Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Kenza Haddock to share her story of how Jesus changed her life.

Questions Covered in This Episode:

• Tell us about your life story.
• Was your identity tied to being a Muslim?
• What changed when you moved to the US?
• What does “the end times” mean for a Muslim? What does it mean for a Christian?
• How did you know it was Jesus in your dream?
• What was it that led you to believe in Jesus?
• What is Romans 10:9?
• Why did you have to move away from your family?
• What would your advice be to people who were raised in a Muslim home and are trying to figure out faith in Jesus?
• How has your faith in Jesus helped you understand more of yourself in mental health challenges? How has it helped you, help others?
• How would you as a Christian help others to think better about their Muslim neighbors?

Guest Bio:

Kenza Haddock is a Christian author, licensed professional counselor, and a board certified pastoral counselor. She is the co-owner of Oceanic Counseling Group LLC, an outpatient mental health agency headquartered in South Carolina. Haddock is a sought-after speaker—she has spoken at conferences and churches, and she has been featured in dozens of news channels, including ABC 15, for her expertise in Christian counseling.

Resources Mentioned:

• Romans 10:9, Hebrews 4:6,1 John 1:9
• “The Ex-Muslim's Guide to Christianity” by Kenza Haddock

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Confronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon.

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Tom Rudelius to discuss Tom’s story, the probability of the multiverse, belief in God, and where hope can be found in suffering.

Questions Covered in This Episode:

• How did you become a Christian?
• How did you originally tie science and academics with your faith once you became a Christian?
• What areas and topics are you currently researching?
• Why is it called string theory?
• Is the idea of the Big Bang incompatible with belief in God?
• Help us understand where we are today in the Universe in the laws of nature with intelligent life and/or the multiverse.
• Do most of your colleagues believe in the multiverse? What do they think of people who believe in God?
• What does Christianity have to offer in terms of facing suffering?

Guest Bio:

Tom Rudelius completed his undergraduate work at Cornell, earned a doctorate in physics at Harvard, and has conducted postdoctoral research at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Currently a postdoctoral researcher in theoretical physics at the University of California, Berkeley, Tom will begin a faculty position at Durham University in the fall of 2023. His research focuses on string theory, quantum field theory, and early universe cosmology. A man of faith and an avid sports fan, he is frequently requested to speak on topics related to science and faith.

Resources Mentioned:

• Romans 13, Genesis 1, Job
• “Just Six Numbers” by Martin Rees

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Confronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon.

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Matthew Martens to discuss if Christianity can help reform the criminal justice system. 

Questions Covered in This Episode:

• What is the quick summary of what you are proposing in this book?
• What does Christianity have to do with the criminal justice system?
• Why does Christianity have a proposal for reforming the criminal justice system in America?
• The number of people has increased substantially, what is the reason for that?
• When you think about where we are today for criminal justice, how is that politically motivated?
• Is the right Christian response to just let people go freely even if they have done something wrong?
• How can we tell if someone has truly repented of their crimes?
• Were you a Christian before you became a lawyer? Did that lead to your decision to become a lawyer?

Guest Bio:

Matthew Martens has been a lawyer for 27 years after graduating first in his class at the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1996. At the outset of his legal career, Matthew spent two years in Washington, DC serving as a law clerk for a federal court of appeals judge and then to Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist at the US Supreme Court.

In the years that followed, he has worked both as a federal prosecutor (9 years) and as a criminal defense attorney (13 years). Matthew is currently a partner in the Washington, DC office of one of the world's largest law firms. Along the way, he attended seminary part-time at Dallas Theological Seminary, graduating with a master's degree in biblical studies in 2010. Matthew is currently pursuing a Th.M. in theological ethics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Resources Mentioned:

• Romans 13
• “Reforming Criminal Justice” by Matthew T. Martens

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Confronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon.

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Vermon Pierre to have a conversation about how God's love for His church deepens our love for each other

Questions Covered in This Episode:

• What does your day-to-day life look like as a pastor?
• How did you become a Christian? What draws you to Christian community?
• What ethnic background was the church you grew up in?
• What was your experience with your faith at Princeton?
• What do you think about the local church theologically? What does that look like practically?
• Can you share an example where you have seen this lived out?
• How would you encourage someone who is hesitant to participate in a local church?
• How can someone be vulnerable in friendship?
   

