Can Appeals to Free Will Solve the Problem of Evil? Center for Philosophy of Religion 2026-09-28 | Can Appeals to Free Will Solve the Problem of Evil?
Analytic Theology and the Ministry of Reconciliation (Thomas H. McCall) Center for Philosophy of Religion 2019-12-04 | Thomas H. McCall, Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity SchoolAAR & SBL Annual Meetings in San Diego, CaliforniaNovember 24, 2019Abstract: The doctrine of reconciliation is once again seen as something that is quite central to Christian theology, and, with the return of theological interpretation of Scripture and the renewal of analytic theology, important methodological tools are available to Christian theologians. In this lecture, I bring together the resources of both theological interpretation and analytic theology to offer a theological exegesis of 2 Cor 5:12-21. I argue for a distinctly incarnational account of reconciliation; one that is centered on the reconciliation of human sinners with God while also concerned with broader ethical dimensions.
The Eucharist, Perfection, and Damage (Lauren F. Winner) Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-12-06 | Lauren F. Winner, Associate Professor of Christian Spirituality at Duke Divinity SchoolAAR & SBL Annual Meetings in Denver, ColoradoNovember 18, 2018
Does Scripture justify racism? Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-10-31 | In this short interview, Sameer Yadav (Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Westmont College) discusses whether Scripture justifies racism.
What role can philosophy have in discussions of race? Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-10-31 | In this short interview, Sameer Yadav (Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Westmont College) explores the role of philosophy in discussions of race.
How has Christianity contributed to racism? Part I Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-10-31 | In this short interview, Sameer Yadav (Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Westmont College) discusses ways in which Christianity has contributed to racism.
How has Christianity contributed to racism? Part II Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-10-31 | In this short interview, Sameer Yadav (Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Westmont College) discusses ways in which Christianity has contributed to racism.
Are there theological solutions to racism? Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-10-31 | In this short interview, Sameer Yadav (Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Westmont College) discusses theological solutions to racism.
Is gender socially constructed? Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-10-31 | In this short interview, Robin Dembroff (Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Yale University) discusses the social construction of gender.
What is sexual orientation? Part I Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-10-31 | In this short interview, Robin Dembroff (Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Yale University) discusses the nature of sexual orientation.
What is sexual orientation? Part II Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-10-31 | In this short interview, Robin Dembroff (Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Yale University) discusses the nature of sexual orientation.
What is sexual orientation? Part III Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-10-31 | In this short interview, Robin Dembroff (Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Yale University) discusses the nature of sexual orientation.
How have religious communities perpetuated religious trauma? Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-10-31 | In this short interview, Michelle Panchuk (Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Murray State University) discusses how religious communities have perpetuated religious trauma.
How can religious communities support sufferers of religious trauma? Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-10-31 | In this short interview, Michelle Panchuk (Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Murray State University) discusses how religious communities can support those who have suffered religious trauma.
How is religious trauma related to the traditional problems of evil and divine hiddenness? Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-10-31 | In this short interview, Michelle Panchuk (Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Murray State University) discusses connections between religious trauma and the traditional problems of evil and divine hiddenness.
What can we learn from Mary? Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-10-31 | In this short interview, Amy Peeler (Associate Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College) discusses lessons we can learn from Mary.
What are the biggest misunderstandings of Scriptures teaching on gender? Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-10-31 | In this short interview, Amy Peeler (Associate Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College) discusses common misunderstandings of Scripture's teaching on gender.
Does Scripture justify gender discrimination? Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-10-31 | In this short interview, Amy Peeler (Associate Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College) discusses whether Scripture justifies gender discrimination.
Does the Christian tradition have resources to rectify gender marginalization and injustice? Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-10-31 | In this short interview, Amy Peeler (Associate Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College) discusses uniquely Christian resources for responding to gender marginalization and injustice.
How has religion marginalized women? Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-10-31 | In this short interview, Amy Peeler (Associate Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College) discusses how religion has marginalized women.
What is religious trauma? Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-10-31 | In this short interview, Michelle Panchuk (Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Murray State University) defines what religious trauma is.
Disability in Heaven Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-09-14 | A compelling look at the topic of disability in heaven, featuring Calvin College philosophy professor, Kevin Timpe. Produced by Notre Dame's Center for Philosophy of Religion in collaboration with Glass Darkly Films Inc.
