A Flaw in Aquinas’s Case for the Essence-Existence Distinction Real Atheology 2026-09-28 | A Flaw in Aquinas’s Case for the Essence-Existence Distinction
THIS is Why God Hides? (Part 8 of the Divine Hiddenness Series) Real Atheology 2024-01-23 | 00:00 - Opening comments00:57 - Swinburne's responsibility argument02:26 - Schellenberg's reply05:15 - Dumsday's development06:53 - Responding to Dumsday09:20 - Bootstrapping the value of finding God in a religiously ambiguous world10:19 - Would discovering God require God to hide?10:42 - The accomodation strategy expanded11:38 - Resistant Nonbelievers allow cooperative discovery and responsibility.13:08 - Closing comments / Exit
The End of Divine Hiddenness? (Part 7 of the Divine Hiddenness Series) Real Atheology 2023-12-22 | This is a response to a recent video by Christopher Cloos at @ChristianPhilosophyAcademy.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja9dldyWQwE&t=1445sIn his video, Cloos presents an objection to Schellenberg's divine hiddenness argument from a recent essay by Daniel Howard-Snyder which argues that, possibly, God may hide from people to attain a 'better start' to a relationship with them even while being perfectly loving.I first trace the dialectic between Daniel Howard-Snyder and J.L. Schellenberg before examining Howard-Snyder's most recent attempt to undermine Schellenberg's argument. I conclude that Howard-Snyder's most recent reply fails to undermine Schellenberg's argument.Web - https://www.realatheology.comTwitter - twitter.com/RealAtheologyFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q...00:00 - Opening comments01:01 - Cloos' video reply01:52 - Howard-Snyder's initial reply (1996)04:41 - Schellenberg (2005) in response05:39 - Howard-Snyder's updated reply (2015)07:30 - Withdrawing from an existing relationship09:02 - Ill-disposed nonbelievers12:13 - Well-disposed nonbelievers12:56 - Are they responsible for their being so well-disposed?14:02 - Well-disposed with improper motivations15:37 - What might God prefer?16:26 - Why the accommodation strategy won't work here16:51 - An even better pair of alternatives?18:13 - Howard-Snyder's analogy20:01 - Schellenberg (2017) in response23:14 - An additional response by me25:00 - Closing comments / Exit
If love is compatible with #DivineHiddenness, we dont know what love is. #atheism #philosophy Real Atheology 2023-12-01 | ...
Divine Hiddenness with Gavin Ortlund (Part 6 of the Divine Hiddenness Series) Real Atheology 2023-12-01 | In this video, Justin Schieber sits down with Dr. Gavin Ortlund to have a conversation on Schellenberg's argument about Divine Hiddenness. Original Video on Gavin's Channel: youtu.be/PWDGx7VTUu0?si=A7sLHh4k4ZtrdU5PGavin's first response to Cosmic Skeptic: youtube.com/watch?v=_d-6UhOS0FEJustin's response to Gavin (Part 5 of the Hiddenness Series): youtu.be/jNkCCeij1As?si=eE0UNdYKMGMW_B6ABe sure to follow us on Social Media and check out our website:Website: realatheology.wordpress.comTwitter: twitter.com/realatheologyFacebook: facebook.com/realatheologyInstagram: instagram.com/realatheologyTikTok: tiktok.com/realatheologyPatreon: patreon.com/RealAtheology
Ancient Nonresistant Nonbelievers #monotheism #atheism #divinehiddenness #PhilosopyofReligion Real Atheology 2023-11-29 | ...
My Response to @TruthUnites on Divine Hiddenness (Part 5 of the Divine Hiddenness Series) Real Atheology 2023-11-20 | A few weeks ago, Gavin Ortlund ( @TruthUnites ) released a video exploring the argument from divine hiddenness and giving several objections to it. While I appreciated Gavin's wrestling with the argument, I did not think his objections are successful. This video seeks to respond to those objections by clarifying aspects of Schellenberg's reasoning.Gavin's video: youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=_d-6UhOS0FE00:00 - Opening Comments01:36 - Gavin's Opening Comments03:20 - THESIS ONE04:53 - Humility and its implications05:51 - Premise one: love and its implications07:14 - A personal relationship08:09 - openness09:00 - responding to THESIS ONE10:20 - THESIS TWO11:26 - Defining 'nonresistant nonbelief'12:33 - The causal component13:24 - A categorical denial of NRNB?14:10 - Self report testimony as evidence15:53 - Ancient Nonbelief17:22 - A clarification18:20 - Schellenberg in context19:03 - God & goodness20:24 - Methods of ensuring belief22:44 - Beliefless relationship23:38 - Personal relationship24:44 - THESIS THREE25:32 - Two reasons25:52 - Rephrasing the objection26:36 - Hiddenness is Good for us27:49 - Why that cannot be the case28:41 - Incompatible with divine love29:11 - Hiddenness is not required for character growth29:46 - Alternate way to achieve these goods30:17 - Belief in God - vs - experiencing God's presenceBe sure to follow us on Social Media and check out our website:Website: realatheology.wordpress.comTwitter: twitter.com/realatheologyFacebook: facebook.com/realatheologyInstagram: instagram.com/realatheologyTikTok: tiktok.com/realatheologyPatreon: patreon.com/RealAtheology
DEBATE: Does God Exist? Ben Watkins v @PerspectivePhilosophy on @ModernDayDebate. Real Atheology 2023-11-05 | This is a debate between Real Atheology's Ben Watkins and Perspective Philosophy. It was hosted and streamed live on October 22, 2023 by Modern Day Debates. Enjoy.
