The Reluctant Theologian Podcast

Craig Carter has made a lot of striking claims about non-classical models of God on social media, in magazines, and in publications. But can Carter actually back up any of his claims? I remain skeptical that he can. In today’s episode, I have Dr. Andrew Hollingsworth and Jordan Steffaniak on to talk about their new paper on Craig Carter, classical theism, and creation ex nihilo. They examine Carter’s claims against non-classical models of God, and argue that Carter has not been able to justify them. Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a senior fellow at the Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki. Guest: Andrew Hollingsworth (PhD, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary) is an adjunct professor of philosophy at Delgado Community College, and project manager for the William Lane Craig Center for Christian Philosophy, Theology, and Apologetics.  Guest: Jordan Steffaniak is a PhD student in philosophy at the University of Birmingham, and the co-host of the London Lyceum podcast.  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

In today's episode, I reach into the mailbag to get some listener questions. I have questions about my own model of God, Colossians 2 and Christian philosophy, anxiety about changing your beliefs, studying with me, and the war in Ukraine.  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 Support the Show: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=66431474 https://ko-fi.com/rtmullins

Last October I was on a panel discussion at the World Parliament of Religions. I presented a paper called, "Is God a Psychopath?" In today's episode, I present a longer version of that paper. I consider the classical theistic claim that God does not literally have empathy and compassion. I argued that this entails that God is a psychopath. This is a bad thing because it goes against standard accounts of the emotional profile of beings with perfect moral goodness.  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. Brand of Sacrifice--Life Blood. Empathy Test--Monsters.  rtmullins.com Support the Show: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=66431474 https://ko-fi.com/rtmullins

In today's episode, I respond to Matt Walsh's hot take on the nature of time and the Sunshine Protection Act.  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 Support the Show: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=66431474 https://ko-fi.com/rtmullins

Christianity proclaims that God is love, but opinions differ about what that means. People also disagree over what the implications of divine love are for doctrines like creation and hell. In today’s episode, I sit down with Dr Jordan Wessling to discuss his recent book, Love Divine: A Systematic Account of God’s Love for Humanity. We get into all sorts of interesting topics related to love, rationality, emotions, creation, and hell. Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a senior fellow at the Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki. Guest: Jordan Wessling (PhD, University of Bristol) is assistant professor of religion at Lindsey Wilson College. 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

Does God love the Canaanites? If you have read your Bible, you might think that the answer is no. There is no way that God could love the Canaanites based on what we see in the book of Joshua. There it sounds like God is commanding genocide. Genocide does not sound very loving. Today I have Dr Randal Rauser on to discuss how we should interpret these passages with the love of Christ in mind. Credits Host: R.T. Mullins (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a senior fellow at the Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki. Guest: Randal Rauser (PhD, King's College, London) is associate professor of historical theology at Taylor Seminary. 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

Over Christmas break, my parents asked if I could preach at their church in Indiana. So what I have for you today is a sermon that I preached the day after Christmas. I ask several important questions about why God created anything at all, and what it takes to become friends with God. I also offer reflections on Ephesians 1 and John 15. 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 Support the Show: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=66431474 https://ko-fi.com/rtmullins

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