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Premier Unbelievable?

Unbelievable? offers a weekly podcast, blog, and video series hosted by Ruth Jackson and a team of thinkers and Christian apologists.

Unbelievable?

In a replay Christmas special Justin Brierley is joined by priest and physicist Revd Gillian Straine and agnostic astronomer Mark Kidger of the European Space Agency. They discuss the scientific theories for the star of Bethlehem, who the Magi were and how scientists reconcile the miracles of Christmas with science. And… cute kids alert! We hear the Christmas story retold by 6 and 7yr olds.

Towards the end of the show Justin also asks NT Wright whether we can trust the Christmas stories in Matthew and Luke as historical.

For Gillian Straine: http://www.gillianstraine.com/
For Mark Kidger’s blogs on the Star of Bethlehem: https://openspacescience.blog/2017/12/01/star-of-bethlehem-reflections/ 
For a previous show on the Star of Bethlehem: https://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable/Episodes/Unbelievable-The-Star-of-Bethlehem-Fact-or-Fiction-Colin-Nicholl-Aaron-Adair-Mark-Kidger 
For the Ask NT Wright Anything podcast: http://www.askntwright.com

👉 Support thought-provoking conversations and help keep the show going at www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate💡
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Classic: The science behind Christmas: Mark Kidger & Gillian Straine and NT Wright

In this live edition of Premier Unbelievable? from Aylesbury High School in the UK, stand-in host Sam McKee moderates a thought-provoking dialogue between:
Caleb Woodbridge – Christian writer, editor and cultural apologist
John Richards – President of Atheism UK

Together they wrestle with questions of meaning, value, morality, evolution, human rights, animal ethics, suffering and religion as comfort. Is “ultimate meaning” even a coherent idea? If morality evolved, can we still say some values are better than others? 

This episode asks whether our deepest experiences of love, beauty, justice and purpose are just products of nature, or signposts to a transcendent source of meaning. Can atheism justify calling some values “better” or “more humane”? Does Christian belief offer real contact with ultimate reality, or just a comforting story? If you’re interested in atheism vs Christianity, meaning of life, and where morality comes from, this conversation is for you.

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👉 Get bonus content, updates, fascinating articles, and early access to new episodes—absolutely free! Join now at www.premierunbelievable.com 🎉📢

• Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://www.premier.plus/unbelievable
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Is life meaningless without God? A live school debate between Atheism UK and Christian apologist

Lord Nigel Biggar joins Premier Unbelievable? – The Interview host Luke Martin for a wide-ranging conversation on Christianity, politics, and the moral foundations of Western society. A priest in the Church of England, Emeritus Regius Professor of Moral Theology at Oxford, and now a Conservative peer in the House of Lords, Biggar has become one of the UK’s most prominent public intellectuals.
We discuss his controversial work on colonialism and reparations, the rise of cancel culture and threats to academic freedom, and why he believes free speech is essential to a humane civilisation. Biggar also reflects on assisted dying legislation, Christian engagement in politics, the culture wars, and whether the West is facing civilisational decline.
An unflinching but unmissable interview with one of Britain’s leading ethicists on truth, courage, and public life.

Key Books: 
Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning https://amzn.to/3MMdr7I
Reparations Slavery and the Tyranny of Imaginary Guilt https://amzn.to/3L24SVW
X: @NigelBiggar
Substack:https://www.nigelbiggar.co.uk/

👉 Support thought-provoking conversations and help keep the show going at www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate💡
🎧 Never miss an episode! Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcasts at www.premier.plus/unbelievable 🎙️
🔗 Get bonus content, updates, fascinating articles, and early access to new episodes - absolutely free! Join now at www.premierunbelievable.com 📢
 
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Nigel Biggar on Christianity, Politics, Free Speech & the Future of the West

As Advent approaches, John Nelson hosts Dr Jonny Rowlands (St Mellitus College, UK) and Rabbi Prof Marc Shapiro (University of Scranton, USA) to ask: did Jesus fulfil scriptural prophecy? They explore what ‘fulfilment’ means, challenge checklist claims, and show how Second Temple Judaism held diverse Messianic hopes. Topics include Bethlehem and Micah 5, Isaiah 7:14 (alma vs parthenos), typology versus prediction, Dead Sea Scrolls expectations, and why early Christians said Christ died and rose “according to the Scriptures”. They weigh Dominic Crossan’s “prophecy historicised”, the infancy narratives, temple and apocalyptic texts, and resurrection belief, plus supersessionism, the law, and Advent’s tension of waiting and hope. Thoughtful, Jewish–Christian dialogue that respects scripture’s sanctified human process without dodging hard questions. They discuss Paul, Hebrews, temple veil imagery, empty tomb and appearances, and disagreement on resurrection.

