AUTHENTIC with Shawn Boonstra

Standing as mortals at the foot of Mount Olympus, what would we see as we gazed up at the gods? How would it compare with the view of God at Mount Sinai? Join Shawn Boonstra this week for a study in divine character. In the world of our ancestors and their gods, Yahweh was shockingly unique—and much of it has to do with the Law He gave at Sinai.

Public schools required to display the Ten Commandments? Such a rule sounds surprising, but earlier this year, lawmakers made it real in Louisiana. And if you’ve kept up with the news, you know there's an active lawsuit challenging it. Shawn Boonstra dives into the controversy, exploring not only the line between church and state but also God’s reason for sharing His moral law with us in the first place.

Enacting someone’s last will and testament is a sacred duty. Still, inspired by a “gut feeling,” some like to redefine the deceased’s last wishes…often erupting familial wars. Is it possible that YOU, right now, are responsible for executing Someone’s will? Shawn Boonstra suggests you could be, and your fellow executors are quarreling over what this will and (New) Testament means.

As a dark wave of fatalism and existentialist despair rolled over from Europe in the nineteenth century, one brilliant American thinker dared to stem the tide. What if we are MORE than machines? he asked. What if our choices actually matter? Join us as we explore the impact of psychologist-philosopher William James and his quest to make meaning out of the vibrant life of the mind.

Imagine for a minute that you’re an ambassador of Earth to an alien civilization. You’re asked, “What’s this RELIGION thing all about? Why do you all believe something’s WRONG with your world?” Be honest: would you have answers? In this episode of Authentic, Shawn Boonstra pursues a coherent definition for religion, shining a light on why humanity’s always trying to improve…and why our efforts tend to backfire.

"You can't tell me what to do!" From crib to nursing home, we all bristle like porcupines at claims of authority. Something in us HATES being commanded. Is it any surprise the Most High God gets massive pushback? But what if, Shawn Boonstra asks, this target is a painted one? Scripture reveals Someone wholly unlike the tyrant of our imagination...

Thinking outside the box isn't just for artists and engineers. We can all benefit from challenging assumptions that hold us back. But what happens when "radical = good" becomes an assumption itself? Shawn Boonstra ponders the consequences for a society obsessed with erasing all the lines, boundaries, and principles that built us.

It takes a skeptic to prove reality. Shawn Boonstra revisits an old "friend," René Descartes, and his groundbreaking decision to doubt everything and how he concluded, "I think, therefore I am." The way Descartes starkly split mind from matter, though, should trigger our own skeptical instincts.

What causes YOU to lose your cool? The roots of our anger are deep and varied, but Shawn Boonstra suggests it's usually less about cosmic justice and more about personal injury. So, how to name and tame this dragon of rage? A centuries-old Christian practice may be the key.

Wrath. It's known as one of the seven deadly sins—and yet Scripture is filled with descriptions of God getting wrathful. So what IS the problem with anger? Shawn Boonstra explores this dynamite emotion and how our personal experiences with anger can cloud our view of heaven's righteous outrage.