Commitment to Reality

Christian Research Institute
  • 4.9 (30)
  • Religion & Spirituality
  • Updated Daily

Hosted by Dave Hanegraaff Commitment to Reality is a podcast for a post-truth—and increasingly post-reality—age. We are living through one of the most disorienting periods in human history—leaving many to wonder: What is reality? As artificial intelligence accelerates and institutional trust erodes, our shared sense of what is real continues to crumble. Reality is the way the world truly is—independent of our beliefs, opinions, or illusions. If truth is the map by which we navigate our lives, then it is no surprise that we feel disoriented when we live by lies. The post-truth, post-reality crisis is not merely an intellectual problem; it is an existential one. A commitment to reality is a dedication to discerning what is true and developing the discipline to live in alignment with that truth—with reality. This podcast is an apologetic for reality—each episode serving as an intentional act of grounding our existence together as we commit to what is beautiful, good, and true.

  1. 2d ago

    Sin Is a Sickness, Not a Crime | Fr. Evan Armatas

    The Church is a hospital, not a courtroom. It is a lifesaving station for the world. Yes, we are sinners. But what does it actually mean to be a sinner? Our understanding of sin may be one of the most consequential—and misunderstood—questions in Christianity. I believe many people reject Christianity because they have been given a distorted picture of what sin is and what salvation means. What if sin isn’t primarily a crime to be punished, but a sickness to be healed? What if salvation is less about a transaction and more about transformation? In this conversation, Fr. Evan Armatas challenges our assumptions about sin, righteousness, confession, and salvation—offering a different way of understanding what it truly means to be a sinner and what it means to become truly human as we were created to be. For more information on receiving resources written by Fr. Armatas for your partnering gift, please see Reclaiming the Great Commission: A Roadmap to Parish Health and Toolkit for Spiritual Growth: A Practical Guide to Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving. https://www.equip.org/product/cri-resource-reclaiming-the-great-commission-a-roadmap-to-parish-health-1026ctr/ https://www.equip.org/product/cri-resource-toolkit-for-spiritual-growth-a-practical-guide-to-prayer-fasting-and-almsgiving-ctr1026/ Thank you for joining Commitment to Reality, hosted by Dave Hanegraaff. Follow Commitment to Reality wherever you get your podcasts.Timestamps 0:00 — Fr. Evan Armatas: his story and how he is able to make theology accessible and practical 6:00 — The goal isn’t just right theology; it’s practicing righteousness 11:00 — Have we misunderstood sin? What did the West get wrong? 15:45 — How the debate over faith and works affects spiritual practice 25:15 — What if salvation is a relationship? 29:00 — When we love someone, we glow—almost literally—and what that reveals about salvation 42:15 — Is sin boring? 47:30 — Sin is how we spend our time: how our habits move us toward or away from God 1:03:00 — What is confession, why is it necessary, and why is it different from what many people think? 1:11:15 — The Church is a hospital, not a courtroom 1:18:10 — Have we become Epicureans in our endless pursuit of pleasure? 1:21:50 — Reality is found in relationship

