Contributors

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  Thiago M. Silva

  City Director, CSLI Lake Charles
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Team Members

Thiago M. Silva
City Director, CSLI Lake Charles
Thiago M. Silva, D.Min., is the City Director for the C. S. Lewis Institute Lake Charles. He has been the pastor of Bethel Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Lake Charles, Louisiana, since August 2022. He earned his Th.M. in Systematic Theology from Calvin Theological Seminary (2016) and completed his doctoral studies at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary (2024). He’s authored several articles and books including Discipleship in a Post-Christian Age: With a Little Help from C. S. Lewis (Wipf & Stock, 2025). Thiago’s God-given vocation is to equip people to live as Christians in every sphere of life through teaching and preaching.
 
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  Kathleen Noller

  Questioning Belief Podcast Host, CSLI
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Kathleen Noller
Questioning Belief Podcast Host, CSLIKathleen Noller, Ph.D, is host of the Questioning Belief podcast. She is a leading Computational Biologist and specializes in cancer research. Kathleen completed her undergraduate studies in Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University, where her academic journey laid the foundation for her career as a scientist. She holds a PhD from Johns Hopkins University and is passionate about medical research. Kathleen is also a dedicated wife and mother to a one-year-old, balancing her professional achievements with the joys of family life.  
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  William L. Kynes

  Pastor, Senior Fellow for Pastoral Theology, CSLI
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Team Members

William L. Kynes
Pastor, Senior Fellow for Pastoral Theology, CSLI
William L. "Bill" Kynes is the Senior Fellow for Pastoral Theology at the C.S. Lewis Institute, and retired Senior Pastor of Cornerstone, an Evangelical Free Church, in Annandale, VA, where he served from 1986 - 2022. He majored in Philosophy at the University of Florida, where he also played quarterback and was later inducted into the university’s Athletic Hall of Fame. He attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, receiving an MA in theology. He received an MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, before returning to England for a PhD in New Testament from Cambridge University.
   
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  Michael Lewis

  Filmmaker
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Michael Lewis
Filmmaker
Michael Lewis is a filmmaker and former atheist whose search for truth led him to faith in Jesus Christ. Michael now uses his passion for storytelling to communicate truth through film. He is currently directing Universe Designed, a documentary exploring the evidence for God through science, reason, and personal stories. The film features leading apologists and thinkers and aims to help skeptics take a second look at Christianity. Michael lives with his wife and two children just south of Dallas–Fort Worth, where he continues to create meaningful media projects grounded in faith.
 
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  Jana Harmon

  Senior Fellow For Christian Apologetics, CSLI
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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.
 
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  Aimee Riegert

  CSLI Fellow
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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.
 
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  Tom Schwanda

  Professor, Senior Fellow for Christian Spirituality, CSLI
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Team Members

Tom Schwanda
Professor, Senior Fellow for Christian Spirituality, CSLI
Tom Schwanda is associate professor of Christian Formation and Ministry emeritus at Wheaton College and senior fellow for Christian Spirituality at the C. S. Lewis Institute. Tom earned a Ph.D. from Durham University, a D.Min. from Fuller, and a M. Div. from New Brunswick Theological Seminary. He also studied at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is the author of numerous articles and book chapters and four books, including The Emergence of Evangelical Spirituality: The Age of Edwards, Newton, and Whitefield and most recently George Whitefield, New Birth to Enjoy God, in the Crossway Theologians on the Christian Life series.

 
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  Jeffrey Geibel

  Podcast Guest
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Jeffrey Geibel
Podcast Guest
Jeffrey Geibel is a veteran high school mathematics teacher with two decades of experience in public education. He holds a master’s degree in mathematics and brings a deep appreciation for critical thinking, logic, and analytical inquiry to both his profession and personal life. Outside the classroom, Jeff is a dedicated husband and father of nine, with a passion for exploring the intersections of faith, reason, and human experience. His journey through skepticism, agnosticism, and ultimately back to belief reflects a thoughtful engagement with both intellectual honesty and existential meaning.
 
