Doubts Aloud Podcast

Show NotesWe looked at Design Arguments in our Episodes 82 & 85 but avoided diving deep into Fine Tuning, waiting for our discussion with Phil. It was worth it! We covered questions such as what are the actual physical observations which we call Fine Tuning? What are the main explanations for the observations that cosmologists/physicists generally think most likely and how popular are they among the scientist? Phil's survey results on that are fascinating.Apologies for some technical difficulties with the podcast, Andrew was ill at the last minute, (he's now recovering). Links:Don't miss Phil's book:Battle of the Big Bang: The New Tales of Our Cosmic Origins Hardcover, by Niayesh Afshordi and Phil Halper. May 2025https://www.amazon.co.uk/Battle-Big-Bang-Cosmic-Origins/dp/0226830470 Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using:  doubtsaloud@gmail.com

Show NotesWe welcome again our great friend John Nelson as our guest. John has started an excellent academic blog, “Behind the Gospels”, which we discuss at length. We cover individual issues that John has covered, especially whether Matthew the disciple was the author of Matthews Gospel. We couldn't hold back from asking about some hot topics, such as whether ‘John' knew the synoptic gospels or ‘Luke' had read Josephus. The discussion also extended to wider issues like the cultural influences behind the Gospels, what we can say on the degree of factual material in them and the authority that traditions about Jesus's words and deeds may have held in the period before the gospels were written. Links:www.BehindtheGospels.com Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using:  doubtsaloud@gmail.com

Show NotesWe welcome a new guest Jim Paul, a Christian thinker from the UK L'Abri community. He introduces us to a view of Heaven which is in contrast to the familiar ethereal heaven in our culture.  The familiar view is centuries old with its fluffy clouds and plump babies with wings, but it is a corruption of the Bible's view, which is more earthy and on reflection more attractive.  Jim has written a book on this, “What on Earth is Heaven?”, which we discuss at length. Links:Jim's book “What on Earth is Heaven?”:https://www.amazon.com/What-Earth-Heaven-James-Paul/dp/1789742218 Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using:  doubtsaloud@gmail.com

Design Arguments Part 2 Show NotesIn episode 82 we started our discussion on Design Arguments and got up to the start of the 19thC.  Later in that century the argument was turned on its head by Darwin and his Origin of Species. We discuss this and move on to modern creationism (a little) and Intelligent Design (a lot), selecting by our design – not at random - two more chapters from the 50 Arguments for Faith book which is heavy on Intelligent Design. Links: The 50 Arguments for Faith book: “Evidence for God: 50 Arguments for Faith from the Bible, History, Philosophy and Science” by Mike Licona and William Dembski.  (It can be found on Amazon.) Frances mentioned this by a practising Jew who rejects the Intelligent Design concept of irreducible complexity:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3721655/ Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using:  doubtsaloud@gmail.com

Show NotesWe start from an informative update on the Flat Earth movement. Their model for the earth usually includes a wall of ice round the rim – Anarctica, that implies the 24 hour sunshine in the Anarctica summer is impossible and their claims often include that it does not occur.  So what happens when a group of prominent Flat Earth advocates are paid to visit Anarctica during its summer? That happened this month. For the rest of the show we discuss another story doing the rounds. It is prompted by the Museum of the Bible putting on display a mosaic from Israel which was uncovered in 2005 and was discussed back then. It dates to around 230AD and includes the phrase “God Jesus Christ” in one of its inscriptions. We deal with the context both in terms of the developing doctrine of the Trinity and in terms of apologists jumping on the latest ‘thing'.  Links: A full video on the update on a Flat Earthhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEc86p1vgLM Short one:https://youtube.com/shorts/HTSvI--ZVYg?si=jsEoFYmlLpHIzdXc CBN (The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc) on the ‘Jesus Mosaic':https://youtu.be/C_fTfAsJ5Lc?si=KdeNMfBMspCUfHfh Cameron' Capturing Christianity videohttps://youtu.be/zFPHoLFijUs?si=oKxGbVKKRK3REwnY A qualified academic Professor Christopher Rollston is Sean McDowell's guest here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw4lme5eLmA And here is a blog by Prof Rollston of George Washington Universityhttp://www.rollstonepigraphy.com/?p=1004 Past excitements:Curse Tablet – our episode 68 First-century fragment of MarkWallace's online announcementhttps://danielbwallace.com/2012/03/22/first-century-fragment-of-marks-gospel-found/His apology blog:https://danielbwallace.com/2018/05/23/first-century-mark-fragment-update/The Wikipedia articlehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus_137 The mummy mask papyrus, Craig Evans:https://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/21/living/gospel-mummy-mask/https://www.northridgerochester.com/theology-1/mummy-mask-may-reveal-oldest-fragment-of-the-gospel-of-markPiece by Richard Carrierhttps://www.richardcarrier.info/archives/13935Claims of it being a front for getting fragments without need for provenancehttps://art-crime.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-gospel-truth-how-laundering-of.html Searches for Noah's Arkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark Egyptian Chariot Wheels in the Red Seahttps://biblearchaeologyreport.com/2018/10/11/fake-news-in-biblical-archaeology/ Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using:  doubtsaloud@gmail.com 

Show NotesWe start with the recent UK Parliament decision in favour of assisted dying and the religion and secular division that it brought out. Then we enjoy discussing Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol at length.  There's a debate among academics on whether it is a fully secular story, or if it is a Christian allegory.  We wade in.  The question on what Dickens' own beliefs were has relevance and it seems that he had a “works not faith” view of Christianity, especially with reference to A Christmas Carol (or in Ed's words “a wishy washy Anglican”). We see a message similar to Jesus' in Luke's gospel in particular as well as the synoptics in general, which is in conflict with material in the rest of the NT. Links:The BBC documentary on assisted dying “Better Off Dead?” with actress Liz Carrhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001z8wc A short academic resource on Dickens and Christianityhttps://dickens.ucsc.edu/resources/faq/religion.html We recommend the wikipedia page on the novellahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol And the Melvin Bragg BBC Radio 4 “In Our Time” episode on ithttps://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0012fl5 Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using:  doubtsaloud@gmail.com

