The Reluctant Theologian Podcast

I know that many of you have been patiently waiting for this episode. Some of you are incredibly hyped up to hear this one. Today I have my final episode with Dr Sam Lebens. We get into all sorts of fun stuff related to heaven and hell, the problem of evil, sin and atonement. And of then course, we get into a detailed discussion about hypertime. Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a senior fellow at the Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki. Guest: Sam Lebens (PhD, Birkbeck College, London) is associate professor of philosophy at the University of Haifa. Scientific Adviser and Show Manager: Ema Sani (PhD, University of Glasgow) is a postdoctoral fellow in biology at the University of Edinburgh. Music by Rockandmetal_domination – Raising-questions rtmullins.com Support the Show:  https://www.patreon.com/user?u=66431474 https://ko-fi.com/rtmullins

What kind of world did God create? Did God create a world filled with physical objects? Or did God create an idealist world where all that exists are God and His ideas? Perhaps you and I are just ideas in the mind of God. You might even say that we are God’s imaginary friends. In today’s episode, I have Sam Lebens on to defend his version of idealism. We get into all sorts of issues related to God’s perfect rationality, creation, and apophaticism. If you have questions or topics that you would like to hear on the show, you can send me a message at rtmullins.com. If you would like to support the show, you can donate money to my Patreon account. Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a senior fellow at the Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki. Guest: Sam Lebens (PhD, Birkbeck College, London) is associate professor of philosophy at the University of Haifa. Scientific Adviser and Show Manager: Ema Sani (PhD, University of Glasgow) is a postdoctoral fellow in biology at the University of Edinburgh. Music by Rockandmetal_domination – Raising-questions rtmullins.com https://www.patreon.com/user?u=66431474 https://ko-fi.com/rtmullins

Today I have got Dr. Sam Lebens from the University of Haifa. We are chatting about his recent book, The Principles of Judaism. Sam and I discuss the motivation for writing a book on analytic Jewish theology. Then we get into the 3 principles of the Jewish faith. After that, Sam and I get into Jewish debates on the doctrine of creation out of nothing, eternal creation, and more. In future episodes, Sam and I will be discussing idealism, the atonement, and hypertime. So look forward to those. Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a senior fellow at the Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki. Guest: Sam Lebens (PhD, Birkbeck College, London) is associate professor of philosophy at the University of Haifa.  Scientific Adviser and Show Manager: Ema Sani (PhD, University of Glasgow) is a postdoctoral fellow in biology at the University of Edinburgh. Music by Rockandmetal_domination – Raising-questions rtmullins.com https://www.patreon.com/user?u=66431474 https://ko-fi.com/rtmullins

By the time this airs, I will be in Texas riding mechanical bulls, eating some brisket, and drinking whisky sours. I wanted to give you some quick updates from the open road on the future of the podcast. I have a lot of exciting stuff coming up next year, but you will only see a couple more episodes before Christmas. I need some time to see family and relax before I get back at it again. Also, I wanted to give you my own hot take on the nature of time, and what I think about the relational and absolute theories of time. Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a senior fellow at the Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki. Scientific Adviser and Show Manager: Ema Sani (PhD, University of Glasgow) is a postdoctoral fellow in biology at the University of Edinburgh. Music by Rockandmetal_domination – Raising-questions rtmullins.com https://www.patreon.com/user?u=66431474 https://ko-fi.com/rtmullins

In the last episode, I had Dr Erik Wielenberg on to offer some objections to William Lane Craig’s views on God, time, and the Kalam cosmological argument. In today’s episode, I have Dr Craig in the hot seat. We are chatting about his provocative view on God, time, and creation. Craig says that God is timeless sans creation, and temporal with creation. After defining some terms, we look at the different justifications that Craig offers for his view on God, time, and creation. Then, we bring on Objection Time. That’s right, I have Craig answering several objections to his own view on divine eternality, as well as objections to the relational theory of time. Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a senior fellow at the Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki. Guest: William Lane Craig (PhD, University of Birmingham, and PhD, Ludwig-Maximillians-Universität München) is professor of philosophy at Houston Baptist University and Talbot School of Theology.  Scientific Adviser and Show Manager: Ema Sani (PhD, University of Glasgow) is a postdoctoral fellow in biology at the University of Edinburgh. Music by Rockandmetal_domination – Raising-questions rtmullins.com https://www.patreon.com/user?u=66431474 https://ko-fi.com/rtmullins

