What is tradition and how might it help us deal with both the good and bad in the history of Christianity? Dr Anne Carpenter is Danforth Chair in Theological Studies at St Louis University and the author of 'Nothing Gained is Eternal: A Theology of Tradition."

What is colonialism and how should white Western Christians think about their own involvement in it? How do we respond, whether Christian or not, to the trajectories of power laid down by our colonial past?

Prof. Willie James Jennings is one of the leading voices in postcolonial theology. We are hono(u)red to have him join us in our first discussion on this thorny topic.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing!

In this episode we talk with Prof Michael J Gorman, New Testament Scholar and author of nearly twenty books including several major works on Paul. In this discussion, Prof Gorman draws a distinction between historical criticism and the historical critical method. He argues that understanding the original context is necessary, but not sufficient when it comes to interpreting the Bible today.

Austin and Barney go back over the last few episodes and share our thoughts. What did we learn? What did we disagree with? How do we compare and contrast the Bible scholars and theologians we've interviewed so far?

What do YOU think though? Email us your thoughts at whatdoyouthink (at) faithatthefrontiers.com and we'll dialogue with you in future episodes!

This is NOT the end of ‘faith and the challenges of history’: it’s just a pause to catch our breath!

So many Bible scholars and methods claim to be ‘historical’, but are they all the same? In this episode, Barney and Austin interview Professor Matthew J Thomas, who has come up with a taxonomy of FOUR methods for reading the Bible that are currently prevalent in scholarship:

1. Simple historical exegesis: interpreting the Bible with attention to its cultural and historical context.
2. Investigating the history of the Bible’s composition, known as ‘source criticism’, ‘form criticism’, or ‘redaction criticism’.
3. Critically assessing the truth of the Bible from another philosophical perspective.
4. Whatever is popular in Germany right now (!)

Tune in to hear Prof. Thomas unpack these four categories and their relevance for our faith today!

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound engineering!

Austin and Barney interview theologian Dr Seth Heringer, who describes the development of modern historical methods and how these methods have impacted theology. We consider the ways in which not only the results of historical research, but the principles of the historical method themselves might stand at odds with theology. If history isn't as neutral a discipline as it seems, does that open up possibilities for fruitful dialogue with faith?

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing!

Barney and Austin interview Old Testament Professor Iain Provan, who takes a different view to our previous guests on the historical reliability of the Bible. For him, there is every reason to trust the Bible's authors, and no reason not to trust them. Provan also suggests that:

• The very idea of history comes from the Old Testament
• There is no 'neutral' way of reading the Bible: there are Christian or non-Christian ways of reading.
• Jesus gave us these texts, and that is why we read them.

Tune in for more insights on a developing conversation.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing!

Austin and Barney interview Professor Emeritus Hugh Williamson of Oxford University on how his faith relates to historical enquiry about the Old Testament. We discuss questions like:

• How does Prof. Williamson hold together his identity as a scholar and his faith as a Christian? Does he ever see a conflict between them?
• What does the historical study of the Bible do for one's faith?
• What historical events in the Bible does Christian faith depend on?

Thanks, as always, to Jamie Maule for his sound editing!

Is the Old Testament historically reliable? What difference does that question make to our faith? What do we mean by 'historical' and 'reliable' anyway?

In this episode, Barney and Austin interview Professor John Goldingay, a retired Old Testament scholar enormously influential in the Evangelical tradition. Prof. Goldingay shares his thoughts about the relationship between faith and biblical history, and then problematizes the question for us: why are we asking about this and in what way should it, and should it not, matter?

Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound editing!

Introducing the new co-host, Austin Stevenson, and our new topic for the next series. Austin and I will be wrestling with how the Christian faith relates to its own history. We'll be asking questions like:

• Do Christians have to believe the Bible is historically reliable?
• Is there evidence to suggest the Bible is historically reliable?
• How ought Christians to read and interpret the Bible from a historical point of view?
• How should Christians think about the troubling aspects of their own history after the Bible: crusades, inquisition, colonialism?

Tune in soon for the first episode in the series!

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound engineering!

