Podcast appearances and mentions of simon smart

We’re talking about the Bible Society sale of Koorong Books to a new owner.Your support sends the gospel to every corner of Australia through broadcast, online and print media: https://vision.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 21: 13 November 2024Justine Toh and Simon Smart jump behind the mic to discuss the Archbishop of Canterbury's resignation after a report into child sexual abuse by John Smyth QC, a leader in the Church of England, was made public. You can read the full report here.Archbishop Justin Welby's statement here.

Episode 19: 24 September 2024All the things mentioned in this episode:Barney Zwartz's article on the Hawks and redemption in The Age. Simon Smart interviewed by Andrew West on Radio National.Simon Smart interviewed by Steven Austin on ABC Radio Brisbane. The End of Men? book. Life & Faith with Shankari Chandran, author and the latest winner of the Miles Franklin award.Get tickets to the Richard Johnson Lecture.Instagram: Check out Max and Simon on Instagram at @primaxjeg and @simonsmartcpxProducer: Allan Dowthwaite Assistant Producer: Clare Potts

Why Pope Francis has called the contest between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump a choice between two evils, and is there a crisis of modern manhood?

Episode 16: 3 September 2024All the things mentioned in this episode:Clare Potts' Thinking Out Loud, It's 28 degrees on 28 August.Tim Costello's Sydney Morning Herald article on banning gambling ads. Read it for free here. Barney Zwartz in The Age on God as the ultimate father.CPX Associate, Dr Neil Jeyasingam on the important role of fathers.Simon Smart's Thinking Out Loud, The Gift of a Good Dad.Life & Faith's 500th episode

On the 24th anniversary of the Sydney Olympic Games, we look back at what made those games so special. Simon Smart and Mark Stephens ask what these kinds of events can tell us about who we are as human beings. Former Olympics Minister Bruce Baird talks us through the hair-raising bid process and the joy of seeing the whole thing come together so well. Veteran sportswriter Greg Baum outlines what he found so special about Sydney 2000. And seven-time Paralympian Liesl Tesch recalls the buzz of playing in front of packed houses cheering the home team on, and what this event did for Paralympians generally. And Simon Smart gets all nostalgic remembering his experiences going to anything he could get tickets for.

Episode 14: 20 August 2024All the things mentioned in this episode:Simon Smart on 2GB with Rev. Bill Crews.A doctor with a very cool name and job on Life & Faith: Mercy Ships.Simon Smart nearly got punched. Read his Thinking Out Loud here.Tim Winton Richard Johnson Lecture tickets. Instagram: Check out Max and Justine on Instagram at @primaxjeg and @justinetoh.Producer: Allan Dowthwaite Assistant Producer: Clare Potts

Rev Bill Crews talks to Simon Smart about his latest book 'The End Of Men?'. Simon Smart is the Director of the Centre for Public Christianity and asks the question how can we help boys become their best selves, and a gift to those around them.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Manhood and MasculinityYour support sends the gospel to every corner of Australia through broadcast, online and print media: https://vision.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Simon Smart, Director of the Centre for Public Christianity, joins Laura Bennett to discuss his book, The End of Men, exploring the complex topic of masculinity today. They delve into how societal shifts have blurred traditional masculine roles, the pitfalls of toxic masculinity, and the importance of tender masculinity. Simon highlights the struggles boys face in current educational and social spheres, drawing on the example of Jesus as a model for healthy masculinity. Listen to more from our Hope Podcasts collection at hopepodcasts.com.au. And send the team a message via Hope 103.2's app, Facebook or Instagram.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What vision of a full and flourishing life can we offer the young men in our lives? Justine Toh interviews Simon Smart about his new book The End of Men? Simon wrote this book after observing that boys and men are struggling in many ways—socially, emotionally, and at school. Boys are finding it difficult to understand their place, and wondering if there is something inherently toxic about their masculinity. Simon explores a more holistic understanding of what it means to be a man, and the importance of harnessing a tender masculinity for the common good. Boys need good examples of men to lead them into a healthy expression of their masculinity, to encourage them to use their strengths to benefit others and to protect the vulnerable: to operate with a “lens of love”. ---Get the Book: The End of Men?

Today I have the great pleasure of sharing a recent conversation with Simon Smart.  Simon is the Executive Director of the Centre for Public Christianity. A former English and History teacher, Simon has a Masters in Christian Studies from Regent College, Vancouver. He has just released a new book The End of Men? Simon draws on his own experiences of schooling and fatherhood, the best contemporary research, interviews with those on the front lines of a growing crisis, as well as ancient wisdom He asks, "How can we help boys become their best selves and a gift to those around them?” His writing has appeared in places like The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC, The Australian, and The Guardian. He also regularly appears on ABC's The Drum.  I hope that you enjoy this conversation that I had with Simon Smart.

