On the Journey

On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Episode 79: Matt’s Story, Part III

Ken Hensley continues to interview Matt Swaim about the process that led him to the Catholic Faith.

Having shared some of the key reasons he became Catholic, Matt now shares what some of the key struggles were for him on the way into the Church.

From getting accustomed to liturgical worship, to sorting through seemingly thousands of devotional options, to the pressure put on new converts to be ideal Catholics, Matt discusses what for him were the biggest adjustments when he started out in the Catholic Church.

For more episodes, visit chnetwork.org/onthejourney.

On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Episode 78: Matt’s Story, Part II

Ken Hensley continues to interview Matt Swaim about the process that led him to the Catholic Faith.

Having gone through something of an Evangelical "deconstruction," Matt shares how the debates over what makes music "Christian," as well as the discovery of the thought of GK Chesterton, opened his heart to the Catholic understanding of truth, beauty and goodness. Matt also discusses how his efforts to re-create the early Church from scratch revealed to him the necessity of being part of the Catholic Church.

For more episodes, visit chnetwork.org/onthejourney.

On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Episode 77: Matt’s Story, Part I

Ken Hensley turns the tables on Matt Swaim to ask him about the process that led him to the Catholic Faith.

There is a lot of discussion among those who grew up Evangelical, especially in the 80's and 90's, about "deconstructing" their Evangelicalism. Matt shares how that process took place for him through his experience of Christian music subcultures, scandals in church leadership, and the Christian bookstore industry, and caused him to rethink his whole concept of what it meant to follow Jesus.

For more episodes, visit chnetwork.org.

On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Episode 76: Wizard of Oz Apologetics, Part XI

Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley conclude their series looking into ways to reframe conversations about faith with people who doubt or deny the existence of God.

Having looked at various implications of a purely scientific materialist world view on the questions of consciousness, morality, human dignity and free will, Matt and Ken discuss how that kind of worldview, which intends to be based solely on reason, ultimately ends up denying the foundational tools necessary to reason.

For more episodes, visit chnetwork.org/onthejourney.

On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Episode 75: Wizard of Oz Apologetics, Part X

Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley continue their series looking into ways to reframe conversations about faith with people who doubt or deny the existence of God.

If a purely materialist worldview means free will is an illusion, consciousness is an illusion, morality and human dignity and knowledge itself are illusions, then what's the point of anything? The atheist worldview, which often begins by asserting the primacy of reason, ends by eliminating the very tools necessary to make rational determinations.

For more episodes, visit chnetwork.org/onthejourney.

On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Episode 74: Wizard of Oz Apologetics, Part IX

Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley continue their series looking into ways to reframe conversations about faith with people who doubt or deny the existence of God.

In a purely material universe, facts most certainly exist. But can our knowledge of them exist, if knowledge is not made of matter? And if our very thoughts are nothing more than deterministic processes taking place in the brain, by what measure can we call certain ideas "true" or "false?"

Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley unpack the question of the existence of knowledge in their ongoing discussion about how to reframe conversations about God when talking to atheists.

For more episodes, visit chnetwork.org/onthejourney.

On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Episode 73: Wizard of Oz Apologetics, Part VIII

Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley continue their series looking into ways to reframe conversations about faith with people who doubt or deny the existence of God.

If our universe is governed purely by the laws of physics and biology and chemistry, and actions producing reactions in a world without meaning, does free will even exist? Is our perceived ability to make free choices only an illusion that we've adapted along with everything else?

Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley unpack the question of the existence of free will in their ongoing discussion about how to reframe conversations about God when talking to atheists.

For more episodes, visit chnetwork.org/onthejourney.

On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Episode 72: Wizard of Oz Apologetics, Part VII

Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley continue their series looking into ways to reframe conversations about faith with people who doubt or deny the existence of God.

Does consciousness exist, or is it merely an illusion? If scientific materialism is true, then how do we account for not just conscience, but consciousness? Is the idea that we are aware of our own sense of self something that scientific materialism can account for, or is it a question that goes beyond the realm of what the natural sciences are competent to pronounce upon?

Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley unpack these questions in their ongoing discussion about how to reframe conversations about God when talking to atheists.

For more episodes, visit chnetwork.org/onthejourney.

On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Episode 71: Wizard of Oz Apologetics, Part VI

Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley continue their series looking into ways to reframe conversations about faith with people who doubt or deny the existence of God.

If God is dead, as some atheist materialists claim, or if at the very least, our idea of Him is dead, then what next? If there is no God, then what is the basis for attaching meaning to anything at all?

Or are we left with Neitszche, asking, "Has it not become colder? Is not night and more night coming on all the time?"

Matt and Ken look at the difficulty that atheism has in establishing a basis for meaning and purpose in life.

For more episodes, visit chnetwork.org/onthejourney.

On the Journey with Matt and Ken, Episode 70: Wizard of Oz Apologetics, Part V

Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley continue their series looking into ways to reframe conversations about faith with people who doubt or deny the existence of God.

In a purely scientific materialist view of the world, how can anyone assert that human beings have any more value than any other species? And in a worldview that only takes evolutionary priorities into account, how can an argument be made for defending the "weaker" members of the species?

Matt and Ken look at the difficulty that a purely scientific materialist worldview has in establishing a basis for human rights.

For more episodes, visit chnetwork.org/onthejourney.