Classical Theism Podcast

Why bother to make technical distinctions in how we speak about God? How does St. Thomas Aquinas categorize the ways of speaking about God? Is it true that according to Aquinas, God is only Lord and Creator in our minds and not in reality? How should we understand the notion that in God there are no real relations to creatures? Ryan M. Hurd joins the show to sort through these topics. Join our com...

Who was Christopher Dawson? What made him such an important Catholic intellectual in the 20th century? What was the main focus of his work? How is his work relevant for those doing apologetics? Dr. Joseph T. Stuart joins the show to discuss these topics. Join our community: https://www.classicaltheism.com/support  

Is atheism a simpler theory than theism? What are the strongest arguments for God's existence? Is apologetics a hopeless enterprise because motivated reasoning and confirmation bias are inherently involved? Where does the Incarnation and Trinity fit into our apologetics project? How can we answer the problem of divine hiddenness? Fr. Thomas Joseph White O.P. joins the show again to examine these t...

Many critics say the Old Testament is unreliable because it contains (i) empirical claims that have been scientifically falsified, (ii) historical claims that are entirely unsubstantiated, (iii) and moral claims that are eminently repugnant. To the contrary, Dr. John Bergsma holds that the Old Testament is highly reliable and defensible as God's inspired Word. He joins us to tackle these topics. W...

What is the doctrine of divine simplicity (DDS)? What's in Dr. Tomaszewski's new book about the topic? How does DDS play a role in ultimate explanation? What is the relation between DDS and revealed theology? What should we think about the intentional collapse objection? Dr. Christopher Tomaszewski joins us to discuss these topics and take some live questions from the supporting audience. The Clas...

What is artificial intelligence? To what extent should we be concerned about the proliferation of large language models like Chat GPT? How should Catholics think about the use and spread of this technology? What does it reveal about the human person and human interaction? Heather Foucault-Camm joins us to discuss these topics.

What are the most important theological themes of the Pentateuch? Does the Pentateuch teach philosophical monotheism or rather some form of henotheism? Who wrote the Pentateuch? What are the most important lines of evidence regarding debates over Mosaic Authorship? Can Catholics tolerate multiple opinions on the matter? We examine these topics with three experts on the Pentateuch. Join the communi...

What is the document of Fiducia Supplicans all about? Does it contradict previous Church teaching? Can Catholics criticize it? Why would the Church issue a document that is so prone to abuse? In this episode, we're joined by Michael Lofton to answer 12 BIG questions about Fiducia Supplicans . Join the Classical Theism Podcast Comminuty: https://www.classicaltheism.com/support  

What is the problem of divine hiddenness? Is God a bad parent who doesn't show his presence to his children? How can Christian theists respond to skeptics who press arguments from hiddenness? Dr. Gavin Ortlund joins us to expand on some of his recent research into the problem of divine hiddenness.  Like the show?  Want to become part of our community to participate in live expert Q & A?  Join here...

What is theology? How did the theological methods of Karl Barth and Fr. Karl Rahner differ from the scholastics and neo-scholastics? What is a mystery and what is its role in theology? Can theology make progress and how does that work? Fr. Thomas Joseph White O.P. joins the show to discuss these topics. https://www.classicaltheism.com/support

Is the God of the Old Testament a vindictive bully? What should we think about the dochotomy often presented between the angry Old Testament God and the loving New Testament God? How can we respond to Bible difficulties concerning violence and Ancient Israelite warfare? Prof. Paul Copan joins us to discuss these topics as we look at his book  Is God a Vindictive Bully?  https://www.classicaltheism...

What does Lumen Gentium 8 teach about the nature of the Church? Does its teaching contradict the traditional view that Christ's Church is identical to the Catholic Church? How ought we to understand the language of "subsists in" and who suggested this language? Dr. Chris Malloy rejoins the podcast to tackle these topics. https://www.classicaltheism.com/support

What is philosophy? How is it done well in the Catholic Tradition? Dr. Jim Jacobs joins us to discuss (i) what is, (ii) what ought to be, and (iii) what ever shall be as we look at his new book  Seat of Wisdom .  The Classical Theism Podcast aims to defend Catholic Christian ideas in conversation. With the help of various guests, I defend three pillars of the Catholic Christian worldview: (1) the...