  2. Oct 6

    The Holy Fool: El Tonto Por Cristo | Joshua David Jordan

    What does it mean to be a fool for Christ? Honestly, it sounds like a contradiction. Those who know Christ are meant to be wise—not fools. But what if following Christ faithfully means looking foolish in the eyes of the world? For those who seek to conform their lives to Christ rather than the ways of the world, being called a fool might actually be a compliment. Joshua David Jordan joins Dave for a wide-ranging conversation about holy fools, monasticism, prayer, art, miracles, and what it means to live in alignment with reality—even if it means looking like a fool. When you’re finished listening, I strongly encourage you to watch his masterpiece film, El Tonto Por Cristo (Spanish for The Fool for Christ), please see their official website by clicking here. https://www.eltontoporcristo.com/  Thank you for joining Commitment to Reality, hosted by Dave Hanegraaff. Follow Commitment to Reality wherever you get your podcasts. (Timestamps below.) 0:00 — Joshua David Jordan tells his story 6:20 — Fathers and Sons 10:35 — I Arise Today—does how we begin the day matter? 17:00 — The value of simple prayer 21:15 — What is a fool for Christ? 24:00 — A holy fool feels like a contradiction—how do you explain the holy fool? 26:45 — Dave used to be a vagabond and relates to the lack of constraints Holy Fools have 34:00 — Monks, Mount Athos and the value of monasticism for our modern world 47:15 — Monasticism shows us another way of life is possible 50:15— Art as an apologetic for truth (when we create art we imitate the creator) 59:45 — Just make GOOD art—Why Christians shouldn’t try to make “Christian” art 1:02:00 — Art is prayer 1:05:45 — Sweet smelling relics—wishful thinking or mystical reality? 1:12:00 — Believe again—believing in miracles without demanding an explanation 1:18:15 — The greatest lesson Josh David Jordan learned about monasticism 1:29:00 — Closing questions about reality

  3. Sep 22

    Free Palestine? The Coffee Shop Contradiction | Fares Abraham

    The Palestinian flag is everywhere these days. Along with the Ukrainian flag, the pride flag and a number of other flags that have come to hold cultural meaning in our modern world. These flags are symbols—but symbolic of what? Dave likes to call this the coffee shop contradiction. The cognitive dissonance of competing claims about reality crowding the same coffee shop window. What do these flags have in common? More importantly—are they in contradiction? Shouldn’t these contradictions matter? To discuss this issue and the wider situation in Palestine, Dave is joined by Fares Abraham—Palestinian Christian, founder of Levant Ministries, and a native of Bethlehem. Dave thinks the situation is unbelievably complex. Fares doesn’t deny the complexity, but instead argues that complexity is no excuse for Christians to lose moral clarity. Yet they are both clear on how Christians are called to live. As a child, Fares saw his mother shot in front of their home in Palestine and yet his family has made forgiveness a living reality. In a situation that can often feel hopeless—Fares Abraham is an ambassador of forgiveness and hope. Thank you for joining Commitment to Reality, hosted by Dave Hanegraaff. Follow Commitment to Reality wherever you get your podcasts. For related information please see Hank Hanegraaff’s book The Apocalypse Code: Find out What the Bible Really Says About the End Times and Why It Matters Today. (Timestamps below.) 0:00 — Dave met Fares Abraham in Palestine 10 years ago 0:40 — Who is Fares Abraham? 4:15 — Christ at the checkpoint and Christian Zionism 5:50 — The rise of flag culture—Israel, Palestine, Ukraine, LGBTQ+ flags everywhere—why? 11:25 — The impact of theology in the Middle East? 17:00 — The impact of Jewish and Islamic theology regarding conflict resolution 21:45 — A personal account of life in Palestine 27:55 — Dave describes his first impressions of Palestine and reality of intercultural relations 36:50 — Secular Flags and the Coffee Shop Contradiction 41:05 — The reality of queers for Palestine 44:35— What does it mean to be a sermon on the mount Christian? 47:15 — The reality of religious freedom in the Middle East 52:50 — What is the reality of Islamic theology? 57:20 — Can you support Palestinians without supporting Hamas? 1:04:15 — The real world impact of theology 1:14:45 — Are Palestinians and Israelis asking for the impossible? 1:16:30 — Fares saw his mother get shot in front of his home—how have they made forgiveness a living reality? 1:21:30 — Closing questions about reality

  4. Sep 8

    A Love Letter to Sleep | Brett McCracken

    If you could take a pill and never have to sleep again—would you? If sleep is mere utility, like charging your phone at the end of every day, then no one should fault you for making that choice. But Brett McCracken would argue that sleep is so much more—and in this conversation, he asks us to contemplate a deeper question: What if the things we think of as limitations are actually gifts? Brett McCracken—senior editor at The Gospel Coalition and author of The Wisdom of Sleep: How Rest Reveals God’s Truth and Revives Weary Souls—joins Dave Hanegraaff on Commitment to Reality to talk about why God designed us to sleep—and why embracing our limits in an age obsessed with optimization might be the most revolutionary thing we can do. Because if limitations can be gifts, sleep might be one of the best arguments for it. Thank you for joining Commitment to Reality, hosted by Dave Hanegraaff. Follow Commitment to Reality wherever you get your podcasts. (Timestamps below.) 0:00 — Intro and Dave’s Role on Hank Unplugged and Commitment to Reality 0:45 — Who is Brett McCracken? 5:45 — A common grace approach to culture—all truth is God’s truth 9:30 — Why is it so hard for Americans to slow down and rest? 14:30 — We are addicted to technology and are scrolling ourselves to death 18:00 — Rest is not mere utility, but part of God’s design for us—why? 21:35 — A love letter to sleep, having reverence for rest 25:30 — If you could take a pill and not have to eat or sleep—would you do it?   30:30 — What is the argument for beauty beyond utility? 38:00 — The joy of generosity 41:40— What is dreaming and why do we do it? 50:10 — Are nightmares an experience of spiritual warfare? 54:00 — Should we ask God to speak to us through our dreams? 59:00 — Lucid dreaming and the attempt to optimize and control dreams 1:03:00 — Why would a good God allow us to have bad dreams? 1:08:05 — The origins of the 7 day work week, weekends and the Sabbath 1:13:30 — The dystopian future of a world without work 1:20:00 — The importance of work/life balance 1:25:55 — The revolutionary act of being present and content when we are with others 1:31:25 — Describe your best morning ever 1:35:40 — Where are we most eager to ignore reality? 1:41:30 — In a world that feels increasingly unreal what feels most real to you?

  5. Aug 4

    A Personal Message from Dave: We’re Just Getting Started

    We’re on a brief summer sabbatical here at Commitment to Reality, but I wanted to reach out and thank everyone who’s joined us on this journey so far. We’re just getting started. One of my favorite parts of hosting this podcast has been the connections made through these conversations. To the listeners—Getting your messages and hearing how much these conversations matter to you means the world to me and keeps me going. I thank God for each and every one of you. To the guests—Some of you were friends before we ever hit record, but it’s been an absolute joy watching total strangers become friends over the course of these conversations. We’re forming an alliance of people committed to reality and that group is only going to keep growing. If there’s someone you think I should talk to send me a message on Instagram or Facebook. If you haven’t already, subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen—Apple, Spotify, YouTube, wherever. It makes a HUGE difference. Even better, take a minute or two to leave a rating and a review. It truly matters and I can’t tell you how much I’d appreciate it. Help us spread the word! Again—Thank you for joining me in making a commitment to reality. Glory to God in all things.

