In this short video, I introduce my upcoming series of short stories and aim to convey why I think it is important to embrace stories as Christians. This is a very brief theology of storytelling, inspired by Jonathan Pageau, Jordan Peterson, Paul Vander Klay, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and many other vital figures.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1961, Mike became a Christian at the age of 10 and grew up in a Christian home. He attended Liberty University where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance (Saxophone). During his undergraduate studies, he had a strong desire to know God, devoting himself to studying the Bible daily. He decided to learn Koine Greek in order to read the New Testament in its original language and later completed a Master’s Degree in Religious Studies. Toward the end of his graduate work in 1985, Mike began to question the veracity of his faith and wondered if there was any evidence to support it. He decided not to go into Christian ministry at that time. Finding answers to his questions consumed him and he almost jettisoned his faith. He investigated the evidence for Christianity and a number of other major world religions. He also considered the arguments for atheism. His investigation solidified his belief that God exists and that he has actually revealed himself to mankind in Jesus Christ and that the Christian view provides the most plausible and unified theory of reality. In July of 1997, Mike formed TruthQuest Ministries in order to give an official name to his growing ministry and to allow future donors to make tax-deductible gifts. In October 2001, the ministry was renamed “RisenJesus” in order to avoid confusion with other ministries named “TruthQuest” and more closely reflect its vision of equipping 100,000 Christians to share their faith using the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection. Mike has a Ph.D. in New Testament (University of Pretoria). He completed all requirements “with distinction” and the highest marks. He is a frequent speaker on university campuses, churches, Christian groups, retreats, frequently debates, and has appeared as a guest on dozens of radio and television programs. He is a member of the Evangelical Theological and Philosophical Societies, the Institute for Biblical Research, the Society of Biblical Literature, and the prestigious Studitorum Novi Testamenti Societas. Mike is Professor of New Testament Studies at Houston Christian University and the president of Risen Jesus, Inc. Mike is married to Debbie and they have two grown children, Alexandra and Zachary. Mike is the author, co-author or editor of seven (7) books Why Are There Differences in the Gospels? What We Can Learn From Ancient Biography (Oxford University Press, 2017) The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach (IVP Academic, 2010) Evidence for God: 50 Arguments for Faith from the Bible, History, Philosophy and Science, with co-editor William Dembski (Baker 2010) Paul Meets Muhammad which is a debate on the resurrection of Jesus between the apostle Paul and the prophet Muhammad The award winning The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus with co-author Gary Habermas which is a comprehensive self-study course Cross Examined, a legal novel defending the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock which lays out in a concise manner what to say to Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses when they knock on your door. Jesus, Contradicted: Why the Gospels tell the same story differently (Zondervan Academic, 2024) Raised on the Third Day: Defending the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus, with co-editor W. David Beck (Lexham Press, 2020) For more, please see: https://www.risenjesus.com/mike-licona Mike Licona - YouTube

Ryan Duns, SJ works at the intersection of philosophy and systematic theology. He has published on Karl Rahner, Jean-Luc Marion, René Girard, and his most recent work has involved a sustained engagement with William Desmond’s metaphysics. His dissertation, “Spiritual Exercises for a Secular Age? William Desmond’s Theological Achievement” argued that, when read as a form of spiritual exercise (Pierre Hadot), Desmond’s philosophy can re-awaken a sense of the Transcendent. Now available in updated form as a book, Spiritual Exercises for a Secular Age: Desmond and the Quest for God. https://www.youtube.com/@RyanDunsSJ On the Monstrosity of Christ - Theopolis Institute Amazon.co.uk Fr. Ryan G. Duns, SJ (@DunsSj) / X

Gerard Casey is an Irish philosopher and former politician who is Professor Emeritus at University College Dublin. He was active in Irish politics in the 1990s and led the Christian Solidarity Party between 1993 and 1999. He now holds libertarian and what he terms (philosophically) anarchistic views. His philosophical interests include political philosophy, philosophy of law and philosophy of religion. https://mises.org/profile/gerard-n-casey https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Gerard-Casey/author/B0034OKK5E?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1719686093&sr=1-1&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true Dr. Wanjiru Njoya is a Scholar-in-Residence for the Mises Institute. She is the author of Economic Freedom and Social Justice (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021), Redressing Historical Injustice (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023, with David Gordon) and “A Critique of Equality Legislation in Liberal Market Economies” (Journal of Libertarian Studies, 2021). https://mises.org/profile/wanjiru-njoya https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?i=digital-text&rh=p_27%3AWanjiru+Njoya&s=relevancerank&text=Wanjiru+Njoya&ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_1

