Reflections on a human experience that’s at once routine and exceptional; both very costly and very good.
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Life & Faith has covered many stories relating to birth over the years – incredible stories of courage and heartbreak, difficult decisions, life and death – but we’ve never done an episode on birth itself: what’s amazing about this process, what’s so hard about it, what makes it so meaningful for so many people.
This year Simon Smart is celebrating a once-every-four-years occasion (yes, he was born on 29 February!) and Natasha Moore is due to head off on maternity leave soon, so Justine Toh joins them for a conversation about birthdays – that is, birth ... days. And midwife Jodie McIver, author of Bringing Forth Life: God’s Purposes in Pregnancy and Birth, offers some insights on the journey to becoming a parent, including how surprisingly frequently pregnancy and birth – in story and as metaphor – feature in the Bible.
“I think the fact that God chooses birth to help us understand deep spiritual realities about his character and work in the world really gives honour to women’s bodies, and to these human experiences as well, as we kind of share in the cost of bringing forth life in our own little way.”
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EXPLORE
Jodie McIver, Bringing Forth Life: God’s Purposes in Pregnancy and Birth
A few other Life & Faith episodes related to birth, touching on disability, loss, infertility, and fostering:
Speak Up, Show Up
Intensive Care
When Life Doesn’t Go to Plan
Home Extension
Fruit-Pickers and Truth-Seekers
When Life Doesn’t Go to Plan
A Christmas Classic
Everyday economics
Culture Making with Andy Crouch
REBROADCAST: A History of Non-violence
Silence and Spirituality in Wild Places
Odd Ball: Greg Sheridan talks about faith
One and Free? Religious freedom in Australia
Costly Virtue: The price of doing what’s right
Busy Bodies: the gifts and curses of the evangelicals
The Dream (and Nightmare) of Technology
Caring for the Queen
Domestic Violence: An Afterstory
Getting History Right
Staying Married
REBROADCAST: An Astronomer’s Guide to the Galaxy
The Merry Philosopher
Ice and Isolation
Asking Questions: Finding Answers
Create your
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It is Free
The Hello Heaven Podcast
Devoted To Prayer
Cast The Word
Let Me Be Frank | Bishop Frank Caggiano’s Podcast | Diocese of Bridgeport, CT
The Bible Recap
BardsFM