Think for Christ

Philosophers Dr. Daniel Vecchio and Pat Flynn are back to chat with Anthony Alberino about another paper that they've collaborated on titled "Euthyphro 2.0: The Metaphysical Dilemma of (God's) Essence and Existence." Daniel and Pat argue that theists who reject the classical notion of divine simplicity face an ontological priority problem that is structurally similar to the Euthyphro Dilemma. More...

The logical problem of evil is dead and cannot be resurrected as an argument against a philosophically robust understanding of God. Dr. Daniel Vecchio and Pat Flynn join Anthony Alberino to defend this claim and to discuss their paper, "There Can Be No Succesful Logical Argument from Evil." You can find a link to the paper here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-blackfriars/article/abs/t...

Join philosophers Anthony Alberino and Andrew Payne as they dive deep into a thought-provoking critique of the presuppositional transcendental argument. In this engaging discussion, they explore the origins, nature, and limits of transcendental reasoning. They also seek to answer the question of whether a presuppositional transcendental argument for Christian Theism has ever actually been formulat...

Join philosophers Richard Howe, Anthony Alberino, and Andrew Payne as they examine the foundations and challenges of presuppositional apologetics. While acknowledging its influence in contemporary Christian thought, the panel explores philosophical concerns, internal tensions, and practical limitations of the presuppositional method. The dialogue contrasts it with classical apologetics and probes...

In this episode Anthony Alberino explains the classical and traditional understanding of divine revelation as expressed in Scripture and in creation. The notions of supernatural theology and natural theology are explored as are the related ideas of faith and reason. The traditional view of philosophy as the handmaiden of theology and of the idea that grace perfects nature are also considered.

What is classical theism? In its broadest characterization, classical theism is a theological and philosophical tradition committed to a certain way of understanding the nature of God and his relationship to the world. Classical theists are united in their commitment to a single, fundamental, controlling idea: divine ultimacy. For the classical theist, God is to be conceived of first and foremost...

In this concluding episode of the series, We Who Wrestle with Jordan Peterson, Anthony Alberino and Andrew Payne review the final chapter of We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine in which Jordan Peterson treats of the biblical story of Jonah. Anthony and Andrew then provide their final summary analysis of the book.

The critical review of Jordan Peterson's book, We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of Divine continues as Anthony and Andrew consider chapter 8 of the work in which Peterson treats of the golden calf incident and the subsequent 40 years of wilderness wandering by Moses, Aaron, and the Children of Israel.

Anthony and Andrew continue their critical analysis of Jordan Peterson's best selling book, We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine. In this episode, they review and analyze chapter seven of the book in which Peterson considers the biblical story of Moses and the Exodus.

In his book, The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God, former UK broadcaster Justin Brierley offers a bold proposition: That the "withdrawing Sea of Faith is beginning to reach its farthest limit and that we may yet see the tide of faith come rushing back in again within our lifetimes.” Brierley argues that the first two decades of the 21st century represent the low tide of Christian belief in the...

In Chapter Six of We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine Jordan Peterson takes up the story of Abraham and Jacob to draw from them characteristics of the divine as well as deep universal lessons for life. Peterson sees in Abraham the divine call to live a life of adventure, a life of risk, a life of courage, a life of sacrifice, a life of upward striving. The story of Jacob is understo...

The next biblical story up for consideration in Chapter Five of Jordan Peterson's book, We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine, is the Tower of Babel as found in Genesis 11:1-9. What is the spirit that led mankind to pridefully and presumptuously build a tower as a monument to human ingenuity and greatness in direct opposition to the command of God? How is that sprit manifested today?...

In this lecture Andrew Payne considers the central importance of meta-narrative as a framework for meaning and the dire consequences of the postmodern dissolution of meta-narratives for the western world in general and for Christianity in particular. Using critical texts as his guide, Andrew surveys the downward spiral of the postmodern dissolution from the relativistic postwar consensus, to the t...

In this episode Anthony Alberino and Andrew Payne critical review chapters 3 and 4 of Jordan Peterson's We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine. In these chapters, Peterson takes on the biblical accounts of Cain and Abel and Noah and the Great Flood.

In this episode Anthony Alberino and Andrew Payne critically review the first two chapters of Jordan Peterson's book, We Who Wrestle with God. Peterson begins the first chapter of his work with a consideration of the creation account at the opening of the biblical book of Genesis and then moves to an interpretation of the divine likeness within man and woman. Along the way Peterson draws insights...

In Part 29 of this Introduction to Apologetics series we conclude our look at the historical case for the resurrection of Jesus by considering some of the most prominent and promising of alternative naturalistic explanations that have been offered over the centuries. Examined here are the Conspiracy/Fraud Theory, the Apparent Death (or Swoon) Theory, the Wrong Tomb Theory, the Hallucination Theory...

Anthony Alberino and Andrew Payne launch a new series of episodes dedicated to a critical evaluation of Jordan Peterson's 2024 book, We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine. In this introductory episode we discuss Jordan Peterson and his influence on western culture in general and on western Christianity in particular. We then seek to identify and unpack the ideological framework that c...

In Part 28 of this Introduction to Apologetics series we continue our review of six well-attested facts that provide evidence for the historical case for the resurrection of Jesus and from which the resurrection can be inferred. Last time we looked at the first three, in this episode we review the final three, which are: 4. The origin of the Christian faith depends on the belief of the earliest di...

In Part 27 of this Introduction to Apologetics series we continue our review of the historical case for resurrection of Jesus by considering six well attested historical facts that will serve as our evidence for the resurrection. In this episode we look at the first three, which are: 1. Jesus died by crucifixion. 2. The tomb of Jesus was found empty by a group of women followers on the first day o...

In Part 26 of this Introduction to Apologetics series we set the stage for making a historical case for resurrection of Jesus by comparing the top-down method with a bottom-up method. That is we can arrive to the truth of the Resurrection by first establishing the historical credibility of the New Testament sources which testify to the Resurrection (top-down) or by starting from some well-attested...

In this episode of Think for Christ Andrew continues to walk us through Soren Kierkegaard's highly influential work Fear and Trembling. Andrew reviews the structure of the work and explains some of Kierkegaard's big ideas. Among the central themes of the book is the "Knight of Faith" which is Kierkegaard's name for the heroic believer who recognizes his absolute duty to God above all else. Kierkeg...

Pat Flynn joins Anthony Alberino to discuss a new version of Thomas Aquinas's cosmological Argument for God. Following on the work of philosopher Barry Miller, Pat makes the case for the existence of God without appealing to the Principle of Sufficient Reason (PSR) allowing him to bypass two of the most recurrent objections to cosmological reasoning: (a) the possibility of brute facts (i.e., that...

Anthony and Andrew discuss the main theme of Soren Kierkegaard's famous short work, Fear and Trembling. We consider the main theme and aim of the book and how Kierkegaard intends us to see that the intent of Scripture is to order us to God rather than to order us to a system of ethics or morality. True faith, as seen in the story of Abraham's willingness to offer Isaac as sacrifice, requires a rad...

In Part 25 of this Introduction to Apologetics series we continue our consideration of the historical reliability of the New Testament by reviewing some reasons that can be given in support of the claim that the New Testament authors actually did provide a reliable account about Jesus. Three general categories of evidence for New Testament reliability are considered. First there is what sometimes...

In his dialogue the Republic the ancient Greek philosopher Plato famously warned us about the perils of democracy and the moral degradation of what he calls the "democratic man". In this episode, and on the heels of the historic election of Donald Trump to a second term as President of the United States, Anthony Alberino and Andrew Payne discuss what Plato has to say about democracy and its releva...