Lots of dead bodies show up in this episode. Be prepared to cover your eyes while listening, unless you’re driving or operating heavy machinery while listening. If that’s the case, you should probably keep your eyes open. The episode begins with the corpses of three executed anarchists in iron cages. After that, a pile of plagued cadavers are catapulted over city walls. Then, we talk to a cold-case homicide detective. Here’s the topic that your intrepid cohosts tackle with world-renowned cold-case homicide detective J. Warner Wallace: What if all the Bibles in the world suddenly went missing at the same time? We’re not just talking about that one time when you left your favorite copy of the Holy Scriptures on top of the car. What we’re considering is what we could know about God if every single copy of the Bible went fluttering away, never to be seen again. If that happened, surely all of our knowledge about Jesus would be gone as well, right? Not so fast, says J. Warner Wallace According to Detective Wallace, the impact of Jesus on the world has been so great that, even without any Bibles, we could still reconstruct enough truth to know Jesus and to follow him. And that’s what he discusses with Timothy Paul Jones on this episode—but that’s not all that they talk about. Every episode of The Apologetics Podcast is contractually required to include some serious rock and roll, and this episode is no exception! Timothy is thrilled beyond words as Detective Wallace reaffirms his love for the guitar wizardry of Neal Schon of Journey and geeks out on some of his favorite guitars. And what happens in the moment of madness known as “Indiana, Jones, and the Raiders of Church History”? Well, this is where a lot of the dead bodies show up. This time around, Garrick and Timothy descend into the depths of the macabre as they pit iron cages against the bubonic plague with devastating results. Also, “Bübönïc” would be an amazing name for a heavy metal band. Before it’s over, Timothy hurls a plagued corpse at Garrick, and Garrick is forced to reveal the never-before-considered-and-probably-totally-wrong hidden meaning behind the Soundgarden song “Rusty Cage,” which turns out to have something to do with the execution of Anabaptist anarchists in Muenster. And, by “Muenster,” we mean the city, not the cheese.   ABOUT YOUR GUEST AND HOSTS J. Warner Wallace is a cold-case homicide detective, popular national speaker, and best-selling author. He continues to consult on cold-case investigations while serving as a Senior Fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. He is also an adjunct professor of apologetics at Talbot School of Theology (Biola University) and Southern Evangelical Seminary, and is a faculty member at Summit Ministries. You can find out more about J. Warner Wallace at https://coldcasechristianity.com/. Timothy Paul Jones, Ph.D., is C. Edwin Gheens Professor of Christian Ministry at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He teaches in the areas of family ministry and applied apologetics. He has authored or edited more than a dozen books, including Why Should I Trust the Bible?, The God Who Goes Before You, Perspectives on Family Ministry, and Christian History Made Easy. Follow Dr. Jones at @DrTimothyPJones. Garrick Bailey is a Ph.D. student in systematic theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, studying Herman Bavinck and Roman Catholicism under the supervision of Gregg Allison. Follow Garrick at @GarrickBailey.   LINKS TO CLICK Patreon Support Person of Interest (book by J. Warner Wallace) Surprised by Joy (book by C. S. Lewis) theapologeticspodcast.com Urban Ministry Podcast   CLOSING CREDITS Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Cunningham Manor. Brief excerpts of music played in each program are included solely for the purposes of comment and critique as allowed under the fair-use provision of U.S. copyright law. “The fair use of a copyrighted work … for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, … scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright” (U.S. Code § 107, Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use).

