The Natasha Crain Podcast

This is the third part of my series on educational choices for Christian families. In today's episode, I interview Andy White, a Christian who has been a public high school principal for the last 19 years. Our purpose is NOT to tell every Christian parent to leave public schools; we know that every family has different considerations and opportunities. Rather, our purpose is to educate Christian parents who do continue to have their kids in public schools on what concerns they should watch out for. A subsequent episode will address what parents can do in response.

Many Christians are finding that it's getting harder and harder to engage in faith conversations with nonbelievers. With culture becoming increasingly hostile to Christian beliefs (particularly on morality), it's natural to want to just slink away...but that's not what we're called to do. The good news is, it can be easier than you think to have fruitful conversations. Today I talk with Greg Koukl, president of Stand to Reason, about how Christians can learn to engage more effectively simply by asking good questions. We'll show you how. MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:Greg's newest book, Street Smarts: Using Questions to Answer Christianity's Toughest Challenges: https://www.amazon.com/Street-Smarts-Questions-Christianitys-Challenges/dp/0310139139Greg's organization, Stand to Reason: www.str.orgGreg's recent podcast episode, "Decision Making and the Will of God": https://www.str.org/w/decision-making-and-the-will-of-god-the-biblical-model

We're raising kids in an increasingly challenging world--which means we have to be intentional in raising them in a counter cultural way. But if we’re not careful in how we do it, it can lead to our kids’ resentment of Christianity over time. In today's short episode, I talk about four ways that can happen and how to avoid it. MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:Talking with Your Kids about God: https://www.amazon.com/Talking-Your-Kids-about-Conversations/dp/0801075521

Even Christians struggle with believing what the Bible says sometimes. We want to believe it's God's Word, but there can be doubts that nag at us. Can miracles really happen? If they can, why should we believe some of the stranger miracles in the Bible like a talking donkey? Why would God leave enough uncertainty around what the Bible says that people can come to such different conclusions about it? Even if we believe that the Gospels report some true things about Jesus, how can we be confident that we should believe everything  the Gospels say?  Today, cold-case homicide detective, national speaker, and bestselling author J. Warner Wallace joins me to discuss these questions and more, in honor of the release of the updated and expanded version of his modern classic, Cold-Case Christianity.  MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:Cold-Case Christianity (Updated & Expanded Edition) J. Warner Wallace's website: www.coldcasechristianity.comInvestigating the evidence for Mormonism: https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/investigating-the-evidence-for-mormonism-in-six-steps/

Social media has been a popular place to share deconversion stories over the last few years, and sometimes so many people resonate with those posts that they go viral to some extent (being liked and shared by thousands of people).There’s one that’s being shared all over Facebook right now, written this week by a lady named Myndee Mack. At the time of this writing, it has 8,000+ likes/loves, 7,000+ comments, and over 3,000+ shares. Clearly, Myndee’s post is compelling to many.Here is my response to the reasoning and theological clarity/accuracy of what she wrote.NOTE: This is an audio version of a written blog post--many people requested I do a recording. You can find the original post here: https://natashacrain.com/a-christian-response-to-a-viral-deconversion-post/

This is part 2 of my episode, "Public, Private, or Homeschool: Thinking Through Your Child's Education (Part 1)." In this part, I talk about the widely varied types of Christian private school options available to parents, breaking them into four general categories: progressive Christian schools, nominally Christian schools, committed Christian schools with a mainstream educational philosophy, and committed Christian schools with an alternative educational philosophy. Additionally, I answer questions listeners submitted online, such as:--How do you prevent your kids from being in "Christian bubble" if they aren't in public school?--How do you discern if a "Christian" school is really Christian?--How do you prevent your kids from being jaded by the nominal Christianity they are likely to encounter with classmates at a Christian school?--What should you do if the administration and/or teachers at your current Christian school are leaning leftward?--How much does a school's denomination matter?...and more.Note that I was originally going to discuss public school as well in part 2, but due to length, I've made this a stand alone episode. Part 3 will discuss public school and is forthcoming.Mentioned in this episode:Episode 9 of the Unshaken Faith podcast: "How to Discern a Church Website" https://blubrry.com/1470671/94556853/9-how-to-discern-a-church-website/Battle for the American Mind book by Pete Hegseth: https://www.amazon.com/Battle-American-Mind-Uprooting-Miseducation/dp/0063215047

