The Reluctant Theologian Podcast

Today's episode comes in two acts. In Act 1, I have a chat with my sister Kelli Mullins about her acting career, her taste in music, and her favorite doctrine--the resurrection. In Act 2, I offer my own views on so-called disability theology and the resurrection of the dead. Credits Guest: Kelli Mullins Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a lecturer and researcher at the Univ...

In today's episode, I discuss some listener questions about Hell and Instagram. I give you the gossip on the latest Carolina Analytic Theology workshop. I discuss the alleged debate between Classical Theism vs Theistic Personalism. Then I critique Brian Davies' claim that God is not a moral agent. Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a lecturer and researcher at th...

I have an incredibly sarcastic, yet intellectually rigorous episode for you today. In today’s episode, I open up the mailbag to take some rapid fire listener questions. I’ve got questions about tradition and theological method. I have questions about Eurovision, epistemic distance, and evil. I even have some mean Tweets about some of the recent episodes. Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University...

All around the world, Christians gather to partake of the Lord’s Supper. Communion, the Eucharist. What exactly is happening during the communion service? Are Christians simply engaging in a symbolic memorial service of what Christ has done? Or are the bread and wine metaphysically transformed into the body and blood of Christ? To answer these questions, I have on Dr. Steven Nemes to chat about hi...

With Easter around the corner, I thought it would be good to ask, "Why Did God Become Incarnate?" There is the typical answer of "For our salvation." I think that is a good reason for God to become incarnate, but it is not the only reason. In fact, some theologians think that God would become incarnate even without the need for atonement. In this episode, I want to explore some...

I recently recorded a talk for a conference in Pakistan on Islam, Reason, and Science. I thought it might be interesting to share this presentation with all of you. I talk about God’s reason for creating a universe like the one we find ourselves in. I say that one of God’s reason to create is to enter into friendship with humans. I then consider what kind of universe God needs to create in order t...

Thomas Jay Oord is a prolific writer who has some very provocative things to say about the nature of God, love, and creation. But not everyone loves what Tom Oord is up to. In today’s episode, I have on Brian Orr to offer a classical theistic critique of Tom’s doctrine of God. We discuss classical theism, divine power, love, creation ex nihilo, and so much more.   Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD,...

In today’s episode, I want to answer some listener questions, and follow up on my recent dialogue with William Lane Craig on God, time, and creation. I’ve been getting a lot of questions sent into the website, and Rodney and I are struggling to keep up. Soon I will be getting some summer interns from Palm Beach Atlantic University to help me out, so stay tuned for some exciting announcements about...

In today’s episode, I have Thomas Jay Oord back on. We are looking at St Augustine’s view of divine love. Tom argues that his own kenotic view of God’s love is better than Augustine’s. Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a visiting professor of philosophy at Palm Beach Atlantic University and the University of Lucerne. Guest: Thomas Jay Oord (PhD, Claremont University) is...

In today’s episode I have professor Kate Finley from Hope College. We cover all sorts of things today. We are going to talk about the problem of evil. We are going to talk about mental disorders. And we are going to talk about finding meaning in life. Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a visiting professor of philosophy at Palm Beach Atlantic University and the Universit...

I recorded this episode a year ago, but I have been sitting on it. I have been hesitant to release this episode because it expresses raw emotions and a little bit of explicit language. It is an episode responding to listener questions about struggles with faith and doubt. I have decided to release it because I think that your questions about how to deal with doubt are important. Does the provident...

Today I have a lighthearted episode for you. Ema Sani and I consider a bunch of fun and silly listener questions about God, the holidays, heavy metal, fast food, Christmas music, and more.  Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a visiting professor of philosophy at the University of Lucerne and Palm Beach Atlantic University. Guest: Ema Sani (PhD, University of Glasgow...

In this episode, I talk about the elephant in the room. Some people in the Reformed Thomist crowd are just plain mean towards everyone they disagree with. I want to help you identify red flags, but I also want to identify good people within the Reformed Thomist camp who are worth paying attention to. That way we can all do theology better together. I also chat about my episode with Owen Strachan,...

The Southern Baptists seem to be completely obsessed with Thomas Aquinas these days. Of all the dead theologians that one could flock towards, the Baptists are all about the Dumb Ox right now. But what exactly is this Reformed Thomism? Does Reformed Thomism offer a biblical view of salvation? In today’s episode, I’ve got Owen Strachan on to answer these questions and more! Credits Host: R.T. Mulli...

I was recently hanging out in Florida at the Palm Beach Atlantic apologetics conference. I got to meet some amazing people like my new colleagues and students. It was a great time. In today’s episode, I want to give you a taste of what I presented in Florida. I will address 3 objections to the coherence of theism. Can God create an unmovable stone? Can God perform a sinful action? Can a timeless G...

When times are tough, where do you place your hope? Where do you place your trust that all things will be made well in the end? Do you place your assurance in God? Well, that probably depends on what you think God is like. In today’s episode, I want to explore the classical doctrine of immutability, or the claim that God cannot change. I want to ask if immutability is necessary in order for God to...

What exactly is the relationship between the mind and the brain? Can scientifically studying spiritual experiences give us any insight into the mind/body problem? If we look at near death experiences, mediums, and reincarnation will we see evidence that the mind is more than the brain? Or will considering spiritual experiences make me look like a crazy person? In order to figure this out I decided...

Last spring, Anastasia Scrutton asked me to come to the University of Leeds to record some episodes. She was hosting a workshop on mental health and theology. Today’s episode is the first recording from that workshop. Today, I have Jose Eduardo Porcher on to talk about epistemic injustice, psychosis, and religious experience. Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a visiting...

At the recent Helsinki Analytic Theology workshop, I got the opportunity to sit down with the one and only Robin :e Poidevin from the University of Leeds. We chat about God’s relationship to space, the nature of omnipresence, and the interaction between theology and different views on the ontology of space.  Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a senior fellow at the...

In today's episode, I open up the mailbag to take some listener questions. In Act 1, I talk about Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Internet Thomism. In Act 2, I offer my critique of Jc Beall's "Contradictory Christology." In Act 3, I defend some of my recent criticisms of open theism.  Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a senior fellow at the Collegium for Ad...

Crawling forth from the icy pits of Helsinki, I have Olli-Pekka Vainio on to discuss humanity's fall from grace and the morality of original sin. We get into all sorts of related topics such as providence, human free will, and theodicy. Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a senior fellow at the Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki. Guest: Olli-Pekka Vain...

There is a dangerous trend across American evangelical universities and seminaries. Christian schools do not know how to treat faculty with dignity or respect. They also don't seem to know how to hire Christlike presidents to run their schools. In this episode, I expose mismanagement of funds, bullying, sex scandals, and the poor treatment of theology and philosophy professors. This episode is in...

Somehow I have managed to hit 100 episodes. So in today's episode I reflect on my move back to the US, The Black Dahlia Murder, mental health, providence, and the future of the show.  Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a senior fellow at the Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki. Scientific Adviser and Show Manager: Ema Sani (PhD, University of Glas...

In the last episode you heard a chat between me, Mike DeVito, and Tyler McNabb. We were considering some potential problems for neoclassical theism related to omnisubjectivity and foreknowledge. In this episode, I offer some of my current reflections on the matter. Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a senior fellow at the Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Hel...

Neoclassical theists affirm that God knows the future. Many neoclassical theists, like myself, also say that God is passible, and has a rich emotional life. But there might be a problem here. In today’s episode, I have Tyler McNabb and Mike DeVito. We are discussing a new paper of theirs that critiques my own understanding of God as passible and having foreknowledge. Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (Ph...