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In October 1991, Jerry Sittser and his family were returning from a time away when their minivan was hit head on by a drunk driver. Jerry lost his wife, his mother, and his four-year-old daughter in the collision. Jerry was to spend many years trying to rebuild his life whilst equally looking after his three other surviving children.

How do we cope when our world is ripped apart? Where do we go, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, when all we’ve loved and known is taken from us? How does profound loss and deep tragedy affect our understanding of life, people and family? How do such moments inform our belief in God? How do they shape, or reshape our understanding of a God of love and kindness?

This week the Curious team are in conversation with professor emeritus, theologian and writer Jerry Sittser. With touching honesty Jerry reflects on that dark moment all those years ago, and the journey since, speaking openly of pain, loss and faith. Jerry insists that you don't have to merely cope, but can grow in and through the dark and painful moments of life

For all those who have struggled making sense of their hurt; for those especially trying to come to terms with a God of love in the face of such overwhelmingly painful experiences; Jerry’s words will resonate in a very soulful way. Join the team this week for some very personal and honest dialogue.

Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliments this episode….
The Waves of Grief Will Give Way - DesiringGod.org

A Grief Observed - Ligonier.org

God's Purpose in your Pain - Plough.com

What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode.
We’ve included below Jerry’s excellent and plain talking book, as well as a couple of other highly recommended ones….

Jerry Sittser — A Grace Disguised: How The Soul Grows Through Loss

C. S. Lewis — A Grief Observed

Tim Challies — Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God

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Is the bible opposed to same sex relationships? Don’t the texts (Leviticus 18 and 22, Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10), provide all the evidence we need to tell us that the Bible stands against all things LGBTQIA+? What about creation? Adam and Eve? Surely these passages in Scripture tell us all we need to know?

In this intriguing episode the Curious team are joined by minister, theologian and writer Jonathan Tallon reflecting on his book ‘Affirmative’. Together they traverse the thorny and all important scriptural references that are claimed to condemn any same-sex attraction. This episode pulls no punches, it deals with all the difficult passages in detail offering some surprising insights and drawing some interesting conclusions.

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering what God thinks of same-sex attraction, whether being gay is something that contradicts scripture, and how are we to think and address the LGBTQIA+ community, then this episode is a must listen. Join the team this week for an honest, hard-hitting, straight-talking episode!

Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….please note, we’ve included articles supporting both traditional and progressive perspectives for the sake of balance..…

We recommend you take a good look at Jonathan’s website. Click the link below…
https://www.bibleandhomosexuality.org/about/

Has "homosexual" always been in the Bible? - UMInsight.net

How should Christians Respond to Gay Friends or Family Members? - Biola.edu

What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode. For the sake of balance we’ve included those books that reflect both a progressive and traditional understanding of the subject…enjoy;

James V Brownson — Bible, Gender, Sexuality: Reframing the Church's Debate on Same-Sex Relationships

Jonathan Tallon — Affirmative: Why You Can Say Yes to the Bible and Yes to People Who Are LGBTQI+

Danny Brierly — To Inclusion and Beyond: Evangelical and Affirming LGBTQ+ Relationships and Equal Marriage

Robert A. J. Gagnon — The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics

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October 7th 2023—marked the beginning of the latest in a decades-long conflict between Israel and Palestine. On that day, Hamas launched a coordinated attack on southern Israel which led to the death of civilians and the taking of hostages. Israel declared a state of war and their retaliation has, it is fair to say, shocked the global community. A UN‑body report, released 16th Sept 2025, officially concluded an act of genocide being committed in Gaza.

In this very unique episode the Curious team are joined by Dr. Ghada Karmi — a Palestinian writer, academic, lecturer, and one of the most powerful voices chronicling the ongoing struggle of the Palestinian people. Her book “Married to Another Man” explores —the roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, —the repeated failure of peace efforts, —and the realities of exile, dispossession, & resistance.

In this conversation, the Curious team will trace the history of the conflict — from the events of 1948 and the mass displacement of Palestinians, through the wars of 1967, the Intifadas, and the peace processes that repeatedly faltered; including the events since September 2023 that has occasioned a humanitarian crises in Gaza and the West Bank.

This episode reflects on Dr. Karmi’s personal story as a child forced to flee her home, (as told in her book, “In Search of Fatima”) and her lifelong commitment to justice and the right of return for the Palestinian people. Join the team this week for a very a difficult and sensitive episode

Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….please note, articles are featured here for balance and provocation and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs and convictions of the Curious team.…

After the Israel-Hamas War: Palestinian Perspectives - Brandeis.edu

Palestinian-Israeli Relations - MyJewishLearning.com

What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book(s) that we’d encourage a browse related to this episode. For the sake of balance we’ve included not only two of Dr. Karmi’s excellent books, but Daniel Gordis’s thorough history of Israel……enjoy;

Ghada Karmi - In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story

Ghada Karmi - Married to Another Man

Daniel Gordis - Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn

Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com

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It was John F. Kennedy who once famously said, “Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan”. Failure is a thing nobody wants to have or own. Another word the vast majority of Christian people are equally reticent to own, is the word ‘doubt’! Most find it very difficult to see any positive reason for its existence, we often feel weak and shameful when it characterises our Christian experience in any way. Most of us have come to see doubt as our enemy; we find it uncomfortable, disconcerting and frankly, embarrassing! But is doubt really something we ought to fear? Is it really our enemy? What if we came to understand doubt not simply as a distant friend, but a very necessary companion in the growth and development of our faith!