Show NotesWe start with the next chapter selected by the randomiser in our 50 Arguments for God book.  “Can We Be Certain That Jesus Died on a Cross? A Look at the Ancient Practice of Crucifixion” We agree that the answer is Yes, and enjoy ourselves on the way.  Then we move on to another random chapter which is on how our planet is ideal for doing astronomy – “Designed for Discovery”.  This leads to a wider discussion on Design Arguments. We look at their history and cover Aquinas, Hume and Paley, but run out of time at the start of the 19thC. Links: The 50 Arguments for Faith book: “Evidence for God: 50 Arguments for Faith from the Bible, History, Philosophy and Science” by Mike Licona and William Dembski.  (It can be found on Amazon.) The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Hume and The Argument from Design:https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume-religion/#ArgDesAnd on Design Arguments generally:https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/teleological-arguments/#Int Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using:  doubtsaloud@gmail.com 

Show NotesEd continues relating the history of the remote isolated Scottish island of St Kilda and its amazing community.  We had finished Part 1 at about 1700 AD with a kind of Utopia and a gentle folksy religion.  Here we discuss its decline (our take) into a harsh, puritan, rule-bound and Calvinist kind of religion. And we ask how it could have happened and whether it's a case of Hitchen's “Religion poisons everything”. Links: That key book:Tom Steel, The life and death of St Kilda, 1975, Fontana.  French website on St Kilda translated –www.kildaprojet.com That Napier Commission on the Outer Hebrides – interviews:https://napier-outerhebrides.blogspot.com/2010/05/st-kilda-2-june-1883-i.html Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using:  doubtsaloud@gmail.com 

Show NotesEd shares from his longstanding interest in the remote isolated Scottish island of St Kilda and its amazing community that survived for 1000s of years up to 1930.  In part 1 we cover its geography, community structure and social conditions, and then its religious history finishing around 1700 which was when outsiders began worrying about their souls.  How did a small isolated community work in beliefs, morals and even economic arrangements? Links: Do a google-images on “St Kilda Scotland” That key book:Tom Steel, The life and death of St Kilda, 1975, Fontana.  Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using:  doubtsaloud@gmail.com 

Show NotesWe covered the book of Daniel in episode 44 explaining it's likely ‘forgery' status and we briefly discussed his 70 Weeks prophecy in that episode.  Here Andrew leads us into a deep dive, plunging the murky waters.  Indeed, studying the prophecy has been called a ‘dismal swamp'. We discuss how all approaches, apologetic or scholarly, lead to difficulties making “Daniel's” weird maths fit with historical dates. Needless to say, apologetic claims that the fulfilled prophecy of the 70 Weeks are amazing, arresting and should convert an open minded sceptic don't convince us. At the start of the episode we discuss the prophecy made in April 2024 of the near-miss shooting of Donald Trump. In some respects, this is a good match to the church's treatment of the 70 weeks prophecy. Links: Richard Carrier on Daniel (he includes a section on the 70 Weeks): https://www.richardcarrier.info/archives/18242 Key verses: Daniel 9.24-27. (It's worth reading more for context.) The clip Andrew gave claiming the 70 weeks verses will convert you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWiJCH07kAg&t=29s A great scholarly paper from “The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures” by George Athas which outlines the difficulties in trying to get a fit to historical events and suggesting a theory of what the author of Daniel was doing: https://jhsonline.org/index.php/jhs/article/download/6231/5259/13824 Trump shooting original April 2024 prophecy (start 11 mins in): https://youtu.be/Ey0qVzG8_vU?si=5b2U1I8oDSYVFFq8 An apologist discussing the shooting after the event: https://youtu.be/vsidOPEAERE?si=Js-Gy2UuicT7VwPS Doubts Aloud Links:

Show NotesIn Part 1, friends of the show John Nelson and Josh Parikh returned as guests and discussed “McGrewvianism”, which is the apologetic approach of partners Tim & Lydia McGrew.  Their critiques of McGrewvianism centred largely in lack of engagement in the last 150 years of scholarship into the New Testament documents and they related this extensively to the McGrew's use of ‘Undesigned Coincidences' to establish the historical reliability of the NT narratives.Jonathan McLatchie, who we also consider a friend of the show, is in the McGrew camp and wrote a helpful response blog, which also concentrated on Undesigned Coincidences.  In this episode we discuss his responses and we take a wider look at contradictions between texts as a potentially symmetrical opposite concept to Undesigned Coincidences. Links:We discussed ‘undesigned coincidences' with Jonathan McLatchie in our episode 29. Jonathan's blog, which we are responding to, is:https://jonathanmclatchie.com/have-john-nelson-and-josh-parikh-refuted-the-reportage-model/   The tome Andrew mentioned on the Encyclopaedia of Bible Difficultieshttps://www.amazon.co.uk/International-Encyclopedia-Difficulties-Understand-Zondervans/dp/0310241464 The criminal case Frances discussed: a summary of the Hanratty case is here:https://mobile-webview.gmail.com/-1530513736/426787727007691964(You can access the full judgment from a link on the summary page.) [We didn't give Bible references in the podcast to the uncertainty over the disciple Andrew's home, which impacts on Philip's. They are John 1v44 and Mark 1v21, 22 & 29] Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using:  doubtsaloud@gmail.com 

Show NotesWe return to our “Doubts Aloud Book Club” with a second episode on Tom Holland's book ‘Dominion' which has caused quite a stir in Christian apologetics circles over the last few years. We cover some of the critical responses, including ours. But most importantly we sought out responses from historians.   Tom makes a bold and interesting set of claims that we list, and then we assess them with a wider philosophical view to go with the historical story that Dominion presents. Links:The book Dominion:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dominion-Making-Western-Tom-Holland/dp/0349141207 Book reviews we found:Jenkins - in Christianity Todayhttps://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/january-web-only/tom-holland-dominion-christian-revolution.html De Groot – in The Timeshttps://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/dominion-by-tom-holland-review-7pc255qs7 Jonathan Sumption – in The Spectatorhttps://www.spectator.co.uk/article/did-christianity-make-the-western-mind-or-was-it-the-other-way-round/ The Unbelievable episodes with Tom that we discuss:With AC Grayling:https://youtu.be/7eSyz3BaVK8?si=TOdafNjHf22AJuovAnd with Andrew Ollerton:https://youtu.be/f2_W6eCijV4?si=QBEuJnA1N-xyxS7t The Jennifer Glance book on slavery in early Christianityhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Slavery-Early-Christianity-Jennifer-Glancy/dp/0800637895 Rowan Williams book, Passions of the Soulhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Passions-Soul-Rowan-Williams/dp/1399415689Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using:  doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person again at the monthly  “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion  Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Show NotesFriends of the show John Nelson and Josh Parikh return as guests together. They introduce Josh's new term to the world: McGrewvianism, which is the apologetic approach of partners Tim & Lydia McGrew.  They are scholars in their own fields but do not use the methods of modern NT scholarship when arguing for the historical reliability of the gospels. Potentially this can be seen as fresh air, but Josh & John dig deeper. This will be the first episode of a 2 part set. Josh & John cover such topics as McGrewvianism treatment of modern NT scholarship and their key ‘undesigned coincidences' argument. Links:We discussed ‘undesigned coincidences' with Jonathan McLatchie in our episode 29. John's blog, which has a post on undesigned coincidences, is:https://www.behindthegospels.com/ The McGrewshttps://lydiamcgrew.com/Tim doesn't seem to have a home page for his work, search for him on Amazon, or here:https://wmich.edu/philosophy/directory/mcgrew  Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using:  doubtsaloud@gmail.com

