Podcasts about Richard Swinburne

The Hiddenness Series returns. Richard Swinburne's responsibility argument aims to show it's good for God to stay hidden. That way we can investigate God's existence together. Assisting others in this endeavor, says Swinburne, is a very good deed—one we should be thankful to have the opportunity to do. In this video I discuss Swinburne's argument, Schellenberg's response, and Travis Dumsday's reformulation. I then share some of my own objections to the responsibility argument. Most importantly, I explain how it fails to undercut Schellenberg's hiddenness argument.

Dr. Beau Branson is a professor of philosophy at Brescia University. We discuss monarchical trinitarians and the theology of Gregory of Nyssa. We also discuss the recent book "One God, Three Persons, Four Views" book. We mention Luke Thompson (  @WhiteStoneName  ), Hank Kruse, Athanasius of Alexandria, Arius of Alexandria, Julian the Apostate, Gregory of Nyssa, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, Scott Williams, Eunomius, Gregory Thermaturgos, Origen of Alexandria, Tertullian of Carthage, Rowan Williams, David Bentley Hart, Irenaeus of Lyon, Marcellus of Ancyra, Photinus of Galatia, Nestorius, Aristotle, John of Damascus, William Lane Craig, Michel René Barnes, Fr John Behr, Richard Swinburne, Dale Tuggy, Michael Servetus, Bart Ehrman, and more.

IS THERE A ONE TRUE GOD OVERVIEW: There are many sources of information that people use to infer what might be true about God, including observation and revelation: Observation Some say that general observations of the universe support the existence of God, such as the idea of a non-eternal universe as shown by the Big Bang theory. Other observations that might support God's existence include the Earth's weather patterns, which some say are finely tuned to support human life, and the way nature works to form life. Revelation Some say that God may have entered the universe and told us true things about himself, morality, and how to have a relationship with him. This includes the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. The Bible also includes passages that some say indicate that God has made evidence of his existence so obvious that there is no excuse for denying him.  IS THERE PROOF OF GOD'S EXISTENCE? The existence of God is a subject of debate in the philosophy of religion.[1] A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God can be categorized as logical, empirical, metaphysical, subjective or scientific. In philosophical terms, the question of the existence of God involves the disciplines of epistemology (the nature and scope of knowledge) and ontology (study of the nature of being or existence) and the theory of value (since some definitions of God include "perfection"). The Western tradition of philosophical discussion of the existence of God began with Plato and Aristotle, who made arguments for the existence of a being responsible for fashioning the universe, referred to as the demiurge or the unmoved mover, that today would be categorized as cosmological arguments. Other arguments for the existence of God have been proposed by St. Anselm, who formulated the first ontological argument; Thomas Aquinas, who presented his own version of the cosmological argument (the first way); René Descartes, who said that the existence of a benevolent God is logically necessary for the evidence of the senses to be meaningful. John Calvin argued for a sensus divinitatis, which gives each human a knowledge of God's existence. Islamic philosophers who developed arguments for the existence of God comprise Averroes, who made arguments influenced by Aristotle's concept of the unmoved mover; Al-Ghazali and Al-Kindi, who presented the Kalam cosmological argument; Avicenna, who presented the Proof of the Truthful; and Al-Farabi, who made Neoplatonic arguments. In philosophy, and more specifically in the philosophy of religion, atheism refers to the proposition that God does not exist.[2] Some religions, such as Jainism, reject the possibility of a creator deity. Philosophers who have provided arguments against the existence of God include David Hume, Ludwig Feuerbach, and Bertrand Russell. Theism, the proposition that God exists, is the dominant view among philosophers of religion.[3] In a 2020 PhilPapers survey, 69.50% of philosophers of religion stated that they accept or lean towards theism, while 19.86% stated they accept or lean towards atheism.[4] Prominent contemporary philosophers of religion who defended theism include Alvin Plantinga, Yujin Nagasawa, John Hick, Richard Swinburne, and William Lane Craig, while those who defended atheism include Graham Oppy, Paul Draper, Quentin Smith, J. L. Mackie, and J. L. Schellenberg. Traditional religious definition of God In classical theism, God is characterized as the metaphysically ultimate being (the first, timeless, absolutely simple and sovereign being, who is devoid of any anthropomorphic qualities), in distinction to other conceptions such as theistic personalism, open theism, and process theism. Classical theists do not believe that God can be completely defined. They believe it would contradict the transcendent nature of God for mere humans to define him. Robert Barron explains by analogy that it seems impossible for a two-dimensional object to conceive of three-dimensional humans.[7] In modern Western societies, the concepts of God typically entail a monotheistic, supreme, ultimate, and personal being, as found in the Christian, Islamic and Jewish traditions. In monotheistic religions outside the Abrahamic traditions, the existence of God is discussed in similar terms. In these traditions, God is also identified as the author (either directly or by inspiration) of certain texts, or that certain texts describe specific historical events caused by the God in question or communications from God (whether in direct speech or via dreams or omens). Some traditions also believe that God is the entity which is currently answering prayers for intervention or information or opinions. Ibn Rushd, a 12th-century Islamic scholar Many Islamic scholars have used philosophical and rational arguments to prove the existence of God. For example, Ibn Rushd, a 12th-century Islamic scholar, philosopher, and physician, states there are only two arguments worthy of adherence, both of which are found in what he calls the "Precious Book" (The Qur'an). Rushd cites "providence" and "invention" in using the Qur'an's parables to claim the existence of God. Rushd argues that the Earth's weather patterns are conditioned to support human life; thus, if the planet is so finely-tuned to maintain life, then it suggests a fine tuner—God. The Sun and the Moon are not just random objects floating in the Milky Way, rather they serve us day and night, and the way nature works and how life is formed, humankind benefits from it. Rushd essentially comes to a conclusion that there has to be a higher being who has made everything perfectly to serve the needs of human beings.[8][9] Moses ben Maimon, widely known as Maimonides, was a Jewish scholar who tried to logically prove the existence of God. Maimonides offered proofs for the existence of God, but he did not begin with defining God first, like many others do. Rather, he used the description of the earth and the universe to prove the existence of God. He talked about the Heavenly bodies and how they are committed to eternal motion. Maimonides argued that because every physical object is finite, it can only contain a finite amount of power. If everything in the universe, which includes all the planets and the stars, is finite, then there has to be an infinite power to push forth the motion of everything in the universe. Narrowing down to an infinite being, the only thing that can explain the motion is an infinite being (meaning God) which is neither a body nor a force in the body. Maimonides believed that this argument gives us a ground to believe that God is, not an idea of what God is. He believed that God cannot be understood or be compared.[10] Non-personal definitions of God In pantheism, God and the universe are considered to be the same thing. In this view, the natural sciences are essentially studying the nature of God. This definition of God creates the philosophical problem that a universe with God and one without God are the same, other than the words used to describe it. Deism and panentheism assert that there is a God distinct from, or which extends beyond (either in time or in space or in some other way) the universe. These positions deny that God intervenes in the operation of the universe, including communicating with humans personally. The notion that God never intervenes or communicates with the universe, or may have evolved into the universe (as in pandeism), makes it difficult, if not by definition impossible, to distinguish between a universe with God and one without. The Ethics of Baruch Spinoza gave two demonstrations of the existence of God.[11] The God of Spinoza is uncaused by any external force and has no free will, it is not personal and not anthropomorphic. Debate about how theism should be argued In Christian faith, theologian and philosopher Thomas Aquinas made a distinction between: (a) preambles of faith and (b) articles of faith.[12] The preambles include alleged truths contained in revelation which are nevertheless demonstrable by reason, e.g., the immortality of the soul, the existence of God. The articles of faith, on the other hand, contain truths that cannot be proven or reached by reason alone and presuppose the truths of the preambles, e.g., in Christianity, the Holy Trinity, is not demonstrable and presupposes the existence of God. The argument that the existence of God can be known to all, even prior to exposure to any divine revelation, predates Christianity.[clarification needed] Paul the Apostle made this argument when he said that pagans were without excuse because "since the creation of the world God's invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made".[13] In this, Paul alludes to the proofs for a creator, later enunciated by Thomas Aquinas[14] and others, that had also been explored by the Greek philosophers. Another apologetical school of thought, including Dutch and American Reformed thinkers (such as Abraham Kuyper, Benjamin Warfield, and Herman Dooyeweerd), emerged in the late 1920s. This school was instituted by Cornelius Van Til, and came to be popularly called presuppositional apologetics (though Van Til felt "transcendental" would be a more accurate title). The main distinction between this approach and the more classical evidentialist approach is that the presuppositionalist denies any common ground between the believer and the non-believer, except that which the non-believer denies, namely, the assumption of the truth of the theistic worldview. In other words, presuppositionalists do not believe that the existence of God can be proven by appeal to raw, uninterpreted, or "brute" facts, which have the same (theoretical) meaning to people with fundamentally different worldviews, because they deny that such a condition is even possible. They claim that the only possible proof for the existence of God is that the very same belief is the necessary condition to the intelligibility of all other human experience and action. They attempt to prove the existence of God by means of appeal to the transcendental necessity of the belief—indirectly (by appeal to the unavowed presuppositions of the non-believer's worldview) rather than directly (by appeal to some form of common factuality). In practice this school uses what have come to be known as transcendental arguments. These arguments claim to demonstrate that all human experience and action (even the condition of unbelief, itself) is a proof for the existence of God, because God's existence is the necessary condition of their intelligibility. Protestant Christians note that the Christian faith teaches "salvation is by faith",[15] and that faith is reliance upon the faithfulness of God. The most extreme example of this position is called fideism, which holds that faith is simply the will to believe, and argues that if God's existence were rationally demonstrable, faith in its existence would become superfluous. Søren Kierkegaard argued that objective knowledge, such as 1+1=2, is unimportant to existence. If God could rationally be proven, his existence would be unimportant to humans.[citation needed] It is because God cannot rationally be proven that his existence is important to us. In The Justification of Knowledge, the Calvinist theologian Robert L. Reymond argues that believers should not attempt to prove the existence of God. Since he believes all such proofs are fundamentally unsound, believers should not place their confidence in them, much less resort to them in discussions with non-believers; rather, they should accept the content of revelation by faith. Reymond's position is similar to that of his mentor Gordon Clark, which holds that all worldviews are based on certain unprovable first premises (or, axioms), and therefore are ultimately unprovable. The Christian theist therefore must simply choose to start with Christianity rather than anything else, by a "leap of faith". This position is also sometimes called presuppositional apologetics, but should not be confused with the Van Tillian variety. THE HISTORICAL JESUS According to Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God as chronicled in the Bible's New Testament, and in most Christian denominations He is held to be God the Son, a prosopon (Person) of the Trinity of God. Christians believe him to be the messiah, or a saviour (giving him the title Christ), who was prophesied in the Bible's Old Testament. Through Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection, Christians believe that God offers humans salvation and eternal life,[1] with Jesus's death atoning for all sin, thus making humanity right with God. The commonly held belief among Christians is the phrase, "Jesus died for your sins," and thus they accept that salvation is only possible through him.[2] These teachings emphasize that as the Lamb of God, Jesus chose to suffer nailed to the cross at Calvary as a sign of his obedience to the will of God, as an "agent and servant of God".[3][4] Jesus's choice positions him as a man of obedience, in contrast to Adam's disobedience.[5] According to the New Testament, after God raised him from the dead,[6] Jesus ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father,[7] with his followers awaiting his return to Earth and God's subsequent Last Judgment.[8] According to the gospel accounts, Jesus was born of a virgin, instructed other Jews how to follow God (sometimes using parables), performed miracles and gathered disciples. Christians generally believe that this narrative is historically true. While there has been theological debate over the nature of Jesus, Trinitarian Christians believe that Jesus is the Logos, God incarnate (God in human form), God the Son, and "true God and true man"—fully divine and fully human. Jesus, having become fully human in all respects, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, yet he did not sin.