Theism and the Concept of Life Real Atheology 2023-10-31 | #atheism #theism #shorts #problemofevil #naturalism
Irreducible normative realism Real Atheology 2023-10-23 | #atheism #ethics #metaethics #Heumer #Wielenberg #Parfit
Soul-making and Social Progress Real Atheology 2023-10-22 | #atheism #theism #soulmaking #Hick #realatheology #justinschieber #evil #god #christianity
Theism and Moral Objectivity Real Atheology 2023-10-20 | #Atheism #theism #ethics #metaethics #Philosophy #williamlanecraig #naturalism #christianity
The Case For Nonresistant Nonbelief (Part 4 of the Divine Hiddenness Series) Real Atheology 2023-10-17 | Welcome back to the Hiddenness Series. In the last episode, we looked at Schellenberg's concept of a nonresistant nonbeliever which plays a central role in his argument from Divine Hiddenness. To refresh, somebody is a nonresistant nonbeliever if they (1) fail to believe that God exists and (2) that failure is not the result of their resistance to God. We also looked at the concept of resistance at play here and we saw that it included a desire component in conjunction with actions or omissions driven by that desire. Certain desire/action/omission combinations, if expressed by a person could conceivably cause that person to fail to believe that God exists even though they did believe to begin with. Some form of Self-deception would have to be at play here. Schellenberg calls such persons resistant nonbelievers and, according to the Hiddenness argument, if a perfectly loving God exists, resisters are the only type of nonbeliever that could exist. However, Schellenberg claims resistant nonbelievers are not the only type of nonbelievers that exist. According to him, some nonbelievers are nonresistant. His argument requires this. But is he correct? Lets take a look.realatheology.comTwitter - twitter.com/RealAtheologyFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q...Timecodes00:00 - Introduction01:35 - Affirming some NRNB is more probable than a denial of all NRNB.05:14 - We don't fail to believe in people we don't like.09:34 - Interpersonal testimony14:32 - Scientific testimony15:42 - A Summary of the case for NRNB16:39 - Where the real resistance lies.20:22 - Exit
What is a Nonresistant Nonbeliever, Really? (Part 3 of the Divine Hiddenness Series) Real Atheology 2023-09-28 | According to Schellenberg’s argument from Divine Hiddenness, a nonresistant nonbeliever is, simply put, somebody who fails to believe in God in such a way that the failure is not itself the result of resistant self-deception. A key premise of the divine hiddenness argument just is the claim that such persons exist and/or have existed in the past. For most people, this premise will appear obvious and this appearance likely the result of their connections and communications with other people. People they know and understand. People they trust and respect. On the other hand, some people claim to be skeptical about this premise. Can we really know that these nonbelievers aren’t resisting? To answer these questions, we’ve got to take a closer look at Schellenberg’s concept of the nonresistant nonbeliever.realatheology.comTwitter - twitter.com/RealAtheologyFacebook - facebook.com/search/top?q=real%20atheology%20-%20a%20philosophy%20of%20religion%20podcastTimecodes00:00 - Introduction01:04 - The Tent of Nonbelief01:45 - Reflective Nonbelievers02:40 - Unreflective Nonbelievers04:02 - Resistance / Nonresistance05:46 - Some Additional Considerations06:27 - What Resistance Requires07:59 - Former Believers09:54 - Lifelong Seekers10:29 - Converts to Nontheistic Religions11:03 - Isolated Nontheists11:40 - Summary12:11 - Closing
Does God Exist? Ben Watkins vs. Trent Horn Real Atheology 2023-09-05 | On August 27, 2021 at 7pm Central, Benjamin Blake Speed Watkins will be debating Trent Horn ( @The Counsel of Trent ) on the topic of whether God exists. This is a live, in-person, formal debate happening only at the CCv1 Conference.realatheology.comTwitter - twitter.com/RealAtheologyFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q...5:55 - Trent's 15-minute opening21:35 - Ben's 15 minute opening36:41 - Trent's 7 minute first rebuttal44:00 - Ben's 7 minute first rebuttal51:36 - Trent's 4 minute second rebuttal57:04 - Ben's 4 minute second rebuttal1:01:56 - Moderated Dialogue1:34:17 - Q&A2:08:22 - Trent's closing2:11:55 - Ben's closing
Theres NO evidence for God. Real Atheology 2023-08-26 | In this clip from From RA042: Kenny Pearce on Arguments and How to Have them Productively, Kenny Pearce responds to the claim that there is no evidence for God.Website: realatheology.comPatreon: patreon.com/RealAtheologyTwitter: twitter.com/RealAtheologyFacebook: facebook.com/RealAtheologyDiscord: discord.gg/HtKAtGjACG