Show NotesTom Holland's book ‘Dominion' has caused quite a stir in Christian apologetics circles over the last few years and we've been reading it. We also attended a church leader's evening where he was the speaker.  So we thought we would start a “Doubts Aloud Book Club” with Dominion the first book covered.We introduce Tom, his current faith position and the book, we discuss his style and how much we enjoyed the read.  We present the key messages that Tom seeks to make and talk about whether it's a book useful for apologetics.  Finally, we read some extracts that had struck us and discussed them.A later episode on the book will cover more on the critical responses, including ours.  He makes a bold and interesting set of claims that we can both learn from and see where we, and historians, may disagree. Links:That bookhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Dominion-Making-Western-Tom-Holland/dp/0349141207 The Justin Brierley Spectator article:https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/a-christian-revival-is-under-way-in-britain/  Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using:  doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person again at the monthly  “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion  Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London 

Show NotesWe are excited to have guest Rev Michael Roberts with us, he's an Oxford geologist who subsequently became an Anglican vicar. He is extremely knowledgeable on the history of geology and the age of the earth in science, Christian academic thought, theology and the modern Young Earth movement. Did you know that Darwin was a geologist at the start of his career? Neither did we. Links:Michael's blog is:https://michaelroberts4004.wordpress.com/Michael's paper “Just before the Beagle”:https://drive.google.com/file/d/17qo3zEeYKZlwL_Y8DpoX3F-35BO4rPPz/view?usp=sharing His 5 day trip exploring Darwin in Waleshttps://www.newscientist.com/tours/retracing-charles-darwins-travels-across-north-wales/?fbclid=IwAR372bjMkHAcr0UU4p6B9KqztYkaOk5bxLH4PUgXRT06Nfo75iuhank-gac That Ovid bookhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamorphoses That Genesis Flood 1961 book:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Genesis_Flood(The link also mentions the Bernard Ramm book “The Christian View of Science and Scripture” we mentioned.) That irreverent cartoon on Adam and Eve overpopulating the globe due to obedience:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziQrzXmjk-M Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using: doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person again at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Show NotesThis month we return to that different form of Apologetics - Presuppositional Apologetics. Please see Part 1 - Episode 70 - where we gave a more social and historical background to it. Here we look at the basic argument made: the Transcendental Argument for God, “TAG”. We set it out and discuss implications and objections to it. Links:The Debunking Christianity material on Presup:https://www.debunking-christianity.com/2022/08/the-failure-of-van-tillian.html The short clip of someone doing a ‘reverse Presup' on Presuppositional Apologists, invoking a “non-conscious power”:https://youtu.be/BPF8lcYWQ1Y?si=_B8mO9jUKdA6z8Q7 Blog expanding on our point that our desire for there to be reliable rationality does not show there ishttps://useofreason.wordpress.com/2019/05/10/the-limitations-of-transcendental-arguments/ Julian Baggini's book “How the World Thinks”https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-World-Thinks-History-Philosophy/dp/1783782285 The Dan Linford paper given to us by Josh on skeptical theism and how it destroys TAGhttps://www.dropbox.com/s/4iojx3honcv4mv4/On_Knowledge_Without_God_Van_Tillian_Pre.docx?fbclid=IwAR34-aQh0Kny9J6pTCQbSKyiiuZauzza1j4ddu4WeCTE3XsXCGqdJFq4sa4 Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using: doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person again at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Show NotesWe deal with the current conflict in Israel and Gaza by looking at the influence of religion, in the minds of the Israeli leaders & the settlers taking land in the West Bank and also in the minds of the Evangelical Zionist backers in the UK and US. The UK evangelical influence is more of historical interest but the US is very current and is influencing events now. Links etc:The video by Al Jazeera used for extracts at the start of the show – “How Evangelicals Betray Christians In The Holy Land”https://youtu.be/nHT-SjIM0tA?si=yok7IZPkxAMyasQf Sky News – the Benjamin Netanyahu speech with translation, Amalek bit from 1min50shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5LmB6uup3o Guardian article with quotes from a settler and an administrator of settlementshttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/18/these-are-biblical-lands-promised-to-us-jewish-settlers-in-west-bank-hope-gaza-conflict-will-help-their-cause Pew Research on Jews in Israelhttps://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/03/08/in-israel-jews-are-united-by-homeland-but-divided-into-very-different-groups/ Israel Policy Forum article (an American Jewish organization that works for a negotiated solution to the conflict)https://israelpolicyforum.org/west-bank-settlements-explained/ The video from Turkish TV with a Rabbi condemning Israeli aggression in Gazahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FNtMV2i8-8 Factual article on the British evangelicals behind the Balfour Declarationhttps://balfourproject.org/evangelicals-the-balfour-declaration-and-zionism/ UK Christian teacher David Pawson's lecture:https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ika1apsadrQ Video of Franklin Graham Meeting Netanyahuhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozWdH8s32pI Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using: doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person again at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Show NotesMerry Christmas one and all and what could be more festive than digging into the historical reliability of that Census? The one Luke uses to set up his nativity narrative. We make our case as to why this matters, after all, Luke is said to be a great historian by many. Then we get to it dealing with the 3 main historical issues with the census as presented by Luke:he says it covered the entire Roman world but there is no record of it elsewhere,he presents this strange idea of ‘everyone' going to their ancestral home to register andhe that it took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria which was about 10 years after Herod died, but Luke (and Matthew) also place the narrative in Herod's reign.Of course we dig into the better defenses apologists and bible scholars have proposed. Links etc:Read the key parts of the narrative: Luke1v5, v26-7 then Lk2v1-8 and then v22 and v39. A simple Uni Idaho link we used to start our researchhttps://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/ngier/census.htm

