Confronting Christianity with Rebecca McLaughlin

In this episode, Rebecca McLaughlin talks with evangelist and surgeon Sam Chan about why Christmas still matters in an anxious, skeptical world. Drawing on Sam’s book The Missing Piece, they explore how the incarnation...

What does a 4th-century African bishop have to do with smartphones, social media, and AI chatbots? Rebecca sits down with ethicist Autumn Ridenour to explore how Augustine’s famous line, “our hearts are restless until...

Therapist and ministry leader Zach Ellis spends his days walking with men tangled up in porn, shame, and unwanted sexual behavior. In this episode, Zach and Rebecca talk about lust as both sin and sign, how trauma...

Christine walks through 2 Corinthians, Paul’s deeply personal letter about weakness, suffering, and the upside-down way of Jesus. She shares honestly about writing her new Bible study, More Than Enough: An 8-Week Study...

Portia Collins is a Bible teacher, author, and speaker from the Mississippi Delta. She’s the author of Finding Freedom in Christ: An 8-Week Study in Galatians, founder of She Shall Be Called, and serves on staff with...

Rebecca and theologian Dani Treweek explore why the Bible calls both marriage and singleness meaningful gifts — and how rediscovering the purpose of singleness can strengthen the whole church. Get the book: Single Ever...

Can Christians enjoy stories with “magic”? Marian Jacobs and Rebecca unpack how fantasy can train us to love Jesus and discern the occult—using a simple rubric rooted in Scripture and the self-giving love at the heart...

Harvard-backed research says weekly churchgoing lowers depression, boosts health, and lengthens life — and Rebecca explains why those benefits point beyond “religion” to Jesus, the church as true family, and the hope...

Rebecca and J.D. Greear explore how Christians can transcend the culture war by leading with grace and truth, loving hard-to-love neighbors, keeping politics downstream of discipleship, and holding fast to the gospel...

How can anxiety become a doorway to deeper faith? Blair Linne joins Rebecca to discuss her new book Made to Tremble: How Anxiety Became the Best Thing That Ever Happened to My Faith. She recounts the accident that led...

Rebecca welcomes back Jen Wilkin, JT English, and Kyle Worley for part two of their conversation about Theology Together. They unpack the Deep Discipleship Program—a tested, church-based framework for theological...

Rebecca welcomes Jen Wilkin, JT English, and Kyle Worley (Knowing Faith) to explore why every believer is a theologian, how women and men learn together in the church, and how practices of grace form us for fellowship...

Rebecca welcomes Vaneetha Risner for a candid conversation about suffering, unanswered prayer, and the presence of Christ in our deepest pain. Vaneetha recounts her story (childhood polio, the death of her infant son...

Rebecca sits down with Karen Swallow Prior to explore vocation that comes from outside us, the goodness of “ordinary” faithfulness, and why pursuing the true, the good, and the beautiful gives shape to our work in every...

Season 7 of Confronting Christianity is here! Rebecca gives a sneak peek at upcoming conversations—from finding hope in suffering and living faithfully as a single Christian, to confronting anxiety, pornography, and the...

What happens when you’ve tried everything—and nothing works? In this episode, Justine shares how she searched for meaning through alcohol, relationships, yoga, crystals, and tarot—only to find herself more lost than...

What if rock bottom isn’t the end of the story, but the place where grace runs deepest? In this episode, I talk with Dr. Ray Ortlund about the kind of suffering that strips us bare—and the kind of Savior who meets us...

What does it look like to follow Jesus at Harvard? In this episode, I talk with senior Andrei Comlosan-Pop about coming to faith in high school, navigating life as a Christian at a secular university, and how...

I’m joined by my friend Elizabeth Woodson—Bible teacher, author, and all-around theological powerhouse—to talk about Paul’s letter to the Galatians. We dig into what it really means to be free in Christ, why Paul’s...

Historian Molly Worthen joins Rebecca to unpack her journey from agnosticism to faith, the pull of charismatic leaders, and why Jesus—not political saviors—is the only one truly worth following. From Trump-era...

Rebecca is joined by Glen Scrivener and Dr. Rob Barward-Symmons to explore a surprising rise in church attendance in the UK—especially among Gen Z and young men. Drawing on new YouGov data, they discuss the impact of...

Is belief in God just a quirk of the human brain—or is it something deeper? In this episode, I’m joined by theologian Gray Sutanto to explore the insights of cognitive science and what they tell us about our built-in...

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Dan Strange to talk about the deep longings that pull at every human heart—connection, deliverance, destiny—and how they point us to Christ. Drawing from his book " Making Faith...

What happens when our deepest longings collide with our latest technologies? In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Jeremy Meeks—bioethicist, theologian, and expert on all things strange and complicated at the intersection...

Russell Cowburn, a professor of experimental physics at Cambridge University, joins Rebecca to explore the intricate relationship between science and faith. They explore the concept of God within the scope of scientific...