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Conditional immortality as a view of human persons, although biblical, comes with an emotional price. I wanted to share some thoughts about fear and doubt, and the roles they play in how we respond to what Scripture teaches about human nature, death, and destiny. If you liked this content, feel free to buy me a … Continue reading Episode 057: Death, Fear, Hell, and Doubt The post Episode 057: Death, Fear, Hell, and Doubt appeared first on Say Hello to my Little Friend.

In this talk, I ask the question – What difference does it make if the Bible teaches we are physical creatures, rather than dual body-soul beings? How does that impact on  anything else we believe as Christians? From gender identity to mental health more generally, to salvation, the way we view human nature has a … Continue reading Episode 056: Material Salvation

Earlier this year, the Synod of the Anglican Church in New Zealand and Polynesia made the decision to allow the blessing of same-sex relationships alongside marriages (but not to perform same-sex weddings, because they aren’t marriages – yes, it’s a confusing position). The Sunday after this decision was made, it was my turn to preach. … Continue reading Episode 055: The Direction of Change

Here’s a talk I had the pleasure of giving at Mardon Road Church in Hamilton, in December 2017. Do you really need a sermon to convince you that being alive is being better than dead? Well if you weren’t sure, hopefully I can talk you around!      

If you hold a materialist view of human nature, can you still hold an orthodox view of Jesus as God incarnate?

The traditional doctrine of hell is surely a major liability in the task of Christian apologetics. Isn’t it?

The Gospel is the truth behind myths.

So what if Christianity is true?

If there are good reasons to believe, then why does the Christian faith have some really vehement detractors?

Do moral truths point to the existence of God?

What's the role of reason in faith?

What do we mean when we say that God is good? If I'm right, we shouldn't mean that God is morally good.

According to Stephen Law's "Evil God Challenge," the evidence for an evil god is no worse than the evidence for a good God, so we should reject both.

Is faith just the vice of believing things with no good reason?

An addendum to the series on mind and body, this episode looks at the hylemorphic view of Aristotle and Aquinas.

Dr Peoples explains the "minimal facts" approach to defending the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

If morality comes from God's commands, does that mean that unbelievers don't know the different between right and wrong?

According to Robert Adams, moral obligations are inherently social in nature. This, he says, supports the contention that they are grounded in God.

Here's an introductory talk on Divine Command Ethics.

Zeitgeist is one of the stupidest movies you could ever watch. Virtually everything contained therein is hogwash.

This is the second time I have ever actually apologised for an episode. It’s long. It’s dry. You might fall asleep. I’m sorry. Go ahead and skip it. I would.  

This is a discussion of Alvin Plantinga's account of belief in God as a "properly basic" belief.

Sam Harris believes that religion doesn't provide a basis for morality, science does. He's wrong, and here's (partly) why.

What is "original sin?"

Dr Peoples surveys some of the biblical material that addresses human nature. The dualism that many Christians embrace is notable by its absence.

Does the doctrine of a future life present a fatal objection to a materialist view of human nature?

Here’s part three of the series on philosophy of mind. We’ve moved from dualism in part one through to physicalism in this episode. I look at epiphenomenialism, reductionism, nonreductive physicalism and a constitution view. As promised, here’s some suggested reading for those who want to look into the subject futher: Nancey Murphy, “Nonreductive Physicalism and … Continue reading Episode 031: In Search of the Soul, Part 3

A talk given at the University of Canterbury in July 2009.

This episode is a recording of a talk I gave last week at the University of Canterbury on abortion. As promised in the episode, here’s a summary of some questions and answers that followed. Q: What would you say about cases like rape or incest, where the women is going to give birth to a … Continue reading Episode 029: Is Abortion Immoral, and Should it be Illegal?

A sermon on the psalms of lament

In this episode we'll take a look at emergentism.

In part one of the series on the mind and body, let's look at substance dualism.

Is salvation really all about going to heaven?

Hey everyone, this is my last podcast episode for 2008, So I thought I’d do something light hearted. Here’s a brief glimpse at purgatory, aka “what lefties do do Christmas.” Enjoy. I can’t take credit for the story. It was concocted by one John Mitchell, and can be found here. Merry Christmas!  

Did the Church conspire to hide the truth about other Gospels that did not make it into the Bible?

Should you really reject religious beliefs because of the violence that religious people have carried out?

Is Jesus just a recycled version of Osiris? In a word: No.

In Athanasius' work on the Incarnation, he offers what turn out to be a surprising line of argument for annihilationism.

A discussion of intelligent design. Right or wrong, is it fair to discard it as non-science?

The Liberal Theocracy? “What?!” You ask in disbelief. A contradiction in terms, you might think. Not so. This episode is, well, long. I noted the howls of protest at my decision to shorten the episodes, and I was listening. But don’t think you’ll get this every episode! The next one will probably be a short … Continue reading Episode 016: The Liberal Theocracy

What reasons are there, to adopt atheism - even if it is true?

A sermon on the Olivet discourse and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.

Part two of a discussion about Alvin Plantinga and presuppositional apologetics.

Might Alvin Plantinga be best construed as a presuppositional apologist?

An explanation of presuppositional apologetics.

Can there be any moral truths if God does not exist? Part 2.

Can there be any moral truths if God does not exist?

Does the doctrine of human equality need a religious foundation?

Part 3 in a series on hell, where we look at the case for annihilationism and respond to critics.

Examining the traditional case against annihilationism.

Let's look at the doctrine of hell and the case for annihilationism.