Contributors

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  Jana Harmon

  Senior Fellow For Christian Apologetics, CSLI
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Jana Harmon
Senior Fellow For Christian Apologetics, CSLI
Jana Harmon, Ph.D, is the Senior Fellow For Christian Apologetics for the C.S. Lewis Institute and a Teaching Fellow for C.S. Lewis Institute Atlanta. She serves on the Atlanta Advisory Board and as an Adjunct Professor of Cultural Apologetics at Biola University. Her doctoral research studied the religious conversion of atheists to Christianity looking at the perspectives and stories of 50 former Atheists. She views apologetics through a practical, evangelistic lens. She is the host of the podcast eX-skeptic for the C.S. Lewis Institute. Jana received her PhD from the University of Birmingham, England.
 
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  Keith Hess

  Associate Professor
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Keith Hess
Associate Professor
Keith Hess is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Apologetics at Oklahoma Baptist University. He is a philosopher, teacher, and Christian apologist whose research focuses on the philosophy of religion, analytic theology, and personal identity.
 
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  Steven J. Law

  CEO
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Steven J. Law
CEO
Steven J. Law is the president and CEO of One Nation and American Crossroads, and President of Crossroads GPS – Spring ’18 with the Institute of Politics and Public Service at Georgetown university. Prior to this, he served as chief the Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Labor. He has held numerous positions in Washington D.C. including Chief of Staff to Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Executive Director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He has a degree in music from the University of California, Davis, and received a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law.
 
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  Aimee Riegert

  CSLI Fellow
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Aimee Riegert
CSLI Fellow
Aimee Riegert, CSLI Fellow, earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and foreign language studies from Southern Methodist University. In addition to supporting various national security efforts in Northern Virginia, she has worked as an itinerant high school math teacher and drama coach, and has served in women’s ministries, praise teams, on the adult support team for Young Life and as a “mentor mom” for MOPS International ministries, as well as English instructor in several ESL programs in Japan. She is a graduate of the C.S. Lewis Institute Year One Fellows Program.
 
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  Carrie Sheffield

  Podcast Guest
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Carrie Sheffield

Podcast Guest

Carrie Sheffield is a journalist, author, and policy analyst. She serves as the Senior Policy Analyst at Independent Women’s Forum. She earned her master’s in public policy from Harvard University and has worked with Goldman Sachs and Moody's Investor's Service. As a journalist she covered congress for The Hill and was a founding reporter at Politico. She's presented regularly on national television and media. She is the author of: Motorhome Prophecies: A Journey of Healing and Forgiveness.
 

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  Eugene Peterson

  Professor
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Eugene Peterson
Professor
Eugene Peterson, Professor, received his S.T.B. from New York Theological Seminary, and M.A. in Semitic Languages from Johns Hopkins University. At Regent College, Vancouver, B.C. he served as the James M. Houston Professor of Spiritual Theology at Regent and retains the position of Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology.  He has authored numerous books, including Run With the Horses, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society, Subversive Spirituality, Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work, and, perhaps most well-known, The Message, a contemporary rendering of the Bible in everyday language. In 2020, The Message was released in a single volume containing both Old and New Testaments.
 
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  Randy Newman

  Senior Fellow for Apologetics and Evangelism, CSLI
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Team Members

Randy Newman
Senior Fellow for Apologetics and Evangelism, CSLI
Randy Newman (1956-2024) was the Senior Fellow for Apologetics and Evangelism at the C.S. Lewis Institute. He taught at several evangelical seminaries. After serving for over 30 years with Campus Crusade for Christ, he established Connection Points, a ministry to help Christians engage people’s hearts the way Jesus did. He has written seven books, Questioning Evangelism, Corner Conversations, Bringing the Gospel Home, Engaging with Jewish People, Unlikely Converts: Improbable Stories of Faith and What They Teach Us About Evangelism, Mere Evangelism. and his most recent, Questioning Faith: Indirect Journeys of Belief through Terrains of Doubt. Randy has also written numerous articles about evangelism and other ways our lives intertwine with God’s creation. He earned his MDiv and PhD in Intercultural Studies from Trinity International University. Randy went home to be with the Lord in May 2024.
 
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  Kirk Shanahan

  Scientist
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Kirk Shanahan

Scientist

Kirk Shanahan is a research scientist who holds a PhD. in Physical Chemistry from the University of California-Berkley.


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  Lee Strobel

  Author
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Lee Strobel

Author

Lee Strobel, Author, was educated at the University of Missouri (Bachelor of Journalism degree) and Yale Law School (Master of Studies in Law degree). He was a journalist for 14 years at The Chicago Tribune and other newspapers, winning Illinois' highest honor for public service journalism from United Press International. Lee joined the staff of Willow Creek Community Church in 1987 and later became a teaching pastor, eventually moving on to write books and host the national network TV program Faith Under Fire. He is a member of the Evangelical Philosophical Society. He has won Gold Medallions for The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, and The Case for a Creator, which have been made into documentaries distributed by Lionsgate.
 

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  Alister McGrath

  Professor
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Team Members



Alister McGrath

Professor

Alister McGrath serves as Senior Research Fellow at the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion at Oxford. He has also served as the Senior Research Fellow at Harris Manchester College in Oxford, the President of the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and associate priest in Cotswolds for a group of village parishes (Church of England.) McGrath’s best known books include The Twilight of Atheism, The Dawkins Delusion?, Dawkins’ God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life, A Scientific Theology and his most recent, Christian Theology: An Introduction, 7th Edition. He received his MA and DPhil from Oxford University.
 

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  Dave Rankin

  Teacher
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Dave Rankin

Teacher

Dave Rankin is an author and podcast guest who shares his unexpected journey from atheism to faith.


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  Gary Thomas

  Pastor
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Gary Thomas
Pastor
Gary Thomas received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from Western Washington University in 1984. He studied under the Christian theologian J. I. Packer at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, receiving a master's degree in 1988 in systematic theology. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, in 2006 in recognition of his contributions made in the field of spiritual formation. Thomas is a regular teaching pastor at Second Baptist Church Houston, the fourth-largest church in the United States in 2013, with over 21,000 in weekly attendance. Thomas is the author of 20 published books. His most notable works include Sacred Marriage, Sacred Pathways, and Authentic Faith.