Episode 11: 23 July, 2024All the things mentioned in this episode:Barney Zwartz's Age article, “We don't have to like our leaders to want them to be wise.”Life & Faith's two-part series on the US election. Part one with Michael Wear here. Part two with Darrell Bock here.Justine Toh's Thinking Out Loud on evil. Simon Smart's newest book The End of Men?If you'd like to see these things in your inbox weekly, subscribe to our newsletter here.Instagram: Check out Max on Instagram at @primaxjegProducer: Allan Dowthwaite Assistant Producer:

Episode 10: 16 July, 2024All the things mentioned in this episode:Simon Smart writes for The Guardian about Jesus' calling of self sacrifice and how this might speak into the crisis of masculinity.Barney's article from last week is released from the paywall. Tim Dixon's Richard Johnson Lecture on tribalism.Amy Isham's Thinking Out Loud on “office housework”.If you'd like to see these things in your inbox weekly, subscribe to our newsletter here.Instagram: Check out Justine on Instagram at @justinetoh.Producer: Allan Dowthwaite Assistant Producer: Clare Potts

Episode 5: 11 June, 2024All the things mentioned in this episode:Elizabeth Oldfield talks about her new book Fully Alive on Life & Faith. Simon Smart's article in ABC Religion & Ethics on technology and playing God.Tim Costello's article on Trump in The Age. Max's Thinking Out Loud on our current poly-crisis. Support CPX here.If you'd like to see these things in your inbox weekly, subscribe to our newsletter here.Instagram: Check out Max on Instagram at

A philosopher and a butcher dig into what we should and shouldn't eat, and why.“As society has shifted away from being in close proximity to farms and food production, people are increasingly concerned about where their food's coming from – the condition under which animals are raised and reared, and certain farming practices, [such as] pesticide use and the effects that that may have on the environment as well as on human health.”Philosopher and sociologist Chris Mayes has thought about eating a lot more than most of us (which if we're honest, is already quite a bit). The ethics of food involves a whole raft of factors: not only the treatment of animals and the environmental impact of production, but also the treatment of workers and the impact of the growth of pastoral land on indigenous peoples.“In Australia it seems natural that we would have sheep, and natural that wheat would be here, but in thinking of the obviousness of those practices and products here, we forget their role in dispossessing indigenous Australians – the way that the expansion of sheep, particularly throughout NSW and Victoria in the early to mid-nineteenth century, was coinciding with a lot of these most brutal massacres.”Chris considers what it means for lamb to be Australia's national cuisine – and how you make Scriptures that rely on the language of sheep and shepherds meaningful within a non-pastoralist culture.Then: Tom Kaiser is Simon Smart's local butcher. Perhaps unusually for a butcher, he thinks people should eat less meat. He sells meat products that many would consider to be expensive in what he calls the “Masterchef era”.“Affluence definitely plays a big part. They can afford to have the product that they see on TV. We know for a fact that we wouldn't be able to charge the price, nor have the same model we have in different parts of Australia. … Ethics is obviously multi-layered. It comes to personal beliefs. It comes down to knowledge.”Explore:Chris Mayes' book Unsettling Food Politics: Agriculture, Dispossession and Sovereignty in AustraliaCPX's new podcast The Week @ CPX

The astonishing technological progress humans have made sometimes raises the warning that we shouldn't be “playing God”. Nick Spencer from Theos think tank disagrees. In their book Playing God: science, religion, and the future of humanity, Nick Spencer and Hannah Waite insist that contrary to the warnings to avoid “playing God”, human beings are in fact a God-playing species and have a responsibility to ‘play God' well. They examine remarkable advancements we have made in technological capability—AI, pharmacology and genetic engineering, knowledge of outer space, genetic editing, healing in the womb—and note that the world that science is creating raises exactly the kind of questions that science can't answer. Their book is a plea to maintain an open and multi-voiced language to address these questions drawing on ethical, humanistic and spiritual layers.On Life & Faith this week Nick Spencer joined Simon Smart to delve into some urgent contemporary questions that all coalesce around the notion of who we are as humans.Explore Nick Spencer and Hannah Waite, Playing God: Science, Religion and the Future of Humanity Theos Think TankCentre for Public Christianity

