Questions on the Unevangelized, Atheism, and God's Favorite Color
Sep 4, 2023
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In this podcast, Dr. Craig explores the fate of those who never hear of Jesus, the application of deductive reasoning and probabilities, the existence of God using Bayes' theorem, God's preferences and the literal interpretation of Adam's creation, and the authenticity of religious experiences.
People who have never heard of Jesus can still be saved through their faith in a creator without conscious knowledge of Christ.
The probability of the conclusion in deductive arguments like the Kalam cosmological argument is not simply the multiplication of the probabilities of the premises, but can be higher if the combination of premises increases the probability of the conclusion.
Deep dives
Eternal Destiny of a Man in a Remote Jungle
A man living his entire life in a remote jungle, disconnected from the world, acknowledges patterns, coherence, and harmony in the world, leading him to believe in a creator. Christian doctrine suggests that he can be saved through his faith in the creator without conscious knowledge of Christ, similar to how individuals in the Old Testament were responsive to the light of revelation without knowing Christ.
Probabilities and Deductive Arguments
In deductive arguments like the Kalam cosmological argument, the probability of the conclusion is not equal to the multiplied probabilities of the premises. The probability of the conjunction of the premises sets a lower bound for the probability of the conclusion. Even if individual premises have lower probabilities, when combined, the conclusion can still have a higher probability. The arguments presented for God's existence generally have premises with probabilities greater than 50%, ensuring that the conclusion is more probable than not.
Interpreting the Bible Figuratively
The opening chapters of Genesis should not be interpreted literally because the narrative belongs to a literary genre that uses figurative language. Different types of literature in the Bible, such as poetry and apocalyptic literature, are not to be taken literally. Interpreting Genesis figuratively aligns with a literary analysis of the text and does not deny the possibility of miracles or God's intervention.