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👉 Get bonus content, updates, fascinating articles, and early access to new episodes—absolutely free! Join now at www.premierunbelievable.com 🎉📢

• Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://www.premier.plus/unbelievable
• More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com
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Did Jesus fulfil Scriptural Prophecy? Jonathan Rowlands vs Rabbi Marc B Shapiro

- The fine-tuning of the Universe: Big Conversation - Episode 4 | Season 3. Many physicists have pointed out the extraordinary ‘fine tuning’ of the physical laws of the universe that have allowed life to develop within the cosmos.
Luke Barnes believes it gives evidence for a designer behind the cosmos, whereas Sabine Hossenfelder disagrees, questioning whether we can even speak of ‘fine tuning’ as a phenomenon.

👉 Support thought-provoking conversations and help keep the show going at www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate💡
🎧 Never miss an episode! Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast a www.premier.plus/unbelievable 🎙️
🔗 Get bonus content, updates, fascinating articles, and early access to new episodes - absolutely free! Join now at www.premierunbelievable.com 📢
 
Social Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/unbelievablefe
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Classic: Was the cosmos made for us? Sabine Hossenfelder vs Luke Barnes

Is belief in God rational, or is it something no reasonable person should accept?
In this live Unbelievable? school debate recorded in Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School in Aylesbury, Andy Kind hosts philosopher Dr Joshua Sijuwade (University of Birmingham) and physician-educator Julius Weinberg (Trustee, National Secular Society) for a rigorous and fiery exchange on the sanity of belief.
They tackle some of the biggest questions in philosophy of religion:
What does it mean for a belief to be rational?Can we ever be justified in believing in God?Is fallibilism the only sane epistemic stance?Does suffering make God impossible? Can moral courage, compassion and virtue exist in a world without pain?And what evidence — if any — points to a divine being?From epistemology and Bayesian reasoning to the problem of evil, moral exemplars, consciousness, cosmology, and whether God is even a good explanation, this robust debate will challenge believers and skeptics alike.
Don't miss today's fast-paced, high-level, and rather entertaining discussion for anyone curious about how reason, doubt, and faith intersect. 
 SOCIAL LINKS
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👉 Get bonus content, updates, fascinating articles, and early access to new episodes—absolutely free! Join now at www.premierunbelievable.com 🎉📢

• Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://www.premier.plus/unbelievable
• More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com
• For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live
• For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training
• Support us: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate

The Sanity Of Belief - Can God Explain Everything?

Luke Martin sits down with medieval historian and pastor’s wife Prof Beth Allison Barr (Baylor University) to explore how her research on women in late medieval England reshaped her views on “biblical womanhood”. Beth shares her journey from committed complementarian to outspoken critic, the personal cost of her husband losing his church job over a woman teaching Sunday school, and the backlash that followed her bestselling book The Making of Biblical Womanhood. They discuss Junia, women leaders in the early church, patriarchy and the fall, how to read Ephesians 5, and whether Christian faith can embrace elements of feminism. Beth also unpacks her new book Becoming the Pastor’s Wife and offers a hopeful vision of men and women serving together as full image-bearers of God in the church.

Beth Allison Barr (PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, is James Vardaman Professor of History at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where she specialises in medieval history, women's history, and church history. 

The Making of Biblical Womanhood: https://amzn.to/41E8fYr
Becoming the Pastor's Wife: https://amzn.to/4mX8vtG
Marginalia: https://substack.com/@bethallisonbarr

• Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://pod.link/267142101
• More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com
• For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live
• For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training
• Support us in the USA: http://www.premierinsight.org/unbelievableshow
• Support us in the rest of the world: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/donate

👉 Support thought-provoking conversations and help keep the show going at www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate💡
🎧 Never miss an episode! Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast a www.premier.plus/unbelievable 🎙️
🔗 Get bonus content, updates, fascinating articles, and early access to new episodes - absolutely free! Join now at www.premierunbelievable.com 📢
 
Social Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/unbelievablefe
Facebook: / https://facebook.com/premierunbelievable
Instagram: / https://instagram.com/premierunbelievable
Tik Tok: / https://tiktok.com/@premier.unbelievable

Is Patriarchy Actually Biblical? Medieval Historian Beth Allison Barr Responds

Christian thinker Joe Boot and Muslim scholar Hafsar debate what Christianity and Islam each teach about the identity of Jesus — from His birth and miracles to the crucifixion, resurrection, and second coming.

