Podcast appearances and mentions of michael ramsey prize

On the podcast this week, Francis Spufford discusses his latest novel, Cahokia Jazz, with the Dean of Southwark, the Very Revd Dr Mark Oakley. The conversation was recorded at the Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature, which was held in Winchester in March (Features, 7 March). Set in an alternative America in the 1920s, Cahokia Jazz is “a detective novel with noir tendencies” which is “as inventive and unpredictable in its setting as it is in its thrilling plot”, Dr Oakley wrote in a review in the Church Times. Cahokia Jazz is available in paperback from the Church House Bookshop. https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9780571336883/cahokia-jazz Francis Spufford's first novel, Golden Hill, won the Costa First Novel Award 2016; his second novel, Light Perpetual was longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize. He has also written five highly praised works of non-fiction, including Unapologetic: Why, despite everything Christianity can still make surprising emotional sense, which was shortlisted for the 2016 Michael Ramsey Prize. Picture credit: Harvey Mills Find out about forthcoming Church Times events at https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/events Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

On the podcast this week, Mark Oakley reflects on “Paternoster” by Jen Hadfield. This episode was first broadcast in 2023 as part of the Church Times Poetry Podcast for Lent series. “Paternoster” is published in Jen Hadfield's collection Nigh-No-Place (Bloodaxe Books, 2008), which won the T.S. Eliot Prize. We are grateful to Bloodaxe Books for giving permission to play a recording of Jen Hadfield reading the poem. https://www.bloodaxebooks.com The material in this podcast is taken from Mark Oakley's book The Splash of Words (Canterbury Press), winner of the 2019 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing. Artwork by Emily Noyce Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

People become what they believe: Neglecting the vital conversation about spirituality has cost society dearly. We need the course to create a space for a national conversation about the relationship of spirituality to psychological and social change. In this episode Steve's guest and expert witness is Chine McDonald, Director of Theos think tank. In part one Steve sets out his tenth principle, in part two Chine responds.“Chine is a writer and regular contributor to Radio 4's Thought For The Day. She's also the Director of Theos Think Tank, which looks at the relationship between religion, politics, and society. We talk together about Principle 10: People become what they believe. I enjoyed talking with Chine because she understands that principle so deeply. Her work around religion, spirituality, and society is game-changing. Her words in this area have changed me. They've shown me new visions of what I couldn't see before, and it's just brilliant to bring her to you” – Steve ChalkeAbout Chine McDonald Chine McDonald is Director of Theos, the religion and society think tank. Born in Nigeria, she moved to the UK at the age of four, and later studied at Cambridge University before training as a newspaper journalist. Chine is a regular contributor to BBC religion and ethics programmes, including Thought for the Day on Radio 4's Today programme, the Daily Service, and Prayer for the Day. Chine previously led fundraising and public engagement at international development charity, Christian Aid, and regularly writes and speaks on issues of race and faith. Her second book God is Not a White Man (published in May 2021) was shortlisted for the 2023 Michael Ramsey Prize.About this podcast series This podcast series, and the accompanying book by Steve Chalke sets out ten tried and tested practical principles for ‘how' to develop joined up, cost effective, community empowering work, gleaned from the hard-won experience that sit at the heart of the mission of Oasis over the last four decades. Steve talks to 13 expert witnesses who help him bring his book to life with their own thoughts and lived experiences.We believe it's time for a radical reset. It's time for A Manifesto for Hope!Steve's book is available wherever you buy your books but we recommend you buy it from Bookshop.org an online bookshop with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.This book is also available on Audible.The Manifesto for Hope podcast is brought to you by Oasis. Our producer is Peter Kerwood and the sound and mix engineer is Matteo Magariello. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People become what they believe: Neglecting the vital conversation about spirituality has cost society dearly. We need the course to create a space for a national conversation about the relationship of spirituality to psychological and social change. In this episode Steve's guest and expert witness is Chine McDonald, Director of Theos think tank. In part one Steve sets out his tenth principle, in part two Chine responds.“Chine is a writer and regular contributor to Radio 4's Thought For The Day. She's also the Director of Theos Think Tank, which looks at the relationship between religion, politics, and society. We talk together about Principle 10: People become what they believe. I enjoyed talking with Chine because she understands that principle so deeply. Her work around religion, spirituality, and society is game-changing. Her words in this area have changed me. They've shown me new visions of what I couldn't see before, and it's just brilliant to bring her to you” – Steve ChalkeAbout Chine McDonald Chine McDonald is Director of Theos, the religion and society think tank. Born in Nigeria, she moved to the UK at the age of four, and later studied at Cambridge University before training as a newspaper journalist. Chine is a regular contributor to BBC religion and ethics programmes, including Thought for the Day on Radio 4's Today programme, the Daily Service, and Prayer for the Day. Chine previously led fundraising and public engagement at international development charity, Christian Aid, and regularly writes and speaks on issues of race and faith. Her second book God is Not a White Man (published in May 2021) was shortlisted for the 2023 Michael Ramsey Prize.About this podcast series This podcast series, and the accompanying book by Steve Chalke sets out ten tried and tested practical principles for ‘how' to develop joined up, cost effective, community empowering work, gleaned from the hard-won experience that sit at the heart of the mission of Oasis over the last four decades. Steve talks to 13 expert witnesses who help him bring his book to life with their own thoughts and lived experiences.We believe it's time for a radical reset. It's time for A Manifesto for Hope!Steve's book is available wherever you buy your books but we recommend you buy it from Bookshop.org an online bookshop with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.This book is also available on Audible.The Manifesto for Hope podcast is brought to you by Oasis. Our producer is Peter Kerwood and the sound and mix engineer is Matteo Magariello. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we delve into the contentious debate surrounding the role of secularism in Western civilization and its relationship with Christianity. A growing chorus of new atheist writers heralds the advent of an enlightened era of secular rationalism, purporting to liberate society from what they perceive as the shackles of outdated Christian influence. However, according to David Bentley Hart, acclaimed author of "Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and its Fashionable Enemies," such claims amount to nothing more than an "atheist delusion." His book, which garnered the prestigious Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing in 2011, challenges the narrative of secular triumphalism by revisiting the historical contributions of Christianity. On the opposing side, Terry Sanderson former President of the UK's National Secular Society contends that contemporary society thrives under an increasingly secular framework, asserting that the freedoms and values we cherish are not contingent upon a Christian foundation. In this engaging dialogue, we see a clash of perspectives as David argues that secular perspectives are rooted in a misguided myth of secular "progress." By examining the intertwined histories of Christianity and secularism, David presents a compelling case that challenges prevailing notions of societal evolution. This episode originally aired on: 25 June 2011 Subscribe to Unbelievable? podcast: https://pod.link/267142101 on your preferred platform to never miss an episode, and join the conversation as we explore the nuances of belief, skepticism, and the evolving landscape of modern thought. • More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com • For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live • For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/coures • Support us in the USA: http://www.premierinsight.org/unbelievableshow • Support us in the rest of the world: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/donate