On episode 205, we welcome Jack Symes to discuss the possible existence of god, the strongest arguments for it, whether Pascal's Wager justifies belief in god, the different religions and whether they make belief in god irrational, god necessarily existing and being all good, how evil can stem good, whether evil even exists, the simple god hypothesis, if atheism is epistemically justifiable, the debate between Richard Swinburne and Richard Dawkins, Jack's philosophical development, and whether moral relativism negates the possibility of god's existence. Jack Symes is a public philosopher and writer. He is the producer of The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast and editor of the Bloomsbury series Talking about Philosophy. He is currently a Teacher and Researcher at Durham University, UK. He's the editor of the book Philosophers on Consciousness: Talking about the Mind which features a number of prominent contributors, as does his newest book, available now, Philosophers on God: Talking about Existence. | Jack Symes | ► Website 1 | https://thepanpsycast.com/panpsycast2 ► Website 2 | https://www.jacksymes.co.uk ► Twitter 1 | https://twitter.com/ThePanpsycast ► Twitter 2 | https://twitter.com/_JackSymes ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/thepanpsycast ► Philosophers on God Book | https://amzn.to/49anwSo Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast  ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast

Showing Christianity Is Probably True In more recent times, there have been continued advancements by evidentialists in showing Christianity is probably true. People like Clark Pinnock, John Warwick Montgomery, and Richard Swinburne have continued the traditions of the evidentialists by engaging in apologetics who emphasize fact. Timeline: 00:00 - Introduction 00:15 - Clark H. Pinnock - History Of The Bible & The Resurrection 04:20 - John Warwick Montgomery - Evidentialist Apologetics As Evangelism 06:02 - Montgomery's 4 Fold Test Of Prejury Of The Biblical Text 09:46 - The New Testament Witnesses Pass The Prejury Test 12:31 - Montgomery's Hinge Argument - Jesus' Missing Body 17:30 - Jesus' Missing Body Also Establishes The Existence Of God 19:21 - Richard Swinburne - God Is The Best Explanation 25:22 - Summary 28:14 - Conclusion BOOK LINKS: Faith Has Its Reasons By Kenneth Boa & Robert M. Bowman Jr. Kindle Paperback Logos       Set Forth Your Case By Clark H. Pinnock Paperback         Is There A God? By Richard Swinburne Paperback

Richard Swinburne and Philip Goff debate why are we here? Is it time we moved on from both God and Atheism, as Goff suggests in his new book Why? The Purpose of the Universe? Unbelievable Host Vince Vitale guides us through as Goff argues that the traditional God is a bad explanation of cosmic purpose. Instead, he explores a range of alternative possibilities for accounting for cosmic purpose, from the speculation that we live in a computer simulation to the hypothesis that the universe itself is a conscious mind.  Richard Swinburne is a Fellow of the British Academy, and has received honorary doctorates from three overseas universities. He was Professor of the Philosophy of Religion at the University of Oxford from 1985 until 2002. Since then he has continued to lecture extensively in many countries. He is best known for his trilogy on the philosophy of theism -The Coherence of Theism, The Existence of God, and Faith and Reason. Richard Swinburne and James Sterba are launching a new debate Why would a good God allow so much suffering? early in 2024. Dr Philip Goff is Professor of Philosophy at Durham University. His research focuses on consciousness and the ultimate nature of reality. Goff is best known for defending panpsychism, the view that consciousness pervades the universe and is a fundamental feature of it.  Richard's papers 'The existence of God', 'The problem of evil' are accessible on his website here, and his books are available here Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Why-Purpose-Universe-Philip-Goff/dp/0198883765 Website: https://philipgoffphilosophy.com/ Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@MindChat Social Media: https://twitter.com/Philip_Goff • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://pod.link/267142101 • More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com • For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live • For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training • Support us in the USA: http://www.premierinsight.org/unbelievableshow • Support us in the rest of the world: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/donate

Dr. Craig responds to more dialogue between Richard Swinburne and Richard Dawkins on God's existence and simplicity.

Dr. Craig evaluates an intense exchange between Richard Dawkins and Richard Swinburne as they discussed the mystery of existence.

