The Humble Skeptic

On this episode, Shane weaves together a variety of interviews he’s recorded over the years related to Genesis 28 and the story of Jacob’s ladder. In particular, the conversations focus on the way the narrative has been completely inverted to become another Tower of Babel tale of our ascent to God, rather than a prophecy of Christ’s descent to us in mercy and grace. For a gift of any amount to hel...

On this episode, Shane talks with Peter J. Williams about his book, The Surprising Genius of Jesus, which primarily focuses on the parables of Luke 15. Shane discussed some of these parables on episode 43 earlier this year, but the insights provided by Williams merit a brand new investigation. In short, the more we notice Jesus’ subtle allusions to the Old Testament, the more we’ll understand his...

What are we to make of the stories of Jesus recorded in the New Testament Gospels? Are they authentic accounts of his life and teaching, or collections of myths and legends that evolved over time? Shane discusses this with Cambridge New Testament scholar Peter J. Williams, principal of Tyndale House and author of Can We Trust the Gospels ? SHOW NOTES Books Can We Trust The Gospels? Peter J. Willia...

Are miracles possible, or should they be seen as violations of natural laws that all scientifically minded people should reject? Is it true that most scientists reject God? What about faith? Should it be dismissed as a kind of of irrational leap that is essentially the opposite of critical thinking? Shane discusses these questions and more with MIT professor Ian Hutchinson, author of  Can a Scient...

For two years, Steven Flo was filled with fear and despair. He retreated from the world and even began to hide from sunlight. In vampire-like fashion, he closed all his curtains and lived in what felt like a tomb. Even though he was a Lutheran pastor who often counseled others, during this period he was inconsolable, and began to despair about his own eternal state. If the Gospel was true, it was...

Jeremy Smith, founder of ReThink315 , recently invited Shane to join him for a conversation at a fundraising dinner that took place here in the St. Louis area. During their conversation, Jeremy asked Shane to discuss his conversion to Christianity from a secular Jewish background, along with many other subjects that he frequently covers on The Humble Skeptic podcast. Later in the program, the two...

How should we deal with discrepancies as we piece together evidence on important matters of interest? On this episode Shane talks with retired cold-case detective, J. Warner Wallace about following the evidence wherever it leads, whether in attempting to solve murder cases, resolving disputed claims about the past, or even when it comes to challenging our beliefs about the nature of reality itself...

On this program, Shane talks with trial attorney Craig Parton about evidential reasoning, which is an outlook that seeks to impartially examine the facts of any particular controversy to find the best explanation of those facts. The two apply this type of reasoning to the facts uncovered on the last episode about the location of The Executive Room piano bar, as well as to the field of Christian ap...

The Pilot Episode of The Humble Skeptic podcast was launched in October of 2022, and on that program, Shane told his Dad’s story of seeing Billy Joel perform at a piano bar in Los Angeles. If you’ve had a chance to listen to that episode, you know the story (if not, you should listen to that show first). On this program, Shane discusses some of the new evidence that has recently come to light abou...

According to Rebecca McLaughlin, many of the beliefs of our contemporary culture can be summarized into a kind of “secular creed.” Though Christians will agree with some parts of this creed and disagree with others, it’s important to note that many of the assumptions underlying this “statement of faith” are rooted in Christian soil. So how did Jesus completely reshape the moral imagination of West...

Some Christians in our day push back against the idea of “the separation of church and state,” but David VanDrunen argues that, in reality, this is a crucial distinction taught throughout the Bible. So what is the proper view of government from a Christian perspective, and how should we think about the relationship between theology and politics? Shane talks with Dr. VanDrunen about these and other...

According to John Dickson, “Christianity is unlike other religions in that it gambles its plausibility on supposed historical events. Christians,” he writes, “don’t merely say otherworldly things like ‘Heaven is open to all,’ but they also say things like, ‘Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate,’ and statements of this kind aren’t immune from historical scrutiny.” So, what are the considerations in...

