All Rise with Abdu Murray

In this episode of  All Rise , Abdu Murray sits down with Bethel McGrew for a wide-ranging conversation about why Jesus continues to haunt the modern imagination.   From Jordan Peterson, Tom Holland, and Bart Ehrman to Michael Jackson, populism, AI, beauty, and the crisis of trust in our institutions, the conversation explores why Christianity keeps reappearing at the center of our cultural questi...

In this episode of  All Rise , Abdu Murray and Derek Caldwell sit down with Dr. Brian Boyd to discuss the urgent ethical questions surrounding artificial intelligence.   AI is developing faster than our laws, institutions, families, and churches can respond. So how should Christians think about a technology that is already reshaping work, creativity, education, childhood, and our understanding of...

In this episode of  All Rise , Abdu Murray and Derek Caldwell sit down with Scott Symington to discuss one of the strangest and most culturally explosive topics of our time: UFOs, aliens, and the growing belief that disclosure could challenge Christianity itself.   Are UFOs evidence of extraterrestrial life? Do aliens undermine the Bible? And what should Christians make of the increasing number of...

In this episode of  All Rise , Abdu Murray and Derek Caldwell sit down with Dr. Carrie Gress to discuss one of the most influential—and controversial—forces in modern culture: feminism.   Drawing from her book  Something Wicked: Why Feminism Can't Be Fused with Christianity , Carrie explores the historical roots of feminism, its vision of men and women, and why she believes its promises have ultim...

In this episode of  All Rise , Abdu Murray takes on a series of challenging questions from students at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.   Can the Bible really be trusted if it's been changed? How do we make sense of different religions like Christianity and Islam? And what about those who never hear the Gospel, or the role of religious experience in knowing what's true?     Learn about Abdu'...

In this episode of  All Rise with Abdu Murray , Abdu takes live questions from students at  Laurentian University in Sudbury, ON, Canada —and nothing is off the table.   From artificial intelligence and transhumanism to suffering, free will, and faith, students wrestle honestly with some of the most challenging questions facing Christianity today. Why does human suffering feel so unfair? Does beli...

In this episode of  All Rise , Abdu Murray and Derek Caldwell sit down with Sabrina Joy Stevens  to explore what happens when the systems designed to combat "disinformation" begin to lose their grip on truth.   As a former insider in the anti-disinformation world, Sabrina shares her journey from activist to critic—and why the narrative she once defended eventually stopped adding up. Along the way,...

In this episode of  All Rise , Abdu Murray and Derek Caldwell respond to viewer questions about miracles and free will.   First, why don't we seem to see miracles today the way we do in the Bible—and is modern skepticism really as rational as it claims? Then we turn to another perennial question: do human beings truly have free will, or are our choices determined?     Learn about Abdu's urgent new...

In this episode of  All Rise , Abdu Murray and Derek Caldwell confront one of the most difficult questions about hell: is it fair?   If we didn't ask to be born—and if we enter a fallen world where sin is inevitable—how can eternal judgment be just? Rather than repeating familiar answers, we examine the tension between biblical texts that seem to support everything from "double predestination" to...

I n this episode of  All Rise , Abdu Murray and Derek Caldwell tackle two deeply personal and often misunderstood questions about the Christian life.   First, what is the true relationship between law and grace—are they opposed to one another, or do they work together in a way many Christians miss? Second, how should we understand negative emotions that make us doubt God's promises—especially when...

In this episode of  All Rise , Abdu Murray and Derek Caldwell respond to one of the most painful and emotionally charged questions we've received from viewers: "Why do people die young?"   This question isn't theoretical. It's asked in hospital rooms, at gravesides, and in the grieving moments after sudden loss. It presses directly on the goodness of God, the reality of suffering, and whether fait...

This special Christmas episode of All Rise with Abdu Murray features a live presentation Abdu delivered at Rochester Christian University. Following the talk, Abdu engages in a live Q&A with students and other attendees that spans a wide range of theological and cultural issues, including perhaps the most polarizing one of all right now: Has Zionism hijacked Christianity? This episode is presented...

In this episode, Abdu Murray and Derek Caldwell address two important questions submitted by viewers—one about the origins of Christian belief, and one about sharing the Christian faith with people from different backgrounds.   1. "Is Jesus just a copy of Zoroaster?"   We examine the popular claim that Christianity borrowed its key ideas from ancient Zoroastrianism. Did concepts like judgment, res...

