Episode Notes Over his almost two decades as host of the UK-based radio program and podcast Unbelievable?, Justin Brierly facilitated countless thoughtful conversations about faith and unbelief between some of the world’s foremost atheists and Christian apologists. In his book The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God and podcast by the same name, Justin explores what led to the popularity of the so-called New Atheists in the early 2000s as well as the internal conflicts that led to the movement’s implosion. He joined Dr. Keith Plummer to discuss that and why secular thinkers such as Jordan Peterson, Peter Boghosian, Louise Perry, and Tom Holland, to name a few,  are finding it increasingly difficult to ignore the Christian story’s relevance to questions of science, history, culture, and our search for meaning.

Episode Notes The Christian faith provides intellectually and existentially satisfying answers to many of life’s questions. But it likewise challenges us to consider whether the things we’re most curious about are really important and liberates us to ask new and better questions. Dr. Matthew Lee Anderson is convinced that the call to follow Jesus is a call to a life of questioning (to be distinguished from doubting). He writes in his book Called into Questions: Cultivating the Love of Learning within the Life of Faith: “We can only question well when we believe there are answers—but we will only live our way into the answers if we orient our questions toward the good and the true as Jesus reveals them.” In this episode, Dr. Anderson and Dr. Keith Plummer talk about the vital role a stance of questioning should play in the individual and corporate life of discipleship.

Episode Notes Dr. Gary Schnittjer, Distinguished Professor of Old Testament at Cairn University, is co-editor of the Scripture Connections series to which he is also a contributing author. His book, Old Testament Narrative Books: The Israel Story, explores the histories of the Hebrew kingdoms—their rise, fall, exile, and restoration—and shows their connections to the ancient near eastern world, the rest of the Bible, the gospel, and our lives. In this episode of defragmenting, Dr. Schnittjer and Dr. Keith Plummer discuss a number of themes from the book including how biblical narratives work and what to look for when reading them. Old Testament narratives are far more than historical records. They’re divinely inspired literary works intended to shape the lives of God’s people.

Episode Notes The question “Am I being formed?” is never a valid one for the Christian. Rather, we must continually ask ourselves “By what am I being formed and how?” In his book Digital Liturgies: Rediscovering Christian Wisdom in an Online Age, Samuel D. James claims “Rather than being a neutral tool, the internet (particularly the social internet) is an epistemological environment—a spiritual and intellectual habitat—that creates in its members particular ways of thinking, feeling, and believing.” James believes Christians have been largely unaware of the formative powers of regular life online. In this episode, he and Dr. Keith Plummer talk about why it’s important for followers of Jesus to realize how the habits and practices of the digital world obscure wisdom (which James defines as conformity to the objective reality of God’s creation) and how we can resist.

Episode Notes Our world is becoming increasingly polarized and we're prone to division before unity in any number of arenas. Technology fractures our sense of embodiment and the current culture wars see Christians parting ways over theology, politics, history, race, social justice. This division isn't only external...rather there is an ongoing pressure to disassociate the mind from the body - divorcing how we think from how we live. Even within the church, the tendency to know and understand the Bible as separate stories and rules of living rather than a cohesive narrative of God's redemptive plan leaves many believers knowing the "what" of their faith without the "why." In this episode, hosts Dr. Keith Plummer and Ben Best discuss the name "defragmenting," the purpose behind the conversations and interviews that excite them, and the unique and timely intersection of biblical integrity and thoughtful Christianity.

Episode Notes Matthew T. Martens is the author of Reforming Criminal Justice: A Christian Proposal, a book in which he hopes “to demonstrate from Scripture that justice is, most fundamentally, an issue of love.” “Get love right,” he says, “and you will get justice right. But you will never set the justice system straight without a proper understanding of love.” Bringing together his almost thirty years of practicing trial law and his theological training, Matt describes and explains the biblical foundations of criminal justice and assesses the history and current practices of the American criminal justice system in light of them. During a visit to Cairn’s campus, he sat down with Dr. Keith Plummer to discuss these important matters.

Episode Notes Christian colleges and universities committed to biblical authority endeavor to help students see the connection between their faith and the academic subjects they’re studying. This is sometimes hindered by the fact that some professors have been trained in settings where the implications of Christian doctrine for their areas of specialization were either ignored or significantly minimized. In an effort to help teachers for whom that was the case, Dr. Jacob Shatzer, Associate Professor of Theological Studies and Associate Provost and Dean of Instruction at Union University, wrote Faithful Learning: A Vision for Theologically Integrated Education, a book whose aim he says is “to equip faculty to be key instruments in faithfully transforming students in all disciplines.” Dr. Shatzer joined Dr. Keith Plummer to discuss the book. We believe this is a valuable conversation for all Christians who consider the cultivation of the intellect a necessary component of discipleship.

Episode Notes Artificial intelligence and deconstruction are topics receiving a lot of attention in a variety of Christian circles but rarely in the same place. Dr. Michael J. Svigel, department chair and professor of theology at Dallas Theological Seminary, creatively brings the two together in his latest novella, The AItheist. He joined Dr. Keith Plummer to discuss this book about an apparently sentient computer system upon which much of the world depends that becomes obsessed with the idea that the Christian faith is true. Its obsession with religious matters leads its creator to call on a former seminary professor who renounced his faith, to consult with the AI in hopes of dissuading it of its conclusion. The result is a series of thought-provoking and moving exchanges about the nature of faith, unbelief, and being human.

Episode Notes As evidenced by the multitude of tributes offered following his death, the pastoral ministry, speaking, writing, and example of the late Dr. Timothy Keller helped countless people better know, love, and obey Jesus. Even those who didn’t share his faith, have offered sincere expressions of gratitude and admiration for his life. In this episode, Collin Hansen, vice president of content and editor for The Gospel Coalition and executive director of The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics, joined Dr. Keith Plummer to talk about his book, Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation. They discuss its genesis and what we can learn from the people and experiences that shaped Tim Keller’s life and ministry. Collin explains the vision of The Keller Center and shares how knowing and working with Tim has affected his following Christ.

Episode Notes Many believe higher Ed is facing an existential crisis. While non profit and for profit schools are battling issues of affordability, enrollment, and latent COVID realities, the need for Christ centered, academically rigorous, and biblically faithful institutions of higher Ed remains. In this episode of Cairn Commons, Dr. Todd Williams, President of Cairn University, and Dr. Allen Guelzo, American historian and Senior Research Scholar in the Council of the Humanities and Director of the Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship in the James Madison Program at Princeton University discuss the history and future trajectory of Christian Higher Ed, the genesis of their love of history, civics, and deep thinking, and the lasting value of Biblical worldview formation in the life of the student.