Guest Bio:

Vermon Pierre is a founding pastor and the lead pastor at Roosevelt Community Church in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the author of Gospel Shaped Living, Dearly Beloved and a contributor to The New City Catechism Devotional. Vermon is a Princeton University graduate and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He and his wife Dennae live in downtown Phoenix and have five children.

Resources Mentioned:

• “Dearly Beloved” by Vermon Pierre

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Confronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon.

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Ian Hutchinson to discuss the relationship between science and the Christian faith.

Questions Covered in This Episode:

• What is your scientific research on?
• When did you become a Christian?
• Is there a contradiction between the Christian faith and science?
• How would help someone who thinks miracles are not plausible?
• What is the strongest piece of evidence for the resurrection of Jesus?
• What would you say to someone who doesn’t think there is a need to choose to believe or not believe?
• What would you say to someone who feels like it is too late to put their faith in Jesus?

Guest Bio:

Ian H. Hutchinson is Professor Emeritus of Nuclear Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His primary research interest is plasma physics, especially the magnetic confinement of plasmas (ionized gases): seeking to enable fusion reactions, the energy source of the stars, to be used for practical energy production. Hutchinson received his B.A. in physics and M.A. from Cambridge University. He then received his Ph.D in engineering physics from Australian National University, where he was a Commonwealth Scholar. 

In addition to 250 journal articles on a variety of plasma phenomena, Dr. Hutchinson is widely known for his standard textbook on measuring plasmas: Principles of Plasma Diagnostics, and A Student's Guide to Numerical Methods. He has written and lectured extensively on the relationship between science and the Christian faith, and authored the books Monopolizing Knowledge and Can a Scientist Believe in Miracles?. 

Resources Mentioned:

• 1 Corinthians 15:3-8
• “Can a Scientist Believe in Miracles?” by Ian Hutchinson

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Confronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon.

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Irwyn Ince to have a conversation about CrossFit, Jesus, and where his hope is found. 

Questions Covered in This Episode:

• How did you get into CrossFit?
• Tell us about the community aspect of Crossfit.
• How did you become a Christian?
• How did becoming a Christian change your way of thinking?
• How does the history of race in America impact the way we view church today?
• What would you say to someone who knows something is missing from their life but thinks that CrossFit is meeting their need for community?
• How does the reality of hope in the Christian life inform the race you are running now?

Guest Bio:

Irwyn Ince is a pastor at Grace DC Presbyterian Church, director of the Grace DC Institute for Cross Cultural Mission, and a Board member of The Gospel Coalition. He has contributed to the books Heal Us, Emmanuel and All Are Welcome: Toward a Multi-Everything Church and authored The Beautiful Community: Unity, Diversity, and the Church at Its Best. He and his wife, Kim, have four children.

In addition to his passion for his family and for ministry, Dr. Ince is gleefully committed to coffee and CrossFit. When he’s not spending time with his family or preaching and teaching in the church, you can find him coaching classes at a local CrossFit gym in DC.

Resources Mentioned:

• Hebrews 11-13
• “Hope Ain't a Hustle” by Irwyn Ince

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Confronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon.

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Vaneetha Risner to discuss her life story and what God has taught her through suffering. 

Questions Covered in This Episode:

• Can you share a little of your life and how you became a Christian?
• What happened once you became a Christian?
• Has suffering helped you set your eyes on the future hope we have as Christians?

Guest Bio:

Vaneetha Rendall Risner is the author of several books including but not limited to; Desperate For Hope, Walking Through Fire, and The Scars That Have Shaped Me. Vaneetha and her husband Joel live in Raleigh, NC, where she writes at her website, encouraging readers to turn to Christ in their pain.

Resources Mentioned:

• Psalm 119, John 11, 2 Corinthians 4:17

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Confronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon.

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Gray Sutanto to have a conversation about why God doesn’t save everyone.

Questions Covered in This Episode:

• Can you give us a 60 second overview of your life?
• When you were 12, what made you turn to atheism? When you were 17 what made you turn to Jesus?
• Why doesn't God save everyone?
• Are human beings fundamentally good?
• What is concupiscence?
• Were we created with concupiscence? Or is this a feature of our curroption from the fall?
• How is it fair that God chooses one person over another to save?
• How is this invitation open to everyone, if not everyone has heard the gospel?