Schellenbergs Argument from Divine Hiddenness (Part 2 of the Divine Hiddenness Series) Real Atheology 2023-08-19 | In this episode Justin Schieber continues the hiddenness series by presenting J.L. Schellenberg’s Argument from divine hiddenness. Since the 1993 publication of his Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason Schellenberg’s argument has received widespread attention and still generates deep engagement. This is because many atheists find it to be quite powerful and persuasive. Many theists find it challenging and worth responding to. This episode is intended as a presentation of Schellenberg’s argument, not a full-throated defense.realatheology.comTwitter - twitter.com/RealAtheologyFacebook - facebook.com/search/top?q=real%20atheology%20-%20a%20philosophy%20of%20religion%20podcastTimecodes00:00 - Introduction00:44 - Comments / History02:29 - What is Love?04:50 - Personal Relationship05:35 - Openness07:35 - Openness too Strong?09:10 - Personal Ultimism (God)09:58 - Theology vs. Philosophy12:08 - A Perfectly Loving God?12:43 - Premise 112:59 - Snapping the pieces together14:45 - Premise 215:00 - Believing in God15:34 - Resistance / Nonresistance17:28 - Premise 3 & 418:15 - Conclusion18:36 - Misinterpretations20:34 - The Outro
The Varieties of Hidden Experience (Part 1 of the Divine Hiddenness Series) Real Atheology 2023-08-02 | Broadly speaking, Arguments from Hiddenness are philosophical arguments with atheistic conclusions arising from the fact that either the felt presence of, the nature of, or the very existence of God is somewhat less clear than we might expect if God existed. As with the problem of evil, there is no single argument from hiddenness. Rather, there is a whole family of arguments united by these ideas. We begin our new hiddenness series with a broad introduction to that family.realatheology.comTwitter - twitter.com/RealAtheologyFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q...Timecodes00:00 - Introduction01:27 - Hiddenness, Broadly Speaking02:42 - The Argument from Nonbelief03:40 - The Demographics of Theism06:08 - The Explanatory Challenge of Religious Diversity11:30 - Hiddenness & the Problem of Evil11:55 - The Evidential Problem of Evil14:24 - Skeptical Theism15:01 - Hiddenness (of justifying reasons)18:05 - Hiddenness as Perceived Abandonment20:54 - Emotional Problems vs. Intellectual Problems22:18 - The Outro
RA041: Joe Campbell on David Humes Refutation of the Cosmological Argument Real Atheology 2023-07-04 | In this episode Ben Watkins continues his series on Hume with a look at section IX of Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. Section IX finds Hume's Demea, Philo, and Cleanthes presenting and subjecting to analysis a cosmological argument for the existence of God. With the help of philosopher Dr. Joe Campbell discuss the argument as presented and the various criticisms that Hume brings to bear with the help of his characters.Dr. Joe Campbell's paper on Section IX of the Dialogues.jstor.org/stable/40026984
RA039: Matt Adelstein on Utilitarianism and Theism Real Atheology 2023-07-04 | In this episode, Ben Watkins sits down with Matthew Adelstein to discuss utilitarianism and theism. Utilitarianism, in its classical forms, claims that what we morally ought to do is act in ways that would maximize happiness and minimize suffering. This simple moral calculus is open to several important objections, but if true, has important consequences for theism as traditionally conceived. If God morally should create a world that maximizes happiness and minimize suffering, as would be the case if hedonistic act utilitarianism were true, then we are clearly not talking about the actual world. There could be much more happiness and much less suffering, therefore, there is no God as traditionally conceived in the actual world.Matthew's blog: benthams.substack.com
RA040: Jeff Lowder on Philosophy of Religion Real Atheology 2023-07-04 | In this episode, Justin Schieber sits down with Jeffrey Jay Lowder for a wide-ranging interview. Fans of the show will no doubt be familiar with Jeff's work. From founding Infidels.org and the Secular Outpost to his contributions to The Empty Tomb and his several public debates, Jeff has earned his reputation as a fair-minded and philosophically informed atheist. We discuss the origin of infidels.org, Paul Draper's famous argument from Pain and Pleasure and everything in between.See Jeff's debate with Phil HernandezSee Jeff's debate with Kevin VandergriffSee Jeff's debate with Frank TurekJeff's youtube channel
