CVV Ministries

Have you ever heard someone say that the stories in the Bible are just a rip off of older pagan documents? On this week’s Authentic episode, host Shawn Boonstra explores some of

In Pursuit Of Justice

What makes us think that life should be fair? Why do we feel that someone owes us something when they do something wrong to us? We all seem to have a profound sense of justice. Sha

Ode To Cincinnatus

It's a fact you'll find all throughout history: people who unwittingly become leaders by accident or in times of sudden crisis quite often make better leaders than people who spend

Speak Of The Devil

What do you imagine when you think of the devil? A lot of people think he's a red skinned monster with horns, sharp teeth, and a pitchfork. But it turns out that image is rooted in

Lessons From Dead Friends

Losing someone to death can be heartbreaking, especially if that person was young. And it's far from rare: studies show young Americans are TWICE as likely to die as their counterp

The Nature Of Evidence

If you didn't see it, hear it, or feel it yourself—did it REALLY happen? Learn how your experiences and the way you rely on them can trick you when it comes to miracles. Join Sha

David Hume And Miracles

Is it possible for miracles to be scientifically proven? Join Shawn Boonstra on this week's episode of AUTHENTIC as he explores one of history's most influential philosophers, Davi

Marketing God

Churches risk losing their way when they prioritize business and marketing strategies over their core mission. They may be filling the pews, but in the process they're unintentiona

The Strange Case Of Free Will

Do you really control every decision you make? There’s an increasing number of people who believe that free will is only an illusion—that the decisions you make today are solel

Infinity And Beyond

Your life is finite: you'll live and die, having occupied a limited space for a limited amount of time. But in the end, we all seem to sense that there’s something infinite to gr

Signs And Wonders

Lots of people talk about Jesus' miracles—whether they did or didn't happen. Christians believe they were real. But what's important is that the miracles are not the reason one b

Freedom And The Bible

More and more people in North America seem to believe the Bible is a book that oppresses humans and shuts down personal freedom. On this week’s program, Shawn Boonstra argues tha

Immanuel Christmas Special

Back in the earliest years of Christian history, a lot of deep thinkers struggled to wrap their minds around the concept of Jesus being not just a man, and not just God, but instea

No Other Gods

Lots of people are cool with Jesus, and even Yahweh...except for that pesky claim of exclusivity. What’s His deal? Some have diagnosed God as an egomaniacal control freak.This we

An Authentic Life

True freedom or lawful obedience? In the human mind, these concepts are at war, just as modern Christian thought severs our lives today from the Old Testament era: the age of the l

A Moral God

Standing as mortals at the foot of Mount Olympus, what would we see as we gazed up at the gods? How would it compare with the view of God at Mount Sinai? Join Shawn Boonstra this w

The Art Of Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving holiday gives us an incredible opportunity to practice real gratitude AND quit living with brutal anxiety. Watch this episode to find out why Shawn Boonstra thinks

The Ten Commandments

Public schools required to display the Ten Commandments? Such a rule sounds surprising, but recently lawmakers made it real in Louisiana. (Update: And in Texas, as of the airing of

Family Feud

Enacting someone’s last will and testament is a sacred duty. Still, inspired by a “gut feeling,” some like to redefine the deceased’s last wishes…often erupting familial

The James Effect

As a dark wave of fatalism and existentialist despair rolled over from Europe in the nineteenth century, one brilliant American thinker dared to stem the tide. What if we are MORE

Lord Of The Flies

Imagine for a minute that you’re an ambassador of Earth to an alien civilization. You’re asked, “What’s this RELIGION thing all about? Why do you all believe something’s

Who Do You Think You Are?

"You can't tell me what to do!" From crib to nursing home, we all bristle like porcupines at claims of authority. Something in us HATES being commanded. Is it any surprise the Most

Outside The Box

Thinking outside the box isn't just for artists and engineers. We can all benefit from challenging assumptions that hold us back. But what happens when "radical = good" becomes an

Do You Really Exist?

It takes a skeptic to prove reality. Shawn Boonstra revisits an old "friend," René Descartes, and his groundbreaking decision to doubt everything and how he concluded, "I think, t

Dealing With Anger

What causes YOU to lose your cool? The roots of our anger are deep and varied, but Shawn Boonstra suggests it's usually less about cosmic justice and more about personal injury. So

The Problem With Anger

Wrath. It's known as one of the seven deadly sins—and yet Scripture is filled with descriptions of God getting wrathful. So what IS the problem with anger? Shawn Boonstra explore

Off The Edge

Some today say that for centuries Christians believed in a flat earth. So what does the evidence say? Join Shawn as he looks into the fascinating history of the connection between

Holy Dishes

Join Shawn Boonstra for the story of one remarkable redemption at the hands of one VERY unlikely redeemer. All hope and holiness seemed lost when God's people and Temple fell to Ba

Year Of The Rooster

Whether you identify as a total Gemini, take a passing interest in the Chinese zodiac, or regard all horoscopes as ripe for mockery, you can't deny their massive popularity. This w

The Prison Yard Of Life

Tick. Tock. The clock of life is running out. The shadow of the Reaper’s scythe darkens every minute and every year. Sure feels like we’re all sitting on death row... But what

Your Moment On Stage

Many today struggle to understand their true significance and where they fit into this world. Out of this struggle has flowed untold sadness and tragedy. In this week's episode of

Questioning The Reich

This week we're discussing the disturbing legacy of a different Reich in the 20th century. The sexual liberation movement promised to cast off the chains of oppressive morality—t

The Heartache Of Beauty

Have you ever been stopped in your tracks by something so incredibly beautiful, it leaves you with a twinge of sadness? Shawn Boonstra explores this perplexing paradox of how exper

History Of The Bible, Part 4

Translating ancient Hebrew and Greek scriptures is hard enough WITHOUT the monarchy and Church coming for your head! Shawn Boonstra relates the astonishing journey of the English B

History Of The Bible, Part 3

Say you've got a set of well established Scriptures. How exactly do you come along and add a whole NEW set to it? In this week's encore episode, Shawn Boonstra investigates the ori

The Nature Of Evil

In a pain choked world, we see the face of evil everywhere. And there's plenty of blame to fling around, which we do. Constantly. But maybe it's time, Shawn Boonstra says, for a go

In The Beginning

The book of Genesis is widely perceived as myth—on the same shelf as Gilgamesh and Zeus. So let's line them up side by side, shall we? Shawn Boonstra weighs the differences and c

The Failure Of Philosophy, Part 4

You slip on a ring, and SNAP! You're invisible. What will you do with this power? This week, Shawn Boonstra turns to an old fable of Plato's to confront who we are in the dark, whe

The Failure Of Philosophy, Part 3

Crucifixion on its own is horrific enough...but if you believe Jesus' death on the cross was the punishment for our sins, it's even WORSE. Some object and say the cross was about p

The Failure Of Philosophy, Part 2

Desperate to find the meaning of life? It’s only human. Philosophers and theologians have long invented ideas to build an understanding of the universe. But they’ve reached a d

The Failure Of Philosophy, Part 1

Shivering in the shadow of life’s darkest problems, will we ever think our way to the light? Inspired by Thomas Aquinas, nineteenth century philosophers argued that we could. Sha

The Egyptians

We often credit the Greeks with inventing Western philosophy. But how often were they borrowing from another great society? This week, we’re exploring the ancient world to uncove

The Envy Line