  6. Jun 30

    Your Mother Is Still Carrying Part of You | Dr. Kristin Collier

    Long after you’re born, your mother’s body continues to carry your cells—and you carry hers. The science behind this phenomenon is called fetomaternal microchimerism, and by bringing attention to this reality Dr. Kristin Collier dismantles the modern myth that we are isolated, autonomous, self-made individuals. The significance of relational biology is that you are never alone.   On its own, the science is fascinating. But it becomes something far more profound when you consider the theological implications—especially for the Theotokos, the God-bearer who carried the very cells of Christ within her body—and her cells within His. In this conversation, the University of Michigan physician—whose 2022 white coat address famously provoked a walkout—explores how faith and reason work best together, why medicine has become an idol for many, and what it truly means to see human beings as embodied persons rather than machines. Dr. Collier makes a compelling case for a proper view of health as right relationship, the power of story in medicine, and the deep biological and spiritual reality that we are never truly alone.   Thank you for joining Commitment to Reality, hosted by Dave Hanegraaff. Follow Commitment to Reality wherever you get your podcasts.   Also discussed on this episode:The white coat walkout and the myth of neutrality in the public squareWhy faith and reason are like two wings The idol of medicine—and the deeper idol of healthNarrative medicine—why story is a doctor’s most important instrumentThe placenta—the only organ two people create and share togetherGnosticism and our age of disenchantmentWhat it means to learn how to die well(Timestamps below.)   0:00 — The story of Kristin Collier 1:30 — From secular humanism to belief in Christ 8:15 — The white coat walkout at University of Michigan and the issue of viewpoint diversity  11:50 — The two wings of faith and reason 18:45 — Have we made an idol out of science and medicine?  23:50 — Health as an idol: A Christian perspective 31:50 — The importance of learning to die well 34:45 — What is health? Learning to see health as more than just the absence of disease 42:30 — We are not machines  52:15 — Task completion is not care — Narrative medicine and the value of story in medical care 59:30 — Relational biology 1:08:45 — The placenta is the only organ in the human body created and shared by two people 1:10:50 — If we believe that life begins at fertilization, then our language and ethics should reflect that reality  1:16:15 — Your mother still has your cells in her body (and you have hers) 1:19:45 — The theological implications of fetomaternal microchimerism for the Theotokos carrying the cells of Christ within her forever  1:30:30 — Should scientific discovery and the theology of the body change the way Christians view Mary as the mother of God? 1:33:00 — Gnosticism and our age of disenchantment 1:36:30 — Where are we most eager to ignore reality? 1:46:35 — In a world that feels increasingly unreal, what feels most real?

  7. Jun 16

    We ALL Have a Porn Problem | Andrew Williams

    We all have a pornography problem, whether we’ve ever watched pornography or not. The issue with pornography goes far beyond sex—it’s an issue of vision. How we view one another. We have lost our ability to see properly, and when we lose our sense of spiritual vision, we reduce persons made in the image of God to objects for our consumption. Pornography is simply one of the most obvious ways that we objectify one another. The normalization and proliferation of pornography have disastrous consequences for the soul—consequences that extend far beyond pornography itself. If pornography is demonic iconography, then an understanding of holy iconography can be used to reliably guide us back to reality. To regain our spiritual vision, we must learn to see every face we encounter as an icon of Christ. This includes our enemies. This involves learning to venerate rather than objectify. Andrew Williams—mental health chaplain, psychotherapist, and author of From Object to Icon: The Struggle for Spiritual Vision in a Pornographic World—joins Dave Hanegraaff on Commitment to Reality to talk about how we lost our vision, and how we get it back. For more information on From Object to Icon: The Struggle for Spiritual Vision in a Pornographic World please click here. https://www.equip.org/product/cri-resource-from-object-to-icon-the-struggle-for-spiritual-vision-in-a-pornographic-world/ Thank you for joining Commitment to Reality, hosted by Dave Hanegraaff. Follow Commitment to Reality wherever you get your podcasts. (Timestamps below.) 0:00 — How does one define oneself? 3:00 — The biggest problem with pornography is a problem of vision 4:45 — What is pornography? 7:00 — We all have a pornography problem 11:20 — Training algorithms before they train us 14:00 — Practicing nepsis—the sober guarding of our soul 15:45 — The problem with thinking of sin as breaking a rule rather than deforming our soul 18:40 — Evil never exists in isolation, but is always the perversion of goodness 24:35 — Why is the act of confession so important? 28:00 — Why are icons important? (and not idolatrous) 36:45 — Why would we need iconography for prayer? 40:30 — What is veneration and why is it necessary in the life of a Christian? 44:45 — Embracing an icon and watching pornography are based on the same desire 49:30 — You can actually rightly venerate pornography 53:00 — The nous—the source of our spiritual vision 55:00 — Idolizing individualism is literally idiotic 57:30 — Imagination can be a dangerous thing 1:00:00 — It’s not enough to kill our desires, we must transform them 1:02:15 — We must accept that we are powerless—could anything be less American? 1:05:00 — How can we experience true freedom? 1:08:45 — What is true repentance? 1:12:00 — Why does the Church care so much about sex? 1:15:20 — Where are we most eager to ignore reality? 1:19:15 — In a world that feels increasingly unreal—what feels most real? 1:25:40 — The answer to the problem of pornography is real relationship and vulnerability 1:28:00 — Stand on the edge of the abyss. And when you feel it’s beyond your strength, break off and have a cup of tea

