Being Human Evangelical Alliance

This episode explores the limits and boundaries of human life, particularly when it comes to abortion and euthanasia. Jo and Peter use the Being Human lens as a tool to help us think faithfully and compassionately about the start and end of life, recognising these are hugely contested areas in public debate.  
They take a look at the law surrounding abortion and euthanasia as well as stories from around the world on where these debates are bubbling up across the media. The conversation touches on justice and autonomy from women, dignity in suffering, and the deeply personal dilemmas individuals face. They bring us back the story of God and his people, taking note of the role of the early church in caring for babies and the promise of hope woven throughout scripture. The episode lands on how we might navigate these conversations well in our own lives and sharing a better story through practices of hospitality, different forms of prayer and gratitude.   
Part one (00:00) 01:24 Diving into the debate: are there limits on life? Both entry to life and exiting from life are two of the most contested areas in public debate.  02:46 Stories of abortion and euthanasia in UK media and policy.  06:03 The Being Human Lens: a tool for this discussion.  07:49 Understanding statistics and the law around abortion in the UK.  12:37 Significance and abortion: considering a woman’s autonomy over her own body and the life of a baby. 14:05 Moving to euthanasia – why is it such a hot topic at the moment?  16:00 Dignity and death: having compassion for those suffering and the promise of hope in the Christian story. 
Part two (21:59) 22:00 Connection: How does the start and end of life affect our relationships with each other, with God and with our world?  24:38 Is abortion the pinnacle of the justice for women or is it perpetuating further injustices in new forms? 28:06 Navigating the euthanasia debate in Canada 32:58 The early church: revisiting ancient values and practices of our forefathers. 35:20 Presence and the recognising the cost of caring for our loved ones.  41:03 Participation and the story of Sarah and Paul Williams. Does purpose necessitate being human?  47:21 Practising and inhabiting a better story: hospitality, gratitude, intercession and examen prayer.  
Interested in taking this conversation further? Take a look at some resources and organisations mentioned in the episode:  
Home for good 
Safer families 
Perfectly Human: Nine Months with Cerian (Shaming the Strong) by Sarah Williams 

If every human being is made in the image of God, but we are each rooted into a particular place and culture, how might we as Christians better engage in conversations on migration, asylum and refugees? In this episode Jo and Peter discuss this global issue and why it should matter to us all.
From political slogans and dramatic headlines, the conversation starts by peeling back some of misconceptions and complexity of this issue; investigating who’s coming into UK and for what reasons. Jo and Peter then once again use the Being Human lens to help offer a fresh perspective asking how might significance, connection, presence and participation impact our understanding of human dignity, interculturalism, borders and citizenship? How can we see the pages of Scripture as one large story of migration, displacement and finding home?
Part one (00:00)01:11 Welcome back and introducing the big issue for episode four: the complex world of migration, asylum, and refugees.02:03 Announcement: Peter and Jo are hosting a mini-series of webinars! Chatting all-things Being Human from the Lens, to our cultural landscape to understanding who is in our churches and how we might reach them. Look out for more information coming soon.03:05 Small boats, international students and economic migrants: getting the lay of the land on who actually is arriving into the UK each year.  09:09 Coming back to the Being Human Lens: why is migration and asylum important to the conversation about being human today?12:10 Starting with significance – how does dignity, identity, and equality affect a perspective on migration?16:42 From the Old to New Testament: seeing the bible as one large a story of migration. And how might that challenge our perspective.
Part two (20:17)20:20 People don’t migrate in isolation: recognising the importance of families, dependants and connection. 24:07 The complexities of local connections and global compassion. Are we equally connected to everyone in the world? Is our responsibility to family, community, nation or the globe?26:46 Lessons from Beyonce's latest album and exploring how might we think about borders.30:20 We are particular people in particular places – respecting both the culture we might be from and the one we are visiting or inhabiting.37:38 Pushing back on the unhelpful soundbites and toxic language surrounding this issue, what might it mean to participate positively in this conversation? 41:23 Coming back to the story of God as one that centres on displaced people – how might be understand inclusion and welcome of the foreigner, but also the call to be distinct?44:43 Gratitude, study, and you guessed it...hospitality. Three habits for we might inhabit this better story for engaging with migration, refugee and asylum.
Read Luke Bretherton's article on Immigration and the moral status of borders here. 

