Life & Faith

Acclaimed author Susannah McFarlane on meeting her birth mother and then, to her great dismay, God.  — The EJ12 Girl Hero series, the EJ Spy School Series, D-Bot Squad, Boy vs Beast, Go Girl!, and Zac Power. For decades, Susannah McFarlane has been the author, publisher, and driving force behind some of Australia’s most popular children’s books. In her 50s, Susannah met her birth mother for the first time but discovered - to her shock - that she was a Pentecostal Christian. A staunch atheist, Susannah tried to argue her mother out of belief, but in researching the historical claims of Christianity, found herself converted - reluctantly - to the faith instead. In this episode of Life & Faith, we hear about Susannah’s reunion with her mother, the fallout - and also the joys - of coming to faith, and how this spinner of remarkable tales makes sense of the way her own story fits into the Christian story. — EXPLORE Heartlines: The year I met my other mother, co-authored with Robin Leuba The story of your life,

Do you have a soul? What is soul/a soul/the soul? We talk as though it’s a real thing: you can sell your soul, search your soul, keep body and soul together, not tell a soul, be the life and soul of the party, find something good for the soul or else soul-destroying. But do people still believe in the soul? And why? In this episode of Life & Faith, Simon Smart, Natasha Moore, and Justine Toh debrief about the new Pixar movie Soul. A school chaplain describes what happened when she asked her students if they believe in the soul, God, miracles, ghosts, or angels. And J. Richard Middleton, Professor of Biblical Worldview and Exegesis at Northeastern Seminary, argues that the Bible doesn’t say what most people (including Christians) think it says about what it means to have - or be - a soul.

Dom Knight's 2020 Dictionary provides a light-hearted (and at points serious) look back at the most extraordinary of years.

As we come to the end of the year that seemed like it might never end, the CPX team gets together for one last episode. We talk about the year that was - including Megxit, impeachment, Netflix, and zombie minks - as well as the “one story” that Christians keep coming back to, and why we think it’s the right story for this year (and every year!) Simon Smart, Justine Toh, Natasha Moore, Mark Stephens, and Tim Costello each pick a line from a beloved carol, and join the dots to life in 2020. We reflect on cynicism and division, light and life, hopes and fears, and what joy there might be for a weary world. 

What do neuroscience, philosophy, and theology have to say about the mystery of human consciousness?   “Even if we come up with a beautiful elegant neuroscience of consciousness - which I hope we do - that will still leave the question, why are we conscious at all? Why does consciousness exist in the first place?”   Despite everything we know about the universe we live in, the content of our own heads remains a mystery in many ways. Does everything that matter - everything that makes you you - reside in your brain chemistry? What is the relationship between the brain and the “mind”, or even the “soul”? Is there such a thing? And if not, are we simply at the mercy of our neurons? Can we be said to have any kind of free will?   Dr Sharon Dirckx has been wrestling with existential questions like these since childhood, through her PhD in brain imaging at the University of Cambridge, and now as a senior tutor at OCCA The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. In this episode, she speaks with Simon Smart about he

Three stories of ordinary people, and the extraordinary care they take of people in their lives. For 11 years, Diana Aitken has been part of the soup kitchen at St Matthew’s Anglican Church in Manly, where a community of care has sprung up that goes far beyond the lavish meals served every Monday night. Issam Khoury cared for his wife Irene during her long struggle with polycystic liver and kidney disease, and throughout her transplant journey.  Carolyn Stedman, 74, has fostered 74 children over 45 years. While she has no intention of stopping, saying goodbye to these children can be gut-wrenching.  The work of care doesn’t tend to grab the headlines, but in this episode of Life & Faith, we shine the spotlight on three ordinary people who take extraordinary care of the people in their lives. --  READ: C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce 

From who gets an ICU bed to volunteering for a vaccine trial, ethics in the time of COVID is a complicated business. “Sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking that life is mostly ethically neutral unless we come across some catastrophe or other, or some really difficult moral choice. But when we look more closely - and this I think is what COVID has done - we realise that our values and our beliefs about the world, and what’s important, and who’s important, are making themselves present all the time.” Dan Fleming is the head of Ethics and Formation at St Vincent’s Health - so he’s been kept plenty busy this year. He speaks with Natasha about pandemic ethics - pandethics, if you will - including who gets prioritised when health resources are scarce, quality-adjusted life years, and what happens when a vaccine becomes available. Natasha also speaks with Ed O’Neill, an oncology researcher at Oxford University - who also put his hand up to be one of the first guinea pigs in the world for a COVID-19 vaccine tri

Krish Kandiah tells us about the joys and challenges of caring for children in great need. 'Well, we got this call late on a Friday afternoon. And you know that the local social services are in trouble, because they're phoning us, and we've already got six kids in the house. So they say, "Well, Krish, and Miriam, we know you've already got a full house, but is there any way you can take another one?" And again, my wife's already saying yes. There's a pattern here, my wife is the yes person. And I'm like, suspicious, or worried, or nervous. So I just say, "Just tell me something about this child, so we can prepare." And they said, "We can't tell you much. All we can tell you is, he's a biter." And that freaked me out.' In this episode of Life and Faith, we spoke to Dr Krish Kandiah, a speaker, writer, social entrepreneur, and a prolific author of 13 books and counting.  He's also the founder and director of Home for Good, a UK charity finding loving, stable homes for children in the care system and for young r