We revisit a riveting dialogue from Season 4 of The Big Conversation, from 2022. With their diametrically opposed beliefs on the ideas around God's existence, Francis Collins, a geneticist who found faith in Christianity, and Richard Dawkins, renowned atheist author and evolutionary biologist debate biology, belief and COVID: can science and fight be reconciled? We also look at Dawkins' recent exchange with Christian philosopher Richard Swinburne, as a natural extension to some of the issues discussed with Francis Collins, and will also give you a sneak peek of an exhilarating two-parter coming up in Season 5 of The Big Conversation: a debate on a pressing contemporary topic! Register for early access to new Big Conversation episodes, as well as hours of exclusive video and ebook content - including the bonus clip of Dawkins and Collins discussing genetics: https://thebigconversation.show Watch the full "Mystery of Existence" discussion, featuring Dawkins and Swinburne: Part One: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/unbelievable/unbelievable-the-mystery-of-existence-why-is-there-something-rather-than-nothing-part-1-with-richard-dawkins-jessica-frazier-silvia-jonas-richard-swinburne-and-jack-symes/16076.article Part Two: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/unbelievable/unbelievable-the-mystery-of-existence-where-did-natural-environments-and-complex-organisms-came-from-part-2-with-richard-dawkins-jessica-frazier-silvia-jonas-richard-swinburne/16119.article For the book "Coming to Faith Through Dawkins": https://www.kregel.com/biography/coming-to-faith-through-dawkins/ • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://pod.link/267142101 • More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com • For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live • For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training • Support us in the USA: http://www.premierinsight.org/unbelievableshow • Support us in the rest of the world: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/donate

We revisit a riveting dialogue from Season 4 of The Big Conversation, from 2022. With their diametrically opposed beliefs on the ideas around God's existence, Francis Collins, a geneticist who found faith in Christianity, and Richard Dawkins, renowned atheist author and evolutionary biologist debate biology, belief and COVID: can science and fight be reconciled? We also look at Dawkins' recent exchange with Christian philosopher Richard Swinburne, as a natural extension to some of the issues discussed with Francis Collins, and will also give you a sneak peek of an exhilarating two-parter coming up in Season 5 of The Big Conversation: a debate on a pressing contemporary topic! Register for early access to new Big Conversation episodes, as well as hours of exclusive video and ebook content - including the bonus clip of Dawkins and Collins discussing genetics: https://thebigconversation.show Watch the full "Mystery of Existence" discussion, featuring Dawkins and Swinburne: Part One: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/unbelievable/unbelievable-the-mystery-of-existence-why-is-there-something-rather-than-nothing-part-1-with-richard-dawkins-jessica-frazier-silvia-jonas-richard-swinburne-and-jack-symes/16076.article Part Two: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/unbelievable/unbelievable-the-mystery-of-existence-where-did-natural-environments-and-complex-organisms-came-from-part-2-with-richard-dawkins-jessica-frazier-silvia-jonas-richard-swinburne/16119.article For the book "Coming to Faith Through Dawkins": https://www.kregel.com/biography/coming-to-faith-through-dawkins/ • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://pod.link/267142101 • More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com • For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live • For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training • Support us in the USA: http://www.premierinsight.org/unbelievableshow • Support us in the rest of the world: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/donate

The origin of our universe is one of the greatest mysteries we face. Why is there something rather than nothing? How did we come to exist in a world with such precise laws of nature?How we answer these questions determines everything, from the meaning of our lives to the secrets of our futures.This episode of The Poetry Of Reality features Jack Symes in conversation with Richard Dawkins, joined by Jessica Frazier speaking on Hinduism, Silvia Jonas speaking on Jewish philosophy, and Richard Swinburne defending Christianity.________________________Join Substack:https://richarddawkins.substack.com/Subscribe to Poetry of Reality Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmwfdgHA_R9fzr1L0_hxdVwFollow:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.poetry.of.reality/Twitter: https://twitter.com/RichardDawkinsFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/RichardDawkinsBooksReddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ThePoetryofReality

Featuring four of the biggest names in philosophy and biology Unbelievable presents the second part of “The Mystery of Existence” a riveting debate showcasing the intellectual prowess of four eminent figures in the realm of biology and philosophy: Richard Dawkins (representing science and atheism), Jessica Frazier (on Hinduism), Silvia Jonas (speaking on Jewish philosophy), and Richard Swinburne (defending Christianity). The origin of our universe is the greatest mystery of all. The second part of this special debate discusses what is the origin of life? Why is there something rather than nothing? This remarkable two-part series is a collaboration with The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast and has been made possible, in part, by the Global Philosophy of Religion Project at the University of Birmingham. Hosted by Ruth Jackson of Unbelievable and presented by Jack Symes of Panpsycast, this Unbelievable special 'The Mystery of Existence' offers profound insights and perspectives on origins and meaning. If you missed the first part of this enthralling debate, titled "Why is there something rather than nothing?" be sure to catch up here {Hyperlink FOR PREVIOUS WEEK's SHOW] The Global Philosophy of Religion Project: http://global-philosophy.org Philosophers on God (book): http://amzn.to/3K4enjy Talking about Philosophy: http://talkingaboutphilosophy.com Richard Dawkins: http://richarddawkins.com  Jessica Frazier: http://bit.ly/jessicafrazier  Silvia Jonas: http://silviajonas.com  Jack Symes: http://jacksymes.co.uk  Richard Swinburne: http://bit.ly/richardswinburne  Philosophers on God (book): http://amzn.to/3K4enjy Talking about Philosophy: http://talkingaboutphilosophy.com  The Global Philosophy of Religion Project: http://global-philosophy.org  Support: http://patreon.com/panpsycast • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://pod.link/267142101 • More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com • For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live • For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training • Support us in the USA: http://www.premierinsight.org/unbelievableshow • Support us in the rest of the world: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/donate

The origin of our universe is the greatest mystery of all. Why is there something rather than nothing? Further still, how did we come to exist in a world with such precise laws of nature and complex creatures? As we shall see, how we answer these questions determines everything: from the meaning of our lives to the secrets of our futures. This week Premier Unbelievable presents a two part show event entitled “The Mystery of Existence” opening with the perennial and mind teasing question, “Why is there something rather than nothing?”. We have teamed up with our friends at The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast to create a riveting two-part show made possible in part thanks to the Global Philosophy of Religion Project at the University of Birmingham. Featuring four of the biggest names in philosophy: Richard Dawkins (representing science and atheism), Jessica Frazier (on Hinduism), Silvia Jonas (speaking on Jewish philosophy), and Richard Swinburne (defending Christianity), the show asks the question, Why is there something rather than nothing?”  The debate is presented by Unbelievable's Ruth Jackson and hosted by Panpsycast's Jack Symes. The Global Philosophy of Religion Project: http://global-philosophy.org Philosophers on God (book): http://amzn.to/3K4enjy Talking about Philosophy: http://talkingaboutphilosophy.com Richard Dawkins: http://richarddawkins.com Jessica Frazier: http://bit.ly/jessicafrazier Silvia Jonas: http://silviajonas.com Jack Symes: http://jacksymes.co.uk Richard Swinburne: http://bit.ly/richardswinburne • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://pod.link/267142101 • More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com • For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live • For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training • Support us in the USA: http://www.premierinsight.org/unbelievableshow • Support us in the rest of the world: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/donate

Introduction This episode features Jack Symes in conversation with four of the biggest names in philosophy: Richard Dawkins (representing science and atheism), Jessica Frazier (on Hinduism), Silvia Jonas (speaking on Jewish philosophy), and Richard Swinburne (defending Christianity). With over six-hundred people registering for tickets, we were absolutely overwhelmed by your support; thank you to everybody who came along! A very special thank you to our Patrons and the Global Philosophy of Religion Project at the University of Birmingham for making the event possible. We hope you enjoy the show! ‘The origin of our universe is the greatest mystery of all. Why is there something rather than nothing? Further still, how did we come to exist in a world with such precise laws of nature and complex creatures? As we shall see, how we answer these questions determines everything: from the meaning of our lives to the secrets of our futures.' Contents Part I. The Debate Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion Links General The Global Philosophy of Religion Project, University of Birmingham. Philosophers on God: Talking about Existence (Bloomsbury, 2024). Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene (book). The Blind Watchmaker (book). The God Delusion (book). Outgrowing God (book). Flights of Fancy (book). www.richarddawkins.com www.richarddawkins.net Jessica Frazier About (webpage). Reality, Religion, and Passion (book). The Bloomsbury Companion to Hindu Studies (book). Hindu Worldviews: Theories of Self, Ritual and Reality (book). Categorisation in Indian Philosophy: Thinking Inside the Box (book). BBC In Our Times: Hindu Creation (podcast). History of Philosophy without Any Gaps (podcast). Silvia Jonas Silvia Jonas (website). Silvia Jonas: Research (website). Ineffability and its Metaphysics (book). Richard Swinburne The Existence of God (book). Is There a God? (book). More books by Richard Swinburne.

