Coffeehouse Questions With Ryan Pauly

How do we make sense of Christianity? Why are there so many scandals in the church? Why is it filled with hypocrisy? Why do Christians struggle with mental illness instead of displaying the fruit of the Spirit? How can I believe in God or miracles today? Come join the conversation as we try to make sense of some of the most challenging questions related to Christianity. Content Discussed: 0:00 Introduction 1:35 Why are so many struggling to make sense of Christianity? 5:02 Is deconversion more of a problem or is there hope with what you see? 9:15 How did your story influence this book? 13:05 What would you say to someone whose Bible reading is the cause of their doubt? 18:15 Are apologists setting up an unrealistic expectation with evidence? 22:33 Evidence and Experience are both necessary 24:00 Why are there so many scandals in the church? 26:41 What can we say to those who have been hurt by those in spiritual authority? 31:15 How do you make sense of the Holy Spirit changing hearts yet not seeing the chang

Does your personal relationship with God count as evidence of His existence, or is there a natural explanation for what Christians experience? Do Christians only see what they want to believe and therefore support the beliefs they already hold? Atheist Armin Navabi addresses the argument "I feel a personal relationship with God, so I know that he is real" in chapter 7 of his book, "Why There Is No God." Today's show will consider his objections as we look at how our relationship with God can be evidence of his existence. Send in your questions for the Q&A at the end and enjoy the discussion!

Can answered prayers be used as evidence for God's existence, or is prayer nothing more than an illusion or placebo effect? Does it help or does it have harmful effects? We continue our series with chapter 6 from Armin Navabi's book, "Why There Is No God." Content: 0:00 Intro 2:25 What have we covered before? 3:50 The big objection against prayer 5:50 Can prayer be used as evidence for God's existence? 9:38 What do scientific experiments show us about the effectiveness of prayer? 22:15 Why is it problematic to study prayer scientifically? 28:35 Do Christians suffer from confirmation bias? 31:20 Looking for scientific evidence presents a narrow view of knowledge 33:30 Is prayer self-contradictory? 34:45 Does God care about the small problems in your life? 42:04 Why doesn't God always answer prayer? 49:10 When prayer can be used as evidence for God 52:15 Are there harmful effects of prayer?

How should Christians think about cultural issues, and how can we have better conversations with those who think differently? The goal of today's show is to give you different perspectives on cultural issues while modeling a healthy disagreement. Come join the conversation and bring your questions! Tim Whitaker is the creator and facilitator at The New Evangelicals. Growing up, Tim always felt at home in evangelical spaces – until years later, when his studying and questions caused him to no longer be welcomed at in his church community. Brokenhearted, but undeterred, Tim continued to pursue a deeper understanding of faith, history, theology and the evangelical church. The more he uncovers, the more he realizes the importance of advocating for the marginalized in the church, exploring the full depth and breadth of Christian faith traditions, and holding toxic churches and leaders accountable.

The majority of people around the world believe in some sort of god. Can this be used to show that God exists? Does the fact that religious beliefs are so widespread prove that something about religion is true? Atheist Armin Navabi addresses these questions in chapter 4 of his book, "Why There Is No God." Let's take a deep look and see if the spread of religion means that God exists.

Atheist Armin Navabi writes that "moral standards, as we understand them, are social constructs. They are tied intimately to cultural circumstances and can change over time." Christians claim that morality comes from God. Which is true? Let's take a deeper look at chapter 4 of "Why There Is No God" by Armin Navabi and see how Christians and atheists approach the topic of morality.

