Finding Something Real

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Maybe you’ve grown up as a Christian going to church or maybe you’re not interested in religion at all. But when you’re scrolling, hanging out with friends, trying to sleep, or overwhelmed with your day-to-day, do big existential questions ever pop in- you know- things like, “Why am I here? How did all this get here? What happens after I die?” “Is there a God and is there really meaning to all this?” ”What’s so special about Jesus Christ?” We’ve all experienced deep longing for something this world can’t seem to satisfy. Even someone as wildly successful as Taylor Swift knows that to be true. “I had won album of the year at the Grammys for a second time...” She said, “and I remember thinking afterwards, ’Oh my god, that was all you wanted!... That was all you focused on. You get to the mountaintop and look around and you’re like... what now?” If you’re tired and feeling overwhelmed with all the different voices yelling for your affections- telling you what to go after- whether it be success, beauty, the perfect partner, social media followers, money, or power… only to leave you let down and unsatisfied, searching for more… Maybe like my friends and me, you’re after finding something REAL. Every week, join me (Janell Wood), special co-hosts and guests as we ask questions, look for answers, and search for the source of something REAL: Restoration, Eternity, Authenticity, and Love. I believe those things can ultimately be found in relationship with Jesus Christ, but don’t take my word for it. Listen to our conversations for yourself and go on a journey with us: Is Jesus the REAL thing?

Episodes

Wednesday Nov 01, 2023

How does God’s love reach into mental suffering, anxiety, and depression?

Wednesday Nov 01, 2023

Hello! Happy Wednesday!

Today, we are delighted to introduce Nora from Sweden. Nora shares about her upbringing in Sweden, her love for creative outlets, and what she experienced growing up. Nora shares her faith journey, her experience coming to Christ in a secularized country, and talks a bit about her experiences with hopelessness and anxiety. She also shares about a few of her faith questions including:

Why does God allow suffering? How does it fit into his plan?
How can a God who accepts everyone and forgives sin send some people to hell?
If our end goal is heaven, what’s the purpose of life?

We hope this episode is thought provoking and edifying.

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We would love to thank our Patrons for all their amazing support! To learn more about supporting Finding Something REAL via Patreon, click here! If you are interested in supporting the Finding Something REAL fundraising campaign, you can head to the webpage and click on the orange donate button.

To learn more about Faithful Counseling and if it is a good fit for you, you can click here!
If you would like to receive Janell’s 7 Deep Faith Questions resource click here!

Finding Something REAL on Instagram
FSR: Dec 2020 Christmas episode
FSR: Aug 2020 with Esther Littlefield
FSR: April 2023 with Zach Verrett

Where is God in all the Suffering? - Amy Orr-Ewing
The Hiding Place - Corrie Ten Boom
Tim Keller sermon on grace (2011)

Wednesday Oct 25, 2023

Can anyone be more loving than God? with Alexis Zanias

Wednesday Oct 25, 2023

Happy Wednesday!

This week, we are releasing an episode with Rachel and today’s guest— Alexis Zanias. Alexis shares about her faith journey, her love for educating students, and her love of questions and research. She talks about embracing the unknown, the importance of truth, and the importance of definitions. They chat about the five things that defined Christians in ancient Rome, the importance of biblical authority, and common criticisms against Biblical authority. They also chat about deciphering what may be the voice of God wand what may be our own voice.

We hope you enjoy!

About Alexis
Alexis Zanias grew up near Allentown PA. She attended Grove City College, where she received a degree in Biology/Secondary Education. Lexi has her Masters in Environmental Science Education from Montreat College in NC. For the past 14 years, she has been a secondary high school science and Bible/apologetics teacher in Asheville NC. Before that she taught in Fort Lauderdale, FL and worked at Black Forest Academy, a boarding school for missionary kids in Germany.

When she has a break from teaching during the school year, Lexi loves to fill up her summers. She worked with Summit Ministries for 9 summers at Student Conferences in TN, CA, PA and GA. Lexi currently works in the summers for MAVEN as a field guide on their Immersive Experiences. She loves spending time with Jesus, good discussions, Ultimate Frisbee, Lady Grey Tea, deep laughter and digging into good books.

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Romans 5:8
”…But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 10:9
”…If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Ephesians 2:10
”For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Wednesday Oct 18, 2023

Spiritual Stuff You Don’t Want To Mess Around With with Douglas Groothuis

Wednesday Oct 18, 2023

Happy Wednesday! We have a jam packed episode for you today!

We are pleased to welcome Douglas Groothuis! Doug shares about his faith journey and how he became interested in philosophy and Christian apologetics. He also shares about his personal experiences with suffering and how it fits with the Christian worldview.

He and Janell then start chatting about the New Age. They define and discuss divination, the reality of spiritual things, and the deception of the devil. He also defines New Age and speaks about Richard Rohr’s New Age worldview. They also talk about personal spiritual experiences and testing spiritual experiences. Lastly, they chat about the person of Jesus Christ, the importance of a historical belief in Jesus, and more!

We hope you enjoy!