RA037: Bill Vanderburgh on Misinterpretations of Humes Of Miracles Real Atheology 2023-06-02 | As a follow up to the last episode which gave a general overview of Hume's famous essay, Ben Watkins interviews philosopher Dr. Bill Vanderburgh on his 2019 book David Hume on Miracles, Evidence, and Probability. The conversation explores some of the reasons the text is often misinterpreted. The importance of placing Hume in his historical context is emphasized in response to common objections.Get Dr. Vandenburgh's excellent book here: amazon.com/David-Hume-Miracles-Evidence-Probability-ebook/dp/B07PV79RRL/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3UDWN1IY3TMUE&keywords=vanderburgh+hume+miracles&qid=1682108975&sprefix=vanderburgh+hume+miracle%2Caps%2C341&sr=8-1
Does God Exist? Justin Schieber v Eric Hernandez (with slides) Real Atheology 2023-05-14 | This debate was between Christian apologist Eric Hernandez and atheist podcaster Justin Schieber. The event was organized by Capturing Christianity and held on May 6, 2023 at the Lanier Theological Library in Houston, TX. Visit capturingchristianity.com for this and similar events.
RA036: Ben Watkins on Hume Against the Believability of Miracles Real Atheology 2023-04-07 | In this episode, Real Atheology co-host Ben Watkins takes us on a tour through parts one and two of Hume's controversial essay 'Of Miracles'. Ben begins by providing context that serves to undercut some popular but ultimately uncharitable readings of Hume's central thesis. With the infamous argument clarified, other common objections are also explored.
RA35: Andrew Pavelich on the Moral Problem with the Free Will Defense Real Atheology 2023-03-26 | Perhaps the most common response to the problem of evil is an appeal to the goodness of free will. Free will, it is argued, is so good that it justifies God's policy of non-intervention in cases where evil is the result of the free actions of moral agents. in his 2019 article published in The Heythrop Journal titled The Moral Problem with the Free Will Defense Against the Problem of Evil, Dr. Andrew Pavelich argues that there exists a deep disconnect between the theist's appraisal of free will's value and the role it plays in our everyday moral judgements. In Justin's interview with Dr. Pavelich, they discuss the ideas in that paper.
RA033: Kenny Pearce on Fruitful Dialogue and the History of Philosophy Real Atheology 2023-02-25 | In this first part of Ryan Downie’s interview with Dr. Kenny Pearce, strategies for productive dialogue with those who hold opposing views are discussed. The conversation then turns to discussing the value of historical approaches to philosophy. Finally, they discuss Leibniz contributions to philosophy of religion and the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to cosmological arguments.
RA032: Dustin Crummett on Harmony and Hiddenness Real Atheology 2023-02-25 | In this, the second half of Justin's interview with Dr. Dustin Crummett, they discuss an early paper of his in which he expands on an objection to the argument from divine hiddenness. The objection, known as the responsibility objection, claims that one reason God might have to keep belief from non-resistant persons is the good of the responsibility on the part of some in helping others learn truths of and about God. We also touch on his recent work on the argument from psychophysical harmony.
RA031: Dustin Crummett on Suffering, Spiders, and Simulations Real Atheology 2023-01-27 | In this episode, Justin Schieber interviews philosopher Dr. Dustin Crummett (dustincrummett.com, youtube.com/@dustin.crummett, @Dustin_Crummett). Dr. Crummett received his PhD from the University of Notre Dame in 2018, and specializes in social and political philosophy, ethics, and philosophy of religion. In this first of two episodes, we discuss Dr. Crummett's fascinating work relating to the problem of evil.
RA030: Michael Hemmingsen on Soul-Making and Social Progress Real Atheology 2023-01-13 | In this episode, returning host Justin Schieber interviews Dr. Michael Hemmingsen on his 2020 paper titled Soul-Making and Social Progress which was published in the International Journal for Philosophy of Religion. John Hick's Soul-Making theodicy, according to which suffering exists to provide opportunities to develop our moral virtue, is a popular response to the problem of evil. In his paper, Dr. Hemmingsen argues that advocates of John Hick's Soul-Making theodicy are thereby committed to opposing social progress.