At the end of Season 2, the title of this podcast changed from “Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast” to “The Apologetics Podcast.”  Now, the podcast is back and better than ever for a thrilling third season! For those of you who asked for more apologetics, Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones have worked all winter to expand their previously-microscopic attention spans so that they would be able to provide you with a full hour of apologetics. This week, they’re focusing all of their attention—which now fills one whole teaspoon, thanks to their hard work!—on historical evidences for the authorship of the New Testament Gospels.  But what about those of you who only listened to Three Chords and the Truth for the rock’n’roll? Have we neglected you and left you despondent with this download, daubing your tears with the t-shirt that you got at the Van Halen concert in 1986? Never fear! Your intrepid cohosts would never forget you. We are still all about rock'n'roll! In this episode, while discussing the authorship of the Gospels, Timothy makes the greatest connection between rock’n’roll and ancient history since that one time when Bill and Ted met Socrates in Athens. This momentous event takes place when Timothy reveals how Led Zeppelin’s untitled fourth album and Metallica’s eponymous fifth album show it’s highly improbable that anyone could have fabricated the authorship of the New Testament Gospels. In this season, "Indiana, Jones, and the Raiders of Church History" has taken over the slice of insanity previously occupied by Toybox Hero. In the first installment of this new segment, Garrick sends a holy prepuce into battle against his cohost, while Timothy takes a more defensive strategy and brings a soft pile of manure to protect himself against death by defenestration. If you don’t know what “prepuce” or “defenestration” means, you may or may not want to listen to this episode, because sometimes ignorance really is bliss and this may be one of those times. Either way, this segment takes less than a minute to careen completely out of control and almost out of PG territory, and also “Dëäth by Dëfënësträtïön” would be an amazing name for a band.   ABOUT THE HOSTS Timothy Paul Jones, Ph.D., is C. Edwin Gheens Professor of Christian Ministry at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He teaches in the areas of family ministry and applied apologetics. He has authored or edited more than a dozen books, including Why Should I Trust the Bible?, The God Who Goes Before You, Perspectives on Family Ministry, and Christian History Made Easy. Follow Dr. Jones at @DrTimothyPJones. Garrick Bailey is a Ph.D. student in systematic theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, studying Herman Bavinck and Roman Catholicism under the supervision of Gregg Allison.   LINKS TO CLICK Patreon Support Led Zeppelin IV (album by Led Zeppelin) Metallica (album by Metallica) theapologeticspodcast.com Urban Ministry Podcast   CLOSING CREDITS Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Cunningham Manor. Brief excerpts of music played in each program are included solely for the purposes of comment and critique as allowed under the fair-use provision of U.S. copyright law. “The fair use of a copyrighted work … for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, … scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright” (U.S. Code § 107, Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use).

For the first time ever, Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast reveals the future! It's the last episode of season 2, and it's quite possible that your mind won't be able to handle everything that takes place in this thrilling season finale. Your intrepid cohosts turn out to be not only pastors and podcasters but also predictors and prognosticators. Before the episode comes to an end, their prophetic prognostications predict a book that won't be published until September, a new name for the podcast that's not happening until season 3, and a giveaway that won't begin until this episode has already been released. In the first half, New Testament scholar extraordinaire Jarvis Williams joins the podcast to talk about the book that won't be published until September. The title of his book is Redemptive Kingdom Diversity: A Biblical Theology of the People of God, and it's a book that every listener should plan to pre-order. Along the way, Jarvis and Timothy discuss Pearl Jam, Luther Vandross, and how multiethnic diversity in the church provides an apologetic for the gospel. In the second half, Garrick returns from a trip to Texas and prognosticates a name change for the podcast as well as unveiling the duo's plans for attaining new levels of insanity in season 3. Garrick also tells us about his new job and reveals the classic song from 1963 that best exemplified 2020. Before the episode ends, your intrepid cohosts divulge almost all of their plans for season 3 and, most exciting of all, they tell you how to win a mystery gift in the biggest giveaway ever attempted on this podcast. Also, why hasn't anyone ever named their band "Mystery Gift"? This Week’s Guest Dr. Jarvis Williams is associate professor of New Testament interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a preaching pastor at Sojourn Church Midtown in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of many scholarly articles and books, including One New Man: The Cross and Racial Reconciliation in Pauline Theology and For Whom Did Christ Die? The Extent of the Atonement in Paul's Theology. Here's a quick video to introduce you to his forthcoming book Redemptive Kingdom Diversity: A Biblical Theology of the People of God: Links to Click B and H Academic Redemptive Kingdom Diversity: book by Jarvis Williams Removing the Stain of Racism from the Southern Baptist Convention: book edited by Jarvis Williams and Kevin Jones Ring of Fire: song by Johnny Cash The Village Church Institute SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. Brief excerpts of music played in each program are included solely for the purposes of comment and critique as allowed under the fair-use provision of U.S. copyright law. “The fair use of a copyrighted work … for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, … scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright” (U.S. Code § 107, Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use).

