Life & Faith

Centre for Public Christianity
  • 4.6 (12)
  • RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Life & Faith

Growing up as the son of a diamond smuggler. The leaps of faith required for scientific discovery. An actress who hated Christians, then became one. Join us as we discover the surprising ways Christian faith interrogates and illuminates the world we live in.

  1. Faith and Politics in a age of outrage

    MAR 19

    Faith and Politics in a age of outrage

    In an age of outrage, how can we rise above cynicism and work towards a healthier and more vibrant form of political debate and engagement? With a Federal election campaign looming and cynicism about politics at an all-time high, Life & Faith interviews eminent Political Scientist Professor John Warhurst about how we can navigate an increasingly grumpy political landscape. If politics is downstream from culture and we get the politics that we deserve, how can we do better? Do we expect too much from our politicians or not enough? And do we give up too quickly when things don’t go our way in elections? John Warhurst brings decades of experience to these questions. He believes there are more silver linings than we think and that self-reflection, compassion, gratitude and intelligent humility are an important part of the answer. Instead of focusing on what we think of our politicians, this interview explores how recalibrating how we approach politics as citizens, can put us on a path to a healthier democracy and a more positive public square.

    35 min
  2. Living in Wonder with Rod Dreher

    MAR 5

    Living in Wonder with Rod Dreher

    Increasing interest in psychedelics, the occult, and the supernatural all point to one thing: enchantment is back. “The thing is you can't have enchantment that's only selective. You can't only have the bright side. You also need to acknowledge the dark side. That's one of the things I really wanted to do with this book and it caused some consternation with my first publisher. She didn't want the dark side in there.” The modern experience is one of disenchantment, argued sociologist Max Weber – a world from which the supernatural, and all gods and monsters, had been scrubbed. Not anymore, apparently. Increasing interest in the occult, and people’s willingness to share about their ecstatic experiences, as well as their evil encounters with the supernatural, suggests a higher tolerance for talk about the spiritual realm – for good and ill. Life & Faith kicks off 2025 with an eye-opening interview with journalist Rod Dreher, author of Living in Wonder: Finding Mystery and Meaning in a Secular Age. In this wide-ranging chat, Rod talks about the budding religion of technology worship, the experience of art and beauty as a gateway to enchantment, the possibly malign spiritual forces at work in our world, and his increasing conviction that the world is not what you think it is.  --- Explore: Rod’s book Living in Wonder  Rod’s Substack

    40 min
  3. Peace on Earth

    12/18/2024

    Peace on Earth

    What does the Christmas promise of “peace on earth” mean in the face of human suffering, natural disasters, and other heartbreaks that are part of all our lives? Twenty years ago, the Indian Ocean tsunami claimed the lives of some 225,000 people, after battering the coastlines of India, Indonesia, Malysia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Thailand, and Somalia. Tim Costello, then CEO of World Vision, was among the first to be on the ground in Sri Lanka, which was among the countries worst affected. He recounts being confronted with the mammoth scale of devastation on the ground and the tragedy of so many lives lost. Then we hear from former CPX-er Mark Stephens, now Lecturer in New Testament at Sydney Missionary Bible College, about what the Christmas promise of “peace on earth” could possibly mean in the face of untold human suffering – and what are the grounds of hope now and into the future. This is our last episode of Life & Faith for the year but we will be back in 2025. From the whole team at CPX, we wish you a Merry Christmas.

    27 min
  4. The role Christian housewives played in gaining women the vote.

    12/11/2024

    The role Christian housewives played in gaining women the vote.

    In 1894, South Australia was the fourth place in the world to grant universal female suffrage. Christian housewives were key to the cause. History was made on Dec 18, 1894, when a bill passed in the South Australian parliament granting women the right to vote and the right to stand for public office. This made the South Australian Parliament the first in Australia, and the fourth place in the world, to extend voting rights to women. In August of that year, a petition of 11,600 signatures had been presented to parliament, supporting women’s right to a voice in the political process. It was the result of long campaigning and legwork by women’s groups: the Women’s Suffrage League, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and the Working Women’s Trades Union, which gathered signatures from all over the state. In this episode of Life & Faith, Dr Nicole Starling, historian of 19th century Australian religious and political history, explains the role of the WCTU in gaining women the vote, and also how temperance activists, often denounced as stuffy wowsers looking to curb alcohol consumption, were the first to spot connections between alcohol abuse and what we now call family and domestic violence. Explore: Nicole Starling on X More info on Nicole Starling’s book Evangelical Belief and Enlightenment Morality in the Australian Temperance Movement, 1832-1930

