God Forbid ABC listen
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- Religion & Spirituality
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Religion: it’s at the centre of world affairs, but profound questions still remain. Why are you here? What happens when you die? Does God matter? God Forbid seeks the answers.
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The ethics of keeping pets
Many of us regard our pets as part of the family, but can an animal be its best self in a human home?
For much of human history, we’ve kept animals primarily to do jobs – to hunt, herd, plough and pull carriages... or just to keep mice out of the hay shed.
The idea of keeping an animal as a "pet” - an emotional companion is relatively new. And religion, it turns out, played a part in that historical shift.
Of course, pets can enrich our lives, but how we breed, feed and keep these animals raises questions even for the most loving, well-meaning pet owners. It's a passionate issue, full of blurry lines and moral grey areas. But philosophy, religion and science offer some guidance. -
How do you mend a broken heart?
Falling in love is one of life’s great thrills, but it leaves you open to heartbreak – one of life’s great miseries. Romantic heartbreak has inspired countless works of literature, art and music through the ages. It’s a uniquely painful yet universal experience – so, how do you get over it?
Do science, faith and philosophy provide some answers? -
Will evangelical voters be Trump's salvation?
As the US election approaches, presidential candidate Donald Trump has been doubling down on the religious language - selling bibles, preaching retribution and styling himself as a persecuted saviour. Trump enjoys the support of the overwhelming majority of white evangelical voters, but will that be enough to return him to the White House?
Guests:
D Stephen Long, theologian, Cary M. Maguire University Professor of Ethics at Southern Methodist University
Sarah McCammon, NPR Political Correspondent, author of Ex-vangelicals: Loving, Living and Leaving the White Evangelical Church
David Smith, Associate Professor in American Politics and Foreign Policy at the United States Studies Centre, and the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney -
Do religions die?
Today, billions of people adhere to one of the “Big Five” major religions, but there are many more religions from history that have died out. Conquests, cultural change and conversions have all caused religions to shift, shrink and disappear. But when can we truly declare a religion “dead”? And could the religions of today die out in the distant future?
Guests:
Aslan Pahari, Video presenter/producer, ABC Digital Content and Innovation
Adam Bowles, Associate Professor in Asian Religions at the University of Queensland
Carole Cusak, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Sydney -
Sawdust and the soul
Jesus was famously a carpenter, and many religious texts associate carpentry with wisdom, humility, and devotion. So, is there something divine about working with wood? Woodwork is the most ancient of crafts. It can offer both solitude and companionship, teach us lessons about patience and failure, and connect us to place, people and stories.
Guests:
Phoebe Everill, furniture maker and woodwork teacher from Drummond, Victoria
Father Dan Groody, Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana
Barry Golding, Honorary Professor in adult and community education at Federation University, author of Shoulder to Shoulder: Broadening the Men’s Shed Movement -
Is religious discrimination law reform too difficult?
The federal government is unwilling to progress promised religious discrimination reforms unless it secures bipartisan support from the Coalition. Can a compromise be reached, or is this debate likely to be shelved again?
Guests:
Chris Bedding, is Executive Officer of Faith Workers Alliance and a priest of the Anglican Church in Perth
David Robertson, Presbyterian minister, director of the ASK project of Evangelism and New Churches of the Sydney Anglican diocese
Dr. Renae Barker, lawyer and senior lecturer at the UWA Law School
Customer Reviews
So funny!
Gotta love the Quiz.
James Carleton is amazing.
Diverse ideas and speakers
I’ve consistently listened to this podcast every weekend for years - and I’ve been non-religious my whole life.
It’s at its best when the guests are from diverse religious backgrounds and when the topic isn’t obviously religious: it is so interesting to hear how people consider different things to be spiritual and how they approach them in their own ways, according to their religious upbringing. So many similarities but so many differences as well!
Neurodiversity
Congratulations on curating such a wonderful collection of people to share their stories of neurodiversity. Kudos to James Carleton for the wisdom to skilfully weave the eclectic speakers stories together with an understated restraint, so that their voices remained centre and James’s comments were elegant in their minimalism. As someone with ADHD I very much appreciated this episode, and could closely identify with much of what was said. The selection of speakers, the structure of the episode, the compassion & curiosity evident in Jame’s questions and comments, the editing process; all these have delivered without doubt the absolutely best podcast episode I have listened to on neurodiversity.
Thank you to everyone at the ABC involved in making this episode, I will be sharing it with friends and family as it illuminates the topic of neurodiversity with authentic humanity, like the warm golden light of a sunrise, in contrast to the harsh cold fluorescent light of a dehumanising laboratory. Congratulations on creating such good journalism.