Jazz, haiku, marriage: do limits hem us in, or make us more free?  “I've heard people say, ‘Oh, jazz must be easy. You can just play anything you want.’ But actually, jazz is very difficult, because you can play anything you want.” Whoever you are, whatever your life is like, freedom is something you probably want a little (or a lot) more of. But what is it?  “There's this paradoxical irony in which we imagine being free as being without constraint and having as many options as possible, and then that just becomes the recipe for our enslavement, our imprisonment, our addiction, and all of a sudden freedom means being enchained. There's a curious and sad paradox to it all.” Philosopher James K. A. Smith talks about being born to run, and the grace of finding home. Jazz musician and New Testament scholar Con Campbell explains the paradox of improvisation. Writer Laurel Moffatt talks about the constraints of the haiku form, and what becomes possible creatively within them. And Christine and Greg Olliffe, in thei

John Stackhouse’s new book Can I Believe? is for the curious, and the hesitant. ”And this sad little figure in a remote corner of the Roman Empire becomes the leader of the most popular religion in the history of the world - which means it's the most popular explanation for everything ever in human history. Now, that's just really strange. We're just used to it, but it's a pretty weird story.” 84 percent of the world’s population is affiliated with a religion - but Canadian scholar John G. Stackhouse Jr would say that 100 percent of us are religious. His latest book, Can I Believe? Christianity for the Hesitant, invites us all to consider what we believe and why - and explains how he thinks the weirdness of Christianity fits the weirdness of the world as it really is. “If you think, for instance, of atomic and sub-atomic physics, think of certain forms of cosmology - there are all sorts of theories that I barely can even articulate, let alone understand, but I'm told by smart people that this is the best way

Tim Costello brings a lifetime of experience to bear on the question: why is compassion so complicated? “You won’t find anyone who actually says humans shouldn’t be compassionate. It then gets messy because we soon discover that we have different objects of compassion, priorities for compassion. It’s fascinating to me that, whether you’re on the right or left or in between, you will validate your political stand by appealing to compassion. So it is the universal benchmark - and yet, we still divide. And often divide quite bitterly.” Tim Costello has spent decades trying to understand compassion - what it is, how it works - and also trying to live it out. His new book in CPX’s Re:CONSIDERING series is called The Cost of Compassion, and it sums up the lessons of a lifetime working with and for the vulnerable. In this conversation, Tim tackles a few of the big questions: why is compassion so complicated? In an age of news overload, what do we do about compassion fatigue? And who is compassion for - who benefits

81% of white evangelicals voted for Donald Trump in 2016. Will that be the case this November? In the second of our two episodes on the upcoming US election, we explore the statistic that 81% of white evangelicals voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election. According to a Pew Research report released in July, as many as 80% of white evangelicals indicated that they would still vote for him in 2020. We ask what ‘evangelical’ even means, and consider the possibility that Donald Trump acts as a kind of representative - even a strongman - for evangelicals who feel increasingly out of step with the secular mainstream. We explore how race factors into the mix as well, and questions of power and influence. Again, we’re joined by experts from the US to weigh in on the discussion: Amy Black, Professor of Political Science at Wheaton College in Illinois; Lisa Sharon Harper, author, activist, and the founder and president of Freedom Road; Andy Crouch, author, speaker, and the former editor of Christianity Today, Americ

A polarised country, a politicised faith - and how both are playing out in the US election. The bitter divides between Republicans and Democrats this US election season reflect a much bigger story.  In this first of two episodes on the election, we explore the white evangelical embrace of the Republican Party and why Black voters - including Black Protestants - tend to vote Democrat. We also cover the way the breakdown of social trust, as well trust in institutions, makes this the most unpredictable election ever. We talk to Amy Black, Professor of Political Science at Wheaton College, Illinois; Andy Crouch, author speaker, and former editor of Christianity Today, North America’s flagship evangelical magazine; and Lisa Sharon Harper, author, speaker, and founder and president of Freedom Road, a consultancy training churches and other organisations in racial justice. — Explore Andy Crouch’s book Playing God: Redeeming the gift of power Our full interview with David Smith, Senior Lecturer in American Politics a

On the 20th anniversary of the Sydney Olympic Games, we look back at what made those games so special. Simon Smart and Mark Stephens ask what these kinds of events can tell us about who we are as human beings. Former Olympics Minister Bruce Baird talks us through the hair-raising bid process and the joy of seeing the whole thing come together so well. Veteran sportswriter Greg Baum outlines what he found so special about Sydney 2000. And seven-time Paralympian Liesl Tesch recalls the buzz of playing in front of packed houses cheering the home team on, and what this event did for Paralympians generally. And Simon Smart gets all nostalgic remembering his experiences going to anything he could get tickets for.   