Jordan Hall (Greenhall) is an entrepreneur and angel investor with a focus on the internet and digital media space. Having received his law degree from Harvard and practicing for all of 93 days, he sought greener pastures, becoming an advocate for “efficient, collaborative, open” models of information dispersal. More from Jordan Hall - Jordan Hall - YouTube https://medium.com/@jordangreenhall Note: I mentioned family Spiritual practices. Both Justin Whitmel Earley and Wendy M. Wright have been helpful to me.

Gary Chartier is a legal scholar, philosopher, political theorist, and theologian. Amongst other things, his work addresses anarchism and ethics. Chartier is a professor and serves as associate dean of La Sierra University's business school. Please see his website, here: http://www.garychartier.net/

Brian Godawa has been a professional writer and filmmaker for over 20 years. His creative versatility was born of a passion for both intellect and imagination, both left-brain and right-brain. The result: Brian is an artisan of word, image, and story that engages heart, mind, and soul. Just think, “Renaissance Man.” Bestselling Author. But Brian is also an author and international speaker on art, movies, worldviews, and faith. His popular book,Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom and Discernment, is used as a textbook in schools around the country. He is a contributing scholarly writer to various journals and professional orgs, and his articles on movies and philosophy have been published around the world. His Chronicles series of novels are his most important contribution by incarnating his worldview and theology in narrative unlike anything you’ve read before. Hollywood Filmmaker. As an award-winning screenwriter, his first feature film was To End All Wars, starring Kiefer Sutherland. But his skills and experience quickly expanded to include writing and directing feature films, documentaries and video promotionals. When he isn’t reading, watching movies, or loving on his wife, he is reading, watching movies, or loving on his wife. He knows, he knows: He should get out more. https://godawa.com/ Amazon.co.uk: Brian Godawa: books, biography, latest update Brian Godawa (@BrianGodawa) / X

The Reverend, David William Brown FRSE FBA (born 1 July 1948) is an Anglican priest and British scholar of philosophy, theology, religion, and the arts. He taught at the universities of Oxford, Durham, and St. Andrews before retiring in 2015. He is well-known for his "non-punitive theory of purgatory, his defence of specific versions of social Trinitarianism and kenotic Christology, his distinctive theory of divine revelation as mediated fallibly through both tradition and imagination, and his proposals regarding a pervasive sacramentality discerned in nature and human culture alike." Videos and Websites for more of David: David Brown (theologian - Wikipedia David Brown - Arts and Religious Belief (youtube.com) AT THE THRESHOLD: The Greater Part / David Brown (youtube.com) Research Areas An earlier interest in interactions between theology and philosophy has now broadened out into one between theology and the wider culture, especially the arts. In my earlier career at Oxford (1976-90), I focused on the relationship with philosophy and this is reflected in my two major books from that period: The Divine Trinity (1985) and Continental Philosophy and Modern Theology (1987). However, thereafter with my appointment first to Durham in 1990 and subsequently to St Andrews in 2007 my interests widened to consideration of theology's relationship with the arts and culture more generally. That interest is reflected in five books all published by Oxford University Press between 1999 and 2008. In the first two Tradition and Imagination (1999) and Discipleship and Imagination (2000) I explored the way in which the Christian understanding of biblical revelation has been affected by changes in the wider culture and in turn affected that wider culture. The history of art can provide some good examples, for instance in differing treatments across the centuries of the nativity or crucifixion of Christ. The later three then looked at religious experience and the way in which this might be mediated through the arts and culture. God and Enchantment of Place (2004) explored this primarily through landscape painting, geography and architecture, as well as, more briefly, in other neglected areas such as changing attitudes to garden design. God and Grace of Body (2007) examined attitudes to the body as well as music in all its forms (including pop music). Finally, God and Mystery in Words (2008) explored religious experience as mediated through drama and poetry and their expression in worship as liturgy and hymns. However. a book published initially in French in 2010 La tradition kénotique dans la théologie britannique represented a return to more doctrinal and philosophical issues. An English version becomes available from Baylor University Press in 2011 under the title, Divine Humanity: Kenosis and the Construction of a Christian Theology.

