In this week’s episode of Cross Section, Danny Webster, Alicia Edmund and Zanna Meynell unpack the spiritual, cultural and political headlines. A recent report from Youthscape has revealed that Gen Z see Jesus as having “a God complex” and “mansplaining”. How is this reflective of this cultural moment? How can we show youth and others the true nature of Jesus?
The conversation then pivots to the ongoing fallout from Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein and what this will mean for Keir Starmer. It has been a challenging and chaotic week within British politics, with Starmer’s position in contention. Why has this story been so huge, with such wide-reaching consequences? How can we as Christians respond to it? Ultimately, can we trust any of our political leaders, or will there always be a repeated pattern of scandal?
The episode concludes with a conversation about Trump’s controversial speech at the US National Prayer Breakfast last week. This has sparked debate about whether or not he should be invited back to the same event next year. Should more people be critiquing him?
Further reading and resources:
Chapters:
0:00 – Introduction
0:27 – Gen Z and spirituality
1:07 – Youthscape report: Troubling Jesus
5:28 – Engaging young people with scripture
8:18 – UK politics: Peter Mandelson and the Epstein files
16:48 – Trust and leadership crisis
19:14 – The church’s response: repentance and sin
24:20 – Trump’s National Prayer Breakfast speech
26:49 – Faith and politics in America
31:55 – Closing thoughts