On the podcast this week, Mark Oakley reflects on “Love (III)” by George Herbert. This episode was first posted last year as part of the Church Times Poetry Podcast for Lent series. “Over my years of reading Herbert, I have come to see him as the poet who most expresses our relationship with God as a friendship,” Mark says. “Friendship requires courage enough to stop skating so quickly over our own thin ice in case we disappear through the cracks. Instead, we face the fact that we need support and connection and that, also, we have much to give as well.” The material in this podcast is taken from Mark Oakley's book The Splash of Words (Canterbury Press), winner of the 2019 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing. The Very Revd Dr Mark Oakley is the Dean of Southwark. Artwork by Emily Noyce. For the whole of March, we are asking our readers to spread the news of the Church Times among their friends, acquaintances, and fellow churchgoers (and non-churchgoers). To celebrate (and help with) this, our paywall has been lifted for the whole of March, meaning you can enjoy all of our content — news, comment, features, faith, cartoons, and our historic archive — FOR FREE. There's nothing complicated about it. We simply want to let as many people as possible know about our latest subscription offer: You can try your first 10 weeks of Church Times for only £10. All new Church Times subscriptions received in March will receive a FREE additional 3 month subscription to the bestselling app, Reflections for Daily Prayer. www.churchtimes.co.uk/subscribe For print readers, there should also be a sample copy of our new promotional leaflet in this week's issue. Will you order more copies to distribute in your church? Simply email subs@churchtimes.co.uk, giving a name, postal address, and the number of leaflets you'd like (multiples of ten); or phone 01603 785911 with these details.

