With All Due Respect
113 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 4 ratingsLess aggro, more conversation.
Is it even possible to have a deep discussion without it descending into chaos? Michael Jensen and Megan Powell du Toit think yes, and want to show the rest of us how to do it.
There’s plenty of things they disagree on: free will, feminism, where you should send your kids to school and what type of church you should go to. But there are also plenty of other things that they have in common. They want to talk about all these things with conviction. But they also want the conversation to be constructive. Tune in to find out if that’s possible.
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Episodes
Generations
February 29, 2024 03:45 - 1 hour - 161 MBWelcome to the final episode of Season 8 of With All Due Respect! This week, Minister Jeri Jones Sparks and former Sydney Archbishop (and Michael's Dad!) Peter Jensen joins the show for a panel discussion on different church generations. The team look at the highs and lows of recent Australian church history, as well as what different generations of Christians today can learn from one other. Our hosts then discuss the TV series Pachinko, a critically acclaimed show that follows th...
The Christian Org
February 15, 2024 03:45 - 57 minutes - 132 MBThis week, Michael and Megan are joined by Stephen Judd, the former CEO of HammondCare, to discuss how - if at all - an organisation can be "Christian". Our hosts then discuss whether the broader church is an organisation, and if ministers can gain anything from the world of corporate wisdom. Finally, they turn their attention to the hit drama Propser, a new show that follows a family as they build a super-powerful, super-wealthy megachurch.
Peace in the Middle East
February 01, 2024 03:45 - 56 minutes - 130 MBThis week, Megan and Michael hash out one of the most controversial issues currently ruling the discourse; the conflict in the Israel and Gaza region. Our hosts think through how the Bible can guide Christians’ response to the conflict. A Palestinian Christian and peacemaker joins the show to discuss the challenges facing faith groups in the conflict zone. Finally, our hosts discuss the film Women in Sink, which documents conversations with women of different faiths in the region...
Lies and Statistics
January 18, 2024 03:45 - 51 minutes - 117 MBMark Twain once famously said, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics". Our hosts this week are chatting about this third lie - statistics. With the age of social media now dictating how people access statistical data, are we literate enough to understand what we are reading when it comes to statistics? How does this affect trust in official information more broadly? And in a fallen world, where sin distorts everything, how much can we truly trust human kno...
Reforming Evangelicalism
January 04, 2024 03:45 - 1 hour - 148 MBMichael and Megan are kicking off 2024 by checking in on the state of Evangelicalism. Karen Swallow Prior returns to the show to discuss her new book The Evangelical Imagination, which provocatively claims to take stock of a "culture in crisis". Our hosts then hash out the question: does Evangelicalism need another Reformation? Finally, the pair discuss the 17th-century classic The Pilgrim's Progress and take stock of its influence and legacy.
Is There Something About Mary?
December 21, 2023 03:45 - 50 minutes - 117 MBIt's the 2023 Christmas episode of With All Due Respect, and we're talking all things Mary this year! New Testament scholar The Rev. Dr Sarah Harris joins the show to discuss the mother of Jesus, and makes some big calls about her place in theological history. Michael and Megan then discuss the place of Mary in Protestant tradition. Should the evangelical Christian church reclaim Mary? Is she in need of a "rediscovery?" Finally, our hosts turn their attention to the hit TV show T...
Is the Bible 'plain'?
December 07, 2023 03:45 - 57 minutes - 130 MBIt's the 100th episode of With All Due Respect! To mark their century our guests chat with Mike Bird, Academic Dean of Melbourne's Ridley College, discussing the question "Is the Bible clear in what it tells us?" They also discuss the differences in church tradition when it comes to interpreting scripture. Later, our hosts discuss Sarah Polley's confronting film Women Talking, which explores the consequences of misunderstanding - and abusing - The Bible.
