Past Programs
Religion and Beliefs - 2008
2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999
Improbable Hope
02/11/2008
In his Berlin address last July, Barack Obama talked about partnership and hope. He was enthusiastically received. As the US Presidential election arrives, how much do these themes define Obama's beliefs? Wendy Barnaby explores some of Obama's ideas and takes the conversation further to other examples where hope and partnership might be crucial in the lives of communities and individuals.
A Living Idea - the Goddess of the Broom and other Stories
12/10/2008
A Goddess descends to a hawker market in Delhi, a woman dialogues with chiefs in Vanuatu, another woman creates kits of clothes for children taken into care, the Mother of Jesus is compared to the air we breathe. Women around the world - as deities or mortals - make a difference to the human spirit, the environment, the economy and to how we exchange values with one another.
John's Baptisers: Mandaeans in Australia
05/10/2008
An ancient Gnostic sect which honours John the Baptist has fled persecution in the Middle East and found sanctuary in Australia. The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran bring with them a pacifist belief structure and ancient rituals based on fresh flowing water. Find out how they are grappling with their past and the challenges of Australian life in this week's Encounter.
Music and Intimacy - A Long Street in London and Beyond
28/09/2008
Susan Hawkins is an Australian composer. She is also a social worker with many years experience working with older people in London. These two worlds coincide in a rare glimpse of personal exploration into empathy and art. This Encounter also features the insights of men and women in Derby, New York and Brisbane who take the arts and compassion seriously. They join Susan in conversations about aesthetics, identity, spirituality and growing old.
Ties That Bind: Jewish Australians and New Zealanders in Israel
21/09/2008
On the occasion of Israel's 60th anniversary and the opening of the Australian Memorial Park in Be'er Sheva, commemorating the Australian Light Horse Brigade in World War 1, Rachael Kohn travels with a group of Australian and New Zealander Jews to Israel. The spiritual leader of the group is Rabbi John Levi, AM, who reflects on the profound Australian ties to Israel. Members of the group relate their spiritual, familial and historical connection to Israel, and in the lead up to Independence Day they join in the Holocaust Remembrance Day prayers under the spiritual guidance of Rabbi Levi.
Visit The Ark which includes pictures from 5 programs on archaeology in Israel with Walter Zanger. Programs broadcast in June 2008.
Special Audio Downloads
Download additional interviews with members of a group of Jewish Australians and New Zealanders travelling to Israel to celebrate its 60th anniversary reflect on the meaning of Israel to them.
- Download Roselle Peltz is originally from South Africa and her memories go back to her school days
- Download Prominent wine grower, John Tate, is at the Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem
- Download Elizabeth Ridge from Melbourne says each time she travels to Israel its different
Earth, My Mother
14/09/2008
Hinduism is possibly the only religion in the world that has a special hell for people who chop down trees. It's one small indication of the deep ecological sensibility which runs through the Hindu traditions, and which sanctfies rivers, mountains and forests.
This program was first broadcast on 16/12/07
We Begin in Hell - <i>Paradise Lost</i> and the Theology of John Milton
07/09/2008
We all know that Paradise Lost is a very famous English poem with Satan as something of a hero in Hell but how much do we know about the life, theology and politics of John Milton, its author?
Adventures in Inter-religious Dialogue
31/08/2008
A Catholic priest, a yogi and a Tibetan Buddhist monk set up house together in Melbourne. In Britain, the Dalai Lama visits a community of Christian friars and together they talk about their respective traditions of contemplation. In the course of the conversation, the Dalai Lama has a blunt message to Christians about the importance of prayer and meditation. These adventures in inter-religious dialogue defeat all the stereotypes.
The Cost of Food
03/08/2008
With food prices rising around the world, millions are threatened with deprivation and starvation. In a complex web of causes - fuel prices, climate change and commodity speculation - how to respond to the challenge of feeding those who have trouble feeding themselves?
Extra Audio
Download Audio [33.09 - 15.4MB] Download an extended interview with Steve de Gruchy, Professor of Theology and Development at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Download Audio [36.06 - 16.4MB] Download an extended interview with James E. Hug, President, Center of Concern, Washington DC, USA.HyVong - Journey towards Hope
27/07/2008
In Bowral in 1980 a small refuge and home called HyVong was formed by Father Strangman, of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. It lasted just four years, but it gave 'hope' to almost 50 detached and unattached Cambodian and Vietnamese young men, fleeing Communist reprisals against them after the Vietnam war and the horrors of the Pol Pot years in Cambodia.
Modelling the origin of time: science and religion at "the horizon of mystery"
20/07/2008
Does science make belief in God obsolete? Cosmologist and mathematician Michal Heller's answer to this 'Big Question' this year won him the world's largest monetary prize given to an individual, the Templeton Prize. On Encounter Professor Heller explores 'creative tensions' between science and religion and talks about his research for a quantum gravity theory that might explain the Planck Epoch. And astronomer Guy Consolmagno SJ has things to say about meteorites, the Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan, and beauty.
Doubt
13/07/2008
We look at the other side of the coin of belief - the realm of doubt. Does doubt necessarily erode faith? We hear from Christians, Muslims and a Buddhist who've been on a journey of religious doubt. This program was first broadcast on 1st July 2007.
Tower of Babel: The Language of Religion
06/07/2008
While the Christian Bible is reproduced in many languages, and is often updated to modern English usage, the Qur'an is only sacred in its original 7th century Arabic. How important is language to the spiritual meaning of sacred texts? Can we translate the word of God without distorting it? On this Encounter Emre Azizlerli explores the importance of spiritual language in religious experience.
For copyright reasons, this program is unavailable as an MP3 file, as real audio, and in transcript form. This program was first broadcast on the BBC World Service.