  8. Jun 2

    Lost Gifts: Miscarriage, Hope, and the God of All Comfort | Brittany Lee Allen

    How we talk about miscarriage—or don’t talk about it—matters. Miscarriage is one of the most painful experiences a family can endure, yet we rarely speak of it. The silence is deafening, and it creates a culture of isolation for families bearing these lost gifts. Dave and his wife recently experienced the pain of miscarriage, and he wanted to discuss it publicly with Brittany Lee Allen, author of Lost Gifts: Miscarriage, Grief, and the God of All Comfort. At the same time, many Christians—and Churches—are not handling miscarriage in a way that reflects the reality of what we believe about life in the womb. If we truly believe that a pre-born child is a person with an eternal soul, then these children should be celebrated—and mourned—communally. This is a hard conversation, but a necessary one. It is also a reminder of the hope to be found in the God of all comfort. For more information on receiving   Lost Gifts: Miscarriage, Grief, and the God of All Comfort  please click here. https://www.equip.org/product/cri-resource-lost-gifts-miscarriage-grief-and-the-god-of-all-comfort/ Thank you for joining Commitment to Reality, hosted by Dave Hanegraaff. Follow Commitment to Reality wherever you get your podcasts. Also discussed on this episode: Why the Church should break the 12-week ruleThe Emotional Prosperity Gospel — and what it costs grieving ChristiansWhat well-meaning Christians say that hurts the mostPraying the Psalms as a school of lamentWhy our culture is so eager to look away from deathSuffering as gift — a paradox most of us would rather ignoreThe parents who keep counting children no one else sees“How many kids do you have?” — and the answer miscarriage makes us quietly weigh(Timestamps below.) 0:00 — Why is it so hard for us to talk about miscarriage? 1:45 — My parents named and buried their miscarried child—and never stopped counting her 6:45 — My first experience with miscarriage 15:30 — The paradox of rainbow babies and our second experience with miscarriage 19:15 — Being happy in your situation, even if you’re not happy with your situation 20:30 — The Emotional Prosperity Gospel 23:00 — The importance of lament in the life of a Christian 26:00 — Why should we break the “12 week rule” for pregnancy announcements 30:40 — The Church needs to be the Church 32:30 — We are called to be the hands and feet of Christ 38:00 — Praying the Psalms 39:15 — Pregnancy after miscarriage is a battleground of fear and anxiety 46:30 — How should we talk about miscarriage? Also—what not to say? 53:00 — The Church needs to lead the way in changing how we discuss miscarriage 57:35 — Discussing infertility 1:00:00 — Becoming a parent is hard, but it is worth it 1:05:40 — Lost Gifts 1:07:30 — Theology of Suffering—Is suffering a gift? 1:11:00 — Why are we so eager to ignore the reality of death? 1:14:25 — How parenting connects us with reality 1:16:50 — How many kids do you have? (Are we answering honestly?)

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About

Hosted by Dave Hanegraaff Commitment to Reality is a podcast for a post-truth—and increasingly post-reality—age. We are living through one of the most disorienting periods in human history—leaving many to wonder: What is reality? As artificial intelligence accelerates and institutional trust erodes, our shared sense of what is real continues to crumble. Reality is the way the world truly is—independent of our beliefs, opinions, or illusions. If truth is the map by which we navigate our lives, then it is no surprise that we feel disoriented when we live by lies. The post-truth, post-reality crisis is not merely an intellectual problem; it is an existential one. A commitment to reality is a dedication to discerning what is true and developing the discipline to live in alignment with that truth—with reality. This podcast is an apologetic for reality—each episode serving as an intentional act of grounding our existence together as we commit to what is beautiful, good, and true.

Information

  • Creator
    Christian Research Institute
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    17
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Christian Research Institute
  • Show Website
    Commitment to Reality

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