What is epistemology? What are some ideas to keep in mind if we are to have a good epistemology? How can we help raise our children to have a good Catholic epistemology? What were Fr. Bernard Lonergan's thoughts on a general method of getting to the truth? We discuss these topics and take interesting Q and A from the live audience. ----------- The Classical Theism Podcast aims to defend Catholic C...

Why are the five books of Moses so important? What are the genres and themes of the Pentateuch? What should we think about Mosaic authorship? How might we understand difficult, violent passages that conflict with modern sensibilities? Dr. Nathan Schmiedicke joins the show to discuss these topics. classicaltheism.com/support  

In this episode, we tackle 5 Big atheistic objections: 1) There's no evidence for God 2) The default position is agnosticism and/or I just believe in one less God than you.  3) Science has shown that belief in God is obsolete 4) If God truly existed, his presence should be more obvious 5) God is incompatible with horrendous evils Also, I'm giving away two free copies of Pat Flynn's new book, and y...

Ryan M. Hurd joins the podcast to argue for the following thesis: God has zero wrath. How does this make sense when the Bible speaks clearly about God's anger? Why say that God is truly love and yet not truly wrathful? In this episode, we dive into those questions and more.

What is Aquinas's argument for an Unmoved Mover? How does Shields's interpretation differ from other contemporary Thomists? What should we think about the objection from Newton's law of inertia? Dr. Daniel Shields joins the show to discuss these topics.  The Classical Theism Podcast aims to defend Catholic Christian ideas in conversation. With the help of various guests, I defend three pillars of...

Fr. Anthony Giambrone O.P. joins the show to discuss two big topics: (1) the historicity of the Gospels and (2) Jesus's statement that the Son doesn't know the day or the hour of the end of the world.  ------- The Classical Theism Podcast aims to defend Catholic Christian ideas in conversation. With the help of various guests, I defend three pillars of the Catholic Christian worldview: (1) the God...

Another chat with Pat Flynn about his new book  The Best Argument for God.  In this interview, we look more at his contemporary methodology of worldview comparison.  Check out more here: https://www.classicaltheism.com/bestargument The Classical Theism Podcast aims to defend Catholic Christian ideas in conversation. With the help of various guests, I defend three pillars of the Catholic Christian...

Jimmy Akin joins us to examine the latest Apostolic Exhortation titled Laudete Deum. We examine the authority of the document, its scientific claims, and respond to four criticisms of the document. I guarantee Jimmy will surprise you with at least one of his (always very thoughtful) answers. The show notes page for this episode is https://www.classicaltheism.com/laudatedeum If you like the show, p...

What are the  best  arguments for God's existence? How do traditional approaches differ from modern approaches? If someone affirms there is a necessary being, why should they think that being is God? Pat Flynn joins the podcast to discuss his new book  The Best Argument for God . The Classical Theism Podcast aims to defend Catholic Christian ideas in conversation. With the help of various guests,...

What is the meaning of Messiah? Why should we think Jesus is the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament? Do all messianic prophecies have the same evidentiary weight? Doesn't Jesus falsely say the end of the world will come within one generation? How can we respond to skeptical claims of critics who argue the evidence for Jesus and his Resurrection is weak and based on hearsay? Jimmy Akin joins the...

Is Genesis the most important book of the Bible? Why think so? How can we understand the text that seems to be in conflict with science? Does God's command for Abraham to sacrifice Isaac mean that God is immoral? How does the Old Testament point forward to New Covenant realities?  We discuss these topics with Steve Ray who has written an excellent new commentary on the entire book of Genesis.  ___...

What is intelligent design (ID)? Should Catholics promote it? Does it fall into simplistic God-of-the-gaps thinking or is it creationism in disguise? What should we think about the fact that the three most recent popes have endorsed evolution? Dr. Jay Richards joins us to discuss these topics. The Classical Theism Podcast aims to defend Catholic Christian ideas in conversation. With the help of va...