RA029: Advanced Leibnizian Cosmological Arguments with Josh Rasmussen Real Atheology 2022-05-29 | In this episode, we sit down with leading analytic philosopher of religion Prof. Josh Rasmussen to discuss Leibnizian cosmological arguments. We also bring on a special guest, Logos, to facilitate a dialogue with Prof. Rasmussen as we all journey together to explore the very cutting edge of this important debate. This dialogue pushes the dialectic forward in ways that can benefit both theists and atheists.You can follow Prof. Josh Rasmussen's work at:joshualrasmussen.comBe sure to check out Prof. Rasmussen's magisterial work Necessary Existence:oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780198746898.001.0001/oso-9780198746898You can find Logos's work on his blog, which provides some context for the discussion. See his posts on Leibnizian cosmological arguments below.Part I:logosreviews.wixsite.com/theist-reviews-apolo/post/thoughts-on-the-leibnizian-cosmological-argument-part-1Part II:logosreviews.wixsite.com/theist-reviews-apolo/post/my-thoughts-on-the-leibnizian-cosmological-argument-part-2We thank Cameron Bertuzzi of Capturing Christianity for allowing us to use in our thumbnail his objectively aesthetically excellent portrait of Prof. Rasmussen.Real Atheology Social MediaTwitter: twitter.com/RealAtheologyFacebook: facebook.com/RealAtheologyWebsite: realatheology.wordpress.com0:00 Welcome0:17 Prof. Rasmussen's intro1:07 Logos's intro4:42 Historical evolution of these arguments6:17 3+ forms of cosmological argument6:46 2-stage structure7:23 Linking (causal) principles10:43 Principles' value across the theist-nontheist divide11:32 Bird's-eye view12:17 What even is an explanation?13:23 Logos's take on the arguments and their history14:52 Explanation and entailment16:12 Scope of the PSR16:27 God's contingent free choices17:01 Narrowing the PSR's scope17:58 Modal symmetry and model simplicity18:56 Partial explanation20:22 Why something rather than nothing?23:19 Re: scope of the PSR24:28 Types of contingency25:13 Philo, Nihilo, and the forest28:55 God's free will, again29:49 Independent, unlimited causes30:51 External explanations32:44 Contrastive explanation35:19 Fine-tuning and necessity36:11 The value of consistency37:14 Ruling out dependent attributes37:46 No limits = limited predictions?38:25 Why Logos stresses consistency39:58 The value of cooperative dialogue41:25 What Logos disagrees with43:40 Work on Stage 2 of cosmological arguments/Josh's general principles45:50 Contrasting explanations and arbitrariness worries48:50 Josh and Logos break the argument54:00 Josh's perfect nature hypothesis58:08 Modal realism as a potential solution1:01:40 Logos discusses necessity, perfection, and Christianity's dual aspect nature1:08:00 Fundamental initial states and limiting possibilities1:13:50 Brute facts1:17:50 Randomness, free choice, and autonomous facts1:23:00 Contrastive explanations again1:27:00 Model symmetry and converging on theories1:34:35 Wrapping up; guests' concluding thoughts
RA028: Ben Watkins vs Trent Horn Debate Review Real Atheology 2021-09-22 | In this episode, we critically review our co-host Ben Watkins's debate against Trent Horn of Catholic Answers at Capturing Christianity's conference CCv1. We are joined by esteemed guests Felipe Leon and Joe Schmid. This wide-ranging discussion covers such topics as intrinsic value, classical versus personalist models of God, the argument from motion, existential inertia, and the privation theory of evil.You can find Felipe Leon's work via the links below: http://exapologist.blogspot.comhttps://elcamino.academia.edu/FelipeLeonYou can find Joe Schmid's work here: https://linktr.ee/majestyofreasonTimestamps:00:00 - Introduction0:35 - Introducing our Guests: Prof. Felipe Leon and Joe Schmid4:20 - Initial thoughts on the Debate9:23 - Purpose of the Debate11:40 - Introductory thoughts on Classical Theism19:11 - God as Being Itself/Different versions of Classical Theism26:40 - Controversial Assumptions within Aristotelian/Thomistic Metaphysics and Objections to the Argument from the Motion/Change29:55 - Existential Inertia, Conservation, and Persistence37:38 - Schmid's preferred objections to the Argument from the Motion/Change, Quantifier Shift, and the Gap Problem52:25 - Causal Finitism and Infinity56:20 - Objections to Hilbert's Hotel and Bernadete Paradoxes1:05:40 - Finite Past more problematic for Theism than Naturalism1:14:54 - Introduction to Trent's Moral Arguments1:18:30 - Does Naturalism force you to accept unintuitive moral views?1:20:27 - More Objections to Moral Arguments and Defenses of Atheistic Moral Realism1:13:14 - How does Naturalism account for Intrinsic Value and Human Equality?1:39:41 - The Privation View of the Evil and Objections1:51:06 - Naturalim's Simplicity and higher Intristic Probability 2:12:16 - Brief remarks on other arguments against Classical Theism: Modal Collapse, Aloneness Arguments, etc2:14:00 - Closing thoughts on the Debate.