Let's open the science & religion debate to include voices from beyond the White Western world! In this episode Barney interviews two Anglican bishops who are doing just that:

• Bishop Richard Cheetham, co-director for global engagement with ECLAS & a member of the Anglican Communion Science Commission.
• Bishop Joseph Galgalo, provincial secretary of the Anglican Church of Kenya, and assistant bishop of All Saints Cathedral diocese. 

This episode is full of insights about the way Africans conceive of the faith/science relationship, and what we can learn from it and other global perspectives. 

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing!

Science is done in a society. Society affects not only what science is done, but how people understand it and its role. Dr. Thoko Kamwendo is part of a growing field of research called ‘science studies’ which uncovers the social dimension of scientific research. She has studied in particular how church leaders approach science, and how they communicate its meaning and relevance to congregations. Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound engineering!

Our second episode on religious violence, with Dr. Matthew Rowley , author of God, Religious Extremism, and Violence. Dr. Rowley talks about how we should criticize our own tradition first, approaching everything with curiosity and humility. He also questions ideas about what it means to be an "extremist" and whether that's really a bad thing?

Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound engineering!

Do you love reading sci-fi or fantasy? Have you ever thought about its theologial potential? In this episode, Barney discusses the value of science fiction for exploring dimensions of the Christian faith, with:

• Revd Prof. David Wilkinson
• Revd Dr Lucas Mix
• Dr Amanda Rees
• Revd Prof. Alan Gregory

If you like this episode and want to learn more, visit these ECLAS resources:

• Science, Future and the Christian Imagination.
• Science Fiction and Public Theology.
• This article by Amanda Rees: Tales Of Technology And Faith

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing!

Barney interviews Pastor Alton Bell about his experiences persuading his church congregation to take the Covid vaccine. This episode digs into the history of black peoples' engagement with white medicine, and is not always easy listening. But its message is important: science is always communicated by someone, and if that someone is the government, there are political issues at play.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound engineering!

How can scientists enrich and enliven their local church communities? We’ve invited Professor David Wilkinson, Petra Crofton, and Deb Fozzard to explore the impact of the ⁠Scientists in Congregations project that shows just how much scientists can do.

If you want to learn more, check out these free science and faith resources for schools and (church) children’s workers:

• Wild and Wonderful UK.

Also take a look at these children's books on science by Petra Crofton:

• Science Geek Sam and His Secret Logbook 
• Science Geek Christy and Her Eco-Logbook 

Finally, take a look at Petra Crofton's top book recommendation: Francis Collins, The Language of God.

As always, thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound engineering!

What do Charismatic/Pentecostal Christians think of science? Two of their number discuss the distinctives of their tradition on this question:

1. Chris Done, Professor of astrophysics at Durham University
2. Simo Frestadius, executive director of the institute for Pentecostal theology

Among their many insights are that:

• Charismatics place a lot of emphasis on experience and experiment - not so different to scientists!
• Charismatics are keen to ‘demythologise’ the Bible - but not the same way Bultmann did!

Enjoy listening! Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound engineering!

It may sound like a strange idea to teach science in seminaries. But after recording this episode, it made much more sense to the hosts! Lucas Mix (ECLAS) and Katy Hinman (AAAS) help run help run ECLAS’ ‘Science for Seminaries’ programme, in which future pastors, priests, and church leaders get to learn what it’s like to engage in science and with scientists. We discuss questions like:

• Why do people turn to their religious leaders for advice on scientific questions?
• Why has there been justified suspicion of science from minority ethnic groups, and what do we do about it?
• What might Science for Seminaries look like in the future?

If you’re interested to learn more, check out:

• The Science for Seminaries main page.
• The Science for Seminaries page on ECLAS' website.
• The resource website for DoSER (Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion).

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his audio editing!

What is really at stake in seeing faith & science as in conflict with each other? What are the origins of this conflict narrative and what were the theological motivations behind it?

These questions and others are the driving force behind today's episode, the first in our ECLAS series. We interview David Hutchings and Dr Amanda Rees for their perspective - both practical and academic - on the common perception of a conflict.

Note this episode was recorded shortly before the passing of Tom McLeish, who is mentioned near the beginning.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound engineering!