Welcome to the stunning conclusion of this two-part series about the end of time! This episode focuses on four truths about the end times that matter far more than any particular perspective on how God will fulfill his eschatological promises. In the process of exploring these four truths, the dynamic duo considers how different views of the millennium have developed and changed throughout Christian history. In the end, your intrepid cohosts reveal their own views about the end of time, and they spend some time considering how the pains of this past year have awakened a new yearning within them for the return of Jesus. Warning to parents: Garrick kicks off this episode by attempting to kill a phoenix with a wooden knife. Please do not attempt this at home. Garrick is a trained professional who almost has a Ph.D. Due to Garrick’s gratuitous act of attempted violence in the early moments of the episode, Timothy recommends that parents cover young children's eyes while listening to this portion of the program, unless your children are driving a vehicle or operating heavy machinery while listening to the podcast in which case you're probably not the type of parent who cares about protecting your children from violent images anyway. Thankfully, Garrick's felonious efforts fail, and the episode improves from that point forward. Also, “Murder Phoenix” would be the perfect name for a death metal band. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com). In This Episode Timothy Paul Jones, Ph.D., is C. Edwin Gheens Professor of Christian Ministry at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He teaches in the areas of family ministry and applied apologetics. He has authored or edited more than a dozen books, including Why Should I Trust the Bible?, The God Who Goes Before You, Perspectives on Family Ministry, and Christian History Made Easy. Follow Dr. Jones at @DrTimothyPJones. Garrick Bailey is a Ph.D. student in systematic theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, studying Herman Bavinck and Roman Catholicism under the supervision of Gregg Allison. Links to Click B and H Academic Eschatological Discipleship: book by Trevin Wax Rose Guide to End-Times Prophecy: book by Timothy Paul Jones Jürgen Moltmann: Collected Readings: book edited by Margaret Kohl Restored to our Destiny: book by Brian G. Mattson Hope of the Early Church: book edited by Brian E. Daley It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine): song by R.E.M. Accelerate: song by R.E.M. SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. Brief excerpts of music played in each program are included solely for the purposes of comment and critique as allowed under the fair-use provision of U.S. copyright law. “The fair use of a copyrighted work … for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, … scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright” (U.S. Code § 107, Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use).

The end is near! It’s eschatology and R.E.M. in part one of this two-part almost-the-end-of-the-season mega-episode. After discussing some of the greatest apocalyptic tunes in the history of rock and roll, your intrepid cohosts settle on a 1987 hit from R.E.M., “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine).” Along the way, Garrick tries to convince everyone that “The Final Countdown” by Europe is a song about the end of time, but of course it isn’t and Garrick probably already knows that. Timothy reminisces about the films that terrorized him in his fundamentalist childhood before defining “eschatology” and discussing different views of the end of time. What Garrick and Timothy discover as they take a look at the end of time is that, in the late modern era, eschatologies shifted from looking forward to looking inward. In many contexts, the result has been a failure to talk about the end of time at all. And yet, an avoidance of this topic is no less harmful than an over-emphasis on it. The episode ends with a cliffhanger as the dynamic duo begins to list four essential truths about the end of time but then stops after the first one. To discover the rest of these essential truths, be sure to listen to part two of this episode. This episode’s Toybox Hero Tournament is the most ridiculous encounter yet in a season that has been a veritable fountain of ridiculousness. Garrick puts on a bomber jacket and plays a song on his daughter’s ukulele, hoping to save himself from certain destruction by calming the wrath of an Amazonian superheroine. The superheroine is unimpressed and, now, there is one less ukulele in the world. Also, “Ukulele Wonder Women” would be the perfect name for an all-girl acoustic punk band. