Cultural Issues

Too Hot to Handle is an occasional series tackling issues over which people differ in opinion, and so are often swept under the carpet. From stress to work to getting stoned, this series will examine a variety of subject matters from a gospel perspective in a way that will help us understand the real issues and equip us to engage with our non-Christian friends.

In Big Brother contestants live in a purpose-built house with hidden cameras to capture their every move, 24 hours a day. They have no access to the outside world. Each week the contestants nominate two of their fellow contestants and viewers vote on who should be evicted. The surviving contestant at the end of the series wins £70,000.

Tim Chester and Adam Tyson reflect on the lyrics of the British indie bands Travis and Coldplay

According to the billboards, sex is back on the agenda. I have to confess to being a little surprised. I didn’t even know it had ever been off it! In fact, if you believe the songs that fill the charts, and the films that fill the cinema screens, sex is the agenda. But what is it about sex that is so:

Tim Chester, December 2003

In three separate polls to mark the year 2000 Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien was voted the nation's favourite book. More recently the books have been adapted into films under the director Peter Jackson. The first two films in the trilogy are both in the top ten earning films of all time. The third was released in December 2003.

So, God is dead! At least that's the rumour. Of course, at best, it's a matter of opinion: it depends who you ask. But what is irrefutable is that to all intents and purposes, in terms of society generally, and the individual lives of millions of people, God is dead. Like the Norwegian Blue, he is deceased and no more!

In the aftermath of the London bombings on 7 July 2005, Tim Chester asks whether different faiths can live together. How should Christians respond to people who practice other religions? Must we play down the distictives of Christian truth or is there another way?

Format: MP3
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Duration: 32mins
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