News from Faith at the Frontiers:

• We’re at the end of the Faith & Economics series. What a thought-provoking series it was!
• Goodbye to Carmody! She has had to step down because she was too busy to keep it up. A new co-host will be joining us in the series after next.
• Introducing the next series: in partnership with Equipping Christian Leadership in an Age of Science (ECLAS), we are running a second series on science & religion, much more practically oriented than the last. First episode will be out next week!

For our final episode on faith & economics, we’ve invited Prof. Paul Williams to share his vision for a Christian transformation of economics. Prof. Williams has studied economics and theology, and worked as both an economist and a theology professor for many years. He is uniquely qualified to give insight on our question and this episode is a powerful ending to an incredible series.

Written by Paul Williams:

• ‘Christianity and the Global Economic Order’, in The Oxford Handbook of Christianity and Economics, ed. Paul Oslington (Oxford University Press, 2014)
• Entry on ‘Capitalism’ in The Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics, ed. Joel Green (Baker Academic, 2011).
• ‘Evangelicals, Pope Benedict, and the Financial Crisis’, The Review of Faith & International Affairs 8, no. 4 (1 January 2010): 65–68.

Books/articles recommended by Paul Williams:

• Peter J. Buckley and Mark C.Casson, “The moral basis of global capitalism: Beyond the eclectic theory,” International Journal of the Economics of Business, 8(2), 2001, pp.303-327.

• Donald A. Hay, Economics Today: A Christian Critique (Regent College Publishing, 2004).
• William T. Cavanaugh, Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2008).

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound engineering!

Carmody & Barney pause to reflect on our recent episodes and the opinions presented by our guests. We appear to have invited quite a few capitalists recently without intending to over-represent one viewpoint. So most of this discussion is our own reflections on the varieties of capitalism that we’ve encountered from our guests. We reflect on things like:

• What are the conditions for the possibility of economic activity?
• Is there such a thing as an isolated individual?
• What happens when you build a worldview out of fear?

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing!

Carmody and Barney interview Pete Gladwell, who works for one of the largest investment companies in the UK. Pete explains how he views investment as a community service and tries to make investments that will benefit society rather than only making money for himself or his company.

This episode is really interesting to compare to the previous one with Robert Netzly: two Christian investors with different visions of what Christian values in investment look like.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing!

Does religion cause violence? It's a common notion today, but Professor William Cavanaugh challenges it in an incisive way. Who stands to gain from this idea? Who benefits from laying the blame for violence at the feet of religion? And what definition of 'religion' is operative here? Thanks to Jamie Maule for editing this video!

Barney and Carmody interview Robert Netzly, founder and CEO of Inspire Investing. Robert recently made the decision to withdraw all ESG investment on the basis that it has been overtaken by a Marxist agenda. We ask Robert about his understanding of faithful Christian investment and the principles on which he founded his business.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing!

Barney and Carmody interview Dylan Pahman on whether there is any such thing as ‘Christian economics’, or whether economics is a value-neutral space like mathematics. We discuss questions like:

• Is the free market the most natural and universal economic system?
• Should theologians stay out of economics?
• Should economists stay out of theology?
• What should our goals for society be in the first place?

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing!

We interview Helen Alford, one of the leading voices in Christian economics. Helen offers an amazing array of insights. Helen had a transformative experience upon reading the following article:

• Howard Rosenbrock, 'Engineers and the Work People Do', in The Experience of Work, ed. Craig Littler.

The key insight was that 'If engineers could think of people as if they were robots, they would give them more human work to do'.

This led Helen on to a journey of discovery about the Christian tradition's perspective on economics and the need to address the problems we are seeing in the present day.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound engineering!

Barney and Carmody respond to feedback and reflect on the last two episodes (with Ondrej & Jared, and with Adeel Malik). Themes that appear include: 

• What role does freedom play in an economic system ?

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing!

Carmody & Barney invite Adeel Malik of Oxford University to discuss the Islamic view of economics and finance. We discuss questions like:

• Why is lending money at interest banned in traditional Islam, Judaism, and Christianity?
• Why can economics never be separated from morality and religion? 
• Why is community a neglected dimension of economic theory? 