Many scholars over the past century have claimed that John’s Gospel is the least historically reliable since it was written in the late first century. Essentially, they’ve argued that this text tells us more about the beliefs of the church in that period than it does about the historical Jesus. On this episode, Shane talks with New Testament scholar Daniel Wallace about evidence that points to a m...

On this episode, Shane walks through some of the internal and external evidence related to his investigation of The Identity of the Beloved Disciple . This builds on some of the ideas introduced on the last episode with Richard Bauckham, but this discussion of the authorship of the Fourth Gospel takes a significantly deeper dive. As you’ll see, the result of this exploration has surprising implica...

Many scholars over the centuries have questioned the historical value of John’s Gospel. Since it is assumed to be very late, it’s often argued that John’s narrative contains “theology, not history.” Richard Bauckham argues that the author of this text should be seen as a credible eyewitness of the events he reports, but that a careful look at both the internal and external evidence reveals that th...

Many New Testament scholars argue that the Gospels were told orally for the better part of a century before they were finally written down, and as such, they tell us more about later Christian beliefs than they do the life of Jesus. Cambridge scholar Richard Bauckham has argued that this entire approach to Jesus research has officially reached a dead end and that the Gospels are rooted in reliable...

What did ancient Jews believe about the mission of their Messiah? Were they expecting a kind of warrior king who would defeat the Gentiles and reign as king over all the earth, or one who would atone for sin through his own sacrificial death? On this episode, Shane discusses these questions as he interacts with a variety of texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls and other sources that give us insight int...

Galatians is one of the earliest NT epistles and it records one of the oldest controversies in church history. Surprisingly, these early Christians weren’t involved in a dispute about Jesus’ divinity, his death, burial, or even his resurrection from the dead. Rather, the controversy was specifically rooted in the implications of all these foundational beliefs. If Jesus was indeed the promised Mess...

What is the earliest Gospel in existence? It’s not Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John; according to Paul, the oldest Gospel is actually found in the book of Genesis. In Galatians 3:8 he boldly declares that the gospel of Jesus had been proclaimed in advance to Abraham. So what specific passages from Genesis did he have in mind? How did the promises given to Abraham differ from the covenant that was late...

Abdu Murray is a lawyer who was raised in a Muslim home. Though he used to argue with Christians about the superiority of Islam, after a long and careful consideration of the evidence, he eventually left the religion of his youth and converted to Christianity. On this episode, Shane talks with Abdu about his conversion experience and many other topics he addresses in his books, Grand Central Quest...

Jesus frequently taught in a way that provoked questions. This is one of the reasons his parables are sometimes difficult to understand since they were actually meant to be confusing and disorienting. On this episode, Shane discusses the purpose of Jesus’ parables with his former pastor, Scott Churnock, and together they walk through the significance of the stories found in Luke 15, including The...

How does the Christian worldview explain the problem of evil, and how does this perspective differ from other major worldview options? What are we to think about the challenges related to artificial intelligence, and how could these challenges potentially change our world? Shane Rosenthal discusses these and other questions with Oxford mathematician John Lennox, author of  Suffering Life’s Pain ,...

Are faith and science opposed to one another, or do scientific investigations sometimes lead us to ask questions of religious significance? How are we to account for the origin of our finely-tuned universe, and how do we explain the complex amount of information embedded in our own DNA? Is it rational to believe in miracles, or the narratives recorded in the Bible? On this episode, Shane discusses...

On this edition of the Humble Skeptic podcast, Shane continues his conversation with Dr. Mike Farley of Covenant Theological Seminary, and together they answer questions from the live audience. SHOW NOTES Recommended Articles Why Should We Believe The Bible? ,  Shane Rosenthal Authenticating The Fourth Gospel ,  Shane Rosenthal The Mormonization of American Christianity ,  Shane Rosenthal How to D...

There are a variety of purported “holy books” out there in the spiritual marketplace, so why should we trust the Bible over the others? How do we know this book isn’t simply a collection of myths and legends or the ravings of lunatics? Shane Rosenthal discusses these questions and more with Dr. Mike Farley who is the Visiting Professor of Applied Theology at Covenant Theological Seminary. SHOW NOT...