They discuss:
• Jesus in the Qur’an vs the New Testament
• Tawhid and the oneness of God
• The Trinity and divine nature
• Whether Jesus was crucified or taken up to heaven
• Salvation, sin-bearing & judgement
• Shared beliefs — and crucial differences
Recorded at St Michael’s School, Aylesbury, UK

SOCIAL LINKS
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👉 Get bonus content, updates, fascinating articles, and early access to new episodes—absolutely free! Join now at www.premierunbelievable.com 🎉📢

• Subscribe to the Unbelievable?podcast: https://www.premier.plus/unbelievable
• More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com
• For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live
• For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training
• Support us: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate

Who Was Jesus REALLY? Islam vs Christianity Debate | Joe Boot vs Hafsa Satar

Revisiting another classic show from 2021, and asking has the ‘sea of faith’ ebbed for good, and what might replace it—new atheism, ‘woke’ moralism, or a rediscovery of Christianity’s story? Douglas Murray and N.T. Wright discuss identity, myth and meaning in a post-Christian West. Murray, an “uncomfortable agnostic,” values the Christian inheritance yet laments a church that echoes the culture rather than proclaiming forgiveness and hope. Wright argues that the Christian narrative—based in history and centred on Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection—uniquely grounds human dignity, justice and reconciliation, offering more than social activism or abstract ethics. Together they probe truth, myth, miracles, the pandemic’s disorientation, and whether we can still find a story to live by. Thoughtful and generous, this classic exchange invites believers and sceptics alike to reconsider the well from which our civilisation drinks.

Consider subscribing to our podacst with N.T. Wright here For NT Wright

For Douglas Murray: 
https://douglasmurray.net/

👉 Support thought-provoking conversations and help keep the show going at www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate💡
🎧 Never miss an episode! Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast a www.premier.plus/unbelievable 🎙️
🔗 Get bonus content, updates, fascinating articles, and early access to new episodes - absolutely free! Join now at www.premierunbelievable.com 📢
 
Social Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/unbelievablefe
Facebook: / https://facebook.com/premierunbelievable
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Tik Tok: / https://tiktok.com/@premier.unbelievable

Classic: Do We Still Need Christianity? Douglas Murray vs N. T. Wright

Can a Christian ever support war? In this episode, host Dr. John Nelson brings together pastor and peace advocate Brian Zahnd (A Farewell to Mars) and theologian Andrew Hronich (Once Loved, Always Loved) for a challenging and profound conversation about pacifism, just war theory, and Christian discipleship in a world at war.
From the Sermon on the Mount to the streets of Gaza, this debate probes the ethics of violence, the witness of the early church, and whether Christian love can ever include lethal force. Thought-provoking, compassionate, and deeply rooted in biblical and historical theology.
Subscribe, rate, and share.

👉 Get bonus content, updates, fascinating articles, and early access to new episodes—absolutely free! Join now at www.premierunbelievable.com 🎉📢

• Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://www.premier.plus/unbelievable
• More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com
• For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training
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Pacifism vs Just War: Should Christians Ever Fight? Brian Zahnd & Andrew Hronich

What do Christians believe about the immortality of the soul and the justification for punishment? Has hell been lost as a doctrine in the modern church?

In their second inter-Christian encounter James White and Roger and Faith Forster explain their different view of hell. James White holds to an "eternal conscious torment" view - that those in hell are punished for all eternity. Roger and Faith Forster believe in "conditional immortality" - that only those in Christ are granted eternal life and those who go to hell cease to exist.

For James White see www.aomin.org

For Roger and Faith see www.ichthus.org.uk

For more faith debates visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or via podcast or via itunes

If you enjoyed this programme you may wish to listen to

Unbelievable? 15 Mar 2008 Christian Universalism - Will everyone be saved?

Unbelievable? 1 Dec 2007 - Salvation: Grace or Works? A Jew & Christian compare approaches

Get involved at the Premier Community

Unbelievable? 8 Aug 2009 - Hell - two different views debated

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