Show NotesIn this episode Andrew shares his research on the origins of the Book of Mormon and the early roots of the Mormon church. This includes discussing the belief that gold plates were discoverd near New York in the early 19th century that gave the purported story of jews emigrating from the holy land to the americas in around 600 BC. Andrew also covers aspects of the character and background of the founder of the Mormon church, Joseph Smith. Also discussed is the cultural context and setting with the probable sources that influenced the formation of the book of Mormon. We also discuss the very facinating succesors to the Jospeth Smith, Brigham Young and also his rival, a certain James Strang and his very facinating story. For the hosts of this podcast we cannot help but see so many parallels with Mormonism and evangelical christianity. The many schisms, the fundamentalist and progressive divide, the apologetic strategies, prophecies that were unfullfilled and the pure devotion and passion for the book of Mormon as the word of God. All these aspects ring so true with evanglical christianity. Its easy as outsiders to see right through Mormonism but not so easy to look at ones own faith with the same level of honest critiscism.We have so much evidence to wade through with Mormon history and we can't help but think what would the early roots of Christianity look like if we had the wealth of contempory evidence that Mormon history has at our disposal. Would it bring to light the dark side of the human interactions and stories surrounding christian origins that would shock us if the reality was like that of the history of the Mormon church?The facinating story of James Strang, a contender to succeed Josepth Smith. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl83_X1Zslw

Show NotesAndrew has been following a story about a ‘Curse Tablet' found at an archaeological site in Israel which proponents claim should up-end Biblical Archaeology in such a way as to confirm the conservative evangelical view of the Torah – the first five books of the OT. We look into it and hear from both sides.This led on to Ed introducing the chapter in the ‘50 Arguments for God' book on Biblical Archaeology. It concentrated on the NT and we picked up especially on one claim in the chapter, that the archaeology concerning 1stC tombs around Jerusalem helped confirm the gospel account. After some digging (yes, a pun) we think that we unearthed (sorry) a different story.Links:Link for apologists making hay on Curse Tablet: Sean McDowel with the main proponenthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEVEKX_0x08And after the push back, another episode with a Christian scholar who dismissed the Curse Tablethttps://youtu.be/SBmuNw59AOgResponses from academic, Dr. Robert Cargillhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkBByBE2OUohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0Scp85Nlnk

This episodes is Part 2 of a 2 part show with just with Andrew on his own and and he recounts in detail his own de-conversion story.

This episodes is Part 1 of a 2 part show with just with Andrew on his own and and he recounts in detail his own de-conversion story.

Show NotesWe continued our discussion with friend of ours Josh Parikh - a Christian Apologist who has always thought deeply about the issues and maintained intellectual integrity.There were two Old Testament case studies that Josh included in his talk “A Tumultuous Period in Apologetics?” to the Discussion Group in London, and we were keen not to miss these out: the famous story of bears mauling 42 children and the patriarchy with misogamy in both the narratives and especially in prophets Hosea 2, Nahum 3 and most horrifyingly in Ezekiel 16. We also covered some feedback on Part 1 concerning the American church and apologetics scene ... we gave the UK view on it and feedback from US listeners would be great. Links:“God: An Anatomy” by Francesca Stavrokopoulou“Raw Revelation: The Bible They Never Tell You About” by Mark Roncace“The Violence of God and the War on Terror” by Jeremy Young Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using: doubtsaloud@gmail.com

Show NotesJosh Parikh is an old friend of ours having contributed to our Discussion Groups over many years as a Christian Apologist who has always thought deeply about the issues and maintained intellectual integrity. He has been on a journey, especially having engaged with Biblical scholarship. This has overlapped with his time at Oxford University and continued since graduating. Like many, he has remained a Christian and has moved in a ‘progressive' direction. Josh recently gave a talk “A Tumultuous Period in Apologetics?” to the “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in London, and we were eager to have him share that material on the show. Josh sees a crisis not just in the scandals such as with Ravi Zacharias but at a root conflict between the aims of apologetics in conservative Christianity and the commitments involved in genuine scholarship. We had so much to talk about that we will need 2 shows to benefit fully from Josh's wisdom. Links:We strongly recommended this podcast: “The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill” Randal Rauser books in conversation with atheists:“God or Godless?: One Atheist. One Christian. Twenty Controversial Questions.” by John W. Loftus and Randal Rauser 2013“An Atheist and a Christian Walk into a Bar: Talking about God, the Universe, and Everything” by Randal Rauser and Justin Schieber 2019 Josh recommends: “The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son – the Transformation of Child Sacrifice and Christianity: The Transformation of Child Sacrifice in Judaism and Christianity” 1995 by Jon D Levenson YouTube clips :The film Andrew mentioned - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLbDSxTUuIoThe apologist who previously was hot on resolving contradictions -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk1cPnnz-Go Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using: doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person again at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Show NotesFor Part 2 of our discussion of same-sex relationships, sexual practice and the Bible, we start with background and origins for the OT Law (we covered its interpretation in Part 1). One scholar has identified an evolution in the laws in Leviticus from a more lenient view to the harsh one found in the final text.Frances has researched reactions to these laws in Jewish writings and that led to a wider ‘world tour' or religious treatment of the issues.Links:See pp 291 & 292 here for ANE backgroundhttps://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/325479/EBR_Homosexuality.pdf?sequence=1And here for the possible evolution in the laws in Leviticus by Idan Dershowitz https://www.academia.edu/37294841/The_Secret_History_of_Leviticus_New_York_TimesHere is Dr Michael Brown's commentaryhttps://archive.askdrbrown.org/library/creating-new-version-leviticus-support-gay-sexLinks for mediaeval and modern Jewish thoughthttps://www.myjewishlearning.com/2013/04/19/to-plant-or-not-to-plant-seed-the-truth-of-homosexuality-in-the-bible/https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/orthodox-judaism-and-lgbtq-issues/Links used for the ‘world tour' –https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_and_religionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_themes_in_mythologyOn Natural Law ethics the Reasonable Doubts episode was #61:“The Curious Case of Robert P. George”.Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using: doubtsaloud@gmail.comJoin the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/Meet us all in person again at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 61 – Show NotesOccam's Razor shows us how simple explanations are superior to complex ones and so simplicity is a concept that might lead us to believe in God as this one simple concept – a supernatural personal agent – can explain all the complexities of the world. We try to assess this line of thinking, especially using the work of the Oxford Christian philosopher Richard Swinburne who favours the approach. This then leads into the doctrine of Divine Simplicity which was prominent in the Medieval church (eg Aquinas). Of course Andrew brings us down to earth with what the Bible says about God and his simplicity. Links:BBC In Our Time podcast on Occamhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007m0w4Learned articles on Occam:https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/simplicity/... and on Divine Simplicityhttps://plato.stanford.edu/entries/divine-simplicity/To find a place where Swinburne's ideas that Ed describes are set out without reading his book:https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cosmological-argument/Start well down where it says “In place of a deductive argument, Swinburne develops .....”The Unbelievable? Show which has Swinburne discussing with Bart Ehrman on sufferinghttps://www.premierunbelievable.com/unbelievable/unbelievable-10-jan-2009-the-problem-of-suffering-ehrman-and-swinburne/11625.articleDoubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.comJoin the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/Meet us all in person again at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 60– Show NotesJohn Nelson returned as our guest to start off 2023. He's been monitoring the debate about what literary genre we should consider the gospels to be and what the implications would be if they are taken as biography in the Greek & Roman tradition. The question fits with his studies for his PhD at the University of Edinburgh in Christian Origins. John maintains that understanding biography allows us to avoid the crass literalism of fundamentalism (and its attendant overconfidence in our ability to recover the historical Jesus), on the one hand, and an equally flat dismissal of its historicity on the other. We chat about the different ways both apologists and counter-apologists misuse ancient biography for their historicising or mythologising agendas. I.e. we're very much the pupils this episode. Links:The Unbelievable? Show which sets up this discussion (With Mike Licona and Richard Burridge)It's the episode of 16 June 2017 ‘Why are there differences in Gospels?' Also find these in your podcast app:‘NT Review' episode 6 on Burridge's thesis - they aren't convinced‘NT Review' episode 17 - on the Prologue to the gospel of Luke – it's not history but the 'science' genre‘NT Pod' episode 98 with guest Robyn Walsh The book “Gospel Fictions” by Randel Helms that Andrew discussed (again): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gospel-Fictions-Randel-Helms/dp/0879755725 Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person again at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London If you see this soon after release ... John will be speaking on the topic on 9 Jan 2023

