Exploring Faith and Spirituality

Religion

The Pastor and Counseling (with Deepak Reju)

Every pastor wants a culture of care, but not every pastor feels equipped to counsel—much less to equip others to counsel one another. In this episode, Deepak Reju—a Delaware pastor who served for...

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Why We Need to Talk About Body Image in Women’s Discipleship

When we disciple others, we want to help them know God deeply and live faithfully according to his Word. That often means helping women navigate various types of struggles. As a biblical counselor,...

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Ick Lists Aren’t Harmless Fun

“When a guy runs with a backpack on and looks like a prepubescent turtle.” “Yes! Or has his rain jacket draped over his backpack.” The group of girls sprawled in the living room of my dorm burst ...

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The Real Threat to Faith Isn’t Science

If not for the revelation we have received from heaven, no one would be debating science and faith. God says things in the Old and New Testaments that are hard, if not impossible, to reconcile wit...

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When ‘Evangelical’ Means Everything but the Gospel

For the past 30 years, I’ve pushed back against the critics who’ve said Christians need to abandon the label “evangelical.” I’ve argued that we shouldn’t let political associations or cultural bagg...

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Samson: A New and Unimproved Moses

“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” This line—frequently attributed to Mark Twain—captures something deeply true about how the Bible tells its stories. Biblical authors carefully...

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Is Textual Criticism . . . Cool?

“So, what’s your dissertation about?” When I began my PhD work at the University of Edinburgh in 1999, I can remember dreading this question from my evangelical friends. I’d try to explain to them...

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Raging Against the Machine, Longing for Eden

There are many ways to describe modernity and the feelings it inspires: malaise (Walker Percy), disenchantment (Max Weber), deathworks (Philip Rieff), liquid modernity (Zygmunt Bauman), after virtu...

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Can You Rely on AI for Theology?

If you want to scare yourself on a dark and stormy night, try reading headlines about AI. Some people will tell you we’re basically in another dot-com bubble and that most of the hype will turn out...

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Why Young Men Are Coming Back to Church

Something drastic is shifting in the spiritual atmosphere of the Western world. Surprised whispers of a “quiet revival” are swirling in and around the church. Pastors and pollsters, pagans and podc...

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Motherhood is a Blessing – 7 Secrets to Raising Confident Children

Faith, Fitrah, and Firm Foundations: Raising the Next Generation with Ihsan You carry the ummah in your arms. From the first heartbeat to the final bedtime dua, motherhood in Islam isn’t just a p...

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Missionaries Must Decrease

This year, I realized that while my wife and I had put a lot of thought into protecting our daughters, we’d not been as intentional in entrusting them with more responsibility and freedom. We were ...

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Medievalism Isn’t the Answer to Modernity

On September 3, 2025, British right-wing populist political leader Nigel Farage gave evidence to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee about free speech in Europe. He claimed the en...

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Why Everything Never Feels Like Enough

“Does it feel like you should be happy, you want to be happy, and you try to be happy, but somehow you can’t?” What a simple and common yet poignant question. It’s in the preface to the new book E...

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Add Cultural Apologetics to Your Evangelism Tool Kit

In his 1896 lecture “The Will to Believe,” American philosopher William James (1842–1910) described religious beliefs as either “live” or “dead” wires. A live hypothesis is a real possibility for s...

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The hard right are claiming the cross – and true Christians should not allow it | Polly Toynbee

British church leaders have finally spoken out about the dangerous rise of Christian nationalism. But their message was far too timidNot here in this tolerant green and pleasant land of gentle, if ...

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Can You Have Too Much Therapy?

This may sound strange coming from a therapist, but you can have too much therapy. I say this knowing full well the benefits of having someone who helps you understand your story. This is work I’v...

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How Leviticus’s ‘Do Not Touch’ Prepares Us for Christ

Leviticus is often the book where Bible reading plans go to die; it’s full of purity laws, sacrificial rituals, and seemingly endless details that feel far removed from our everyday life. But what ...

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The Holy Spirit Makes Ordinary Women Extraordinary

When I was a child, my Grandma Ruth’s house was dark and disorganized. Piles of papers teetered here and there, and old wood furniture was pushed against the walls. Grandma seemed stressed and not ...

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Don’t Assume Biblically Literate Students Are Doing Fine

In high school, I was in quiet crisis: reeling from abuse, hidden family dysfunction, and unspoken doubts about my faith, all while trying to navigate the maze of adolescence. I’d silently resolved...

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Science Requires the Christian God

Scientists engage creation empirically rather than philosophically; they seek knowledge through sense experience. Yet this distinction between empirical and philosophical research is relative, not ...

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