Can we believe the resurrection of Christ actually happened? The Rising Podcast with Melanie Penn delves into the historicity of the resurrection and how this event changed human history—past and future! We interview authors, historians, personalities, and academics to dive deeper into this key historical event that changed human history. The conversations between a contemporary songwriter and members of the scholastic community will offer rare moments of insight for believers and skeptics.Melanie Penn introduces this podcast with the launch of her album, The Rising.
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Can we believe the resurrection of Christ actually happened? The Rising Podcast with Melanie Penn delves into the historicity of the resurrection and how this event changed human history—past and future! We interview authors, historians, personalities, and academics to dive deeper into this key historical event that changed human history. The conversations between a contemporary songwriter and members of the scholastic community will offer rare moments of insight for believers and skeptics.Melanie Penn introduces this podcast with the launch of her album, The Rising.
Doubting Toward Belief: Molly Worthen’s Journey to the Resurrection
The Rising Podcast with Melanie Penn
23 minutes
1 month ago
Doubting Toward Belief: Molly Worthen’s Journey to the Resurrection
Historian Molly Worthen, a former skeptic who once envied those with faith, embarked on an unexpected journey toward belief in Jesus' resurrection. Her academic work in American religious history led her to examine Christian claims more deeply. Conversations with a pastor and advice from theologian/Christian apologist Tim Keller prompted her to reconsider her skepticism, as she found the evidence for the resurrection more compelling than she initially thought. This shift in perspective on the supernatural culminated in her baptism in a Southern Baptist church, a surprising turn for someone with an academic background who had previously dismissed such beliefs. Worthen’s story illustrates how open-mindedness and supportive relationships can lead to profound and unexpected changes in one’s convictions. Thought-Provoking Quotes: “From that fairly early point, age 18 or 19, I think I already detected in myself a real envy of people who had a religious home, who had some confidence in a set of answers to the big questions.” - Molly Worthen
“I realized I had a lot of questions that I had never looked into. Despite being a historian of Christianity, I’d never really, in a close and thoughtful way, investigated the basic historical claims of the faith.” - Molly Worthen
“The case for the reality of the resurrection was just a whole lot better than I thought. And the case for my old worldview was starting to crumble.” - Molly Worthen
“I have read the gospels plenty of times, it’s part of my job description. But I had always read them out of duty, I was never gripped by them. But there was a grittiness and a reality—especially in Jesus’ encounters with the people He heals—that really arrested me for the first time.” - Molly Worthen
“Maybe we’ll get to hang out with the apostles one day. It’s almost a credit to their humanity and respect for one another that they just let each other tell the story like they were friends.” - Melanie Penn
“My faith is very fragile. I am always having to revisit the questions I've been wrestling with for a long time and needing reassurance, and I'm always hungry to read more and learn more. Even if you feel fairly firm in your faith, I think you need a community where you can ask those questions without being afraid that you'll be taken as some kind of heretic.” - Molly Worthen
“I think it's so important—whether you're a Christian or a seeker—to find a community that is comfortable with doubt. I would encourage people who have questions to persist in finding, until they find a conversation partner who supports them.” - Molly Worthen
“Christianity is unique among the world religions in that it stands or falls on a discrete event that believers say happened in history. And it happened close enough to our own time that there actually is evidence.” - Molly Worthen
Can we believe the resurrection of Christ actually happened? The Rising Podcast with Melanie Penn delves into the historicity of the resurrection and how this event changed human history—past and future! We interview authors, historians, personalities, and academics to dive deeper into this key historical event that changed human history. The conversations between a contemporary songwriter and members of the scholastic community will offer rare moments of insight for believers and skeptics.Melanie Penn introduces this podcast with the launch of her album, The Rising.