Arthur Versluis, Professor of Religious Studies at Michigan State University, holds a doctorate from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and has published numerous books and articles. Among his many books are Platonic Mysticism (SUNY Press 2017), American Gurus (Oxford UP, 2014), Magic and Mysticism: An Introduction to Western Esotericism (Rowman Littlefield, 2007), The New Inquisitions: Heretic-hunting and the Intellectual Origins of Modern Totalitarianism (Oxford UP, 2006), Restoring Paradise: Esoteric Transmission through Literature and Art (SUNY: 2004); The Esoteric Origins of the American Renaissance (Oxford UP: 2001); Wisdom’s Book: The Sophia Anthology, (Paragon House, 2000); Island Farm (MSU Press, 2000); Wisdom’s Children: A Christian Esoteric Tradition (SUNY: 1999); and American Transcendentalism and Asian Religions (Oxford UP, 1993). His family has owned a commercial farm in West Michigan for several generations, and so he also published a book called Island Farm about the family farm, and about family farming in the modern era. Versluis was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to Germany and is the editor of JSR: Journal for the Study of Radicalism. He is the founding president of Hieros, a 501c3 nonprofit focused on spirituality and cultural renewal. For more, please see: https://arthurversluis.com/

Naghmeh Panahi was born into a Muslim family in Iran. From the age of two, Naghmeh witnessed a country at war. In 1979, Iran underwent an Islamic Revolution and then entered an 8-year war with Iraq which heavily involved the city of Tehran where Naghmeh grew up. Bombings and missiles were a daily occurrence. Walking to school meant walking through the rubble of friends’ homes and entering a classroom of missing friends and painful memories. Eventually chemical warfare was used, and unimaginable side effects plagued the country. At an early age the horrors of war caused Naghmeh to seek God for answers about why he would allow such suffering. Naghmeh and her twin brother became steadfast in their pursuit of God. As Muslims they read the Quran, performed Islamic prayers, and fasted. Eventually, recruiters from the Iranian military began entering elementary schools and encouraging boys to enlist in the military, saying that if they died they would go to heaven because this was a holy war. The young boys were sent to the front lines to run through land mines so that the trained soldiers could safely follow after them. If parents objected to their children enlisting, they would be taken by the police and imprisoned for speaking against the government. With a young son in jeopardy, Naghmeh’s family knew they must leave Iran. At the age of 9, Naghmeh and her family moved to San Jose, California. Within weeks of their arrival, Naghmeh and her twin brother discovered the God they had been looking for, Jesus Christ. They learned that through the death of Jesus Christ their sins were forgiven. They learned that they did not have to die in a holy war or do religious work in order to reach God, but instead God came in human flesh through the person of Jesus Christ. Most importantly they learned that Jesus loved them. Naghmeh and her twin brother became dedicated followers of Christ at the age of 9. Naghmeh’s parents were furious when they found out that she had become a Christian and considered moving the family back to Iran. Instead of moving, Naghmeh’s family was persuaded to move closer to family in Boise, ID where they hoped the seclusion of the area would provoke their children to return to Islam. Eventually their hearts softened after secretly reading a Bible they had taken from Naghmeh seven years earlier. They too became followers of Christ. https://www.tahriralnisa.org/ Naghmeh’s hope was to be a missionary medical doctor in a third world country, so she became a pre-med student at the University of Puget Sound. Soon after September 11th, 2001 Naghmeh returned to Iran, this time as a Christian. This is when Naghmeh experienced the plight of Christians and religious minorities in Iran and also gained first-hand experience of the oppression and violence women are subjected to everyday in the Middle East. Her own life was in constant danger as a Christian convert from Islam. She was arrested by the Iranian revolutionary guards multiple times, and with guns pointed at her head was told to renounce her Christian faith or she would be raped and killed. She lived in constant fear of associating with other Christians because many times the house churches were raided, and her friends and fellow Christians were arrested and imprisoned. In 2002 Naghmeh met Saeed Abedini and helped start one of the largest house church movements in Iran. In 2004 she married Saeed, and by 2005 the house churches had grown to over 2,000 members in over 30 cities. As the house churches grew so did the persecution. Due to increased persecution and arrests Naghmeh and Saeed left Iran and returned to America where Naghmeh raised her two children Rebekka and Jacob in Idaho. In 2012, her husband, Saeed Abedini, was arrested while visiting Iran. Through God’s grace Naghmeh was able to bring world-wide attention not only to Saeed’s imprisonment in Iran, but also to the plight of persecuted Christians worldwide.