Can a lawyer who is trained to rely on evidence still believe in the God of the Bible? Is faith more about feelings than facts? That’s what I’m exploring on the latest episode of my podcast, Bleeding Daylight.
Rev. Dr. Ross Clifford AM is a former lawyer, a theologian, political commentator, pastor, radio personality, and so much more. He has authored or co-authored over a dozen books. In June, 2010, he was made a member of the Order of Australia.
Back when I was working in radio I used to chat with Ross each week about faith and spirituality. It was really good to be able to catch up with him again and go a bit deeper on whether the Christian faith could stand up in a court of law. Is there any trustworthy evidence to back up what Christians believe?
You can listen to Bleeding Daylight wherever you find podcasts, or hear our conversation using the player below.
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RetroRadio is a series of posts of radio interviews from my time working at 98five Sonshine FM covering everything from issues of spirituality to chats with visiting musicians and celebrities.
Hopefully, the interviews spark a few memories and a few thoughts.
I’m going back to November 2012 today with one of my regular guests on-air from that time, Rev Dr Ross Clifford. Back then we chatted about how Christmas has become a deadline rather than a celebration, an opportunity for friends and family to get together, a time to think about the first Christmas and the greatest gift of all.
I thought this discussion would be particularly relelvant at this time of year. You can hear our discussion using the media player at the bottom of this post.
Get it Finished
We have to have so much finished ‘before Christmas’. We want carpets laid, walls painted, projects finished, buildings built and so much more all before the 25th of December.
Buy Now!
Retailers tell us we must order now for delivery before Christmas, which I can understand to some degree if it’s something you want as a gift, but most of the time they’re just using the mention of Christmas to add urgency to their sales pitch.
Work Stress
Tradesmen are pushed to complete tasks that really have no relation to Christmas. Whether they’re completed before or after any particular date doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things but those paying the bills want their projects all sewn up before the big day. Many workers are feeling the pressure to get the job done before Christmas.
Self-Induced Stress
Then there’s the pressure we put on ourselves. We must ensure that everything’s perfect for the big day. We turn ourselves inside out to make sure that we’re ready for those who will share Christmas Day with us. Gifts, food, decorations, drinks, the list goes on. It’s really no wonder that the ‘Joy of Christmas’ has given way to the stress of what’s become known as the silly season.
Slow Down – You Move Too Fast
So, have you felt the stress rising already? Have you ever stopped to ask whether the deadline you’ve given yourself is just a false deadline? Will it make any difference at all if it happens after Christmas?
Is Christmas a restful or stressful time for you? What plans are you putting in place this year to ensure that you actually enjoy Christmas instead of racing at warp speed until you collapse in a heap on the 26th of December?
[Note: All RetroRadio interviews on RodneyOlsen.net are a snapshot of the time they were recorded. We all grow and change and so the opinions and thoughts of those in the interviews at the time of recording may or may not necessarily be the same as they are today.]
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When you read a book or head to the movies do you sometimes feel that you’ve heard the story somewhere before? For many hundreds of years writers have been drawing inspiration from the greatest story ever told.
Parallels have been seen in everything from Shakespeare to Harry Potter. There is rich symbolism in the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and many others.
A Christ figure, also known as a Christ-Image is a literary technique that the author uses to draw allusions between their characters and the biblical Jesus Christ. More loosely, the Christ Figure is a spiritual or prophetic character who parallels Jesus, or other spiritual or prophetic figures.
In general, a character should display more than one correspondence with the story of Jesus Christ as depicted in the Bible. For instance, the character might display one or more of the following traits: performance of miracles, manifestation of divine qualities, healing others, display loving kindness and forgiveness, fight for justice, being guided by the spirit of the character’s father, death and resurrection. Christ figures are often martyrs, sacrificing themselves for causes larger than themselves. – Wiki
My regular Wednesday morning guest on 98five Sonshine FM is Rev Dr Ross Clifford who is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.
Today we talked about Christ figures in our books and movies. You can hear what Ross had to say by clicking the play button on the audio player below.
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Are science and faith mutually exclusive? Can someone hold to scientific discoveries while still believing what’s in the Bible?
We’ve been told that faith is anti-science but is that really true?
I recently heard an atheist say that he lost his belief that there is a God when his girlfriend pointed out a sign at the Grand Canyon which talks about how the popular tourist attraction was formed. Really? That stopped him believing that God exists?
If I make you a meal and you work out how I prepared it do I cease to exist? If we discover some of the methods that God used to create some of the things we see around us, how does that suddenly make him vanish?
Christianity hasn’t stifled science. Christianity has been its driving force and, for hundreds of years, virtually its only significant contributor. Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Pascal, Descartes, Newton, Kelvin, Mendel, Boyle — all devout Christians. You want to remove your science from my religion? Fine. But we’re keeping these dudes. You can have Richard Dawkins and his tales of “mild pedophilia.” Enjoy.
Father Steno was a priest. Geologists call him “father,” but for none religious reasons: he’s considered the father of modern geology.
The Basilica of San Petronio is a beautiful church. It was also, for many years, one of the most sophisticated solar observatories in the world.
The Jesuits helped contribute to the development of clocks, barometers, microscopes and telescopes. They theorized about things like human flight, the moon and the tides, and blood circulation. They observed certain astronomical phenomena before anyone else. They did these things as an aspect of their religious pursuits, not in competition with it.
In fact, for five or six centuries no institution funded and supported the sciences more than the Church. They don’t teach that in school, which yet again demonstrates the danger of mixing atheism and education. Atheism has to hide from so much, deny so much, and twist and manipulate so much, because its existence is always jeopardized by the scorching light of truth. To paraphrase CS Lewis, an atheist has to be careful about what he reads and which facts he encounters. There are traps everywhere.
When western scientific knowledge came to places like China and India in the 1600?s, it came by way of Christians and their science-hating Christianity. You’d be hard pressed to find a single bit of modern scientific knowledge that wasn’t discovered, or heavily influenced by, the work of devout Christians.
My regular Wednesday morning guest on 98five Sonshine FM is Rev Dr Ross Clifford who is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.
This morning we talked about whole debate of science and faith. Ross had some great points to make. You can hear our discussion by clicking the play button on the audio player below.
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Does God speak to people today? If so, how do we hear from God? How can we be sure that we are following the direction he has set for us?
Throughout history people have claimed to hear from God and used that as an excuse to say and do some very ungodly things. Is there a way to know if we’re hearing from God or just following our own agenda?
My regular Wednesday morning guest on 98five Sonshine FM is Rev Dr Ross Clifford who is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.
Today Ross talked about hearing from God. We talked about some practical steps that will help us discover where God is leading us. Ross also gave some warnings that are helpful in seeking direction.
You can hear our discussion by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.
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