Guest Bio:

N. Gray Sutanto (PhD, University of Edinburgh) is assistant professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. He is the author of God and Knowledge, coauthor of Neo-Calvinism: A Theological Introduction, cotranslator of Herman Bavinck’s Christian Worldview, and coeditor of Handbook to Neo-Calvinism. Gray is married to Indita and they have a daughter. He is an ordained minister in the International Presbyterian Church. You can follow him on Twitter.

Helpful Definitions:

• Concupiscence: The gravitational pull to sin.

Resources Mentioned:

• Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:4-5, Romans 3, Job

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Confronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon.

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Elizabeth Woodson to discuss how following Jesus is better than you could possibly imagine.

Questions Covered in This Episode:

• How would you explain what the gospel is for those who don’t know?
• What inspired you to write “Embrace your Life,” what is it about?
• What story is the bible telling us?
• How does our story either fit or not fit into the Story of the Bible?
• What would you say to someone who says it feels childish to put their hope in Jesus?

Guest Bio:

Elizabeth Woodson is a Bible teacher and author who is passionate about equipping believers to understand the rich theological truths of Scripture. She loves helping people internalize their faith and connect it practically to everyday life. She is a contributing author for World on Fire and the author of Embrace Your Life: How to Find Joy When the Life You Have Is Not the Life You Hoped For. She is also a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary with a Masters in Christian Education.

Resources Mentioned:

“Embrace Your Life”

 by Elizabeth Woodson

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Confronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon.

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by James Eglinton to have a conversation about the arguments for and against euthanasia, how Christians should think about it, and where our hope can be found.

Questions Covered in This Episode:

• What is euthanasia? What is this conversation about? How does it connect to The Great British Bake Off?
• Why might people be in favor of euthanasia?
• What is your wife's perspective as someone who is involved in geriatric care as a medical professional?
• How should Christians think about euthanasia?
• What are the compelling arguments against euthanasia?
• How can Christians enter into these spaces and conversations?
• What is it about being a human that makes us valuable?
• What is the meaning of suffering?

Guest Bio:

James Eglinton is the Meldrum Senior Lecturer in Reformed Theology at New College, the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of several books; including but not limited to, Trinity and Organism, Neo-Calvinism and the French Revolution, Herman Bavinck on Preaching and Preachers, and Bavinck: A Critical Biography. He serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Reformed Theology published by Bril and is a co-host for the Grace in Common podcast

Resources Mentioned:

Prue Leith's Approach to Euthanasia is Imprudent by James Eglinton

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Confronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon.

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Justin Brierley have a conversation about if people are still asking if God is dead and why.

Questions Covered in This Episode:

• Are people still asking if God is dead?
• What is driving that?
• Where do people tend to get stuck when they try to answer this question?
• How does the Christian heritage of our culture show the truth?
• Why is it so weird, that the God we believe in came to to earth to die?
• In your conversations with people, are they specific about who God is or more general about belief?
• Have you seen a story of suffering lead people to Jesus?
• What would you say to someone who wants to believe but is highly educated?

Guest Bio:

Justin is a freelance writer, speaker and broadcaster who has become known for creating dialogues between Christians and non-Christians. Justin has worked in radio, podcast and video for over two decades. Until April 2023 he was Theology & Apologetics Editor for Premier Christian Radio, and hosted the Unbelievable? radio show and podcast as well as the Ask NT Wright Anything podcast. Justin was also editor of Premier Christianity magazine from 2014-2018, for which he continues to contribute articles.

He is the author of 'Unbelievable? Why, after ten years of talking with atheists, I'm still a Christian' and 'The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God.' Justin currently co-hosts the Re-Enchanting podcast for Seen & Unseen, and is a guest presenter for the Maybe God podcast. He has also recently launched The Surprising Rebirth Of Belief in God podcast documentary series.

Justin is married to Lucy, a church minister in Surrey, and they have 4 amazing children - Noah, Grace, Jeremy and Toby.

Resources Mentioned:

• “The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God” by Justin Brierley
• “Outgrowing God: A Beginner's Guide” Richard Dawkins
• The Surprising Rebirth Of Belief in God

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Our Sister Shows:
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Confronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon.