Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:49:11 -0400 Kyle Deming http://www.skepticalchristian.com Podcast Maker v1.3.8 - http://www.lemonzdream.com/podcastmaker A rational defense of the Christian faith. The Skeptical Christian Podcast is a show that provides a rational defense of the Christian faith. While trying to represent opposing views fairly and charitably, the Skeptical Christian attempts to demonstrate that you don't have to be gullible to be a Christian. Each show includes book reviews, answers to audience questions, and a discussion of current news events. Please note that this is an enhanced podcast, and may not play on your device unless you are using iTunes, Quicktime, or an iPod. If this applies to you, there is a regular version of the podcast available. en Kyle Deming kyle@skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/albumart_2_144.jpg http://www.skepticalchristian.com 144 144 Christianity Philosophy Other Christianity, Philosophy, Theology, Doctrine, Apologetics, Jesus, Christ, God, Bible, Atheism no Kyle Deming Is it rational to believe that Christ rose from the dead? In celebration of Easter Sunday, I wanted to take a look at some of the philosophical issues involved in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This includes a discussion of Hume's argument against miracles and an analysis of the likelihood of the Resurrection. For the book review I take a look at Richard Swinburne's book "Was Jesus God?" http://www.skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/20.%20Resurrection%20and%20Miracles.m4a Sun, 12 Apr 2009 15:41:09 -0400 Christianity no 00:54:57 Christianity, Philosophy, Theology, Doctrine, Apologetics, Jesus, Christ, God, Bible, Miracles, Resurrection kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming) Kyle Deming Did God create everything that exists? Continuing with the "Doctrine of God" series, this episode takes a look at some philosophical problems surrounding the Christian view that God is the creator of everything. For the book reviews I look at the companion volumes 'Why I am not a Calvinist' and 'Why I am not an Arminian.' For the audience question, I analyze whether the doctrine of Molinism I defended in the previous podcast commits us to the view that the world is really a giant setup, with a mere illusion of freedom. http://www.skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/19.%20Doctrine%20of%20God%20-%20God%20and%20Creation.m4a Sun, 01 Mar 2009 19:13:55 -0500 Christianity no 00:47:48 Christianity, Philosophy, Theology, Doctrine, God, Creation, Doctrine of Creation kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming) Kyle Deming What does God know about the future? Continuing with my ‘doctrine of God’ series, I look at the question of what God knows. I analyze and critique three competing views of God’s foreknowledge; Thomism, Molinism, and Open Theism. This issue is particularly important because open theism is a relatively new perspective that has garnered a lot of attention and a great deal of criticism. For the book reviews, I take a look at Divine Providence by Thomas Flint and The Openness of God by Clark Pinnock, David Basinger, John Sanders, Richard Rice, and William Hasker. For the audience question I discuss the toughest intellectual challenge to Christianity. http://www.skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/18.%20Doctrine%20of%20God%20-%20God%20and%20Foreknowledge.m4a Sun, 21 Sep 2008 13:09:42 -0400 Christianity no 00:59:17 God, Foreknowledge, Doctrine, Theology, Providence, Freedom kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming) Kyle Deming Is God in time or completely timeless? This is the first in a series on the doctrine of God, assessed from a philosophical perspective. This episode, I try to tackle God’s relationship to time. Is God absolutely timeless or does He exist in time? For the book review, I take a look at 'Fabricating Jesus' by Craig Evans. http://www.skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/17.%20Doctrine%20of%20God%20-%20God%20and%20Time.m4a Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:43:58 -0400 Christianity no 00:35:32 God, Time, Eternity, Timelessness, Theology kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming) Kyle Deming Is Intelligent Design even science? The theory of Intelligent Design has been subjected to severe criticism. However, most of these criticisms take the form of bad philosophical arguments. While not taking a stand on the issue, I analyze and reject these criticisms, arguing that the debate about Intelligent Design must be settled on scientific turf. For the book review I take a look at 'The Evidential Argument from Evil,' edited by Daniel Howard-Snyder. http://www.skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/16.%20Intelligent%20Design.m4a Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:23:44 -0400 Christianity no 00:47:28 Intelligent Design, Evolution, Creationism kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming) Kyle Deming If God exists, why is there so much suffering? The Problem of Evil stands out as the premiere argument against the existence of God. In this episode I critically analyze this argument and offer some possible explanations for the existence of evil in the world. For the book review I take a look at 'Jesus Under Fire' by Michael Wilkins and J.P. Moreland. For the audience question I analyze whether the arguments for God’s existence are too complicated. http://www.skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/15.%20Problem%20of%20Evil.m4a Mon, 12 May 2008 20:51:53 -0400 Christianity no 00:59:50 Christianity, Philosophy, Theology, Doctrine, Apologetics, Evil, Problem of Evil, Suffering kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming) Kyle Deming Do all the arguments for God fall short? A common objection against arguments for the existence of God asserts that such arguments, even if successful, fail to establish the truth of theism. This issue is discussed and critically analyzed, with a special focus on a presentation of the argument offered by the atheist philosopher Michael Martin. For book reviews, we look at 'God and Time: Four Views' and 'Resurrected? An Atheist and Theist Dialogue.' For the audience question we take another look at personal experiences and their relationship to our justification of religious belief. http://www.skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/14.%20Gap%20in%20Theistic%20Arguments.m4a Fri, 22 Feb 2008 21:00:00 -0500 Christianity no 00:25:24 Christianity, Philosophy, Theology, Doctrine, Apologetics, Jesus, Christ, God, Bible kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming) Kyle Deming Is religious belief merely an evolutionary adaptation? Is religion merely a byproduct of evolutionary selection pressures and social phenomenon? Neuroscientists, biologists, and philosophers are offering a number of theories purporting to explain religious belief naturalistically. In this episode, I discuss whether these theories are successful. Moreover, I look at the impact these theories have on the justification for religious belief. Finally, I analyze the Argument from the Prevalence of Religion, which argues that the proliferation of religious belief around the globe and throughout history is evidence for God’s existence. For the book reviews, I take a look at 'Time and Eternity' by William Lane Craig. For the audience questions, I take another look at Pascal’s Wager and the Argument from Design. http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/13.%20Evolution%20of%20Belief.m4a Wed, 19 Dec 2007 21:06:42 -0500 Christianity no 00:24:18 Christianity, Philosophy, Theology, Doctrine, Apologetics, Evolution, Psychology, Religious Belief, Religious Experience kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming) Kyle Deming Is there any evidence for Jesus' resurrection? This episode contains a live recording of a talk I gave for the Campus Crusade for Christ ministry at Saginaw Valley State University (where I attend college). In this talk I argue that historical evidence provides a solid foundation for belief in the Resurrection. In this episode I also review 'The Son Rises' by William Lane Craig. http://www.skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/12.%20Special%20Edition-%20The%20Resurrection.m4a Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:15:32 -0400 Christianity no 00:41:54 Christianity, Philosophy, Theology, Doctrine, Apologetics, Jesus, Christ, Resurrection kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming) Kyle Deming A list of arguments that Christians would do best to avoid. In order to have an effective apologetic, it is important that Christians avoid using fallacious arguments in defense of their faith. This episode covers 6 common arguments that do more harm than good. For the book reviews we take a look at 'The Only Wise God' by William Lane Craig and 'Losing Faith in Faith' by Dan Barker. http://www.skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/11.%20Arguments%20Christians%20Should%20Not%20Use.m4a Tue, 09 Oct 2007 21:22:33 -0400 Christianity no 00:25:05 Christianity, Philosophy, Theology, Doctrine, Apologetics, Jesus, Christ, God, Bible kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming) Kyle Deming Does Christianity's marred past undermine its credibility? Perhaps the most common objection to the Christian faith is that Christianity is responsible for a great deal of evil and suffering in the world. Moreover, many Christians are morally bankrupt. This objection has received major support in recent times with the flurry of popular atheistic books being published. In this podcast, I demonstrate that, even if we grant that the Christian institution is responsible for great evil, this fact has no bearing on the truth of Christianity. For book reviews I take a look at 'The Impossible Faith' by J.P. Holding and 'God? A Debate Between a Christian and an Atheist.' http://www.skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/10.%20Evil%20Christianity.m4a Fri, 31 Aug 2007 21:31:11 -0400 Christianity no 00:21:03 Christianity, Philosophy, Theology, Doctrine, Apologetics, Evil, Crusades kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming) Kyle Deming Are personal experiences of God a valid way of knowing Him? Many believers claim to have personal experiences of God. In this episode, I argue that such believers may rationally believe that God exists on the basis of this personal experience, apart from any consideration of the evidence for and against God’s existence. This episode has book reviews for 'Simply Christian' by N.T. Wright and 'God is Not Great' by Christopher Hitchens. For the audience question I consider if the digits of pi constitutes a genuine example of an actual infinite in the real world. http://www.skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/9.%20Personal%20Experiences.m4a Thu, 23 Aug 2007 21:38:30 -0400 Christianity no 00:22:58 Christianity, Philosophy, Theology, Doctrine, Apologetics, Personal Experiences, Religious Experience kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming) Kyle Deming Can atheism provide the foundation for a meaningful life? This episode presents an argument for believing in theism based on the meaning of life. I argue that atheistic worldviews cannot provide an objective meaning of life, and theistic worldviews can. Since we should always adopt a worldview with a possibility of meaning, we should therefore adopt a theistic worldview. Episode also contains book reviews of 'Breaking the Spell' by Daniel Dennett and 'Jesus’ Resurrection: Fact or Figment' by William Lane Craig and Gerd Ludemann. http://www.skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/8.