About Douglas
Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary since 1993, author of 19 books, Dr. Douglas Groothuis has fire in his bones for the Christian message and many irons in the fire to explain, defend, and apply it. He has been explaining the world to the church and explaining the church to the world for nearly fifty years through his teaching, preaching, writing, mentoring, and general witness. His passion is to take to the streets the truth and significance of the Christian worldview for all of life. To that end, he publishes both academic and popular works, preaches in churches, gives public lectures, engages in debates, and has appeared on hundreds of radio programs and podcasts since 1983. He is known as a knowledgeable, sharp, forceful, but gentle communicator of the Christian message.

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We would love to thank our Patrons for all their amazing support! To learn more about supporting Finding Something REAL via Patreon, click here!
To learn more about Faithful Counseling and if it is a good fit for you, you can click here!
If you would like to receive Janell’s 7 Deep Faith Questions resource click here!

FSR October 2023 - Rachel’s Intro
FSR October 2023 - with Paul Copan

Wednesday Oct 11, 2023

Is God Severe Because He Is Love? with Paul Copan

Wednesday Oct 11, 2023

Happy Wednesday!

Today, Paul Copan joins us for the podcast! Paul shares about his faith journey, what he does for a living, and how became the go-to voice for questions about the Old Testament. In this episode, Janel and Paul discuss the different components of progressive Christianity and they seek to answer Rachel’s questions about God’s character. They talk about the importance of reading scripture in context, how to know which passages to take literally and which passages to question, the moral vision of the Bible, diversity among Christian followers, and more!

Paul also talks about why he is concerned about the teachings of Richard Rohr and similar thinkers. He upfront about Rohr’s incorrect beliefs about Jesus, his embracing of pantheism, and the abandonment of many core tenants of the Christian faith. Paul also speaks about the deity of Jesus, and loving others when we don’t agree with their beliefs of lifestyles.

We hope you are edified by today’s episode!

About Paul
Paul Copan (Ph.D., Philosophy, Marquette University) is a Christian theologian, analytic philosopher, apologist, and author. He is currently a professor at the Palm Beach Atlantic University (Florida) and holds the endowed Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics.

He is author or editor of over 40 books, including works such as Is God a Moral Monster?, Is God a Vindictive Bully?, The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion, The Naturalness of Theistic Belief, Creation out of Nothing, Philosophy of Religion: Classic and Contemporary Issues, A Little Book for New Philosophers, and The Kalām Cosmological Argument (a two-volume anthology). He has also contributed essays to over 50 books, both scholarly and popular, and he has authored a number of articles in professional journals.

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Paul’s Website
Is God a Moral Monster? - Paul Copan
Did God Really Command Genocide? - Paul Copan
Is God A Vindictive Bully? - Paul Copan
Paul Copan & Randall Rouser on Unbelievable?

Progressive Christianity on the Road - Paul Copan
A Heretic’s Christ, A False Salvation - Douglas Groothuis
What is a Woman? - DailyWire Documentary

Francis Beckwith
Greg Boyd
Roger Olson
Frank Turek
Miroslav Volf
Randall Rouser
John Calvin
Greg Beale
Rachel Held Evans
John Mark Comer
Craig Blomberg
Richard Rohr

Wednesday Oct 04, 2023

Was Jesus the Son of God or has He been created into an allegory by time?

Wednesday Oct 04, 2023

Happy Wednesday!

Today we welcome Rachel from Washington on the podcast. Rachel shares about her background of being raised in Bellingham and experiencing both a Christian home with her dad and stepmom and an agnostic home with her mother. She shares why she decided not to call herself a Christian while in college and how she embraced a more liberal leaning lifestyle. Rachel chats about her experiences in the New Age, how people-pleasing played a huge rule in her life, and her personal experiences with paganism.

Rachel shares her struggles with certain Christian doctrines such as the deity of Jesus and her beliefs about forgiveness. They also chat about what Rachel hopes to get out of the conversations this month.

We hope you enjoy!

Rachel’s Questions:

Was Jesus the Son of God or has He been like created into an allegory by time?
Are forgiveness, self-forgiveness, and repentance important?
Are New Age beliefs all bad? Is there anything Christians can keep from those practices?
Do all roads/religions ultimately lead to Jesus?
How can Christians be present in social change and justice issues? How can Christians believe what the Bible says while loving those in the LGBTQ+ community?

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Finding Something REAL on Instagram
FSR November 2021 with Janel Davis
Gloria Hotel in Jerusalem

Wednesday Sep 27, 2023

Reasons to Look Into Christianity with Alycia Wood

Wednesday Sep 27, 2023

Happy Wednesday!

Today on the podcast, we welcome back Alycia Wood! Alycia shares about her faith journey and the various doubts she experienced as a young woman. She explains why she stepped out of atheism and how she eventually came to know Christ. She also chats about historical facts about Jesus, how Christianity explains the world we live in, and more. Alycia and Janell also chat about why there’s so much suffering in the world, the hope for Christians, finding our identity in Christ, and so much more. We hope you enjoy this episode!

