Jane Williams

Should Christians be vegetarians for ethical reasons? The regular team debates this, and the question of how Old Testament laws fit into New Testament ethics.

Why didn’t Jesus write his own Gospel? Chris Tilling joins Graham, Mike, and Jane again to discuss the legacy of Jesus in the writing of the New Testament, the sending of the Holy Spirit, and the institution of the sacraments. And can God answer the prayers of people who wouldn’t consider themselves Christians, or who follow other faiths? How might we think about the intercession of saints?

Stephen Backhouse joins the resident theologians to discuss patriotism and citizenship in the context of the Christian faith. Who exactly is our neighbour? Author of a report for the Christian think tank Theos entitled ‘Red, White, Blue… and Brown: Citizens, Patriots and the Prime Minister’, Stephen explores the insights of the Danish philosopher-theologian Søren Kierkegaard on the relationship between nationalism and the Christian faith. And in this discussion of church and state, there is a new addition to the team – Chris Tilling, New Testament lecturer at SPTC, who joins the GodPod regulars for the first time.

Andrew Walker, Professor of Theology and Education at King’s College London, joins Graham, Mike, and Jane to discuss ecumenicism and the Holy Spirit. Taking us through the debates and councils of the early church, Andrew explains the background to the different understandings of the nature of the Holy Spirit between the eastern and western churches. He also adds a personal note, talking about his own journey of faith and his membership of the Orthodox Church.

Andy Emerton, Director of St Paul’s Theological Centre, joins the GodPod team for the first time. The team open the discussion this week with consideration of Christian ideas about souls and physicality, in contrast with Platonic and Gnostic thought. They continue with the issue of poverty and the church, and go on to look at differences in approaches to the Bible between the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestants churches, particularly the canonicity of the Apocrypha.

Our resident theologians discuss faith in the workplace with financier Ken Costa, Chairman of Lazard International and a Director of Alpha.

Graham, Mike and Jane offer us an insight into their own spiritual walks, chatting about how they themselves approach prayer.

Graham, Mike and Jane consider the different approaches of the Catholic and Protestant Churches to personal transformation, looking at the place of sacraments and the doctrine of Purgatory. They also address questions of the reliability of the Bible and the revelation of God in scripture.

Tim Hughes, worship leader at HTB and formerly of Soul Survivor, joins our resident theologians to discuss worship in the local church.

The regular team are joined by David Hillborn, Director of the North Thames Ministerial Training College, in considering a panoramic sweep of theological issues. The doctrine of God is high on the list, with subjects such as the nature of Jesus and the Trinity among the subjects discussed, as well as the death of Christ and life after death. And bringing this particular discussion to a conclusion, the team discuss our calling to worship God.