Hello! Happy Wednesday! 

Today, we are delighted to introduce Nora from Sweden. Nora shares about her upbringing in Sweden, her love for creative outlets, and what she experienced growing up. Nora shares her faith journey, her experience coming to Christ in a secularized country, and talks a bit about her experiences with hopelessness and anxiety. She also shares about a few of her faith questions including: 

Why does God allow suffering? How does it fit into his plan?

How can a God who accepts everyone and forgives sin send some people to hell?

If our end goal is heaven, what’s the purpose of life?

We hope this episode is thought provoking and edifying.

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We would love to thank our Patrons for all their amazing support! To learn more about supporting Finding Something REAL via Patreon, click here! If you are interested in supporting the Finding Something REAL fundraising campaign, you can head to the webpage and click on the orange donate button.

Finding Something REAL on Instagram

Where is God in all the Suffering? - Amy Orr-Ewing

Happy Wednesday! 

This week, we are releasing an episode with Rachel and today’s guest— Alexis Zanias. Alexis shares about her faith journey, her love for educating students, and her love of questions and research. She talks about embracing the unknown, the importance of truth, and the importance of definitions. They chat about the five things that defined Christians in ancient Rome, the importance of biblical authority, and common criticisms against Biblical authority.  They also chat about deciphering what may be the voice of God wand what may be our own voice. 

We hope you enjoy!

About Alexis

When she has a break from teaching during the school year, Lexi loves to fill up her summers.  She worked with Summit Ministries for 9 summers at Student Conferences in TN, CA, PA and GA.  Lexi currently works in the summers for MAVEN as a field guide on their Immersive Experiences.  She loves spending time with Jesus, good discussions, Ultimate Frisbee, Lady Grey Tea, deep laughter and digging into good books.  

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We would love to thank our Patrons for all their amazing support! To learn more about supporting Finding Something REAL via Patreon, click here! If you are interested in supporting the Finding Something REAL fundraising campaign, you can head to the webpage and click on the orange donate button.

• FSR October 2023 - Rachel’s Intro

Romans 5:8

Happy Wednesday! We have a jam packed episode for you today! 

We are pleased to welcome Douglas Groothuis! Doug shares about his faith journey and how he became interested in philosophy and Christian apologetics. He also shares about his personal experiences with suffering and how it fits with the Christian worldview. 

He and Janell then start chatting about the New Age. They define and discuss divination, the reality of spiritual things, and the deception of the devil. He also defines New Age and speaks about Richard Rohr’s New Age worldview. They also talk about personal spiritual experiences and testing spiritual experiences. Lastly, they chat about the person of Jesus Christ, the importance of a historical belief in Jesus, and more!

We hope you enjoy! 

About Douglas

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We would love to thank our Patrons for all their amazing support! To learn more about supporting Finding Something REAL via Patreon, click here!

FSR October 2023 - Rachel’s Intro

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• Douglas’s Website

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• Exorcisms: The World's Leading Psychiatric Authority Speaks Out - Sean McDowell Podcast

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• Walking with God through Pain & Suffering - Tim Keller

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• Sharon Beekman

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• Psalm 39

Happy Wednesday! 

Today, Paul Copan joins us for the podcast! Paul shares about his faith journey, what he does for a living, and how became the go-to voice for questions about the Old Testament.  In this episode, Janel and Paul discuss the different components of progressive Christianity and they seek to answer Rachel’s questions about God’s character. They talk about the importance of reading scripture in context, how to know which passages to take literally and which passages to question, the moral vision of the Bible, diversity among Christian followers, and more! 

Paul also talks about why he is concerned about the teachings of Richard Rohr and similar thinkers. He upfront about Rohr’s incorrect beliefs about Jesus, his embracing of pantheism, and the abandonment of many core tenants of the Christian faith. Paul also speaks about the deity of Jesus, and loving others when we don’t agree with their beliefs of lifestyles. 

We hope you are edified by today’s episode! 

About Paul

He is author or editor of over 40 books, including works such as Is God a Moral Monster?, Is God a Vindictive Bully?, The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion, The Naturalness of Theistic Belief, Creation out of Nothing, Philosophy of Religion: Classic and Contemporary Issues, A Little Book for New Philosophers, and The Kalām Cosmological Argument (a two-volume anthology). He has also contributed essays to over 50 books, both scholarly and popular, and he has authored a number of articles in professional journals.

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We would love to thank our Patrons for all their amazing support! To learn more about supporting Finding Something REAL via Patreon, click here!

Paul’s Website

Progressive Christianity on the Road - Paul Copan

Francis Beckwith

Happy Wednesday!

Today we welcome Rachel from Washington on the podcast. Rachel shares about her background of being raised in Bellingham and experiencing both a Christian home with her dad and stepmom and an agnostic home with her mother. She shares why she decided not to call herself a Christian while in college and how she embraced a more liberal leaning lifestyle. Rachel chats about her experiences in the New Age, how people-pleasing played a huge rule in her life, and her personal experiences with paganism.

Rachel shares her struggles with certain Christian doctrines such as the deity of Jesus and her beliefs about forgiveness. They also chat about what Rachel hopes to get out of the conversations this month. 

We hope you enjoy! 

Rachel’s Questions:

Was Jesus the Son of God or has He been like created into an allegory by time?

Are forgiveness, self-forgiveness, and repentance important? 

Are New Age beliefs all bad? Is there anything Christians can keep from those practices? 

Do all roads/religions ultimately lead to Jesus? 