About Alycia
As a child growing up in the church, Alycia always had questions. She wanted to dig deeper into the Christian faith beyond the Sunday morning sermon. That fueled an independent search which led to her digging into the larger questions of life. While studying for a degree in Criminal Justice and Sociology at Robert Wesleyan College, Alycia discovered Apologetics. It changed the course of her life. Her quest for a deeper understanding of her Christianity had a name.

She went on to get her Master’s in Social Justice from Marygrove College to further her passion for serving those in need in the developing world. This led to various volunteering opportunities at orphanages, prisons, and shelters for the homeless in various countries including Haiti, Honduras and the Dominican Republic. A few years after her travels were completed, she was able to spend a year studying Apologetics in England.

Alycia spent many years as a teacher’s aide and substitute teacher for multiple grade levels. Following, she has spent over nine years doing full-time apologetics ministry where she travels and speaks on various topics relevant to our culture. She is currently with the C. S. Lewis Society in Tampa.

In her spare time, she is an avid sports fan, musician and grower of all things edible in her garden.

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FSR September 2023 - Alice’s Intro
FSR September 2023 with Justin
FSR September 2023 with Eric
FSR June 2021 with Alycia
FSR August 2022 - Leonie’s Intro
FSR August 2022 with Frank Turek

Alycia Wood on Facebook and Twitter
Apologetics, Inc.

J Warner Wallace
Tim Keller
Brennan Manning

Wednesday Sep 20, 2023

What is True about Christianity? with Eric Hernandez

Wednesday Sep 20, 2023

Today on the podcast, we welcome Eric Hernandez. Eric is an apologist and speaker. He shares how he explains what apologetics is, how he became a Christian, and how he became passionate about sharing the Christian faith. Eric and Janell chat about the link between philosophy and apologetics, lazy evangelism, and the garden analogy. They also chat about the two things that make Christianity true.

We hope you enjoy!

FSR September 2023 - Alice’s Intro
FSR September 2023 with Justin
FSR June 2022 with Justin

Eric Hernandez' - website
Eric Hernandez - YouTube
TexasApologetics.Org
The Lazy Approach to Evangelism - Eric Hernandez

Bobby Conway
William Lane Craig
JP Moreland
Greg Koukl
Natasha Crain

About Eric
Eric Hernandez is a dynamic evangelist and apologist with a heart for proclaiming the gospel and defending the faith on theological and philosophical grounds. He is a licensed minister, a certified formation therapist, and is the Apologetics Lead and Millennial Specialist for The Baptist General Convention of Texas. He has spoken and debated on a public level at university college campuses where he adamantly defends the Christian faith against atheist, agnostic, and deistic professors of different worldviews. He holds an associate degree in social science, a bachelor’s degree in theology, and a certificate in apologetics from Biola University.

Tuesday Sep 12, 2023

Why Is Christianity Relevant in a Secular World? with Justin Brierley

Tuesday Sep 12, 2023

Hello Everyone!

Today on the podcast, we welcome returning guest Justin Brierley! Justin shares a bit of an update on Unbelievable? and how he is diving into culture apologetics after leaving the show.

They chat a bit about his new book, how the new atheism movement is impacting culture, and the limitations of science as a worldview. They talk about Jordan Peterson, the “Fathiest Atheist,” and the growth of religion around the world. Justin discusses why who chooses Christianity over something else and how Christianity has influenced the world. They also discuss Christian celebrities, cancel culture, and fighting idol worship.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

About Justin
Justin is a freelance writer, speaker and broadcaster who has become known for creating dialogues between Christians and non-Christians. Justin is passionate about creating conversations around faith, science, theology and culture. Through creative use of podcast, radio, print, video and social media, he aims to showcase an intellectually compelling case for Christianity, while taking seriously the questions and objections of sceptics.

Justin has worked in radio, podcast and video for over two decades. Until April 2023 he was Theology & Apologetics Editor for Premier Christian Radio, and hosted the Unbelievable? radio show and podcast as well as the Ask NT Wright Anything podcast. Justin was also editor of Premier Christianity magazine from 2014-2018, for which he continues to contribute articles. Justin's first book 'Unbelievable? Why, after ten years of talking with atheists, I'm still a Christian' (SPCK) was published in 2017.

Justin currently co-hosts the Re-Enchanting podcast for Seen & Unseen, and is a guest presenter for the Maybe God podcast. His next book 'The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God' (Tyndale) will be published in Sep 2023.

Justin is married to Lucy, a church minister in Surrey, and they have 4 amazing children - Noah, Grace, Jeremy and Toby. When he isn't working in a professional capacity, you'll find Justin involved in youth work and worship leading at church.

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FSR September 2023 - Alice’s Intro
FSR June 2022 with Justin

JustinBrierley.com
Unbelievable? Show
The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God - Justin Brierley
Justin Brierley's "Unbelievable" book
Unbelievable? Jordan Peterson vs. Susan Blackmore
Unbelievable? Tim Keller Q&A on cancer, prayer, and forgiveness

Jordan Peterson
Phillip Yancey
The Faithiest Atheist
MAVEN

Sean McDowell's Interview with Justin Brierley
Tim Keller's podcast

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