Home
November 23, 2023 03:45 - 57 minutes - 131 MBHome - it’s an evocative word and one that has instant access to our emotions, whether that’s when Dorothy knocks together her shiny red heels and says there’s no place like home or when angelic children’s choirs sing I still call Australia home on a Qantas ad. The Bible culminates with an image of God at home with humanity. Home speaks to us of familiarity, safety, welcome, love. Yet home doesn’t just have positive associations. Some are home less while many have found their home...
Civic Religion
November 09, 2023 03:45 - 43 minutes - 99.6 MBThis week, Megan and Michael discuss the place of "civic religion" in Australian society. Defined as the implicit "religious" values of a nation - expressed through public ceremony, symbols, and rituals - our hosts ask if Australia even has a civic religion in the first place. They then turn their eyes to the place of the Welcome to / Acknowledgement of Country in Australia: specifically in the church. What does it mean that some churches have pushed back against this now largely ...
Hope
October 26, 2023 03:45 - 48 minutes - 112 MBLeisa Aitken joins Megan and Michael to discuss her dissertation on the psychology of Hope, and why the clinical definition of the word is missing the mark. On 'For Arguments Sake', our hosts discuss whether there may be a lack of hope within the church. Have Christians in the global west lost their eschatological hope? Finally, our hosts cast their eye over Christopher Noaln's blockbuster Oppenheimer. In true WADR style, they don't necessarily see eye-to-eye on its message.
Only Human
October 12, 2023 03:45 - 48 minutes - 112 MBIn light of the Barbie movie phenomenon, our hosts take stock of Greta Gerwig's divisive blockbuster, ponder its themes on humanity, and whether it will become an essential existential text. Old Testament expert Dr George Athas then joins the show to discuss the film, its relationship to the book of Ecclesiastes, and how death plays a role in our understanding of being human.
The Voice: Reconciliation
October 05, 2023 03:45 - 20 minutes - 47.6 MBAs the voting time for the referendum approaches, Michael and Megan are joined by Bundjalung woman Karen Mundine, CEO of Reconciliation Australia, and Peter Morris, General Manager of the Reconciliation Action Plan program of Reconciliation Australia. They talk through what a 'yes' vote might mean for Australian society, its citizens, and the church.
The Voice: The Constitution
September 28, 2023 04:45 - 51 minutes - 117 MBWelcome to season 8 of With All Due Respect! As Australians prepare to vote in a referendum on an Aboriginal Voice in parliament, Michael Jensen and (newly Reverend Dr) Megan Powell du Toit speak with constitutional law expert Dr Joel Harrison about what it might mean, legally speaking. They then discuss whether or not the church should be involved with politics at all - a thorny issue that Michael has had some recent experience with. Finally on 'Through the Wardrobe', our hosts...
The Voice
April 20, 2023 04:45 - 51 minutes - 117 MBIn the season finale, Megan and Michael sit down with First Nations Christian leader Uncle Pastor Ray Minniecon to discuss the upcoming referendum in Australia concerning The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice (also known as the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, or simply 'The Voice). Our hosts also sift through the responses from various groups to The Voice, casting a spotlight on who has - and hasn't - voiced support. Finally, on 'Through The Wardrobe', Michael and Megan ...
Easter Special: Radical Grace
April 06, 2023 04:45 - 42 minutes - 96.2 MBThis week on WADR, our hosts are living up to the aim of the show (conversations with respect and grace) with an Easter special on ... GRACE! Grace is of course a concept strongly associated with the cross of Christ. It is a word Christians chuck around - but do we have a good understanding of what it means? And can grace even be immoral? 'The Secret Life of Us' then makes a return, with Michael and Megan sharing episodes in their life when they had grace shown to them. Finally, o...
The Adventure of Time
March 23, 2023 03:45 - 38 minutes - 88.9 MBThis week, Megan and Michael delve into the mystery of 'time', and ask the question ... is time cursed? And how are eternity and time-related? On 'Through the Wardrobe', the pair cast their critical eye over the now cancelled Amazon series Paper Girls, a time travelling adventure drama that looks at how we might feel if we met our future selves. Plus, our hosts take some time to answer audience questions. Does pineapple belong on pizza? Do Michael and Megan actually disagree on a...
