Coffeehouse Questions With Ryan Pauly

Big changes are happening this summer... Think Well is officially ready to bring Ryan on in an increased capacity! This means more interviews and YouTube content! Donors have come alongside this ministry in an incredible way to make this goal a reality, helping us raise over 90% of our 2023 budget. Wow! This is our final push to raise the last 10% before launching into full gear. We are looking for 30 new monthly partners this month that want to help us reach our goal. Become a Think Well monthly partner and join the mission in creating passionate and confident ambassadors for Christ! Check out the link for more info! https://www.facebook.com/donate/167624045931702/ Think Well is here to serve some of the big needs today: - Sharing the Gospel in an increasingly hostile culture - Students doubting that Christianity is true and good - Parents and youth leaders feeling unequipped to address, engage and disciple amidst these struggles - The next generation deconstructing and leaving Christian exclusivity - Co

Having productive conversations should be the goal of a Christian's cultural engagement. This show will offer practical tips on how to discuss hard questions and controversial topics without being argumentative. If you have received something of value from this ministry and want to give back, or if you want to partner in equipping the church for cultural engagement, would you prayerfully consider joining our financial support team? More information can be found here. https://think-well.org/donate/

Ryan interviews A Roaming Goliath, a recently deconverted Christian who identifies as an atheist. They discuss why he left Christianity and reasons for and against the existence of God.

Evangelism efforts are sometimes met with, "I would believe in God, but..." Are you ready to respond to common objections and reasons for not wanting to believe in God? Ryan works through eight common responses to the Gospel and takes questions from listeners.

“In fact, of all the arguments for and against God's existence (and I've heard them all) this is the most powerful I have encountered in support of the atheist position. A tour de force."” - Michael Shermer, Publisher Skeptic Magazine Divine hiddenness is a problem that many people have to work through. Skeptics claim this is one of the best objections against God and in support of atheism. Today's show will look at this argument, see where it breaks down, and provide a thoughtful theological and philosophical response.

I thought I’d be the last to do a giving challenge, but then a generous donor offered to match all donations to Think Well before Dec. 31 up to $5,000! Praise God! Please message me with any questions you might have, and help us max out this cool opportunity! Giving options can be found here. https://think-well.org/donate/

"The deep longing of the human heart is for a story that is both true and satisfying." But how can we know which story is true? Does the religious or non-religious story better line up with reality? Dr. Paul Goul looks at 11 clues to understand the universe at our place in it and encourages you to adopt a different posture toward the question of God. Dr. Paul Gould is associate professor of philosophy and director of the philosophy of religion master's program at Palm Beach Atlantic University. He is the founder and president of the Two Tasks Institute, an apologetics institute and podcast, and a sought-after speaker. Gould has written numerous books, including "The Story of the Cosmos" and the award-winning "Cultural Apologetics."

Live your truth. Follow your heart. You only have one life to live. God just wants you to be happy. Love is love. These cultural statements flood our news feeds and sound so positive, but are they true? In order to Think Well we must discern the messages we see and compare them to biblical truth. Alisa Childers joins me to discuss her new book, "Live Your Truth and Other Lies: Exposing Popular Deceptions That Make Us Anxious, Exhausted, and Self-Obsessed." This show will help you evaluate popular lies by looking at what Scripture has to say.

Instead of ignoring culture or simply imitating it, what if Christians took it seriously and thought well about how they could incorporate its valuable truths into our teaching? This is what the apostle Paul did with the Athenian leaders at Mars Hill (Acts 17:16-31). What would it look like in our day? Dr. Frank Turek is the president of CrossExamined.org and the coauthor of "I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist." Zack Turek is an officer in the United States Air Force and a graduate of Southern Evangelical Seminary. Together they have authored the book, "Hollywood Heroes: How Your Favorite Movies Reveal God."

It's shocking how the narrative of human history has changed. Students are being taught that religion (Christianity) is the cause of the world's problems. The truth may surprise you! Dr. Jeff Myers joins me to discuss how Jesus followers have, and can, transform the world in times of crisis. Dr. Jeff Myers is the president of Summit Ministries. Summit is an organization that equips and supports the rising generation to embrace God's Truth and champion a biblical worldview. Dr. Jeff is one of America's most respected authorities on Christian worldview, apologetics, and youth leadership development.

Does an all-knowing God make free will an illusion? Since heaven is without sadness, does mean that we won't be ourselves? These two arguments were put forth in posts that students sent my way. Let's work through these bad arguments and learn to think well.