Reformed Epistemology Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-03-22 | Can belief in God be rational without evidence and argument?
God and Other Minds Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-03-22 | Can belief in God be rational because of something other than arguments and evidence?
Is It Rational to be a Christian? Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-03-22 | Can you show that belief in Christianity is irrational without also showing that Christianity is false?
The Free Will Defense Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-03-22 | If God exists and God is all-powerful and all-good, then why is there evil in the world?
The Evolutionary Argument Against Naturalism Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-02-14 | If evolution and naturalism were both true, would we really know much of anything at all?
Where the Conflict Really Lies Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-02-14 | Do science and religion really conflict, or does the real conflict lie elsewhere?
Felix Culpa Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-02-09 | In what way might a moral *fall* of humanity be considered fortunate?
Human Freedom and Divine Foreknowledge Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-02-09 | If God knows everything we will do before we do it, can our actions be free?
Transworld Depravity Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-02-09 | What if God cannot guarantee that we always use our free will for good?
The Modal Ontological Argument Center for Philosophy of Religion 2018-02-09 | Is showing that it's possible that God exists enough to also show that God actually exists?
The Meanings of History: Event and Interpretation in the Bible and Theology (N.T. Wright) Center for Philosophy of Religion 2017-11-20 | N.T. Wright, Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of St Andrews School of DivinityAAR & SBL Annual Meetings in Boston, MassachusettsNovember 19, 2017Abstract: The word ‘history’, notoriously, has several significantly different meanings, not always tracked in relevant discussions. The word ‘meaning’ itself will vary according to which meaning of ‘history’ we choose. Discussion here has been hindered by several interlocking but systematically confusing debates: (1) the over-bright either/or of ‘natural’ and ‘supernatural’ in modern thought, with its tendency to reductionism on one side and Docetism on the other; (2) the sterile (and itself historically conditioned!) antithesis of pantheistic ‘progress’ and an irruptive ‘apocalyptic’, with its various spin-offs in biblical interpretation; (3) the multivalence of the term ‘historical-critical’, sometimes used to indicate the employment of history to undermine traditional Christian claims and sometimes in a supposedly more ‘neutral’ sense; (4) the question of biblical ‘authority’. A fresh appraisal of ‘history’ is required, seeing the term as (at least) a shorthand for various narratives concerning events, tasks, storytelling and symbol-making both within the biblical traditions themselves and within their reappropriation not only as faith-narratives in the church but also as proclamation, explanation and apologia in the wider world.
Sin and Desire in Analytic Theology: A Return to Genesis 3 (Sarah Coakley) Center for Philosophy of Religion 2017-01-31 | Sarah Coakley, Norris-Hulse Professor of Divinity at the University of CambridgeAAR & SBL Annual Meetings in San Antonio, TexasNovember 20, 2016Abstract: The ‘problem of evil’ has dominated modern analytic philosophy of religion, with ‘original sin’ merely seen as a further complication for the ‘free will defense’. This lecture starts from a different direction: a close exegesis of the Genesis Fall narrative itself, with a focus on ‘sin’ as misdirected desire. Drawing on a rich set of alternative renditions (from rabbinical, Greek, Syriac and Latin sources), a typology of contrasting classic accounts of sin is essayed. While each generates a theodicy problem of its own, a favoured philosophical solution emerges, intensifying rather than dissolving the classic felix culpa paradox, but freshly illuminating the relation between desire and freedom.
Is Christianity Bad for Women? Women and the Church: An Inter-Tradition Dialogue Center for Philosophy of Religion 2016-10-07 | Christianity teaches that men and women equally bear the image of God. In many quarters of Christendom, however, the roles assigned to men and women fall far short of equality. In contemporary American society, women have enjoyed increasingly greater opportunities for leadership, and greater protections under the law from gender-based harassment and violence. But Christianity has often been seen as an obstacle to such progress. What do the diverse traditions within Christendom really teach about the place and treatment of women in the church, family, and society? Do the church's actual practices match that teaching?A panel featuring Sister Simone Campbell, Rachel Held Evans, and Mary Rice Hasson, moderated by Rev. Amy Peeler, discussed these and other questions at the University of Notre Dame on September 22, 2016.
