Episodes

  • The Difference Between Right and Almost Right | The Last Battle

    The Difference Between Right and Almost Right | The Last Battle
    Jul 14 2026
    Every world ends. The question C.S. Lewis asks in the final Chronicle is what you’ll be able to see when it does. The Last Battle is the darkest book in the series and arguably the most beautiful. This week we work through the finale of our Narnia series — the book that opens with an ape draping a lion’s skin over a donkey and selling the whole world a fake Aslan, and ends with the end of everything. We dig into why the most dangerous counterfeit isn’t the one that takes things away from the gospel but the one that adds to it, the difference between right and almost right, Emeth the devout follower of the wrong god and what Aslan’s welcome does and doesn’t mean, Susan and “once a queen, always a queen,” and the Dwarfs — who got burned so badly by a fake that they stopped believing in anything at all. Let’s get to it. In this episode: (00:00) Intro (01:46) Lewis’s eschatology and Platonism (03:56) The Shadowlands: does Lewis devalue this life? (06:42) Recap: Shift, Puzzle, and the fake Aslan (09:16) The door of death into the new Narnia (10:46) The questions this book forces (12:05) Emeth and the followers of Tash (15:29) Not universalism, not a second chance (17:28) Two modes of salvation and the edges of orthodoxy (22:38) False religion: what gets added to the gospel (24:44) The difference between right and almost right (29:53) The Dwarfs, deconstruction, and deconversion (32:55) Susan: once a queen, always a queen? (37:31) Biggest takeaways from the whole series Links C.S. Lewis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia The Last Battle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Battle How You Lose Faith Without Noticing | The Silver Chair: https://www.thechristianskeptic.org/how-you-lose-faith-without-noticing-the-silver-chair/ Is God Really In Control? | The Horse and His Boy: https://www.thechristianskeptic.org/is-god-really-in-control-the-horse-and-his-boy/ Plato: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato J.R.R. Tolkien: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien Have We Tamed Jesus? | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: https://www.thechristianskeptic.org/have-we-tamed-jesus/ Donald Trump: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump Are We Living in the Last Days?: https://www.thechristianskeptic.org/are-we-living-in-the-last-days/ Mere Christianity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere_Christianity Doug Wilson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Wilson_(theologian) Rob Bell: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Bell Charles Spurgeon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Spurgeon Lordship ep: Paul Washer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Washer What Paul Washer Gets Wrong About God’s Love | TCS Reacts: https://www.thechristianskeptic.org/what-paul-washer-gets-wrong-about-gods-love-tcs-reacts/ Should Christians Judge Each Other? Steve Lawson and the Problem with Lordship Salvation: https://www.thechristianskeptic.org/should-christians-judge-each-other-steve-lawson-and-the-problem-with-lordship-salvation/ The Gospel Coalition: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/ Connect with Adam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avclark Connect with Aaron Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fromgreytown Subscribe and stay in touch Website: https://thechristiansekptic.org Instagram: https://instagram.com/christianskepticpod Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-skeptic/id1761285349 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4HlSAPHewfbLESl61D3XH9 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic Get full show notes and links at https://www.thechristianskeptic.org. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic.
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    40 mins
  • How You Lose Faith Without Noticing | The Silver Chair

