Maidenhead's Questions

Which religion is right?

Why are there so many different religions? Do they all essentially lead to the same God? And is your faith just an accident of geography? In this episode of Maidenhead’s Questions, Adam and Ian dive into the fifth most popular topic submitted by our community: religious diversity. To help unpack these deep truth claims, they are joined by author, speaker, and Christian philosopher Dr. Andy Bannister from Solas. Holding a PhD in Islamic studies , Andy brings 30 years of experience to a fascinating conversation comparing the foundational claims of world religions. Resources Mentioned in This Episode: * The Chosen (Available on Netflix and free online) * The Greatest Story Ever Told by Bear Grylls * Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabil Qureshi * Whose Religion is Christianity? by Lamin Sana * Jesus and the Eyewitnesses by Richard Baucom Connect With Us: If you are wrestling with these questions, you are invited to walk through the "Jesus doorway" and explore the evidence yourself. St Mary's Maidenhead runs the Christianity Explored course three times a year to look directly at the eyewitness accounts. Join us on a Sunday! We have five services across the day: 8:00 AM, 9:15 AM, 11:00 AM, 4:00 PM, and 6:30 PM.

Does God even exist?

Does God Even Exist? On this episode of Maidenhead’s Questions, Adam and Ian sit down with Esther Chidlow from OCCA (The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics) to tackle the ultimate starting point for faith: Does God actually exist? Moving past simple "blind faith," Esther draws on her background in mathematics and philosophy to look at the rational, historical, and personal evidence for God. Together, the team explores: * The Big Picture: Digging into philosophical pointers like the cosmological argument and the mind-boggling numbers behind the fine-tuning of our universe. * Science vs. Faith: Why pitting them against each other is a major category error, and how they actually answer different "maps of meaning". * The Silence & The Doubt: How to navigate the seasons when God feels quiet, why the Bible gives us full permission to ask hard questions, and how Jesus responds to our skepticism. Whether you are wrestling with doubt, wondering if faith is just wishful thinking, or looking for solid intellectual anchors in a messy world, this deeply encouraging conversation is for you. Enjoying the podcast? Please like, share, subscribe and write a review.

What happens when you die?

In this episode of Maidenhead's Questions, Adam and Ian sit down with Niv Lobo from Christ Church, Cambridge to tackle the third most requested topic from the people of Maidenhead: death, heaven, hell, and the afterlife. Niv opens up about his personal journey from aggressive scepticism to finding an intellectually and emotionally satisfying faith in Jesus. Together, the team dives into the heavy questions: * Why is there death at all? * How do we know heaven and hell are real? * How can I worship a God who will send my family to hell if they don’t believe in him? * Who goes to heaven? * Eternity sounds terrifying, why do Christians want that? If you've ever stood at a graveside feeling like death just isn't right, or wondered if any traveller has ever truly returned from the undiscovered country, this episode is for you. Enjoying the show? Don’t forget to leave us a rating and review us. Please do like, share and subscribe.

Is Jesus really God?

The people of Maidenhead had lots of questions for us on the person and work of Jesus Christ. Join Adam, Ian and our guest Glen Scrivener from Speak Life, delve into some of them: * How can God be three and one at the same time? * Is Jesus the same as God? * How does Jesus’ divinity work together with his humanity? * Why did Jesus come to earth? * Why did Jesus have to die, couldn’t God just forgive sins?   About Glen Scrivener Glen Scrivener is a speaker, writer and ordained minister. He serves as the Director of Speak Life [https://speaklife.org.uk/] while in the UK, an evangelistic ministry that seeks, through preaching and media, to captivate both church and world with the love of Jesus. He is a YouTuber, podcaster, the author of ten books including the award-winning The Air We Breathe [https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=the+air+we+breathe&adgrpid=183616129622&gad_source=1&hvadid=779252548530&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=1006906&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=7638524098912393406--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=7638524098912393406&hvtargid=kwd-307806096446&hydadcr=11879_2380470_2069&mcid=dce327d0598333409ab2ade6fc9a5237&tag=googhydr-21&ref=pd_sl_2dfys15u4l_e], and he is the creator and presenter of the digital evangelism course 321 [https://321.speaklife.org.uk/course/321]. Maidenhead's Questions is run by St Mary's Maidenhead [https://www.stmarysmaidenhead.org/](the Church behind the Bear Pub). Everyone is welcome to join us on a Sunday. We meet at 8am, 9:15am, 11am, 4pm, and 6:30pm.

Why do people suffer?

Join Ian, Adam and guest Naomi Brehm from Speak Life [https://speaklife.org.uk/] as we wrestle with Maidenhead’s Questions on:   * Why is life so hard?   * Why did my family have to be disabled?   * Why does God keep punishing me by making bad things happen in my life?   * Do you actually care about us?   * You created Satan, are you actually a sadist?   * How do you know God isn’t the evil one and that explains suffering?   * Why does God allow people to suffer from a cancer that is so hard to treat?   * Why does God allow newborn babies to suffer?   * Why does God allow people to suffer from mental health problems?   * The world is so messed up. Can you fix it?   Maidenhead’s Questions is run by St Mary’s Church Maidenhead [https://www.stmarysmaidenhead.org/]. Everyone is welcome to join us on a Sunday at one of our services. We meet at 8 am, 9:15 am, 11 am, 4 pm and 6:30 pm.