Atheist Armin Navabi writes that "a person surviving a disease believed to be terminal only shows that the disease may not be fully understood or that the prognosis was not accurate." Using miracles as evidence for God would be an argument from ignorance. Because, "no matter how unlikely an event is, it doesn't mean that a supernatural explanation would be more likely." to claim that the Bible is evidence for God is the fallacy of begging the question and is no different than saying, 'This is true because I believe it." He goes on to say, "Just because something is written in a book does not mean that it's true." Is this what Christians are doing when they claim that God's existence is proven by Scripture? Can the Bible be used in our case for God's existence? Let's take a deeper look at chapter 3 of "Why There Is No God" by Armin Navabi and see how we can better understand his points and respond to his arguments. I hope to show you how Christians can use miracles as evidence for God. An open Q&A will follow

Atheist Armin Navabi writes that to claim that the Bible is evidence for God is the fallacy of begging the question and is no different than saying, 'This is true because I believe it." He goes on to say, "Just because something is written in a book does not mean that it's true." Is this what Christians are doing when they claim that God's existence is proven by Scripture? Can the Bible be used in our case for God's existence? Join the show as we discuss chapter 2 of "Why There Is No God" by Armin Navabi. In this book, Armin gives simple responses to 20 common arguments for the existence of God. This series will cover all 20 arguments, one chapter at a time. Do his objections stand up to cross-examination? Join me and find out. An open Q&A will follow my discussion of chapter 2.

How convincing are the common arguments for Christianity? Do they hit as hard as apologists think they do? What can Christians do better? The Faithiest Atheist joins the show to discuss why different arguments for Christianity are not as convincing as we often think.

"Why There Is No God" by Armin Navabi gives simple responses to 20 common arguments for the existence of God. This series will cover all 20 arguments, one chapter at a time. We begin with chapter 1, "Science can't explain the complexity and order of life; God must have designed it to be this way." What is Armin's response to the design argument? Do his objections stand up to cross-examination? Join me and find out. An open Q&A will follow my discussion of the chapter.

We long for relationships, pursue goodness, desire truth, are startled by beauty, and want to be free. The things that you most want, your deepest desires, will affect how you pursue the best life. It is only within the Christian story that we can understand these desires. Join me and Dr. Ganssle as we show how our desires point back to God and should cause you to want Christianity to be true. Dr. Greg Ganssle is professor of philosophy at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University. He is the author of several books, including "A Reasonable God: Engaging the New Face of Atheism" and "Thinking About God," and he is the editor of "God and Time." He joined the show before to discuss whether atheism or theism had a better explanation of morality.

What do you do when LDS missionaries knock on your door? Do you ignore the knock as if you're not home or confidently engage with biblical truth? Today's conversation includes insider knowledge, personal stories, cultural insights, evangelistic wisdom, and best practices from former LDS missionaries themselves, to help Christians share their faith wisely and effectively with Latter-day Saints. Ross Anderson was born in Utah and was raised LDS. After leaving Mormonism as a young adult, he pursued a Master of Divinity degree and a Doctor of Ministry. Anderson has served as a church planter and pastor in Utah for four decades and is currently a teaching pastor at Alpine Church. He is the executive director of Utah Advance Ministries and the founder of the Faith after Mormonism project and the Culture-Wise podcast. Ross has authored various books, including Understanding the Book of Mormon, Understanding Your Mormon Neighbor, and Jesus without Joseph - a study guide for former Mormons. Ross is an avid cyclist an

Students frequently tell me that they believe in science, not Christianity. Have scientific facts replaced supernatural myths? Has science shown that miracles are impossible? Dr. Richard Howe joins the show to explain why science has not refuted miracles or the supernatural. Dr. Howe is Provost, Professor of Philosophy and Apologetics, and Norman L. Geisler Chair of Christian Apologetics at Southern Evangelical Seminary. He is a writer as well as a public speaker and debater in churches, conferences, and university campuses on issues concerning Christian apologetics and philosophy. Both his master's thesis and doctoral dissertation focused on the issue of the existence of God.

My year 1 doctoral research project was on applying a theology of the body to transgenderism. We are able to respond better to cultural issues when we understand each issue in light of God's story of creation, fall, and redemption. How did God design and create our bodies? How has the fall affected our view of our bodies? What is God's plan to restore our bodies? The answers to these three questions will give Christians a more compassionate, true, and biblically faithful response to transgenderism.

