Home Podcasts God Forbid
God Forbid

God Forbid

ABC Australia 248 Episodes Jul 3, 2026

God Forbid is a podcast from ABC Australia that explores the role of religion in world affairs. It tackles profound questions about existence, death, and the relevance of God. The show seeks answers to these timeless inquiries through thoughtful discussion.

Episodes

Why do animals matter? Jul 3, 2026 0:54:36 Do to a dog what we do to a factory-farmed pig, and you’d be arrested. Do it to ten thousand pigs in a shed, and it’s breakfast. Most of us say cruelty to animals is wrong. And then most of us are happy to have them killed and eat them. Both our panellists think the way we treat animals is a moral catastrophe. But they get there by opposite roads. One says animals matter because
How old do you feel? Jun 26, 2026 0:53:57 We are, it turns out, a species that refuses to believe its own birth certificate. Australia is ageing, fast. This is not new here, or in Europe and North America where the trend has existed for decades. But even in China and now India, the fertility rate has dropped below replacement levels – even the two most populous nations on earth are getting older.  Yet we’ve built a world
The pleasure we take in others' misfortune and what it says about us Jun 19, 2026 0:54:36 You heard that someone had come unstuck. A rival. A bully. Someone overconfident, or two-faced, or just a bit too pleased with themselves. And something in you was glad. You won't say it out loud. You might barely admit it to yourself. But the Germans have a word for it. And it turns out, so did the ancient Greeks. Schadenfreude. The pleasure we take in others' misfortune. Is it
The ideas that inspired American Christian Zionism Jun 12, 2026 0:54:38 Whether or not you believe in - or even know about "the Rapture", "the Tribulation", "the End Times", and "Armageddon", your life is influenced by the idea that Jesus Christ will not only return, he’ll go to Jerusalem, and from there, for exactly one thousand years, he’ll rule the world. Yet, this concept is not in the Bible...at least not directly. But a bible, published in Amer
How should we view our relationship to work? Jun 5, 2026 0:54:10 Most of us spend most of our waking hours working, paid and unpaid. From housework to paid work, most of our lives are dominated by work. It's so ingrained that losing our true selves in work can feel unavoidable.  Yet, many also find purpose, value, and joy in work – even if it's not their dream job. Work is less a place and more a concept, the line between work and home can be
The seen and unseen: Belief in Jinns, Marian apparitions and Japanese yokai May 29, 2026 0:53:49 Halloween, in the western Christian tradition, remembers the dead – saints, martyrs, and all the faithful departed. But why do so many believe the departed return? Regardless of the place on earth, or time in history, people say they see strange apparitions and ghostly figures. And as for things unseen, even more profess a belief in genies, spirits, angels and supernatural entiti
Home economics: waking up from the Australian dream May 22, 2026 0:54:36 The government has removed favourable tax settings for investors to make home ownership just a bit more achievable for Millennials and Gen Z’s priced out of the market. The Prime Minister has spoken about the importance of giving young people access to housing so they have “a stake in the economy”Is tinkering with, or even an overhaul, of the housing market really the only answer
Doomsday or just good planning? The ethics of prepping May 15, 2026 0:54:10 From climate disasters to economic collapse, pandemics to political unrest — some people prepare for the worst long before it happens. But is prepping a sign of prudent foresight or a loss of faith in society? And how do ethics and religion shape ideas of survival? In this episode we explore the growing culture of preppers and survivalists, from community resilience to billionair
Can we truly love AI? And can it love us back? May 6, 2026 0:54:37 Falling in love with a machine is supposed to be the stuff of science-fiction. About a decade ago, Spike Jonze made the film Her, about a lonely man Theodore, played by Joaquin Phoenix, falling in love with his operating system, Samantha. And the world renowned psychoanalyst Esther Perel recently counselled a man and his romantic partner, a chat bot! Is romantic love just in our
Addiction, God, and the origin of the twelve steps May 1, 2026 0:54:10 Since the Stone Age we’ve used, and abused, drugs and alcohol. And some cultures believed their mood-altering effects brought you closer to God.  But if you go to an Alcoholics Anonymous or AA meeting today, you’ll be told that getting closer to God means getting away from the drink.AA also welcomes atheists, of course, as the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop d
Christian leaders talk war, the Pope, getting arrested, courage and empathy Apr 24, 2026 0:54:37 Pope Leo XIV has recently slammed the use of God's name to justify what he terms as the "absurd" pursuit of war, specifically challenging military leaders who describe operations in Iran as a holy war "in the name of Jesus Christ". Is a "holy war" antithetical to the teachings of Jesus Christ?  Sister Brigid Arthur, Rev Tim Costello and Rev Michael Woolf certainly think so. All o
Why do adults still need fairytales? Apr 17, 2026 0:54:08 Fairytales are among the oldest forms of human storytelling, with their roots in the oral traditions of pre-literate societies. Over centuries, these tales have been reworked to suit the religious, moral and political order of the day. They are instructive, entertaining and sometimes terrifying. Why is there this ongoing appeal – indeed a revival – of fairytales among young and o

Recommended