This week's podcasts brings another highlight of the most recent Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature, which took place in Winchester in late February: Mark Oakley's talk, “What if this were the world's last night?” John Donne's lessons for today's Church. “[Donne's] commitment to nearness means resisting soundbite theology, any quick clarity or easy answer,” Dr Oakley says. “It means resisting turning honest complexity into dishonest simplicity; it means bearing with each other, seeking to read the lines of yourself and others, so that — and this, I feel, might be Donne's great contribution to us as a Church — we are not charged to be relevant, but resonant. Our faith is not an opinion column, it is not a hobby, it is not the latest fad: it is seeking to address the perenial depth of what we experience as being human. Resonance happens in a deeper place than relevance.” The Revd Dr Mark Oakley is Dean of St John's College, Cambridge, and Canon Theologian of Wakefield Cathedral. His books inclued The Splash of Words (Canterbury Press), which won the 2019 Michael Ramsey Prize. He recently received the Lanfranc Award for Education and Scholarship at the Archbishop of Canterbury's Lambeth Awards 2023. https://faithandliterature.hymnsam.co.uk Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

In the fifth episode of the Church Times Poetry Podcast for Lent, Mark Oakley reflects on the poem “Prayer” by Zaffar Kunial, published in his collection Us (Faber & Faber, 2018). “The beauty of life is heard in this poem, but are the prayers that emerge out of its fragility and pain heard by anyone, by God?” Canon Oakley says. “For all our stores of knowledge and ingenuity, there are questions whose answers remain unknown in life. Our approach to them can distil us or destroy us. The poet John Keats referred to “negative capability” . . . that is, the ability we can have to hold doubts and mysteries without resolving them, resisting the impatience for quick clarity, in order to deepen and learn from them. “This is a defining characteristic of Kunial's work, and certainly one of its attractions. The natural reticence mixed with the quiet strength of not grasping to a single view is, for me, very aligned to the sensibilities of a religious faith.” This is the last of Canon Oakley's Lent podcasts. The series will continue in Holy Week when Malcolm Guite will reflect on a series of sonnets. Canon Mark Oakley is the Dean of St John's College, Cambridge. His book The Splash of Words (Canterbury Press) won the 2019 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing. Artwork by Emily Noyce. Producer: Ed Thornton Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

In the fourth episode of the Church Times Poetry Podcast for Lent, Mark Oakley reflects on “Winter Swans” by Owen Sheers, published in his collection Skirrid Hill (Seren Books, 2005). “Those with a religious belief are as human as everyone else,” Mark says. “They live with the ebb and flow of the heart, as well as the pain of what the past is up to in the present. "Deep within the heart of Christian faith, though, is the belief that human beings were made for relationship, and that, although many things work against this — past traumas, present stresses, future doubts — it is an elemental part of the human adventure to seek to place our relationships in good order, integrated with honesty, freedom, and mutual concern.” Canon Mark Oakley is the Dean of St John's College, Cambridge. His book The Splash of Words (Canterbury Press) won the 2019 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing. Artwork by Emily Noyce Producer: Ed Thornton Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

In the third episode of the Church Times Poetry Podcast for Lent, Mark Oakley reflects on “Love (III)” by George Herbert. “Over my years of reading Herbert, I have come to see him as the poet who most expresses our relationship with God as a friendship,” Mark says. “I'm not talking about friendship in terms of the 600 ‘Friends' we have on Facebook, but rather the one or two people who have changed our life for good and maybe at some cost to us both. “Thinking about these friends can dare us to reflect, as I think did Herbert, that our life with God is a friendship that asks of us a mutual freedom. Friendship deepens as honesty deepens. We cannot put the other on a pedestal. We must try and prize off the mask that has begun to eat into our face. We need to be brave in hearing what we don't like or saying what we have never dared. “Friendship requires courage enough to stop skating so quickly over our own thin ice in case we disappear through the cracks. Instead, we face the fact that we need support and connection and that, also, we have much to give as well.” The material in this podcast is taken from Mark Oakley's book The Splash of Words (Canterbury Press), winner of the 2019 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing. Canon Mark Oakley is the Dean of St John's College, Cambridge. Artwork by Emily Noyce Producer: Ed Thornton Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