Introduction This episode features Jack Symes in conversation with four of the biggest names in philosophy: Richard Dawkins (representing science and atheism), Jessica Frazier (on Hinduism), Silvia Jonas (speaking on Jewish philosophy), and Richard Swinburne (defending Christianity). With over six-hundred people registering for tickets, we were absolutely overwhelmed by your support; thank you to everybody who came along! A very special thank you to our Patrons and the Global Philosophy of Religion Project at the University of Birmingham for making the event possible. We hope you enjoy the show! ‘The origin of our universe is the greatest mystery of all. Why is there something rather than nothing? Further still, how did we come to exist in a world with such precise laws of nature and complex creatures? As we shall see, how we answer these questions determines everything: from the meaning of our lives to the secrets of our futures.' Contents Part I. The Debate Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion Links General The Global Philosophy of Religion Project, University of Birmingham. Philosophers on God: Talking about Existence (Bloomsbury, 2024). Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene (book). The Blind Watchmaker (book). The God Delusion (book). Outgrowing God (book). Flights of Fancy (book). www.richarddawkins.com www.richarddawkins.net Jessica Frazier About (webpage). Reality, Religion, and Passion (book). The Bloomsbury Companion to Hindu Studies (book). Hindu Worldviews: Theories of Self, Ritual and Reality (book). Categorisation in Indian Philosophy: Thinking Inside the Box (book). BBC In Our Times: Hindu Creation (podcast). History of Philosophy without Any Gaps (podcast). Silvia Jonas Silvia Jonas (website). Silvia Jonas: Research (website). Ineffability and its Metaphysics (book). Richard Swinburne The Existence of God (book). Is There a God? (book). More books by Richard Swinburne.

Autor: Dave Fisher, čte: Daniel Zeman, Pavel Hromádka, překlad: Johanka Kroupová

Autor: Dave Fisher, čte: Daniel Zeman, Pavel Hromádka, překlad: Johanka Kroupová

Autor: Dave Fisher, čte: Daniel Zeman, Pavel Hromádka, překlad: Johanka Kroupová

Richard Swinburne is an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford, and author of a number of books on the philosophy of religion, the soul, and Christianity, amongst other subjects. To support the podcast, please visit support.withinreasonpodcast.com

Ascultați pe cunoscutul psiholog ortodox Richard Swinburne care ne vorbește despre necesitatea existenței raiului și iadului din punctul de vedere al unui intelectual. Un material cu adevărat interesant.Audiție plăcută!Pentru Pomelnice și Donații accesați: https://www.chilieathonita.ro/pomelnice-si-donatii/Pentru mai multe articole (texte, traduceri, podcasturi) vedeți https://www.chilieathonita.ro/

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

What is a miracle? Does it mean God breaks the laws of physics or merely that he intervenes within the system? After considering several definitions of miracles from Christian thinkers, Will Barlow interacts with a number of biblical incidents to explain what a miracle is and is not. He examines the parting of the Red Sea, Moses getting water from the rock, the collapse of Jericho's walls, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fire, and Daniel in the lions' den. For each Barlow looks at how God performed the miracle, shedding light on how science and scripture interact. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUFzfnYmyQE&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV1Etu1jXO3jbUQ6CFI-2k6W&index=14 See below for notes. —— Links —— We are doing follow-up discussions to these episodes on YouTube. Check them out! See other episodes in this Scripture and Science Class Check out Barlow's previous podcast episodes Learn more about and support the church Barlow and his team are starting in Louisville, KY, called Compass Christian Church Find more articles and audios by Barlow on his website: Study Driven Faith Support Restitutio by donating here Designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Notes —— Miracles • Defining a Miracle • Archetypal Example • Other Examples What is the big deal with miracles? Why are miracles important? • Thomas Jefferson famously refused to believe in miracles - his edited version of the NT had all of the miracles removed • In modern times, miracles are still controversial Richard Swinburne on miracles: “What the theist claims about God is that he does have a power to create, conserve, or annihilate anything, big or small. And he can also make objects move or do anything else…He can make the planets move in the way that Kepler discovered that they move, or make gunpowder explode when we set a match to it…” “or he can make planets move in quite different ways, and chemical substances explode or not explode under quite different conditions from those which now govern their behavior. God is not limited by the laws of nature; he makes them and he can change or suspend them – if he chooses.” Francis Collins on miracles: A miracle is “an event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin.” —The Language of God, page 48. William Lane Craig on miracles: “You see, natural laws have implicit ceteris paribus conditions—that's Latin meaning, ‘all other things being equal.' In other words, natural laws assume that no other natural or supernatural factors are interfering with the operation that the law describes.” What is an example of a ceteris paribus condition? • Imagine that an apple is falling from a tree • If you don't intervene, what will happen? • If you do intervene, is gravity wrong? I offer the following definition of a miracle: A miracle is when God acts in an improbable way. However, miracles often fit within the boundaries of the theoretical limits of science. In other words, a miracle may be unexplainable by current scientific theories. That does not imply that God is “breaking His own rules.” We have limited knowledge. In simple words, a miracle is not necessarily a miracle because of what happens, but it generally is a miracle because of: • When it happens • To whom it happens • Why it happens Archetypal Miracle The archetypal example of a miracle is the crossing of the Red (or Reed) Sea. Was the miracle the specific event only? Or was it that it happened in that place, in that time, to those people? Exodus 14:21   Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. Exodus 14:22   And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Were the laws of physics violated in any way by the crossing of the Red Sea? No. In fact, the Bible explicitly tells us how God performed this miracle. So, then, what is the miraculous part? In my mind, this is miraculous because: • It happened to the Hebrews • It happened when God said it would and when the Hebrews needed it • It happened for the purpose of saving God's people Examples of Miracles Are there ways to explain other miracles? • Water from the rock • Walls of Jericho • Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego • Daniel and the Lions' den Water from the Rock Exodus 17:6   Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink." And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. How can we explain water from the rock? • God could have led Moses to a location where an underground spring existed • In cases like this, even a relatively small amount of force could cause water to come forth • This fits our understanding of geology How can we explain water from the rock? • Alternately, we could understand this as a large porous sandstone rock that absorbed a lot of water • Again, even a relatively small amount of force could cause water to come forth • This fits our understanding of geology Walls of Jericho Joshua 6:20   So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. How can we explain the falling of the walls of Jericho? • Perhaps this is a case where God gave the priests the resonant frequency of the walls - and the people matched that pitch • Every material has a resonant frequency How can we explain the falling of the walls of Jericho? • Think about a glass shattering when an opera singer reaches a certain note • The Angers Bridge in France was destroyed in 1850 when French soldiers marched in lockstep over the bridge Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Daniel 3:22   Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Daniel 3:27   And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. How can we explain Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego surviving the fiery furnace? • Perhaps God used a force field to separate the men from the fire • Perhaps God created a micro-vacuum around the men Daniel and the Lions' Den Daniel 6:17   And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Daniel 6:22   My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm." Daniel 6:24   And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions--they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces. How can we explain Daniel surviving the lions' den? • Perhaps God caused the lions to enter a temporary hibernation or heavy sleep sequence • Perhaps God hid Daniel from the lions by masking his scent, etc. Other Miracles in the Bible • The lengthening of the day • Gideon and the fleece • Duplication of matter • Walking on water • Healings • Resurrection of Jesus A miracle is when God acts in an improbable way. However, miracles often fit within the boundaries of the theoretical limits of science.