Episode 59– Show NotesWe had a great time with our guest Paul Thompson of the Skepticule Podcast. Paul has done a lot of research on St Nicolas and his afterlife as Santa Claus which we enjoyed. He also researched scams as part of the UK sceptical community and gave us the benefits by leading us through The Perfect Scam. So all good fun and games for the Christmas season.Links:The Unbelievable? Shows on which Paul has been a guest:20 Nov 2010 – with Philip Yancey on "What Good is God?"29 Jan 2011 – Human Value & Subversive StoriesFind the Skepticule Podcast in iTunes etc but sadly they are no longer producing new episodes.To reach out to Paul, ask us by gmail or find him on the official Unbelievable? Facebook discussion group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/unbelievablejb(you will find Frances and Ed fairly active there too) Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person again at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 58– Show Notes Andrew is on a roll again, reporting his research into flat earth beliefs in the Bible. Actually, it is just a component in a whole cosmology of how the ‘heavens', earth and under the earth fit together. Spoiler – no turtles. This eventually moves on to Ed getting excited over whether Jesus was a flat earther. We can't help but see how this leads to literalist Bible interpreters becoming flat earthers - as in members of the modern conspiracy theory – and how important they were in the rise of that movement.Links:The link with the picture that Andrew mentioned early onhttps://pursuingveritas.com/2014/05/14/ancient-hebrew-cosmology/ The Dr Heiser 20 min video lecture that's really helpfulhttps://youtu.be/CGQDa9Ojk64 Another discussion from 2 evangelicals if you want it“Heaven & Earth • Episode 1 - What is the Old Testament referring to as "Heaven"?”https://bibleproject.com/podcast/heaven-earth-part-1/ We mentioned Skydive Phil debating on this.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6eEmfcMjDk Finally the 2018 documentary film to google is “Behind the Curve”.Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person again at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 57– Show Notes We start with methodological naturalism and whether rejecting can be scientifically legitimate, as this is the next chapter in our 50 Arguments for God book. Chapter title: “The Scientific Status of Design Inferences”. We discuss the argument in the chapter for rejecting methodological naturalism when it comes to the ‘science' of Intelligent Design. For us the boundaries of this ‘methodological naturalism free-zone' is the problem.This leads us on to considering if methodological naturalism doesn't apply in science or in life. God is seen as intervening in the Bible. What are the implications? Is this what we see in the world? What about the idea that we might have heard in school assembly - we are God's or Jesus's hands and feet?Links:The book by Thom Stark that we mentioned: “The Human Faces of God” by Thom Stark and John Collinshttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Thom-Stark/s?rh=n%3A266239%2Cp_27%3AThom+Stark And “Evidence for God: 50 Arguments for Faith from the Bible, History, Philosophy and Science” by Mike Licona and William Dembski. https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=Evidence+for+God%3A+50+Arguments&i=stripbooks&crid=2JZMR7RRQTQ9P&sprefix=evidence+for+god+50+arguments+%2Cstripbooks%2C108&ref=nb_sb_noss Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person again at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 56– Show NotesWe're delighted to welcome SkyDive Phil back on the show. Not on vegetarianism as we'd trailed (please be patient) but on his recent work on the Kalam Cosmological Argument. The most prominent form of the argument, as defended by Christian apologist and philosopher William Lane Craig, states the Kalam cosmological argument as the following syllogism: Everything that begins to exist has a cause.The universe began to exist.Therefore, the universe has a cause. The conclusion is then used to fit God to that cause. Phil has released a long video based on interviews with scientists, philosophers and mathematicians. It covered various ways the premises have been defended. Craig subsequently responded to the video using his podcast YouTube outlet and then Phil prepared a second video to reply to William Craig. Here's the links to the Phil videos: https://youtu.be/pGKe6YzHiMEandhttps://youtu.be/femxJFszbo8 This was a massive amount of work by Phil and his team and the results are brilliantly helpful. It was great to chat through with Phil on the material, his experience in doing this and how the various participants (not least Craig) view such debate and discussion. Doubts Aloud Links:Please leave us a review on iTunes and we will respond to any question asked there with the review. Or give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 55 - Title Suggestions1. God's Body2. Does God have a Body?3. God really has a Body and we're not joking4. The one where God has a body Episode 55– Show NotesThe idea we explore is that the Old Testament authors all thought that God had a body. For them He wasn't an ethereal unembodied universal Being. We look at the evidence for this view and the reasons it seems so contrarian a view to take. There is wonderful history here hidden in the Old Testament and in the story of how views have developed since. Frances shared an infamous legal case from the 19thC. Please see this link which includes a copy of the cartoon she describes:https://www.secularism.org.uk/the-freethinker-blasphemy-trials.html As is often the case we (well Frances & Ed, Andrew seems to know it already) gained immensely from “The Bible for Normal People” podcast. In this case episode 147. Here's the YouTube version:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aFnRpNQFhI Doubts Aloud Links:Please leave us a review on iTunes and we will respond to any question asked there with the review. Or give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person (after Covid19) at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Resurrection interview with Mathew Hartke