In the second episode of the Church Times Poetry Podcast for Lent, Mark Oakley reflects on “Don't give me the whole truth” by Olav H. Hauge (1908–1994). The poem is published in Hauge's 1996 collection of the same name, published by Anvil Press Poetry, an imprint of Carcanet Press. “Here in this poem, Hauge prays that he will only be given enough in life to keep him going,” Mark says. “He doesn't want all that there is. Like birds who only carry off a few drops of water from the stream, or wind that only takes a grain of salt from the ocean, he doesn't want to possess everything or understand it completely. “Instead, he asks for glints, epiphanies, droplet recognitions that feed us enough to keep us exploring but not enough to make us feel we have arrived. It is the prayer of a pilgrim.” The material in this podcast is taken from Mark Oakley's book The Splash of Words (Canterbury Press), winner of the 2019 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing. Canon Mark Oakley is the Dean of St John's College, Cambridge. Artwork: Emily Noyce Producer: Ed Thornton Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

We are pleased to present a new poetry podcast for Lent, in association with Canterbury Press. This week, Canon Mark Oakley reflects on “Paternoster” by Jen Hadfield. "Paternoster" is published in her collection Nigh-No-Place (Bloodaxe Books, 2008), which won the T.S. Eliot Prize. We are grateful to Bloodaxe Books for giving permission to play a recording of Jen Hadfield reading the poem. bloodaxebooks.com. “‘Paternoster' is, to my mind, one of her most beautiful poems,” Mark says. “It is a prayer of a draughthorse in which she reworks the texture and rhythm of the Lord's Prayer through the horse's heart. . . If you want a glimpse of the beauty of a prayerful, intimate litany from a tired but hopeful heart then I recommend you listen to it as well as read it. Hadfield's poems are mesmeric and are meant, as are all poems, to be heard.” The material in this podcast is taken from Mark Oakley's book The Splash of Words (Canterbury Press), winner of the 2019 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing. Canon Mark Oakley is the Dean of St John's College, Cambridge. Artwork: Emily Noyce Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

Jesus's teaching to be in but not of the world (John 17:14-15) has gone from a mode of prophetic witness that could lead to martyrdom, to bumper sticker ethics that either feeds the trolls or fuels the tribe. We're in a moment where the ways that Christianity's influence on culture—and vice versa—are writ large and undeniable. And yet, how are we to understand it? How are we to live in light of it? How does that relationship change from political moment to political moment? In this conversation, ethicist Luke Bretherton (Duke Divinity School) joins Matt Croasmun to reflect on the purpose of theology as a way of life committed to loving God and neighbor; the essential virtue of listening and its role in public theology; the interrelation between Church and World; the temptation to see the other as an enemy to be defeated rather than a neighbor to be loved; and how best to understand secularism and religiosity today.About Luke BrethertonLuke Bretherton is Robert E. Cushman Distinguished Professor of Moral and Political Theology and senior fellow of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University. Before joining the Duke faculty in 2012, he was reader in Theology & Politics and convener of the Faith & Public Policy Forum at King's College London. His latest book is Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy (Eerdmans, 2019). His other books include Resurrecting Democracy: Faith, Citizenship and the Politics of a Common Life (Cambridge University Press, 2015), which was based on a four-year ethnographic study of broad-based community organizing initiatives in London and elsewhere; Christianity & Contemporary Politics: The Conditions and Possibilities of Faithful Witness (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010), winner of the 2013 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing; and Hospitality as Holiness: Christian Witness Amid Moral Diversity (Routledge, 2006), which develops constructive, theological responses to pluralism in dialogue with broader debates in moral philosophy. Specific issues addressed in his work include euthanasia and hospice care, debt and usury, fair trade, environmental justice, racism, humanitarianism, the treatment of refugees, interfaith relations, secularism, nationalism, church-state relations, and the church's involvement in social welfare provision and social movements. Alongside his scholarly work, he writes in the media (including The Guardian, The Times and The Washington Post) on topics related to religion and politics, has worked with a variety of faith-based NGOs, mission agencies, and churches around the world, and has been actively involved over many years in forms of grassroots democratic politics, both in the UK and the US. His primary areas of research, supervision, and teaching are Christian ethics, political theology, the intellectual and social history of Christian moral and political thought, the relationship between Christianity and capitalism, missiology, interfaith relations, and practices of social, political, and economic witness. He has received a number of grants and awards, including a Henry Luce III Fellowship (2017-18).Production NotesThis podcast featured ethicist Luke Bretherton and Matt CroasmunEdited and Produced by Evan RosaHosted by Evan RosaProduction & Editorial Assistance by Nathan Jowers and Annie TrowbridgeIllustration: Luke StringerA Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School https://faith.yale.edu/aboutSupport For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: https://faith.yale.edu/give