Rev Bill Crews talks to Simon Smart about finding connections at Easter.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reflections on a human experience that's at once routine and exceptional; both very costly and very good.  ---  Life & Faith has covered many stories relating to birth over the years – incredible stories of courage and heartbreak, difficult decisions, life and death – but we've never done an episode on birth itself: what's amazing about this process, what's so hard about it, what makes it so meaningful for so many people.   This year Simon Smart is celebrating a once-every-four-years occasion (yes, he was born on 29 February!) and Natasha Moore is due to head off on maternity leave soon, so Justine Toh joins them for a conversation about birthdays – that is, birth ... days. And midwife Jodie McIver, author of Bringing Forth Life: God's Purposes in Pregnancy and Birth, offers some insights on the journey to becoming a parent, including how surprisingly frequently pregnancy and birth – in story and as metaphor – feature in the Bible.  “I think the fact that God chooses birth to help us understand deep spiritual realities about his character and work in the world really gives honour to women's bodies, and to these human experiences as well, as we kind of share in the cost of bringing forth life in our own little way.”  ---  EXPLORE  Jodie McIver, Bringing Forth Life: God's Purposes in Pregnancy and Birth  A few other Life & Faith episodes related to birth, touching on disability, loss, infertility, and fostering:  Speak Up, Show Up  Intensive Care  When Life Doesn't Go to Plan  Home Extension 

In this episode, Darrell Bock, John Dickson, and Simon Smart take a look at Christianity in Australia, highlighting the work John and Simon do at the Centre for Public Christianity.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Darrell Bock, John Dickson, and Simon Smart take a look at Christianity in…

20 years on from the founding of Facebook, what role do these platforms play in our lives?  ---  February 4 marked 20 years since Mark Zuckerburg launched the site that was initially known as The Facebook from his Harvard dorm room, so this seems like a good time to take stock of what social media now looks like, and what our lives look like as a result.  Whether you're an avid user of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok, and more, or a social media sceptic, join Simon Smart, Justine Toh, and Natasha Moore for a frank chat about the better and worse of these platforms in 2024. With cameos from Andy Crouch, CPX brand manager (and socials pro) Clare Potts, and recent social media quitter Jess Forsyth, the discussion ranges from whether group chats count as social media to whether the internet is “made of demons” - as well as the advantages (and disciplines) of being an iceberg vs an ocean liner.   ---  EXPLORE:  New York Times article How Group Chats Rule the World   Philippa Moore's article about quitting social media   Paul Kingsnorth's Substack essays The Universal and The Neon God  Alan Jacobs' New Atlantis piece  Andy Crouch's Spiritual Practices for Public Leadership 

Simon Smart is on a mission of building better men with vast knowledge, experience, understandings of traditional masculinity, human optimization, leadership and eastern wisdom. Simon's IG: www.instagram.com/simonjsmart From James: FREE Passive Income Masterclass (profityourknowledge.com)

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“Don't confuse the destination with the practice” Equally informed by traditional manhood and Eastern wisdom, Simon Smart is a man committed to the FULL RANGE of masculine expression. As the creator of the Warrior Protocol brand, he's been training men for over 22 years in leadership, fatherhood, money, and more. In today's epic conversation, Simon hits home on the makings of a leader, including why fault is the dirtiest F-word, how radical ownership is a game changer, and why Patriarch energy is sorely needed in today's world. As Simon shares, the more deeply we can understand ourselves, the more powerfully we can show up in service to others. Listen in and deepen your self-discovery journey!   Highlights: [02:02] Why each man must define manhood for HIMSELF. [03:55] How Protector, Patriarch, Provider, and Priest archetypes are the foundational elements of masculinity. [06:53] Why abdicating the throne of leadership causes relationship issues. [14:04] Is every man built for leadership? What defines a leader? [22:22] How full waking awareness of one's own body is vital to connecting to the universe. [26:56] Why Simon is passionate about teaching men the power of their breath, muscle relaxation, and bioenergetic mastery. [34:40] Why fathers have a hard time letting go of who they want their sons to be. [39:48] How taking ULTIMATE RESPONSIBILITY over every single thing in your life will transform it. [42:23] Why accessing your FULL RANGE of masculinity is more desirable than simply “being more masculine”.    Connect Simon Smart: Facebook || Simon Smart -  Follow for inspiration, live events, coaching calls, and programs!   Rising Man Links: The Brotherhood || The Rising Man's online community - FREE to join for any man interested in brotherhood, connection, and purpose. Featuring weekly community calls + sharing prompts! Instagram || @risingmanmovement & @jeddyazuma YouTube || The Rising Man Movement Website || RisingMan.org