This week Pete and the Curious team not only unpack the stereotypical fears and struggles doubt brings, but seek to reframe and repurpose it, capturing it as something of a catalyst to igniting genuine, reinforced faith. The team express how doubt is not someone we ought to be reluctantly opening the door to, but rather one we ought to be enthusiastically offering entrance. Join the team this week as they repaint doubt and emphasise its place and significance in building strong faith.

Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….please note, articles are featured here for balance and provocation and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs and convictions of the Curious team.…

Faith and Doubt - PhilipYancey.com

Borrowing Faith when Doubt Creeps In - ChristianityToday.com

What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’d encourage a browse related to this episode. So here goes…enjoy;

Craig Groeschel — The Benefit of Doubt: How Confronting Your Deepest Questions Can Lead to a Richer Faith

Todd Mullins — Don’t Let Doubt Take You Out: Replacing Fear and Doubt with Faith and Truth

Philip Yancey — Disappointment with God: Three Questions No One Asks Aloud

Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com

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Who was Jesus—and what did he look like? And more significantly, what colour was his skin? In this provocative episode, the Curious team are in conversation with professor Edward Blum who, alongside Paul Harvey, co-wrote the intriguing and highly informative “Color of Christ”. Together they unravel the centuries-long struggle over the colour of Christ.

From Warner Sallman’s iconic white Jesus to Black liberation theology’s reimagining of a Christ who shares the suffering of the oppressed, Professor Blum and the team explore how race, power, and identity have shaped - and been shaped by - the image of Jesus.

Drawing on Professors Blum and Harvey’s work ‘The Color of Christ’; this episode examines how art, theology, and politics have collided in the portrayal of the Messiah - from 1950s Sunday school cards to Mormon imagery, from ancient myths like the Letter of Lentulus to modern racial reckonings. This isn’t just about art history - it’s about who gets to see themselves in the divine.

Join the team this week as we traverse some controversial and at times, delicate terrain.

Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….please note, articles are featured here for balance and provocation and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs and convictions of the Curious team.…

What colour was Jesus? - Theologetics.org

Jesus is black. Get over it - PremierChristianity.com

What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes…enjoy;

Prof. Edward Blum and Prof. Paul Harvey - The Color of Christ

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Power can be a very emotive word. How do we understand it? There is perhaps no such thing as a truly impotent individual, for everyone holds a degree of power whether they realise it or not. No one is immune from wielding a form of power. The question is not whether we have the power, but how we understand it and what we do with it and how we define it. This week the Curious team are joined by Restored CEO Bekah Legg, as they explore the meaning, layers, application and abuse of personal and corporate power.

Together Bekah and the team explore a theology of power. How scripture defines it. How God dispenses it. And how often the church can misuse it or even abuse it. This episode builds a case for what healthy, redemptive power looks like that brings wholeness into relational, familial and spiritual environments. Join the team this week as Bekah unpacks some much needed wisdom in a very sensitive and difficult area


Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you… check out the Restored website for important information…

restored-uk.org


What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes…enjoy;

Justin Humphreys and Dr. Lisa Oakley — Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse

Natalie Collins — Out of Control

(See the Restored site above for more recommended reading)

Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com

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What do we mean by God’s presence? Are we always assured of its tangible reality? In spite of Jesus’s promise to never leave us or forsake us, we also understand the painful tension of scriptures like Psalm 13:1—“How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?” What does scripture mean when it speaks of God’s hiddenness within the reality of his permanent promise of presence? Many Christians believe that it is within themselves to determine God’s presence with them. If we behave, God walks with us, if we don't, he departs from us; but is that what scripture truly tells us, or is the picture very different?

This week the Curious team seek to lay a biblical foundation of divine presence, unpacking a threefold understanding of presence namely; God’s general omini-presence; his tangible, visceral presence; and his redemptive, saving presence. They’ll seek to more adequately define absence and hiddenness in the light of these three resounding truths of presence; before closing the episode with a number of practical understandings in how we better live with the absence/present tension.

Join the team this week as they uncover some rather significant and surprising aspects of God’s dealings with us


Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….check out these articles around this weeks theme…
When God's Presence Feels Absent - TheGospelCoalition.org

When God isn't there - DesiringGod.org

Cultivating Attentiveness to God's Presence - CSLewisInstitute.org

What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes…enjoy;

Francis A. Schaeffer — He Is There and He Is Not Silent

David Bowden — When God Isn’t There

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Despite the great value of individual quiet times, singular Bible reading plans, and personal commitments to church ministries; the great danger prevails that as Christians we are in danger of increasingly privatising our faith. Could it be that we are losing the edge to look outward towards the other as we become ever more preoccupied with looking inward toward ourselves?
The gospel has always historically been a gospel of the “we” as opposed to simply the “me“. The term “one another”, that so closely identifies the kernel of Kingdom understanding, is repeated over 30 times throughout the New Testament. The gospel did not simply come to save us, but to move us. To move us beyond simply my health, my joy, my spiritual life, and my Church position; to a servant like mentality of being bread, light, and salt to those in our lives and our world.

This week the curious team are joined by activist, speaker, writer and podcaster Lisa Sharon Harper whose book, “A Very Good Gospel”, makes a strong and biblical appeal for Christians to live with a wider focus and deeper perspective toward the other. Lisa has for many years advocated a gospel of the “we”, emphasising the great biblical, overarching understanding of creational, relational, and spiritual shalom. Join the team this week as Lisa both inspires and challenges us to become God’s shalom to a needy world


Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….check out Lisa’s website…

https://lisasharonharper.com


What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes….here’s Lisa’s book;

Lisa Sharon Harper — A Very Good Gospel

Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com

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