Shadowlands
29/06/2008
Islam and the art of wayang kulit, or shadow puppetry, have co-existed in Malaysia for centuries but in 1990 a new generation of political Islamists, influenced by the theology of Wahhabism, outlawed the tradition in its home state of Kelantan. Encounter travels to Kelantan to watch an illegal ritual performance of wayang kulit and to explore how the pluralist history of Islam in the region, embodied in this art form, has been challenged by global developments. But do the results of Malysia's recent elections suggest the influence of Wahhabism is now on the wane? And, paradoxically, could the successes of the Islamic Party, PAS, be a good sign for democracy and religious freedom in the country?
Speaking for Themselves: Multicultural Policing
15/06/2008
For Refugee Week, police in Canada, New Zealand and Australia tell of changing practice over recent years in their work with refugees, migrant groups and Indigenous communities. An Aboriginal Police Officer in Winnipeg talks about being a member of Canada's "stolen generations." At a meeting in Brisbane between the Sudanese community and police the conversation is about new ways of finding peace. In Melbourne, Victoria Police tell of their unique Multi Faith Council which talks with religious leaders across all groups.
In Search of Youth: The Challenge and the Church
01/06/2008
The voices of young Australians will take over Encounter this week finding out how young people feel about faith and how they incorporate it into their lives.
Faith and Depression
11/05/2008
Are you allowed to be depressed while you're sitting in church? What might happen to someone's depression as they sit in church? Is there a possibility that religious faith could help people who are depressed, or does religion only make people more depressed? Sharmini Kumar presents an Encounter exploring themes of faith, depression, and the interaction between the two.
The Shakers
04/05/2008
They're more famous for their furniture than their theology, but the Shakers—or the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, to give them their proper name—have had a remarkable impact on the religious landscape of North America. Today, there are only four Shakers left in the world, the survivors of a prophetic movement that has its roots in the Protestant Reformation.
To Jerusalem
27/04/2008
Encounter travels to Israel and looks at the intricate relationships and tensions between the Ultra Orthodox and secular Jewish communities of Jerusalem. We hear personal stories from both sides and we unravel the journey of an Ultra Orthodox woman who is the subject of a theatre production - Hagar. In the play, Hagar seeks to reconcile with non-religious Israelis via the enigma of her name.
Entering into Dialogue - Christianity and Islam
20/04/2008
As preparations are afoot for a ground-breaking meeting at the Vatican between Catholic and Muslim scholars, Encounter presents voices of experience in this most historically compelling dialogue. Chris McVey is an American-born Catholic priest who has lived in Pakistan since 1960. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, convened the scholarly Building Bridges Seminar series. And Syed Farid Alatas told the most recent Building Bridges Seminar of the imbalances afflicting Muslim-Christian dialogue.
Cana Celebration
13/04/2008
Recently Kevin Rudd sent his ministers onto the streets so they could glimpse what life might be like for homeless people. Well, what happens if you go one step further and build relationships with the most rejected and powerless members of our society: those who are mentally ill, or addicted or are recently out of prison. To find out we spend a day with a community, called Cana, that is doing just that.
Forgiveness
06/04/2008
President Jose Ramos-Horta has forgiven his attackers. The Amish forgave their chidren's killer in 2006. In 2005 Van Nguyen sought forgiveness. What is forgiveness? Why does it make the news?
The Two Fionas
30/03/2008
Encounter this week explores how concepts of social justice, equality and inclusiveness helped shape the values of two remarkable medical workers -- pediatrician and health researcher Professor Fiona Stanley and burns surgeon and Clinical Professor Fiona Wood.
Stairway to Heaven: thirty days with a church choir
23/03/2008
Consecrated in 1824, St James King St is Sydney's oldest surviving church building and its choir one of Australia's finest. Geoff Wood decided to go behind the scenes of the St James Anglican choir to experience life, liturgy and music from the choristers' stalls.
Rosemary's Gardens
16/03/2008
Rosemary Morrow is a Quaker and a Permaculture teacher and one of Australia's unsung heroes. From the chilly heights of NSW's Blue Mountains to the humid heat of Cambodia, Rosemary Morrow encourages people to plant food gardens. For Australians it's all about simplicity and sustainability, but for the developing world it's about health and making a difference.
Tariq Ramadan
09/03/2008
He has been banned from entering the United States, he's advised Scotland Yard, the British government and the previous Australian government. What did Oxford based Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan have to say to an international audience in Brisbane this past week? He was keynote speaker at a conference sponsored by the Queensland government, Griffith University and the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils. Its theme: The Challenges and Opportunities of Islam in the West: The Case of Australia. Download PDF of an edited transcript of the Keynote Address of Professor Tariq Ramadan ... Download PDF of questions from the audience to Professor Tariq Ramadan
The Divine Spark
02/03/2008
Encounter visits Ballarat in country Victoria, where delegates have gathered from around the world for a conference on children's spirituality. We meet teachers, educationalists, health workers, and psychologists - some with religious affiliations, some secular. The one thing they have in common is an interest in children's education and wellbeing, and in what the spiritual can offer children in their sometimes difficult journeys into adulthood.
Building Hope, One Brick at a Time
17/02/2008
In 2007, 48 volunteer building teams from Australia went to Uganda to help build group homes and school facilities in villages designed to care for AIDS orphans, some of whom are HIV positive. The villages are run by the Kampala-based Watoto Child Care Ministries and represent a model of care being picked up across Africa.
Releasing the Records
10/02/2008
Death and the past impact upon every moment of the present. How we acknowledge the past shapes the way we deal with the present. From Hamlet to the Australian composition 'Ariel's Music', Encounter pursues this theme and its place in some of the world's religions.