RA027: Dr. C.M. Lorkowski on Atheism and Philosophy Real Atheology 2021-08-22 | For this episode, we interview Dr. C.M. Lorkowski on his new book Atheism Considered: A Survey of the Rational Rejection of Religious Belief (2020).This book is a systematic presentation of challenges to the existence of a higher power. Rather than engaging in a polemic against a religious worldview, Lorkowski charitably refutes the classical arguments for the existence of God, pointing out flaws in their underlying reasoning and highlighting difficulties inherent to revealed sources. In place of a theistic worldview, he argues for adopting a naturalistic one, highlighting naturalism’s capacity to explain world phenomena and contribute to the sciences. Lorkowski demonstrates that replacing theism with naturalism, contra popular assumptions sacrifices nothing in terms of ethics or meaning. A charitable and philosophical introduction to a more rigorous philosophical Atheism.In this interview, we take a tour of some of the major themes of the books with Dr. Lorkowski and discuss many topics including his background, the various arguments of Natural Theology, Apologetics vs. Philosophy, David Hume, and a whole host of other topics. This is definitely the video for those who want an introduction to some of the more philosophical aspects of Atheism.Dr. Lorkowski's work can be followed here:philpeople.org/profiles/c-m-lorkowskiYou can follow the Real Atheology Team here:Twitter:twitter.com/RealAtheologyFB: facebook.com/RealAtheologyOur Patreon is here:patreon.com/RealAtheologyTimestamps:00:00 - Introduction1:02 - Prof. Lorkowski's background going from Catholicism to Atheism and interest in the Philosophy of Religion5:25 - Atheist Thinkers that influenced Prof. Lorkowski and the best defenders Atheism8:45 - Differences between Theistic Philosophers and Professional Apologists21:20 - Dogmatic Atheists, Good Theistic Philosophers, and Intellectual Virtues in Philosophy25:25 - Societal Impact of the New Atheism: The Positives and The Negatives29:48 - Advice for Atheists and Agnostics moving forward from New Atheism31:52 - Reasons for writing Atheism Considered and the importance of charitable thinking and Philosophy36:00 - The Definition of Atheism and responding to the charge that Atheism is a "religion" or Atheism takes "faith"43:21 - Do we need to have certainty to be Atheists? Evidentialism, Presuppositionalism, and Plantinga's Properly Basic Beliefs55:20 - Burden of Proof in Atheist vs. Theist Debates and the Low Prior Probability of Theism1:09:13 - Christian and Theistic Philosophers having an Intellectual Renaissance and how Atheist Philosophers are responding?1:15:38 - Introduction to Ontological Arguments, Criticisms, and why they remain an interest for Atheist Philosophers1:25:28 - Strongest versions of Cosmological Arguments. Discussion on Kalam, Thomistic, and Leibnizian Arguments1:31:28 - Why should we prefer a Naturalistic Initial State/Singularity as a stopping point for our ultimate explanations as opposed to God?1:36:28 - Graham Oppy's approach to Cosmological Arguments: Naturalism explains the relevant data and is simpler than Theism1:38:43 - Prevalency of Design Arguments, Intelligent Design vs. Traditional Design Arguments, 1:46:05 - Global/Fine-Tuning Arguments - Contemporary Discussion and Critiques1:55:24 - Bishop Barron's Argument on Theism's ability to allow us to do Science and Inferring Design in Nature2:04:57 - Robert Koons' on Metaphysical Explanations vs. Scientific Inference/Hypotheses2:11:11 - J.H. Sobel on the transition in Natural Theology and the shifts in arguments that Theists are using.2:16:58 - Models of God, Classical Theism/Thomism and problems with certain Divine Attributes2:22:28 - Logical and Evidential Problem of Evils/Responding to Theodicies and Objections2:28:56 - Skeptical Theism2:33:00 - Cumulative Cases for Atheism2:35:28 - Revelation and the Average Theists being unaware of Sophisticated Theist Philosophy/Complexity of Theism2:42:49 - Religious Disagreement and Primary Challenges to Scripture/Old Testament Violence2:51:59 - The Problem of an Eternal Hell and Arguments from Prophecy2:58:49 - Religious Experiences and Miracles3:11:00 - Do Atheists rule out Miracles from the start?3:13:02 - The Harms of Revealed Religion3:17:05 - Prof. Lorkowski's future projects and writing/hopes for the book