Rob Stokes reflects on the joys and challenges of his political career, as well as his latest challenge – solving homelessness.   --- Simon Smart speaks with ex-politician Rob Stokes about public service and the most satisfying aspects of his life in politics. Stokes gives an honest account of not only the best aspects of being able to “get things done” but also the frustrations of compromise, the exhausting demands and the life of a politician. Ultimately Stokes encourages would-be political operatives to dive in with an attitude of service and sacrifice and urges us all to be more engaged in the political process.   His latest project aims to tackle homelessness, a challenge Stokes is remarkably upbeat and energised about.      Explore:  Faith Housing Alliance  

Exploring the value of Christianity for society

An honest conversation confronting the big questions raised by the history of the church.

Powerful interview with men's confidence and performance coach, Simon Smart. Our discussion weaves in and out of strategies that men can implement in their lives today to see right now results towards becoming the best version of themselves. His discourse on feminine biology and how women are a the mirror for how we're showing up in life, is brilliant, refreshing and inspirational to say the least. Continue the conversation with Simon at; Facebook@ Simon Smart Instagram@ Simonjsmart TikTok@ warrior_protocol --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nick-chontos2/message

Jo Swinney grew up in family committed to environmental care and community. Her parents' efforts to revitalise a small piece of land in Portugal eventually spawned an international family of organisations committed to conservation of the natural environment.          --- In this wide-ranging discussion, Jo Swinney talks to Simon Smart about growing up in a commune-type existence in Portugal where her English parents were committed to conservation and fostering biodiversity. And also community.  Jo left for boarding school in the UK when she was 13 and live a nomadic existence for many years before settling into marriage and family in England. The smells and sounds of her childhood in Portugal never left her and nor did her commitment to hospitality and creation care.   This is a conversation of touching honesty about family, friendship and the things that sustain us when tragedy strikes.  --- Explore: A Rocha Books by Jo Swinney A Place at The Table: Faith, hope and hospitality Home: The quest to belong   

Simon Smart is focused on helping businessmen create a more powerful contribution, by helping them find their balls, and have more rewarding relationships, more vitality, and more personal power.   He's been involved in men's training, rites of passage, martial arts, meditation and warriorship for over 20 years, has trained thousands of US military personnel, delivered more death notifications than anyone should, and recently helped build a home services company up to $50M in yearly revenue. Originally from Scotland, Simon now lives in the desert of Southern Arizona.   In this episode, Mike and Simon discuss the benefits of meditation and the importance of alignment in achieving peak performance.    Meditation helps in catching unconscious behaviors and motivations and being in touch with one's real self. Alignment, on the other hand, is about setting the right goals that align with one's true aspirations and values. Without alignment, there is friction and pure force, which may lead to burnout and reduced performance. With alignment, there is power and peak performance.    The discussion emphasizes the importance of setting the right goals that are aligned with one's true self and values.         Connect with Simon Smart Instagram Private Mentorship Warrior Protocol   Connect with Mike Szczesniak Instagram LinkedIn YouTube

You have probably mucked things up once or twice in your life. Congratulations, you're human. There's hope for all of us in the Easter story. ---  This week, Simon Smart and Justine Toh tiptoe through the minefield of ‘guilt', ‘sin', and ‘morality': three words and ideas that are offensive to the modern ear – no doubt partly due to the perception that Christians and the church have been all too judgmental of others.  The weighty, Christian baggage of these words aside – is there not something good about acknowledging the times we've hurt people and gotten things wrong? Simon and Justine discuss how The Picture of Dorian Gray, directed by Kip Williams for the Sydney Theatre Company, confronts viewers with the darkness of the human heart. And in discussing parenting fails and climate inaction, they explore the mismatch between the people we want to be and the people we actually are.  This episode of Life & Faith grapples with our human tendency to ‘muck things up' – a sanitised version of author Francis Spufford's working definition of ‘sin' – and how even this seemingly fatal flaw is not the whole human story. The hope of the Easter narrative is not just one of sin confronted, but conquered.   Also appearing in this episode: contributions from The Sacred podcast host Elizabeth Oldfield, New York Times columnist David Brooks, theologian Alister McGrath, author Marilynne Robinson, and author Francis Spufford.   ---  Explore:  Conal Hanna's article in The Guardian on the “teal paradox”  Elizabeth Oldfield's full interview – with transcript – with David Brooks for The Sacred.   Alister McGrath on why sin is such a useful idea  Marilynne Robinson on original sin  Life & Faith interview with Francis Spufford about Unapologetic: Why, Despite Everything, Christianity Can Still Make Surprising Emotional Sense.  Francis Spufford on your ruined life I Francis Spufford on your ruined life II 