Episode 53– Show NotesWe start with an argument from our series on 50 Arguments for God's Existence. This time“The Argument from Degrees of Perfection” by Catholic philosopher Peter Freeft. The following link gives a summary.https://peterkreeft.com/topics-more/20_arguments-gods-existence.htm#4We try our best to do the argument justice while discussing how it doesn't work for us.Somehow we drifted into mentioning the recent debate “Theism vs Atheism” between Jonathan McLatchie and Alex O'Connor. Here's the link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnIQFI1pYLM This idea of God's Perfection led us on to this pair of questions:1) Would a perfect God create a perfect world?2) Is this world perfect? It opened up what the Bible says on God being perfect, which is not just Jesus's words in Matthew 5v48 “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” The Old Testament Yahweh doesn't come across as perfect. We enjoyed the anger management in Exodus 33v3The classic Christian response to why our world isn't perfect while God is perfect is the Fall and Adam and Eve. We go back there again (sorry). Doubts Aloud Links:Please leave us a review on iTunes and we will respond to any question asked there with the review. Or give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person (after Covid19) at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 52– Show NotesAndrew's daughter, Jahannah, has a YouTube channel and she takes seriously the possibility of Atlantis being more than a myth. They held a debate together on her channel which Andrew needed to prepare for with a heap of research and reading. The parallels with research into ancient history of relevance to Hebrew and Christian beliefs made this exercise a great window onto the issues our podcast covers, and so we get stuck in. This drifts in eventually to a brief chat about the ‘curse tablet' that may be a significant find to add evidence for an early date for the name Yahweh. Jahannah's channel is FunnyOldWorld:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN2Z_nuG5XtVnE998unA3PAAnd their debate is called “Dad Debates Atlantis Part 1” (with the 2nd one coming later):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaVl1CORQDY The Premier Christianity article on the ‘curse tablet' which gives both sides:https://www.premierchristianity.com/opinion/is-this-biblical-curse-tablet-the-most-significant-discovery-in-recent-history/12803.article Doubts Aloud Links:Please leave us a review on iTunes and we will respond to any question asked there with the review. Or give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person (after Covid19) at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 51 – Show NotesWe're delighted to have a British District Judge as our guest. Not any District Judge but Graeme Smith who is a Christian and has written a book on the evidence for the resurrection, which he considers is excellent. We each enjoy a collegiate discussion with Graeme on various aspects of the book and how he concludes as he does. The book is “Was the Tomb Empty: A Lawyer Weighs The Evidence For The Resurrection” Feb. 2014 Here's a purchase link:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Was-Tomb-Empty-Evidence-Resurrection/dp/0857215280 Doubts Aloud Links:Please leave us a review on iTunes and we will respond to any question asked there with the review. Or give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person (after Covid19) at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 50– Show NotesWe celebrate our 50th episode by getting down and muddy in the issue of divine practical advice. Christians celebrate it when ancient advice or OT Law tallies well with modern health advice, but they don't see the massive misses that there are in the Bible. We spend most of the time diving deep into the example of hand washing with soap, which is simple, within the technology of Bible times and has a massive impact on child mortality rates. Can we expect a loving God to help by giving this advice, especially when He visits earth in the incarnation? Some of the references and links we mentioned:Leviticus 13 & 14 for boils and mould. Chapter 15 for “an unusual bodily discharge” where there is lots of references to washing things and the only reference (v11) to anything remotely like hand washing in the community connected to health or food or sanitation or anything useful. The Christian podcaster excited about God's blessing in the Leviticus mould advice (we played this from 8min40s on):https://www.wholewordpodcast.com/790475/8617765-leviticus-14-mold-abatement-3500-years-before-science The key New Testament passage on Jesus' response to the Jews developing handwashing traditions around food is Mark 7:1-23. Ed made a meal from verses 8-9 and also 18-19. The link for these Jewish handwashing traditions around food:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handwashing_in_Judaism Links for handwashing in general, when there is no clean water available and on soaphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_washinghttps://globalhandwashing.org/about-handwashing/faqs/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap Finally the where Ed got objections using the Unbelievable Facebook discussion group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/unbelievablejb/posts/3926152774151876/ Doubts Aloud Links:Please leave us a review on iTunes and we will respond to any question asked there with the review. Or give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person (after Covid19) at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Text for DA Podcast Ep 49 Episode 49– Show NotesWe were delighted to welcome back friend-of-the-show Steve Tomkins to tell us all about the theological debates in late Tudor England which were conducted using, at one extreme, burnings at the stake and, at the other extreme, scurrilous publications akin to a 16thC Private Eye. Much of the material that Steve shared is in his recent book:The Journey to the Mayflower: God's Outlaws and the Invention of Freedom (2020) If you want to know anything about Church history or really anything that matters, please see Steve's other books:A Short History of Christianity (Lion Histories) 2005The Clapham Sect: How Wilberforce's Circle Transformed Britain 2010William Wilberforce: A biography 2007David Livingstone: The Unexplored Story 2013My Ministry Manual by Rev.Gerald Ambulance 2003Jesus and His World - Paul and His World (Steve wrote the Paul part) 2019John Wesley: A Biography 2003 Doubts Aloud Links:Please leave us a review on iTunes and we will respond to any question asked there with the review. Or give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person (after Covid19) at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 48– Show Notes This month we discuss Open Theism which is based on the idea that God doesn't know the future choices that free agents will make. It is a relatively new idea within the history of Christianity and it has received increasing attention in recent years with thinkers such as Greg Boyd promoting it. The narratives in the Old Testament tend to indicate this view of God's knowledge as God is a more human type of character when compared to the ‘omni' God of classical Theism which follows from classical Greek philosophy such as Aristotle. We discuss the implications on issues such as prayer and changing God's mind, prophecy which requires God to know the future and the Problem of Evil. We end with a quick discussion of how Islam and Judaism fit in with this. Links:We mentioned a few links and sources: Dr William Hasker being interviewed on Open Theismhttps://youtu.be/csGWj1pgrxE The Unbelievable Show episode on this from May 2016 with James White & John Sandershttps://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable/Episodes/Unbelievable-Is-Open-Theism-a-heresy-James-White-vs-John-Sanders The extract from John Sanders that Andrew played was this (from another debate with James White):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQBECHTVCDM&t=1751 Andrew suggested Greg Boyd's website as a good place to get the case for Open Theism:Visit https://reknew.org/ and put ‘Open Theism' in the ‘Search the Site' facility A key 20thC theologian on Open Theism was Clark Pinnock, eg see:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Pinnock We mentioned several Bible passages, most were easily found stories, but the one we looked at as a possible counter-text for Open Theism is Isaiah 46 v9-11. Finally we briefly discussed ‘God's Body' as rather more than an artistic metaphor in the early texts. This podcast will explain more:The Bible For Normal People - Episode 147: Benjamin D. Sommer - Does God Have a Body?Find it here (or via your podcast app):https://peteenns.com/podcast/ Doubts Aloud Links:Please leave us a review on iTunes and we will respond to any question asked there with the review. Or give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person (after Covid19) at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 47 – Show NotesIt is a delight to welcome back John Nelson to the show after his time with us back in Episode 3. We got to know John in the London Unbelievable Discussion Group when he was an undergraduate at Nottingham studying theology. He has since moved on to post doctoral research at Oxford University and now Edinburgh. He has tended to concentrate mostly on the gospels, a topic of enduring interest to us. We chat about research into the historical Jesus, the genre of the gospels and - partly due to the season . Doubts Aloud Links:Please leave us a review on iTunes and we will respond to any question asked there with the review. Or give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person (after Covid19) at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see: https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 46– Show Notes We start with the Gospel of Thomas as it the next chapter in our 50 Arguments for God book. Why do people talk about it? What is it? What is its history? What do we learn from it? This all raises the issue of lost early Christian documents - the surviving ones are the ‘winning' ones, those which scribes chose to copy and keep preserved. Thomas also raises the issues of Orthodoxy, Heresy and Diversity of Beliefs. We continue that discussion for the rest of the show. The towering figure here is German scholar Walter Bauer who changed the way academics think about this with his book published in the 1930s. “Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity”. A great way for podcast fans to learn more on him and his legacy is episode 26 of the podcast “The NT Review” Walter Bauer covered the 2ndC AD and we move on to discuss the 1stC where we have even less material outside those preserved in the New Testament. We look at those documents, along with the Didache which most date in the 1stC, and see both1. The various factions, disputes and diversity of beliefs being addressed in the letters, Acts and even the gospels. 