In this live episode of the Parker's Pensées Podcast, I'm joined by Richard Swinburne to go over his souped up version of Descartes's argument for the soul from his book Are We Bodies or Souls? If you like this podcast, then support it on Patreon for $3, $5 or more a month. Any amount helps, and for $5 you get a Parker's Pensées sticker and instant access to all the episode as I record them instead of waiting for their release date. Check it out here: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/parkers_pensees If you want to give a one-time gift, you can give at my Paypal: https://paypal.me/ParkersPensees?locale.x=en_US Check out my merchandise at my Teespring store: https://teespring.com/stores/parkers-penses-merch Come talk with the Pensées community on Discord: dsc.gg/parkerspensees Check out my blog posts: https://parkersettecase.com/ Check out my Parker's Pensées YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYbTRurpFP5q4TpDD_P2JDA Check out my other YouTube channel on my frogs and turtles: https://www.youtube.com/c/ParkerSettecase Check me out on Twitter: https://twitter.com/trendsettercase Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parkers_pensees/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/parkers-pensees/support

On today's ID the Future Lehigh University biologist Michael Behe addresses what Philosophy for the People host Pat Flynn considers some of the best objections to Behe's central intelligent design argument. As far back as the 1996 book Darwin's Black Box, Behe has argued that certain features in biology are irreducibly complex. That is, they require numerous essential parts, each carefully fitted to its task and integrated with the other parts, in order for the molecular machine or system to function at all. Two examples are the bacterial flagellum motor and the blood clotting cascade. Such systems are, in Behe's words, irreducibly complex and could not have arisen through any blind and gradual evolution process. The better explanation for their Read More › Source

What does it even mean to be aware of something, to be conscious? Why do the vast majority of people only have one consciousness? Will computers ever experience consciousness? On this Bingecast, Dr. Robert J. Marks and Dr. Angus Menuge discuss these questions and more. Show Notes 00:01:36 | Introducing Dr. Angus Menuge 00:07:02 | Near-death experiences 00:10:32 | The… Source

The existence of God is the most discussed, and perhaps the most important, question in philosophy. For the majority of the world's population, God provides meaning, morality, metaphysics, and hopefully, salvation. A rich history of scholarship defending God's existence has meant theism has long been considered to be a reasonable worldview; however, with the rise of secularism and the new atheist movement, a fiery and passionate debate has ensued: one of science vs. religion. Our question: can the two be reconciled? In this episode, we'll be discussing God's existence with one of contemporary philosophy's most influential thinkers, Professor Richard Swinburne. Best known for his great trilogy of books – The Coherence of Theism, The Existence of God, and Faith and Reason – Professor Swinburne's impact on philosophy of religion has been enormous... from high school classrooms to university halls, every teacher knows his name and every student must wrestle with his work. According to Swinburne, theism is the friend – and not the enemy – of science; for God ‘explains everything that we observe', from the universe's existence and the scientific laws which operate within it, to its extraordinary miracles and conscious creatures. ‘If we want a complete explanation of the universe', says Swinburne, ‘then science needs God.' Contents Part I. Is there a God? Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion Links The Existence of God, Richard Swinburne (book). Is There a God?, Richard Swinburne (book). More books by Richard Swinburne.

The existence of God is the most discussed, and perhaps the most important, question in philosophy. For the majority of the world's population, God provides meaning, morality, metaphysics, and hopefully, salvation. A rich history of scholarship defending God's existence has meant theism has long been considered to be a reasonable worldview; however, with the rise of secularism and the new atheist movement, a fiery and passionate debate has ensued: one of science vs. religion. Our question: can the two be reconciled? In this episode, we'll be discussing God's existence with one of contemporary philosophy's most influential thinkers, Professor Richard Swinburne. Best known for his great trilogy of books – The Coherence of Theism, The Existence of God, and Faith and Reason – Professor Swinburne's impact on philosophy of religion has been enormous... from high school classrooms to university halls, every teacher knows his name and every student must wrestle with his work. According to Swinburne, theism is the friend – and not the enemy – of science; for God ‘explains everything that we observe', from the universe's existence and the scientific laws which operate within it, to its extraordinary miracles and conscious creatures. ‘If we want a complete explanation of the universe', says Swinburne, ‘then science needs God.' Contents Part I. Is there a God? Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion Links The Existence of God, Richard Swinburne (book). Is There a God?, Richard Swinburne (book). More books by Richard Swinburne.

An interview with Richard Swinburne, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford. Dr. Swinburne is one of the world's leading Christian philosophers and has authored many books on philosophy, theology, and cosmology, including the seminal works "The Coherence of Theism," "The Existence of God," and "Faith and Reason."

Health Check Ep 60: How to sleep right 10:42 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. In this episode, ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks with ​Dr Richard Swinburne, a sleep scientist and the Head of Sports Nutrition at the Singapore Sports Institute on sleep hygiene, how long a nap should be and how a lack of sleep can affect your health. They discuss the following points: Develop a good sleep-wake basic routine; go to bed and wake up within 30-60 minutes of the same time each day (2:50) How having less than 6 hours of sleep a night will seriously affect long-term health (4:18) How long should an effective nap be? (6:53) What happens to your body when you wake up after a hour-long nap, and why taxi drivers should try not to drive till 30 minutes after they wake up (7:18) How good sleep nourishes the body and a person's emotional health (8:50) Listen to Ep 59 - What you can eat to sleep better: https://omny.fm/shows/health-check-1/health-check-ep-59 Ep 9 - Why sleep habits need to be formed when young: https://omny.fm/shows/health-check-1/why-sleep-habits-need-to-be-formed-when-young-heal Ep 10 - Can schools and parents help boost the cognition and well-being of sleep-deprived Singaporean teenagers? https://omny.fm/shows/health-check-1/can-schools-and-parents-help-boost-the-cognition-a Produced by: Joyce Teo (joyceteo@sph.com.sg), Penelope Lee and Ernest Luis  Edited by: Penelope Lee Subscribe to Health Check Podcast channel, hear the latest episodes every first and third Wednesday of the month and rate us on your favourite audio apps: Channel: https://str.sg/JWaN Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWRX Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaQ Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/J6Wv  Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Read Joyce Teo's stories: https://str.sg/JbxN --- Discover more ST podcast series: Asian Insider Podcast: https://str.sg/JWa7 Green Pulse Podcast: https://str.sg/JWaf ST Sports Talk Podcast: https://str.sg/JWRE Life Weekend Picks Podcast: https://str.sg/JWa2 #PopVultures Podcast: https://str.sg/JWad Bookmark This! Podcast: https://str.sg/JWas Lunch With Sumiko Podcast: https://str.sg/J6hQ Discover BT Podcasts:  http://bt.sg/podcasts Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Health Check Ep 60: How to sleep right 10:42 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. In this episode, ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks with ​Dr Richard Swinburne, a sleep scientist and the Head of Sports Nutrition at the Singapore Sports Institute on sleep hygiene, how long a nap should be and how a lack of sleep can affect your health. They discuss the following points: Develop a good sleep-wake basic routine; go to bed and wake up within 30-60 minutes of the same time each day (2:50) How having less than 6 hours of sleep a night will seriously affect long-term health (4:18) How long should an effective nap be? (6:53) What happens to your body when you wake up after a hour-long nap, and why taxi drivers should try not to drive till 30 minutes after they wake up (7:18) How good sleep nourishes the body and a person's emotional health (8:50) Listen to Ep 59 - What you can eat to sleep better: https://omny.fm/shows/health-check-1/health-check-ep-59 Ep 9 - Why sleep habits need to be formed when young: https://omny.fm/shows/health-check-1/why-sleep-habits-need-to-be-formed-when-young-heal Ep 10 - Can schools and parents help boost the cognition and well-being of sleep-deprived Singaporean teenagers? https://omny.fm/shows/health-check-1/can-schools-and-parents-help-boost-the-cognition-a Produced by: Joyce Teo (joyceteo@sph.com.sg), Penelope Lee and Ernest Luis  Edited by: Penelope Lee Subscribe to Health Check Podcast channel, hear the latest episodes fortnightly on Wednesdays and rate us on your favourite audio apps: Channel: https://str.sg/JWaN Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWRX Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaQ Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/J6Wv  Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Read Joyce Teo's stories: https://str.sg/JbxN --- Discover more ST podcast series: Asian Insider Podcast: https://str.sg/JWa7 Green Pulse Podcast: https://str.sg/JWaf ST Sports Talk Podcast: https://str.sg/JWRE Life Weekend Picks Podcast: https://str.sg/JWa2 #PopVultures Podcast: https://str.sg/JWad Bookmark This! Podcast: https://str.sg/JWas Lunch With Sumiko Podcast: https://str.sg/J6hQ Discover BT Podcasts:  http://bt.sg/podcasts Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The mind-body problem is much like the chicken-and-egg dilemma: Which came first? In today’s episode, Dr. Robert J. Marks sits down with Dr. Angus Menuge to discuss the basics of the mind-body problem, its philosophical history, and whether artificial intelligence ever has a chance at truly replicating the human mind. Show Notes 01:12 | Introducing Dr. Angus Menuge, professor and… Source

The mind-body problem is much like the chicken-and-egg dilemma: Which came first? In today’s episode, Dr. Robert J. Marks sits down with Dr. Angus Menuge to discuss the basics of the mind-body problem, its philosophical history, and whether artificial intelligence ever has a chance at truly replicating the human mind. Show Notes 01:12 | Introducing Dr. Angus Menuge, professor and… Source

COSMOS - How does metaphysics contribute to our understanding of the world? It asks the most profound questions: What kinds of things exist? How does causality work? Sound too abstract? How about: Does God exist? Are you a soul? Featuring Michio Kaku, Bede Rundle, John Leslie, Richard Swinburne, and Hubert Dreyfus.

