14. Gap in Theistic Arguments
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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.
comment [9]13. Evolution of Belief?
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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.
comment [1]12. Special Edition- The Resurrection
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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.
comment [1]11. Arguments Christians Should Not Use
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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.
comment [4]10. Evil Christianity
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Perhaps the most common objection to the Christian faith is that Christianity is responsible for a great deal of evil and suffering in the world. Moreover, many Christians are morally bankrupt. This objection has received major support in recent times with the flurry of popular atheistic books being published. In this podcast, I demonstrate that, even if we grant that the Christian institution is responsible for great evil, this fact has no bearing on the truth of Christianity. For book reviews I take a look at The Impossible Faith by J.P. Holding and God? A Debate Between a Christian and an Atheist.
comment [1]9. Personal Experiences
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Many believers claim to have personal experiences of God. In this episode, I argue that such believers may rationally believe that God exists on the basis of this personal experience, apart from any consideration of the evidence for and against God’s existence. This episode has book reviews for Simply Christian by N.T. Wright and God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens. For the audience question I consider if the digits of pi constitutes a genuine example of an actual infinite in the real world.
comment [2]8. Argument from the Meaning of Life
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This episode presents an argument for believing in theism based on the meaning of life. I argue that atheistic worldviews cannot provide an objective meaning of life, and theistic worldviews can. Since we should always adopt a worldview with a possibility of meaning, we should therefore adopt a theistic worldview. Episode also contains book reviews of Breaking the Spell by Daniel Dennett and Jesus’ Resurrection: Fact or Figment by William Lane Craig and Gerd Ludemann.
comment [1]7. Special Edition- Critique of 'The God Delusion'
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Richard Dawkins has recently emerged as an extremely popular and influential atheist. His book The God Delusion was a bestseller and helped confirm Dawkins as one of the leading voices of atheism. This podcast contains a detailed critique of his book.
For the book reviews I take a look at The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel and Atheism: The Case against God by George H. Smith. For the audience question, I briefly discuss the reasons I have named the website and the podcast the “Skeptical” Christian.
comment [2]6. The Teleological Argument
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One of the best and most discussed arguments for God’s existence is the Teleological Argument from the fine-tuning of the fundamental constants of the universe. This episode takes a detailed look at this argument, and answers a slew of objections, including the controversial multi-verse hypothesis according to which the cosmos is composed of many universes. This episode also has a brief book review of God and Design, edited by Neil Manson.
comment [3]5. The Argument from Nonbelief
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One of the most popular arguments against the existence of God in philosophical circles is the Argument from Nonbelief, or the Problem of Divine Hiddenness. In this show I offer several reasons why nonbelief is not evidence against Christianity. Book reviews of Mere Christianity and God: The Failed Hypothesis. For the audience question I analyze whether nondeterministic atom decay violates the causal premise that everything which begins to exist requires a cause.
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