I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist

The Bible is God’s Word. It contains history, entertaining stories, poetry, philosophy, and personal letters. However, the Bible is not just a list of wise sayings that can be pulled out as if from a fortune cookie. It is a unified work and must be carefully read and studied in context. So, the million-dollar question is: How can we know what parts of the Bible apply to us today? On today’s podcast, Frank responds to a listener who calls him a “heretic” for saying that Jeremiah 29:11 is not a promise to modern-day Christians. After all, if it’s not a promise, why is it in the Bible? And does that mean we should ignore other verses like John 3:16 too? To view the entire VIDEO PODCAST, be sure to join our CrossExamined private community. It’s the perfect place to jump into some great discussions with like-minded Christians while simultaneously providing financial support for our ministry. If you would like to submit a question to be answered on the show, please email your question to Hello@Crossexamined.org. Subscribe on Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/CrossExamined_Podcast Rate and review! Thanks!!! Subscribe on Google Play: https://cutt.ly/0E2eua9 Subscribe on Spotify: http://bit.ly/CrossExaminedOfficial_Podcast Subscribe on Stitcher: http://bit.ly/CE_Podcast_Stitcher  

How old is the universe? All Christians agree that “God created the heavens and the earth,” but WHEN? Join Frank in this special midweek podcast episode as he unpacks the age-old question that everyone won’t stop talking about! To view the entire VIDEO PODCAST, be sure to join our CrossExamined private community. It’s the perfect place to jump into some great discussions with like-minded Christians while simultaneously providing financial support for our ministry. If you would like to submit a question to be answered on the show, please email your question to Hello@Crossexamined.org. Subscribe on Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/CrossExamined_Podcast Rate and review! Thanks!!! Subscribe on Google Play: https://cutt.ly/0E2eua9 Subscribe on Spotify: http://bit.ly/CrossExaminedOfficial_Podcast Subscribe on Stitcher: http://bit.ly/CE_Podcast_Stitcher  

Do we need a Ph.D. in ancient Near East culture to understand what the book of Genesis really means? Some Bible scholars make it sound like we need to go way beyond just basic grammar skills to get a firm grasp of what is truly happening in the text. Why would God do that? In the first half of this week’s podcast episode, Frank continues the conversation from the past two weeks on Bible interpretation and the Book of Genesis and gives listeners a broad introduction to biblical hermeneutics. Then, CrossExamined speaker Dr. John Ferrer joins the program to do a deep dive into the interpretation of Genesis 1 and Exodus with a special emphasis on the striking differences between the Bible and Mesopotamian + Egyptian creation stories. Fascinating stuff! You’ll walk away with two helpful acronyms to keep in mind whenever you read the Bible as well as a better understanding of how God chooses to reveal Himself to us. To view the entire VIDEO PODCAST, be sure to join our CrossExamined private community. It’s the perfect place to jump into some great discussions with like-minded Christians while simultaneously providing financial support for our ministry. If you would like to submit a question to be answered on the show, please email your question to Hello@Crossexamined.org. Subscribe on Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/CrossExamined_Podcast Rate and review! Thanks!!! Subscribe on Google Play: https://cutt.ly/0E2eua9 Subscribe on Spotify: http://bit.ly/CrossExaminedOfficial_Podcast Subscribe on Stitcher: http://bit.ly/CE_Podcast_Stitcher  

Many have attempted to discredit the Kalam Cosmological Argument for God. Have they succeeded? Join Frank for this special midweek podcast episode as he hosts not one, but TWO of the most accomplished Christian philosophers, Dr. William Lane Craig and Dr. Stephen C. Meyer. Both guests present their own approaches to the argument and answer the main objections to it. And during the second half of the show, they tackle a long list of thought-provoking (and sometimes mind-boggling) listener questions! Including: If God created the universe, who created God? How is math the product of a mind? What does “began to exist” mean in the Kalam cosmological argument? How do we know the creator is the Christian God? What is the Borde-Guth-Vilenkin (BGV) theorem? Is it possible to reconcile young + old earth creation views? If God is timeless, how did He create time? To view the entire VIDEO PODCAST, be sure to join our CrossExamined private community. It’s the perfect place to jump into some great discussions with like-minded Christians while simultaneously providing financial support for our ministry. Connect with the guests: Dr. William Lane Craig: https://www.reasonablefaith.org/ Dr. Stephen C. Meyer’s website: https://stephencmeyer.org/ Dr. Stephen C. Meyer’s online course: https://bit.ly/3GL1qKB If you would like to submit a question to be answered on the show, please email your question to Hello@Crossexamined.org. Subscribe on Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/CrossExamined_Podcast Rate and review! Thanks!!! Subscribe on Google Play: https://cutt.ly/0E2eua9 Subscribe on Spotify: http://bit.ly/CrossExaminedOfficial_Podcast Subscribe on Stitcher: http://bit.ly/CE_Podcast_Stitcher  