What our love affair with food reveals about us; and navigating a modern no-no: judging others. --- Life & Faith is 450 episodes and counting, and we're about to hit a million downloads. We're excited to mark the milestone – even we've forgotten all the things we've ever talked about.  That's why we'll occasionally dip into the Life & Faith archives this year and bring you two conversations from the vault.   This time, we're hearing from chef Alex Woolley, Simon Smart and Justine Toh on the pleasures of eating, our love affair with food, and what feasting can tell us about the spiritual life.  After the break, we tackle a modern taboo: do not judge others. It's a notion that comes to us from Jesus but has taken on a new life in our times – especially online, where people condemn each other all the time. Steve Liggins joins Simon and Justine to talk about a very human dilemma – why we hate judgemental attitudes, and yet are often guilty of them ourselves. 

What qualifies as a Christmas movie? And what version of Christmas do they offer?  ---  It's the final episode of Life & Faith for 2022! And time for Simon Smart, Justine Toh, and Natasha Moore to talk Christmas movies past and present: the films that stand the test of time and those that don't; the borderline cases that feature Christmas but may or may not count as Christmas movies; and some new contenders for the title of Christmas classic.  The team discuss Violent Night, a cinema release that sees Santa caught up in a Christmas Eve hostage situation – picking off mercenaries one by one in a Die Hard-type situation while also having his own faith in Christmas restored. They've also seen Spirited, Apple TV's take on A Christmas Carol starring Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell, and have a … spirited discussion about the film's preoccupation with redemption. Are people naughty or nice? Can they change? And how might Christmas come to the rescue?  ---  Discussed in this episode:  Violent Night (out in cinemas now)  Spirited (available on Apple TV)   Love Actually  Ted Lasso Christmas episode 2021  While You Were Sleeping  Die Hard     2022 Life & Faith episodes mentioned:  A Good Look in the Mirror  Ice and Isolation  Forgiving the Unforgivable  

Rev. Bill Crews speaks to CEO Simon Smart from the Centre for Public Christianity about long history of religion and war.  Have the religious wars damaged the church?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Throughout the week, Andrew Thorburn resigned as Essendon Chief Executive over links to a church that condemns homosexuality and abortion. Thorburn says linking faith and employment is a "dangerous idea."  Rev. Bill Crews speaks to CEO Simon Smart from the Centre for Public Christianity about the implications of faith and the great complexity in a pluralistic society. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rev. Bill Crews chats to CEO Simon Smart from the Centre for Public Christianity about the pros and cons of technology.  Mr. Smart believes social media allows connection in a superficial way and that it can impact on developing deep relationships.  He says it is important to reclaim relationships and that technology shouldn't replace our physical self.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hear Rev. Bill Crews, Australia's favourite radio reverend. On this week's show: Feeling disconnected, in spite of your device and social media? You're not alone! Rev. Bill talks with Simon Smart from the Centre for Public Christianity. Rev. Crews replays his feature interview with Henry Szeps from "Mother & Son". Jobs, jobs, jobs. Ahead of the Jobs & Skills Summit Rev. Crews speaks with former Liberal Party leader and economist, Prof. John Hewson. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Darrell Bock talks about the things that pushed him, as a young man, to ask deep questions about life and meaning. And where he found answers.    --- Darrell Bock is a world-renowned Biblical scholar with a keen eye on the cultural water we swim in. He's also an incurable sports fan.   In this interview he talks to Simon Smart about the impact of losing his parents at a young age and where that took him in his search for meaning and purpose. Darrell discusses his life and career what what he thinks leads to lasting satisfaction. What is surprising about the Bible? What is its essential message? What does it have to say to a person in the 21st Century?  --- Explore:  Some of Darrell's books  Cultural Intelligence: Living for God in a Diverse, Pluralistic World  Studying the Historical Jesus  How would Jesus vote?  The Hendricks Center at Dallas Theological Seminary