Former Prime Minister Paul Keating’s 1992 “Redfern speech” laid out a challenge to extend opportunity and care, dignity and hope to the indigenous people of Australia. Nearly 30 years on that challenge remains. We have not yet succeeded in finding justice, wellbeing and a clear path for reconciliation and full inclusion of Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander people in the life of the nation. Keating called for building blocks of change. The story of Gawura school might well be one of the better examples of what he meant. Born out of a visit to South Africa by then Headmaster of St Andrews Cathedral School, Phillip Heath, Gawura is a school for indigenous children within a larger school in the heart of Sydney. It’s focus on indigenous culture, language and community provides a home for inner-city indigenous kids to thrive in an environment where they feel at home. What started as a risky venture full of obstacles and challenge has proven to be a haven for learning and the flourishing of indigenous students.

Are people essentially good or flawed? We review Rutger Bregman’s Humankind: A Hopeful History. In 1965, six Tongan teenage boys were marooned on a desert island for more than a year. But they didn’t descend into savagery, Lord of the Flies-style, once civilisation had been stripped away. Instead, they worked together, grew their own food, and sang and prayed together each day. In Humankind: A Hopeful History, Dutch historian Rutger Bregman draws on the story of those boys to argue that humans are essentially good. We are more cooperative than unrelentingly selfish and cruel, Bregman says. It’s a case he builds by drawing extensively on the human sciences: psychology, social psychology and evolutionary biology.  But not theology. In this episode of Life & Faith, we interview Beth Felker Jones, Professor of Theology at Wheaton College in Illinois. We ask her to explain the Christian take on the essential nature of human beings, and how Christianity holds in tension the better (and worse) angels of our natu

Why does the Second World War continue to have such a strong appeal for us? “It’s the fudging of the truth that’s much more important than the actual lies … mythology is more difficult to get to grips with.” In summer blockbusters and bestseller lists, on internet chat forums and national debates, World War II is a cultural touchstone for us. Decades on from Basil Fawlty’s famous “don’t mention the war” bit, this is the war we just can’t stop mentioning. In this episode, Natasha tells a somewhat appalled Simon about the time she had a dream she interviewed Hitler for Life & Faith, and also has a more serious conversation with British historian Keith Lowe, author of (among other things) The Fear and the Freedom: Why the Second World War Still Matters. They discuss good and evil, a war criminal who later repented, the antagonism that many Holocaust survivors faced after the war, and the religious revival that followed in its wake.  And, of course, whether comparisons between the Second World War and Covid a

A Christian sets out to meet the Jesus of Islam – and a Muslim encounters the Christian Jesus. “The thing about Jesus is, if he was an idea or if he was a philosophy or if he was a character in a book, then yeah, we could all have opinions about him. But if Jesus is a real person, particularly if he's a real live person today that's interacting with the world, then we really don’t get to pick and choose what he's like … you just have to meet the person on their own terms, taking them as they come.” Years ago, when he was living and working with a Muslim community in Melbourne, Richard Shumack ran into a friend outside the local gym. The guy was wearing a T-shirt that read I LOVE JESUS on the front, and on the back BECAUSE I’M A MUSLIM AND SO WAS HE. Many people would be surprised to hear that in Islam, Jesus is revered as one of the prophets. Richard’s new book is called Jesus through Muslim Eyes, and in its pages he sets out to meet the Muslim Jesus. In this episode, Richard explains what the Muslim Jesus an

The working mums of lockdown have had to juggle everything. They’ve had enough. “The personal is political”, goes the feminist catchphrase. For one particular group of people—working mums—shutdown has made that very clear.  If women have been fortunate enough to keep their jobs in what’s been dubbed the “pink-collar recession”, they’ve also more likely been the ones juggling working from home while also home-schooling and parenting children. That’s also on top of any housework that needs doing—and, before COVID, Australian women already did roughly double the amount as men. Shutdown has mirrored these trends, according to a study of family life in lockdown from the University of Melbourne. In this episode of Life & Faith, we speak to Devi Abraham, a Melbourne-based writer, podcaster, and mum to two boys. She tells us what it’s like to go back into lockdown to fight COVID’s second wave, and how she is approaching it differently this time. We also hear from Natalie Ray, a mum and Christian minister in Sydne

What makes us such … apocaholics? What happened to all the utopias? It seems like the stories we tell ourselves about the future now – in blockbusters, bestselling novels, reality TV shows, and your daily news feed – are almost uniformly bleak, even dystopian. What is feeding our cultural pessimism? In this week’s episode, Simon Smart talks to Natasha Moore about her brand new book The Pleasures of Pessimism. They cover why we enjoy thinking about the end of the world, how they think they’d do in the event of civilisational collapse, and whether they consider themselves optimists or pessimists. Mark Stephens, CPX colleague and expert on the apocalyptic biblical book of Revelation, stops by to talk about uses and abuses of that influential text. And we draft in thinkers like Steven Pinker, Alain de Botton, and Nick Spencer to help us weigh the idea of progress and whether everything is getting better and better – or worse and worse. --- Buy The Pleasures of Pessimism here: https://www.koorong.com/product/the-p