Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Max Riesenhuber to have a conversation about the ethics and morality of artificial intelligence.Questions Covered in This Episode: What first interested you about neuroscience? Can you talk about recent advancement in AI and where we might go? Do we have a moral responsibility to artificial intelligence beings? What do you say to scientists who say that humans are just computers in a flesh case? What is moral truth? Do you think we need to be concerned about the e...
Sep 26, 2023•27 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Mark Shepard to discuss his story of how he started following Jesus.Questions Covered in This Episode: Tell us more about your upbringing when it comes to faith. Was there a time in your life where you just didn’t believe in God? Most of my Jewish friends identify with the cultural and tradition but don’t believe in God. Did you identify with that? How did you first become interested in Christianity? Was there anything in particular in the Bible that grabbed you? ...
Sep 19, 2023•37 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Dr. Danielle Treweek to have a conversation about singleness and marriage.Questions Covered in This Episode: What is the spiritual climate of Australia? What are the health benefits of regular participation in church? What does the subtitle of your book, “Retrieving an Eschatological Vision for the Contemporary Church” mean? When you say “the life to come,” what do you mean? Why are you gonna be single forever? Help us understand how we got to our current viewpoin...
Sep 12, 2023•42 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Sam Alberry to discuss the topic of friendship.Questions Covered in This Episode: What is the New Testament vision for friendship? Why do Christians think they have to have it all together and not need friends? Do we tend to look to specific people to fulfill all of our relational needs? Where do you look in scripture for a picture of friendship? What mandate and model does Jesus give us for friendship? What would you say are the biggest challenges and opportuniti...
Sep 05, 2023•40 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Season 3 of Confronting Christianity begins on August 22! In this episode, Rebecca McLaughlin previews what is to come in Season 3.Questions Covered in This Episode: Who are some guests that will be ons season 3 and what will we talk about? Sponsors:To learn more about our sponsors please visit our website .Follow Us: Instagram | Twitter Our Sister Shows: Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship Podcast | Starting Place | Tiny Theologians Confronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Chur...
Aug 29, 2023•1 min
Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Sherelle Ducksworth to talk about the holiday Juneteenth.Questions Covered in This Episode: How did you become a Christian? What is systematic theology? What is Juneteenth? Can you help us understand anthropological distortions? How would you respond to someone who looks at history and say that how Christians treated black people shows that Christianity isn’t true? How do Christians typically view or treat injustice? How can Christians be different than the cultur...
Jun 13, 2023•47 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin talk about how Confronting Christianity has evolved over time, why Kyle will be stepping away from the podcast, and what to expect in the fall!Questions Covered in This Episode: Why did we start this podcast? How have we experienced hosting this podcast? Kyle, why are you leaving the podcast? Are you excited about the future of the show? What are some future topics we can expect? Resources Mentioned: Training the Church Starting Place Tiny Theologians Podcast F...
Jun 06, 2023•21 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Rachel Gilson and JD Greear to answer the question, what does someone do when they become a Christian and they are married to someone of the same sex?Questions Covered in This Episode: Rachel, can you share a little of your story? Why do you think it's important for people to hear from people like Rachel on this topic? How would you respond to someone who would think that the Bible is wrong on this one because they can’t believe that God wouldn’t want someone to n...
May 23, 2023•40 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin are joined by Esau McCaulley to have a conversation about Easter and why it is important. Questions Covered in This Episode: What is your new book, “Lent: The Season of Repentance and Renewal” about? What would you say to someone who does not fully understand what Lent is? Is Easter Sunday just another Sunday? Isn’t every Sunday an opportunity to celebrate the risen Lord? What’s so special about Easter? What difference does it make that Jesus rose from the dead...
Apr 07, 2023•42 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin answer questions submitted by listeners! Questions Covered in This Episode: How would you counsel a Christian who is invited to the gay wedding of a close relative or friend? How should Christians understand God's sovereignty and the image of God in the case of a person born with a physical and/or mental disability? Is disability a product of the Fall that God allows to remain in us, as in the case of other diseases that develop over our lifetimes? Are we "knit...