In this new series, Abdu Murray and Derek Caldwell tackle your toughest—and sometimes bluntest—questions about Christianity, Islam, theology, philosophy, and culture.   In today's episode, we address two big viewer questions:   1. "What does it mean when Christians say evil is a 'negation of the good'? Doesn't that minimize real evil?"   We unpack the classical Christian understanding of evil—not...

In this live university Q&A at Western Michigan University, Abdu Murray engages students in a wide-ranging conversation about belief, doubt, and truth.   From cultural identity and politics to science and the soul, Abdu explores whether faith is a leap or a response to something real. Students press him on everything from the "women be silent" passage to the Trinity, from moral questions to scienc...

In this  live audience Q&A  at  Northend Church , Abdu Murray joins Pastor  Mike  Sherbino  to tackle some of the hardest questions people ask about God, evil, and faith.   From the problem of suffering to the reach of grace, from apathy and doubt to conversations with Muslims and Hindus, this open forum explores what it means to trust God when the world feels broken.   Abdu also shares from his o...

How could an Orthodox Jew become a Christian? Doesn't that mean rejecting the Torah and your own Jewishness?        In this episode of  All Rise , Abdu sits down with  David Shapiro , host of the  Boundless Bible Podcast  and a former Orthodox Jew turned Christian apologist. Together they talk about David's journey from Judaism to Christianity and explore the continuity and discontinuity between t...

What do you say when someone asks,  "If God is so loving, why do people end up in hell?"   In this special Q&A at  Times Square Church in New York City , Abdu Murray tackled some of the hardest questions about faith, truth, and the hope found in Christ. From challenges about the Bible's trustworthiness to how Christians can minister to friends in the LGBTQ community, these questions cut to the hea...

In this episode of  All Rise , we are bringing you a wide-ranging dialogue between Abdu Murray (a former Muslim who is now a Christian) and Fred Stella (a former Catholic who is now Hindu) on life's deepest questions. How did the universe come to be? Why is there evil and suffering? What happens after death—and what role do reincarnation and karma play?   Together, in front of a packed audience at...

In this episode of  All Rise , Kyla Gillespie joins us to explore the deeper theological debates surrounding gender and Scripture. Some voices argue that the Bible supports transgender identities—but what do those arguments really say? And how should we think about them in light of creation, redemption, and identity in Christ?   With clarity and compassion, Kyla and our hosts explore what Scriptur...

W hat happens when the identity you built your life around suddenly collapses—and Christ steps in to rebuild it?   Kyla Gillespie is a survivor. In this episode of  All Rise , we sit down with Kyla, a woman who once identified as transgender but ultimately found truth, freedom, and a new identity in Jesus Christ.   Kyla shares her raw and powerful story, not as a political argument, but as a deepl...

Was the Scopes "Monkey Trial" ever really about science—or was it a staged showdown with a hidden agenda?   In this episode of  All Rise , we talk to Dr. Rick Townsend, a historian of ideas whose groundbreaking dissertation uncovers the real story behind one of the most famous courtroom dramas in American history: the 1925 Scopes Trial.   For a century, we've been told it was the moment science de...

Was "junk DNA" ever really junk—or did science just need to catch up with design?   In this episode of  All Rise , we talk to Dr.  Fazale  Rana (biochemist and President & CEO at Reasons to Believe) to dive into one of the most groundbreaking scientific reversals in recent history: the 2024 Nobel Prize awarded for discoveries showing that so-called "junk DNA" is functional and essential.   For dec...

Is the Qur'an truly the perfectly preserved word of God—or is its history more complicated than many believe?   In this episode of  All Rise , Abdu Murray and Qur'an scholar Andy Bannister explore the turbulent early history of the Qur'an: from its oral roots to the compilation controversies that many Muslims have never been told about. Was there really just one Qur'an from the beginning? Did earl...

What comes after deconstruction? In this episode, we talk with AJ Swoboda—pastor, professor, and author of  After Doubt  and  A Teachable Spirit —about why doubt has become so common, why it shouldn't be the end of the story, and how real spiritual formation takes shape in our lives.   We explore:   The limits of "just me and my Bible" Christianity   A fresh take on  sola Scriptura  from a Protest...