Hope you enjoy the episode!

Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound engineering! 

In the middle of our faith & economics series, this episode features a debate between Carmody, Barney, Ondrej, and Jared about whether or not it's possible to think beyond the typical polarities of capitalism/socialism. We also discuss:

• What does it mean to ‘own’ something? 
• Can anyone own the climate, and is that a problem for the climate?
• What is the purpose of ownership?
• Who or what determines whether I own something?
• Can the idea of property be extended beyond individual ownership?

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing! 

This short episode is prompted by a listener who sent us a voice message. He questioned Carmody's point about veganism (made in this episode), and in this episode Carmody responds to the point. Questions discussed in this episode:

• Is veganism too hard or too expensive for most people?
• How much can people be held responsible for their buying habits?
• Is there a difference between concern for animal welfare and concern about climate change? 

Have something to say? Send us a message and join the conversation! 

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing! 

Carmody & Barney interview Edward Hadas, research fellow in moral economics at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford. He tells us what he thinks is wrong with the current way of debating economics and offers a whole new paradigm to help us imagine our labour and consumption differently.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing!

Barney and Carmody kick off a new series on ‘Christian Economics’, asking difficult questions about the limits of our financial freedom. Our present economic system is neither inevitable nor ethically neutral, but it does have a huge impact on how we spend our money. What might we be able to do about it?

Barney interviews Alex Faludy on the religious dimension of Hungarian politics. Alex argues that the Hungarian Prime Minister is not simply using religion as a tool, but has a genuine faith. If we accuse him of being selective about which aspects of Christianity he embraces, we must also look at ourselves to see whether we're not also being selective. 

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound engineering!

An interlude (sort of) in the middle of our present series. It does not address a historical challenge, but starts from the other end. What can Christians do today in responding to these challenges?

Barney interviews Professor Mark Glanville of Regent College, Vancouver, on his latest book, Improvising Church. We discuss questions like:

• How can the Bible speak meaningfully to new situations Christians face today?
• How can every Christian exercise leadership in his or her church community?
• How can you get people to wake up for a prayer meeting at 5:30am?

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his audio editing!

In this final episode of the Science & Religion series, Barney & Emily discuss highlights, unanswered questions, and key takeaways about the whole debate. 

This episode combines themes from two series: climate change and science/religion. Our interviewee, Tim Middleton, looks at climate change through the lens of trauma. Is the earth traumatised? What would that mean? What sort of call to action does it lead to? Join us to find a powerful new way of looking at our relationship to the planet! 

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound engineering skills!

This episode is produced in collaboration with The Tablet.

Heard of robot priests? Or robot rabbis who can answer any question about Judaic law? Do these things sound great or scary to you? 

In this episode we interview Dr Beth Singler about AI, the effect of online space on religious communities, and other interactions between religion and the digital world. 

This episode is produced in collaboration with The Tablet.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound engineering! 

We interview Chris Bennett, who has researched the ‘evolutionary’ reasons for religious beliefs such as attributing personal agency to storms, trees, etc. What should religious people think of such arguments? How should they respond to them? What about evolutionary accounts of other mental functions, like mathematics, morality, or even the notion of causality that evolutionary explanations themselves depend on? Tune in to hear all these things discussed! 

This episode is produced in collaboration with The Tablet.

Thanks to Jamie Maule as always for his patient and tireless sound editing!

What is ‘Christian Platonism’ and why is it the best theological position for engaging with science? 

This episode is all about these two questions. Emily & Barney interview Prof. Andrew Davison, who was formerly the Starbridge Associate Professor in Theology and the Natural Sciences at Cambridge University. We ask him tough and challenging questions like:

• Isn’t it better to be just a Christian than a Christian Platonist? 
• Doesn’t Platonism inhibit scientific research? 
• Why can’t an apple also be an orange? 
• Why can a piece of paper also be a love letter?

Check out Dr Davison’s book, Participation in God, which we talk about in the episode. 

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing! 

This episode is produced in collaboration with The Tablet.