    How You Lose Faith Without Noticing | The Silver Chair
    Jul 9 2026
    This week, we go underground in The Silver Chair, the Narnia book about how people actually lose their faith — not argued out of it, but slowly seduced out of it. We dig into Puddleglum’s answer to the witch as the best response to atheism in the series (and why it isn’t an argument at all), why Lewis treats spiritual deadness as environmental and not just moral, faith as remembered obedience, and more. Let’s get to it. In this episode: (00:00) Intro (01:07) Why this book grew on us (04:44) Experiment House and Lewis on education (06:09) “Will you promise not to eat me?” (07:37) The four signs and our habit of forgetting (09:17) The lost prince and the underworld (10:38) Puddleglum stamps out the fire (14:05) Why he doesn’t out-argue the witch (15:13) You can’t reason with two different planes (17:34) Seduction, not force (18:54) Spiritual deadness as an environment (20:18) The coffee shop and losing your discernment (26:10) “There is no other stream” and the God who won’t promise safety (31:04) Passing the torch, generation to generation Links C.S. Lewis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia The Silver Chair: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silver_Chair The Silver Chair (movie): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098912/ Plato: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato J.R.R. Tolkien: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien The Pilgrim’s Progress: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pilgrim’s_Progress John Bunyan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bunyan Is God Really In Control? | The Horse and His Boy: https://www.thechristianskeptic.org/is-god-really-in-control-the-horse-and-his-boy/ Have We Tamed Jesus? | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: https://www.thechristianskeptic.org/have-we-tamed-jesus/ Donald Trump: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump Mere Christianity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere_Christianity The Screwtape Letters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Screwtape_Letters The Great Divorce: Weight of Glory: Connect with Adam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avclark Connect with Aaron Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fromgreytown Subscribe and stay in touch Website: https://thechristiansekptic.org Instagram: https://instagram.com/christianskepticpod Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-skeptic/id1761285349 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4HlSAPHewfbLESl61D3XH9 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic Get full show notes and links at https://www.thechristianskeptic.org. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic.
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    35 mins
  • Why Can't You Fix Yourself? | The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

    Why Can't You Fix Yourself? | The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
    Jun 16 2026
    This week, we sail east through The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, an often overlooked book in the series, and the one where the villain isn’t “out there”, but inside the characters themselves. We dig into Eustace’s un-dragoning as one of the clearest picture of grace in the series, why the transformation has to hurt, Reepicheep as Lewis’s “argument from desire”, and more. Let’s get to it. In this episode: (00:00) Can you fix yourself? (01:01) Why Dawn Treader gets underrated (05:15) The book with no villain (07:21) The “un-dragoning” (12:24) More Calvinist than Lewis realized (15:39) Does grace have to be painful? (17:37) Reepicheep and the argument from desire (21:12) Longing, not fear, as the engine (23:11) “By another name” and the Emeth problem (26:17) The hiddenness of Aslan: “Courage, dear heart” (28:09) The Lamb and the Lion: supposal, not pluralism (31:19) Favorite moments and Reepicheep’s exit (33:22) Looking ahead to The Silver Chair Links C.S. Lewis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Voyage_of_the_Dawn_Treader The Silver Chair: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silver_Chair Plato: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato J.R.R. Tolkien: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien Is God Really In Control? | The Horse and His Boy: https://www.thechristianskeptic.org/is-god-really-in-control-the-horse-and-his-boy/ Have We Tamed Jesus? | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: https://www.thechristianskeptic.org/have-we-tamed-jesus/ Doug Wilson: https://dougwils.com/ Mere Christianity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere_Christianity Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis: https://www.amazon.com/dp/019973870X Connect with Adam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avclark Connect with Aaron Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fromgreytown Subscribe and stay in touch Website: https://thechristiansekptic.org Instagram: https://instagram.com/christianskepticpod Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-skeptic/id1761285349 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4HlSAPHewfbLESl61D3XH9 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic Get full show notes and links at https://www.thechristianskeptic.org. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic.
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    35 mins
  • What Do You Do When God Goes Silent? | Prince Caspian

    What Do You Do When God Goes Silent? | Prince Caspian
    Jun 3 2026
    C.S. Lewis set Prince Caspian 1,300 years after the golden age of Narnia — long enough that Aslan has become a legend, the talking trees have gone silent, and the people who rule the land insist none of it was ever real. So, what do you do when the God you used to see has gone quiet, and the culture around you has decided He was never there? In part four of our series through the Chronicles of Narnia, we dig into the most generous portrait of an honest skeptic Lewis ever wrote (Trumpkin), whether there’s room for doubt inside the church, why Lewis thought certainty could be its own kind of unbelief, and the famous scene where Lucy is told she should have followed what she saw—even when no one else could see it. Let’s get to it. In this episode: (00:00) Intro (00:53) Why Prince Caspian is the most skeptical book in the series (02:07) Chronological snobbery: does “old” mean false? (03:24) 1,300 years later: a world that forgot Aslan (05:00) Trumpkin, the honest skeptic (07:18) Three kinds of faith: Trufflehunter, Nikabrik, and Trumpkin (11:54) Why honest skeptics are taking Christianity seriously again (13:01) The place for questions (and answers) (16:34) How should Christians hold their certainty? (18:38) When truth is forgotten, the culture decays (21:13) Why did Aslan disappear? Where is God now? (26:01) Faith means believing without sight (27:14) Lucy, and faith as perception (31:38) The marriage of faith and reason (34:53) Are myths “half-glimpses” of truth? (37:30) Reepicheep’s tail and generational faithfulness (40:33) Determinism and responsibility Links C.S. Lewis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia Joe Rogan: https://www.joerogan.com/ Jordan Peterson: https://www.jordanbpeterson.com/ Martin Luther: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther William Tyndale: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tyndale John Wycliffe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wycliffe Jim Jones: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones Doug Wilson: https://dougwils.com/ Connect with Adam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avclark Connect with Aaron Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fromgreytown Subscribe and stay in touch Website: https://thechristiansekptic.org Instagram: https://instagram.com/christianskepticpod Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-skeptic/id1761285349 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4HlSAPHewfbLESl61D3XH9 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic Get full show notes and links at https://www.thechristianskeptic.org. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic.
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    42 mins
  • Is God Really In Control? | The Horse and His Boy

