Episode Details

In this episode of Faith & Clarity, Dr. Mark Turman is joined by Ryan Denison and Dr. Jim Denison for a wide-ranging conversation about the hard questions of faith and how Christians can engage a skeptical culture with confidence and grace. Jim opens up about the spiritual questions that have shaped his life—from his father's WWII trauma and early doubts in the church pew to the transformative influence of C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity. Together, they unpack the difference between proof and evidence, making the case that faith is less like a math equation and more like a relationship, assessed by the weight of what we know to be true. The conversation explores why belief in God is so often questioned in prosperous cultures, how to distinguish deism from theism, and four compelling tests for the Bible's trustworthiness: manuscripts, fulfilled prophecy, internal consistency, and archaeology. They also take on some of the bigger cultural challenges to faith such as Jesus' claims to deity, the logic of the atonement, and whether dinosaurs or extraterrestrial life pose any real threat to Christian belief before turning to the question suffering raises that reason alone cannot fully answer, and why God's presence with us in pain matters more than any explanation.

Topics

(0:00) Introduction

(2:02) Jim Denison's early doubts

(4:48) Church culture and C.S. Lewis

(7:40) War trauma and faith

(19:34) Does God exist today

(28:48) Is the Bible trustworthy

(31:54) Four tests for Scripture

(35:14) Faith as relationship

(37:00) Jesus claims divinity

(49:37) Dinosaurs and aliens

(53:53) Why God allows suffering

(59:16) God with us in pain

(1:04:47) Cancer and "help my unbelief"

(1:06:45) Conclusion

Resources

• Camp mystic director breaks down in tears during trial
• Wrestling with God book
• Ask Us Anything: info@denisonforum.org
• Sign-up for a Denison Forum newsletter: DenisonForum.org/subscribe

About Dr. Jim Denison

Jim Denison, PhD, is a cultural theologian and the founder and CEO of Denison Ministries. He speaks biblically into significant cultural issues at Denison Forum. He is the chief author of The Daily Article and has written more than 30 books, including The Coming Tsunami, the Biblical Insight to Tough Questions series, and The Fifth Great Awakening.

About Dr. Ryan Denison

Dr. Ryan Denison is the Senior Editor for Theology at Denison Forum and the author of The Focus newsletter, contributing writing and research to many of the ministry’s productions. He holds a PhD in church history from B. H. Carroll Theological Institute and an MDiv from Truett Seminary. Ryan has also taught at B. H. Carroll and Dallas Baptist University.

He and his wife, C