In episode three, Jo and Peter tackle one of the most contested topics in our culture today – the trans debate. They explore the complex questions surrounding sex, gender and being embodied humans. With the transgender and feminism conversations often feeling charged and toxic, it can be difficult to know how to engage when this issue can affect us personally and divide opinion so quickly.   
So, this episode provides a hopeful look at what it means to be human when it comes to such a contested issue.  Engaging with topics like the Barbie movie, gender and sport, controversies surrounding those in the public eye – like JK Rowling or Dylan Mulvaney – and the treatment of transgender children, this episode looks at where we find the gender debate bubbling up across culture today. Jo and Peter, using the Being Human lens, keep bringing it back to God Story; how it speaks to feminism, equality, human dignity and understanding the importance of our bodies.  This conversation reminds us of importance of thinking through our theology and recognising the significance and dignity of one another, particularly when we might disagree. 
 
Show notes  
00:00 Welcome back to Being Human and catching up on Peter’s chocolate and sugar sacrifices in preparation for a mountain marathon 
02:20 ‘I am kenough’: exploring the cultural phenomenon of last year’s Barbie movie and questions it posed about what it means to be a woman and a man.  
05:14 From JK Rowling to Dylan Mulvaney, introducing one the most contested issues of today: male, female, sex and gender identities.  
11:46 Looking through the Being Human lens and kicking off with significance: who matters, and do we matter when it comes to our bodies? Navigating the often-emotive topic of trans rights and human rights. 
20:03 Recognising the significance and dignity of one another, particularly when we disagree.  
23:41Feminism meets Christianity: in the book of Genesis, are women really just “an afterthought”?  
 
Part two (26:25) 
26:25 Finding common ground: when different sides of the trans debate seek to cancel, push out and disown one another, is there a possibility of reconciliation when it comes to our connections to one another?   
40:05 Presence and reflecting on the Cass Review: a key moment for the conversation on transgender care for children.  
44:03 Recognising bad theology and reclaiming good theology when it comes to thinking through our bodies and our spirits.  
46:45 How might we attempt to participate in the gender identity conversation when it so fraught with emotion, sensitivity and difference? 
53:00 Theological study, fasting and hospitality: three practices for navigating cultural conversations and reorientating us back to God.   

What is the impact of social media on mental health, especially kids and young people? Jo and Peter share from their own experiences as parents attempting to navigate how to wisely use and limit social media in their own lives and the lives of their kids.
Being Human 502 is taking a deep dive on the online space and explores the impact it’s having on particularly the minds of young people. Although social media can be a force for good, the way in which our tech competes for our attention is something we all can relate to.
Jo and Peter open up the conversation with the tragic story of teenager Molly Russell and shed light on the dark side of the online world. From self-image and filters to the power of algorithms, they explore the rise of anxiety, depression and loneliness which has been reportedly linked to social media use. What role can both parents and individuals play in navigating these challenges for our kids, friends and ourselves?
And as we look at these issues through the Being Human lens, what does the God Story have to offer us in the face of these challenges? How can we use the apologetic tool of the Being Human lens to help shape a better story for our mental health and online lives? This episode rounds-off with personal tips and habits for healthy and balanced engagement with social media.
Part one (00:00) 02:17 Welcome back and teeing up the question that Jo and Peter get asked the most – what is the impact of social media on the mental health of our young people? And what do we do about it? 03:40 The Molly Russell Case: a wake-up call and an opportunity to open up the conversation. 05:46 Putting today’s conversation in the focal point of the Being Human Lens and asking is there a better story when it comes to our engagement with social media and understanding mental health?   07:16 Exploring significance and identity in the digital age. What impact does an all-loving, all-knowing God have into a social media swirl that perpetuates self-doubt and insecurity?  
Part two (18:08) 18:12 From dating apps to algorithms to Ted Lasso - looking at connection and social media’s impact our relationships with one another.  23:54 ‘I can buy myself flowers’: exploring the cross over between the drive for self-love and experience of loneliness in modern connections.  27:52 With filters, deep-fake and AI how might we navigate the blurred lines between online and real life? 38:22 Finding balance: strategies for healthy engagement with social media. Adopting small habits that lead to significant change over time. 49:45 Finishing up – championing mental health support and community engagement.  
Keen to develop your own habits of healthy social media use? Read 5 Ways to Cut Back on Social Media from PCMag. 

