Prepared to Answer Podcast

It is a sad and grievous thing when those placed in positions of authority within the church betray the trust placed in them. Stories of abuse, corruption, or moral failure by church leaders have left countless scars. So, it’s no surprise that polling groups like Gallup report lowering trust levels of pastors and clergy . Clearly, there are some real problems to be addressed. But is putting people...

For decades now, church attendance has been in decline. And after two years of COVID, even with lockdowns mostly over, many people are not returning to church. But let’s face it. Most churches now do a great job of delivering Sunday service online. And through the internet we have easy access to a super-abundance of worship, teaching, and discipleship resources that we used to only get from church...

A major objection to Christianity, especially among young people and young Christians, is the notion that Christianity is the only way. On the one hand, in many circles Christians have become narrow minded. Many churches have “shrunk” the gospel and have nothing relevant to say to real-life issues like poverty, mental illness, or the environment. But on the other hand, some deceptive hypocrisies h...

Do Christians always think they're right? Is pursuing certainty in belief a sign of arrogance? One of the challenges that Christians who are going through the deconstruction process are facing, is the real feeling of discomfort with how out of step Christians are with the sentiments and values of our culture. There's a real opposition in the cultural mindset  toward the claims of Christi...

Wouldn't we all be better of to let people feel free to believe what they want and just agree to get along?  There's no need to get so tied up with the particulars of what we believe. We should just follow the golden rule: Do to others what you would have them do to you!  This case is often made by those deconstructing their faith.  The common thread throughout our discussion on faith de...

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"Christians are so judgmental, especially about those who are LGBTQ! Don't judge, lest you be judged!" We've all heard these objections before. Yet aren't these objections themselves making a judgment? Statements like these need to be open to scrutiny as well, since no one has an objective perspective or neutral position from which to make moral pronouncements. Why should...

Faith deconstruction is not necessarily a bad thing. If your past experience has not been a biblical Christian experience but was just a distortion of true Christianity, then deconstruction and reconstruction is exactly what needs to happen. For the reconstruction process, it’s important to remember the principle that  “To recover your faith, you need to recover the faith.” To do this, a clear und...

Did you catch the previous episode in the series, Deconstructing Faith: Series Introduction ? Why ask this question - is it even relevant? Those who are in the process of faith deconstruction today often point to church experiences that overemphasized the importance of right belief, but didn't place much value on real-world application. They prioritized what we believe over the way we live. ...

Many Christians are finding themselves wrestling with difficult questions or deep doubts about their Christian faith. In the face of this, there tend to be two extreme reactions: Some choose to simply bury, ignore, or deny these doubts and questions. Others take the road of skeptical agnosticism and decide that since there are so many doubts and questions, true belief isn’t even a realistic goal,...

Sometimes life can seem so unfair. We face suffering that we feel we don't deserve, or are deprived of the good that we feel we do deserve. The seeming unfairness of life can challenge our faith like nothing else. Why does God allow such injustices? Why can wicked people sometimes get away with murder, while good people are left to languish with affliction? In this blog audio, we look at some...

Biblical inerrancy means that the Bible does not err on any truth claim that it makes. This has become an extremely important issue for Christians today as more and more skeptical voices in our culture cast doubts on the trustworthiness of the Bible. In this episode, we welcome Wesley Huff , a Christian apologist. He specializes in the study of how the New Testament was transmitted and preserved t...

Does someone's Christian upbringing makes them incapable of knowing whether the facts of Christianity are true or not? After all, Christianity is the only religion they've ever known.  In this episode, Scott discusses What Bulverism is and the importance of addressing its logical error when responding The role of well-placed questions in helping think through assumptions Recommended reso...

"There's no evidence that God exists!" What do you do when someone confronts you with a challenge like this? How do you answer when you're not an expert in science, archeology, or world religions?  In this recording from a live talk, Scott discusses Three principles to help you engage when encountering difficult questions How to maintain a winsome attitude and avoid the trap of...

Every year when Christmas rolls around, we start seeing the Christmas story featured on cards and magazines at the checkout counter. A question then often comes up this time of year: Is the Christmas story actually historical or is it just a myth? In this episode, Scott and Shawn discuss this big question and some of the information presented in the gospels to address some common objections: What...

How do you process doubts and insecurities that creep in and gnaw away at the solid foundation of faith you were firmly anchored to? And how do you respond to emotionally charged challenges to your faith, such when others question the goodness of the Christianity you profess? In this full-length recording of a live talk, Scott covers How to recognize two different types of doubts and the role that...

Are you wrestling with a personal faith challenge? Or maybe facing tough faith challenges from others? In both cases, you’ll need to be able to guard your faith. We’ll help you prepare to confidently tackle tough questions and fearlessly deal with skepticism and doubt, whether it’s in your own walk or in conversations with others. In this excerpt from a live talk, Scott covers How to recognize two...

“I’m open to the idea of God, but I can’t believe something, unless I can prove it scientifically.” In our culture, science is put forward as perhaps the most secure foundation of knowledge. Often it’s set in contradiction to faith. How would you answer a question like this? What if you don’t know a lot of scientific arguments? In this excerpt from a live event, Scott covers The importance of test...

More recently, there have been many examples of notable Christians--be they musicians, writers, speakers, or pastors--who have publicly announced their "de-conversion" from Christianity. In thinking through the issues around deconversion and our response, here are three things worth considering. For related resources, visit https://preparedtoanswer.org/topics/culture-and-spirituality/ ho...

What if someone approached you and asked, "How can Christianity be good? Look at the oppression committed by Christianity in the residential schools tragedies! "  What would you say? How do we as Christians respond to an emotionally charged challenge like this? We can't get away from it.  In this excerpt from a live event, Scott covers Ways to think through the question, including t...

Why does the prevailing narrative in our culture unkindly portray Christianity as a problem? What's the cause behind this? In this Q&A excerpt from a live event, Scott covers The two main driving factors behind this current phenomenon The mood about the historical role of Christianity in the West and the attempt to reconstruct society today For related resources, visit https://preparedtoa...

Jesus wants us to see his glory. But what about when we do behold his glory?  What does seeing the glory of God say about God? About us? What difference does it all make in the end? Hear Scott as he unpacks the fifth and final installment in The Glory of God Series and explores the question, “What Difference Does Seeing the glory of God Make?” You’ll learn The cause behind being able to see the gl...

There’s no greater vision of God’s glory to be had in this world than what God has shown us in the person of Jesus. That’s why Jesus wants us to see his glory. But how do we see the glory of Jesus who is the glory of God revealed? Hear Scott as he unpacks the fourth installment in The Glory of God Series and explores the question, “How can we see the glory of God?” You’ll learn How the picture of...

You’ve probably heard someone say, “I will believe in Jesus if he appears right here , right now !” Upon hearing that, you probably wished God would just show himself right then in all his glory, just to silence that person and cause them to finally believe! And yet as the Bible teaches, though seeing we don’t always “see”. Visual data doesn’t necessarily translate into belief because we see throu...

What does the word “glory” mean? We often use it in worship songs and even to name things like muffins. But what does glory really mean? It’s difficult to pin down – especially when it comes to God’s glory. How do we the finite define the infinite in terms of his glory? While it’s true that we on our own can’t grasp God, there are things we can humbly and gratefully know about God, because he hims...