The Freethinking Podcasts

Sorry for the late episode, but it'll be worth it. This is the first of 3 episodes that we'll be releasing from Tim's appearance on the Tru-Id podcast, of which Adam Coleman is the host. Adam also is a contributor for Freethinking Ministries, so be sure to check out some of his blogging content. Here's the link to the Tru-Id podcast website http://www.truidpodcast.com/

We've got the second part of our two-part series answering questions from the private Facebook group. Thanks so much to everyone who asked questions. We'll be sure to do it again soon. http://freethinkingministries.com/molinism-identity-worlds/ http://freethinkingministries.com/molinism-is-biblical/

You've got questions, we've got the answers (hopefully). Today on the podcast, Tim and I answer questions from the Freethinking Podcast Facebook group. These are some awesome questions that we tackle, so be sure to listen the whole way through. We really love getting to interact with you guys both on the podcast and on the Facebook group, so I encourage you all to take advantage by going to freeth...

We're back, and we're talking about EPS! For those of you who do not know, EPS is the Evangelical Philosophical Society, which holds a conference each year where all of the smart people in evangelical thought come together and present their ideas. So as you might imagine, Tim had a lot to say. In this episode, Tim talks to me about who he met at EPS, what he presented, and all of the other great t...

It finally happened. We missed an episode of the podcast. And for that, Tim is incredibly sorry (I'm going to go ahead and blame him for this). But, hopefully this episode can help make up for that. This episode is actually a podcast that I recorded for the Christian Formation podcast, which is the podcast that my local church puts out. I talk about an article I wrote that outlines why all Christi...

In case we don't clarify it enough in this episode, both Tim and I think Greg Koukl is awesome! We've both benefitted immensely from his work, and so the corrections we're offering in these episodes are done in hopes that Koukl's positions will be made even stronger, helping him to be an even more effective apologist. In these episodes, we lay out Koukl's view on libertarian free will and why he d...

In case we don't clarify it enough in this episode, both Tim and I think Greg Koukl is awesome! We've both benefitted immensely from his work, and so the corrections we're offering in these episodes are done in hopes that Koukl's positions will be made even stronger, helping him to be an even more effective apologist. In these episodes, we lay out Koukl's view on libertarian free will and why he d...

In case we don't clarify it enough in this episode, both Tim and I think Greg Koukl is awesome! We've both benefitted immensely from his work, and so the corrections we're offering in these episodes are done in hopes that Koukl's positions will be made even stronger, helping him to be an even more effective apologist. In these episodes, we lay out Koukl's view on libertarian free will and why he d...

Sorry for the late episode everyone! That's the struggle when you forget to upload the episode before you go to work. Fortunately, that's the last you'll hear of me this week, as this interview is one that Tim did with a youth pastor at his church. It's a great conversation that we think you'll get a lot out of. Hearing how Tim interacts with people who maybe haven't studied the material as in-dep...

You've seen the bumper sticker I'm sure, with all of the symbols of modern religions. It says COEXIST. But is this an idea that is true for every religion? The answer might surprise you. Tim and I delve into what that bumper sticker really means, and we talk about an article that he wrote in which he deals with this idea. It makes for a really interesting conversation that I hope you all will enjo...

Today on the podcast we contrast two different speeches given by two different Hollywood movie stars who won two different awards. Thandie Newton won an Emmy and had some interesting comments about God that we wanted to take a look at. Chris Pratt also won an award, and we wanted to contrast the speech he gave which also referenced God, but in a much different way. The difference between the two s...

There's a bit of a role reversal in this episode. Tim interviews me about my favorite argument for God's existence: the Ontological Argument. Not only is the argument extremely controversial, but it also has an incredibly rich intellectual history, so it makes for a fascinating episode. Even if you don't find the Ontological Argument convincing (many Christians don't), I think there is value in di...

