defragmenting

In a recent issue of Cairn University’s magazine, Cairn professor and dean of the School of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Dr. Victoria (Tori) Aquilone, reviewed the book The Two-Parent Privilege by economist Melissa S. Kearney. She writes, “While [the author] does not exactly approach the cultural dynamics of family formation from a biblical worldview, her book investigates the proliferation of non...

Because all of Scripture is divinely inspired, all of it holds promise for the edification of God's people. But it’s not always clear how that’s so. What are we to gain, aside from historical knowledge from genealogies, for example? That's just one kind of biblical text that challenge Bible teachers. Pastor and Cairn University Professor Dr. Bryan Murawski, wrote his book Preaching and Teaching Di...

Neuroscientist and educator Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath recently testified before a US Senate hearing on the impact of technology on American youth where he claimed, “Evidence indicates that indiscriminate digital expansion has weakened learning environments rather than strengthened them.” This negative impact and what to do about it is the subject of his latest book The Digital Delusion: How Classro...

In this episode, recorded at The Gospel Coalition’s 2025 national conference, Keith Plummer talks with Cairn alum John Biegel, lead pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Annandale, VA, and TGC council member Bill Kynes, who for 36 years, preceded John in that role, about what it means to be a pastor-theologian. Next, Keith talks with author and lead mentor and trainer at Australia’s EvQ...

In their book Are We All Cyborgs Now? Reclaiming Our Humanity from the Machine , Robin Phillips and Joshua Pauling examine how our ongoing interaction with especially digital technologies could be altering our conceptions and expectations about how life should be. “Under the subtle catechesis of our machines,” they ask, “do we come to see our humanity—the flesh and blood bodies that God has given...

In this bonus episode of Defragmenting , recorded at the Gospel Coalition's 2025 National Conference, Dr. Keith Plummer talks with New Testament scholar Dr. Matt Harmon and Cairn's own Distinguished Professor of Old Testament, Dr. Gary Schnittjer, about their book How to Study the Bible's Use of the Bible: Seven Hermeneutical Choices for the Old and New Testaments . They explain how the Old Testam...

Matt Smethurst says the aim of his book, Tim Keller on the Christian Life is to synthesize and distill Tim Keller’s best teaching on the Christian life. We believe he succeeded at that task, and we’re not alone. World magazine selected it as its 2025 Book of the Year, stating, “This well-written book will convict but also encourage Christians who read it, helping them as they pray, pursue friendsh...

Might a popular understanding of Paul’s words in Romans 7:14-25 contribute to a learned helplessness with respect to sin in the lives of many Christians? New Testament scholar Dr. Joseph Dodson believes the answer is yes and explains why in his book Conquerors Not Captives: Reframing Romans 7 for the Christian Life. In this episode, he joins Dr. Keith Plummer to discuss his take on this much-conte...

The adverse effects of a screen-immersed life on children and teens becomes harder to ignore on what seems to be a daily basis. What are parents to do? In her book The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide for Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones , Clare Morell offers well-researched and hope-giving answers. She joined Dr. Keith Plummer to talk about the dangers screen immersion, the inadequacy of scree...

As the hymn writer noted, our hearts have a proneness to wander from the Lord we love. On account of this inclination, God, through the writer of the book of Hebrews, calls us to “pay much closer attention to [the gospel] lest we drift away from it.” In his book Lest We Drift , Jared C. Wilson explains the subtle yet powerful ways that even those who claim to be “gospel-centered” can stray from th...

One doesn't have to look too hard or too far to recognize the church's shortcomings. But according to Brad Edwards, author of The Reason for Church , these obvious flaws aren't the main reason people dismiss the idea that church helps humans flourish. Edwards argues that both Christians and non-Christians have absorbed two powerful assumptions: anti-institutionalism and radical individualism. Thes...

Episode Notes The Edmiston Center focuses on Christian endurance in the midst of competing cultural narratives. Mrs. K.A. Ellis, its director, joined Dr. Keith Plummer to talk about how she came to Christ and the people and things God used to form her heart for Christians experiencing persecution around the world. What different forms does persecution take, and despite these differences, what comm...

