Robert Beckford

It is a book that originated thousands of years ago in the Middle East. The subject of intensive scholarship and interpretation, the Bible and its rich narratives have shaped politics, culture, and the human experience through the ages. Seven people from different walks of life offer their perspectives on what history's best selling book says about spiritual life and relationships with others.

Was the Christ Story stolen from other, older religions? Theologian Dr Robert Beckford investigates remarkable parallels between the stories of Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Mithra, and other major religious entities, and examines how these similarities impact Christianity and its message.

Professor Robert Beckford looks at how immigration, radical social action, conservative morality and charismatic worship are all transforming the face of the faith, and asks what that might mean for the future in an increasingly secular society. Some academics are warning that popular churches who take a firm line on issues like gay marriage, abortion and euthanasia are pushing Christianity farther away from the attitudes of mainstream society. Others believe that the fervour of charismatic faith is attracting large numbers, but ignoring a quiet exodus out of the back door. Robert Beckford speaks to church leaders in the UK, including the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, about how they see the future. This revealing film gets to the heart of what’s changing within Christianity in the UK. It will show how the faithful are kicking back against the steady decline in church attendance, and provide evidence of a more committed, but potentially divided, future.

Robert Beckford learned the Bible at his mother's knee and grew up believing that it was literally true. But, 20 years on from his Baptist upbringing, Beckford is no longer so sure that 'the good book' is the pure, unadulterated word of God untouched by human hand. For Beckford, who wrote the Bible matters more today than perhaps at any other moment in living memory. His journey takes him from Birmingham to the West Bank, from Jerusalem to Turkey, and from Rome to Bible Belt America.

Robert Beckford visits Ghana in order to see the poverty of its people and find its causes.

An investigation of Professor Willie Ruff's claims that gospel music and the tradition of "lining out", is actually rooted in the Gaelic music traditions of the Scottish slave-owners rather than in African culture. Ten Gaelic psalm singers from the Isle of Lewis go to a church in Alabama to sing before a traditional gospel congregation.