About this episode

The episode explores the balance between personal passions and faith, ethical considerations in the defense industry, and the historical context of Jesus' trial.

What if you genuinely want to love God, but find yourself more excited by your work, hobbies or a good novel than by reading the Bible? Does that mean something is wrong with your faith?In this episode of Ask NT Wright Anything, Tom Wright and Mike Bird respond to a listener wrestling with fear, assurance and what it really means to desire God. Tom offers a refreshingly different way of thinking about prayer, Scripture and ordinary human passions — including why loving your vocation or even enjoying a crime novel need not compete with loving God.They also tackle the difficult ethical question of whether Christians can work in the defence industry, asking where personal conscience, national defence and responsibility for how our work is ultimately used should meet.Finally, they turn to the trial of Jesus: where exactly did Pontius Pilate judge him, how public would the proceedings have been, and could the Gospel accounts realistically preserve what happened during that extraordinary night?Support & Subscribe👉 Support thought-provoking conversations and help keep the show going at www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate💡❓Got a question for Tom? Go…

People in this episode

Host: Tom Wright

Guest: Mike Bird

Topics covered

• desire for God
• faith and work
• Christian ethics
• defense industry
• trial of Jesus
• Scripture and prayer

Keywords

• desire for God
• Christian ethics
• Pontius Pilate
• defense industry
• faith and work
• Scripture
• prayer

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Premier Unbelievable

More episodes of Ask NT Wright Anything

• Will God Burn up the Earth? Which Anglican Church is right for me, and does Genesis 1 leave room for the "gap theory"? · September 7, 2026 · 48 min
• Are people basically 'good' or 'evil'? Who was the 'beloved' disciple? And is the Sermon on the Mount legalism? · August 31, 2026 · 36 min
• Jesus as the glory of God, Do we need to rethink the Trinity, being a force for theological sanity in your Church · August 17, 2026 · 40 min
• What happens when you die? Near-death experiences, Jesus' sonship and Satan's temptation · August 10, 2026 · 46 min
• The Bible and self-forgiveness? The Ascension and were the Samaritans really Israelites? · August 3, 2026 · 31 min
• Where do Christians go when they die? Jesus kept healing on the Sabbath? And is 'faith' enough? · July 27, 2026 · 26 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Ask NT Wright Anything podcast page.