Faith & Finance

Beyond the gift giving, the Christmas turkey and the latest drama in EastEnders, this festival is important for Christians marking the birth of baby Jesus. As the story goes, he was visited by three wise men delivering gold, frankincense and myrrh. These may seem like pretty strange gifts to give a baby, but what value would the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh have today? Marc discusses this with Adrian Ash from Bullion Vault and Shehbaz Khan of The Frankincense Store.

This week on Questions of Faith Mark spoke with Grace Pengelly of the United Reformed Church and Tommy Cloherty from Housing Justice to discuss church reform and housing.

This week Marc looks at the idea that 'Money is the root of all evil' and out obsession with wealth and materialism. Diana Chambers, the family wealth mentor joins Marc to discuss this idea and what religion has to say on the subject of money.

One of the big focuses of the Autumn Statement was housing, with pledges to build more affordable homes. But where does the statement stand on a spiritual level. Marc Spoke to Jacob Quagliozzi, deputy Director of Housing Justice and Paul Morrison from the Methodist Church, to go over the chancellors statement.

For many the thought of living forever is one of science fiction, but it was recently brought to reality with the news of a 14 year-old cancer sufferer whose dying wish was to be cryogenically frozen in the hope a cure would bring her back to life in the future. There has been plenty of debate around the emotional, financial and ethical questions of Cryonics, but where does faith come into it? To answer this, Marc is joined by Reverend Mark Woods and Rabbi Benjy Rickman

For many the thought of living forever is one of science fiction, but it was recently brought to reality with the news of a 14 year-old cancer sufferer whose dying wish was to be cryogenically frozen in the hope a cure would bring her back to life in the future. There has been plenty of debate around the emotional, financial and ethical questions of Cryonics, but where does faith come into it? To answer this, Marc is joined by Reverend Mark Woods and Rabbi Benjy Rickman

Christmas is supposed to be a time where Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, but in modern times, Christmas is much more heavily defined by consumerism. Marc looks at the ramifications of this with Harry Farley of Christian Today and Reverend David Cloake.

Christmas is supposed to be a time where Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, but in modern times, Christmas is much more heavily defined by consumerism. Marc looks at the ramifications of this with Harry Farley of Christian Today and Reverend David Cloake.

From the eagerly anticipated John Lewis advert to Black Friday and cybermonday, it may still be November but the festive period is seen to be under way. That is of course if you define Christmas by a dog jumping on a trampoline or Starbucks offering red cups. But is it right that this festival, essentially celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, should be so defined by consumer and economic issues. Has the Christ been lost from Christmas? I spoke to reverend David Cloake, a former retailer himself.

A new report, put together by Christian think-tank Theos and Canterbury Christ Church University, analyses the role parents play in passing on their beliefs to the next generation. To discuss the report and the role of parents in passing on beliefs, Marc is joined by Nick Spencer, from Theos and Rabbi Yoni Birnbaum, from the Hadley Wood Jewish community. First broadcast:13/11/16

Religion has been increasingly reaching out into the great outdoors and especially into sport. Marc looks at this growth in popularity with Reverend Pete Nichols and Paul Byant, from Faith fueled racing. First broadcast: 06/11/16

Religion is often associated with what takes place behind the closed doors of places of worship. But, increasingly, religion is reaching out into the great outdoors and one area that’s growing in popularity is sport. In fact, the diocese of London has a plan - as part of its Capital Vision 2020 targets - to engage more closely with sport. Marc speaks to Reverend Pete Nichols and to Paul Bryant, founder of the Christian-focused motorbike team Faith Fueled Racing.

With the start of Diwali, Marc looks into the traditions and beliefs that go into the festival, such as fireworks and gift giving. Joining Marc today are Jay Lakhani of the Hindu Council and Dan Fisher of Physical Gold. First broadcast: 30/10/16

As the nights begin to draw in and the clocks go back, there’s one sure sign that we are entering winter, and that’s Diwali. The Hindu festival of lights starts today - a five-day festival, the biggest in the Hindu calendar, which is marked with fireworks and gift giving, traditionally gold. Marc also finds out how the gold price affects Diwali.

Marc is joined by professor Torkel Brekke, author of Faithonomics and Baptist minister Shaun Lambert, to discuss whether faith and religion can be bought and sold, just like any other commodity. First broadcast: 23/10/16

This month marks the 80th anniversary of the battle of cable street, where the British Union of Fascists attempted to march in predominantly Jewish areas of East London, but were met with resistance from the Jewish community as well as other anti-fascist groups. To discuss this historical event and it's implications today, Marc is joined by Daniel Tilles from the University of Kraków and Mark Gardner, from the Community Security Trust. First broadcast: 16/10/16

Marc is joined by Nick Tolson of National Churchwatch and Eddie Tulasiwich of the National churches trust to discuss the Churches open door policy and the possible need for security in an age of global terror threats. First broadcast: 02/10/16

The Jewish Council for Racial Equality has been running a Let the Children In campaign, to urge the government to honour a promise to provide sanctuary to some of the estimated 90,000 lone child refugees in Europe. In order to find out about the campaign, Marc talks to, Edie Friedman from Jewish council for racial equality and Nic Schlagman who has been supporting the safe passage campaign. First broadcast: 25/09/16

Religious freedom is protected in the UK by law so employers must be flexible with their workforce, but how far should companies go to accommodate everyone? Marc looks at this with Simon Webley, from the Institute of Business Ethics and Simon McCrossan of the Evangelical Alliance. First broadcast: 18/09/16

Ofgom recently revealed that 3.8 million people have switched energy suppliers in the first six months of the year and now campaigners are calling for Churches to follow and to switch to more renewable energy sources. Two such campaigners, Ben Niblett, from TearFund and Tim Gee from Christian Aid join Marc to discuss what should be done. First broadcast: 11/09/16