On the podcast this week, we revisit an episode from a year ago, in which the Anglican novelist Francis Spufford talks about and reads from his second novel, Light Perpetual (Faber and Faber), which is now available in paperback from the Church House Bookshop: https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk It was recorded last year at a one-day online event organised by the Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature. Since it was published last year, the book made the long list for the Booker Prize (News, 30 July 2021). Francis Spufford's first novel, Golden Hill (Reading Groups, 3 March 2017), won the Costa First Novel Award 2016. He has also written five highly praised works of non-fiction, including Unapologetic: Why, despite everything Christianity can still make surprising emotional sense (Books, 4 October 2013; Features, 7 September 2012), which was shortlisted for the 2016 Michael Ramsey Prize. The next Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature takes place online on Saturday (19 February). Find out more and book tickets at https://faithandliterature.hymnsam.co.uk/february-2022 Photo credit: Eamonn McCabe/Popperfoto Music for the podcast is by Twisterium

Ilia Delio, OSF holds the Josephine C. Connelly Chair in Christian Theology at Villanova University. Her area of research is Science and Religion with interests in artificial intelligence, evolution, quantum physics, and the import of these for Christian doctrine and life. She holds a doctorate in Pharmacology from Rutgers University, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and a doctorate in Historical Theology from Fordham University. She is the author of over twenty books including Making All things New (Catholicity in an Evolving Universe), a finalist for the 2019 Michael Ramsey Prize and The Unbearable Wholeness of Being: God, Evolution, and the Power of Love, for which she won the 2014 Silver Nautilus Book Award and a 2014 Catholic Press Association Book Award in Faith and Science. Her latest book is Re-Enchanting the Earth: Why AI Needs Religion. She is the founder of the Center for Christogenesis, an online educational resource for promoting the vision of Teilhard de Chardin and, more broadly, the integration of science and religion in the 21st century. Some of the main points discussed in this conversation. What is God? As we enter the mystery of God, language fails us, and the mystery grasps us all the more. The mystery of God is the same mystery at the heart of physics. There's nothing outside the existence of God. God is existence itself. God's love is so infinite that there is nothing in this creation that's un-loveable or unloved by God. This is a finite creation. Wherever there are boundaries there is the possibility of suffering.  Suffering and death are part of the life cycle. Reincarnation discussion. Are multiple incarnations sequential or simultaneous? A deep experience of the mystery of God supports the freedom to speculate, dream, and imagine. Science and religion need one another in order to fully understand the world. The necessity and drawbacks of specialization and the complexification of knowledge. If our hearts are grounded in holy mystery we become more fully God-like in our actions. Humanity won't have a sustainable future unless we renew the deeper dimension in our lives. Cyborgs and transhumanism The mutually beneficial relationship between spiritual and material technologies. A profound spiritual transformation is underway. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's idea of a new religion of the earth, retaining the wisdom of the past but creating something new for the future. Wherever in the universe intelligent life exists, it will search for ultimate intelligence. Intelligent design The core energy of the universe – God - is love. The force that creates stars is the same force that manifests as love in humans. Love is the highest knowledge. In the evening of life, we shall be judged on love alone. Making love the lens through which we see all of life. “The more I am in union with another, the more I am in touch with myself because it's the core of myself that's in union.” What might the world be like if everyone were enlightened? Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group. Interview recorded June 26, 2021. Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.

On the podcast this week, Canon Mark Oakley talks about the books that have helped him through the pandemic so far. “Literature is more a verb than a noun; a living conversation,” he says. “Opening up the covers is opening up the door to a hospitable place, asking me to come in and take a seat. Literature makes thing matter. Literature, like faith, is a celebration of the meaning of experience and of the experience of meaning.” This talks was originally given at a one-day online event organised last month by the Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature. Buy access to a recording of the whole event here. Canon Mark Oakley is Dean of St John's College, Cambridge, and the author of The Splash of Words: Believing in poetry (Canterbury Press), which won the 2019 Michael Ramsey Prize. Find out about other forthcoming Church Times online events at www.churchtimes.co.uk/events. Sign up to receive our email newsletter at churchtimes.co.uk/newsletter-signup Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader. Picture credit: KT Bruce

