Tothesource

tothesource: Congratulations on launching Faith Under Fire! How did you come up with the name for your show?

Lee Strobel: The name for the show came from Theresa Berger, wife of Jim Berger, president of Rocket Pictures and my partner in producing the program. We liked the name because it captures the essence of what we're trying to do -- address provocative spiritual issues in a weekly debate-style format.

Our approach is to take significant apologetics topics -- such as whether Jesus rose from the dead, whether science points toward or away from God, and whether all roads lead to heaven -- and important social issues -- including gay marriage, embryonic stem cell research, and the morality of the Iraqi war -- and let people debate them from different faith perspectives.

So we have Christians, atheists, Muslims, New Agers, and others on the show.
I believe that this program can generate meaningful conversations among viewers, which is why we also provide free discussion questions at leestrobel.net.

t the Christian worldview, when given a chance to be defined and defended in the marketplace of ideas, will emerge as the most cogent and persuasive. However, I have to leave that conclusion up to the viewers.

tts: Do you agree with the premise of tothesource, that if people of faith do not deal with key cultural issues the culture will become increasingly secular?

LS: Yes, I do. Years ago, Christians largely abandoned the entertainment industry because they believed it was ungodly, and the result has been not only the increased secularization of the media, but also a pervasive anti-Christian bias.

Our show hopes to engage the most important social and cultural issues of our day, allowing people of faith to strongly express their opinions. We want the most articulate Christians, atheists, Muslims, and so forth, to offer up their best arguments so that viewers can make up their own minds.

The Christian perspective of social and cultural issues has been sorely lacking in the mainstream media. We're grateful that PAX-TV has agreed to air our program -- and, in fact, has now requested an additional thirteen programs because the initial response to the show has been so overwhelmingly positive.

tts: Catholic philosopher Alisdair MacIntyre laments the shift from rational public discourse to emotivism. Does Faith Under Fire seek to correct this trend?

LS: I have to say that we're quite mindful of the limitations of television and the impact that one show can have. We can't hope to solve any major issues in a twenty-minute debate. But we can let informed and passionate experts offer their reasoned arguments.

We hope to get past mere emotions and beliefs and delve instead into WHY our guests believe what they believe. My hope is that this will expose the general public to rational reasons why Christians take the positions they do and to judge for themselves whether these reasons withstand counter-arguments from people of different beliefs.

We also hope people will be spurred to discuss these issues with their friends, family members, neighbors, and colleagues. That's why we not only provide discussion questions to facilitate these conversations, but we also have an arrangement with Barnes and Noble so that viewers can get books that will help them dig deeper into these topics.

So far, we're getting about 500 emails per week from viewers, which tells me that the show is really causing people to think deeply about the important issues that we're covering. I think that's a good thing.

tts: Thank you so much Lee. We wish you great success with Faith Under Fire. This week's episode includes Animal Civil Rights, The Kabbalah Craze, Hell: Fact or Fiction?, and Hugh Hefner on the Hot Seat. We hope our readers will tune in.

*Faith Under Fire*

Faith Under Fire debuted this month on PAX Channel. Although the talking heads format may be familiar, the content is provocative. As host of this Hardball-meets-the O’Reilly-Factor-style chat show about religion, faith and ethics, Strobel challenges proponents of differing points of view to defend their positions in response to questions such as: Is God pro-choice? When is it moral to wage war? Why does God allow evil? Does religion subjugate women? In celebration of our broadcast of the 100th edition of tothesource we want to use this occasion to encourage readers to tune in to Faith Under Fire Saturdays at 10PM PST on PAX. tothesource interviewed Lee Strobel regarding Faith Under Fire and the importance of engaging the moral and religious issues we face today.

