Lent Talks
Six talks by eminent writers and thinkers in the weeks leading up to Easter, exploring how faith and religion interact with different aspects of our society.
Lent Talks - A Godless Society?
Frank Field MP reflects on a society that chooses to root its moral behaviour apart from God.
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Lent Talks - Andreas Whittam Smith
Series of six talks by eminent thinkers. Financial journalist Andreas Whittam Smith explores the temptations of the financial world.
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Lent Talks - Ann Widdecombe
Well-known figures reflect on the story of Jesus from their own perspective. 5/6: Ann Widdecombe MP meditates on the psychological agony of Jesus on the cross.
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Lent Talks - Chas Bayfield
Advertising guru Chas Bayfield takes the story of Jesus overturning the tables in the temple, to ask questions about the relationship between God and commerce.
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Lent Talks - Cherie Booth QC
Cherie Booth QC reflects on the story of Zacchaeus, and finds in it elements of Restorative Justice programmes which seek to mediate between offenders and their victims.
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Lent Talks - Clive Stafford Smith
Well-known figures reflect on the story of Jesus from their own perspective. 4/6: Human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith has represented prisoners on death row.
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Lent Talks - Crave for Less
Six well-known figures explore ideas of the absence of God from their own perspective. Richard Holloway searches for the reality of God's presence in absence.
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Lent Talks - Does God Make Mistakes?
Sister Frances Dominica, founder and trustee of Helen and Douglas House hospice, reflects on her experiences alongside children and their families.
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Lent Talks - Douglas Hurd
Douglas Hurd puts himself in the shoes of Pilate, forced to choose between the sacrifice of an innocent man and a mass uprising.
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Lent Talks - God Present in Absence?
Jewish theologian Melissa Raphael wonders what Jesus' cry of abandonment on the cross says about God's absence and how it connects with the experience of many Jews in the Holocaust.
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Lent Talks - In No God's Land
Six well-known figures explore ideas of the absence of God from their own perspective. Martin Bell reflects on his experience in war zones.
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Lent Talks - Jeffrey John
Reflections on the story of Jesus's ministry. Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans, challenges the idea that suffering is God's punishment for sin.
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Lent Talks - Jude Kelly
Well-known figures reflect on the story of Jesus from the perspective of their own personal and professional experience. 1/6: Jude Kelly, artistic director of London's Southbank.
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Lent Talks - Maajid Nawaz
Series of six talks by eminent thinkers. Maajid Nawaz, co-director of the Quilliam Foundation, reflects on pluralism in society.
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Lent Talks - Mary Loudon
Well-known figures reflect on the story of Jesus from their own perspective. 3/6: Writer Mary Loudon challenges society's attitudes to mental illness.
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Lent Talks - Rev Dr Giles Fraser
Rev Dr Giles Fraser, Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral and a tutor of military ethics at The Defence Academy, reflects on the nature of sacrifice.
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Lent Talks - Rev Prof Alister McGrath
Series of six talks by eminent thinkers. Rev Prof Alister McGrath reflects on the continuously developing relationship between the natural sciences, faith and religion.
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Lent Talks - Shami Chakrabarti
Director of Liberty Shami Chakrabarti finds uncomfortable similarities between the trial of Jesus and the treatment of suspects in western democracies.
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Lent Talks - Sr Elizabeth Obbard
Sr Elizabeth Obbard, a Carmelite solitary at Aylesford Priory in Kent, explores how people's personal faith is affected and shaped by formal religion.
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Lent Talks - Terry Eagleton
Well-known figures reflect on the story of Jesus from their own perspective. 2/6: Professor Terry Eagleton argues that self–fulfilment lies at the heart of the Gospel message.
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Lent Talks - The Eyes of God
George Pattison, Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at Oxford University, reflects on the benefits of God's absence.
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Lent Talks - Tom Wright
Well-known figures reflect on the story of Jesus from their own perspective. 6/6: Tom Wright, Bishop of Durham, reflects on the interval between Jesus's death and resurrection.
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Lent Talks - Will Self
Series of six talks by eminent thinkers. Novelist Will Self reflects on the relationship between art and religion.
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