Philosopher and theologian John Milbank on left vs right, Harry Potter, and how none of us behave like we're just atoms. --- If you're wanting a crash course on “isms” like liberalism, secularism, and populism from anyone, it's John Milbank. In this wide-ranging conversation with Simon Smart, the philosopher and theologian has a way of never saying quite what you expect him to. He questions the idea that left and right are really in opposition to each other, calls the final Harry Potter book “a profound theological meditation”, and is enthusiastic about people's longing for paganism. What does he think Christianity might give people that's surprising? “Pleasure,” he replies immediately. “It would make their lives far more interesting, exciting, and pleasurable - and physical, because they're essentially alienated from their bodies if they think their bodies are just bits of matter.” Does he think a revival of religion is on the cards? “The reason I do think religion may revive is that it is on the side of common sense … all the time people behave as if they had minds, as if they had souls, as if the good, the true, and the beautiful, the right and wrong, were real - and yet the scientific discourses which we have, or rather their scientistic reductive modes, can't really allow the reality of any of these things.” From politics to angels, Milbank turns his formidable intellect on some of the quirks and contradictions of our time.

A conversation with Simon Smart of Warrior Protocol about Rites of Passage from boyhood to manhood. Last of the Mohicans, Peyote, Ayahuasca, weakening of manhood, raising boys. The Ideal Man REVIVING MASCULINITYMusic credit: (copyright not owned)Artist: Tune SurfersTitle: Blood, Sweat and TearsCopyright provided by: SoundCloud.com

Powerful episode on the rites of passage, stages, and journeys of manhood. We discuss getting back on the path after a fall, getting past barriers, mindset, success rituals and a whole host of awesome topics. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/nick-chontos2/message

The Enneagram helps us ask questions like: who am I, and is who I am good? --- I strive for perfection. I am prepared for any disaster. I seek out experiences that I know will make me feel happy or excited. Have you heard people say “I'm a seven” or “oh, that's because you're a five” … if you're not familiar with the Enneagram, a model which describes people in terms of nine interrelated personality types, that will sound like gibberish. And if you're into the Enneagram, you're probably very into it! In this episode of Life & Faith, the CPX team venture into the world of the Enneagram. Simon Smart invites Justine Toh, Natasha Moore, and producer Allan Dowthwaite to take the test, find out their types, and re-examine what they think they know about themselves and their relationships. And Sandra Van Opstal, author of Forty Days on Being an Eight, explains how understanding herself as a “Challenger” has changed her approach to advocacy, parenting, and her own sense of self. “The Enneagram's main focus as I understand it is to help us understand our motivations – what's happening on the inside. And so for me, I'm asking the question: who am I, and why do I do what I do? They're questions of intention, questions of identity. Way beyond any label someone could put on us is the question of who are we, and why were we created this way?” --- Explore: Check out the Enneagram Daily Reflections series from IVP Take the Enneagram test from Truity

Rev. Bill Crews speaks to CEO Simon Smart from the Centre for Public Christianity about the christian response to the brutality happening in Ukraine.  He says anger and resentment towards the Russians is a natural human response. He says healing and reconciliation will come further down the track and at the moment we need to help victims of Ukraine.  Mr. Smart says "the example of Jesus is hard to emulate." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From Roman emperors to modern PMs, Life & Faith tackles the fraught relationship between church and state. --- “At the end of the day I am quite happy that the throne-and-altar accommodation was shattered, and that the church does not wield that kind of power.” Dust-ups between religion and government are rarely out of the news for long. Sometimes church and state seem too cosy, sometimes they're fiercely at odds. What has this relationship looked like, and how should it look? In this episode of Life & Faith, Simon Smart and Natasha Moore trek back to the dramatic beginnings of the church-and-state relationship in the West with Emperor Constantine, make a brief stop among the medieval heights of Christendom, and consider some wisdom for all of us living in a post-Christendom world. All brought to you from some of our favourite and most eminent voices on the topic: Miroslav Volf (Yale), Teresa Morgan (Oxford), Nick Spencer (Theos), David Bentley Hart, and more. Along with cameo appearances from the perennial classic Yes Prime Minister. “So the ideal candidate from the Church of England's point of view would be a cross between and socialite and a socialist?” --- Explore: Sir Humphrey explains about The Church of England | Yes Prime Minister Miroslav Volf, On private Christianity [NEEDS LINK] Teresa Morgan, On the Emperor's new religion Teresa Morgan, On the conversion of the Empire Teresa Morgan, On the double-edged sword, power Sarah Coakley, On lament Nick Spencer, On popes and power David Bentley Hart, On minority Christianity Joel Edwards, On speaking up Craig Calhoun, On doubt and certainty Browse For the Love of God: The Interviews

