Unbelievable?

What if Jesus’ atoning work wasn’t completed on the cross?
Professor David Moffitt and Dr Jonathan Rowlands join John Nelson to rethink one of Christianity’s central doctrines: the atonement. Is penal substitution really the Bible’s main explanation of Calvary? Does sacrifice simply mean the killing of an animal? And what did the first Christians believe Jesus was doing after his resurrection and ascension?
Drawing on Leviticus, Hebrews and Paul, Moffitt and Rowlands argue that the cross cannot be understood in isolation from Jesus’ resurrection, ascension and ongoing intercession before the Father.
But that raises some big questions. Was Jesus’ work really “finished” on the cross? Can Christians lose their salvation? What might the atonement mean for victims of abuse and violence? And why should any of this theology matter for ordinary Christian life today?

This episode is sponsored by the University of St Andrews and its online  Bible and the Contemporary World  programme, a flexible part-time course engaging biblical and theological study in conversation with contemporary culture and major public issues. Learn more: Bible and the Contemporary World - online - Subjects - University of St Andrews: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/subjects/divinity/bible-contemporary-world-online/

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Will science and technology eventually make religion obsolete? Physicists Paul Heslop and Simon Walker-Samuel join host Sam McKee for a fascinating clash of worldviews on the future of faith.

This debate took place in front of a group of teenage students from Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School in Aylesbury, UK, in partnership with Aylesbury Vale Youth for Christ.

As artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, neuroscience and space exploration transform what it means to be human, will people still believe in God by 2100? Christian mathematical physicist Paul Heslop argues that science cannot answer the deepest questions of truth, meaning and existence. Humanist biophysicist Simon Walker-Samuel asks whether religion is instead a human response that advancing science may increasingly leave behind.
From AI consciousness and free will to morality, evolution and the search for God, this Unbelievable debate asks whether our technological future will finally displace religion, or reveal why we still need it.

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Peter Hitchens joins Luke Martin for a candid and confrontational conversation about Britain’s future, the collapse of its institutions and the loss of Christian conscience. He explains why he believes atheism is a choice, reflects on his journey from revolutionary Marxism to Christianity and speaks movingly about his late brother Christopher. They also discuss marriage, family, free speech, Islam, education, justice and whether Britain can still be renewed.

For Luke Martin: follow on X: https://x.com/luke_s_martin
 
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Was C. S. Lewis a brilliant theologian, or did he sometimes misunderstand the Bible? John Nelson is joined by leading Lewis scholars Leslie Baynes and Jahdiel Perez for a lively reassessment of one of Christianity’s most influential writers. They explore Lewis’s conversion, his view of Scripture and the surprising theologian who shaped his thinking. Then the conversation turns to his famous “liar, lunatic or Lord” argument. Does it survive modern biblical scholarship, or did Lewis make claims about Jesus that the Gospels cannot support? Finally, they uncover the biblical imagination behind The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, explaining why Narnia is not simply Christian allegory and how Aslan helps readers encounter faith afresh. A fascinating conversation for admirers, critics and anyone curious about the theology hidden inside C. S. Lewis’s most beloved works.

Leslie's book: Between Interpretation and Imagination: C. S. Lewis and the Bible: https://amzn.to/4wW2x1H
Jahdiel's thesis: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:0c4e9be1-2245-467a-864e-01a8c9e30dc5/files/dpz50gw662
Jahdiel’s article on C.S. Lewis’s avoidance of theology: https://philpapers.org/rec/PERAAO-15

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Is the universe fine-tuned for life, and if so, does that point to God? In this episode of Unbelievable
John Nelson hosts a lively dialogue between Christian apologist Peter S. Williams and John Richards, President of Atheists UK. Peter argues that the fundamental constants, laws, and initial conditions of the universe appear strikingly calibrated for life, making design the best explanation. John pushes back, questioning whether “fine-tuning” is even the right category and insisting that claims about design need observable evidence, not philosophical speculation. Along the way, the conversation opens up bigger questions about what counts as evidence, whether metaphysics can explain reality, and how far arguments from design can really take us. A thoughtful exchange on cosmology, reason, and the limits of explanation.

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