This week, Rachel Mann is in conversation with Francis Spufford about his eagerly-anticipated second novel, Light Perpetual (Faber and Faber). It's available from the Church Times Bookshop for the discounted price of £15.29. The conversation was recorded last Saturday at a one-day online event organised by the Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature. Francis also answered questions from viewers on subjects including doubt, heaven, and whether, as a writer, he sees God as a great explosion of words. If you missed the live event, you can buy access to a recording at https://faithandliterature.hymnsam.co.uk In a review published in last week's Church Times, Angela Tilby wrote: “It is a novel, a story of London, and a set of human stories. It is also a profound and teasing meditation on time and chance and the presence in our lives of an elusive reality greater than ourselves. It works as both a novel, and as a hymn at life that begins in disaster and ends in doxology. “The interwoven stories are of five south-London children, Jo, Valerie, Alec, Vernon, and Ben. They were among those who were pulverised in a V2 rocket attack in November 1944. But supposing time had played a trick and the bomb had not gone off, or had exploded harmlessly elsewhere?” Francis Spufford's first novel, Golden Hill, won the Costa First Novel Award 2016. He has also written five highly praised works of non-fiction, including Unapologetic: Why, despite everything Christianity can still make surprising emotional sense, which was shortlisted for the 2016 Michael Ramsey Prize. Picture credit: Eamonn McCabe/Popperfoto Find out about other forthcoming Church Times online events at www.churchtimes.co.uk/events. Sign up to receive our email newsletter at churchtimes.co.uk/newsletter-signup Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader.

Welcome to Have a Blessed Gay, your weekly spiritual-comedy podcast! Join holy host, Tyler Martin, as he critically discusses social norms, current events, mental health, religion, and spirituality from an outcast's perspective. This week, Tyler chats with Rachel Mann, a priest, poet, writer and broadcaster based in Manchester, UK. Author of 11 books, her writing has been shortlisted in the international Michael Ramsey Prize for theology, and highly commended in the Forward Poetry Prizes. Her bestselling memoir of growing up trans, ‘Dazzling Darkness’ has just come out in a second edition, and her newest book, The Gospel of Eve, is published in hardback, kindle and audiobook and available wherever books are sold. So, definitely check it out! It was such a blast talking with Rachel and we got into a ton of topics, including the idea of rebelling within religion, what a “calling” is, and the actual real-life Gospel of Eve. Yes, there was an actual Gospel called the Gospel of Eve that was considered for the New Testament when it was being constructed...and you shall find out in this conversation why it was most likely not included. Guest: Rachel Mann rachelmann.co.uk/ The Gospel of Eve (Novel): www.amazon.com/Gospel-Eve-Rachel-Mann-ebook/dp/B08L3JYP3S/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1604984747&sr=8-1 Social Media: @revrachelmann Sponsored by BetterHelp! Get 10% Off BetterHelp therapy by using my code! www.betterhelp.com/blessedgay Your Host: Tyler Martin Instagram: @tylerisaacmartin Follow Have a Blessed Gay and Reach Out! Instagram/Twitter/Facebook: @haveablessedgay www.haveablessedgay.com Email: hello@haveablessedgay.com U.S. Helplines National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 Trevor Project Helpline (LGBTQ+ Youth): 1-866-488-7386 Trans Helpline: 877-565-8860

Guest Info/BIo: This week I have a fascinating conversation with Dr. David Bentley Hart on his new book That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation. Dr. Hart has held positions at numerous universities including St. Louis University, University of Virginia, Duke University, and Providence College. His specialities are philosophical theology, systematics, patristics, classical and continental philosophy, and Asian religion. Dr. Hart has published numerous books and over 450 articles in such scholarly journals as Modern Theology, The Scottish Journal of Theology, and Pro Ecclesia, as well as in such trade publications as The Times Literary Supplement, The Wall Street Journal, First Things, and Commonweal. In 2011 he was awarded the Michael Ramsey Prize of the Church of England. (Select) Guest Publications: Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies; The Hidden and the Manifest: Essays in Theology and Metaphysics; The Story of Christianity: A History of 2000 Years of The Christian Faith; The Experience of God: Being, Consciousness, Bliss; The New Testament: A Translation; and That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation. Guest Links: https://www.amazon.com/David-Bentley-Hart/e/B001JRTRC0%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share Special Music By: Dead Horses www.deadhorses.net ( http://www.deadhorses.net ) Instagram: @deadhorseswi Twitter: @deadhorseswi Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/deadhorseswi Enjoy the music? Songs heard on this episode were: “Turntable” from the album My Mother the Moon; “Lay me Down” from the album Space and Time; and “All I Ever Wanted” & “Mighty Storm” from the EP Birds. You can find Dead Horses music on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, or anywhere good music is sold! This episode of the Deconstructionists Podcast was edited by John Williamson and mixed and produced by Nicholas Rowe at National Audio Preservation Society: A full service recording studio and creative habitat, located in Heath, Ohio. Find them on Facebook and Twitter or visit their website for more information: www.nationalaudiopreservationsociety.weebly.com ( http://www.nationalaudiopreservationsociety.weebly.com ) Stay on top of all of the latest at www.thedeconstructionists.com ( http://www.thedeconstructionists.com ) Go there to check out our blog, snag a t-shirt, or follow us on social media Join our Patreon family here: www.patreon.com/deconstructionists ( http://www.patreon.com/deconstructionists ) Website by Ryan Battles All photos by Jared Hevron Logos designed by Joseph Ernst & Stephen Pfluig T-shirt designs by Joseph Ernst, Chad Flannigan, Colin Rigsby, and Jason Turner. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-deconstructionists/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