Sexual Gospel
March 13, 2023 23:41 - 10 minutes - 24.3 MBOn a special edition of 'For Argument's Sake', Michael and Megan dissect the fallout from The Gospel Coalitions' recent endorsement - and swift recant - of a controversial extract from Joshua Butler's new book Beautiful Union, which drew parallels between the saving work of Christ, and sexual intercourse between husband and wife. Our hosts then explore why the article was published, the dangers of applying such theology within marriage, and what structural and cultural shortcomin...
Finding Family
March 09, 2023 03:45 - 50 minutes - 115 MBIt's family week on WADR. Michael and Megan chat through different perspectives on family, and in particular, adoption. They work through the good and the bad, how it can heal - but also compound - trauma, and what the Bible has to say about it. UK-based broadcaster, author, social entrepreneur, and adoptive father Dr Krish Kandiah then joins the podcast for a challenging discussion on fostering and adoption. Finally, on 'Through The Wardrobe', our hosts share their thoughts on...
Connecting with Catholics
February 23, 2023 03:45 - 44 minutes - 101 MBThis week, Megan and Michael deep dive into the often heated relationship between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism, examining what the recent death of former Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI means for intra-church relations, and how Protestants and Roman Catholics can walk hand-in-hand in ministry (can they?). Catholic theologian Dr Elissa Roper joins the podcast to discuss a range of issues, including what the late Pope’s passing means, and what decade might hold for the Catholic Ch...
We Are Free
February 09, 2023 03:45 - 34 minutes - 80.1 MBMegan and Michael talk about all things freedom - does true freedom exist, and are we really free in the 21st century? From overthrowing the yoke of human slavery (Israel's Exodus from Egypt) to Jesus' promise that “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”, the concept of freedom is at the heart of the Biblical story. But what does it mean for our everyday lives to be free? Are we truly free if we still fee...
The hospitable heart
January 26, 2023 03:45 - 49 minutes - 113 MBHospitality is a word that conjures up images of wine glasses and silver cutlery. It's the word for the hotel trade or the type of entertaining that looks good on Instagram: themed dinner parties and pretty hand soaps for the guest toilet. Yet hospitality is also a word that occurs in the Bible. Famously, Hebrews 13:2 urges, "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." But exactly what are we b...
Embodied humans
January 12, 2023 03:45 - 50 minutes - 116 MBAll of us as humans are embodied. We come into being through our bodies being formed in the womb, and when our bodies die, our lives in this world end. Christians have held different attitudes to the body over history - while the body has a central place in the Christian understanding of the life to come, at times the body has been seen as the source of sin. Megan Powell due Toit and Michael Jensen talk about a significant Christian concept - the flesh - and what it means for ho...
Dark night of the soul
December 29, 2022 03:45 - 38 minutes - 87.7 MBIn this episode, Megan Powell du Toit and Michael Jensen talk about the Dark Night of the Soul. It's a common phrase - one which describes someone going through a difficult time, particularly one in which God feels either absent or unloving. The WADR team investigates where it comes from, and then asks if it's as bad as it sounds? Then Megan and Michael talk to Dr Greg Clarke about two songwriters who have been known to include their honest struggle with faith in their songs - ...
Better sex
December 15, 2022 03:45 - 50 minutes - 116 MBIn this episode, the WADR team talk about how to have better sex. No, this is not Megan and Michael's opportunity to present the evangelical version of the karma sutra. Rather, they want to talk about the ways Christianity has got sex right - or a lot of the time wrong - and what can be done better for everyone's sake. First up, Megan and Michael invite on to the show the co-author of the influential Christian book The Great Sex Rescue, Sheila Wray Gregoire. Sheila shares what she...
Census: the Gospel truth
December 01, 2022 03:45 - 47 minutes - 110 MBIn 2016, following trends in many Western countries, a majority of Australians identified as Christian 52.1%. Five years later, that was down to 43.9%. Christianity is still the most common religion in the country, but for the first time no longer in the majority. Moreover, 38.9% of people now identify themselves as having no religion - a jump of almost 10%. Megan Powell du Toit and Michael Jensen ask what this really means. And, more particularly, what should Christians do abou...
