Jane Williams

Graham, Mike and Jane turn their attention to the question of God’s plans for our lives. What are his promises to us, and to the Church as the people of God? And why does God sometimes seem to sit back and allow bad things to happen to us?

How might we live as Christians with loved ones in our families who don’t share our faith? Graham, Mike, and Jane are joined again by Rod Green in thinking about individual salvation and the salvation of households. What is the place of evangelism and prayer in the family? And what does it mean for our identity and self-esteem to know that we are made in the image of God? 

Rod Green, a former student at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford and now a curate at Christ Church Spitalfields in London, is this week’s special guest. What is the nature of God’s action in our lives, and does he ever call us to do things that are bad for us? Are we predestined? And does God choose us or do we choose him?

Alister McGrath joins Graham, Mike and Jane to discuss issues raised by prominent secular atheists such as Richard Dawkins. What can we say about the character of God as portrayed in the Bible, and what is the relationship between the Old Testament and the New? What about the relationship between science and faith? Joined by students from St Paul’s Theological Centre, Alister also considers revelation in scripture, in Jesus, and in the natural world.

Jon March joins Mike and Jane again to talk about evangelicalism, postmodernity and church leadership in the 21st century.

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.

Is God fair? Why does he seem to choose some people and not others? And if we can ‘just forgive’ each other, why can’t God just forgive us, without Jesus having had to die for our sins? Graham, Mike and Jane discuss the doctrines of election and atonement, and also talk about the Name of God. 

Mark Stibbe, New Testament theologian and vicar of St Andrew’s, Chorleywood, joins the regular team to discuss Dan Brown’s book The Da Vinci Code.

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?

Our three theologians grapple with the doctrine of the Trinity and its relation to the cross. In Mark’s gospel, Jesus cries out on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34). What does this cry of dereliction tell us about the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit? Can God suffer? Can he change? Is God’s action sometimes ‘hidden’, as Pascal suggested? Graham, Mike, and Jane go on to consider the relationship between prayer and time and the nature of human participation in the work of God. Can we pray for things that have already happened? Can we pray for our loved ones who have died?