Think for Christ

In Part 8 of this Introduction to Apologetics we begin our consideration of the next foundational issue regarding the relationship between science and faith. The first question we tackle is this: Is science the only valid or trustworthy source of truth about reality? Those who answer 'yes' to this question endorse the anti-Christian position known as scientism.

In Part 7 of this Introduction to Apologetics we consider the foundational question, What is truth? Is what is true, true for me, or true for everyone? Is truth relative or absolute, subjective or objective? What about tolerance? And don't all religions basically teach the same thing? These are questions that we take up in this episode of Think for Christ.

In Part 6 of this Introduction to Apologetics series we begin our review of the science of apologetics by considering the classical 3-step method of making a reasoned case for Christianity.

In Part 5 of this Introduction to Apologetics series we consider the New Testament teaching about the inner witness of the Holy Spirit at work in the life of the believer and how this witness relates to the task of apologetics.

Thank you for a great year one!

In Part 4 of this Introduction to Apologetics series, we take up the question: What is the relationship between faith and reason? Is faith blind or irrational? Is reason opposed to faith? In this episode we look at the classical Christian view of faith and reason.

In Part 3 of this Introduction to Apologetics series we consider the question: What is apologetics good for? What role can it play in the life of the Christian? These are the questions we take up in this third episode of our series Introduction to Apologetics.

In Part 2 of this Introduction to Apologetics series, we do a brief survey of apologetics as it has existed in the Church from the post-apostolic age to the present day.

Gaven Kerr joins Anthony Alberino on Think for Christ to talk about Aquinas' original metaphysical insights and his unique and powerful argument for the existence of God that he draws from them as found in Aquinas' early work "On Being and Essence." Gaven has written a book length exposition of the argument in his fantastic 2015 work titled: Aquinas's Way to God: The Proof in De Ente et Essentia.

In Part 1 of this Introduction to Apologetics series we begin by looking at the nature of apologetics. We then turn to consider the support for apologetics in the New Testamant.

Pat Flynn joins Anthony Alberino to discuss his latest book: The Best Argument for the Existence of God. Amazon link to Pat's book: https://www.amazon.com/Best-Argument-God-Patrick-Flynn/dp/1644137801/ref=sr_1_1?crid=23JG38HM01ZCR&keywords=the+best+argument+for+god+patrick+flynn&qid=1692900330&sprefix=the+best+argument+for+g%2Caps%2C229&sr=8-1 Link to Pat's YouTube Channel Philosop...

In this final episode in the series, we take aim at the most popular view of the mind among physical reductionists: the computational theory. Many today believe the mind is nothing more than a complex biological computer and that thinking is nothing more than running the right kind of program. The computational view of the mind is without question the greatest source of optimism for the project of...

In this episode we begin to consider the problem of rationality with a look at the Argument from Reason.

Dr. James Dolezal joins Anthony Alberino on Think for Christ to discuss his book, All That Is in God: Evangelical Theology and the Challenge of Classical Christian Theism.

In the previous episode we looked at what I consider to be the best hope and strongest motivation for the belief that artificial intelligence could one day become actually intelligent. That is the philosophical view called physical reductionism. We saw that there is widespread belief among computer scientists, neuroscientists, cognitive scientists, and philosophers of mind that the human mind is n...

Why do so many people, including academics, believe that it is possible to make a fully intelligent AI? In this episode, Anthony Alberino explores the thinking behind the claim of AI sentience and examines a widely held view in the philosophy of mind regarding the nature of human intelligence that makes the notion of a fully intelligent AI plausible.

The topic of artificial intelligence has become a critical one lately. There is a ton of chatter about AI right now; it has become one of the most pressing issues of our time. Unfortunately, in the midst of all this noise, I think the most important and profound question about AI is getting very little attention. That question is this: Is it possible for AI to become truly intelligent? This is the...

There was a popular saying that was a kind of mantra in the Middle Ages that went like this: "Theology is the queen of the sciences and philosophy is its handmaiden." What does this mean? And how is philosophy related to Christian theology? In this episode Dr. Anthony Alberino recounts the failure of Greek philosophy to reconcile itself with Greek religion and the success of Christian theology to...

As I said in the previous episode, many contemporary philosophers do not find the literal meaning of the term 'philosophy' (lit. the love of wisdom) to be very enlightening or helpful when understanding the nature of the subject. Most philosophy textbooks ignore this original meaning and instead define philosophy by more or less looking around and observing what philosophers are up to today. But t...

So, what is philosophy anyway? In this introductory episode we take a look at the nature of philosophy, its characteristics, and its various fields. We then consider a working definition of philosophy. Philosophy is generally divided into three broad fields. First there is Metaphysics, or the study of being; then epistemology, or the study of knowledge; finally there is value theory, or the study...

It’s instructive to think about human reason as a kind of light . Light enables our eyes to have access to the world––it illuminates things so that they may be seen by us. Likewise, by the light of reason human beings are able to see/understand that which is intelligible in things. By means of physical light we are able to see physical things in reality (a tree, a dog, a human); by means of the li...

Recently I was out of town and away from my local church and I was watching a sermon on tv being delivered by a local pastor from the city in which I was staying. This was a very popular pastor in the city and the head of a large church with several satellite campuses, so he was speaking to thousands of people. He made a statement in his sermon that I found to be deeply problematic. He said, “Thos...

My intention in the last two episodes has been to disabuse us of the idea that faith and reason are somehow fundamentally at odds with one another or that faith is an exclusively religious phenomenon, by showing that faith is a natural, rational, and practically unavoidable mode of human knowing. We believe things by faith when we trust in the testimony of another. If the person that we believe is...

Last time we looked at defective view of faith, which is the idea that faith is a kind of noncognitive, irrational, and emotional activity that is entirety distinct from and even in opposition to reason. We also briefly considered a much better definition of faith that accords with our ordinary, commonsense usage: faith is belief based on the authority and testimony of another. In this episode we...

In my experience, one of the most poorly understood relations among believers is that of faith and reason. Few have a clear understanding of the nature of faith, fewer still have a clear understanding of the relationship between faith and reason in the life of a Christian. So, over the next several episodes we’re going to tackle the subject head-on and try to work our way out of this confusion. Pe...