Apr 04, 2023•41 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin are joined by Sarah Irving Stonebraker to discuss the history of ideas around human rights, where Christians find the foundation for human rights, and where we are today.Questions Covered in This Episode: Sarah, what is your story, how did you become a Christian? What is the idea that universal human equality is Christian fiction? How does the history of ideas point to this idea? When we say “human rights,” what are we walking about? Has there been an attempt t...
Mar 28, 2023•37 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin explore the question, does hypocrisy among Christians discredit Christianity?Questions Covered in This Episode: What is hypocrisy? What are we talking about? Do you think people are leaving the faith because of some level of hypocrisy? How does the Bible help us to think about this? Has social media created a stronger gap between the witness of the church and hypocrisy or has it just magnified the gap that already exists? How do we engage with people who accuse...
Mar 21, 2023•37 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin have a conversation about what it looks like for Christians to argue ideas.Questions Covered in This Episode: Ideas matter, right? Can Christians argue about ideas? Does it matter how we argue? What does it mean to argue with gentleness and respect? What does a good process look like to engage in these conversations? What is the danger in categorizing people? Is it okay to acknowledge when we don’t know the answer? What is the conversation that Christians have ...
Mar 14, 2023•45 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin are joined by Praveen Sethupathy to talk about what science is and if it can dictate our identity.Questions Covered in This Episode: How did your first few years at Cornell change you? Why did you land on Christianity? When you went back to your family and told them you were a Christian, what did that look like? Have you scientific pursuits pulled you away from Christianity? When we are talking about science, what are we talking about? If science has explained ...
Mar 07, 2023•35 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin faithfully explore the question, is Christianity exclusive?Questions Covered in This Episode: Is Christianity exclusive? What does that mean? Isn’t it arrogant to say there is only one true religion? When we say Christianity is exclusive and that Jesus is the only way, are we saying that there is no truth to be found in other religions? Can we find true things and engage in goodness and beauty outside of this? How do we love and engage with those who hold other...
Feb 28, 2023•26 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin have a conversation about how people view organized religion, what tends to replace it in peoples lives, and why it is important for believers. Questions Covered in This Episode: Are people in Texas skeptical of organized religion? Do you see people who see themself as spiritual but not religious? What are other institutions that mimic organized religion that have gained popularity? What is a church for atheists? What do you say to someone who is a Christian bu...
Feb 21, 2023•35 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin are joined by Claude Atcho to have a conversation about how we can get better at talking about race.Questions Covered in This Episode: Should we still be talking about race? How can we get better about talking about race? “Race is a biological fiction but a sociological reality.” What does that mean? How has this conversation changed over the last 6-10 years? How can engaging with African American literature help us understand a whole hearted approach to engage...
Feb 14, 2023•42 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin discuss the question; are transgender women, women?Questions Covered in This Episode: What is a man? What is a woman? Is a transgender woman a woman? What issues has this confusion presented? What is our primary responsiblity we have as Christians in this conversation? To what degree should we advance Christian ethics in public squares that are not purposefully evangelistic? Are all feminists on the same page with the question of “are transgender women women?” ...
Feb 07, 2023•57 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin talk about doubt and where we can find a stable foundation that honors and invites our doubt toward goodness, truth, and beauty.Questions Covered in This Episode: Have you ever experienced profound doubt? What do you think are some of the most common places of doubt? What is doubt an invitation to? Do we find doubt in the bible? Where do you find a stable foundation that honors and invites your doubt toward goodness, truth, and beauty? If someone is listening t...
Jan 31, 2023•41 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin are joined by Sam Alberry to have a conversation about the question, is God anti-gay?Questions Covered in This Episode: In March a new edition of Is God anti-gay is being released. Why are you updating the book? What’s changed? Did the first edition play out how you thought it would? Is God Anti-Gay? What do you say to the people who think and feel that they are their sexuality? Some suggest that we might look back on what we might call conservative Christian s...