%20Argument%20from%20the%20Meaning%20of%20Life.m4a Fri, 20 Jul 2007 21:45:01 -0400 Christianity no 00:31:26 Christianity, Philosophy, Theology, Doctrine, Apologetics, Meaning, Meaning of Life kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming) Kyle Deming A detailed critique of Richard Dawkins' new bestseller. Richard Dawkins has recently emerged as an extremely popular and influential atheist. His book 'The God Delusion' was a bestseller and helped confirm Dawkins as one of the leading voices of atheism. This podcast contains a detailed critique of his book. For the book reviews I take a look at 'The Case for a Creator' by Lee Strobel and 'Atheism: The Case against God' by George H. Smith. For the audience question, I briefly discuss the reasons I have named the website and the podcast the “Skeptical” Christian. http://www.skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/7.%20Special%20Edition-%20Critique%20of%20%27The%20God%20Delusion%27.m4a Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:40:29 -0400 Christianity no 00:49:13 Dawkins, Richard Dawkins, God Delusion, Christianity, Philosophy, Theology, Doctrine, Apologetics, Jesus, Christ, God, Bible kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming) Kyle Deming An argument for God's existence based on the fine-tuning of the universe. One of the best and most discussed arguments for God’s existence is the Teleological Argument from the fine-tuning of the fundamental constants of the universe. This episode takes a detailed look at this argument, and answers a slew of objections, including the controversial multi-verse hypothesis- according to which the cosmos is composed of many universes. This episode also has a brief book review of 'God and Design,' edited by Neil Manson. http://www.skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/6.%20The%20Teleological%20Argument.m4a Sun, 03 Jun 2007 14:40:29 -0400 Christianity no 00:28:06 Christianity, Philosophy, Cosmology, Teleological Argument, Design Argument, Apologetics, God kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming) Kyle Deming Is widespread nonbelief evidence of God's nonexistence? One of the most popular arguments against the existence of God in philosophical circles is the Argument from Nonbelief, or the Problem of Divine Hiddenness. In this show I offer several reasons why nonbelief is not evidence against Christianity. Book reviews of 'Mere Christianity' and 'God: The Failed Hypothesis' are also included. For the audience question I analyze whether nondeterministic atom decay violates the causal premise that everything which begins to exist requires a cause. http://www.skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/5.%20The%20Argument%20from%20Nonbelief.m4a Fri, 18 May 2007 14:40:29 -0400 Christianity no 00:24:52 Christianity, Philosophy, Nonbelief, Atheism, Theology, Doctrine, Apologetics, Jesus, Christ, God, Bible kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming) Kyle Deming Do extraordinary beliefs require extraordinary evidence? A common challenge to the Christian faith is that it requires extraordinary beliefs, including belief in God and belief in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. What sort of evidence should be required for these types of extraordinary beliefs? In this episode I analyze the claim that “extraordinary beliefs require extraordinary evidence” and apply this analysis to God’s existence and Christ’s resurrection. There are also book reviews of 'Reasonable Faith' by William Lane Craig and 'Does God Exist' by J.P. Moreland and Kai Nielsen. http://www.skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/4.%20Extraordinary%20Evidence.m4a Thu, 19 Apr 2007 14:40:30 -0400 Christianity no 00:17:58 Christianity, Philosophy, Skepticism, Extraordinary Evidence, Apologetics, Jesus, Christ, God, Bible, Resurrection kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming) Kyle Deming Do Christian apologists just insert God into areas of ignorance? According to many nonbelievers, using God as an explanation commits the so-called ‘God-of-the-Gaps’ fallacy. Additionally, they claim that the steady march of science has shown that supernatural explanations are always unnecessary. In this episode I consider both of these claims. Book reviews of 'The End of Faith' by Sam Harris and 'Scaling the Secular City' by J.P. Moreland. For the audience question I consider some objections to the Cosmological Argument. http://www.skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/3.%20The%20God-of-the-Gaps.m4a Sun, 01 Apr 2007 14:40:30 -0400 Christianity no 00:31:03 Christianity, Philosophy, Theology, Apologetics, God kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming) Kyle Deming An argument for God's existence based on the origin of the universe. A detailed discussion of the Kalam Cosmological Argument for God’s existence, including responses to a slew of objections. Book reviews of 'Letter to a Christian Nation' by Sam Harris and 'The Kalam Cosmological Argument' by William Lane Craig. For the audience question this week we look at Cantorian set theory and the existence of an actual infinite. http://www.skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/2.%20The%20Cosmological%20Argument.m4a Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:40:30 -0500 Christianity no 00:43:41 Christianity, Philosophy, Cosmology, Cosmological Argument, Origin of the Universe, Apologetics, God kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming) Kyle Deming What is apologetics and why does it matter? This episode discusses the importance of apologetics and the meaning of faith. This episode has two book reviews- 'The God Delusion' by Richard Dawkins and 'The Case for Christ' by Lee Strobel. http://www.skepticalchristian.com http://www.skepticalchristian.com/podcasts/1.%20The%20Importance%20of%20Apologetics.m4a Fri, 02 Feb 2007 14:40:30 -0500 Christianity no 00:21:58 Christianity, Philosophy, Theology, Doctrine, Apologetics, Jesus, Christ, God, Bible, Faith kyledeming@gmail.com (Kyle Deming)