Beyond Belief

Jan 14 2025 352 ep. 27 mins 36.1k

Beyond Belief Podcast artwork

Series exploring the place and nature of faith in today's world

Religion & Spirituality

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Pharisees: a byword for hypocrisy?

Jan 14 2025 27 mins

The word hypocrite gets used with such regularity – and Jesus himself had form using the term.How did the Pharisees became a byword for hypocrisy and is it fair? Was Jesus wrong about the Pharisees? Is the view of the Pharisees changing? To discuss Giles Fraser is joined by Amy-Jill Levine, Professor of New Testament Studies Emerita at Vanderbilt University and co-author of ‘Th

Divine Comedy

Jan 07 2025 27 mins

Faith based comedy is growing in popularity. Why is religion such a good source for jokes? Is God funny? And, is there anywhere with religion that you just don’t go? Dillon Mapletoft, the writer and creator of hit comedy Everyone Else Burns, explains his fundamentalist Christian upbringing and the influence it had on him writing the coming-of-age sitcom about a Manchester family

The Religion of Detection

Dec 31 2024 27 mins

Giles Fraser and guests hear from authors of detective fiction, Kate Charles and Martin Edwards, on the subtle ways they weave faith into the crime puzzles in their novels. Why is religious detective fiction so popular in our increasingly secular society? Did the detective replace the priest as the one who looked into the mysteries of life and battled with good and evil? Why do rel

Blue Christmas

Dec 24 2024 27 mins

Mona Siddiqui and guests hear from Rev Denzil Larbi. He reflects on his cousin, Elianne Andam, who was 15 when she was fatally stabbed at a bus stop in Croydon, South London, in September 2023. He discusses their Christmases together and how the family mark Christmas without her.The panel of guests explore the complexities that often come with religious festivals especially those t

Do our pets go to heaven?

Dec 17 2024 27 mins

The Rev Tara Hellings, an Anglican vicar, outlines her experiences of conducting funerals at a Pet Crematorium in Winchfield, and Nurul Ain Abdul Hamid, a Muslim who runs a dog and cat shelter in Malaysia, shares her beliefs on the equality of all animals.Do animals have souls? Are all animals equal? And, how do these concepts feed into religious teachings about animals in the afte

Armour of God

Dec 12 2024 27 mins

Imam Asim Hafiz, the first Muslim chaplain to the British Armed Forces and an Islamic advisor for the Ministry of Defence, who has been working with the armed forces since 2004 discusses the many changes which have seen attitudes towards his role shifting according to the political climate and Mandeep Kaur, who was appointed as the first and only Sikh Chaplain for the entire Britis

Religious Freedom

Dec 05 2024 27 mins

Giles Fraser meets Stephen Schneck, Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, to explore the impact of globalisation on religious freedom.Restrictions on religious freedom are increasing. What impact has the spread of religious traditions had on freedom of belief? How does the secularisation of religion contribute? Should states be forced to adopt norms of re

The Gift of the Garden

Aug 20 2024 27 mins

In her poem 'God's Garden', Dorothy Frances Gurney writes:'One is nearer God’s heart in a garden Than anywhere else on earth.’Join Giles Fraser and a panel of green-fingered guests as they gather together at the Aga Khan Centre in Kings Cross to reflect on the theological significance of gardens and gardening.From Eden and Gethsemane, to the ancient Islamic gardens of Andalusia

Religion in the therapy room

Aug 13 2024 27 mins

Giles Fraser explores the parallels and overlaps between spirituality/religion and psychotherapy. Professor Josh Cohen is a psychotherapist, who believes that God can be a problematic figure in the therapy room.Joining the discussion with Giles is Dr Jeremy Holmes, British Psychiatrist and author of -The Spirit of Psychotherapy- which examines the parallels, contrasts, and overlaps

A Suffering God

Aug 06 2024 27 mins

Giles Fraser hears about the revolutionary ideas of late theologian Jürgen Moltmann, whose work challenged and transformed Christian ideas of God in the twentieth century.Hamburg, July 1943. The combined might of the Allies rains bombs down on the city causing a catastrophic firestorm. A young German anti-aircraft bomber cries out to God in the midst of devastation. He would go on