In his book, The Body God Gives: A Biblical Response to Transgender Theory , Dr. Robert S. Smith offers a biblically grounded critique of transgender theory’s central claim that there is no inherent connection between the sexed body and the gendered self. In this episode, he joins Dr. Keith Plummer to discuss how he came to be interested in this subject; some of the factors that have led to the cu...

Many believe higher education is facing an existential crisis. While nonprofit and for-profit schools are battling issues of affordability, enrollment, and latent COVID realities, the need for Christ-centered, academically rigorous, and biblically faithful institutions of higher education remains. In this episode, Dr. Todd J. Williams, president of Cairn University, and Dr. Allen Guelzo, American...

Emily Harrison, author of the Substack newsletter Dear Christian Parent , sits down with Dr. Keith Plummer to explore the impact of technology on children and teens. They discuss a four-part series she wrote on what parents need to know about Artificial Intelligence (AI) that covers its pervasive presence in daily life, its implications for education, the dangers of AI-created deep fakes, and its...

We are most vulnerable to drifting from the core teachings of the Christian faith when we find them boring, irrelevant, or embarrassing. Dr. Trevin Wax wrote his book The Thrill of Orthodoxy: Rediscovering the Adventure of Christian Faith to counteract the familiarity with Christian teaching that he says is “the enemy of wonder.” He joins Dr. Keith Plummer to discuss a wide array of topics includi...

Episode Notes Drawing from his own journey of deconstructing and reconstructing his Christian faith, Ian Harber describes deconstruction as an existential crisis of faith that consists of much more than intellectual questioning. In this episode, he joins Dr. Keith Plummer to offer insights about how we are to understand and accompany loved ones in the midst of such crises. Among the topics they di...

Episode Notes Two years ago, Dr. Randy Newman joined Dr. Keith Plummer on  Defragmenting to discuss the third edition of his book, Questioning Evangelism: Engaging Peoples’ Hearts the Way that Jesus Did . Dr. Newman went to be with the Lord a year ago this month. To honor his legacy, we have re-released his conversation with Dr. Plummer, which still holds just as much relevance and application as...

Episode Notes Because the triune God has graciously revealed himself, he is knowable. But because he is infinite, there is always more to him than finite creatures can comprehend. Dr. Ronni Kurtz explains and explores the profound and often overlooked doctrine of incomprehensibility in his book Light Unapproachable: Divine Incomprehensibility and the Task of Theology . In this episode, he and Dr....

Episode Notes Reading and interpreting the Bible is more, never less, than applying the correct principles. That's because the Scriptures are unlike any other writing in that they are God's words to his people. In his book Mere Christian Hermeneutics: Transfiguring What it Means to Read the Bible Theologically , Dr. Kevin Vanhoozer writes, “Biblical interpreters are answerable not only for the ‘co...

Episode Notes What could a book written about television forty years ago possibly have to teach us about living well and wisely in our world of smartphones, social media, and high-speed connectivity? According to the editors of  Scrolling Ourselves to Death: Reclaiming Life in a Digital Age , a lot! In this episode, Brett McCracken and Dr. Ivan Mesa join Dr. Keith Plummer to discuss why Neil Postm...

Episode Notes When it comes to controversial topics, it’s tempting to go to one of two extremes—to engage people with vitriol, anger, and contentiousness in our determination to make them see things our way or to totally avoid talking about important yet potentially controversial subjects altogether in an attempt to “keep the peace.” Neither is a viable option for followers of Jesus. In this episo...

Episode Notes Chris Martin, author of The Wolf in Their Pockets: 13 Ways the Social Internet Threatens the People You Lead , returns to the podcast to talk with Dr. Keith Plummer about why Christian leaders need to understand how our relationship with social media changes the ways we think, feel, and believe. Chris explains why he calls social media “the most pervasive discipleship force in the wo...

Episode Notes Central to the historic Christian faith is the confession that our God is triune, one in being and three in persons. Admittedly, this truth exceeds our ability to comprehend. But we shouldn’t allow that to keep us from seeking to understand what we can of what God has revealed of himself. To that end, Dr. James Dolezal, professor of theology at Cairn University, joins Dr. Keith Plumm...

Episode Notes Seasoned journalist Bonnie Kristian believes America is in the midst of a knowledge crisis that the church cannot afford to ignore. In fact, she thinks it could be the most pressing and unprecedented challenge for contemporary discipleship. Her book Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community describes the multip...