Evangelicals After Billy
November 17, 2022 03:45 - 51 minutes - 117 MBMichael Jensen and Megan Powell du Toit ask: is evangelicalism fractured beyond repair? Or as Mark Twain might say, have reports of its death been grossly exaggerated? The WADR team are joined by Russell Moore, editor-in-chief of Christianity Today to talk about what happened to evangelical consensus. And then Michael and Megan finish with a look at the spiritual themes in a tv series they basically think they had to do this season - Rings of Power. But don't tap off too soon!...
Divine Comedy
August 11, 2022 04:45 - 42 minutes - 58.2 MBIn the final episode for this season, Michael Jensen and Megan Powell du Toit are talking comedy. Their big question: does God have a sense of humour? When humans laugh, are we doing so as people made in the image of God? Or is this only a human response to the world? Or could laughter be a link to life in the next world? The WADR team tackle each of these questions together, then review a comedy whose central character Megan has often been compared with - can you guess which one...
A Christian Nation?
July 28, 2022 04:45 - 46 minutes - 63.9 MBIn this episode, Megan Powell du Toit and Michael Jensen are talking about Christian Nationalism. Nationalism promotes the distinctiveness of the people of a nation. Christian nationalism goes one step further, defining a nation by its faith, and maintaining it should be protected by the state, enshrined in its laws, and actively maintained. But is this so? Is Christian Nationalism even compatible with the Christian faith? In a western society that is often spoken of as Post-Christ...
The Loneliness Epidemic
July 14, 2022 04:45 - 45 minutes - 63 MBWhile we have been dealing with a pandemic over the last couple of years, we have also been experiencing what some are calling a loneliness epidemic. Megan Powell du Toit and Michael Jensen discuss how this new struggle has been reported across many countries, particularly in their home country. The Ending Loneliness Together report says that one in four Australians are experiencing problematic levels of loneliness, with one in two Australians feeling lonelier due to the pandemic i...
Evangelicals & Race
June 30, 2022 04:45 - 59 minutes - 82.1 MBIn this episode, Megan Powell du Toit and Michael Jensen look at the vexed question of racism and the church. First up, they talk to African American pastor Thabiti Anaybwile about how he understands the way American evangelicalism has interacted with the question of racism. He has been a significant voice on this topic within conservative evangelicalism in the US. Then the WADR team come back to their Australian context to speak with pastor Grace Lung and her experience as an A...
Fashion
June 16, 2022 04:45 - 44 minutes - 61.2 MBMost of us wear clothes every day - Michael Jensen and Megan Powell du Toit make a point of it! But as much as we might think we pay no attention to what we put on, most of us dress in accordance with the fashion of our day. And like it or not, what we wear communicates something about who we are. Very little thought is given over to Christian fashion. But the WADR team discover the one area that does get talked about is women dressing modestly - they immodestly think they have so...
Re-creation
June 02, 2022 04:45 - 47 minutes - 65.6 MBCreative acts - and creative people - have sometimes been given short shrift within evangelicalism. Creative work can be seen as less significant than the work of a pastor or evangelist. But on the other hand, the Bible begins with an act of creation - the first and greatest of all creative acts. So Megan Powell du Toit and Michael Jensen ask, 'Is creativity a waste of Christian time, or is it an essential vocation of the Christian?' In pursuit of an answer, the WADR team talk to...
Show Me The Money
May 19, 2022 04:45 - 39 minutes - 54.4 MBIn the run-up to this weekend's federal election, Megan Powell du Toit and Michael Jensen get all economical. Jesus famously said, "You cannot serve both God and money," or wealth, depending on the translation. While Christian scandals often involve abuse of sex or power, love of money seems to be the sin we often tolerate. Is that because Christians in the west have been living under capitalism for some time now? Capitalism gets quite a bad rap these days, so the WADR team asks,...
