Two days prior to the assassination of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, a group of writers at US-based feminist magazine, Jezebel, published an article stating that they 'Paid Some Etsy Witches to Curse Charlie Kirk’. The magazine has since pulled the article, on the advice of their lawyers, so as not to cause any confusion about their stance on political violence of any kind. Is it ever ethical to wish harm on someone, even if that harm is theoretical or supernatural? What code of ethics are witches bound to? And why do witches have such a complex relationship with right-wing politics? GUESTSDr Caroline Tully – witchcraft maven, archaeologist, writer, tarot reader, and scholar of modern Pagan religions Dr Kenneth Freeman – Adjunct Professor of social work at North Carolina Central University, author of the research paper Ethical parallels: an exploration of the NASW code of ethics, Wiccan Rede, and the growing influence of Wicca in the United StatesDr Megan Goodwin – scholar of politics, and American religions, senior editor of Religion Dispatches, and author of Religion is Not Done With YouThis episode of God Forbid was made on Gadigal land, in Naarm, and on the land of the Eno, Tuscarora and Occcaneechi peoples.
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Writing on the body: desecration or worship?
The art of marking the body, by piercing the flesh and pushing ink into the wound, the tattoo, has had an uneasy relationship with religion.It's sometimes seen as a desecration of the body, but equally, the tattoo is venerated as a rite of passage and as a form of worship.Then there are tattoos in the secular context. They are so common in Australia now, it’s actually hard to find a body under the age of 40 NOT permanently marked by ink. It’s a fascinating form of human expression, both in existence for millennia, and changing before our eyes.GUESTS:LARS KRUTAK is an anthropologist and documentary maker who specialises in tattoos and their cultural significance. . His new book Indigenous Tattoo Traditions (Princeton University Press) explores the role of tattooing cross-culturally. JULIA MAGEAU GRAY is a researcher, documentary maker, and tattoo artist. Julia is credited with revitalising women's tattoo traditions across Melanesia
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Why the origins of Christianity still matter today
Two thousand years ago, Christianity was an obscure movement with no wealth, power, or friends in high places. Yet within a few centuries, its radical commitment to human dignity, charity and non-violence transformed the Roman world and helped shape the civilisation we live in today.How did a powerless sect became the most influential religion on Earth? From ancient plagues and persecution to today’s debates about faith and society: can Christianity still turn the world upside down?GUESTS:Greg Sheridan – Foreign editor of The Australian and author of several books on Christianity’s modern relevance, including How Christians can succeed today – reclaiming the genius of the early church.Dr Karen Pack – Historian at the University of Notre Dame, ordained minister specialising in the early church and author of Queer Omissions: Unmarried Women and Social Justice Activism in the ChurchThis episode of God Forbid was made on Gadigal land and in Naarm.
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Gen Y and Gen Z are finding God
It’s hard to believe that one in three young Australian adults go regularly to worship services – more than any other age group. But it’s true and men are leading the charge.It’s a puzzle, because it breaks two longstanding rules of religion: believers are typically female and old.Remember back in 2000. Even the most optimistic priest wouldn’t have predicted that would change. The Cold War was over, religion was set to fade way – replaced globally with rationalism, liberalism and democracy. Generation Xers were finishing the work of their baby boomer parents - rejecting once and for all church moralising, hypocrisy, and dogma.But the children of Generation X are now young adults themselves. And just as the hippie boomers rebelled, Gen Y and especially Gen Z are rebelling against their atheist parents by turning to God.Remembering too, what the so-called rationalist generation bequeathed today’s young adults – a world of debt, insecurity, and climate chaos. Why not look elsewhere for meaning and purpose?GUESTS:Dr Intifar Chowdhury Lecturer in Government at Flinders University, where she studies the political attitudes of young Australians.Dr Anna Halafoff Associate Professor of Sociology at Deakin University, coordinator of their Spirituality and Wellbeing Research Network.Emelia Haskey Undergraduate at the University of Divinity Adelaide where she’s in training to become a minister of the Uniting Church.
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God, the Big Bang & the fortunate universe
We live in a universe that sustains life – but what are the chances of that? And scientists now believe that if the laws of physics were different by just a fraction – our universe would be either empty, simple, or long ago extinct.If the strength of gravity or the mass of an electron was different by even the tiniest amount, the universe as we know it would not exist. So tiny even that the difference itself is almost beyond comprehension.Why has this cosmic fine tuning come about? The philosophical and even religious implications are so profound, that this is one of the most exciting questions in astrophysics.Which is why it’s so exciting that this week on the God Forbid panel, we have two internationally acclaimed astrophysicists. GUESTS:Luke Barnes - Senior Lecturer and astrophysicist at Western Sydney UniversityGeraint Lewis - Professor of astrophysics at The University of SydneyThis program was made on the land of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation
Religion: it’s at the centre of world affairs, but profound questions still remain. Why are you here? What happens when you die? Does God matter? God Forbid seeks the answers.
South Africa