Should we interpret the Bible literally? One of our recent shows has stirred up a hornet’s nest with regard to that question! Just HOW do we interpret the Bible? Can something be true, but not expressed literally? And if that’s the case, why would God make things so difficult for us to figure out? On this week’s podcast episode, Frank responds to a listener’s question that relates to the discussion he had with Dr. John Walton last week on the right way to interpret Genesis. He does a deep dive into Genesis 1:1 and explains that even though everything in the Bible is literally true, not everything in the Bible is expressed literally. He also walks listeners through a fun + educational thought experiment and shares some of the most popular Hebrew and Greek idioms we find in the Bible. If you (or the people you disciple) ever wished that the Bible had an EASY button you need to take a listen, because we might just change your mind! To view the entire VIDEO PODCAST, be sure to join our CrossExamined private community. It’s the perfect place to jump into some great discussions with like-minded Christians while simultaneously providing financial support for our ministry. If you would like to submit a question to be answered on the show, please email your question to Hello@Crossexamined.org. Subscribe on Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/CrossExamined_Podcast Rate and review! Thanks!!! Subscribe on Google Play: https://cutt.ly/0E2eua9 Subscribe on Spotify: http://bit.ly/CrossExaminedOfficial_Podcast Subscribe on Stitcher: http://bit.ly/CE_Podcast_Stitcher  

George Orwell once said, “In a time of universal deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” Those seem like prophetic words as we watched two major news events unfold this past week. The first–Ivan Provorov, the Philadelphia Flyers hockey player who cited his religious beliefs for skipping an NHL-sponsored LGBTQ pride event. And second–Rebecca Phillips, a 17-year-old girl who reported a naked trans-woman she encountered after getting out of the shower in a California YMCA women’s locker room. Both Provorov and Phillips received criticism from the media and the general public for their actions, inciting a social media storm of name-calling and angry comments. On this midweek podcast episode, Frank takes a look at some of these comments and demonstrates with logic and reasoning how these hollow “arguments” against the actions of Provorov and Phillips point to a culture that puts symbolism over substance. Now more than ever, we need to calmly and reasonably stand in the way of evil by telling people the truth–even if they hate us for it. Why? Because that’s the most loving thing to do! To view the entire VIDEO PODCAST, be sure to join our CrossExamined private community. It’s the perfect place to jump into some great discussions with like-minded Christians while simultaneously providing financial support for our ministry. If you would like to submit a question to be answered on the show, please email your question to Hello@Crossexamined.org. Subscribe on Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/CrossExamined_Podcast Rate and review! Thanks!!! Subscribe on Google Play: https://cutt.ly/0E2eua9 Subscribe on Spotify: http://bit.ly/CrossExaminedOfficial_Podcast Subscribe on Stitcher: http://bit.ly/CE_Podcast_Stitcher  

Your children may know WHAT they believe about the Christian faith but do they know WHY? What happens when they leave the safe comforts of home and someone challenges their beliefs–will they know how to respond? Or maybe your child is already questioning the validity of Christianity and the Bible and you don’t even know it yet. Don’t panic! Former public-school teacher and certified apologist Shanda Fulbright is here to help! She says skepticism about God, Jesus, and the Bible usually begins during the middle school years, which is why we need to start teaching kids as early as possible about how God’s Word and God’s world connect. She sits down with Frank to explain the layered process parents should use to create a strong foundation for their child’s faith and also shares some of the challenges she faced as a parent and public-school teacher in California. Shanda also points out that many parents feel ill-equipped to teach their children the objective truth behind the Christian worldview because they were never taught it themselves. That’s where her online course (co-authored with Frank), Let’s Get Real: Examining the Evidence for God, saves the day! This course was specially designed for 6-8th graders and will take students on a challenging (but FUN!) journey as they dig in and become confident that Christianity is true and not just stories–that Christianity isn’t just an opinion or preference, but a belief based on FACTS. To view the entire VIDEO PODCAST, be sure to join our CrossExamined private community. It’s the perfect place to jump into some great discussions with like-minded Christians while simultaneously providing financial support for our ministry. ‘Let’s Get Real’ PREMIUM online course for kids: https://bit.ly/3jX4IS1 Shanda’s website: https://shandafulbright.com/ If you would like to submit a question to be answered on the show, please email your question to Hello@Crossexamined.org. Subscribe on Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/CrossExamined_Podcast Rate and review! Thanks!!! Subscribe on Google Play: https://cutt.ly/0E2eua9 Subscribe on Spotify: http://bit.ly/CrossExaminedOfficial_Podcast Subscribe on Stitcher: http://bit.ly/CE_Podcast_Stitcher  

