Confronting Christianity with Rebecca McLaughlin

Hey there! Get ready for an exciting season where we're going to talk about some big questions that people have about Christianity. Every Tuesday, we'll dive into topics like why God isn't more visible, what Christianity says about love and relationships, and how science and faith can fit together. We'll discuss if things like resurrection and euthanasia make sense in Christianity, and we'll even...

Rebecca McLaughlin walks through the birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and why it is significant for us today. Resources Mentioned: Luke 1-2, Matthew 1, 28 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 Christian...

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by her friend, Justine, who recently got baptized to answer some questions submitted by listeners! Questions Covered in This Episode: Do you have any advice for a first-time mom trying to keep up and stay connected to the church during the first six weeks? Any thoughts on how to practically lead a discipleship group for new moms? How should we understand passages like...

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Susan Lim to discuss her new book, “Light of the World.”Questions Covered in This Episode: Where did the Bible, specifically the New Testament, come from and how is it reliable today? What is an Apostle? What was the process for deciding what was included or not included in the Bible? How do the gospels show Jesus as the only hero? What about the Old Testament? What...

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Glen Scrivener to have a conversation about the gospel of Jesus. Questions Covered in This Episode: Can you tell us about your new book? Can you articulate the gospel in 30 seconds? What is the overall story of the Bible and how does it connect to us today? How is it right for one man to pay for the sins of other people? How is it not proof of the injustice of God?...

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Andrew Wilson to have a conversation about his book “Remaking the World.” Questions Covered in This Episode: Can you tell us what your new book is actually about? How might the line, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” otherwise be known? What would you say to someone who understands this originates from Christianity but believe...

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Hannah Anderson to have a conversation about the book of Ecclesiastes. Questions Covered in This Episode: What is the context of the book of Ecclesiastes? In the first verse, the word “preacher” is a complex word in Hebrew, can you help us understand that? What can we gather from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8? What would you say to the person whose life feels kind of meaningle...

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Molly Worthen to discuss how Jesus can transform the life of an academic. Questions Covered in This Episode: What is your story of how you became a Christian? What were the main barriers from keeping you from becoming a Christian? Can you share about your conversation with J. D. Greear? What pieces of evidence were you surprised by when you researched if Jesus was r...

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Jen Wilkin to have a conversation about the ten commandments and why they are important to us today. Questions Covered in This Episode: What did you want to be when you grow up? What is an image bearer? Where do the ten commandments fit into the story of the Bible? Tell us about the first command and why it is at the top of the list. How do the ten plagues connect t...

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Peter Williams to have a conversation about the trustworthiness of the gospels. Questions Covered in This Episode: How far off from Jesus's death and resurrection were the Gospels written? How can people remember the things Jesus said with such great detail decades after Jesus's resurrection? Why are there differences between the gospels in Jesus’s teachings? Why do...

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Keith Plummer to discuss how we can model the love of Jesus to others online and how to engage in embodied community. Questions Covered in This Episode: Can you share your story of how you became a Christian? Where would you trace this transformation to? How has the online experience changed how students are thinking? How do Christians relate with others online? Wha...

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Andrew Hile to discuss why the book of Leviticus is important and what we can learn from reading and studying it. Questions Covered in This Episode: Where does Leviticus fit into the first five books of the Bible? When you see the stories in Exodus are you supposed to see them stacking onto the stories in Genesis? What purpose is Leviticus fulfilling for us? How do...

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Mary Willson Hannah to discuss the book of Deuteronomy. Questions Covered in This Episode: What do we miss if we give up reading the Old Testament before we get to Deuteronomy? What is Deuteronomy about? How do make sense of a passage like Deuteronomy 2:31-36 in light of the command that Jesus gives to love our enemies? Can you help us understand Deuteronomy 22:28-2...

Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Christy Thornton to answer questions about the Trinity. Questions Covered in This Episode: Has God always been Triune? Do other aspects of God’s identity change between the Old and New Testament? Is “let us make man in our image” written in plurality? If God was triune from the beginning why didn’t He make that clear from the beginning? Why is the Trinity not more c...

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...

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 firs...

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...

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 m...

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 Po...

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?...

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 top...

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 thi...

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 ri...

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 al...

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 p...