Is healing somehow tied to prayer, a result of Divine intervention, related solely to doctors and medicine, or merely a coincidental part of life? What happens when people fervently pray for healing and it does not happen? “Divine healing” is at the core of a movement within Christianity called Pentecostalism. In this episode, Dr. Todd von Helms and emeritus historian Dr. Grant Wacker discuss Pentecostalism and the possibility of Divine healing. They also shed light on the differences between Pentecostalism in the United States compared to other parts of the world. Professor Grant Wacker grew up in a Pentecostal home before graduating from Stanford and Harvard and going on to teach the history of Christianity for nearly 50 years at UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University.

Professor Wacker joined the Duke Divinity School faculty after teaching in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1977 to 1992. He specializes in American Christian history. He is the author or co-editor of nine books, including Heaven Below: Early Pentecostals and American Culture (2001, Harvard University Press), America’s Pastor: Billy Graham and the Shaping of a Nation (2014, Harvard University Press), One Soul at a Time: The Story of Billy Graham (Eerdmans, 2019), and more than two-hundred articles, essays, and book reviews. From 1997 to 2004, Professor Wacker served as a senior editor of the quarterly journal, Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture. He is past president of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, the American Society of Church History, and a senior trustee of Fuller Theological Seminary. Along with three teaching awards, he directed twenty-six Ph.D. or Th.D students at UNC or Duke.

Speaking in tongues? Divine healing? Gifts of the Spirit? Some believe these topics to be outdated, weird, or residing only in the imaginations of overly religious people. Today, there are more than 600 million adherents to Pentecostalism, a worldwide movement within Christianity. What are we to make of these topics? Few are better qualified to discuss these issues than Emeritus Historian, Dr. Grant Wacker, who is an award winning author, expert on the history of Christianity in general, and evangelicalism and Pentecostalism in particular. Grant Wacker grew up in a Pentecostal home before graduating from Stanford and Harvard and going on to teach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University for nearly fifty years. In this episode, Todd von Helms asks Professor Wacker to discuss his religious upbringing and what he has learned about Pentecostalism over the past 75 years.

In this episode Todd von Helms asks Tommy Nelson to describe what heaven will be like, as well as how he thinks others will remember his life and decades of ministry. Tommy Nelson served as the Senior Pastor of Denton Bible Church in Denton, Texas for nearly 50 years, which included preaching to thousands each week, mentoring hundreds of future leaders through the Young Guns discipleship program, and impacting countless other lives through his dynamic teaching and bestselling books.

Who is Peggy Wehmeyer? She was the first full-time religion correspondent for a major news network in the United States. Her captivating reporting in the 1980s and 1990s garnered the attention of renown journalist Peter Jennings of ABC News, who invited Peggy to join the network. For many years, award winning journalist Peggy Wehmeyer reported on the most pressing religious issues and news of the day, including sit down interviews to discuss religion with President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, and Muhammad Ali. In this episode Peggy discusses her bizarre upbringing, faith journey, and how she became one of the most beloved reporters in the country. Today, Peggy writes popular op-ed columns for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Dallas Morning News.

Todd von Helms sits down with Dr. Michael Strauss to discuss his research, as well as his faith in God. Dr. Strauss (PhD, UCLA) is an award winning tenured professor at the University of Oklahoma. He is an experimental particle physicist who studies the fundamental particles and forces in the universe. He is currently analyzing data from the ATLAS detector using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland. The LHC is the highest energy particle collider in the world and has the potential of discovering new phenomena which may extend or supersede the standard model of particle physics. Studies indicate that answers to fundamental questions about the nature of mass, the asymmetry between matter and antimatter, the particles that make up the dark matter in the universe, and other new phenomena may be discovered at the LHC.

Mike is the author of the book, “The Creator Revealed,” as well as numerous articles. His current research focuses on using ATLAS data to measure properties of the Higgs Boson that was discovered in 2012. It is vital to precisely measure characteristics of the Higgs to determine if it fits exactly into the standard model of particle physics or if there are deviations from predictions, which would indicate the presence of undiscovered physics. Mike is looking particularly at the decays of the Higgs Boson to two W particles that subsequently decay to two charged leptons and two neutrinos. This decay channel is the dominant decay of the Higgs Boson and provides both opportunities and challenges for future discoveries.

Todd von Helms visits Duke University to discuss the topic of angels and demons with Ivy League educated, tenured professor Dr. J. Warren Smith. Dr. Smith is an expert in historical theology, from the apostles to the present, but his primary focus is upon patristic theology.

Despite increasing polarization, as well as racial and political division that permeate many aspects of society, including some churches, this conversation with Dr. Todd von Helms and Dr. Reginald High demonstrates that genuine friendship, unity, and civil discourse are possible when people focus on what matters most. Dr. “Reggie” High has two earned doctorates and was mentored by the famous Reverend Dr. Gardner Taylor (1918-2015), who was known as the “Dean of Preachers” during the 20th century. Dr. Taylor also mentored Martin Luther King, Jr., preached in New York City for 42 years, and was presented with the Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton in 2000. Today, Reggie High continues Gardner Taylor’s legacy of great preaching by serving as the Senior Pastor of Beaver’s Chapel Christian Church in Zebulon, NC, and teaching at Campbell University.

Fr. Michael Ward of Oxford University is regarded by many to be the world’s leading C.S. Lewis scholar today. This conversation features Dr. Todd von Helms talking with Michael Ward about the life, conversion, friendships, writings, and legacy of C.S. Lewis, as well as what advice Lewis provides regarding suffering, honesty, prayer, and how Catholics and Protestants can unite despite differences.

Dr. Todd von Helms asks renown C.S. Lewis scholar Fr. Michael Ward of Oxford University to explain C.S. Lewis’s view of the devil and why The Screwtape Letters remains such an influential work. 

Todd sits down inside the famous Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke University to interview teenager Thomas Hash, who talks about his courageous battle with brain cancer, and how many organizations, celebrities, doctors, nurses, friends, family, and even strangers, have rallied around him. This conversation encourages us to consider what it means to believe in God, the power of prayer, and importance of community.