At last month's Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature, Mark Oakley gave a talk titled “Music on the Wind”: The love poetry of George Herbert and RS Thomas. Canon Oakley is the Dean of St John's College, Cambridge, and the Canon Theologian of Wakefield Cathedral. His book The Splash of Words: Believing in Poetry (Canterbury Press) won the Michael Ramsey Prize in 2019. Get the Church Times delivered for 10 weeks for just £10: www.churchtimes.co.uk/10-weeks

The podcast continues its summer break this week, so we are giving you the chance to listen again (or perhaps for the first time) to an interview from our archives. This interview with Professor John Swinton was first run in 2017. Professor Swinton is the winner of the 2016 Michael Ramsey Prize. The winner of the 2019 Michael Ramsey Prize will be announced this weekend at the Greenbelt Festival. The podcast will return with a new episode on 30 August.

Krish Kandiah is a theologian, activist and author of books including ‘God is Stranger: What happens when God turns up?’ which has been nominated for this year’s Michael Ramsey Prize. Tom Newman is an agnostic who ’tries on’ Christianity in a new podcast Hiding In Plain Sight. He talks to Krish about his search for faith, what he makes of the Bible, and what it would take for him to become a Christian. Meet Krish at Unbelievable? The Conference 2019: http://www.premierchristianradio.com/unbelievableconference   For ‘God Is Stranger’ and the Michael Ramsey Prize: http://www.michaelramseyprize.org.uk/  For Hiding In Plain Sight: https://hipspodcast.com/ Get signed copies of Unbelievable? the book and audiobook: https://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable/Unbelievable-the-Book  For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable   Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter Get the MP3 Podcast of Unbelievable? Via RSS or Via Itunes

This week, Professor John Swinton speaks on why in a culture that prioritises speed, efficiency, and productivity, we should remember that love takes time. Professor Swinton is a former nurse, a minister in the Church of Scotland, and Professor Practical Theology and Pastoral Care at the University of Aberdeen. His books include Dementia: Living in the memories of God, which won the 2016 Michael Ramsey Prize, and Becoming Friends of Time (SCM Press). This talk was delivered at the Theology Slam competition last month, at which he was a judge. All the talks from the event can be viewed on our Facebook page and at churchtimes.co.uk/theology-slam.

What is it that makes you who you are? In the West we live with a passionately autobiographical sense of self – I am who I am so long as I can tell my own story. Research tells us that people are more afraid of dementia than cancer because loss of identity is the worst thing we can imagine. But are there other ways to think about this? Beginning from the experience of people whose identity is seemingly dissolving in dementia, two of our greatest theologians will consider what it really means to be a human being. They will reflect on what roles our bodies, communities, faith and memories play, and ask how God in the person of Christ invites us to a radically new consideration of our humanity in all its variety and vulnerability, including its place in the very heart of the divine life. John Swinton is the Director of The Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability and the Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies at the University of Aberdeen. His theology is founded in his background in nursing, ministry and healthcare chaplaincy. His books include Dementia: Living in the Memories of God, winner of the 2016 Michael Ramsey Prize for best contemporary theological writing, and Becoming Friends of Time: Disability, Timefullness, and Gentle Discipleship (both SCM Press). Rowan Williams is the Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge and was formerly Archbishop of Canterbury. He is a poet and theologian and the author of numerous academic and popular works of theology, including Being Christian, Being Disciples, and Being Human: Bodies, Minds, Persons (all SPCK). Chaired by Canon Tricia Hillas and recorded on 16 April 2018.