RA026: Aron Lucas on the Fine Tuning Argument Real Atheology 2019-09-23 | For this episode, we interview Aron Lucas about his objection to the Fine Tuning argument in his paper "Naturalism, Fine-Tuning, and Flies" that is published at infidels.org/library/modern/aron_lucas/flies.html
RA025: Dr. Felipe Leon on Mitigated Modal Skepticism Real Atheology 2019-07-12 | For this episode, we interview philosopher Dr. Felipe Leon on the topic of Mitigated Modal Skepticism, the view that our modal knowledge is limited to the mundane. It seeks to the ground our modal knowledge in empirical sources, such as observation and observation-sensitive theory. This would mean our modal knowledge can not be extended to possibilities critical to a large variety of theistic arguments. We end up covering a number of related topics in the philosophy of religion. Felipe also runs the ex-apologist philosophy of religion blog which has a wealth of fantastic content that listeners to this podcast will no doubt enjoy. http://exapologist.blogspot.com
Why Are You an Atheist? Talk for MAVEN Real Atheology 2019-07-10 | Our very own Ben Watkins was invited to DC to give a talk about why he's an atheist to a group of young Christian apologists (MAVEN). This is most of the talk; unfortunately, the first few minutes weren't recorded. Ben discusses the problem of evil and metaethics. Ben's back-and-forth with the youth is all in there, toward the end.For more about MAVEN, click this link: crossexamined.org/the-maven-experiencePhoto credit goes to Tim Stratton of FreeThinking Ministries.
RA024: Interview with Islamic Apologist Zack Crist Real Atheology 2019-06-11 | In this episode, the Bens get a fresh perspective from Zack Crist (name misspelled in picture), a Muslim from America who now lives in Turkey. During the interview, Zack and the Bens compare and contrast the beliefs and philosophical defenses of Islam and Christianity, delving into the concepts of God, miracles, and the afterlife. They also discuss people's attitudes toward Islam in America and Turkey.
RA023: The Argument from Motion Real Atheology 2019-02-04 | We're back with a new episode! This time we tackle the Argument from Motion as presented in Ed Feser's book "Five Proofs of the Existence of God".**Correction: it's not quite right that one key difference between classical theists and theistic personalists (or Anselmian perfect being theists) is that the former don't believe God to be personal but the latter do. Feser explains why this is incorrect on pp. 190-1 of Five Proofs of the Existence of God:"The view is called 'theistic personalism' because it essentially treats God as the unique member of a species falling under the genus person, alongside other species of persons like human beings and angels, and differing from them in lacking their limitations on power, knowledge, goodness, and so forth. (Note that what distinguishes neo-theism or theistic personalism from classical theism is not that it regards God as personal as opposed to impersonal. Since most classical theists attribute intellect and will to God, they too generally regard God as personal. Rather, what sets the views apart is that theistic personalists regard God’s being personal as entailing that he falls under a genus, and that in this and other ways he is not simple or noncomposite.)"Gaven Kerr also tries to show that the Thomistic God can be personal, pace Plantinga, in the chapter of Aquinas's Way to God entitled "Esse Tantum" (http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/…/acprof-9780190224806-cha…). I do wonder, though, whether attributing certain attributes to God that are analogical to ordinary personal attributes counts as attributing personal attributes to God. Maybe it counts in an analogical sense. :) At any rate, we can still differentiate between classical theists and theistic personalists by noting that the former don't take God to be *a person* univocally whereas the latter do.
RA022: Jason Thibodeau on the Euthyphro Dilemma Real Atheology 2018-08-21 | In this episode the Real Atheologians interview Jason Thibodeau about the famous Euthyphro Dilemma and how to respond to apologists who try to split the dilemma. Jason is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Cypress College.