As we continue commenting on the Big Think video, what became apparent to us is that Mr. Aslan desperately wants the reason why Donald Trump was elected to have nothing to do with Hillary Clinton. But, as we talk about in this episode, his election was much more about how bad of a candidate Hillary Clinton was than anything to do with Trump's merits. In fact, one could even say that Donald Trump's...

We're going to be talking about a video by Big Think that tries to understand why evangelicals voted for Donald Trump for president. The man in the video, Reza Aslan, theorizes about several different reasons he believes that evangelicals acted out of character and voted for a man he did not think they would have voted for. Both Tim and I believe this video completely misses the whole reason Donal...

John Limanto comes back to talk about the problem of divine hiddenness. Divine hiddenness refers to the idea that, if God were to exist, we might expect him to reveal himself more fully to more people. The fact that some people do not feel as though God has been revealed to them might be thought of as an issue to the theist, particularly one who believes that God is all-loving and desires all huma...

John Limanto joins the podcast this week! For those of you who do not know, John Limanto is a 17-year-old guy from Indonesia who is one of the deepest thinkers in the Christian apologetics and theology circles. In this episode, we talk about what it's like to be into apologetics and theology at a young age and how that affects one's ministry. John is a really fun and energetic guy who I highly enc...

The second part of Dr. Jacobus Erasmsus' interview is here. We finish up our discussion on the Kalam and the argument from an actual infinite. Also, Dr. Erasmsus and Tim talk about their co-authored journal articles on Calvinism and Molinism. Finally, Dr. Erasmsus finishes up with his assessment of the "current state" of South Africa (where he's from). It is really a fascinating interview that I'm...

We've got Dr. Jacobus Erasmus on the show for this episode, who is likely one of the smartest people we'll have on the podcast. In this episode we talk about how he met Tim and the contributions he makes to Freethinking Ministries, including making Tim appear much smarter than he actually is. Not only that, but Dr. Erasmsus talks to us about the application of computer science to philosophy, as we...

That's right, it's another Q&A episode about free will! What can we say, we love to talk about it! In this episode, we look at a reader question dealing with the evil that happens to devoted Christians and babies. So yeah, not a light and breezy topic at all! This certainly is a question that is common among non-Christians. Why would God allow evil to happen to babies? Maybe they can understand so...

Can we still make real choices after God creates the world? One of the readers at the Freethinking Ministries website asked essentially this question, so Tim and I decided to take a stab at answering it (okay, so mainly Tim. But I edited the episode which has to count for something). If you're wondering if we'll ever run out of things to talk about when it comes to Molinism and free will, then you...

In the second part dealing with the problem of evil, Tim comes to the incredible conclusion that not only is God's allowing evil consistent with his moral character, but it actually would be EVIL for God to eradicate evil! You'll definitely want to hear his argument (or you can read it at the link below). It's likely clear after listening to this episode that understanding Molinism is a huge part...

After hearing a bunch of arguments FOR God's existence, it's important to understand what the other side has to offer in terms of arguments AGAINST God's existence. Most of the time, this boils down to the problem of evil, without a doubt one of the toughest questions for the Christian to answer. However, it is not without an answer, as Tim explains throughout this episode. The problem of evil see...

Today we are lucky to be joined by Mikel del Rosario, "the apologetics guy." I use quotes not in jest but because that's literally how he is known in the apologetics community. So you know he's got some great things to say! In this episode, we talk about how he first became interested in apologetics, his work with Darrell Bock at the Hendricks Center, and the divine claims of Jesus. Not only that,...

Finally, we're at the last episode on Molinism (although we certainly will be dealing with it in many future episodes). In this episode, Tim and I interact with one of the most common objections to Molinism: the grounding objection. Many opponents of Molinism feel as though this quite a strong argument against Molinism, but Tim and I don't really feel its force. In fact, as Tim shows in this episo...

Now that you know what Molinism is, we need to make sure that it is true! After all, a doctrine isn't true simply because it is useful in explaining many things. In this episode, we begin to tackle some of the more common objections to Molinism. Tim gives several helpful analogies that are useful to assuage any concerns that on this view, God still causally determines what we free creatures do. Th...