Contributors

• 

  Jana Harmon

  Senior Fellow For Christian Apologetics, CSLI
×
Team Members

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.
 
• 

  Mary Jo Sharp

  Author
×
Team Members

Mary Jo Sharp
Author
Mary Jo Sharp, Author, is a former atheist who was a guest on the Side B Stories podcast, where she shared about how her life was marked with apatheism, the apathy to theism which believes God doesn't exist and religion is irrelevant, but that despite this she was able to move toward a strong belief in God that shapes her whole life.
 
• 

  Randy Newman

  Senior Fellow for Apologetics and Evangelism, CSLI
×
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.
 
• 

  Gregory Ganssle

  Professor
×
Team Members

Gregory Ganssle
Professor
Gregory Ganssle, is Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University. He is the author of several books, including A Reasonable God: Engaging the New Face of Atheism and Thinking About God, and he is the editor of God and Time. Greg graduated from the University of Maryland in 1978. He earned a Masters of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Rhode Island (1990) and a PhD. in Philosophy (1995) from Syracuse University where his dissertation on God's relation to time won a Syracuse University Dissertation Award.
 
• 

  Frank Federico

  Historian
×
Team Members

Frank Federico
Historian
Frank Federico, Historian, is a former atheist who was a guest on the Side B Stories podcast, where he shared about how his training and upbringing led him to think of Christianity as a myth or legend. His story also talks about how he was able to move from a skeptical view to an acceptive view of Christianity.
 
• 

  Joseph Loconte

  Author, Historian, and Filmmaker
×
Team Members

Joseph Loconte
Author, Historian, and Filmmaker
Joseph Loconte, is an author, historian, and filmmaker. He is director of the Rivendell Center in New York City and serves as a presidential scholar at New College of Florida and as the C.S. Lewis Scholar for Public Life at Grove City College. His books include the New York Times bestseller A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War; God, Locke, and Liberty: The Struggle for Religious Freedom in the West; and his newest release, The War for Middle-earth: J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Confront the Gathering Storm, 1933-1945. He earned his Ph.D. in history from King’s College London.
 
• 

  Thomas A. Tarrants

  Author, President Emeritus, CSLI
×

Team Members



Thomas A. Tarrants

Author, President Emeritus, CSLI

Thomas A. Tarrants is President Emeritus of the C.S. Lewis Institute. After serving twelve years as president and nine years as vice President, he retired from his position as Vice President for Ministry and Director, Washington Area Fellows Program, with CSLI in June 2019. He holds a Master's of Divinity Degree, as well as a Doctor of Ministry Degree in Christian Spirituality. Tom is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Church Alliance and a member of the Evangelical Theological Society. He spends his time writing, mentoring, consulting and traveling. His life story is told in Consumed by Hate, Redeemed by Love, published by Thomas Nelson Publishers.

 

• 

  Aimee Riegert

  CSLI Fellow
×
Team Members

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.
 
• 

  Peter Byrom

  Podcast Guest
×
Team Members

Peter Byrom
Podcast Guest
Peter Byrom, Podcast Guest, is a former atheist who was a guest on the Side B Stories podcast, where he shared about how he had motivations both for the belief and disbelief of God, and how he was able to sort through that.
 
• 

  Dane Ortlund

  Pastor
×
Team Members

Dane Ortlund
Pastor
Dane Ortlund, Pastor, (Ph.D., Wheaton College) is the former Chief Publishing Officer at Crossway. He now serves as senior pastor of Naperville Presbyterian Church in Naperville, Illinois. He is an editor for the Knowing the Bible series and the Short Studies in Biblical Theology series, and is the author of several books, including Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers.
 
• 

  Stephen Eyre

  CSLI City Director, Cincinnati
×

Team Members



Stephen Eyre

CSLI City Director, Cincinnati

Stephen Eyre is the Cincinnati City Director for the C.S. Lewis Institute. He is also the Minister of Congregational Development at Madeira-Silverwood Presbyterian Church as well as the Executive for Ministry Support for the 40 Day Prayer Covenant. Stephen is the author of many books and Bible study guides such as Christian Beliefs (InterVarsity Press), Ordinary People Extraordinary God: 17 Personal Stories of Lives Transformed by the Love of God (High Ridge Books), Patience: The Benefits of Waiting (Zondervan), and Spiritual Disciplines (Zondervan). He graduated from Covenant Seminary in St. Louis Missouri.
 

• 

  Carolyn Weber

  Author, Professor
×
Team Members

Carolyn Weber
Author, Professor
Carolyn Weber holds an M.Phil and D.Phil. from Oxford University and was the first female dean of St. Peter’s College in Oxford. Dr. Weber is an award-winning author, professor and international speaker on the intersection of faith and literature, as well as topics related to women and faith. Her first memoir, Surprised by Oxford, won among other distinctions the Grace Irwin Award, the largest award for Christian writing in Canada, and was made into a feature film in 2023. She has also written Holy is the Day: Living in the Gift of the Present and Sex and the City of God: A Memoir of Love and Longing.