This conversation will get you ready to present the case for Christianity with confidence and grace. You'll be better equipped to navigate those tricky conversations as you delineate biblical teachings from Mormon doctrine. Join us and Think Well about some of the the most important theological topics. Eric Johnson works with Mormonism Research Ministry (https://www.mrm.org/) and has written and coauthored several books, including "Answering Mormon's Questions," "Mormonism 101," and "Sharing the Good News with Mormons." He currently lives in Utah with his wife and three daughters.

I invited Randal Rauser on my show back in July. After our live conversation, he offered me a thought experiment that tried to show that loving rightly is more important than believing rightly. His thought experiment is in his video, "How You LOVE is More Important than What You BELIEVE" on YouTube. I told him that I would make a video with a more detailed response, so here it is!

Our culture has gone through a major shift that is influencing and impacting our students. We may think that our students are protected from the culture inside their churches, families, and schools. However, recent studies show that the relativistic ideas in our culture are undermining the faith of students. How can Jesus be the Truth if there is no truth? Ryan explains how relativism is undermining your student’s faith in Christ and gives practical ways in which we can respond.

Ryan talks to many students who simply seem bored with Christianity. They have grown up in a Christian home, attended Christian schools, and have gone to church every week. They are tired of the same stories being repeated over and over again. Their knowledge of God is limited to: God loves me, he has a plan for me, and Jesus died for me… that’s all. No wonder they’re bored! Other students keep hearing about God but become bitter because they keep asking “Where is he? Does he even exist?”, only to never get their questions answered. That is why Ryan created this talk. He thinks that when we understand how relationships are formed, then our students will grow into a deep, loving, committed relationship with God. This was the first of five sessions given at the Bread of Life English Summer Conference. We begin with a short Q&A before jumping into the session.

What does it look like for Christians to stand up to the most heated topics of today in a just and loving manner? This conversation will help you think well about the many moral issues facing this generation and offer practical steps to make a positive difference. Dr. Sean McDowell is an author, speaker, and associate professor at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. He has two master's degrees and a PhD in apologetics and worldview studies. He has authored or edited more than twenty books. Sean is the cohost for the "Think Biblically" podcast, which is one of the most popular podcasts on faith and cultural engagement. He is also active on social media and has a popular YouTube channel.

Students ask some of the best and most difficult questions about God, the Bible, and the church. If left unanswered, they can turn into doubts and lead them away from Christianity. Alex and I will be addressing some of the toughest questions that students ask so that you can confidently respond the next time they come up. Alex McFarland a Christian apologist, author, evangelist, religion and culture analyst, and advocate for biblical truth. He has preached in over 2,200 churches throughout North America and numerous more internationally. With a passion to communicate the message of Christ to a new generation, he co-hosts Exploring the Word on the American Family Radio Network, airing daily on nearly 200 radio stations across the U.S. Alex’s greatest passion is growing the Body of Christ and instructing Christians on how to stand strong in the face of ever-diminishing morals, ethics, and values. In the early 1990s, Alex pioneered the Truth for a New Generation Conference designed to equip teens and adults to

What does Scripture say about engaging those who do not share my faith? How do I participate in difficult conversations? How do I actually interact with someone whose ideas are different from mine? Cultural Intelligence uses Scripture and the example of Paul to put you in a better position to live with the pluralism we all face. Dr. Darrell Bock is the executive director of cultural engagement and senior research professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. He is the author of over 40 books, including well-regarded commentaries on Luke and Acts and studies of the historical Jesus, and work in cultural engagement as host of the seminary's Table Podcasts.

Randal Rauser recently wrote the book "Progressive Christians Love Jesus Too." I invited him on the show today to discuss how progressives and evangelicals view Jesus and Christianity differently. Is progressive Christianity another gospel or another religion? This friendly conversation will help you think well about those questions. Randal Rauser is a systematic and analytic theologian of evangelical persuasion. He received his PhD at King's College, London. He is Professor of Historical Theology at Taylor Seminary where he has taught since 2003. He is the author of several books including "Is the Atheist my Neighbour?" (Wipf and Stock, 2015), "What on Earth do We Know About Heaven?" (Baker, 2013), the bestseller "Finding God in the Shack" (Biblica, 2009), "Theology in Search of Foundations" (Oxford, 2009) and "The Swedish Atheist, the Scuba Diver and Other Apologetic Rabbit Trails" (InterVarsity, 2012).

I've been working hard behind the scenes on some exciting stuff, and today is the day that I'm going to tell you about it. There are also a lot of upcoming events and interviews that you won't want to miss.