Think Well

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...

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 at...

Are you prepared to effectively engage a culture that ridicules biblical truths and sees biblical morality as outdated and in need of being discarded?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. Natas...

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 Corinth...

What challenges do Christian students face while studying science in high school and college? Is there academic freedom to study, research, or teach about the scientific debate over Darwinian evolution and intelligent design? Dr. Casey Luskin joins the show to make a case for intelligent design, help you navigate the challenges to being a Christian in a scientific field, and answer your science an...

The cultural narrative is that masculinity is toxic and that evangelical Christian men are some of the worst offenders. Where did this idea come from? Is it supported by evidence? Today's conversation with Professor Nancy Pearcey will look at surprising new findings from sociology that challenge this secular script. Join us and see why authentically committed Christian men test out as the most lov...

How should Christians live out their faith in the public square? What does it look like to have our faith influence the laws ways we vote? Does the recent Supreme Court decision with 303 Creative allow Christians to discriminate against gay people? Join the conversation as we Think Well about Christian political engagement. Ryan's Info Website: https://think-well.org/ Email Updates: http://eepurl....

Secularism seems to have taken over, but is there a change coming? Agnostic journalist Douglas Murray commented that a number of his intelligent friends had converted to Christianity in recent years. Justin Brierley (former host of Unbelievable? and current host of the Re-Enchanting Podcast) was seeing a similar trend among the secular thinkers he had interviewed on his show. Jordan Peterson, Tom...

What is the moral argument for God's existence? How does it lead to belief in God? How does it apply to moral situations today? Today's show will focus on answering questions related to the moral argument for God's existence.

Big changes are happening this summer... Think Well is officially ready to bring Ryan on in an increased capacity! This means more interviews and YouTube content! Donors have come alongside this ministry in an incredible way to make this goal a reality, helping us raise over 90% of our 2023 budget. Wow! This is our final push to raise the last 10% before launching into full gear. We are looking fo...

Having productive conversations should be the goal of a Christian's cultural engagement. This show will offer practical tips on how to discuss hard questions and controversial topics without being argumentative. If you have received something of value from this ministry and want to give back, or if you want to partner in equipping the church for cultural engagement, would you prayerfully consider...

Ryan interviews A Roaming Goliath, a recently deconverted Christian who identifies as an atheist. They discuss why he left Christianity and reasons for and against the existence of God.

Evangelism efforts are sometimes met with, "I would believe in God, but..." Are you ready to respond to common objections and reasons for not wanting to believe in God? Ryan works through eight common responses to the Gospel and takes questions from listeners.

“In fact, of all the arguments for and against God's existence (and I've heard them all) this is the most powerful I have encountered in support of the atheist position. A tour de force."” - Michael Shermer, Publisher Skeptic Magazine Divine hiddenness is a problem that many people have to work through. Skeptics claim this is one of the best objections against God and in support of atheism. Today'...

I thought I’d be the last to do a giving challenge, but then a generous donor offered to match all donations to Think Well before Dec. 31 up to $5,000! Praise God! Please message me with any questions you might have, and help us max out this cool opportunity! Giving options can be found here. https://think-well.org/donate/

"The deep longing of the human heart is for a story that is both true and satisfying." But how can we know which story is true? Does the religious or non-religious story better line up with reality? Dr. Paul Goul looks at 11 clues to understand the universe at our place in it and encourages you to adopt a different posture toward the question of God. Dr. Paul Gould is associate professor of philos...

Live your truth. Follow your heart. You only have one life to live. God just wants you to be happy. Love is love. These cultural statements flood our news feeds and sound so positive, but are they true? In order to Think Well we must discern the messages we see and compare them to biblical truth. Alisa Childers joins me to discuss her new book, "Live Your Truth and Other Lies: Exposing Popular Dec...

Instead of ignoring culture or simply imitating it, what if Christians took it seriously and thought well about how they could incorporate its valuable truths into our teaching? This is what the apostle Paul did with the Athenian leaders at Mars Hill (Acts 17:16-31). What would it look like in our day? Dr. Frank Turek is the president of CrossExamined.org and the coauthor of "I Don't Have Enough F...

It's shocking how the narrative of human history has changed. Students are being taught that religion (Christianity) is the cause of the world's problems. The truth may surprise you! Dr. Jeff Myers joins me to discuss how Jesus followers have, and can, transform the world in times of crisis. Dr. Jeff Myers is the president of Summit Ministries. Summit is an organization that equips and supports th...

Does an all-knowing God make free will an illusion? Since heaven is without sadness, does mean that we won't be ourselves? These two arguments were put forth in posts that students sent my way. Let's work through these bad arguments and learn to think well.

This conversation will get you ready to present the case for Christianity with confidence and grace. You'll be better equipped to navigate those tricky conversations as you delineate biblical teachings from Mormon doctrine. Join us and Think Well about some of the the most important theological topics. Eric Johnson works with Mormonism Research Ministry (https://www.mrm.org/) and has written and c...

I invited Randal Rauser on my show back in July. After our live conversation, he offered me a thought experiment that tried to show that loving rightly is more important than believing rightly. His thought experiment is in his video, "How You LOVE is More Important than What You BELIEVE" on YouTube. I told him that I would make a video with a more detailed response, so here it is!

Our culture has gone through a major shift that is influencing and impacting our students. We may think that our students are protected from the culture inside their churches, families, and schools. However, recent studies show that the relativistic ideas in our culture are undermining the faith of students. How can Jesus be the Truth if there is no truth? Ryan explains how relativism is undermini...

Ryan talks to many students who simply seem bored with Christianity. They have grown up in a Christian home, attended Christian schools, and have gone to church every week. They are tired of the same stories being repeated over and over again. Their knowledge of God is limited to: God loves me, he has a plan for me, and Jesus died for me… that’s all. No wonder they’re bored! Other students keep he...

What does it look like for Christians to stand up to the most heated topics of today in a just and loving manner? This conversation will help you think well about the many moral issues facing this generation and offer practical steps to make a positive difference. Dr. Sean McDowell is an author, speaker, and associate professor at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. He has two master's de...