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.1 Introduction  What does the Bible say on the subject of abortion? In fact, no scriptures address the subject head-on. This is curious, because abortion and exposure of unwanted infants were common in the ancient world. Various poisons were administered to induce abortions. Several ancient texts related to abortion and exposure of infants:The Hippocratic Oath forbade abortions: “I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art” (c.400 BC). There would be little need to forbid them if they were unknown or not performed by some physicians."Ah, women, why do you dig out your child with sharp instruments and administer harsh poisons to your children as yet unborn?... Neither the tigress has done this in the jungles of Armenia, nor has the lioness had the heart to destroy her unborn young. Tender woman does it, though, but does not go unpunished. Often she who slays her own in her uterus dies herself."—Ovid (43 BC-17 AD), Loves 2.14.27-38.Exposure: "If you chance you bear a child, if it is male, let it live. If it is female, throw it out."—Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 744 (a text from ancient Egypt, dated to 1 BC).While early Christians were vocal in their opposition to abortion (see ¶3), the scriptures typically referenced are far from conclusive. Principles may be adduced, such as the injunction against murder, but it seems circular to define abortion as murder in order to settle the question of its morality. Might there be exceptions? If there are, then a universal prohibition is not possible.Most Bible students believe life starts at conception, based on the poetry of Job 10:8-12; Psalm 139:13-16; and Jeremiah 1:5. If they are right, then any abortion is tantamount to killing. But did God intend poems to be mined for literalistic doctrine? Not likely. Consider Psalm 139:13-16.13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.Psalms are poetry. We were not literally “knitted,” nor were we woven “in the depths of the earth.” The psalm clearly affirms that life begins before birth; it does not establish the time of that first moment of that life.In Matthew 1:18-20, Joseph is told that Mary was "with child," and about this child, "What is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” This gives stronger support for the idea that conception is the point of the beginning of life. But even here we might wish for clearer testimony. An omniscient God knows the future, and so can easily have a providential view of our entire existence, even before we have a soul.What about Exodus 21:22-23?22 “If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely [or has a miscarriage] but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. 23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life…This passage is capable of two translations: miscarriage or premature birth. Here the penalty for causing an abortion or miscarriage was a fine, not the death penalty, as if the baby were already born. Although I am not pro-abortion, I hold that the Bible appears to recognize some differences between a baby already born and one still in the womb.In the absence of direct, explicit, crystal-clear scriptural teaching on abortion, it may be fruitful to ponder the following questions. Try to answer them honestly.2 Questions for thoughtThe fertilization process requires many hours, and is followed by another day in which the individual (diploid) is formed. In what sense is the mother-to-be pregnant before the process is complete?Is the loss of a 16-cell embryo equal to the loss of a full-term fetus?Up until two weeks, the zygote can split into twins, triplets, and so on. The process of individuation is still incomplete. Can a soul be shared three ways?The baby's heart starts beating after 22 days. Does life begin with the heartbeat?The sex of the embryo is not determined until the seventh week. Accordingly, many Muslims and Jews consider the embryo to be fully human only after 40 days. (Though I interpret the Muslim Hadith of Bukhari 4.549 to indicate ensoulment at 40 or 120 days.) Do Jews and Muslims value life less than Christians?All the organs are formed by the end of the first eight weeks of gestation. Yet recognizable EEG patterns (the mental activity associated with humanity) don’t appear until 24 weeks. What are the implications? Is it possible that the individual becomes fully human on a continuum?Continuous brainwaves do not begin until about 28 weeks. Until then, the neurons carrying pain impulses to the brain are not yet fully wired. What are the implications? (On the other end of life, at what point does the spirit depart from the body? At the cessation of brain activity?)Is abortion allowable if this is the only way to save the mother’s life?3 Historical Christian viewpointsViews on abortion have varied through the course of history.“You shall not murder a child by abortion” is a command found in early 2nd-century sources Barnabas 19:5 and the Didache 2:2.Late 2nd century apologist Tertullian wrote, "It does not matter whether you take away a life that is born or destroy one that is coming to birth. In both instances, the destruction is murder" (Apol. 9.4).Augustine too spoke of the sin of aborting a human life, referring to "the murder of an unborn child" (On Marriage, 1.17.15, about 400 AD). Yet he believed in delayed ensoulment (Enchiridion 85). Jerome held to a similar position: “The seed gradually takes shape in the uterus, and it [abortion] does not count as killing until the individual elements have acquired their external appearance and their limbs” (Letter to Aglasia). The church fathers of the East, on the other hand, tended to view ensoulment as simultaneous with conception.An Anglo-Saxon (Old English) document found at Canterbury, referring to the fetus, reads “… In the third month he is a man, except for the soul” (Anglo-Saxon Prose, Michael Swanton, tr. London: J. M. Dent, 1993), 263.Gratian, a Canon Law jurist, decreed in 1140, "He who procures an abortion before the soul is infused into the body is not a homicide” (Concordia discordantium canonum, Decretum, Ad. c8, C. XXXII, q.2.).In the High Middle Ages, Thomas Aquinas believed that the rational soul [many souls] is infused by God into the body at 40 days for males and 90 days for females. – John Haldane and Patrick Lee, “Aquinas on Human Ensoulment, Abortion and the Value of Life,” Philosophy 78 (2003), 255-8.As Anthony Joseph concluded, "American abortion law today is vastly less protective of the unborn than the civil law tradition of medieval Europe" ("The Crime of Abortion & the Middle Ages," in The City, Houston Baptist University, Winter 2015, 86.Modern scholar Richard Swinburne suggests that the soul does not function until about 20 weeks after conception (The Evolution of the Soul [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987], esp. ch. 8).4 Conscience and ConsistencyWhatever believers think about this important subject should be consistent, informed by science and theology, and moderated by conscience.2% of abortions result from rape, incest, or the mother's life being threatened by the pregnancy (so Charles Camosy, author of Beyond the Abortion Wars). This would mean 98% of abortions are performed because the pregnancy is inconvenient. The fact is important because abortion is often defended as a standard practice because of its potential desirability in extreme situations.Antiabortionists are inconsistent when they are pro-life in regard to an embryo or fetus but anti-life when calling for the execution of the abortionist. On the other side, abortionists are inconsistent when they affirm that a fetus is fully human (when they approve of the pregnancy) and that it’s at the mother’s disposal (as part of her body). Is it human, or not? If it’s a baby before it’s born, it must not be cast off. Otherwise, on what grounds could eliminating a one-year-old baby be rejected as murder?Attacking or killing physicians who perform abortions is hardly the way to underscore the sanctity of life.Some feminists observe that legalized abortion does less to emancipate women than to empower irresponsible men. Good point.5 ConclusionsLife clearly begins before birth, and so I hold that abortion of a living human, a viable fetus, is murder. Yet at which point does the pre-human become a person? Could this take place on a continuum? So it seems to me, as to a number of ancient and modern thinkers.If the fetus is viable outside the womb, it seems impossible to distinguish abortion from murder. Even in case of rape, it is far from clear that the child should be punished / aborted for the actions of an adult (the rapist).Conservative Bible-believers range from forbidding abortion in nearly all cases to opposing it in all cases—quite a narrow range, when you think about it.Of course the Lord is pro-life, yet he also wants us to make a right choice. Choose our words wisely; choose our battles wisely; pray for the Lord to make up the difference at any point where we may be defective in our knowledge, relatability to others, or Christ-like compassion.While I am pro-life, I am not advocating any specific governmental policy. Like many, I'm acutely uncomfortable when governmental "experts" attempt to regulate every aspect of our private lives (education, ethics, religion, and other personal choices).There is no doubt that abortion creates a tremendous load of guilt. Therefore this is one subject we should discuss with wisdom and love.Abortion is a sensitive issue. While holding to biblical conviction—uncompromisingly—still we need to behave and speak with genuine concern for others.This is probably not suitable for a small group Bible discussion. Advice for preachers: sensitivity when tempted to publicly call abortion "murder."As we deal with all matters of personal interest to those we hope to reach, students of the word should strive to:Take a stand on the truth. Know the facts.Be silent where the Bible is silent. Don't create laws, even when they seem wise, without full biblical warrant (Colossians 2:22).Present the gospel message in a gracious spirit (Colossians 4:5-6).