How can Christians be present in social change and justice issues? How can Christians believe what the Bible says while loving those in the LGBTQ+ community?

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We would love to thank our Patrons for all their amazing support! To learn more about supporting Finding Something REAL via Patreon, click here!

Finding Something REAL on Instagram

Happy Wednesday! 

Today on the podcast, we welcome back Alycia Wood! Alycia shares about her faith journey and the various doubts she experienced as a young woman. She explains why she stepped out of atheism and how she eventually came to know Christ. She also chats about historical facts about Jesus, how Christianity explains the world we live in, and more. Alycia and Janell also chat about why there’s so much suffering in the world, the hope for Christians, finding our identity in Christ, and so much more. We hope you enjoy this episode! 

About Alycia

She went on to get her Master’s in Social Justice from Marygrove College to further her passion for serving those in need in the developing world. This led to various volunteering opportunities at orphanages, prisons, and shelters for the homeless in various countries including Haiti, Honduras and the Dominican Republic. A few years after her travels were completed, she was able to spend a year studying Apologetics in England.

Alycia spent many years as a teacher’s aide and substitute teacher for multiple grade levels. Following, she has spent over nine years doing full-time apologetics ministry where she travels and speaks on various topics relevant to our culture. She is currently with the C. S. Lewis Society in Tampa.

In her spare time, she is an avid sports fan, musician and grower of all things edible in her garden.

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We would love to thank our Patrons for all their amazing support! To learn more about supporting Finding Something REAL via Patreon, click here!

FSR September 2023 - Alice’s Intro

Alycia Wood on Facebook and Twitter

J Warner Wallace

Today on the podcast, we welcome Eric Hernandez. Eric is an apologist and speaker. He shares how he explains what apologetics is, how he became a Christian, and how he became passionate about sharing the Christian faith. Eric and Janell chat about the link between philosophy and apologetics, lazy evangelism, and the garden analogy. They also chat about the two things that make Christianity true.

We hope you enjoy! 

We would love to thank our Patrons for all their amazing support! To learn more about supporting Finding Something REAL via Patreon, click here!

FSR September 2023 - Alice’s Intro

Bobby Conway

About Eric

Hello Everyone! 

Today on the podcast, we welcome returning guest Justin Brierley! Justin shares a bit of an update on Unbelievable? and how he is diving into culture apologetics after leaving the show.

They chat a bit about his new book, how the new atheism movement is impacting culture, and the limitations of science as a worldview. They talk about Jordan Peterson, the “Fathiest Atheist,” and the growth of religion around the world. Justin discusses why who chooses Christianity over something else and how Christianity has influenced the world. They also discuss Christian celebrities, cancel culture, and fighting idol worship.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

About Justin

Justin has worked in radio, podcast and video for over two decades. Until April 2023 he was Theology & Apologetics Editor for Premier Christian Radio, and hosted the Unbelievable? radio show and podcast as well as the Ask NT Wright Anything podcast. Justin was also editor of Premier Christianity magazine from 2014-2018, for which he continues to contribute articles. Justin's first book 'Unbelievable? Why, after ten years of talking with atheists, I'm still a Christian' (SPCK) was published in 2017.

Justin currently co-hosts the Re-Enchanting podcast for Seen & Unseen, and is a guest presenter for the Maybe God podcast. His next book 'The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God' (Tyndale) will be published in Sep 2023.

Justin is married to Lucy, a church minister in Surrey, and they have 4 amazing children - Noah, Grace, Jeremy and Toby. When he isn't working in a professional capacity, you'll find Justin involved in youth work and worship leading at church.

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We would love to thank our Patrons for all their amazing support! To learn more about supporting Finding Something REAL via Patreon, click here!

FSR September 2023 - Alice’s Intro

​​JustinBrierley.com

Jordan Peterson

Sean McDowell's Interview with Justin Brierley

Hello Everyone! Happy Wednesday!

Today we are excited to share with you the first episode of September! Alice from Sweden, our September co-host, joins Janell to discuss the cultural differences between Sweden and the US, why she does not identify as religious, and her surprise about the amount of religion in American culture. She also chats about why she doesn’t necessarily believe in God and why she chose to be our September Co-Host. They also chat about a few of Alice’s questions such as:

Why does God allow things to be messed up?

What’s the difference between someone who lives their life believing in God and someone who doesn’t?

How does believing in God impact what someone believes about themselves? Where does mental health fit into the Christian life?

We hope you will join us for Alice’s journey on the podcast!

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We would love to thank our Patrons for all their amazing support! To learn more about supporting Finding Something REAL via Patreon, click here!

Finding Something REAL on Instagram

Another Wednesday, another episode!

Today on the podcast, Janell and Signe welcome back Frank Turek, co-author of I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist. Frank shares a bit about how he came to become a Christian, the importance of sharing the truth no matter what, and moral standards. They also chat about why hedonism is unsatisfying and what happens when you follow your desires without restraint. Discussions about the definition of faith and surrender also make their way into the episode. We hope you enjoy!

About Frank

Frank hosts an hour-long TV program each week called I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist which is broadcast Wednesday nights on DirecTV Channel 378 (NRBTV). His radio program and podcast called I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist with Frank Turek airs on 182 stations every Saturday morning at 10 a.m. eastern and is available continuously on the free CrossExamined App.

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We would love to thank our Patrons for all their amazing support! To learn more about supporting Finding Something REAL via Patreon, click here!

FSR August 2023 - Signe’s Intro

Cross Examined.org

Correct Not Politically Correct - Frank Turek

John Mark Comer