Today I am joined by Dr Erik Wielenberg to discuss a recent exchange he had with William Lane Craig in the journal TheoLogica. We look at the details of God’s relationship to time and the implications for the Kalam Cosmological argument. Erik argues that Craig’s view on God and time entails two contradictions. He also argues that Craig’s view on God and time undermines the success of the Kalam Cosmological argument. We get into the details of Erik’s arguments. In the next episode, we will hear William Lane Craig’s take on the arguments. Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a senior fellow at the Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki. Guest: Erik Wielenberg (PhD, University of Massachusetts) is professor of philosophy at Depauw University. Scientific Adviser and Show Manager: Ema Sani (PhD, University of Glasgow) is a postdoctoral fellow in biology at the University of Edinburgh. Music by Rockandmetal_domination – Raising-questions rtmullins.com https://www.patreon.com/user?u=66431474 https://ko-fi.com/rtmullins

Do you know what time it is? No, it is not objection time. Instead, it is time to talk about time. The philosophy of time is a difficult topic to understand, and many confusions abound. In today’s episode, I sit down with Kristie Miller from the University of Sydney to discuss her recent introduction to the philosophy of time that she co-authored with Sam Baron. We talk about dynamic and static theories of time. We also get into the so-called A-theory and B-theory of time. We even discuss the lesser known C-theory. Then we have a lengthy conversation about the arrow of time. Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a senior fellow at the Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki. Guest: Kristie Miller (PhD, University of Queensland) is professor of philosophy at the University of Sydney.  Scientific Adviser and Show Manager: Ema Sani (PhD, University of Glasgow) is a postdoctoral fellow in biology at the University of Edinburgh. Music by Rockandmetal_domination – Raising-questions rtmullins.com https://www.patreon.com/user?u=66431474 https://ko-fi.com/rtmullins

When you have theological and philosophical discussions, do things get heated? Do you sometimes struggle to have good disagreements with people? In today’s episode, I sit down with Ryan Shields to discuss theological disagreements. We get into the good, the bad, and the ugly of theological disagreements. We share stories about times where disagreements go really badly, and what we can learn from them. We also discuss stories where disagreements go really well, and how we can try to foster better conversations in the future. All for the sake of coming together to better understand truth, beauty, and goodness. Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a senior fellow at the Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki. Guest: Ryan Shields Scientific Adviser and Show Manager: Ema Sani (PhD, University of Glasgow) is a postdoctoral fellow in biology at the University of Edinburgh. Music by Rockandmetal_domination – Raising-questions rtmullins.com https://www.patreon.com/user?u=66431474 https://ko-fi.com/rtmullins

In today's episode, I catch up with Steven Nemes. We chat about him completing his PhD, and the big idea of his dissertation. We discuss the method of phenomenology, and its usefulness for theology. We consider issues like, which comes first: scripture or tradition? How should we understand the New Testament's use of the Old Testament?  Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a senior fellow at the Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki. Guest: Steven Nemes now has a PhD from Fuller Theological Seminary! Checkout his webpage https://christisforeveryone.com/  Scientific Adviser and Show Manager: Ema Sani (PhD, University of Glasgow) is a postdoctoral fellow in biology at the University of Edinburgh. Music by Rockandmetal_domination – Raising-questions rtmullins.com https://www.patreon.com/user?u=66431474 https://ko-fi.com/rtmullins

When you write in questions to the show, I notice. I pay attention. Sometimes I try to find an expert on the topic to answer the question. Other times, I try to address the question myself. Today I open up the mail bag and address three listener questions. I’ve got questions about trauma and theology. I have some hot stuff on God, time and creation out of nothing. And finally, I have some questions about the Kalam cosmological argument and divine eternality. Credits: Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a senior research fellow at the University of Helsinki's Collegium for Advanced Studies. Scientific Adviser and Show Manager: Ema Sani (PhD, University of Glasgow) is a postdoctoral fellow in biology at the University of Edinburgh. Music by Rockandmetal_domination – Raising-questions rtmullins.com https://www.patreon.com/user?u=66431474 https://ko-fi.com/rtmullins