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com). In Today's Episode Timothy Paul Jones, Ph.D., is C. Edwin Gheens Professor of Christian Ministry at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He teaches in the areas of family ministry and applied apologetics. He has authored or edited more than a dozen books, including Why Should I Trust the Bible?, The God Who Goes Before You, Perspectives on Family Ministry, and Christian History Made Easy. Follow Dr. Jones at @DrTimothyPJones. Garrick Bailey is a Ph.D. student in systematic theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, studying Herman Bavinck and Roman Catholicism under the supervision of Gregg Allison. Links to Click B and H Academic A Theology for the Church: book edited by Daniel Akin Rose Guide to End-Times Prophecy: book by Timothy Paul Jones The Burning Hell: film by Estus Pirkle All Along the Watchtower: song by Jimi Hendrix Bad Moon Rising: song by Creedence Clearwater Revival Fight Fire with Fire: song by Metallica Four Horsemen: song by Metallica 99 Red Balloons: song by Nena The Final Countdown: song by Europe It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine): song by R.E.M. America's Greatest Band: article by Eric Harvey R.E.M.'s First Ever Show: article by J. Niimi Oddfellows Local 151: song by R.E.M. We Didn't Start the Fire: song by Billy Joel Murmur: album by R.E.M. SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. Brief excerpts of music played in each program are included solely for the purposes of comment and critique as allowed under the fair-use provision of U.S. copyright law. “The fair use of a copyrighted work … for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, … scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright” (U.S. Code § 107, Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use). Main image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

A few months ago, one of our most faithful listeners and favorite supporters Tanner Billson asked a question about apologetics and the impassibility of God. It was a difficult dilemma, so Garrick and Timothy headed to the best place in the world to determine how to deal with difficult dilemmas: superhero comics. That’s because, in superhero comics, the world is always about to be destroyed and there’s no hope of saving it, which most people would classify as a rather difficult dilemma, especially for those of us who live on the earth which is a very high percentage of human beings. As Garrick and Timothy read their superhero comics, looking for the answer, it occurred to them that—whenever a dilemma is particularly difficult—there is one thing that almost always happens. Lots of explosions.  However, pyrotechnics didn’t seem to be a very good way to answer Tanner’s question.  So, they kept reading.  Right before Garrick reached the end of his attention span, which typically happens after approximately eight seconds, Garrick and Timothy glimpsed the answer to their dilemma, gleaming gloriously in the darkness just like Bill and Ted’s telephone booth in front of the Circle K. They needed a team-up.  That’s right: Like the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy, like DC and Marvel, like Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but not so much like Batman and Superman since they tried to kill each other right before they teamed up, the dynamic duo decided to find some likeminded compatriots and team up with them for a crossover episode. And who better to team up with on a superpowered episode than someone who’s already written a book about superheroes? And so, they called Stan Lee. But, since Stan had already passed away, he was regretfully unable to appear on the podcast. That's when Garrick and Timothy did the next best thing: They called Todd Miles, systematic theologian and acclaimed author of Superheroes Can’t Save You: Epic Examples of Historic Heresies. And so, two years after he first appeared on the podcast, Todd is now back and better than ever. This time, Todd teams up with Garrick and Timothy as cohost of the podcast Food Trucks in Babylon, which means that he also brings with him another systematic theologian, J. Ryan Lister. The results are nothing short of breathtaking. Except for that one moment when Ryan looked wistfully at Todd and pleaded with him, “Oh, Batman, please let me be your Robin,” this crossover episode turned out to be one of the least awkward episodes of Three Chords and the Truth that your intrepid cohosts have ever produced. Not only did Ryan and Todd answer questions about apologetics and the impassibility of God but they