Burning Questions
With Dr. Andy Bannister
Talon Productions
About the DVD
Six-part documentary series from RZIM Canada
Burning Questions was carefully developed by RZIM over 18 months with the intent to create a tool to generate respectful, thoughtful dialogue on key faith questions, engaging both skeptics and seekers. Rather than providing pat answers, in the documentary series, Dr. Bannister interviews credible global experts from a wide range of backgrounds – leading atheists, passionate Muslims and convinced Buddhists – on these questions that transcend culture.
Questions addressed include:
- Is There a God?
- If so…. why is there evil and suffering?
- Has science eliminated religion?
- There are thousands of different religions: which one is true?
- Can we take the Bible seriously, or is it just a myth?
- Who was Jesus of Nazareth and does it matter?
Who is Dr. Andy Bannister?
Dr. Andy Bannister is the Director and Lead Apologist for RZIM Canada. He speaks and teaches regularly throughout Canada, the USA, Europe and the wider world. From churches to universities, business forums to TV and radio, Andy regularly addresses audience of both Christians and those of all faiths and none on issues relating to faith, culture, politics and society.
With a background in youth ministry before studying theology and philosophy (focussing especially on Islam), Andy was previously based in Oxford, from where he worked with churches and organisations across the denominational spectrum.
Andy holds a PhD in Islamic studies, a topic on which he has taught extensively, especially since 9/11 and the huge interest that was sparked in the subject by the events of that day. He has spoken and taught at universities across Canada, the USA, the UK and further afield on both Islam and philosophy and is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at Melbourne School of Theology.
Andy is the author of An Oral-Formulaic Study of the Qur’an, a groundbreaking and innovative study that reveals many of the ways the Qur’an was first composed. His latest book, The Atheist Who Didn’t Exist (or: The Terrible Consequences of Really Bad Arguments) is due to be published in summer 2014.
When not travelling, speaking, or writing, Andy is a keen hiker, mountain climber and photographer. He lives in Toronto and is married to Astrid and they have one daughter, Caitriona.
My Thoughts
Burning Questions was carefully developed by RZIM over 18 months with the intent to create a tool to generate respectful, thoughtful dialogue on key faith questions, engaging both skeptics and seekers. Rather than providing pat answers, in the documentary series, Dr. Bannister interviews credible global experts from a wide range of backgrounds – leading atheists, passionate Muslims and convinced Buddhists – on these questions that transcend culture. This is a DVD which will hopefully help you answer some of questions that you wonder yourself or someone you know is asking these questions. The DVD contains six episodes which will highlight a specific question that is asked by many people around the world. Let’s explore the questions together.
The first episode covers the questions: Is there a God? It is perhaps the biggest burning question that is in the mind of many people everywhere. Are we alone in a meaningless, purposeless universe or is there some kind of creator – some kind of higher power out there? It is a debated questions that is often covered in books, podcasts, and documentaries. On one hand, the culture has seen a bigger interest in atheism whose advocates tell us that anyone who even professes belief in a deity is simply insane or irrational. However, belief in God is alive and well. Over 90% of people around the world believe in a higher power.
The second episode will spend on time on the question: Hasn’t science buried God? Since the scientific revolution in the 16th and the 17th centuries, we have made huge advances in physics, chemistry, and biology. People have a tendency to think that science has pushed God out of the picture. But he is really?
The third episode will take you on an investigation of the problem of evil. When the Titanic departed from the docks at Southampton nobody would have thoughts that four days later it would sink tragically after hitting an iceberg with over 2500 people loosing their lives on that fateful voyage. Whatever our worldview whether we are Atheist, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindus, or Christians – whatever it is that you believe, disasters raise the question “Why?”. Why do bad things happen to good people?
In episode four, you will explore which religion is true. Toronto is a multi-cultural city in Canada. It is in fact on of the most multi-cultural city in the world. In Toronto, you can meet people from every culture, country, religion, and belief system. This huge diversity of religions that exists makes us wonder which religion is true. How can you choose?
In episode five, you will discover if you can trust the Bible. Let’s face it. The Bible is the best selling book of all time. However, many countries around the world have tried to ban it from their borders. Christians around the world have been jailed and faced execution for the crime of smuggling Bibles in these countries. In this episode, you will discover if the Bible is reliable.
Finally, in episode six you will discover who was Jesus. Was he a man who was simply teaching or a man whose claims could inspire such devotion and commitment from people.
In an effort to answers these questions, Dr. Andy Bannister interviews numerous people from different beliefs and religions, whether that person is a spiritual leader or a professor, Atheist, Christian, Jews, Muslim and more.
I think that kind of DVD is always good to watch in order to grasp a better understanding in the belief system of the people around us and discover other worldviews. I find that these kind of questions and discussions help to affirm our belief in God. Every Christian who desire to deepen his/her understanding of worldviews and be able to have an intelligent conversation with someone different that yourself. I would highly encourage parents to watch this with their teenagers in order to equip them in such conversations and help them to see the difference in worldviews that they might encounter at college and university.
What I particularly like is the fact that this DVD has been supported and promoted by Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM).
A free comprehensive study guide is available for download when you go to burningquestions.ca.
Burning Questions is available for purchase directly from BooksforChrist.com for the price of 39.99$.