    Is God Really In Control? | The Horse and His Boy
    May 26 2026
    The Horse and His Boy is the Narnia book most people skip—and the one with one of the most difficult question at its center: if God is behind every event of your life, including the painful ones, is that the most comforting idea imaginable or the most unsettling? This week we sit inside Aslan’s “I was the lion” speech and ask what it would mean if it were true. We also dig into the difference between God’s sovereignty and his providence, where C.S. Lewis actually landed on free will and divine control, why providence is something you can usually only recognize looking backward, and why, in the end, we both walk away from this strange, intimate little book feeling more comforted than unsettled. In this episode: (00:00) Intro (01:03) Real decisions, or God’s plan? (02:00) The best Narnia book nobody reads (07:00) From slavery to royalty: Shasta’s story (13:30) “I was the lion” — comforting or terrifying? (15:33) Sovereignty vs. providence (19:45) Was C.S. Lewis a Molinist? (24:11) Where we land: free will, control & the invisible hand (29:10) Holding the mystery without weaponizing it (37:14) Why Aslan won’t explain Aravis’s wounds (40:22) The comfort of being seen in the dark Links C.S. Lewis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia Al Mohler: https://albertmohler.com/ John Piper: https://www.desiringgod.org/ William Lane Craig: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lane_Craig Ravi Zacharias: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravi_Zacharias Providence by John Piper: https://www.desiringgod.org/books/providence Charles Spurgeon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Spurgeon Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis: https://www.amazon.com/Mere-Christianity-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652926 Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton: https://www.amazon.com/Orthodoxy-G-K-Chesterton-G-K/dp/1657592197 The Misery of Job and the Mercy of God by John Piper: https://www.desiringgod.org/books/the-misery-of-job-and-the-mercy-of-god Connect with Adam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avclark Connect with Aaron Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fromgreytown Subscribe and stay in touch Website: https://thechristiansekptic.org Instagram: https://instagram.com/christianskepticpod Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-skeptic/id1761285349 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4HlSAPHewfbLESl61D3XH9 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic Get full show notes and links at https://www.thechristianskeptic.org. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic.
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    44 mins
  • Have We Tamed Jesus? | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

    Have We Tamed Jesus? | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
    May 19 2026
    There's a moment in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, where one of the kids learns that Aslan is a lion, gets nervous and asks if he's safe. And the answer, as Lewis writes it, is of course he isn't safe, but he's good. Most Christians can quote that line. It's one of the most famous lines in the entire series. We put it on coffee mugs, we hang it on our walls. But here's the question Lewis was actually asking—why does the Jesus most people know look so tame, so manageable, so agreeable? The Jesus we find most often in the American church is safe. He's predictable. He votes a certain way, he blesses certain things and disapproves of others. He shows up where he's invited and doesn't surprise anyone. That's what we're diving into today on The Christian Skeptic in part two of our series through The Chronicles of Narnia. Let's get to it. In this episode: (00:00) Intro (01:49) Was Lewis arguing for a specific atonement theory? (04:53) The four atonement theories (11:35) Would this convince anyone who didn't already believe? (14:33) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe recap (20:38) Lucy and faith as perception (29:04) The deep magic and Edmund as the human representative (33:02) The Stone Table and the law (34:48) Has the church tamed Jesus? (37:11) What does a "not-safe" Jesus look like? Links C.S. Lewis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia J.R.R. Tolkien: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien Mere Christianity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere_Christianity Steve Brown: https://www.keylife.org Three Free Sins: https://www.keylife.org/articles/three-free-sins The Snow Queen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Snow_Queen Hans Christian Anderson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Christian_Andersen Connect with Adam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avclark Connect with Aaron Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fromgreytown Subscribe and stay in touch Website: https://thechristiansekptic.org Instagram: https://instagram.com/christianskepticpod Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-skeptic/id1761285349 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4HlSAPHewfbLESl61D3XH9 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic Get full show notes and links at https://www.thechristianskeptic.org. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic.
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    40 mins
  • C.S. Lewis Wrote Himself Into Narnia | The Magician’s Nephew