You’ve probably noticed that it seems everything is about transgender issues today. Why, exactly, is that? Why is everyone talking about transgenderism in particular? Why are we seeing an explosion of people identifying as trans? What’s even involved in the transition process, in particular for the growing number of teens who are pursuing a gender change? What about the popular claim that if we don’t support transitions, people will commit suicide? How, as Christians, do we respond to all of this in truth and love?Author, speaker, and radio show host Dr. Frank Turek is joining me today to talk about all of these questions and many more—including a bunch of personal questions about transgender issues that were submitted by people who follow my Facebook author page (https://www.facebook.com/natashacrainauthor). Mentioned in the show:Frank’s latest book: Correct, Not Politically Correct: About Same-Sex Marriage and Transgenderism (Expanded Third Edition) https://www.amazon.com/Correct-Not-Politically-Same-Sex-Transgenderism/dp/1607087073 OR order from Impact Apologetics (Amazon has been out of stock): https://impactapologetics.com/correct-not-politically-correct-about-same-sex-marriage-and-transgenderism-2023-edition/Frank’s ministry, Cross Examined: https://crossexamined.org/ Cross Examined Instructor Academy: https://crossexamined.org/what-is-cia/ Abigail Shrier’s book, Irreversible Damage: https://www.amazon.com/Irreversible-Damage-Transgender-Seducing-Daughters/dp/168451228X/ Jordan Peterson’s YouTube interview with detransitioner Chloe Cole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O3MzPeomqs Article on research censorship: “My Research on Gender Dysphoria Was Censored. But I Won’t Be.” https://www.thefp.com/p/trans-activists-killed-my-scientific-paper Frank’s book, Legislating Morality: Is It Wise? Is It Legal? Is It Possible?: https://www.amazon.com/Legislating-Morality-Wise-Legal-Possible/dp/1592441521/ Frank’s article, “Sex at Work”: https://crossexamined.org/sex-at-work/

In her newest book, The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes, bestselling author and speaker Nancy Pearcey explains how secularism has villainized the concept of masculinity. For example,  one media researcher analyzed more than 2,000 mass media portrayals of men and found that more than 75 percent of all media representations of men portrayed them as “villains, aggressors, perverts, and philanderers.” How did we get here? How did we get to the point where men are seen so negatively that they’re literally considered by many to be “toxic”? And what does the Bible say about what it means to be a man? Nancy and I dig into these critically important questions in today's episode.Learn more about Nancy's work: https://www.nancypearcey.com/Purchase The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes: https://www.amazon.com/Toxic-War-Masculinity-Christianity-Reconciles/dp/0801075734Follow Nancy on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyRPearceyAuthor

How you educate your child should be a very intentional choice--certainly not something you default into just because you haven't considered the various options available. But how is that decision best made from a Christian worldview perspective? In Part 1 of this episode, I walk through 6 key principles to keep in mind, followed by my thoughts on and experiences with homeschool in particular. In the next episode (Part 2), I'll go on to talk about Christian private school and then public school. 

Today I have the honor of talking with someone who I think is one of the best, if not the best, Christian models of navigating this tough culture with grace AND truth. Dr. Sean McDowell is a gifted communicator with a passion for equipping the church, and especially young people, to make the case for the Christian faith. In this episode, we go deep into the question of how we can better balance grace and truth in our interactions with a hostile culture--and also in our interactions with fellow believers. MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:Unshaken Conference info and tickets: https://unshakenconference.com/Unshaken Faith Podcast with Alisa Childers: https://blubrry.com/1470671/Sean's website: https://seanmcdowell.org/Sean's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SeanMcDowellSean's interview with progressive pastor Brandan Robertson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOTjzVZihfMSean's interview with progressive pastor Colby Martin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXjWhEHpxP0Sean's latest book, "A Rebel's Manifesto: Choosing Truth, Real Justice, and Love amid the Noise of Today's World": https://www.amazon.com/Rebels-Manifesto-Choosing-Justice-Todays/dp/1496443926