2. The diversity of beliefs regarding core Christian doctrines, such as Salvation. Links:Andrew mentioned a 2ndC book pretending to be by some of Jesus' disciples and it was speaking against Paul. ….. Doubts Aloud Links:Please give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person (after Covid19) at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 45– Show Notes We discuss the New Testament Book of Revelation using Andrew's research and knowledge, as we did for Daniel last month. Things are more complex than for Daniel and we leave things a bit more open. The issues of when it was written and by whom are more straightforward perhaps, but what the author is trying to achieve with all the strange imagery and use of apocalyptic genre is not clear. We discuss that along with the massive use of the Old Testament in Revelation, the way the author invites us to expect near immediate fulfilment, the invitation in the text to do decoding, whether this is a crafted text or reporting of amazing dreams/visions and of course the violence - human suffering from God's wrath - that is described. Links:We mentioned the Naked Bible podcast by an evangelical scholar, Dr Michael Heiser, which introduces the book of Revelation, it is episode 352.https://nakedbiblepodcast.com/podcast/naked-bible-352-introducing-the-old-testament-in-the-book-of-revelation/ Doubts Aloud Links:Please leave us a review on iTunes and we will respond to any question asked there with the review. Or give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person (after Covid19) at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 44– Show Notes We discuss the Old Testament Book of Daniel using Andrew's research and knowledge. The main controversy surrounds whether it is written by Daniel himself as it purports to be (6thC BC) or someone claiming to be Daniel in the 2ndC BC. As it turns out this is only a controversy when conservative scholars are around. We discuss the reasons why the mainstream date Daniel at the juncture when the ‘prophecies' suddenly turn from accurate to hopeless. The significance of this of course impacts on the use of Daniel by apologists, but the significance extends too to the use of it in the New Testament. Links:The quote from Richard Carrier:https://www.richardcarrier.info/archives/18242 Doubts Aloud Links:Please leave us a review on iTunes and we will respond to any question asked there with the review. Or give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person (after Covid19) at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 43 – Show NotesIt is a delight for us to have a long chat with Ed's friend Krish Kandiah, a Christian author and leader in the UK on adoption, fostering, social action and welcoming the vulnerable to our shores. He has written a successful book ‘Paradoxology' which covers a lot of ground that can cause doubts for believers and has been significant in our journeys. In particular the narratives seeming to describe genocide of Canaanites at the command of Yahweh. He sees this as a paradox between God's love and justice and what we read, say in Joshua, as we do. Krish's approach is to embrace the paradox and understand it within wider ones, such as the Trinity, rather than brush it away under the carpet.Here is the Amazon page for the book:https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=paradoxology+by+krish+kandiah Look out for other books by Krish including ‘Faitheism' on good relations between Christians and atheists as we discuss the issues. As we discussed both care for the vulnerable and punishment in hell we discussed this passage often called the ‘Parable of the Sheep and Goats': Matthew 25v31-46 And then when we were diving deep into commands and rules concerning the killing of women and children in the conquest, we discussed this passage: Deuteronomy 20v10-18 Krish is also a podcaster – called Leadershift. Please search for it in your podcast provider. Doubts Aloud Links:Please leave us a review on iTunes and we will respond to any question asked there with the review. Or give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person (after Covid19) at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see: https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 42 – Show NotesAfter promising this for a while, at last we tackle Mythicism which in our context is the idea that Jesus never existed as a historical human being. None of us subscribe to the idea but we find it an interesting idea and movement to learn from, both in what they use as evidence and what kind of person believes in Mythicism. It leads us to question what we can actually determine about Jesus of Nazareth that isn't myth, either from Jewish or Greek/Roman stories and tropes. Some links:The discussion with Robyn Walsh on her new work about use of Roman tropes (or not) in the gospels, we had listened to it on the NT Pod:https://podacre.blogspot.com/2021/06/nt-pod-98-origins-of-early-christian.htmlThe book on use of material from the Old Testament such as Elijah and Elisha in the gospels:"Gospel Fictions" by Randel Helms 1988The BBC Radio 4 discussion on Agrippina the Younger“In Our Time” episode of 31 March 2016 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b074yzwkDoubts Aloud Links:Please leave us a review on iTunes and we will respond to any question asked there with the review. Or give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person (after Covid19) at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see: https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 41 – Show NotesIt is a delight for us to have a long chat with our friend ‘SkydivePhil' - Phil Halper. He's best known for his YouTube channel and has twice been on Unbelievable discussing cosmology and also, for his first appearance, animal suffering. Phil is a vegetarian and sees how the issue of animal suffering is a much more powerful argument against theism than is generally realised. It is that subject that we were keen to discuss, especially because Phil and some of his contacts have just published an important paper on the topic. The paper is not so much philosophy/theology but focuses most on the science of animal pain and suffering, asking the question of the degree to which animals suffer as we do when they experience pain. The conclusions from this are vast, but we stick in this episode to how it informs arguments against theism based on what we now know of animal suffering. SkydivePhil's Youtube channel is herehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtOgKmAM4MeFu-jd-HB3_cg The best link for Phil's paper is here, it is free to read for its first three months https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09515089.2021.1914829?src=&journalCode=cphp20 Within the SkydivePhil channel, we suggest you look under “Animal videos” and especially Phil's discussion with Randal Rauser:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoRm8Rg4Lh0 Phil's appearances on Unbelievable…..On Animal Suffering, with Michael Murray:https://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable/Episodes/Unbelievable-Animal-suffering-and-God-Michael-Murray-vs-Phil-HarperOn Big Bang:https://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable/Episodes/Unbelievable-Has-the-Big-Bang-gone-bust-Phil-Harper-Jeff-ZweerinkOn Multiverse:https://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable/Episodes/Unbelievable-Who-s-afraid-of-the-Multiverse-Jeff-Zweerink-Skydive-Phil For Sethien cosmology see here (OT God is evil, despite creating the world. Gospel of Judas etc)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sethianism The material that eventually led Phil into becoming vegetarian was from the philosopher Robert Nozick , it can be found here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchy,_State,_and_Utopia#Moral_constraints_and_the_state Doubts Aloud Links:Please leave us a review on iTunes and we will respond to any question asked there with the review. Or give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person (after Covid19) at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see: https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 40 – Show NotesIt is a delight for us to have a long chat with our friend Justin Brierley, the founder and host of the Unbelievable Show (search “Unbelievable?” in your podcast App) where Christians and Atheists meet for respectful dialogue. The show is how the rest of us met each other. We discussed in particular chapter 3 of Justin’s Unbelievable? book, written in 2017:“Unbelievable?: Why after ten years of talking with atheists, I'm still a Christian”Eg: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Unbelievable-after-talking-atheists-Christian/dp/0281077983Chapter 3 is on human worth, the Moral Argument and morality. In the discussion we mentioned Tom Holland’s book “Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind”:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dominion-Making-Western-Tom-Holland/dp/0349141207 Why not pick up on Justin’s offer to join in with the recording of his next BIG CONVERSATION with NT Wright and Douglas Murray on Thurs 13th May 2021:https://www.thebigconversation.show/mythmiraclesandidentity And don’t forget this year’s Unbelievable? Conference on the afternoon of Sat 15th May:https://www.unbelievable.live/ Finally … a shout out to the Unbelievable? Discussion Group on Facebook hosted by Justin (where Frances & Ed are among the Admins) , which we discussed briefly:https://www.facebook.com/groups/unbelievablejbAsk and you’ll get let in soon enough Doubts Aloud Links:Please leave us a review on iTunes and we will respond to any question asked there with the review. Or give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person (after Covid19) at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see: https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 39– Show NotesWe discuss the issue of some New Testament letters that have strong evidence to suggest that the author was not who they claimed to be. This practice was not uncommon in that period. We dig a bit deeper on the letter 2 Peter in particular. We took the opportunity to quickly discuss another chapter from our “50 Arguments for Faith” book: chapter 47 on the NT canon. What does it say on this issue? Links:The academic Bart Ehrman book is “Forgery and Counter-forgery: The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics“, 2013.Available:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Forgery-Counter-forgery-Literary-Christian-Polemics/dp/0199928037/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Forgery+and+counter+forgery&qid=1617536611&s=books&sr=1-1Doubts Aloud Links:The 50 Arguments for Faith book: “Evidence for God: 50 Arguments for Faith from the Bible, History, Philosophy and Science” by Mike Licona and William Dembski. (It can be found on Amazon.)Please leave us a review on iTunes and we will respond to any question asked there with the review.Or give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.comJoin the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person (after Covid19) at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London

