God Forbid

If forgiveness is a gift to yourself, what do you give when the harm is unforgiveable? 
And it’s hard to believe, but some families endure unspeakable harm and somehow remain intact, while others fracture over what seems like nothing at all. 
How do we hold space for the reality of suffering, even trauma – but also the possibility of redemption? 
Our culture justifies righteous anger – the victim rightly must be vindicated, not blamed. 
But the question remains challenging for all of us, because perfect families don't exist. 
And any relationship worth having, comes at a cost. 
GUESTS:
Dr Karen Pack is a lecturer at University of Notre Dame Australia, a religious historian, ordained minister, trained pastor and teaches around the world.  Her new book is “Queer Omissions: Unmarried Women and Social Justice Activism in the Church” 
Professor Michael Salter, from UNSW, is the director of the Australasian hub of Childlight, the Global Child Safety Institute and is an internationally recognised expert in child sexual exploitation, complex trauma and gender-based violence.

Imagine losing the only person who never judged you, never walked away, always made you feel safe. 
Our culture, and our religions, can make us believe human loss is different to animals dying. 
But tell that to someone who believes one of the most important relationships in their life is with their pet. 
GUESTS:
Dr Millie Cordaro, Professor of Psychology at Texas State University
Dr Daniela Rizzo is a theologian at Alphacrucis University College and author of Animal Pneumatology
David Michie is an author, known around the world for his series of books about Buddhism and animals

Credit and debt — borrowing and lending — have long been a part of life.
Mortgage holders are all too familiar with the challenge of meeting their repayments and juggling the household budget — a challenge made even more difficult by the recent Reserve Bank decision to increase interest rates.
But are financial commitments purely economic obligations, or do they come with a significant moral burden? 
Guests: 
Dr Lucie O’Brien,  Postdoctoral Research Fellow at University of Melbourne’s Centre for Commercial Law 
Dr Ilsup Ahn, Professor of Philosophy at North Park University   
Royce Kurmelovs - journalist

Of course, you believe you WOULD save a drowning child. 
But that doesn’t make you a saint – in fact, depending on how you live the rest of your life, it could well make you a sinner. 
For 50 years, PETER SINGER has been making uncomfortable observations like that.
Peter is perhaps the world’s most influential philosopher - he’s shaped the way we think about animals and bioethics, abortion and euthanasia. 
And he's the philosophical father of the Effective Altruism movement - a quiet revolution that's transformed doing good from sentiment into science.  
GUEST:
Professor Peter Singer is Emeritus Professor of Bioethics at Princeton and National University of Singapore   
His Bold Reasoning substack is here
His book The Life You Can Save is free to download

After the targeting of Jews in the worst terrorist attack in modern Australian history – a Royal Commission into antisemitism has been announced by the PM.
And many Australians refused to believe the something like Bondi could happen here.  
But other Australians –Jews and Gentiles – warned the terror was not an isolated act, but a foreseeable progression – antisemitic thoughts leading to words leading to action. 
GUESTS:
Ronald Sackville KC was the royal commissioner into the abuse of disabled people. A former federal court judge, he is a former member of the advisory board of the New Israel Fund. His substack piece on The Special Envoy’s Plan to Combat Antisemitism is here.
Robert Richter KC has appeared before royal commissions, and  is one of Australia's most prominent criminal barristers. 
David Slucki is Director of the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, and Associate Professor of Contemporary Jewish Life and Culture at Monash University. He wrote this piece for ABC Religion and Ethics