The Blue Collar Scholar

Theologians divide God's attributes into two categories: communicable attributes, which we share with God (only in much lesser capacity), and incommunicable attributes, which show us that God is much different than we are. This sermon deals with some of God's incommunicable attributes. We discuss in this episode (1) God's independence/aseity/self-existence, (2) God's immutability or His unchangeab...

The Real Theology series continues as we discuss what the One God (see last episode: "There Is One God") is like. He is (1) all powerful, (2) all knowing, (3) in all places, (4) in all time, (5) all wise, & (6) all good.

This fall begins a new project. I will be preaching at a local nursing home facility, and I will be sharing those sermons on this feed. Our first series is a 7-part series about Christian theology. In this episode, we examine what it means to say that there is one God, and why it is important that God is a singular Being.

Based on the frequency of End Times-related content on this podcast feed, I fear that you may misinterpret how fanatical I am about eschatology. Believe me, I am not an End Times nut. I am quite non-dogmatic in my eschatological views. However, eschatology is a popular topic. Of all the Lifetime Learning classes I have taught, it was the Revelation class that easily had the highest enrollment. The...

The final apologetic argument in this series is an in-depth look at the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Christ is raised from the dead, then that validates so much - perhaps everything - in the Christian worldview. In this episode I look at the Resurrection of Jesus, analyzing this event to see if it can be defended with logic, Scripture, and evidence. I also take a look at a few common arguments...

This episode functions as a conclusion to the apologetics section of the Ambassador Academy series, except for the argument from the Resurrection of Christ, a topic that I saved for the upcoming Palm Sunday evening service. This episode covers the argument from consciousness, Pascal's Wager, proper basicality in regards to belief in the existence of God, and a response to the Problem of Evil/Pain/...

Genesis chapter 1 is probably not intended by God to be a scientific text. Rather, it appears likely that it is a polemic written against all of the polytheistic nature gods from the nations around Israel, and Genesis 1 is a bold statement that YHWH is transcendent above His creation and that all of the things that all the weaker gods govern - the waters, livestock, the moon, etc. - were all creat...

The ultimate Teleological Argument for the Existence of God is Creationism. Creationism comes in 3 forms: Young Earth Creationism, Old Earth Creationism, and Evolutionary Creationism (otherwise known as theistic evolution). Creationism's strongest counter-argument is Neo-Darwinian Evolution. So this episode digs into Neo-Darwinism and other forms of evolutionary theories, as well as Intelligent De...

The apologetics subsection of the Ambassador Academy curriculum continues with an examination of the fine-tuning of the universe and how that strongly supports the existence of a mighty Designer.

In 2018, I was more critical of Dr. William Lane Craig and his theological paradigm than I am today. And yet, even in 2018, I was a big believer in the power of Dr. Craig's "Kalam Cosmological Argument." (1) Everything that begins to exist has a cause. (2) The universe began to exist. (3) Therefore, the universe has a cause. This argument feels both common sense but also underwhelming. However, wh...

This episode analyzes the apologetics arguments of St. Thomas Aquinas. Most of his arguments are cosmological arguments or are cosmological-argument-adjacent.

Okay. So, I'm not fully convinced that the Ontological Argument is a persuasive argument for the existence of God. But Anselm of Canterbury and Dr. Alvin Plantiga swear by it, so who am I to ignore it amidst a series on apologetics arguments? Therefore, this episode is my fumbling attempt to explain and defend this complex and oft-misunderstood argument.

This episode begins with an impromptu discussion of various English translations of the Bible. Then, we discuss the different kinds of apologetics and the different philosophies apologists use to defend the Christian faith. Then the main point of this episode: we see how the Apostles Paul & Peter engage in apologetics in the New Testament.

After the New Year 2018, our Ambassador Academy class switched from a heavy emphasis on theology to a heavy emphasis on apologetics. (Note: a rough definition of "apologetics" is the intellectual defense of the Christian faith.) In preparing for the new series, I came to the conclusion that I ought to tell my story so that it would be clear why apologetics is so important to me. So this episode is...

This is the final episode in the theology section of the Ambassador Academy lectures. Starting in the next episode, we will switch to apologetics. This theology lecture, about the Incarnation (given just before Christmas 2017), provides analysis for the scriptural data presented in the previous episode.

This episode introduces the theological topic of the Incarnation, which is when God the Son became flesh (John 1:14) and dwelt with us humans as one of us humans. This episode, part 1, presents the texts of Scripture regarding the Incarnation in order to flesh them out in the next episode, part 2.

Having established the biblical data regarding the Trinity in the previous episode, this episode digs into the philosophical, logical, and theological implications of the doctrine of the Trinity.

In discussing the attributes of God, this series touched on the topic of the Trinity frequently. Now the Ambassador Academy switches from the attributes of God to the Trinity as the main topic. In this episode, we lay the Scriptural foundations of the Trinity, setting up the next episode where we analyze the Trinity philosophically and theologically.

This is the 5th of a 5-part series on the attributes of God. We close out with discussions of God's Wisdom, Mercy/Grace, Immutability, (or Unchangeableness), Jealousy, Justice/Wrath, Infinity, & Perfection.

Part 4 of "The Attributes of God" switches from attributes of God's abilities to attributes of God's character. This episode discusses God's Love, Holiness, Righteousness, Impeccability, Veracity (or Truthfulness), & Goodness (or Omnibenevolence).

In this series, I divide God's attributes into Abilities (or *what* God is) and Character (or *who* God is). This episode sees us complete the Abilities category by examining God's Omniscience, Providence, Incomprehensibility, & Invisibility.

In the previous episode, we only got through 2 of God's many attributes. This episode represents a welcome increase in pace. This episode examines 5 of God's many attributes: Sovereignty, Transcendence, Eternity, Omnipresence, & Omnipotence.

The next five episodes (including this one) will be about the attributes (or traits) of God. But first, what is the definition of God? The definition I came up with is thus: God is the uncreated Creator and the greatest possible Being, entirely unique in being, manifesting Himself in three Persons; and He is the Source of all reality and life, perfect in love and holiness, with all possible power...

In the previous episode we learned that the Bible has two attributes: Authority, and Inerrancy. In this episode we examine the other three attributes of Scripture: Clarity, Necessity, & Sufficiency. The clarity of Scripture means that, while not every single verse of the Bible is crystal clear, the Holy Bible is readily available to any reader or listener, and that the Word of God can be understoo...

Christianity is a doctrinal religion that is entirely dependent upon God's revealed Word in the Holy Bible. But what is the Bible? In this episode, we will look at 2 aspects of Scripture: Authority & Inerrancy. The Authority of Scripture means that the words of Scripture are God's Word in such a way that to disbelieve or to disobey Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God. Inerrancy, a doctrine t...