Confronting Christianity with Rebecca McLaughlin

Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin have a conversation about how people view organized religion, what tends to replace it in peoples lives, and why it is important for believers. Questions Covered in This Episode:Are people in Texas skeptical of organized religion?Do you see people who see themself as spiritual but not religious?What are other institutions that mimic organized religion that have gained popularity?What is a church for atheists?What do you say to someone who is a Christian but is not part of a local church?How does someone find a new church? What should they look for?Should we abandon organized religion?Resources Mentioned:“Religion for Atheists” by Alain de BottonHarry Potter and the Sacred Text PodcastFollow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship Podcast | Starting PlaceConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon, Follow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship Podcast | Starting Place | Tiny TheologiansConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon. Produced by⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Good Podcast Co.⁠⁠⁠⁠

Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin are joined by Claude Atcho to have a conversation about how we can get better at talking about race.Questions Covered in This Episode:Should we still be talking about race?How can we get better about talking about race?“Race is a biological fiction but a sociological reality.” What does that mean?How has this conversation changed over the last 6-10 years?How can engaging with African American literature help us understand a whole hearted approach to engage with the question of race?What would we say to a listener who might say: I am so tired of talking and hearing about race?How would you respond to someone who thinks we didn’t have these problems a few years ago?Guest Bio:Claude Atcho serves as the pastor of Church of the Resurrection in Charlottesville, Virginia. He has previously served as a church planter and an adjunct English professor in Boston, Massachusetts, and as a pastor in Memphis, Tennessee. He is the author of Reading Black Books: How African American Literature Can Make Our Faith More Whole and Just. Resources Mentioned:“The Secular Creed” by Rebecca McLaughlin“Reading Black Books” by Claude Atcho“Go Tell It On the Mountain” by James BaldwinFollow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship Podcast | Starting PlaceConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon. Follow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship Podcast | Starting Place | Tiny TheologiansConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon. Produced by⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Good Podcast Co.⁠⁠⁠⁠

Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin discuss the question; are transgender women, women?Questions Covered in This Episode:What is a man? What is a woman?Is a transgender woman a woman?What issues has this confusion presented?What is our primary responsiblity we have as Christians in this conversation?To what degree should we advance Christian ethics in public squares that are not purposefully evangelistic?Are all feminists on the same page with the question of “are transgender women women?”What do we do with the question of “preferred pronouns?”Helpful Definitions:Transgender woman: Someone who is biologically male but identifies as female.Follow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship Podcast | Starting PlaceConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon Follow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship Podcast | Starting Place | Tiny TheologiansConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon. Produced by⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Good Podcast Co.⁠⁠⁠⁠

Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin talk about doubt and where we can find a stable foundation that honors and invites our doubt toward goodness, truth, and beauty.Questions Covered in This Episode:Have you ever experienced profound doubt?What do you think are some of the most common places of doubt?What is doubt an invitation to?Do we find doubt in the bible?Where do you find a stable foundation that honors and invites your doubt toward goodness, truth, and beauty?If someone is listening to this episode and is experiencing or has experienced deep doubts about who God is, what God has done, and how God is inviting us to live…how would we encourage them?Resources Mentioned in This Episode:Genesis 3, Matthew 26, John 21:15-19, ​​John 20:24-29The ChosenFollow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship Podcast | Starting PlaceConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon. Follow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship Podcast | Starting Place | Tiny TheologiansConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon. Produced by⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Good Podcast Co.⁠⁠⁠⁠

Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin are joined by Sam Alberry to have a conversation about the question, is God anti-gay?Questions Covered in This Episode:In March a new edition of Is God anti-gay is being released. Why are you updating the book? What’s changed?Did the first edition play out how you thought it would?Is God Anti-Gay?What do you say to the people who think and feel that they are their sexuality?Some suggest that we might look back on what we might call conservative Christian sexual ethics in the future as we look back on people who held unbiblical and oppressive views of women or other races in the past. Are we in danger of that?What is your encouragement to people who are looking for an answer to this question?Guest Bio:Sam Allberry is a pastor, apologist, and speaker. He is the author of a number of books, including Is God Anti-Gay?, Why Bother with Church?, 7 Myths about Singleness, and What God Has To Say About Our Bodies. He has written extensively for numerous organizations, including The Gospel Coalition, Desiring God, and Living Out.Resources Mentioned in This Episode:“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone” by J.K. Rowling“Is God Anti-Gay? And Other Questions About Jesus, the Bible, and Same-Sex Sexuality” by Sam Alberry“Is God anti-gay?” by Sam AlberryFollow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship Podcast | Starting PlaceConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon. Follow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship Podcast | Starting Place | Tiny TheologiansConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon. Produced by⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Good Podcast Co.⁠⁠⁠⁠

Season 2 of Confronting Christianity begins on January 24! In this episode, Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin preview what is to come in Season 2.Questions Covered in This Episode:What are we going to cover in Season 2?What guests are we going to have on this season?Follow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship Podcast | Starting PlaceConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon Follow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship Podcast | Starting Place | Tiny TheologiansConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon. Produced by⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Good Podcast Co.⁠⁠⁠⁠

Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin discuss Rebecca’s new book “Jesus Through The Eyes of Women.”Questions Covered in This Episode:Is there a cultural impression that Christianity is misogynistic?You just wrote a book on Jesus through the Eyes of Women: Why did you write this?How does the perspective of the women in the gospels showcase some unique truths of the person and ministry of Jesus that we would lose if we don’t look through that gaze?Have you always known that women were a part of Jesus’s disciples in the fullest sense or am I late to see this?Should Jesus be our model for how we interact with others, specifically women?What is the big takeaway from this book?Resources Mentioned in This Episode:John 4, Luke 10:38-42, Mark 5:25-34, Matthew 15:22-29The Lost Kitchen“Jesus through the Eyes of Women” by Rebecca McLaughlin“The Resurrection of the Son of God” by N.T. WrightAmazon affiliate links are used where appropriate. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, thank you for supporting Training the Church.Follow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship PodcastConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon. Follow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship Podcast | Starting Place | Tiny TheologiansConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon. Produced by⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Good Podcast Co.⁠⁠⁠⁠

Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin answer questions submitted by listeners!Questions Covered in This Episode:Why did there stop being prophets? Surely God is still speaking (inspiring?) since the 1st century. Why is there no book of Rebecca? Or book of CS Lewis?Why does no one ever talk about divorce? It’s mentioned in the OT and New Testament, and the internet is full of polarized views on it?I would love to hear what you guys say about the times in scripture when someone prays and God seems to ‘change his mind…’“My friend and I are reading through Acts and what we are seeing there – the daily interactions of believers – is so different from our local church experience. What do we do with that?”How would you recommend thinking through God’s sovereignty alongside what some would say are natural consequences of living in a broken world. As in, is God using my X for good, or was that His intention for my life from birth?How much do we have to hate someone to not share the gospel with them? What are your thoughts on that?What’s your favorite bible passage?What does Imago dei mean? How does that interpretation influence our decisions regarding social justice, race relations, and other human rights relative to our current culture?Can you pronounce one another’s last names?My college-aged daughter has a Christian friend who just shared she is bisexual. Any practical ideas of how my daughter might bring truth into their friendship and conversations without affirming behavior that is outside of God’s plan or failing to respond or speak in love?Helpful Definitions:Imago Dei: Image of God. Doctrine in which we believe that humans are created in the image of God and are worthy of unconditional dignity.Resources Mentioned in This Episode:1 Corinthians 14:1-25, 2 Timothy 3:16, Genesis 18:16-33, Exodus 34, Jonah, Genesis 50:20, John 11, John 1, Matthew 5-7, Romans 8Amazon affiliate links are used where appropriate. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, thank you for supporting Training the Church.Follow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship PodcastConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon. Follow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship Podcast | Starting Place | Tiny TheologiansConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon. Produced by⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Good Podcast Co.⁠⁠⁠⁠

Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin have a conversation about how cultural Christianity has impacted the global west.Questions Covered in This Episode:Is it good that “cultural Christianity” is on the decline in the west?How do people who are culturally Christian respond to an invitation to church or to talk about God?How much of this is tied with the reckoning that has to happen with the past indulgences (the best and the worst) of western culture broadly?Do Christians in the global west, do we have an eeyore complex? Do we have an “everything we have ever done is bad” mindset?Resources Mentioned in This Episode:“Boom Town” by Sam Anderson“The Color of Compromise” by Jemar TisbyAmazon affiliate links are used where appropriate. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, thank you for supporting Training the Church.Follow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship PodcastConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon. Follow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship Podcast | Starting Place | Tiny TheologiansConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon. Produced by⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Good Podcast Co.⁠⁠⁠⁠

Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin are joined by Dr. Karen Swallow Prior to have a conversation about abortion and how we as Christians can engage with the sanctity of human life issues most helpfully.Questions Covered in This Episode:Would you be willing to share a bit of your story: How did you come to follow Jesus? What led you into your field of study? What led you to become involved in right to life and sanctity of human life issues?How has your involvement in this changed over the years?How do Christians engage most helpfully?What was your response when you heard about the prospect of Roe’s overturn? How should we respond?How do we live in the tension of being pro-life and glad for progress on this and at the same time relate to friends to who this feels like an injustice?How do we be sober-minded enough to view how tragic the full sweep of abortion is?How do we move forward? What’s next?What do we do now practically?Guest Bio:Dr. Karen Swallow Prior is Research Professor of English and Christianity and Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. In addition, she is the author of numerous books, including: Booked, Fierce Convictions, On Reading Well, and the co-editor of Cultural Engagement: A Crash Course in Contemporary Issues. She has a column for Religion News Service and her writing has appeared at Christianity Today, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Gospel Coalition…and just about everywhere else.Resources Mentioned in This Episode:Operation RescueCASA Amazon affiliate links are used where appropriate. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, thank you for supporting Training the Church.Follow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship PodcastConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon Follow Us:Instagram | TwitterOur Sister Shows:Knowing Faith | The Family Discipleship Podcast | Starting Place | Tiny TheologiansConfronting Christianity is a podcast of Training the Church. For ad-free episodes and more content check out our Patreon. Produced by⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Good Podcast Co.⁠⁠⁠⁠