John Swinton is a Scottish theologian and former psychiatric nurse. He is professor in Practical Theology and Pastoral Care and Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies at the University of Aberdeen. He is also founder of the university's Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability. John is a major figure in the development of disability theology. In 2016, he was awarded the Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing for his book Dementia: Living in the Memories of God. In 2017, his most recent book Becoming Friends of Time: Time, Disability and the Art of Gentle Discipleship won the award of merit for theology and ethics in the Christianity Today book awards.

Season 2 of the podcast continues with a conversation with Timothy Radcliffe, OP! Fr. Radcliffe was in Chicago to give the Kennedy Lecture at Dominican University, where our own Dannis Matteson and John DeCostanza had an opportunity to speak with him. In their conversation, they talk about the young Timothy Radcliffe’s bad boy days, the importance of friendship for vocation, and hope in the midst of suffering. Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP is a Dominican friar, a Catholic priest, and a biblical scholar. He was the Master of the Order of Preachers from 1992 to 2001. Since 2014, he has served as the director of the Las Casas Institute at Blackfriars, Oxford, which “examines issues concerned with human dignity in the light of Catholic Social teaching.” In 2015, Pope Francis named him a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. He is the author of several books, including Seven Last Words (Burns & Oates, 2005) and Why Go to Church? The Drama of the Eucharist (Bloomsbury, 2009). His 2005 book What is the Point of Being a Christian? (Burns & Oates) won the Michael Ramsey Prize.

Many new atheist writers have claimed that a new age of enlightened secular rationalism has rescued Western civilisation from the stranglehold of backwards and archaic Christian influence. David Bentley Hart says those who make such claims are suffering from an "atheist delusion".  His book "Atheist delusions: The Christian revolution and its fashionable enemies" recently won the Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing. Terry Sanderson of the UK's national Secular Society claims we are better off than we have ever been in an increasingly secular society and that the freedoms and values we hold do not require a Christian foundation. Bentley Hart believes that Terry is deluded by a new atheist myth of secular "progress" when the history of Christianity and secularism actually tell a different story. The Michael Ramsey Prize website http://www.michaelramseyprize.org.uk/ For David Bentley Hart http://davidbhart.blogspot.com/ For Terry Sanderson http://www.secularism.org.uk/ Also: Order Unbelievable? The Conference on DVD http://www.premier.org.uk/dvd For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the MP3 podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes   You may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 18 Jun 2011 - Is a secular society a more tolerant one? David Robertson debates Terry Sanderson Unbelievable? 29 Aug 2009 - Richard Bauckham on the Gospels - pt 1  Richard Bauckham and James Crossley. Unbelievable? 5 Sep 2009 - Bauckham on the Gospels - Pt 2 Richard Bauckham & James Crossley. Join the discussion at the Premier Community http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable and via Facebook and Twitter

Lord Richard Harries is a life peer in the British House of Lords and the former Bishop of Oxford.  His book "The Re-enchantment of Morality" has been shortlisted for this year's Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing. He argues that Christianity and the example of Jesus "re-enchants" morality with a foundation, purpose and distinctiveness. Lord Dick Taverne is a Liberal Democrat Peer in the House of Lords and an atheist.  He contends that religion can be a help but also danger to a moral society. They debate whether the West's focus on wealth needs a Christian moral solutuion, and also debate the rights and wrongs of euthanasia. To Pre-Order "Unbelievable? The Conference" DVD http://www.premier.org.uk/dvd For "The Re-Enchantment of Morality" http://www.spckpublishing.co.uk/shop/re-enchantment-of-morality-the/ For Lord Richard Harries http://www.gresham.ac.uk/professors-and-speakers/the-rt-revd-lord-harries For Lord Dick Taverne http://www.libdems.org.uk/people_detail.aspx?name=Lord_Taverne&pPK=c40f5bff-94ec-4852-ac4d-229a9fa67e22 For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the MP3 podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 25 Apr 2009 Euthanasia - Should it be legalised? Lord Dick Taverne & Dan Boucher Unbelievable? 27 Feb 2010 - Faith in Britain - Andrew Copson of the BHA vs David Robertson "Stop worrying and enjoy your life" - are we better off without God in Britain? Join the discussion at the Premier Community http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable and via Facebook and Twitter