How To Vote
May 05, 2022 04:45 - 40 minutes - 55.6 MBNow that the Prime Minister has called for an election, Christians will be bombarded by people wanting to win or influence their vote. Some of that campaigning will be based on what people THINK influences a Christian vote. But despite the rhetoric, the Christian vote is more diverse than is often realised. What issues are on Christian minds and hearts this election? Megan Powell du Toit and Michael Jensen put that question out there and receive significant responses from Christ...
The Leader's Ego
April 21, 2022 04:45 - 43 minutes - 60.3 MBSeveral books have recently been released on the problem of narcissism in the church. When we mix this with some high-profile examples of pastors gone wrong, the ego-centric leader becomes an important issue to consider. While we may not have evidence of legions of diagnosed clinical narcissists in the church, we can all point to church leaders with ego problems - not that surprising when church leadership can come with attached power and status. So, Megan Powell du Toit and Mich...
Black Sabbath
April 07, 2022 04:45 - 42 minutes - 58.4 MBBlack Sabbath - old-school heavy metal band or day in the Christian calendar? The Saturday just before Easter Sunday has been called various names but that hasn't kept it top of mind in religious circles. It tends to be ignored by many Protestants, stuck awkwardly between the mourning of Good Friday and the joy of Easter Sunday. So Michael Jensen and Megan Powell du Toit ask what was going on in that gap? And what spiritual significance does it have to people of faith today? The...
Soul Searching
March 24, 2022 03:50 - 39 minutes - 54 MBSoul. It's a word that continues to have a lot of resonance. We look for a soul mate, we say something is good for the soul, we engage in some soul searching and we bare our souls to each other. None of us wants to be soulless. But what is a soul? Michael Jensen and Megan Powell du Toit discover that this is one subject even Christians, who are in the business of 'saving souls', are less clear on. The WADR team ask some searching questions - do we have a soul and what is it? - i...
The Lent Event
March 10, 2022 07:34 - 43 minutes - 60.3 MBFor the return of season 6, Megan Powell du Toit and Michael Jensen plunge listeners into the heart of a two-thousand-year-old tradition in their efforts to understand what it might have to contribute to spiritual growth today. Lent is a period of prayer and fasting in preparation for Easter that has been practiced since apostolic times. Until recently it wasn't that popular among Evangelicals, but more believers are beginning to observe this 40 days of reflection - including gue...
Costly conscience
January 13, 2022 03:45 - 40 minutes - 55.3 MBIn this episode, Megan Powell du Toit and Michael Jensen ask about the cost of conscience. Conscience has been at the forefront in public discussions, as a new phase of the pandemic requires measures that have created an urgent set of ethical dilemmas. This has come at the same time as our politicians are debating bills about freedom of religion. The WADR team tease out the Biblical approach to freedom of conscience before taking a more personal look at it with Alison Preston, a ...
The new and the old of 2021
December 30, 2021 03:45 - 52 minutes - 72.5 MBWith All Due Respect's Megan Powell du Toit and Michael Jensen are joined by The Centre for Public Christianity's Justine Toh to usher out the old year. Like 2020, 2021 has had its social highs and COVID lows but, on balance, what did WADR think of the year that was? First up, the team give each other what they think was the theme of the year. Then it's time for Megan, Michael, and Justine to share their favourite watch, read, and listens for 2021 in a bumper edition of Marg and...
Christmas: Home and Away
December 16, 2021 03:45 - 36 minutes - 50.5 MBAs Australians have striven to get vaccination rates up and covid spread under control, one carrot held out to the long-suffering population has been the promise of a normal Christmas. Michael Jensen and Megan Powell du Toit think we often associate Christmas with homecoming and family. For a start, it's a classic trope of Christmas movies - Christmas Homecoming, I'll Be Home For Christmas, Home For The Holidays, even Home Alone. But the very first Christmas, Mary and Joseph leave...