Episode 38– Show NotesWe try to be sensitive as we discuss the recent scandal of Ravi Zacharias’ behaviour as a leading Christian apologist and communicator. This was not just a preaching getting into a sex scandal. There were many victims of abuse by his behaviour and his organisations forceful cover up.We seek to cover the aspects and implications of interest to atheists and where we have a more personal take on the story, such as Ed’s involvement with Ravi’s ministry in the UK (RZIM in Oxford). Links:The reporthttps://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/rzimmedia.rzim.org/assets/downloads/Report-of-Investigation.pdfThe Unbelievable Show on the scandal and implications:https://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable/Episodes/Unbelievable-The-Ravi-Zacharias-scandal-Dr-Diane-Langberg-Glen-Scrivener-and-Steve-Baughman-on-lessons-we-need-to-learnPremier Christianity coverage and reflectionhttps://www.premierchristianity.com/Blog/5-helpful-reflections-on-the-Ravi-Zacharias-scandalThe statement Ed was sent in 2017 by RZIM in Oxfordhttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1n3cSBwEYqwYr9BQnJ-TEXYYP9Jjx96uU/view?usp=sharing Doubts Aloud Links:Please leave us a review on iTunes and we will respond to any question asked there with the review. Or give feedback and ask questions using : doubtsaloud@gmail.com Join the Facebook Group discussions:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/ Meet us all in person (after Covid19) at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see: https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London