Individualism, Exclusion, and the Cult of Busyness: How to Build a Radically Christ-Centered Community

Christian communities should be strongholds of worship, godly love, and hospitality, but the Church elicits many negative perceptions in the modern day, some imposed by the surrounding culture and some of its own making. Dr. Brian Carrier, Pastor of Discipleship at the District Church in Washington, D.C., shares his experience in community-building and spiritual formation as a pastor in a highly individualistic and professional urban setting. We discuss modern Church struggles such as its perception by the outside world as exclusionary and unwelcoming, its need to fight radical individualism and the consumerist mindset of attendees, and its lack of substantial young male involvement. Dr. Carrier advises non-Christians on how to explore the Church and advises Christians on how to disciple others, how to practically love their neighbors, and how to encourage commitment and forge strong bonds within Christian community. This episode will help you to understand what it means to genuinely "do life together."

Dr. Sita Slavov grew up in a Hindu household, practiced Zen Buddhism for many years, and is now a professing Christian. Dr. Slavov embarked on a search for absolute truth from an early age, using her skills as a researcher to investigate the truth claims behind different world religions. In this episode, we address religious pluralism, the role of tradition and upbringing in religious identity, and the distinction between religious practice and faith. We explore the contrasts between the Buddhist and Christian concepts of the self, suffering, salvation and the practice of meditation.

Resources:

Christianity Today article by Dr. Slavov

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis:

In this episode, Dr. Noller engages the wisdom of a speaker with a wide-ranging expertise in Reformed theology, Dr. Gray Sutanto. We discuss the development of apologetics throughout church history and the influence of seminal Reformed theologians such as Herman Bavinck, Cornelius Van Til, and Alvin Plantinga on cultural apologetics. We dive into common yet weighty objections to Christianity such as: does evolution explain away the existence of good and evil? Why doesn't God save everyone, and does He predestine people for Hell? Do atheists have a burden of proof for denying the existence of a god? And how can a good and powerful God permit the existence of evil? We close with Bavinck's prediction of the rise of Aryan nationalism from the decline of Christian faith in Europe.

Discussing Christianity or sharing your faith with others who hold different beliefs can be intimidating. In this episode, Dr. Bannister teaches us how to organically open up about our faith and ask open-ended questions of others. Evangelism doesn't need to take place in a stadium and apologists needn't be university professors-- they can be ordinary Christians like you and me. Join us as we discuss tactics to address objections such as "all religions are the same" and "Christians are hypocrites." From his real-life experience and role as Director of Solas, an evangelical organization, Dr. Bannister shares his impression of shifts in worldview, the new wave of atheism, and the Muslim perspective on Jesus. Join us for an engaging and practical discussion!

The Questioning Belief podcast, hosted by Kathleen Noller, Ph.D., addresses objections to Christianity through in-depth discussions with experts. Drawing from her background as a former atheist and her experience in apologetics, Kathleen invites you to explore thoughtful responses to serious questions about faith.

Dr. Tom Tarrants is President Emeritus of the C.S. Lewis Institute and author of Consumed by Hate, Redeemed by Love: How a Violent Klansman Became a Champion of Racial Reconciliation. In this episode, Tom and I discuss the accusation that the American Protestant church promotes bigotry and racism, particularly white supremacy. In Part 1 of our discussion, Tom shares his gripping testimony of growing up in the Deep South amidst anti-communist and racist ideologies and coming to know God through his readings of classical philosophy and the Gospels in a maximum security prison. We discuss the difference between nominal and true faith, whether America is a Christian nation, the sinful perversion of the Bible to justify racism, and more.

Sharon Dirckx, PhD., trained neuroscientist, prolific speaker, and author of award-winning books on the problem of evil and human consciousness, helps us to tackle the problem of natural evil. There are evils in our world which can't be directly attributed to human moral error: natural disasters, parasites, and disease attack seemingly indiscriminately, causing rampant death and destruction of innocent people. How can the Judeo-Christian God be simultaneously good, loving, and all-powerful and yet allow disaster and disease to occur on his watch? Did God create these evils, does he passively permit them, or is he powerless to stop them?

Many Christian leaders across different sects hold varied interpretations of key Biblical practices, leading to notable differences in theology and practice. Do differences in Biblical interpretation betray a pluralism within Christianity or an insufficiency of Scripture as God's method of communication? Dr. Kevin Vanhoozer joins us to discuss historical and modern differences in Biblical reading cultures, what it means to read the Bible "literally," and how to discern Biblical genre. Dr. Vanhoozer puts forth the practice of "mere Christian hermeneutics"-- essential principles for reading the Bible as Scripture everywhere, at all times, and by all Christians.

Dr. Peter Williams joins us to discuss various objections to the trustworthiness of the gospels, including the possibility of fabrication of the gospel accounts by later writers, the presence of apparent contradictions within the gospels themselves, and the alleged corruption of the original accounts by oral transmission and thousands of years of copying and translation. Dr. Williams has been leading Tyndale House, an international Bible research community in Cambridge, England, since 2007. He received his MA, MPhil, and PhD from the University of Cambridge, studying ancient languages related to the Bible and was formerly a Senior Lecturer in New Testament at the University of Aberdeen. He is an Affiliated Lecturer at the University of Cambridge and a member of the Translation Oversight Committee of the English Standard Version. His book Can We Trust the Gospels? (Crossway, 2018) has been published in 15 languages. His latest book is The Surprising Genius of Jesus (Crossway, 2023).