In celebration of Easter Sunday, I wanted to take a look at some of the philosophical issues involved in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This includes a discussion of Hume's argument against miracles and an analysis of the likelihood of the Resurrection. For the book review I take a look at Richard Swinburne's book "Was Jesus God?"
Continuing with the "Doctrine of God" series, this episode takes a look at some philosophical problems surrounding the Christian view that God is the creator of everything. For the book reviews I look at the companion volumes 'Why I am not a Calvinist' and 'Why I am not an Arminian.' For the audience question, I analyze whether the doctrine of Molinism I defended in the previous podcast commits us to the view that the world is really a giant setup, with a mere illusion of freedom.
Continuing with my ‘doctrine of God’ series, I look at the question of what God knows. I analyze and critique three competing views of God’s foreknowledge; Thomism, Molinism, and Open Theism. This issue is particularly important because open theism is a relatively new perspective that has garnered a lot of attention and a great deal of criticism. For the book reviews, I take a look at Divine Providence by Thomas Flint and The Openness of God by Clark Pinnock, David Basinger, John Sanders, Richard Rice, and William Hasker. For the audience question I discuss the toughest intellectual challenge to Christianity.
This is the first in a series on the doctrine of God, assessed from a philosophical perspective. This episode, I try to tackle God’s relationship to time. Is God absolutely timeless or does He exist in time? For the book review, I take a look at 'Fabricating Jesus' by Craig Evans.
The theory of Intelligent Design has been subjected to severe criticism. However, most of these criticisms take the form of bad philosophical arguments. While not taking a stand on the issue, I analyze and reject these criticisms, arguing that the debate about Intelligent Design must be settled on scientific turf. For the book review I take a look at 'The Evidential Argument from Evil,' edited by Daniel Howard-Snyder.
The Problem of Evil stands out as the premiere argument against the existence of God. In this episode I critically analyze this argument and offer some possible explanations for the existence of evil in the world. For the book review I take a look at 'Jesus Under Fire' by Michael Wilkins and J.P. Moreland. For the audience question I analyze whether the arguments for God’s existence are too complicated.
A common objection against arguments for the existence of God asserts that such arguments, even if successful, fail to establish the truth of theism. This issue is discussed and critically analyzed, with a special focus on a presentation of the argument offered by the atheist philosopher Michael Martin. For book reviews, we look at 'God and Time: Four Views' and 'Resurrected? An Atheist and Theist Dialogue.' For the audience question we take another look at personal experiences and their relationship to our justification of religious belief.
Is religion merely a byproduct of evolutionary selection pressures and social phenomenon? Neuroscientists, biologists, and philosophers are offering a number of theories purporting to explain religious belief naturalistically. In this episode, I discuss whether these theories are successful. Moreover, I look at the impact these theories have on the justification for religious belief. Finally, I analyze the Argument from the Prevalence of Religion, which argues that the proliferation of religious belief around the globe and throughout history is evidence for God’s existence. For the book reviews, I take a look at 'Time and Eternity' by William Lane Craig. For the audience questions, I take another look at Pascal’s Wager and the Argument from Design.
This episode contains a live recording of a talk I gave for the Campus Crusade for Christ ministry at Saginaw Valley State University (where I attend college). In this talk I argue that historical evidence provides a solid foundation for belief in the Resurrection. In this episode I also review 'The Son Rises' by William Lane Craig.
In order to have an effective apologetic, it is important that Christians avoid using fallacious arguments in defense of their faith. This episode covers 6 common arguments that do more harm than good. For the book reviews we take a look at 'The Only Wise God' by William Lane Craig and 'Losing Faith in Faith' by Dan Barker.