Dear Concerned Citizen,	November 3, 2004

tothesource: Congratulations on launching Faith Under Fire! How did you come up with the name for your show? *Lee Strobel:* The name for the show came from Theresa Berger, wife of Jim Berger, president of Rocket Pictures and my partner in producing the program. We liked the name because it captures the essence of what we're trying to do -- address provocative spiritual issues in a weekly debate-style format. Our approach is to take significant apologetics topics -- such as whether Jesus rose from the dead, whether science points toward or away from God, and whether all roads lead to heaven -- and important social issues -- including gay marriage, embryonic stem cell research, and the morality of the Iraqi war -- and let people debate them from different faith perspectives. So we have Christians, atheists, Muslims, New Agers, and others on the show. I believe that this program can generate meaningful conversations among viewers, which is why we also provide free discussion questions at leestrobel.net. t the Christian worldview, when given a chance to be defined and defended in the marketplace of ideas, will emerge as the most cogent and persuasive. However, I have to leave that conclusion up to the viewers. tts: Do you agree with the premise of tothesource, that if people of faith do not deal with key cultural issues the culture will become increasingly secular? *LS:* Yes, I do. Years ago, Christians largely abandoned the entertainment industry because they believed it was ungodly, and the result has been not only the increased secularization of the media, but also a pervasive anti-Christian bias. Our show hopes to engage the most important social and cultural issues of our day, allowing people of faith to strongly express their opinions. We want the most articulate Christians, atheists, Muslims, and so forth, to offer up their best arguments so that viewers can make up their own minds. The Christian perspective of social and cultural issues has been sorely lacking in the mainstream media. We're grateful that PAX-TV has agreed to air our program -- and, in fact, has now requested an additional thirteen programs because the initial response to the show has been so overwhelmingly positive. *tts:* *Catholic philosopher Alisdair MacIntyre laments the shift from rational public discourse to emotivism. Does Faith Under Fire* seek to correct this trend? LS: I have to say that we're quite mindful of the limitations of television and the impact that one show can have. We can't hope to solve any major issues in a twenty-minute debate. But we can let informed and passionate experts offer their reasoned arguments. We hope to get past mere emotions and beliefs and delve instead into WHY our guests believe what they believe. My hope is that this will expose the general public to rational reasons why Christians take the positions they do and to judge for themselves whether these reasons withstand counter-arguments from people of different beliefs. We also hope people will be spurred to discuss these issues with their friends, family members, neighbors, and colleagues. That's why we not only provide discussion questions to facilitate these conversations, but we also have an arrangement with Barnes and Noble so that viewers can get books that will help them dig deeper into these topics. So far, we're getting about 500 emails per week from viewers, which tells me that the show is really causing people to think deeply about the important issues that we're covering. I think that's a good thing. tts:** Thank you so much Lee. We wish you great success with Faith Under Fire. This week's episode includes Animal Civil Rights, The Kabbalah Craze, Hell: Fact or Fiction?, and Hugh Hefner on the Hot Seat. We hope our readers will tune in.

Celebrating the 100th Edition of tothesource *Each week tens of thousands read tothesource. We would like to thank our loyal subscribers whose continued interest and feedback mean a great deal to the tothesource authors and editors.*

What do you believe? Can you defend it? Host, Lee Strobel, keeps the heat on to generate lively and informed debate. Former award-winning Chicago Tribune legal editor, best-selling author and a one-time atheist, Strobel has become a sought-after commentator on spiritual issues. Three of his books - "The Case for Christ," "The Case for Faith," and "The Case for Easter" - have been among America's top religion books, selling more than five million copies combined.

Darwinian Evolution vs Intelligent Design Theory On the October 16th episode of Faith Under Fire Dr. Michael Shermer, founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine and Director of the Skeptics Society, defended Darwinian evolution against the claims of Intelligent Design theory as presented by Dr. Stephen Meyer.

Hot Seat: Hefner on Spiritual Issues On November 6th, Hugh Hefner takes the “hot seat” on Faith under Fire. Hefner, best known as the founder and editor of Playboy magazine will go one-on-one with host Lee Strobel who will question Hefner about his less well known opinions on issues such as the claims of Jesus, the reality of an afterlife and the significance of his cultural legacy.

Hot Seat: Warren on tough cultural questions On November 13th, Rick Warren, founding pastor of Saddleback, the mega church in Southern California and author of bestseller, The Purpose Driven Life, will take the hot seat opposite Lee Strobel. Warren will be asked to respond to some of the toughest cultural questions posed by Christians and non-Christians alike.

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