Jan 24, 2023•43 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Season 2 of Confronting Christianity begins on January 24! In this episode, Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin preview what is to come in Season 2.Questions Covered in This Episode: What are we going to cover in Season 2? What guests are we going to have on this season? Follow Us: Instagram | Twitter Our Sister Shows: Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship Podcast | Starting PlaceConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church . For ad-free episodes and more content check out our P...
Jan 17, 2023•5 min
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin discuss Rebecca’s new book “Jesus Through The Eyes of Women.”Questions Covered in This Episode: Is there a cultural impression that Christianity is misogynistic? You just wrote a book on Jesus through the Eyes of Women: Why did you write this? How does the perspective of the women in the gospels showcase some unique truths of the person and ministry of Jesus that we would lose if we don’t look through that gaze? Have you always known that women were a part of J...
Nov 15, 2022•39 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin answer questions submitted by listeners!Questions Covered in This Episode: Why did there stop being prophets? Surely God is still speaking (inspiring?) since the 1st century. Why is there no book of Rebecca? Or book of CS Lewis? Why does no one ever talk about divorce? It’s mentioned in the OT and New Testament, and the internet is full of polarized views on it? I would love to hear what you guys say about the times in scripture when someone prays and God seems...
Nov 08, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin have a conversation about how cultural Christianity has impacted the global west.Questions Covered in This Episode: Is it good that “cultural Christianity” is on the decline in the west? How do people who are culturally Christian respond to an invitation to church or to talk about God? How much of this is tied with the reckoning that has to happen with the past indulgences (the best and the worst) of western culture broadly? Do Christians in the global west, do...
Nov 01, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin are joined by Dr. Karen Swallow Prior to have a conversation about abortion and how we as Christians can engage with the sanctity of human life issues most helpfully.Questions Covered in This Episode: Would you be willing to share a bit of your story: How did you come to follow Jesus? What led you into your field of study? What led you to become involved in right to life and sanctity of human life issues? How has your involvement in this changed over the years?...
Oct 25, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin are joined by Justin Giboney to have a conversation about how Christians view diversity. Questions Covered in This Episode: What led you to the work you do now with the And Campaign? What would you have said to my 2008 UK self, trying to navigate that seemingly Christian values were evenly distributed between two options? Don’t Christians oppose ethnic and cultural diversity? What kind of diversity should the Christian community consider as a part of its pursui...
Oct 18, 2022•39 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin explore the question, are we better off without religion?Questions Covered in This Episode: Is America, in general, more religious than the UK? Would you say the perception of religion among non-believers is generally positive or negative? The change in 2005-2008 range, do you think the atheist tones were driving how people were thinking? Is there data around the psychological benefits of religious practice? What do you say when someone says: Religion is the ca...
Oct 11, 2022•44 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin talk about deconstructing; where has this come from and how should we engage?Questions Covered in This Episode: Let’s talk about deconstruction: Where has this come from? What is the most helpful way for us to approach people's real questions? Don’t we also need cultural deconstruction? How often are we deconstructing how culture (sarcasm, the sexual revolution, systemic injustice) has influenced us and our beliefs? Can the church be salvaged? Why not just embr...
Oct 04, 2022•41 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin are joined by Lisa Fields to discuss if Christians are addressing the right questions and what we need to learn to engage with people who don’t believe.Questions Covered in This Episode: Are Christians addressing the right questions? What made you want to start Jude 3? Rebecca, are there differences in the UK vs. US apologetics? Does it feel like so much of the “apologetics” discourse is rooted in answering objections that few consciously hold any longer? Can y...
Sep 27, 2022•32 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin discuss what objections and questions people have about Jesus and what is essential to believe about Him.Questions Covered in This Episode: Two of your books are releasing this year: Jesus through the Eyes of Women and Confronting Jesus. Why all this interest in Jesus? Ok, but what if we’re wrong about Jesus? What are some objections people have about Jesus? When you and I engage with non-Christian friends and neighbors, what do they think about Jesus? How do w...
Sep 20, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 4