    C.S. Lewis Wrote Himself Into Narnia | The Magician’s Nephew
    May 5 2026
    C.S. Lewis was nine years old when his mother died of cancer. He prayed for her healing. She died anyway. Lewis became an atheist for most of his adult life — and then, decades later, wrote The Magician's Nephew, a children's book about a boy in his exact situation. This week, we kick off a seven-part deep dive into The Chronicles of Narnia, starting with the most autobiographical book in the series. We explore whether Lewis was retelling Genesis, why evil already exists in this world before humans even get there, what the "deplorable word" and Hiroshima might have in common, and whether Uncle Andrew is a fair portrait of the skeptical scientist or just a caricature. Along the way: Aslan singing creation into being, Digory's reverse of the Fall, the cabby who becomes a king, and the scene at the heart of the book — where Aslan weeps over a dying mother. In this episode: 00:00 Intro 01:03 Why a Narnia series 06:30 Past the "religious dragons" 08:10 Publication order vs. chronological 10:35 Lewis wrote himself into the story 11:26 Is this a retelling of Genesis? 13:47 Why evil predates humans in Narnia 20:09 Uncle Andrew and the skeptical scientist 23:10 Aslan weeps with Digory 27:01 Threads of redemption: the cabby, the apple, the lampstand 29:55 A wild lion, not a tame one 31:35 The reverse fall Links C.S. Lewis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia The Pilgrim's Progress: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pilgrim%27s_Progress John Bunyan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bunyan Charles Spurgeon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Spurgeon J.R.R. Tolkien: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien Out of the Silent Planet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_the_Silent_Planet Perelandra: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perelandra That Hideous Strength: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That_Hideous_Strength Mere Christianity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere_Christianity The Screwtape Letters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Screwtape_Letters Doug Wilson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Wilson_(theologian) Connect with Adam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avclark Connect with Aaron Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fromgreytown Subscribe and stay in touch Website: https://thechristiansekptic.org Instagram: https://instagram.com/christianskepticpod Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-skeptic/id1761285349 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4HlSAPHewfbLESl61D3XH9 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic Get full show notes and links at https://www.thechristianskeptic.org. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic.
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    34 mins
  • A Short History of Christmas (and Why It Matters)

    A Short History of Christmas (and Why It Matters)
    Dec 23 2025
    Where did Christmas really come from—and should Christians celebrate it? This week, we explore the historical roots of Christmas, common objections about pagan origins and commercialization, and the role of Santa, imagination, and gift-giving. Along the way, we argue that the church’s call isn’t to retreat from culture but to redeem it. Ultimately, Christmas matters because the incarnation matters: God took on flesh, entered our darkness, and brought hope at just the right time. When understood rightly, even the most familiar Christmas traditions can point us back to Jesus. In this episode: (00:00) Intro (01:15) Why Christians question Christmas (02:45) Pagan origins, Sol Invictus, and Saturnalia (06:10) Did Christians borrow Christmas? (09:15) The church’s call: withdraw from culture or redeem it? (15:30) Puritans vs. separatists: two ways of engaging the world (17:55) Lights, gifts, and redeeming Christmas traditions (19:45) Is Santa real? Imagination, myth, and meaning (23:10) Why stories teach truth better than arguments (25:10) Gift-giving, generosity, and reflecting God’s heart (28:45) Why the incarnation actually matters Get full show notes and links at https://www.thechristianskeptic.org. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic.
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    34 mins