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  Steven Garber

  Professor
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Team Members

Steven Garber
Professor
Steven Garber is the Senior Fellow for Vocation and the Common Good for the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust. As a teacher, he has recently served as Professor of Marketplace Theology and Director of the Masters in Leadership, Theology and Society at Regent College, Vancouver, BC. he is the author of several books, including Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good, his most recent is The Seamless Life: A Tapestry of Love and Learning, Worship and Work. One of the founders of the Wedgwood Circle, and has been a Principal of the Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation and Culture. He completed his PhD in the Philosophy of Learning at Pennsylvania State University.
 
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  Jay Medenwaldt

  Professor and Scientist
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Jay Medenwaldt
Professor and Scientist
Jay Medenwaldt, a former Air Force behavioral scientist with nine years of service, including teaching psychology courses at the Air Force Academy and conducting research. Dr. Medenwaldt holds a doctorate in social psychology from Baylor University, with a focus on the psychology of religion and virtue. He also earned a Master of Divinity in apologetics, ethics, and biblical studies, as well as a Master’s in psychological sciences. His research has been published in prominent journals, including The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion and Current Opinion in Psychology.
 
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  Patricia Liddell Russell

  Guest Speaker
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Patricia Liddell Russell
Guest Speaker
Patricia Liddell Russel is the eldest daughter of Eric Liddell and the only surviving relative with personal memories of him. She was born in China in 1935 and was only six years old when she said farewell to her father for the final time and moved with her mother to Canada for safety.
 
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  John Merrishaw Hoyte

  Author
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Team Members

John Merrishaw Hoyte
Author
John Merrishaw Hoyte was born in 1932 in Ping Yang Fu, China, of medical missionary parents. He attended a British-run boarding school at Chefoo, Shantung Province, along with his three brothers and two sisters. During World War ll, he was taken to the Weihsien Prison Camp where Eric Liddell served as his mentor. After the war, John went on to study in England and then worked as an engineer for Hewlett-Packard before founding his own company, Spectrex Corporation.
 
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  Bob Rendall

  First CEO, The Eric Liddell Community
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Team Members

Bob Rendall
First CEO, The Eric Liddell Community
Bob Rendall was the first CEO of The Eric Liddell Community and worked for years in Edinburgh to establish a community center in his honor.
 
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  John MacMillan

  CEO, The Eric Liddell Community
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Team Members

John MacMillan
CEO, The Eric Liddell Community
John MacMillan is CEO of The Eric Liddell Community, a charity serving the people of Edinburgh, Scotland through community health and wellbeing programs, dementia and caregiver support, and more.
 
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  Robert Saucy

  Professor
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Team Members

Robert Saucy
Professor
Robert Saucy, (1930 – 2015) was an American Biblical scholar and professor of systematic theology. He earned both his Th.M. (1958) and Th.D. (1961) in Systematic Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary. In 1961, Saucy joined the faculty of Talbot School of Theology, where he was appointed distinguished professor of systematic theology in 1989. He was a long-time member of the Evangelical Theological Society, and served as its president in 1972. Saucy was one of only three scholars who worked on both the original 1971 translation of the New American Standard Bible as well as the 1995 update. He was also a faculty member at Rosemead Graduate School of Psychology from 1970 to 1977.
 
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  Laura Zifer Powell

  Christian Apologist
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Team Members

Laura Zifer Powell
Christian Apologist
Laura Zifer Powell is a Christian apologist, writer, and speaker. She is the founder of An Affair with Reason and co-host of the Knight and Rose Show podcast. She graduated from Duke University with a bachelor’s in public policy, earned her master’s degree from Denver Seminary, and is currently working on her Doctor of Ministry in Public Theology from Birmingham Theological Seminary. She has ministered in over thirty countries on five continents and has seen first-hand how false worldviews harm and destroy God’s image bearers, while the Christian worldview leads people and societies toward human flourishing. As an apologist, she shares evidence for the biblical worldview and discusses how our worldview ought to impact every area of life, from our relationships to our public policy and economics. Her blog, previous interviews, and speaking request form can be found at her website, www.AnAffairWithReason.com, and her 20-lesson online course, Islam Foundations, is available at womeninapologetics.com.