I really forgive them. What do I get if they were killed or anything? The only thing I would ask for them is to be enlightened. If they are enlightened, the whole world would be a much better place." These remarkable words were spoken by a woman whose son had just been killed in a terror attack in Egypt. But her response was not an unusual one. Many Christians, in the wake of attacks on their churches and their people, have chosen to forgive. Ehab from the Bible Society in Egypt says there’s a very simple reason for this - it’s what they learn to do in their churches because it’s what the Bible says. "What the Bible is teaching Christians is to love their enemies, do not take revenge, to be forgivers, to show love in everything they do … So that’s the very natural response to these events based on the very strong convictions that they have from their Christian perspective." The Middle East is the birthplace of Christianity, but in recent years, persecution and discrimination have forced many Christians to flee. In this episode of Life & Faith, we speak to Ehab from Egypt, Nahid from Iran, and Nabil from Iraq about what’s happening, and how people of Christian faith cope with what’s happening on the ground. "When I was in Mosul, this is what’s happened. We went to visit the church and it was burnt. But when we go out, I saw flowers. I told the bishops there: 'Look, if the people destroy the church, God creates new things.' There’s hope all the time. I don’t want to lose hope." --- SUBSCRIBE to Life & Faith on Apple Podcasts" www.bit.ly/cpxpodcast 

  Religious freedom expert Brian Grim explains why religious restrictions are bad news for everybody. --- "Where faith is restricted for people, it makes them start to question: Does this society even want me? Do they value me?" Religious adherence is growing around the world - and so are restrictions on religion. Dr Brian Grim is President of the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation, and has lived in many places where religion is heavily restricted. He talks to Simon Smart about why religious freedom is good not only for society but also for business, and why he’s optimistic that people of different faiths can live together well. "Where you have religious freedom, and a rich pluralism of ideas, and faith is part of the natural dialogue of society - it’s not imposed and not removed - then you find better lives for everyone." --- This episode was first broadcast on 13 February 2015.

Professor Sarah Williams on the importance of language and history when it comes to gender. --- "We have lost the language for talking about any form of biological determinism. Gender has replaced the word sex, which is ironic given the fact that it was introduced to create the possibility of nuance." Questions about gender are a big part of the zeitgeist - they’re incredibly important for us at this point in history, and incredibly charged. It’s interesting to discover, then, that the word "gender" is a relatively new addition to the English language. The idea of gender, though, has a long and complicated history. Professor Sarah Williams from Regent College in Vancouver has been mapping the history of gender. In this episode, we take a deep dive into that history, and how we’ve arrived at the understandings we have today. Plus, we discover the key roles that the Bible, and Christianity, played in gender equality and women’s rights movements. "Somewhere along the line, Christianity has been written out of the feminist narrative and of the women’s movement. Women like Josephine Butler, who argued very strongly from a Christian perspective it was essential for the woman to have the vote, using Christian theology as the basis of her political philosophy. The late modern feminist doesn’t quite know what to do with Christianity being a radical force for women, rather than a subjugating force for women. And as a Christian feminist myself, it matters a lot to me that we recover this part of the history of feminism." --- SUBSCRIBE to Life & Faith on Apple Podcasts: www.bit.ly/cpxpodcast 

Exploring the beauty of maths, we may just find that faith and proof are not mutually exclusive. --- "An equation for me has no meaning unless it expresses a thought of God." - Srinivasa Ramanujan. Ramanujan was a self-taught mathematical genius from India, who moved to Cambridge University in 1914 to work with the eminent mathematician, G. H. Hardy. His story, as told in the movie The Man Who Knew Infinity, is not only one of a brilliant mind capable of remarkable work, but of an unlikely friendship between a devout Hindu, and an atheist who was a stickler for proofs. "Your theorem is wrong," Hardy tells Ramanujan in the movie, "this is why we cannot publish anymore until you finally trust me on this business of proofs." Once described as "the most romantic figure in recent mathematical history", Ramanujan’s life also speaks to the idea of finding beauty in maths - and this is what we explore in this episode of Life & Faith. You’ll hear from a leading Australian mathematician about her response to the film, and her sense of the relationship between divine reality and mathematical practice. Then, Oxford mathematics professor John Lennox shares his thoughts about the beauty of the world of numbers and patterns. We wrap up the episode with a poem written and read by former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams - you won’t want to miss it. "Why are numbers beautiful? It's like asking why is Beethoven's Ninth Symphony beautiful. If you don't see why, someone can't tell you. I know numbers are beautiful. If they aren't beautiful, nothing is." - Paul Erdős --- This episode was first broadcast on 30 June 2016.

Dr Luke Barnes talks science, rationality, and the wonders of the night sky. --- "We’ve described the way the world works. We haven’t in any way explained why it’s there in the first place." In this episode, we celebrate National Science Week with Dr Luke Barnes, an astrophysicist with the Sydney Institute of Astronomy. Join us as we unravel the mysteries of the universe (sort of); find out if stars truly are the great lion kings of the past looking down on us; ask what an orderly world suggests about the possibility of a 'Rational Mind' behind it all – and more. And he encourages all of us to look into the night sky and take a moment to contemplate the universe. "I think it’s very good to be reminded of how small we are." --- Purchase your copy of, A Fortunate Universe: Life in a Finely-Tuned Cosmos: www.physics.usyd.edu.au/~luke/book/ Find out more about National Science Week: www.scienceweek.net.au Subscribe to our podcast: www.bit.ly/cpxpodcast

For actor Anna McGahan, Christianity flipped the logic of life and of the entertainment industry. --- "It’s weird because I was the kid that put on plays – and I was aggressive, I would make everyone do a play if we were hanging out with family, friends … However, I was much more interested in science, and I was interested in dance, and I wanted to be an author and an astronomer and a journalist. And I didn’t really consider acting at all." Anna McGahan was partway through a degree in psychology when she decided to pursue acting as a career. In 2012, Anna won the Heath Ledger Scholarship, and she has since appeared in several Australian television series including Underbelly, House Husbands and Anzac Girls. But there was something about her profession, and her success, that she didn’t feel completely comfortable with. "I had always really hoped that I could be somebody that would give something good to the world, that would actually contribute. And I was desperately afraid that I hadn’t really contributed much but some half-popular television." So she started looking for answers, and found them in the place she least expected to - and least wanted to. "I had been trained in liberal arts education, I had come from the LGBT community, and I had come from a group of people that had felt so rejected by the church ... I used to walk around and say, 'I don’t judge anyone – except for Christians'." But Anna started investigating Christianity, going to church, reading the Bible, and discovering the person of Jesus Christ. "If this is true, it will change the whole world - and I don’t understand why no one’s told me about him before." In this episode, Anna McGahan speaks with us backstage from the Justice Conference in Melbourne where she was performing a play she co-wrote with Joel McKerrow, People of the Sun. Anna gives us insight into the life of an actor, why she decided to investigate Christianity, and how it’s completely changed her life and work. --- FIND OUT MORE about the Justice Conference: www.thejusticeconference.com.au READ Anna McGahan’s blog, ‘A Forbidden Room’: www.aforbiddenroom.com SUBSCRIBE to our podcast: www.bit.ly/cpxpodcast