also discussed such pressing questions as how ethics should shape twenty-first century apologetics, what instrument Herman Bavinck would have played if he’d joined his fellow Dutchmen Eddie and Alex Van Halen in a band, and how Pearl Jam can help your prayer life. (Also, "Bavinck" would be the perfect name for a theologically-inclined industrial metal band.) If you listen all the way to the end, you’ll also hear Todd’s personal reflections on the profundity of Christian artist Michael W. Smith’s spiritual gifts. As soon as you finish listening to this episode of Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast, please go to https://foodtrucksinbabylon.simplecast.com and subscribe to Food Trucks in Babylon. Also, take a look at http://www.westernseminary.edu where Todd “Batman” Miles and J. Ryan “Robin” Lister team up to teach theology. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com).   This Week’s Guests Todd Miles is Professor of Theology at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, where he teaches theology, church history, hermeneutics, and ethics. He is the author of Superheroes Can't Save You: Epic Examples of Historic Heresies and the upcoming title Cannabis and the Christian: What the Bible Says About Marijuana. Ryan Lister received his PhD from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is currently professor of theology at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of The Presence of God: Its Place in the Storyline of Scripture and the Story of our Lives and serves as director of doctrine and discipleship for Humble Beast, where he also helped start the Canvas Conference.   Links to Click B and H Academic Superheroes Can't Save You: book by Todd Miles SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast   How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod   The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. Brief excerpts of music played in each program are included solely for the purposes of comment and critique as allowed under the fair-use provision of U.S. copyright law. “The fair use of a copyrighted work … for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, … scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright” (U.S. Code § 107, Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use).

Former atheist turned apologetics professor Mary Jo Sharp discusses the problem of evil and the Christian narrative. The episode also explores the song 'One of Us' by Joan Osborne and features a playful combat scenario involving children's toys.

If you’re a Christian who’s suffering or if you want to help people who are suffering, this episode of Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast is the most important installment in this series on the problem of evil. This time around, the focus is the existential problem of evil. What Garrick and Timothy mean when they talk about “the existential problem of evil” is the personal struggle with the question, “Where is God when I’m suffering?” “Where Is God When I Suffer?” This problem of evil is also a pastoral dilemma, because this is the question that people ask us in their times of pain. To equip you to understand the question, “Where is God when it hurts?” your intrepid cohosts present seven simple points to remember about suffering, pain, and God's unsuccessful effort to converse with Job about meteorology. Since seven is the perfect number, these seven points pretty much makes it the perfect episode. Along the way, the dynamic duo looks at a song from The Fray entitled “You Found Me,” which Timothy sees as a twist on the storyline of the biblical book of Job. This episode's Toybox Hero Tournament throws a big-eyed, blue-eared Siberian Husky into the ring to do battle against a sparkly pink wand. In the end, what decides the fate of the Husky is not the power of the wand but the disposition of its owner, which guarantees that no harm will ever come to the Husky. Also, “Rabid Husky” would be an amazing name for a punk band. Or a minor-league baseball team. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com). Links to Click B and H Academic The Problem of Evil: book by Jeremy Evans "You Found Me": song by The Fray SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. Brief excerpts of music played in each program are included solely for the purposes of comment and critique as allowed under the fair-use provision of U.S. copyright law. “The fair use of a copyrighted work … for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, … scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright” (U.S. Code § 107, Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use).

