Recently, the Somali-born ex-Muslim Ayaan Hirsi Ali announced that, in a seeming departure from her apostate atheism, she had decided to convert to Christianity. This prompted long-time Apologia participant J. Daniel Sawyer to include some anal

Scriptorium: Ryan Sanders, "Unbelievable"

Sep 1st, 2018 1h 5m

Ryan Sanders is a writer and pastor at Irving Bible Church in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex where he focuses on building community. His most recent book is “Unbelievable: Examining the Unlikely Beauty Of the Christian Story,” an honest examin

Scriptorium: Rebekah Valerius, "Orthodoxy"

Jun 1st, 2018 1h 9m

Gilbert Keith Chesterton was a literary figure and theological influence on many British Christians in the 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as a figure of continuing influence in the 21st century evangelical Christian Church. Although I’v

Scriptorium: Lee Valerius, "The Last Temptation of Christ"

Apr 1st, 2018 1h 16m

Lee Valerius is a lay Christian and ardent supporter of the Dallas/Fort Worth apologetics community. In this discussion, we talk about Nikos Kazantzakis’ book, “The Last Temptation of Christ,” and the challenges that it presents to orthodox Chr

Scriptorium: Alix Jules, "The New Jim Crow"

Feb 2nd, 2018 1h 5m

Alix Jules is an activist and writer in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, serving as President of the Board of Directors of the Fellowship of Freethought Dallas, President of Black Non-Believers of Dallas, as well as a national speaker on issues of i

Inquisition: Shunda Lee

Nov 1st, 2017 1h 9m

Shunda Lee was raised in a family that instilled in her a strong sense of Christian identity and morality, though not specifically following any particular denomination. But upon reaching adulthood, Shunda sought to explore the Christian faith

Scriptorium: Trey Grant, "Divided by Faith"

Oct 15th, 2017 1h 2m

Trey Grant is Lead Pastor and founder of The Well Church in Keller, Texas, an intentionally multi-racial congregation that seeks to build a diverse community that worships Jesus together as one. I first met Trey after one of his first Sunday mo

Scriptorium: Dan Ray, "Silence"

Oct 1st, 2017 1h 34m

Scriptorium is a new project I’m undertaking with Apologia, in which I’ll be seeking out interesting discussions about interesting books. These will typically have a theological or philosophical context, and I’ll be inviting people from both si

Inquisition: Martin Hughes

Sep 1st, 2017 1h 4m

Dr. Martin Hughes was raised in a conservative Church of Christ family that embraced the fundamentalist Quiverfull movement, but though he aspired to be an apologist in the mold of C.S. Lewis, his study of literature left him on a path of apost

Inquisition: Ricky Allen & Zac Poppen

Aug 1st, 2017 53m 30s

Ricky Allen and Zac Poppen are two Christians who have become uncomfortable with the rigid requirements of the pervasive evangelical orthodoxy in America today. Though both revel in the study of theology and find spiritual discussions thrilling

Inquisition: George Yancey

Jul 1st, 2017 55m 38s

Dr. George Yancey is the author of "There is No God: Atheists in America," based on research in which I personally participated. He is a professor of sociology at the University of North Texas, contributes at Patheos in the Evangelical Channel

Inquisition: Dan Ray Update

Jun 15th, 2017 35m 40s

In this follow-up interview, I spoke again with Dan Ray, now a graduate of the Houston Baptist University Master's program in Christian Apologetics, and who is looking for more things to do in that realm. With some help from an old professor, a

Inquisition: Averroes Paracha Update

Jun 1st, 2017 26m 24s

Averroes Paracha was the first interview posted to the Inquisition series, recorded mere hours before his baptism into the Christian faith. In this follow-up interview, Averroes talks about the struggles he's had since then, focusing on the cha

Inquisition: Kymberli Cook

Dec 1st, 2016 1h 3m

Kymberli Cook describes herself as a "reluctant apologist," which is an interesting characterization coming from someone who works at the Dallas Theological Seminary's Hendricks Center for Christian Leadership and Cultural Engagement, a positio

Inquisition: Allen Hainline

Oct 1st, 2016 57m

Over the years, I've found myself occasionally returning to the university setting to meet with, speak to, and encourage students in exploring and challenging their doubts. Allen Hainline makes a habit of it. Allen studied physics from the Univ

Inquisition: Ezra Boggs – Part 2

Jul 1st, 2016 47m 54s

The American Church has flourished over the past several decades by building itself up into a distinct subculture that, for a time, was one of the dominant political forces in American society. That all seems to be changing now, and Ezra Boggs

Inquisition: Ezra Boggs – Part 1

Jun 15th, 2016 39m

Many people describe their lives as a roller-coaster. Ezra Boggs describes his life as being shot into space, then falling back to Earth to plunge under the ocean in a submarine. When Ezra was a child growing up in Texas, everyone with a pulse

Inquisition: Blake Giunta – Part 2

Jun 1st, 2016 23m

The Pew Forum and the Barna Research Group have shown that the demographics of the American religious landscape are undergoing a slow but steady shift away from Christianity. In this context, how should the Church respond? Blake Giunta notes th

Inquisition: Blake Giunta – Part 1

May 15th, 2016 22m

Blake Giunta never thought too much about his Christian faith as something objectively verifiable, until a presentation on Christian apologetics changed his mind. He later founded the online ministry BeliefMap, a digital tool designed to give C

Inquisition: Calum Miller

May 1st, 2016 32m

Being a conservative Christian in the United Kingdom is a very different experience from being such in the United States, to say nothing of setting out to develop a career as a young apologist. Calum Miller is a recently-graduated physician fro

Inquisition: Rebekah Valerius – Part 2

Apr 15th, 2016 47m 33s

Aspiring apologist Rebekah Valerius suggests that the rise of the "Nones" and the increasing influence of the New Atheists may be a good thing for the Church, prompting a move in the direction of a more traditional, "Nicene Creed" type of Chris

Inquisition: Rebekah Valerius – Part 1

Apr 1st, 2016 48m 55s

Rebekah Valerius was raised as a Christian with little more than a “Sunday School” understanding of the religion. She struggled with doubt at three critical junctions in her life, first as a struggling young ballet dancer studying far away from

Inquisition: Brandon Tejedor – Part 2

Mar 15th, 2016 42m 21s

What are the sins of the modern American Church, and why does a seminary student think that unless it radically changes soon, it's destined for failure? Brandon Tejedor is not a typical Christian, but he is a much-needed voice of reason from wi

Inquisition: Brandon Tejedor – Part 1

Mar 1st, 2016 1h 19m

I first met Brandon Tejedor over a plastic tray piled high with slow-cooked pit barbecue and pickled jalapeños. Though Brandon was Christian seminary student of apologetics, he had come to meet Justin Schieber, an atheist debater whom he respec

Inquisition: Dan Ray – Part 3

Feb 15th, 2016 1h 6m

In the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, what is meant theologically by the use of light? In this third and final part of my discussion with Dan Ray, we talk at length about the underlying mythology of Middle-earth, and how Tolkien's own Catholic faith