Welcome back to season five! Jo Frost and Peter Lynas return, exploring what it means to be human in 2024.  
In this first episode, Jo and Peter are chatting all things elections, democracy and nationalism. With four billion people headed to the polls this year, how does the God story affect our engagement with politics? From Taiwan and India to the Trump vs Biden rematch and our own issues on domestic soil, this is shaping up to be a big year.  
This season we’re going to be using the Being Human Lens, which focuses on four core aspects of humanity: significance, connection, presence, and participation, as a framework to help think through these big issues. Amongst divisive issues like abortion and Israel-Palestine, the concerning rise of Christian nationalism and the votes of young people in the UK – is it possible for our connections, place, and participation to play a positive role in our lives and politics? We’re asking how we as followers of Jesus can model a better story when it comes to disagreeing well and being others-orientated, as well as exploring some everyday spiritual habits to help us follow the way of Jesus as we engage with our democracy.    
Part 1 (00:00)  00:00 Welcome to season five: exploring what it means to be human in 2024! 01:41 This season, we are taking the big issues of our day and looking through the Being Human Lens to understand how we form and shape our humanity. 03:24 With four billion people heading to the polls this year, lets deep dive on elections, democracy, and nationalism. From Taiwan and India to the Trump vs Biden rematch and our home soil: the elections we can anticipate this year.  09:53 Refresher: what is the Being Human Lens? How might we use it to understand our world?  12:26 Israel-Palestine, US polarisation and exploring significance in divisive political landscapes. How might an identity in Christ affect our engagement in politics?  
Part 2 (20:37) 20:54 Connection in democracy: building coalitions and community amidst a society that emphasises the needs of the individual above others.  28:58 Nationalism and migration – is it possible for place and presence to play a positive role in our lives and politics?  36:36 As Christians, how might we creatively and compassionately participate in democracy beyond just voting? 42:30 Intercessory prayer, digital abstinence, and hospitality: everyday spiritual habits to help us grow into the likeness of Jesus as we engage with politics.  

We have reached the end of season four! After a season of listening and learning from a variety of people, ideas and experiences, Jo and Peter sit down together and pull out some of the threads and themes woven throughout this season.  
 
This season spanned a wide range of topical subjects, from young people and mental health to class and heritage, to identity and power, revealing a resounding common theme of crisis. Our world and sometimes our own faith feels fragile and fractured. So, in this episode Jo and Peter take three of the major cultural stories – secularism, expressive individualism and postmodernism, and ask: ‘what do we mean by each, why are these stories here, and why are they creating crisis?’.
 
Ultimately, the hope-filled news is that these cultural stories exist within a wider and deeper one. A good, true and beautiful story of what it means to be human, that we are invited into to bring about cultural renewal.  
 
Although season four has come to a close, you can dig even deeper by reading Jo and Peter’s book and staying up to date with the latest content on our website.  
 
Part one (00:00) 
02:29 – The wrap up episode: reflecting on what we’ve heard and noticing commonalities within the themes of the cultural stories throughout the podcast season.  
06:00 – Why are we feeling as though we are living in crisis? Increasingly people are reevaluating the story they are living, but what if there is another story that doesn’t inhabit crisis?  
08:27 – Exploring story one: Secularism. Why aren’t we as secular as we pretend to be and the lack of coherency this story offers.  
  
Part two (15:30)  
15:43 – Exploring story two: Expressive individualism — what do we mean by this, why is it here and why is it creating crisis?  
19:00 – Some of the challenges of expressive individualism, and why receiving an identity from God and belonging to Him is so important in light of this story.  
21:10 – Exploring story three: Postmodernism. Understanding the goodness that can be found in this story – from calling out power abuse to tearing down injustice. However, there are challenges to this story that leave us fumbling, searching for truth
29:30 – Our cultural stories run within the larger, wider one that God shares with us. As kingdom-carriers, we are to be a light to the surrounding world, to partner with Him to bring about cultural renewal.