Mental health and faithfulness
December 02, 2021 03:45 - 43 minutes - 59.6 MBThis episode hosts Megan Powell du Toit and Michael Jensen question their mental stability. Mental health has been a key conversation during the COVID crisis. People have argued for and against various public health measures by referring to the mental health effects. There has been a widespread understanding that a viral pandemic will have mental health costs as well. Yet quite often, it is still those people 'out there' - those 'other people' we need to look after. And there con...
The Apologetic Church
November 18, 2021 03:45 - 36 minutes - 49.6 MBIn a world in which Christianity is losing its cultural dominance, and under fire for various reasons, should Christians strongly defend the church, or should they be apologetic about its wrongdoing? There seems to be a wide spectrum between those who want to claim western society will regret abandoning its Christian foundations, and those who are quick to call it out from the inside. Whichever way you look at it, Church history is at the forefront of the public conversation. Mi...
Faithful poetry
November 04, 2021 03:45 - 41 minutes - 56.9 MBSome of the most beautiful poetry has Christian faith embedded within it, and yet some of the worst poetry we have experienced has been within the Christian community. A couple of episodes ago the WADR team looked at poet Christian Wiman and brought up his thought that faithful literature should be an ice axe for the frozen sea within you. As two people of faith and lovers of poetry, Megan Powell du Toit and Michael Jensen have started thinking more about faithful poetry - and t...
The Delta Mandate
October 21, 2021 03:45 - 44 minutes - 60.9 MBAustralia is gearing up to reach its 80% 16 plus vaccination rate, with some states ahead of others. The news has been dominated by both federal and state plans for what reopening will look like with COVID present in Australia. Within that, Christians have had particular concerns. What will be the rules around face-to-face church gatherings, and how should we as Christians respond to the risks and freedoms of reopening? Michael Jensen and Megan Powell du Toit ask epidemiologist,...
How to have an argument
October 07, 2021 22:58 - 34 minutes - 47.4 MBAs the ancient saying goes, you can't go to bed if someone is wrong on the internet. Social media can involve a lot of different communication types but it certainly does seem to have a lot of scope for arguing. In fact, it seems that one of social media's key contributions is polarisation and pitched debate. Megan Powell du Toit and Michael Jensen discuss how this has ramped up over COVID - the virus situation is ever-changing and the stakes as we respond to it are high. It see...
Christian Celebrity
September 23, 2021 04:45 - 41 minutes - 57.2 MBThe Christian world has always had its prominent believers, right down to the present day. Though the advent of the Internet has given them a reach and influence like never before. Megan Powell du Toit and Michael Jensen take a hard look at Christian celebrity - from luminaries like Tim Keller to Mark Driscoll - and ask what can be learned from our elevation of different believers. First up, it's an interview with Mikey Lynch, experienced church planter and Campus Director of the ...
God and the ALP
September 09, 2021 07:23 - 42 minutes - 58.9 MBLast season the With All Due Respect team brought you an interview with a Christian Liberal and former Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull. So Michael Jensen and Megan Powell du Toit thought it would be good to speak to a Christian Labor politician, Senator Deborah O'Neill. Senator O’Neil is a Labor senator for new south wales who has been a politician since 2010, first as an MP in the Australian parliament and then as a senator. She is currently Vice President of the New South Wale...
Preaching
August 26, 2021 04:45 - 39 minutes - 53.8 MBIn some circles preaching is the one thing you can't skip at church. For others, it is an outdated practice. It can have a bad rap. We say to people, "Don't opreach at me!" Yet when Christian podcasts first started, the sermon was the first genre, and during covid, we have found ourselves listening and watching an endless supply online. But what makes for good preaching? Preaching is something both Megan and Michael have been doing for decades, so listen in as the WADR crew turns...
Jesus and John Wayne
August 16, 2021 02:18 - 40 minutes - 55 MBWith All Due Respect's Michael Jensen and Megan Powell du Toit examine masculine Christianity in the United States and question what effect it might be having down under. The episode kicks off with an interview with Kristen Kobes Du Mez, author of Jesus and John Wayne, a publication that discovers the worship of Alpha Male role models in the American church. Megan and Michael then examine the presence of Alpha Males in the Australian context, specifically the iconic Man From Snowy...