We cannot send people out to engage the culture and have evangelistic conversations without equipping them to handle objections that will inevitably come. Greg Koukl's newest book, Street Smarts, is a follow-up to his best-selling Tactics and will help you use questions to answer Christianity's toughest challenges. This is a practical and proven guide to help you better engage in productive conversations with those who challenge your Christian convictions. Greg Koukl is the founder and president of Stand to Reason. He holds MA degrees with honors in both apologetics and philosophy. He has spoken on more than 80 university campuses and has hosted his own call-in radio talk show for more than 33 years defending "Christianity worth thinking about." Greg serves as adjunct professor of Christian apologetics at Biola University and is the author of the award-winning The Story of Reality and the bestselling Tactics.

Are we living in the last days? Is the conflict in Israel connected to what is predicted in the book of Revelation? What does the Bible say about the end of the world? While the church has shared common points of agreement "Mere Eschatology," we have also differed in many areas. This has led to different ways of interpreting the Bible's apocalyptic literature (preterist, historicist, idealist, futurist), different views on the relationship between Israel and the Church, if and when the rapture will happen, and understanding the nature of the millennium (historic premillennialism, dispensational premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism). Rather than be overwhelmed by these views, the goal of this show is to ground you in "Mere Eschatology," help you see the pros and cons of each view, but most importantly to help you see the apologetic and practical significance of studying eschatology. It's a topic that many shy away from, including myself, but I think we are missing out when we do. This show

What does it mean to be human? What is a person? Where did we come from? How can there be something that thinks, feels, or decides, anywhere, ever? "Who Are You, Really?: A Philosopher's Inquiry Into the Nature and Origin of Persons" answers these foundational questions and more! Join our conversation as we dig deep into what we are and how we came to be. Joshua Rasmussen, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Philosophy, and his area of expertise is analytic metaphysics, with a focus on basic categories of reality, such as objects, ideas, and necessary existence. He is the author of several books, including "Defending the Correspondence Theory of Truth," "Necessary Existence," "How Reason Can Lead to God," and "Is God the Best Explanation of Things." He is also the founder of the Worldview Design YouTube channel, which helps people use reason to address the big questions of life.

Richard Dawkins and his fellow New Atheists ended up causing many people to turn to Christianity. Rather than showing the credibility of Atheism, many became disillusioned by the arguments of Dawkins. This caused them to take another look at religious faith which led them to Christianity. Join me and Ruth Jackson as we discuss the journey of 12 men and women from five different countries out of atheism and into Christianity. These individuals were philosophers, artists, historians, engineers, scientists, and more. Find out why they saw that "authentic Christian faith is in fact more intellectually convincing and rational than New Atheism." Ruth Jackson is a producer, presenter, and youth specialist for Premier Christian Radio's Unbelievable? program and podcast, presents The CS Lewis Podcast with Professor Alister McGrath, and hosts Unapologetic. She interviews leading apologists, theologians, and evangelists in order to help Christians understand, defend, and share their faith with confidence. Ruth studied

Are you prepared to effectively engage a culture that ridicules biblical truths and sees biblical morality as outdated and in need of being discarded? Can you defend your faith against the lies of our culture and live as a bold witness for the Lord? My conversation with Natasha Crain will help you see what it means to live counter-cultural as you form biblical beliefs, thoughts, and actions. Natasha Crain is a speaker, author, blogger, and podcaster who equips Christians to think more clearly about holding to a biblical worldview in an increasingly challenging secular culture. She has been featured on TV and radio shows across the US and Canada. She is the author of "Keeping Your Kids on God's Side," "Talking with Your Kids about God," and "Talking with Your Kids about Jesus." A former marketing executive and adjunct professor, Natasha lives in Southern California with her husband and 3 Children.

There are many different ways in which Christian parents try to encourage their children to live rightly. We may use the same strategies on ourselves when desiring to do what is right. Unfortunately, if we do not have the right motivation then our efforts are often in vain. Today's show combines insights from Ryan's research on a theology of the body with a sermon he recently preached on 2 Corinthians 8:9. Watch and discover the correct motivation for Christian living.