News Video Audio Twitter abc.net.au/religion This week's highlights Try seeing it this way: Imagination and reason in the apologetics of C.S. Lewis ABC Religion and Ethics - 15 May 2013 Lewis's genius as an apologist lay in his ability to show how a Christian viewpoint offered a better explanation of common human experience than its rivals - especially the atheism he once espoused. More Budgetary nihilism: Deferring foreign aid signals a distorted moral vision ABC Religion and Ethics - 14 May 2013 What other than political nihilism could account for the moral obstinacy of diverting foreign aid to help cover a perceived budgetary shortfall? More Illegal mourning: The Nakba Law and the erasure of Palestine ABC Religion and Ethics - 17 May 2013 The Nakba Law is an explicit expression of what has been happening to Palestinians from 1948 until today - namely, an assault on their collective memory, free speech, history, equality and dignity. More Islam and the secular state: Rethinking apostasy and Shari'a ABC Religion and Ethics - 13 May 2013 The context of a truly secular state, along with the protection of freedoms and rights it affords, are necessary to be a Muslim by choice and conviction, which is the only valid way of being a Muslim. More This week on ABC TV Compass - Holy Switch - Ep 2 ABC1 | Sunday 19 May 2013 06:30 pm Presented by Geraldine Doogue In Episode Two, young Buddhist monk Freeman switches lives with Anthony, a devoted Maronite Catholic. Freeman is open to his exchange, joining in various activities at St Charbel's Church community in Sydney's west, hosted by the local youth group. He looks for meeting points between the two faiths. Anthony's experience is different. He finds his digs at the Buddhist monastery in tropical Queensland rudimentary, the heat oppressive and he misses Mass so much he hitches 50km to the nearest Catholic Church on his first Sunday away.  More Songs of Praise - Gospel Music Celebration ABC1 | Sunday 19 May 2013 11.30am Presented by David Grant To celebrate Pentecost Sunday, David Grant introduces a toe-tapping, soul-stirring gospel music special from St John at Hackney, with special guests Kym Mazelle and Avery Sunshine.  More This week on ABC Radio Encounter - Wisdom of the Elders ABC Radio National | Saturday 18 May 2013 5.00pm Presented by David Rutledge This week on Encounter we'll meet four Australian elders ranging in age from 78 to 100. Each one of them is from a different cultural and religious background but what they have in common is their wise reflections on life. They share their lives which have included courage in the face of extreme difficulty, reveal their thoughts about the final stage of life and their hopes for the future. Repeated Wednesdays at 1.00pm  More For The God Who Sings - No Programs in May ABC Classic FM | Sunday 19 May 2013 10.30pm Presented by Stephen Watkins NO PROGRAMS IN MAY With the extended duration of Sunday Night Operas in May, For the God Who Sings is in recess for a month; returning on June 2  More Religion and Ethics Report - Interfaith Marriage ABC Radio National | Wednesday 15 May 2013 5.30pm Presented by Andrew West A major new study in the United States finds that mixed marriages bring mixed blessings - especially when it comes to the children's religion. Naomi Shaefer Riley, author of 'Til Faith Do Us Part: How Interfaith Marriage is Transforming America, speaks with Andrew West. Repeated Thursdays at 5:30am  More Sunday Nights - The Issue, The Interview and The Goodlife ABC Local Radio Across Australia | Sunday 19 May 2013 10.05 pm Presented by John Cleary Conversations on important issues concerning religion, spirituality, ethics and values.  More The Rhythm Divine - Digital Dharma ABC Radio National | Sunday 19 May 2013 6.00am Presented by Geoff Wood We celebrate the birth of Gautama Buddha some 2600 years ago. To mark the occasion we'll start with an Indian-born Tibetan Buddhist lineage holder, the Gyalwang Drukpa, setting out wisdom teachings to a drum loop with the help of a young Buddhist producer from Sydney, Jigme Kunga Shonu. We'll trek to Nepal with the former Nepalese Singer of the Year, the young singing nun Choying Drolma. There's an excerpt from a Vietnamese prayer for liberation from the Abbot of Quang Minh Temple in Braybrook, Melbourne,Venerable Thich Phuoc Tan, and we'll hear the story of Prince Siddhartha Gautama. There's also the latest album for that rock star Zen monk, Leonard Cohen. And we head to the grasslands of Inner Mongolia with rising stars on the world scene and devout Buddhists, Anda Union. Repeated Mondays at 1.00am.  More The Spirit of Things - From here to eternity ABC Radio National | Sunday 19 May 2013 6.05pm Presented by Rachael Kohn The urge to merge with Eternity has raised up saints, transformed sacred space, and inspired the faithful to resist injustice. Yet the belief in Eternity and its ante room Purgatory has also been a battleground that saw churches topple and new economies rise. Romantics resurrected Eternity from its distant abode while secularists all but erase its traces, although the science remains open. Professor Carlos Eire, Professor of Religious History at Yale University and a 'chronophobiac' is fascinated by the power of Eternity to shape our world. Professor John Fischer of UC Riverside discusses the scope of his project to study immortality that attracted $5 million from the Templeton Fund. Repeated Tuesdays at 1.00pm  More  © 2011 | Privacy policy | Conditions of use