In this weeks Beauty for Ashes we look at Christmas, clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan; attempted coup in Benin; Country of the week – Northern Ireland; Males banned from Girl Guides; Rob Smith – The Body God Gives; The end of trial by jury?; Climate Change – Deforestation in Indonesia; the humility of Mitchell Starc; The Queens Gambit and Nona Gaprindashvili; Radiohead and Gaelic Psalm 9; Rainn Wilson and Alex O’Connor; Conversations with Geoff Bullock; Suffering with Steve Laws; and the Final Word.with music from Bob Dylan, Colin Buchanan, Stiff Little Fingers, Anonymous Ulster, Radiohead, Back Gaelic Psalm Singers; Geoff Bullock; and the Gettys.
Here is the music used in this months podcast on Spotify….
Countries – Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Australia, the UK, Georgia, Benin,
Sources – BBC, YouTube, Facebook, The Telegraph, Spotify, New York Times, The Other Cheek,
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Catch up on last weeks episode here – Beauty for Ashes 8 – Rising Tide
Here is the local segment used on the radio show – we look at these issues from a local perspective…
BFA Conversations 4 – Geoff Bullock and Hillsong
David – I listened to your debate with Steven and had the following observations.
1. To assert that that there is such a thing as suffering is to say that some human behaviors or consequences of life are either good or bad. This introduces that there is such a thing as good and evil. The Bible presents as explanation for these things and morality but is there another standard we should appeal to? If so what is it? How is it that to be interpreted?
2. To make a real argument against Christianity you can not do so against a characterization of it. We believe in freewill, the reality of sin and the hope of redemption thru Christ and His sacrifice in the cross. God recognized the problem of sin and dealt with it. To not fully understand what the totality of the word of God says and then to argue against it in bits and pieces is just not intellectually honest or factual. It’s not even compelling (from my point of view).
3. Lastly, and this is more of a personal observation, how can I spend hours listening to Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris and Steven in this video and not understand the points they are trying to make? I respect these men as intellectuals and can appreciate their point of view but I just don’t see the world that way. Does one have to have a certain academic pedigree for it to resonate? It seems a stark contrast to how easy the Gospels are to understand and assimilate.
P.S. If God gets the blame for all the evil in the world does he get the glory for all the good?
Proud supporter of your site and just wanted to chime in.
Thanks – it was a great chime!