    37 min
  5. Breaking up the world’s most influential book

    12/04/2024

    Breaking up the world’s most influential book

    Journalist Michael Visontay uncovers intriguing stories from the fragments of a 1450s Gutenberg Bible, including an amazing link to his own family. In 1921 when rare book collector Gabriel Wells broke up his Gutenberg Bible and began to sell off individual pages, it caused a scandal, and a rush for collectors to get the chance to own and be a part of the Gutenberg mystique. Was Wells’ action an act of vandalism, or just a smart move from an enterprising rare book dealer? Either way, these fragments became much sought-after, and Wells became a rich man. Decades on, Michael Visontay traces these “noble fragments” as they pass through various collectors' hands and carry with them fascinating stories. Michael’s own family – holocaust survivors from Hungary who immigrated to Australia in the 1950s – have their own connection to Gabriel Wells and the Gutenberg Bible. Michael Visontay tells this “detective story”/intriguing family history with panache. Here he tells Life & Faith about that history and how it captured him so completely. Explore: Noble Fragments: The Maverick Who Broke Up the World’s Greatest Book

    40 min
  6. Fighting the dark world of child exploitation

    11/27/2024

    Fighting the dark world of child exploitation

    International Justice Mission wants tech companies to step up efforts to protect vulnerable children. Warning: distressing content.  The Philippines is the global epicentre of the online sexual exploitation of children, where children are abused by parents and other relatives in their own homes, in front of a video camera, for a fee. It’s awful and sickening trade in vulnerable human lives, one that’s particularly insidious since it distorts a child’s relationship with their primary caregivers and that transforms a child’s home – the exact place they should be safe – into a predatory environment of abuse. And Australians are the third-highest consumers of this content worldwide, paying for these crimes to be live-streamed, and often through commonly used social media platforms and video conferencing tools. International Justice Mission (IJM) works to end modern slavery, partnering with NGOs, social workers, child advocates, faith communities, and law enforcement to bring about justice for survivors of trafficking, and to strengthen justice systems to hold offenders accountable. The organisation is now advocating for greater online safety, including pressuring tech companies to be more intentional about child safety from the point of product design. Life & Faith spoke to Gigi Tupas, head of National Activation and Partnerships at IJM Philippines, and Grace Wong, Chief Advocacy Officer, IJM Australia, to hear about what’s happening on the ground. Explore:  Support the work of International Justice Mission by becoming a Freedom Partner.  Read the Sydney Morning Herald article: “The children for sale – and the Australians who exploit them” Read the 2023 UNSW report featuring research cited by Grace in the episode: “Identifying and understanding child sexual offending behaviours and attitudes among Australian men”  Read more about IJM’s 2023 report that found roughly one in 100 Filipino children were trafficked to produce live-streamed child sexual exploitation material. Tell us what you think of Life & Faith in this 5-minute survey

    37 min
  7. Doughnut Economics

    11/20/2024

    Doughnut Economics

    Erinch Sahan believes that the key to building safer, healthier and stronger communities can be found in a doughnut. Doughnut Economics is a visual framework and growing movement that seeks to tackle humanity’s biggest problems through a fresh new understanding of our world. Erinch shares how his experience as a senior executive at Procter & Gamble, Oxfam and head of the World Fair Trade Organisation, led him to his current role as head of the Dougnut Economics Action Lab, where he and his team works with businesses, governments and communities, to re-imagine how economics can be used to build a better future. Erinch also teaches at the University of Cambridge and is a respected global voice on global trade, business practice and bringing ethics to economics. We examine how this innovative new movement brings a fresh perspective to some of our biggest local and global challenges. And we take a closer look at how it’s possible to include ideals like stewardship in our continued pursuit of profits, pleasure and happiness. Explore:   Doughnut Economics Action Lab website  Kate Raworth’s ‘Doughnut Economics’ Ted Talk  Tell us what you think of Life & Faith in this 5-minute survey

    36 min
  8. Tim Winton’s refusal to submit to despair

    11/13/2024

    Tim Winton’s refusal to submit to despair

    Tim Winton talks to Life & Faith about his new novel Juice. Tim Winton is one of Australia’s most loved writers. He is also well-known as an environmental activist and defender of landscapes and fragile ecosystems. And now, as a grandfather to 6 children, he is clearly deeply concerned about what we might be leaving behind to them and those who come after them. His lates novel, Juice, is set in the distant future, a time when climate catastrophe has wreaked havoc on the globe. Civilisation has crumbled. Huge parts of the earth, in a band emanating from the equator, are completely uninhabitable. It's all about the global unravelling that could accompany climate devastation. It’s frightening and sobering. And yet somehow determinedly hopeful. Tim came into the CPX studio to talk about Juice and what inspired this challenging piece of art.   Explore: Tim Winton’s novel Juice  Ningaloo Nyinggulu Simon Smart’s review of Juice at ABC Religion & Ethics Tell us what you think of Life & Faith in this 5-minute survey

    39 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.6
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

Growing up as the son of a diamond smuggler. The leaps of faith required for scientific discovery. An actress who hated Christians, then became one. Join us as we discover the surprising ways Christian faith interrogates and illuminates the world we live in.

Information

  • Creator
    Centre for Public Christianity
  • Years Active
    2008 - 2025
  • Episodes
    550
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 Centre for Public Christianity
  • Show Website
    Life & Faith

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