Creation

Turning off each other’s microphones, the home team hold the fort this week to discuss psychics, the paranormal and words of knowledge, the relationship between forgiveness and reconciliation, and unpack a question on death in the light of creation.

God encompasses the vastness of the universe, but chooses to relate to humanity in a personal way, on this apparently trivial little planet. What is the place of humanity in the purposes of God? And if there is life on other planets, is Jesus’ incarnation, death, and resurrection valid for the whole cosmos? Secondly, what does Jesus mean when he says in Luke 10:18 that he “saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven,” and how do we interpret biblical language about the spiritual realm? And finally, should we, as individuals and as communities, respond to aggression by “turning the other cheek”?

Nick Spencer, the author of 'Darwin and God', joins Graham, Mike and Jane, to discuss the relationship between Charles Darwin's ideas about evolution and the Christian faith. On the 150th anniversary of the publication of 'On the Origin of Species', Nick explores Darwin's own faith and the impact of Darwin's theories on Christian theology. [Recorded 18 June 2009]

GodPod’s resident theologians are joined by Dave Bookless and Will Campbell-Clause from the Christian environmental organisation A Rocha. What might it mean for us to be stewards of creation? [Recorded 26 February 2009]

Tom Wright returns to talk about Israel as the historical people of God and as the modern political state. What is the place of the Jewish people and the land of Israel in the promises of God, from creation to new creation? Tom, Mike and Jane also discuss the ‘Rapture’, and the impact of how we think about ‘the end times’ on the ways we live, how we treat the world, and how we engage with political concerns.

Why did God create the world? And why has God allowed Satan to exist? Jon March, a curate at HTB, joins Mike and Jane to debate the origin of the world and of evil… and to discuss the important question of whether or not it’s legitimate to pray for your football team to win.

What was the nature of Jesus’ resurrection, and how does it relate to our own hope for life after death? In fact, is such hope just for our own lives or for the whole of creation? Graham, Mike, and Jane discuss the bodily resurrection of Jesus and its affirmation of the goodness of physical matter, drawing out its implications for the way we live our lives now as well as our hope for the future. They also address the question of whether there is a hierarchy in heaven. Do some people get better mansions than others?

The questions are rolling in, and Mike and Graham are joined by Jane Williams for the first time. What does it mean to be baptised, and what is the relationship between the sacrament of baptism and our salvation? What do we think about the practices of infant and adult baptism? And, on a different note… how do dinosaurs fit into the Christian account of creation?