In the previous episode, Garrick and Timothy debunked the logical problem of evil. But dealing with the problem of evil requires far more than mere logic! The problem of evil also calls for a close examination whether or not the overwhelming amount of evil in the world might make God's existence unlikely. That brings your intrepid cohosts to the evidential problem of evil. What Is the Evidential Problem of Evil? According to the evidential problem of evil, the depth and the degree of evil in this world make the existence of God highly improbable. It makes God’s existence so improbable, in fact, that the very possibility of an all-powerful God can be reasonably dismissed. Debunking the Evidential Problem of Evil But does the amount of evil in the world really make God’s existence improbable? And, even if the amount of evil in the world did reduce the probability of God’s existence, would that necessarily mean it’s irrational to believe in God? And how on earth does Jar Jar Binks fit into all of this? Those are a few of the questions that the dynamic duo unpacks throughout this episode. Along the way, they dig into a song by the only punk band that Timothy likes. The band is Bad Religion, and the song is “God’s Love.” Bad Religion also happens to have produced the one and only Christmas album that Timothy actually enjoys—but that might be because Timothy spends most of the Christmas season yearning for summer, cheering for the Grinch, and fantasizing about moving to Florida. This week’s Toybox Hero Tournament may be the craziest one yet. Timothy brings an amazing, transforming chunk of pork to this tournament. Garrick responds with a toy that would have caused the Reformers to scorch him at the stake for his recalcitrant rejection of the Second Commandment. The fate of the pig is too horrific to describe in human words, but it’s safe to say the swine flew and did not survive, due to Garrick’s disregard not only for the Second Commandment but also for the Second Council of Nicaea. Also, “Swine-Sink” would be the perfect name for a nu-metal band. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com). Links to Click B and H Academic The Problem of Evil: book by Jeremy Evans Christmas Songs: album by Bad Religion God's Love: song by Bad Religion Live Again: song by Bad Religion SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones  @GarrickBailey  @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. Brief excerpts of music played in each program are included solely for the purposes of comment and critique as allowed under the fair-use provision of U.S. copyright law. “The fair use of a copyrighted work … for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, … scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright” (U.S. Code § 107, Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use).

According to a survey of recent college graduates, the problem of evil is the issue that makes it most difficult for many of these graduates to trust in the truth of Christianity. These students' struggles mirror the struggle that biblical scholar Bart Ehrman describes in his book God's Problem: "I felt compelled to leave Christianity [because] I could no longer explain how there can be a good and all-powerful God actively involved with this world. ... For many people who inhabit this planet, life is a cesspool of misery. ... I came to a point where I simply could not believe that there is a good and kindly disposed Ruler who is in charge.” Engaging with the Logical Problem of Evil In this episode, your intrepid cohosts tackle the claim that the existence of evil makes it illogical to believe in the existence of God. To do this, the dynamic duo spends a lot of time simplifying Alvin Plantinga's philosophical work on the problem of evil so that ordinary people can comprehend some of Plantinga’s arguments. Along the way, Garrick and Timothy discuss U2's album Pop, a series of songs that turn out to be an extended reflection on the apparent absence of God in a fallen world. This week's Toybox Hero Tournament produces one of the most heartwarming moments ever heard on this podcast, which has been a veritable fountain of heartwarming moments over the past couple of years. Timothy reveals his longstanding adoration of red pandas and then discovers that Garrick shares the same love for these cuddly Asian mammals. This teary-eyed conjunction of affections is so touching that two heavily-armed starships from the Star Wars universe pause their attacks and let the red panda run free. Also, "Red Panda" would be an amazing name for a C-pop band. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com). Links to Click about the Problem of Evil B and H Academic The Problem of Evil: Jeremy Evans Pop: album by U2 God, Freedom, and Evil: book by Alvin Plantinga SBTS Preview Day Urban Ministry Podcast How to Make Three Chords and the Truth More Amazing than It Already Is Support the show and spread the word! Here are a few ways to do that: 1. Subscribe to Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast: Apple / Android / RSS. 2. Leave a rating and review on iTunes to encourage other people to listen to the show. 3. If you purchase any of the books mentioned in Three Chords and the Truth, consider using the Amazon links provided in the show notes. The show will receive a small percentage of each sale. 4. Visit our Patreon site where you can support the podcast, suggest future songs or topics, and order Three Chords and the Truth merchandise. 5. Make contact with us on Twitter: @DrTimothyPJones @GarrickBailey @ApologeticsPod The Closing Credits Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. Brief excerpts of music played in each program are included solely for the purposes of comment and critique as allowed under the fair-use provision of U.S. copyright law. “The fair use of a copyrighted work … for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, … scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright” (U.S. Code § 107, Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use).