Hagar International puts names and faces to the hidden scourge of modern slavery. --- “You are the God who sees me.” Hagar International is named for one of the first slave women we know about in history. Hagar was a slave to Abraham and Sarah - her story is told in the Torah, the Bible, and the Koran. Founded in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 1994, the organisation named after her is dedicated to rescuing those who have been trafficked and abused, and to ending the cycle of modern slavery. It aims to truly see those who are often forgotten by society at large. “One of the issues in Cambodia is young men being recruited to go and work on fishing boats in Thailand - and these are the very fishing boats that are sometimes stocking our supermarket shelves and providing the fish that we have on our Christmas table each year. These young men are promised much better working conditions than what they find when they get there. Often they don't dock for many years. They're never allowed off the boat. They're forced to keep working even when they're sick. Sometimes they're drugged. Unfortunately there have been some extremely sad cases of men just being thrown overboard when they haven't been able to do the work.” Jo Pride is the CEO of Hagar in Australia. In this episode of Life & Faith, she tells Simon Smart the stories of Maylis, who at fourteen was offered a job that proved too good to be true, and Sopia, who having been enslaved from the ages of four to twelve, is now a social work graduate, empowering young Cambodian women through education. She explains the importance both of working with survivors of slavery to help them overcome their trauma, and of lobbying for systemic change, such as the Modern Slavery Act passed by the Australian government in late 2018. “There are some days that I feel extremely sad about human nature and shocked in fact about what humans are capable of. But I think what I find incredibly inspirational is how resilient the human spirit can be and how people ultimately do want to thrive, how they'll put everything behind rebuilding their lives ... but also the extraordinary commitment of staff that are willing to live in very dangerous situations.” --- Find out more about the work of Hagar at hagar.org.au. SUBSCRIBE to Life & Faith on Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/cpxpodcast OR on Spotify: http://cpx.video/spotify FIND US on Facebook: www.facebook.com/publicchristianity FOLLOW US on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cpx_tweet

A philosopher and a butcher dig into what we should and shouldn't eat, and why. --- “As society has shifted away from being in close proximity to farms and food production, people are increasingly concerned about where their food's coming from - the condition under which animals are raised and reared, and certain farming practices, [such as] pesticide use and the effects that that may have on the environment as well as on human health.” Philosopher and sociologist Chris Mayes has thought about eating a lot more than most of us (which if we're honest, is already quite a bit). The ethics of food involves a whole raft of factors: not only the treatment of animals and the environmental impact of production, but also the treatment of workers and the impact of the growth of pastoral land on indigenous peoples. “In Australia it seems natural that we would have sheep, and natural that wheat would be here, but in thinking of the obviousness of those practices and products here, we forget their role in dispossessing indigenous Australians - the way that the expansion of sheep, particularly throughout NSW and Victoria in the early to mid-nineteenth century, was coinciding with a lot of these most brutal massacres.” Chris considers what it means for lamb to be Australia's national cuisine - and how you make Scriptures that rely on the language of sheep and shepherds meaningful within a non-pastoralist culture. Then: Tom Kaiser is Simon Smart's local butcher. Perhaps unusually for a butcher, he thinks people should eat less meat. He sells meat products that many would consider to be expensive in what he calls the “Masterchef era”. “Affluence definitely plays a big part. They can afford to have the product that they see on TV. We know for a fact that we wouldn't be able to charge the price, nor have the same model we have in different parts of Australia. ... Ethics is obviously multi-layered. It comes to personal beliefs. It comes down to knowledge.” --- SUBSCRIBE to Life & Faith on Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/cpxpodcast OR on Spotify: http://cpx.video/spotify FIND US on Facebook: www.facebook.com/publicchristianity FOLLOW US on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cpx_tweet

