The AC Podcast

Can a machine ever truly be aware, or is it just getting better at looking like it is? Andy and Ben cut through what Andy calls the “philosophical dumpster fire” of AI and consciousness, asking whether AI could ever become conscious, or even human, and whether people will believe it is anyway.
Andy, Steve, and Ben are part of the AC Podcast team at Apologetics Canada, helping Christians think clearly about the biggest questions of our time. With AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT reshaping how people work, relate, and even seek comfort, they explore whether belief in conscious AI could become something like a new religion, dividing those who see AI as a living being from those who don’t, and whether those fears are justified or overblown.
In this episode, Andy and Ben join host Steve to explain:
■ The Great Confusion: Why intelligence (measurable problem-solving) and consciousness (first-person inner awareness) are not the same thing, and why AI’s convincing imitation of both makes it easy to assume a mind is there.
■ The Worldview Divide: How materialism bets on consciousness “emerging” from enough silicon and code, while the Christian view holds that mind comes before matter.
■ The Problem We Can’t Solve: Why we could never know for sure whether a machine is truly conscious or merely performing.
■ The New Religion: How the race to build conscious AI can become a grasp for divinity, a modern Tower of Babel centered on worshipping super-intelligence.
■ The Cost to Humanity: Why treating machines as persons, or outsourcing real relationships to them, risks lowering human value and blurring what it means to be made in the image of God.
Whether you’re fascinated, skeptical, or a little uneasy about where AI is headed, this conversation will give you plenty to think about.

What if the “apocalypse” isn’t the end of the world, but an unveiling, and the next generation is already living in it? Shaila Visser reveals why young people across the West are more spiritually open than they’ve been in decades, why so many of our prayers feel unanswered, and what the whole church must do before this moment passes.
Shaila Visser is the National Director of Alpha Canada and Global Senior Vice President for Alpha International. Through Alpha, she helps churches across Canada and around the world create welcoming spaces where people can explore life’s biggest questions and encounter Jesus. Her work focuses on prayer, evangelism, and equipping every generation of the church to make Jesus known.
In this episode, she joins host Troy to explain:
■ The Purpose of Prayer: Why prayer is not a transaction for getting what we want, but a two-way conversation that realigns our hearts with the Father’s will.
■ The Problem of Unanswered Prayer: How grounding prayer in Scripture, especially the Psalms, anchors us in God’s character when prayer feels like a gamble.
■ The Power of Silence: Why making room for quiet presence and waiting lets the Holy Spirit transform us, rather than just running through a list of requests.
■ The Great Unveiling: How a surge of spiritual curiosity among youth, often drifting toward tarot and manifestation, calls the church to build relational pathways to Jesus.
■ The Whole-Church Mandate: Why reaching young people can’t be left to youth pastors alone, and how older believers can mentor and encourage the next generation.
Connect with Shaila on Instagram @ShailaVisser, learn more about Alpha Canada at alphacanada.org, and find more resources at apologeticscanada.com.

What happens when a former Navy SEAL turns to psychedelics for healing and comes back with visions of hell, demonic encounters, and a haunting that four exorcisms couldn’t stop? Pastor Jason Jimenez reveals what’s really going on in Shawn Ryan’s story, why deliverance so often fails, and how ordinary Christians can stand firm in the spiritual battle they face every day.
Jason Jimenez is a pastor, worldview expert, and national speaker, and the founder of Stand Strong Ministries. He equips believers to understand the culture, defend their faith, and live with biblical conviction in a world that is increasingly confused about the spiritual realm.
In this episode, he joins hosts Troy and Tim Barnett to explain:
■ The Psychedelic Doorway: How substances like ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT, rooted in shamanism and tribal initiation rituals, can become footholds for demonic oppression, especially when paired with unresolved trauma, anger, or fear.
■ Why the Exorcisms Failed: How treating symptoms instead of root causes like unconfessed sin, shallow biblical grounding, and incomplete surrender to Christ leaves the door open.
■ Possession vs. Demonization: Why a Christian can never be owned by Satan, but can still be influenced in mind, emotions, and will when strongholds are allowed to form.
■ The Two Dangerous Extremes: Why seeing a demon behind everything and ignoring the spiritual realm entirely are both traps believers must avoid.
■ The Deliverance Industry: Why dramatic, social-media-driven deliverance ministries raise red flags, and what quiet, biblical deliverance actually looks like.
■ Everyday Warfare: How Scripture, the armor of God, confession, and Christian community equip believers to walk in Christ’s victory without fear or obsession.

Why are so many people walking away from the faith they grew up with, and what if the real reasons have less to do with arguments than we think? Dr. John Marriott reveals the hidden drivers behind the deconversion crisis, the critical difference between losing faith and rebuilding it, and how to respond when someone you love starts to doubt.
Dr. John Marriott is one of the leading voices on deconversion, having written his PhD dissertation on why people leave Christianity for atheism. He is the author of six books on the subject, including The Anatomy of Deconversion and Set Adrift (with Sean McDowell). He teaches in the Department of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology and serves as Director of Curriculum for Biola University’s Winsome Conviction Project.
In this episode, he joins host Troy and US Director Harry to explain:
The Critical Distinction: Why deconversion (walking away entirely) and deconstruction (taking inherited beliefs apart to rebuild what can truly be held) are two very different journeys.
The Essentials of Faith: How the historic creeds and the identity of Jesus define the core of Christianity, and why believers have real freedom on secondary issues.
The Hidden Drivers of Unbelief: Why suffering, church hypocrisy, and failures of leadership often push people away more powerfully than intellectual doubts.
The Two Evangelicalisms: How politically charged “Big E” evangelicalism differs from historic “Little E” evangelicalism rooted in biblical authority, personal faith, and social good.
The Long Game: Why listening, thanking someone for their trust, and assuring them of unconditional love matters more than winning the argument.

Plus: download Apologetics Canada’s free AI for Educators resource, and join us November 7th at Knott Avenue Christian Church in Anaheim, California for Hemorrhaging Faith: Understanding the Deconversion Crisis. Find more of Dr. Marriott’s work at johnmarriott.org.

If you have spent any time in the online apologetics community, you have likely encountered a response video by Tim Barnett, also known as "Original Mr. B" from Red Pen Logic. For the better part of a decade, Tim—a high school teacher turned apologist—has worked with the U.S.-based organization Stand to Reason. Despite his success with STR, having grown up and lived in the GTA always meant that for Tim, the burden for apologetics started right at his doorstep. On this episode of the AC Podcast, we are excited to welcome Tim, his family, and his trusty red pen to the AC team. Join us as we explore the heart of a dedicated husband and "girl dad" for Canada, discuss his long-standing friendship with Wes, and hear a conversation with Andy that led Tim to circle a map—only to find his focus landing right on his own front door.