Life & Faith

This week marks 100 years since the start of World War I. Life and Faith discusses the process of remembering and interpreting an event on such a grand scale.

Nick Spencer is the author of Atheists: The Origin of the Species. The book is a history of atheism, which examines what has driven its growth and why it is a myth that atheism emerged because the rise of science made religion obsolete. He spoke to Simon Smart about the book and the implications of belief and non-belief.

Richard Shumack recently completed a PhD in Islamic Studies and has just released a book entitled The Wisdom of Islam and the Foolishness of Christianity. He joined Life and Faith to discuss the differences between Islam and Christianity.

Miroslav Volf is Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School and Director of the Yale Centre for Faith and Culture. He is also the author of a number of books including A Public Faith: How followers of Christ should serve the common good. He joined Simon Smart on Life and Faith to discuss why religion cannot just be a private affair and what Christianity has to offer society generally.

Between 1940 and 1944 an isolated plateau in France became the scene of a remarkable rescue mission. The village of Le Chambon Sur Lignon and surrounding communities, sheltered refugees from all across Europe. Their local pastor, Andre Trocme, led a secret campaign to defy the Nazis, which ultimately protected the lives of around 3,500 Jewish people. Peter Grose has written a book about Le Chambon called A Good Place to Hide and he joined Life and Faith to discuss the what drove the villagers in their rescue efforts.

Post-apocalyptic fiction is all the rage in young adult fiction at the moment from Divergent to The Hunger Games. Claire Zorn is the author of The Sky so Heavy an Australian novel about living in a nuclear winter. She joined Simon Smart and Natasha Moore on Life and Faith to discuss her book.

Simon Smart and Natasha Moore reflected on what two recent films - a Hollywood blockbuster and a new Australian film - have to say about the human condition and what it is we think we need most.

Prof. Miroslav Volf, Director of the Yale Centre for Faith and Culture, delivered four lectures at the ReThinking: A Public Faith conference held in Sydney, Australia, in March 2014. The conference was a joint project of the Centre for Public Christianity, Arrow Leadership, and World Vision Australia. This is the Q and A session that followed the fourth, and final, lecture of Prof. Volf's series, in which he discusses the essential elements of reconciliation.

Prof. Miroslav Volf, Director of the Yale Centre for Faith and Culture, delivered four lectures at the ReThinking: A Public Faith conference held in Sydney, Australia, in March 2014. The conference was a joint project of the Centre for Public Christianity, Arrow Leadership, and World Vision Australia This is the Q and A session that followed third lecture from Prof. Volf. It was a Public Lecture delivered at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and filmed by ABC TV for their program, Big Ideas. The topic was Religious Exclusivism and Political Pluralism.

Prof. Miroslav Volf, Director of the Yale Centre for Faith and Culture, delivered four lectures at the ReThinking: A Public Faith conference held in Sydney, Australia, in March 2014. The conference was a joint project of the Centre for Public Christianity, Arrow Leadership, and World Vision Australia The third lecture from Prof. Volf was a Public Lecture delivered at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. It was filmed by ABC TV for their program, Big Ideas. His topic for the lecture was Religious Exclusivism and Political Pluralism.