Why are we so polarised? Tim Dixon offers not just a diagnosis, but actual solutions. --- “It's much easier to hold very hostile prejudicial views of other people if you actually don't know them personally.” Tim Dixon is co-founder of More in Common, an international initiative which has published some of the world's leading research on the drivers of polarisation and social division. He worked as chief speechwriter and economic adviser to two Australian Prime Ministers. He's helped start and grow social movement organisations around the world to protect civilians in Syria, address modern-day slavery, promote gun control in the US, and engage faith communities in social justice. He's concerned about how our social glue is coming unstuck - and what that might mean for the future. “We are living in a pre-something period … The forces that are driving us apart are growing, they're intensifying. If we don't pay serious attention to how we bring people back together and transcend these divisions, if we continue to play the kind of toxic politics that has been characteristic of the last few years, I think we're headed in a very, very dangerous direction.” Tim speaks with Simon Smart on a visit to Oz to give CPX's annual Richard Johnson Lecture, “Crossing the Great Divide: Building bridges in an age of tribalism”. Both his research and his personal story mean that he's better placed than almost anyone to make sense of our echo chambers, our battles over national identity, and the predicament of the “exhausted majority”. And he goes well beyond diagnosis, to propose actual solutions to polarisation. “It is out of terrible catastrophe good things can come. In a sense, as a Christian, I think of that in the context of the resurrection ... there is something about the second chance, the renewal, the fact that we're not always stuck in the story that we seem to be a part of.” --- SUBSCRIBE to Life & Faith on Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/cpxpodcast OR on Spotify: http://cpx.video/spotify FIND US on Facebook: www.facebook.com/publicchristianity FOLLOW US on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cpx_tweet

Philosopher and theologian John Milbank on left vs right, Harry Potter, and how none of us behave like we're just atoms. --- If you're wanting a crash course on “isms” like liberalism, secularism, and populism from anyone, it's John Milbank. In this wide-ranging conversation with Simon Smart, the philosopher and theologian has a way of never saying quite what you expect him to. He questions the idea that left and right are really in opposition to each other, calls the final Harry Potter book “a profound theological meditation”, and is enthusiastic about people's longing for paganism. What does he think Christianity might give people that's surprising? “Pleasure,” he replies immediately. “It would make their lives far more interesting, exciting, and pleasurable - and physical, because they're essentially alienated from their bodies if they think their bodies are just bits of matter.” Does he think a revival of religion is on the cards? “The reason I do think religion may revive is that it is on the side of common sense … all the time people behave as if they had minds, as if they had souls, as if the good, the true, and the beautiful, the right and wrong, were real - and yet the scientific discourses which we have, or rather their scientistic reductive modes, can't really allow the reality of any of these things.” From politics to angels, Milbank turns his formidable intellect on some of the quirks and contradictions of our time. --- SUBSCRIBE to Life & Faith on Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/cpxpodcast OR on Spotify: http://cpx.video/spotify FIND US on Facebook: www.facebook.com/publicchristianity FOLLOW US on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cpx_tweet

Simon, Natasha, and John share the stories behind their favourite Christmas carols. --- It's not quite a Bridget Jones-style situation – sobbing into shiraz and lip-syncing to “All by myself” on Christmas eve – but this year, Justine Toh is all alone in the recording booth for Life and Faith. Regular hosts Simon Smart and Natasha Moore have scarpered off before Christmas, with Simon on long service leave in Canada and Natasha off to the U.S. for a white Christmas. So Justine delves into the back catalogue of Life and Faith and unearths a gem: an episode from 2014 where Simon, Natasha, and John Dickson share their favourite Christmas carols and the stories behind them. John explains why Hark the Herald Angels Sing isn't just a beautiful tune but expresses rich theological truths in poetic form. He also discusses how Christmas carols often speak of two advents, or comings, of Jesus: his lowly birth as that baby in the manger and his promised return in glory. Natasha relates the fascinating history behind her favourite carol O Holy Night that, among other things, briefly halted the Franco-Prussian war in 1870 as French and German soldiers called a Christmas truce, and was the first song to be broadcast on the radio in 1906. Simon, invoking Scrooge from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, bah humbugs about the way Away in a Manger, as he sees it, diminishes the powerful idea of the incarnation: the Christian claim that God became fully human in Jesus. “The sweet baby Jesus we're hearing about in this carol – you don't get any sense that he might actually grow up at any point. This idea that even as a baby ‘no crying he makes' – I just want to throw up when I hear that bit,” Simon says. “That's not the Christian story. Jesus is meant to be fully God and fully human, and he's not fully human if he doesn't cry.” Reflecting on the year when planes disappeared into the Indian Ocean, or were shot down over the Ukraine, and that ended with the Sydney siege at the Lindt Café in Martin Place, John says that the Christmas message remains one of joy, even in a gloomy time. “It'd be wrong to think that Christmas was about happiness. It is about joy though, that sense that despite everything, God is for us and he's come towards us as one of us. And that does give a perspective and hope that is real joy.” --- SUBSCRIBE to Life & Faith on Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/cpxpodcast OR on Spotify: http://cpx.video/spotify FIND US on Facebook: www.facebook.com/publicchristianity FOLLOW US on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cpx_tweet