COSMOS - Forget science. Forget God. This is the ultimate question: What if Everything had Forever been Nothing? Not just emptiness, not just blankness, but not even the existence of emptiness, not even the meaning of blankness, and no Forever. If you don't get dizzy, you really don't get it. Featuring John Leslie, Peter van Inwagen, Bede Rundle, Quentin Smith, Richard Swinburne and Steven Weinberg.

CONSCIOUSNESS - If mind and brain are the same thing, then the physical world is likely all that exists. But if mind and brain are not the same thing, then what? Could reality go beyond the physical? Featuring David Eagleman, Nicholas Humphrey, Richard Swinburne, Raymond Tallis, and Robert Stickgold.

Neste episódio, vamos avançar um pouco mais na temática fé e ciência. Vamos falar sobre um conceito importante: causalidade intencional e causalidade inanimada. Sabe o que quer dizer? Então, não perca! Richard Swinburne: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Swinburne Francis Schaeffer: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Schaeffer Textos citando Schaeffer: https://www.cristaosnaciencia.org.br/?s=Schaeffer Assista, curta, comente e compartilhe! Não deixe de se inscrever em nosso canal e ativar as notificações. *** Pedro Dulci é pastor, filósofo, teólogo e escritor. É graduando em teologia pelo Seminário Presbiteriano Brasil Central, doutorando em filosofia pela Universidade Federal de Goiás e pastor na Igreja Presbiteriana Bereia, em Goiânia (GO). ___ Conheça o Telegram da ABC²: https://t.me/cristaosnaciencia

MEANING - Humans have a sense of right and wrong. Does this mean that morality is absolute? And if absolute, would God be needed to make it so? Even theologians are perplexed by God & Morality; some even admit it. Featuring J.P. Moreland, Richard Swinburne, Francis S. Collins, Michael Tooley, and Michael Shermer.

Why believe in hell? What about the soul? This week I interview the one and only Professor Richard Swinburne! He is one of the foremost philosophers of religion in the world and one of the most cited and researched scholars in the world. Swinburne is a Fellow of the British Academy and was Nolloth Professor of the Philosophy of the …

Today’s Key Idea: Jesus desires internal transformation and not just external obedience. Patrick welcomes Dr. Steve L. Porter as a guest on the show today. Dr. Porter is Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Biola University (La Mirada, CA). He completed his Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Southern California under Dallas Willard and M.Phil. in philosophical theology at the University of Oxford under Richard Swinburne. Steve teaches and does research on the dynamics of human change from psychological, philosophical, and theological perspectives. Steve has authored or edited various books and articles. Recent edited books include Neuroscience and the Soul: The Human Person in Philosophy, Science, and Theology and Psychology and Spiritual Formation in Dialogue: Moral and Spiritual Change in Christian Perspective. Alongside two others, Steve edited and completed Willard’s posthumous publication The Disappearance of Moral Knowledge. Steve is co-founder of the Intellectual Virtues Academy of Long Beach, which is a grade 6–12 charter school committed to an intellectual virtues model of education. Steve and his wife Alicia live with their son Luke and daughter Siena in Long Beach, CA.   Mentioned in this Episode:   Galatians 5:17-21 Connect with Ruth here: Website Instagram  Facebook   Connect with Pat here: Website Facebook    Please share Rootlike Faith with your friends!

Episode 26– Show NotesWe discussed how we got the Bible we have, with its 66 books .. or whatever number of books your Bible has. And then we turned again to our favourite Apologetics book for inspiration … this time on the Moral Argument. Heads up to John Humblestone from the Unbelievable Facebook discussion group for his list on reasons Christians give for morals being objective.Here is Frances’ link to an essay by Richard Swinburne, a Christian philosopher who rejects the argument from morality (because he considers all moral truths to be logical truths.)http://users.ox.ac.uk/~orie0087/pdf_files/General%20untechnical%20papers/God%20and%20Morality.pdf Doubts 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.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 26– Show NotesWe discussed how we got the Bible we have, with its 66 books .. or whatever number of books your Bible has. And then we turned again to our favourite Apologetics book for inspiration … this time on the Moral Argument. Heads up to John Humblestone from the Unbelievable Facebook discussion group for his list on reasons Christians give for morals being objective.Here is Frances’ link to an essay by Richard Swinburne, a Christian philosopher who rejects the argument from morality (because he considers all moral truths to be logical truths.)http://users.ox.ac.uk/~orie0087/pdf_files/General%20untechnical%20papers/God%20and%20Morality.pdf Doubts 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.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

Prof Richard Swinburne is one of the most influential Christian philosophers in the world. In his new book ‘Are we Bodies or Souls?’ he sets out his argument for the existence of the soul. Luke Janssen has a background in science and theology. In his new book ‘Soul-Searching: The Evolution of Judeo-Christian Thinking on the Soul and the Afterlife’ he makes the case that our experience of personal identity can be explained through physical brain processes. However, he does not believe this contradicts Christianity. For Richard Swinburne’s ‘Are we Bodies or Souls?’ https://global.oup.com/academic/product/are-we-bodies-or-souls-9780198831495   For Luke Janssen’s ‘Soul-Searching’ https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Searching-Evolution-Judeo-Christian-Thinking-Afterlife/dp/1532679815   For more faith debates and extra resources visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable  Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter Get the MP3 Podcast of Unbelievable? Via RSS or Via Itunes, Podbean, Spotify or Stitcher

In this episode of the podcast, I interview Richard Swinburne, one of the most eminent Natural Theologians of all time. Toward the end he gives two arguments for Dualism (roughly the idea that we humans are composed of two substances, one physical and one non-physical). Really interesting interview! To view his portraits and/or watch the interview: http://capturingchristianity.com/my-interview-and-portraits-of-richard-swinburne/ To support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/capturingchristianity

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/whats-next-death-and-afterlife. The question of what happens to us after we die remains as mysterious now as it always was. Some think that death amounts to total annihilation of the self; others adhere to certain religious traditions, which teach that the immaterial soul (and, in some traditions, the resurrected body) can ultimately survive death. So how are we to judge between these radically different views of what happens to us in death? What would it mean for the self to persist beyond the destruction of the body? Is there room in a scientific account of the mind for the existence of an immaterial soul? John and Ken see the light with Richard Swinburne from the University of Oxford, author of "Mind, Brain, and Free Will."

Richard Swinburne, University of Oxford, gives the first talk in the New Insights in Religious Epistemology International Conference, held in Oxford in June 2015.

Richard Swinburne, University of Oxford, gives the first talk in the New Insights in Religious Epistemology International Conference, held in Oxford in June 2015.

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/whats-next-death-and-afterlife. The question of what happens to us after we die remains as mysterious now as it always was. Some think that death amounts to total annihilation of the self; others adhere to certain religious traditions, which teach that the immaterial soul (and, in some traditions, the resurrected body) can ultimately survive death. So how are we to judge between these radically different views of what happens to us in death? What would it mean for the self to persist beyond the destruction of the body? Is there room in a scientific account of the mind for the existence of an immaterial soul? John and Ken see the light with Richard Swinburne from the University of Oxford, author of "Mind, Brain, and Free Will."

Professor Swinburne: we can argue from reason alone that the one God is a Trinity.