Just when you thought there was nothing new to be said about the Book of Genesis, Dr. John Walton shows up! Dr. Walton is an Old Testament scholar and Professor at Wheaton College and has written many books on the Old Testament and its ancient Near Eastern background, including a commentary on Genesis, and his popular Lost World series. In this midweek podcast episode, he sits down with Frank to discuss why being faithful to the context lies at the heart of our understanding of what the Bible communicates to us about God as our creator. In other words, we need to stop viewing it through a modern lens and placing our cultural expectations on it–demanding it to answer questions it was never intended to address. Some of the ideas and questions they discuss include: What is a cultural river and why is it important? What kind of story is Genesis 1? What did the ancient Israelites think about the material world? The Egyptian creation story vs. the Bible What does it really mean to read the Bible literally? What’s up with the Nephilim? Was there a global or localized flood?   To view the entire VIDEO PODCAST, be sure to join our CrossExamined private community. It’s the perfect place to jump into some great discussions with like-minded Christians while simultaneously providing financial support for our ministry. Resources mentioned during the show: The Lost World of Genesis One: https://a.co/d/a76qyNN Wisdom for Faithful Reading: https://a.co/d/0k3LrXL Old Testament Theology for Christians: https://a.co/d/bxzYb5x Dr. John Walton at Wheaton College: http://bit.ly/3jXdn6H If you would like to submit a question to be answered on the show, please email your question to Hello@Crossexamined.org. Subscribe on Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/CrossExamined_Podcast Rate and review! Thanks!!! Subscribe on Google Play: https://cutt.ly/0E2eua9 Subscribe on Spotify: http://bit.ly/CrossExaminedOfficial_Podcast Subscribe on Stitcher: http://bit.ly/CE_Podcast_Stitcher  

Who or what are we worshiping? Are we bowing to the one true God, or to the god of the self? We’ve all witnessed the Western world change quite dramatically, especially during the past few years. It goes from faith “deconstruction” to woke ideology to radical gender theory. Anti-Christian ideas haven’t just crept into our homes. They’ve kicked the door down and pulled a chair up to the table! Christians feel immense pressure to bow down to these false idols as we watch the culture (and many of our loved ones) being shaken up all around us. Once you decide to take a stand for Christ and His authority, how do you hold your ground and live boldly in a world that is downright hostile to the idea of objective and Biblical truth? That’s the BIG question Alisa Childers, Natasha Crain, and Frank will be tackling in the first-ever UNSHAKEN Conference which is set to take place in Dayton, Ohio on 1/28 along with three other locations later this year! In this podcast episode, Alisa and Natasha sit down with Frank to give us a glimpse into some of the content they’ll be sharing at the conference, which is set to be unlike any other apologetics conference you’ve ever seen before! To view the entire VIDEO PODCAST, be sure to join our CrossExamined private community. It’s the perfect place to jump into some great discussions with like-minded Christians while simultaneously providing financial support for our ministry. UNSHAKEN conference info + tickets: https://unshakenconference.com/ If you would like to submit a question to be answered on the show, please email your question to Hello@Crossexamined.org. Subscribe on Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/CrossExamined_Podcast Rate and review! Thanks!!! Subscribe on Google Play: https://cutt.ly/0E2eua9 Subscribe on Spotify: http://bit.ly/CrossExaminedOfficial_Podcast Subscribe on Stitcher: http://bit.ly/CE_Podcast_Stitcher  

C.S. Lewis famously said, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” And someone who can quote C.S. Lewis better than most people is the winsome and award-winning actor Max McLean who joins Frank on our midweek podcast today! Max is the founder and artistic director of the Fellowship for Performing Arts, a New York City-based non-profit production company that produces live theater and film from a Christian worldview to engage a diverse audience. In addition to his narration of The Listener’s Bible, Max is most well-known for his many stage adaptions of books and essays by C.S. Lewis, including the feature-length film, The Most Reluctant Convert: The Untold Story of C.S. Lewis, and his current on-stage production of Further Up and Further In, which may be coming to a city near you soon! In this episode, Max sits down with Frank to discuss his inspiration for developing this play, which is a dazzling, state-of-the-art, multimedia experience that explores what made C.S. Lewis such an effective apologist/evangelist to skeptics. Further Up and Further In picks up where The Most Reluctant Convert ends and is sure to impress believers and non-believers alike! At one point during the podcast, you’ll hear Max go into character as he performs the first scene of the play! To view the entire VIDEO PODCAST, be sure to join our CrossExamined private community. It’s the perfect place to jump into some great discussions with like-minded Christians while simultaneously providing financial support for our ministry. Remember, our team members all work remotely, this allows us to allocate 100% of your donations to ministry work and 0% to buildings! Ticket and show information: https://cslewisonstage.com/ If you would like to submit a question to be answered on the show, please email your question to Hello@Crossexamined.org. Subscribe on Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/CrossExamined_Podcast Rate and review! Thanks!!! Subscribe on Google Play: https://cutt.ly/0E2eua9 Subscribe on Spotify: http://bit.ly/CrossExaminedOfficial_Podcast Subscribe on Stitcher: http://bit.ly/CE_Podcast_Stitcher