Life & Faith

Is faith by definition irrational? Can it be rational to believe in God? With the second Global Atheist Convention around the corner, Simon Smart and Justine Toh take some time to discuss the relationship between reason and belief.

Why does the date of Easter change? What is the practice of Lent all about? Can we trust the historical accounts of the death and resurrection of Jesus? John Dickson and Simon Smart discuss these and other questions.

Pria Viswalingam is the writer, director and presenter of the documentary Decadence: Decline of the Western World. It is set in ten countries and features leading authors and academics as it reaces the slow decline of the West. He came into CPX to discuss his documentary for our Life and Faith podcast.

What is the Church? Is it an archaic institution that is past its use-by date? Does it something to contribute to society still? CPX spoke to Mike Frost and Mick Martin about these questions and more. Mike is the vice-principal of Morling College, who has done a lot of thinking and writing about what it means to be the Church in the post-modern era and Mick is Pastor of The Upper Room in North Sydney.

Life and Faith is CPX's weekly podcast where we discuss contemporary issues as they relate to matters of faith and belief.

Pete Schaffler and his wife Kara work as missionaries in Madagascar. He came into CPX to discuss what Madagascar is like and why they are there.

December 21 has come and gone and the world hasn't ended. Simon Smart and Justine Toh discuss our fascination with the end of the world.

Craig Blomberg is a distinguished professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary. In addition to writing numerous articles in professional journals, multi-author works and dictionaries or encyclopedias, he has authored or edited 15 books, including The Historical Reliability of the Gospels. He is also one of the 15 translators responsible for the NIV translation of the Bible. CPX spoke to him about the existence of Jesus, the claimed mistakes found in the New Testament and whether the Bible can be trusted.

Lynn H. Cohick is associate professor of New Testament at Wheaton College. She is a specialist on the Origins of Christianity in the Graeco-Roman and Jewish worlds. Her latest book is Women in the World of the Earliest Christians and she came into CPX to speak with John Dickson on that topic.

Iain Provan is the Marshall Sheppard Professor of Biblical Studies at Regent College in Vancouver where he has taught since 1997 and is a specialist in the Old Testament. He has written numerous essays and articles, and several books including commentaries on Lamentations, 1 and 2 Kings, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs. He is also co-author of a Biblical History of Israel. He came into CPX to talk with us on a variety of topics relating to the Old Testament.

Brendan Fletcher is the writer and director of the new Australian film, Mad Bastards, a story of Aboriginal communities in North-West Australia. He came into the CPX studios to speak with Simon Smart about the film.

CPX talks Dr Ron Sider, Professor of Theology, Holistic Ministry & Public Policy at Palmer Seminary of Eastern University and author of Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, about religion, poverty and politics.

Scott Rae is a Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Ethics at Biola University and a fellow of the Centre for Bioethics and Human Dignity. CPX caught up with him in Melbourne at the Religion in the Public Square Colloquium put on by the Presbyterian Church of Victoria. We interviewed him on areas of medical and business ethics including abortion, euthanasia, the GFC, business and the environment.

Richard Swinburne is an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford. He is the author of many eminent books of the philosophy of religion in general and of the philosophy of Christianity in particular.CPX gathered his thoughts on the violence of the Old Testament, divine revelation, evil and whether he believes there is a renaissance of unbelief.

Simon Smart and Greg Clarke went out on the streets to find out what Easter means to people in Australia today.

David Bentley Hart is regarded as one of America’s brightest theologians, who combines highly skilled and entertaining writing with expertise in literature, history, philosophy, art and culture. In this interview Bentley Hart talks about the impact of Christianity on the West, some questionable interpretations of history, suffering and the problem of evil and why he remains a believer.

Cormac McCarthy's much acclaimed novel The Road has been made into a feature film starring Viggo Mortensen. Greg Clarke and Simon Smart discuss why The Road matters.

Harold Koenig is on the faculty at Duke University as Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Associate Professor of Medicine. Greg Clarke interviews him about the effects of religious belief on people's physical and mental health.

Australia has traditionally been thought of as a godless nation. But two recent surveys, one by Nielsen for the Sydney Morning Herald, and one commissioned by CPX, revealed some fascinating, and perhaps unexpected results. We invited Fairfax journalist and author David Marr into the CPX studio to discuss the results of the two surveys and to shed some light on what he thinks the findings might mean.

Simon Smart attended the Parliament of World Religions held recently in Melbourne. He shares his thoughts on the interfaith project, interviews with attendees and reflects on the uniqueness of Christ.