In September of 2014 I was privileged to attend a conference in honor of the greatest living natural theologian. For the uninitiated, this is what "natural theology" is (also here). The initiated hold Swinburne in awe because of his writings.  Richard Swinburne has produced an unparalleled string of carefully argued, in many cases ground-breaking books in philosophy of religion and in analytic theology (see the links below). Many "big guns" of philosophy of religion came out to present at the conference, and to a person they related how Swinburne had inspired them to think deeply and carefully about various philosophical and theological issues. For my part, his The Christian God was the book that inspired and provoked me to look deeply into the issue of the Trinity. Professor Swinburne has a manly way of taking a stand on hard issues, fashion be damned. You may agree or disagree, but you will think. The conference was called  Faith and Reason: Themes from Swinburne, and it was hosted by Purdue University. On a warm September  day-after-the-conference, Professor Swinburne and I sat outside on a bench on Purdue's lovely campus. In this episode, I interview Professor Swinburne about his life and work. How has he been so productive? What advice does he have for aspiring analytic  theologians? How has his work influenced academic theology? You can also listen to this episode on Stitcher or iTunes (please subscribe, rate, and review us in either or both – directions here). It is also available on YouTube (scroll down – you can subscribe here). If you would like to upload audio feedback for possible inclusion in a future episode of this podcast, put the audio file here. You can support the trinities podcast by ordering anything through Amazon.com after clicking through one of our links. We get a small % of your purchase, even though your price is not increased. (If you see “trinities” in you url while at Amazon, then we’ll get it.) Next episode: an interview with Professor Swinburne on his views on the Trinity. Links for this episode: Professor Swinburne's home page an encyclopedia entry which partially analyzes his work Conference organizers Dr. Jeffrey Brower and Dr. Michael Bergmann, and the conference website (lecture videos coming soon) Swinburne's books on philosophy of religion and analytic theology The Coherence of Theism (1st edition - 2nd, substantially re-written edition out shortly) The Existence of God, 2nd ed. (kindle) Faith and Reason, 2nd ed. (kindle) The Evolution of the Soul, 2nd ed. (kindle) Revelation: From Metaphor to Analogy, 2nd ed. (kindle) Responsibility and Atonement (kindle) The Christian God (kindle) Providence and the Problem of Evil (kindle) Is There a God?, 2nd ed. (kindle) Was Jesus God? (kindle) The Resurrection of God Incarnate (kindle) Mind, Brain, and Free Will (kindle) debates Unbelievable Radio Show / podcast debate with Dr. Bart Ehrman on "God's Problem" - evil and belief in God 2006 debate: Does God exist? vs. R. Joseph Hoffmann 2012 Amsterdam Veritas Forum debate: Is there a God? vs. Herman Philipse 2011 panel discussion: Is there a ghost in the machine? lectures 2011  lecture at Notre Dame - What does the Old Testament mean? 2011 Cambridge on Simplicity, Complexity, Science, Dawkins and God 2014 on The Probability of the Resurrection of Jesus 2012 Biola interviews on atonement on arguments for God's existence with Dr. Timothy O'Connor on Neuroscience and the Soul on doubt and faith on the future of philosophical theology on the defense of Christian doctrine on creedal Christianity on the "new atheists" Closer to Truth interviews with Robert Kuhn (all of them) arguments for atheism Is God perfect?  other interviews 2014 interview by Total Philosophy: part 1, part 2, part 3 2008 Brazil interview by Desiderio Murcho

Christian philosopher Richard Swinburne has used probability theory to show that the likelihood of the resurrection of Christ is 0.97. Calum Miller is a Christian apologist and student of Swinburne. He talks about why he believes that probability theory can be used to show that the resurrection is highly likely to be true. Chris Hallquist is an atheist blogger who argues that the resurrection is not well supported by evidence or probability. For more debates visit www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable Join the conversation via Facebook and Twitter For Calum Miller http://www.dovetheology.com For Apologetics UK http://apologeticsuk.blogspot.co.uk/ For Chris Hallquist http://www.patheos.com/blogs/hallq Get the MP3 podcast of Unbelievable? http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes You may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 16th April 2011 - Biblical evidence for the Resurrection - Bart Ehrman & Mike Licona. Unbelievable? 7 April 2012 - Are the Jesus Scandals evidence for Easter? David Instone-Brewer vs Bob Price.

Bart Ehrman lost his faith altogether when he confronted the problem of how a loving, powerful God can allow suffering.  In his new book "God's Problem" he states that the Bible contains different and unconvincing explanations to the issue. Richard Swinburne is a reknowned Christian philosopher.  He answers Bart's objections with arguments from his own book "Providence and the Problem of Evil". To hear more discussions between Christians and non-Christians go to www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable. Join the discussion on the Premier Community www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable.

In the last thirty years or so, many Christian philosophers have become "social" trinitarians. Not only do they "use the social analogy" for the Trinity - that is, compare the Trinity to three humans - but they also, generally, affirm that the Trinity really does contain or consist of three selves- three beings capable of thought, action, and personal relationships. Dr. Hasker did this before it was cool, in a 1970 article. This sort of view has been perhaps most famously explored by leading Christian philosopher and analytic theologian Richard Swinburne, in his 1994 The Christian God. Before 2013, I would've said that was the best developed "social" theory. But it's now been surpassed, by William Hasker's 2013 Metaphysics and the Tripersonal God. This is an important new book, which develops the idea of a three-self Trinity in interaction with a number of recent philosophers and theologians. In this interview, we discuss his background, how he got started seriously thinking about the Trinity, understanding mysteries, divine simplicity,  and how he interprets the terms "person" and "essence" in the traditional claim that the one God is "three persons in one essence." You can also listen to this episode on youtube. In the next episode, we'll continue the conversation, discussing how how, in his view, these three divine selves can amount to one God. Hasker links (you can support the trinities podcast by buying from Amazon through these links): Metaphysics and the Tripersonal God Hasker lecture, discussion, and interview at the Center for Christian Thought at Biola University. The Triumph of God over Evil: Theodicy for a World of Suffering Providence, Evil and the Openness of God The Emergent Self God, Time, and Knowledge The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge to the Traditional Understanding of God

For many religious believers the most compelling evidence for theism is their own personal experience of God's presence. Christians in the rapidly growing charismatic "renewalist" movement do not just talk to God. They claim to actually hear God talking back. Are these powerful religious experiences evidence that God really exists or are they the result of mental illness? Anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann, author of When God Talks Back, offers another explanation: such experiences arise naturally when spiritual communities learn to train and enhance their natural capacity for imagination. She joins us on the show to talk about what she observed while studying members of the renewalist Vineyard Church. Also in this episode: just how much government revenue is lost due to religious tax exemptions and direct subsides to churches? The answer will shock you. Plus, a counter-apologetics on Richard Swinburne's argument from religious experience and a new pollyatheism.

Today's interview is with Christian philosopher or religion, Richard Swinburne. He is an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford. Over the last 50 years Swinburne has been a proponent of philosophical arguments for the existence of God. He talks about his background, the changes in Christian philosophy in the past decades, the goal for the Christian philosopher, defending and advocating Christianity, his approach to arguing for the existence of God, objections to Christianity, answering the problem of evil & suffering, his advice to Christian defenders, and more. Enjoy.

Richard SwinburneAfter a hiatus, I'm replacing my Philosophy Monthly podcast with a new series, microphilosophy. Each one will be an interview, talk, discussion or feature, no longer than half an hour but usually much shorter.This first edition is an interview with the philosopher and theologian Richard Swinburne, conducted for my new book, The Ego Trick. More podcasts relating to the book will follow over coming weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a hiatus, I'm replacing my Philosophy Monthly podcast with a new series, microphilosophy. Each one will be an interview, talk, discussion or feature, no longer than half an our but usually much shorter. This first edition is an interview with the philosopher and theologian Richard Swinburne, conducted for my new book, The Ego Trick.

Richard Swinburne is an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford. He is the author of many eminent books of the philosophy of religion in general and of the philosophy of Christianity in particular.CPX gathered his thoughts on the violence of the Old Testament, divine revelation, evil and whether he believes there is a renaissance of unbelief.

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/concept-god. What does "God" mean? Is God a concrete thing like a chair or a human; or is it an abstract thing, like love or goodness? Is there something that all concepts of God have in common, some feature that all cultures attribute to God? Richard Swinburne, Emeritus Nolloth Professor of the Philosophy of the Christian Religion at the University of Oxford, joins John and Ken to explore the many ways in which people across the world conceive of the divine.

Join us for a discussion with Eddie Tabash current chair of the national legal committee of Americans United for separation of Church and State as well as the Council for Secular Humanism's First Amendment Task Force. In addition to his better known role as an official campaign speaker and debater for numerous presidential candidates (including Bill Clinton & Jimmy Carter) Tabash is also a professional counter-apologist having debated such world famous Christian philosophers as: Peter van Inwagen, Greg Bahnsen, William Lane Craig and Richard Swinburne on the existence of God. In an extended interview, Tabash discusses a wide-range of topics: from disarming the arguments of Christian philosophers to the "unholy alliance" between the religious right and the postmodern academic left. The show concludes with a disturbing glimpse at the difference just one Supreme Court justice could make for American secularists...and the very real possibility that we may be on the verge of a theocratic America. Please spread the word about Reasonable Doubts: your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.