Meet Scott Symington

Physicist, International Speaker, Author, CEO

With a dynamic background and advanced degrees in both radiological physics and educational leadership (graduating with the highest distinction in each), Scott is uniquely equipped to tackle and clarify the most challenging questions about beliefs. He not only grasps these complex issues but also translates that understanding into user-friendly and engaging explanations to illuminate the intricate aspects of various belief systems.

Scott currently works as a medical physicist specializing in oncology and as an adjunct physics professor. Previously, he spent over a decade teaching public school students where he developed curriculum in diverse subject areas, and consistently earned Teacher of the Year” nominations.

Amber, Scott’s obviously better-half, holds a doctorate in psychology and applies her expertise to diverse and challenging situations. Her deep understanding of people and their struggles enriches her work in ministry. Scott and his wife had a heart for adoption long before they met. Particularly, older children or teens that are at risk for aging out of the system and never finding a forever home. They believe adoption mirrors God’s love and His adoption of us into the Kingdom. The family team now includes their adopted son, and hopefully more adopted kiddos in the future. Additionally, they have two adorable fur-babies named Dolce and Filly.

From Questioning to Conviction: A Transformative Journey

Scott recognizes that while his Christian foundation continually blesses and graces his life, it did not prepare him to address all the tough questions raised by skeptics in the media, among friends, and professors. This quest for understanding has proven to be the most significant and transformative decision of his life, bringing him profound purpose, hope, and lasting joy that he is eager to share with others. A recent trip to Cuba with his wife deepened his resolve to extend his efforts to under-evangelized regions in the world.

Scott is dedicated to helping individuals navigate challenging questions about their faith. Fact-checking your faith provides confidence in the accuracy of the beliefs you base so much of your thoughts, choices, goals and directions in life upon.

Driven by his passion for sharing faith, Scott founded the non-profit organization Thoughtful Beliefs. This foundation is committed to helping people have confidence in their beliefs and share their faith across the globe.

We enjoy equipping others to confidently share Christ’s message, providing them with the tools and knowledge to address doubts and engage in meaningful conversations about the big questions in life. When is the last time you as a Christian discussed your belief with another? It is the “Great Commission”, not the “Soft Suggestion.” If you lack answers and confidence to share, we have the resources.

For those who have a different worldview faith, we all need to show whether the facts of reality either support or expose our different beliefs, making clear which belief can be relied upon when we need it most. It is not about winning an argument, that is meaningless, it is about who can win by moving on from an inaccurate and unsafe foundation to a reliable one to base our direction in life and hope upon.

Statement of Faith

It’s often helpful to begin by clearing up common misconceptions about God, starting with what we do not believe about Him.

What God is not:

  • God is not part of nature, one with nature, or simply an “old man in the sky.”
  • God cannot be fully comprehended by human minds.
  • God is not distant, uncaring, angry, or waiting for us to break a rule just to punish us. Nor is He like a genie dispensing rewards earned by our faith or good behavior.

What we believe about God:

We believe God is not a part of nature, but instead is beyond all of nature, as nature is one of the things God created. God has always existed as the greatest possible being, meaning nothing surpasses Him in knowledge, power, or love, and He is the ultimate standard of right and wrong.

This one God is Triune[1]—one supreme being who exists eternally as three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each person of the Trinity fully shares in the divine nature and are therefore the same God, coequal in power, nature, and character.[2]

Because we have no experience with existing beyond nature and time, or possessing the unique attributes only God has, we will never fully comprehend Him. However, we can understand much about God because He is personal and has purposefully created us to live in a relationship with Him forever. And so God communicates with us in various ways—through the Bible, more personally through Jesus, directly through the Holy Spirit, and a variety of other methods—revealing who He is and His purpose for our lives.

God’s Relationship with Us

God created us in His image and gave us free will, placing us in this limited time and space (our life) where His plan and alternative paths exist. This provides each of us the opportunity to choose His plan or follow another.

However, because humanity—and each of us individually—has put our own desires ahead of God’s, we lost more than we could ever imagine. We became alienated from God, incapable of restoring a right relationship with Him through our own efforts.[3]

Unlike every other belief system throughout history, Jesus claimed that we aren’t judged based on a curve of how “good” we are, but on an absolute standard: holiness. None of us have met that standard. Jesus explained we’ve all committed acts that are “unholy” (against God’s nature), and those acts separate us from a holy God. Like oil and water, holiness and unholiness cannot coexist. That’s the bad news.

