Theology. Apologetics. Dad jokes. Pastoral wisdom. Ecclesiology. Not necessarily in that order.
https://defendandconfirm.org
The sexual revolution did not cause the sexual revolution. In this week's episode, Sean and Russell interview Carl Truman and beg him to help us make sense of his book The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.
Church Planting Movement practitioners teach missionaries to look for the "Person of Peace." These individuals, they claim, act as Spirit-prepared gatekeepers to non-Christian communities. But is this concept taught to us in scripture, as they claim? Continuing our series on multiplying movements...
In this inaugural episode, we discuss the scriptural definition of a church, how this definition gives shape to the gospel, some of the ways that the local church can undermine the gospel by deviating from this definition. Being a first episode, we also made sure to have a major technical glitch....
In this episode, we talk about the foundation for Christian apologetics. Should we defend the gospel with evidential or presuppositional apologetics? Are the two at odds? What's the difference? Are there good and bad ways to defend Christian truth? Check it out!
In this episode, we discuss the divinity of Jesus, and explain how scripture does more than offer us proof-texts for this fundamental truth. We also look at how the earliest heresy in the Christian church serves as evidence that Jesus' first followers viewed him as God.
Sometimes social media posts lead to teachable moments. In this episode, we respond to the accusation that Christians who call out false teachers by name are being arrogant, judgmental, or unbiblical.
Building on our discussion of the divinity of Jesus Christ, we turn to what the bible says Christ did on the cross. What is penal substitutionary atonement? The bible teaches that Christ died as a substitute for sinners, and suffered the wrath of God they justly deserved. We point out the biblica...
Does your church practice meaningful church membership and church discipline? It should. In this episode, we explain why.
Also, a glitch with our digital recorder left us with camera-only audio for this episode, so enjoy listening to what sounds like two people talking inside of a tin can.
In this four-part series, we answer the question "How can you know Christianity is true?"
In part 1, we lay the foundation for this conversation (pun intended) by looking at competing epistemological foundations. We discuss how we as Christians, unlike the world, ground our knowledge in God’s re...
In this four-part series, we answer the question "How can you know Christianity is true?"
In part 2, we address the claim that building our knowledge on anything other than God and his word leads to absurdity. When the atheist claims to have moral, scientific, or logical knowledge, he is actuall...
In this four-part series, we answer the question "How can you know Christianity is true?"
In part 3, we ask how Christians can know that the bible is the word of God. Should we use some external, historical criteria as the way we authenticate scripture, or should we look to the bible itself?
In this episode, we talk about love. Our defense of the gospel should be grounded in a love for the lost, but too often our speech becomes prideful, quarrelsome, and unloving. Sean walks us through scripture on this subject, and we talk about the healthy skepticism we should all have of our own h...
In this episode, we tackle an assortment of questions submitted by listeners: Did the Holy Spirit indwell faithful believers in the Old Testament, or is the indwelling Spirit unique to the new covenant? Can God create a stone so heavy he cannot lift it? If he can't, doesn't this mean God isn't re...
In this episode, we revisit the question of how Christians can know what we claim we know. We discuss the self-authenticating model of scripture, and interact with some of the competing ways Christians and non-Christians attempt to understand the authority of God's word. We also deal with common ...
Sean and Russell discuss Biblical theology, how it differs from systematic theology, and how having a good biblical theology lends to the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
This series analyzes and critiques Multiplying Movements. Commonly known as Church Planting Movements or Disciple Making Movements, these missiological paradigms have become the standard in evangelical missions. But are they wise?
In this series take a look at the major tenets of Contemporary Critical Theory (CCT).
In this episode, Russell is joined by 8-year-old guest co-host, Barrett. Russell addresses the problem of evangelical youth leaving the faith. Is the problem a lack of apologetics training Or is it a more fundamental problem in the evangelical church? We talk about the need for discipleship and e...
In this episode, we talk about abortion. Abortion is a horrendous evil, and yet the pro-abortion rhetoric is stronger than ever. Sean and Russell work through some of the most common arguments in favor of legal abortion, and show how they are all intellectually, morally, and scientifically bankru...
Russell and Sean continue to take apart pro-abortion arguments, one at a time. We demonstrate how each of these arguments is intellectually, morally, and scientifically bankrupt, and give advice to Christians on how to interact with pro-abortion rhetoric.
Abortion claims the lives of approximately 3000 babies each day. What can we do to fight against this atrocity? Can anti-abortion ministry become unhealthy? Sean and Russell discuss these questions and list some simple ways that any Christian can contribute to this battle.