Barney and Bethany interview Emily on the ‘many worlds’ interpretation of quantum physics. If there are thousands or millions of versions of you and me in other worlds, each living ever-so-slightly different lives, what does that imply for theology? What does it mean about who God is? 

Emily and Barney interview Bethany, who has researched the problem of death and suffering from an evolutionary point of view and how that affects our understanding of creation and fall in the book of Genesis. Did God create death? Is death necessary for life? Does this idea conflict with the biblical picture? Did God guide evolution or did animals have a certain freedom in how they evolved? Join us for this episode to discuss these questions and more! 

Carmody questions whether there is any stable meaning to our definitions of science and religion. Barney & Emily offer various definitions of science and religion, and Carmody knocks them all down!

This episode produced in collaboration with The Tablet.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing! 

Emily Qureshi-Hurst & Barney interview Professor Alister McGrath on the whole area of science & religion. We discuss questions like:

• Why do many people think that science has disproved religion?
• Why do many religious people distrust science?
• Is science a body of knowledge, or a method of inquiry?
• Can we trust experts?

A fascinating and illuminating episode with one of its greatest practitioners who has made the field what it is today! 

This episode produced in collaboration with The Tablet, generously supported by the Ian Ramsey Centre.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound engineering! 

Introducing a new series on science & religion, hosted by Barney and Emily Qureshi-Hurst.

Science & religion is one of the greatest frontier challenges in today's world. Are they compatible? Do they overlap? What happens when they come into conflict, as with the most famous example of evolution and Genesis 1? What does science reveal about ourselves and our world that Christianity needs to engage with? 

This series will feature interviews with Alister McGrath, Bethany Sollereder, Beth Singler, Carmody Grey, and others. 

This episode produced in collaboration with The Tablet.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound engineering! 

Everyone has heard of the Spanish Inquisition. But how accurate is the popular understanding of it? What really happened and how does it reflect on Christianity? Is this an episode Christians should repent of? What lessons can we learn for the modern day?

These questions and others are discussed in today’s episode. Austin and Barney are joined by Dr. Dennis Castillo who teaches Church History at St. Mary’s Seminary and University.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound engineering!

Barney interviews Rev Ryan Cook about his experiences transporting refugees from the Ukraine border to south Germany. We discuss questions like:

• What’s it like to befriend people when you don’t speak a common language?
• What are the practical nitty-gritty difficulties of integrating refugees into a new country? What are some of the unexpected challenges?
• Why does Ryan call love a ‘painful word’?

This episode is produced in collaboration with The Tablet.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for the sound engineering!

We (Barney, Carmody, & Bethany) interview Dr Ondrej Dyck (material science PhD) on whether climate change is really happening and, if so, whether we should care. This episode goes to the heart of questions about how far we should trust science in a world saturated with political agendas and hidden motivations. And even if we agree on the facts, what ought we to do in light of them? That, we all recognise, is not a scientific question at all.

Here are links to the two documents we mention in our conversation:

- IPCC Mitigation of Climate Change

- NIPCC Climate Change Reconsidered

Would you like to hear more conversations with Ondrej? Share your views using the Spotify poll, or tweeting us @atthefrontiers, or emailing us.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing!

This episode produced in collaboration with The Tablet.

How do we stop living in echo chambers that only repeat what we already agree with? How do we ensure everyone's opinion is taken seriously and represented in positions of power? This is Part 2 of the double episode with Dr Tobias Cremer of Oxford University. After some more discussion of Christianity and right-wing populism, the conversation turns to questions of what we do about populism and the elitist backlash against it. It turns out that religious institutions like churches and mosques have a unique capacity to do something here, for reasons you may not have thought of.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for audio editing!

This episode produced in collaboration with The Tablet.

Right-wing populism is growing in the West and its members talk a lot about recovering Christian values. But how Christian are they really, what do they mean by Christian values, and does the media tell the truth about who they are?

This is part one of a double episode with Dr Tobias Cremer of Oxford University. He surprised us all with his insights about ‘cultural evangelicalism’, the tension within the idea of ‘liberal democracy’ and what right-wing populists say when you ask them ‘What is Christianity?’

This episode is produced in collaboration with The Tablet.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing services!