But a holy God came in the person of Jesus to reveal His nature and demonstrate how much He deeply loves and cares for us. On the cross, He took on the penalty for our unholiness, ensuring that justice was served, and our debt was cleared. This is the “Gospel,” which translates as the “good news.”

All of God’s righteous anger and justice toward wrongdoing were already delivered at the cross, and only love is left for us who accept him and his payment of our debt. While we may still experience discipline from God, it is not for punishment (as that was dealt with at the cross) but for shaping us to reflect His image, cultivating the best traits in us for a loving relationship with Him and with others.

Jesus

We believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully took on human nature to personally reveal to humanity what God is like, to show that He understands our suffering, to expose human wrongdoing (sin) by living a righteous life, and to simultaneously demonstrate both the seriousness of sin and the depth of God’s love for us by willingly taking upon Himself God’s judicial wrath on the cross. In doing so, He validated His unique message and authority.

Jesus physically rose from the grave, ascended to heaven, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. He will return to judge all who have either accepted or rejected a relationship with Him. His resurrection, along with other miracles, serves as God’s definitive affirmation and vindication of Jesus’ unique identity, mission, and message.[4] This confirms the only basis for our acceptance into eternity with God—heaven—is not our works, but what Jesus accomplished on the cross and our trust in His ultimate authority over all things.

Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is fully God and works within us as our spiritual guide and helper. We believe salvation—what people often refer to as “being saved”—is not just about being saved from eternal separation from God (hell), but also involves being aided in a transformative journey throughout life from the moment one chooses to accept a relationship with Him.

This belief does not promise freedom from physical ailments, an escape from the deep pain life can bring, or greater worldly success, or even fairness. However, it does promise that God is with you through it all. Just as a loving parent allows their child to face challenges to grow into their best self, God walks with you in your struggles, weeps with you in your pain, and embraces you both spiritually and throughout your life. He uses all of life’s experiences to guide your development—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually—toward the attributes that will ultimately be best for you.

Bible

We believe the Bible is God’s Word and the final authority for truth and life. It contains the message God intended for us to receive, with the Old and New Testaments revealing His promise of the kingdom and eternal hope. The Bible also offers guidance through warnings and examples of God’s faithfulness, helping us grow in our trust and relationship with Him.

The Bible’s unique qualities, along with the teachings of Jesus, are unmatched by any other source and beyond human capability to produce, affirming its supreme authority. This establishes Scripture as our ultimate standard for belief and practice.[5] God the Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the Bible, revealing God’s nature and character, the truth about creation and humanity, and His will for the salvation of all through Jesus Christ.[6]

The Church

The church is not a building but the collective members of God’s family[7]—which includes those who have heard and embraced the good news of Christ. Our purpose is to be appropriately grateful, honoring, adoring, and serving the God who first loved us, while serving Him by loving, nurturing, and supporting one another. We are called to reach out to a hurting world with both the saving message of Christ and the practical compassion and mercy He exemplified.[8]

While many today understand “church” to refer to the people, buildings, or organizations associated with a religion, these things don’t necessarily align with the biblical definition of the church. In fact, many who attend church, engage in religious activities, and consider themselves Christians have no real trust or relationship with Christ (Matthew 7:21-23), and therefore are not truly members of His family.

[1] Examples of difficult to understand concepts, such as God being “Triune,” seemed weird and interesting to me, as it should, because three-dimensional humanity has not experienced such a state of being. Yet, when a challenge by a Muslim had me look into this further, the information found not only exposed a fatal flaw in Islam, but also provided such interesting and unexpected answers to other questions, as truth typically does. See coverage of this topic in the FAQs and blog.

[2] Reasons to Believe: www.reasons.org/about/our-mission

[3] Genesis 1:26-27, 2:16-17; Colossians 1:21; Isaiah 59:1-2.

[4] Dr. William L. Craig, Reasonable Faith, http://www.reasonablefaith.org/statement-of-faith

[5] Dr. William L. Craig, Reasonable Faith, http://www.reasonablefaith.org/statement-of-faith

[6] Reasons to Believe: www.reasons.org/about/our-mission

[7] Ephesians 4:15-16, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Revelation 19:7

[8] Robert Velarde, “What is the Church”, Focus on the Family, March 4, 2024.