.png)
Talking Theology
Talking Theology is the podcast of Cranmer Hall Durham, where we explore the best of academic theology, and think creatively about how theological insights can shape Christian life, ministry, and mission in today’s world.
Episodes
98 episodes
Jocelyn Bryan - What does Psychology have to do with Theology?
How does storytelling help make sense of the stuff that happens? How does story and meaning connect with how we see ourselves? What is God's story, and how does it connect with our story?Why is being part of a church community good ...
.png)
Rachel Jordan-Wolf - What does authentic evangelism look like today?
How are people coming to faith today? What do Christians and viruses have in common? How do we speak about Jesus in a society where words are cheap? What is the Good News of Jesus in a culture that says 'It's all about me'?Rachel Jordan...
Will Foulger - Parish Church or Church Planting: Do we have to choose?
What is the job of the church in relation to the world? Is there a theology of the parish church? Is church planting replacing the parish church, or do both have a part to play? Why does God work through communities rather than through individu...
Stephen Cottrell - How can pilgrimage help us encounter God?
How can be both receive and share faith through journeying? What does enough look like as we walk the path of life? Can we go on pilgrimage without leaving behind our everyday lives? What can pilgrimage teach us about Christ?Stephen Cot...
Anthony Bash - Why is forgiveness still important today?
How do we become forgiving people? What's the relationship between God's forgiveness of us, and the way we should treat others? Can forgiveness happen when there's no repentance? What's the relationship between forgiveness and justice? ...
Walter Moberly - Why, and how, should we read the Bible today?
Is the Bible more than history? How does the life of the Church show that the Bible is of enduring value? What is the similarity between reading the Bible and watching a soap? How does the Bible help us when we feel like we've been dealt ...
Larry Hurtado - What made the church distinctive in the Roman world?
How is studying the New Testament like tracing a family tree? Why were Christians in the early church called anti-social? What was so radical about that first generation of Christians calling on Jesus as Lord? And how does the early church help...
Helen Bond - What role did women play in the world of Jesus and the early church?
What has feminism done to reveal forgotten corners of the New Testament? How can a few verses in Luke 8 change our understanding of Jesus and the disciples? Was Mary Magdalene a real leader in the early church? And what role does imagination ha...
Jolyon Mitchell - How can Christian faith be a force for peace in the world today?
What's the relationship between religion and conflict? How can we make peace with violence in the Bible? What do Christians have to contribute to peacebuilding? And how can we use the gift of forgiveness to resolve conflict?Jolyon Mitch...
Alec Ryrie - How are Protestants still changing the world?
What is Protestant Christianity, and how did it start? Is Protestantism about the head or the heart? What does Protestantism look like in the world today? And what extraordinary things have ordinary Protestants done?Alec Ryrie is Profes...
Ruth Perrin - What does millennial faith look like?
Who are the millennials? Why have some of them walked away from the faith, and why have some of them stayed? How do older Christian friends help to maintain youger people's faith? And why should the church talk about both faith and doubt?
Simon Oliver - Why do we need a theology of creation?
Why do we say that God created out of nothing? Is God a being like any other being, only bigger? Does God relate to creation in the way that I relate to my car? Or is God intimately involved in every moment of our existence? And what difference...
Jessica Martin - How can tradition help us pray?
What's prayer all about? How can ancient forms of prayer speak to us today? What's the value in stopping to listen to God? And does formal prayer have to be unemotional and detached, or is there more going on?Jessica Martin is a canon a...
Nick Moore - What has the early church ever done for us?
What is a faithful way of living in a culture where Christian faith is not the majority view? Are there any similarities between the early church and today's church that make the issues they work out of relevance to us? Can a world without Face...
Richard Briggs - Is the God of the Old Testament a God of love?
Can we really speak of the Old Testament God as a God of love? Why would a God of love speak about his law so much? And why does a God of love endorse violence, both from and towards his own people? And what does love mean anyway?Richar...
Pete Ward - What is the link between theology and celebrity?
How many followers do you have on Twitter? Has social media made us all into celebrities? What do celebrities tell us about ourselves? And how do we live faithfully in a world of social media?Pete Ward is Professor of Practical Theology...
Libby Lane - How is God with us when we suffer?
Where is God when we suffer? How does the Bible speak into dark times? Should we expect God to resolve our suffering? Or is God at work in ways that perhaps we've not even imagined?Libby Lane was recently appointed as Bishop of Derby.
Joel Edwards - Should Christians be concerned with the religious freedom of those of other faiths?
Are human rights part of God's mission? How do non-Christians reflect the image of God? Does the parable of the Good Samaritan say more about human rights than we might think? And how does all this speak into how we engage with faith in the pub...
John Barclay - How should God's gift shape the church?
Why do we give and receive gifts? How is the Apostle Paul's understanding of gift different to that of the world in which he lived? How does the gift of Christ challenge our sense of status and hierarchy? And what might a community of gift look...
Miriam Swaffield - How are young adults coming to faith?
Are Sunday services part of evangelism today? Does your church need to blow its annual budget on a smoke machine and a light show? And how big is the gap between the Book of Acts and the mission of the church today?Miriam Swaffield is t...
Andy Byers - Is John's Gospel anti-Jewish?
What do we do when the Bible seems just plain offensive? In particular, what about John's Gospel, which many people have seen as anti-Jewish? If Jesus was a Jew, why does John record him speaking negatively about "the Jews"? Would John be surpr...
Kate Bruce - Why does theology need humour?
What has comedy got to do with theology? What does the Bible have to say about laughter? What power does comedy have to convey truth about God and his world? Can God minister to us through humour? And how can comedy give us hope?Kate Br...
David Wilkinson - Why does theology need science?
Why does theology need to listen to science? What does it have to say about the beginning of the world? Or the end? What happens when we pray? Is there intelligent life on other planets? (Or this planet?) And what's it like to be both a scienti...