RA021 - Interview with Dr. Graham Oppy Real Atheology 2018-07-01 | In this episode the Real Atheologians interview philosopher Dr. Graham Oppy. We discuss the Evolutionary Argument Against Naturalism, defining naturalism, the Modal Ontological Argument, and a number of issues in contemporary philosophy of religion.An interesting paper on skeptical theism that explains "the preface paradox" (relevant to our discussion of the EAAN) starting on p. 12 - http://luisoliveira.org/uploads/3/4/8/4/34842076/paradox_of_evil.pdfNagasawa and Almeida's "Faultless Modal Ontological Argument" - http://capturingchristianity.com/a-faultless-modal-ontological-argumentSEP on the PSR - https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sufficient-reason/Gale and Pruss's "New Cosmological Argument" (which isn't so new anymore) - http://alexanderpruss.com/papers/NewCosmo.htmlOppy's response to Gale and Pruss - philpapers.org/rec/OPPOANGale and Pruss's response to Oppy - jstor.org/stable/20008393
RA020 - Alex Malpass on the Kalam Cosmological Argument Real Atheology 2018-06-08 | This is a follow-up episode on the Kalam Cosmological Argument where we interview philosopher Alex Malpass about his upcoming paper, co-authored with Wes Morriston, on the Kalam. Among other things, we discuss potential vs. actual/completed infinities, beginningless pasts, endless futures, and symmetry breakers.Alex posted the paper he co-authored with Morriston, titled "Endless and Infinite," on his blog: useofreason.wordpress.com/2020/02/06/endless-and-infiniteLandon Hedrick's "Heartbreak at Hilbert's Hotel": https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=philosfacpub
Real Atheologys Critique of Gods Rockers Moral Argument Real Atheology 2018-06-03 | In this video response, I look at some of the criticisms of my arguments against modified divine command theory (the moral argument) provided by Lewis Roe of God's Rocker. I've included the debate below:youtube.com/watch?v=9fXRQzPOmKICraig vs Wielenbergyoutube.com/watch?v=6iVyVJAMiOY
RA019 - The Kalam Cosmological Argument Real Atheology 2018-06-03 | This is a new beginning for Real Atheology as Ben Watkins welcomes Ben Bavar and John Lopilato as new co-hosts to the cast. Justin Schieber has taken a break from philosophy of religion in general to focus on college. We’ve decided to start things off with a Big Bang by tackling the Kalam Cosmological argument.
RA018: Scott Davison on Petitionary Prayer Real Atheology 2018-03-18 | Today I interview Dr. Scott Davison. Dr. Davison is professor of philosophy at Morehead State University where he specializes in Metaphysics, Ethics, and Philosophy of Religion. Dr. Davison and I connected back in May of last year at a conference here in Grand rapids - a science and religion dialogue for which he was the keynote speaker. The presentation was on his recently released a book titled Petitionary Prayer; a Philosophical Investigation. I really enjoyed his analysis and had to have him on the show.
RA017: Erik Wielenberg on Debating Morality Real Atheology 2018-03-09 | In this episode, Ben Watkins sits down with philosopher Dr. Erik Wielenberg in Raleigh, NC immediately after his debate with philosopher Dr. William Lane Craig at NC State University. The debate, held on February 23rd, 2018, was on the question of what better explains objective moral values and duties. Wielenberg defended a form of godless normative realism while Craig defended a modified divine command theory. The discussion surveys the arguments and responses used in the debate as well as a few other topics in philosophy of religion. Read more at http://realatheology.libsyn.com/ra017-erik-wielenberg-on-debating-morality#5jMkSVkoeiReVH8I.99
RA016: What is Skeptical Theism? Real Atheology 2018-03-09 | Skeptical Theism is a philosophical position about our ability to make meaningful inferences about what God, if such a being exists, is likely to create or allow. In this episode, Ben and Justin discuss one particular version of Skeptical Theism and the implications it has on arguments from evil and a few other issues as well.
RA015: Debating the Problem of Evil with Justin Schieber and Cameron Bertuzzi Real Atheology 2017-08-29 | Rather than a live debate, what you are about to hear is an audio performance of an already written debate that’s been going on behind the scenes for the last month or so in the form of a series of essays written in reply to each other. The debate was on the problem of evil and it was between Justin Schieber and Cameron Bertuzzi. The debate clocks in at about an hour.
RA014: Paul Moser on Religious Epistemology and Gods Elusiveness Real Atheology 2017-08-03 | In this episode Ben Watkins interviews philosopher Dr. Paul Moser. Dr. Moser is Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University Chicago. Professor Moser has published over 80 articles and authored many books including The Elusive God and The Evidence for God; Religious Knowledge Reexamined. Professor Moser’s research interests include epistemology, metaphilosophy, and the philosophy of religion. The interview touches on issues of religious epistemology, the hiddenness of God, and even natural theology.
RA013: Quentin Smith on Natural Evils and Immaterial Minds Real Atheology 2017-07-20 | A few weeks back I was delighted to have the opportunity to interview Dr. Quentin Smith. We sat down not far from the Western Michigan University Campus where he was professor of philosophy from 1993 until he retired in 2015. Dr. Smith received his bachelor's degree in philosophy from Antioch College and his PhD in philosophy from Boston College. He has written and published over 140 articles and has written and co-written several books including one with William Lane Craig titled Theism, Atheism, and Big Bang Cosmology. While brief, the interview covers a wide variety of subjects from Smith’s 1986 book on The Felt Meanings of the World to his contributions to the problem of evil focusing on Evil Natural Laws as well as his thoughts on some contemporary arguments for God.
