What if being brilliant, successful, and disciplined still isn’t enough to save you from fear, obsession, and self-destruction?

From the outside, Lisa’s life looked enviable—PhD, postdoctoral research at a leading medical school, and a rising career in behavioral health. But beneath the surface, she was unraveling: anxiety, eating disorders, addiction, and relentless obsessive fear followed her for years.

Convinced that intelligent, rational people didn’t need God, Lisa tried everything except faith. It wasn’t until desperation forced her to confront the limits of her own limits that she became open, reluctantly, to the possibility she might be wrong.

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Guest Bio:

Dr. Lisa Stanton is a social psychologist, researcher, and writer. With a PhD in social psychology and a career in behavioral health, she brings a rare blend of empirical insight and personal honesty to questions of identity, meaning, and human flourishing. Her recent work centers on her personal experiences in recovery from not only addiction, but also eating disorders, anxiety conditions, ADHD, irritable bowel syndrome, alopecia areata, and more. Lisa writes at drlisastanton.com, shares reflections on Instagram at @drlisastanton.

Resources Mentioned:

Lisa’s Resources:

• Website: drlisastanton.com

• Instagram: @drlisastanton

• Book: 52 Life-Changing Lessons I Learned in Recovery: A Journey Towards Sobriety, Honesty, and Radical Forgiveness

Lisa’s recommended resources:

• Alpha Course – https://www.alpha.org

• OCIA - https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/264519/becoming-catholic-everything-you-need-to-know-about-ocia

• Bible Study Fellowship - https://www.bsfinternational.org

• Wes Huff, Christian Apologist - https://www.wesleyhuff.com

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What happens when atheism is taken seriously all the way to its logical conclusions?

For Luke Thornton, raised in a deeply secular culture in the UK, honesty about those implications led not to certainty but to discomfort and eventually to an argument he couldn’t ignore.

Luke Thornton grew up in northern England in a culture where belief in God felt irrelevant at best and irrational at worst. An intellectually curious student, Luke embraced atheism not out of apathy but out of a commitment to truth. Science, progress, and reason seemed to leave no room for God.

But as Luke followed atheism to its logical conclusions questions about morality, free will, meaning, and human value began to press in. When a philosophical argument for God’s existence challenged assumptions he’d long held, Luke was forced to reconsider whether disbelief was as intellectually satisfying as he once thought.

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Guest Bio:

Luke Thornton is a Christian creative entrepreneur and evangelist.

Raised in Yorkshire, England, in a non-Christian home, Luke was an atheist until he embraced Christianity as an adult.

He runs a marketing agency full-time while dedicating his spare time to studying apologetics and enjoying life with friends in London.

Resources Mentioned:

Luke’s Recommended Resources:

• The Bible Society Study Course: The Bible Course is an eight-session small-group resource designed to help people explore the whole Bible’s story from Genesis to Revelation. For more information, go to: https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/
• The Alpha Course: The Alpha Course is a multi-week, conversational introduction to the basics of the Christian faith designed for anyone who is curious about life, meaning, and God.
• William Lane Craig. Reasonable Faith is the official ministry and resource hub of Christian philosopher and apologist Dr. William Lane Craig, dedicated to providing articulate, intelligent, and gracious support for the truth of the Christian faith. See: https://www.reasonablefaith.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lukethornton___/

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What if the worldview you trusted most began to crumble under its own weight? Chris Wright grew up in a deeply Christian home, surrounded by Scripture, church life, and belief. But as he moved into adolescence, competing ideas like evolutionary theory, cultural pressure, and hidden personal struggles pulled him steadily away from the faith he knew.

By the time he reached college, Chris was confronted by bold professors, each insisting that Christianity was intellectually weak, morally suspect, or simply outdated. But instead of convincing him, their hostility toward Scripture and the dismissal of the faith of his childhood awakened something unexpected: a desire to test everything for himself.

Guest Bio:

Chris Wright is a writer, apologist, and creator of the Allegiant Faith Network Substack, where he focuses on apologetics, theology, biblical studies, and worldview formation. After a season of deep doubt fueled by cultural pressures, academic skepticism, and personal struggles, Chris set out on a rigorous search for truth that led him back to Christianity through evidence and reason.

He holds a Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary and writes to help skeptics, seekers, and believers think clearly, question well, and understand why Christianity offers a coherent, intellectually grounded view of reality. Chris is active on Substack and X, where he engages thoughtfully with skeptics and equips Christians for meaningful conversations about faith.

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Resources Mentioned:

C.S. Lewis Institute: https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/

Chris’s recommended resources:

• Book: Reasons for God, Tim Keller
• Book: Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Josh McDowell
• Author/Website: Frank Turek, www.crossexamined.org
• Book: The Big Book of Christian Apologetics – an A to Z Guide, Norm Geisler

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