Hope on Screen Video Competition Center for Philosophy of Religion 2015-12-31 | Hope on Screen is a $10,000 competition for one to three-minute videos that creatively explore the role of hope in human life.Submit your video at: http://hopeoptimism.com/pages/funding-initiatives/hope-on-screen
The Liturgical Knowledge of God (Nicholas Wolterstorff) Center for Philosophy of Religion 2015-12-03 | Nicholas Wolterstorff, Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philsophical Theology at Yale UniversityAAR & SBL Annual Meetings in Atlanta, GANovember 22, 2015Abstract: In this lecture I take for granted that knowing propositions about someone is not to be identified with knowing that person. My topic is knowing God, not knowing propositions about God. Philosophers, in general, have focused on two ways of coming to know God: by having an experience of some sort of God, and by reading or being told narratives about God's actions. In this talk I develop the idea that one can also come to know God by participating in liturgical enactments. Liturgical enactments are a certain mode of acknowledging God. An obvious question is: doesn't one have to know God already if one is to engage in the liturgical activity of acknowledging God? I argue that the answer to this is No.
Roundtable Discussion on Transformative Experiences (Part 3/3) Center for Philosophy of Religion 2015-10-23 | L.A. Paul (Professor of Philosophy, UNC Chapel Hill), Michael Rea (Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame), and Sameer Yadav (Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Westmont College) discuss transformative experiences. Sponsored by the Experience Project: http://the-experience-project.org.
Roundtable Discussion on Transformative Experiences (Part 2/3) Center for Philosophy of Religion 2015-10-22 | L.A. Paul (Professor of Philosophy, UNC Chapel Hill), Michael Rea (Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame), and Sameer Yadav (Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Westmont College) discuss transformative experiences. Sponsored by the Experience Project: http://the-experience-project.org.
Roundtable Discussion on Transformative Experiences (Part 1/3) Center for Philosophy of Religion 2015-10-22 | L.A. Paul (Professor of Philosophy, UNC Chapel Hill), Michael Rea (Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame), and Sameer Yadav (Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Westmont College) discuss transformative experiences. Sponsored by the Experience Project: http://the-experience-project.org.
Relation of Theology and Philosophy of Religion Roundtable Center for Philosophy of Religion 2015-10-22 | What is the relationship between theology and philosophy of religion? Helen De Cruz (Assistant Professor of Philosophy, VU University of Amsterdam), Kevin Hector (Professor of Theology and Philosophy of Religion, University of Chicago Divinity School), Alan Torrance (Professor of Systematic Theology, University of St. Andrews) discuss this question.
Roundtable Discussion on Experimental Philosophy of Religion Center for Philosophy of Religion 2015-10-09 | Helen De Cruz (Assistant Professor of Philosophy, VU University of Amsterdam), Kevin Hector (Professor of Theology and Philosophy of Religion, University of Chicago Divinity School), Alan Torrance (Professor of Systematic Theology, University of St. Andrews) discuss experimental philosophy of religion.
A Theory of Collective Atonement (Josh Thurow) Center for Philosophy of Religion 2015-10-07 | Josh Thurow, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at UT San Antonio, explains some problems with certain theories of atonement. Then, he offers his own theory of atonement: a collective theory in which Jesus, as a representative of humanity, acts on humanity's behalf to reconcile them to God.
An Introduction to Theories of Atonement (Josh Thurow) Center for Philosophy of Religion 2015-10-07 | Josh Thurow, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at UT San Antonio, outlines several theories of atonement in Christianity. First, he explains subjective theories, such as the moral exemplar theory. Then, he explains several objective theories: the ransom theory, penal substitution, and the satisfaction theory.
What is Atonement? (Josh Thurow) Center for Philosophy of Religion 2015-10-07 | Josh Thurow, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at UT San Antonio, explains the concept of atonement and its importance to Christianity.
The Afterlife Part 2/2: Embodiment (Christina Van Dyke) Center for Philosophy of Religion 2015-10-07 | Will we have bodies in the afterlife? What will their purpose be? Christina Van Dyke, Professor of Philosophy at Calvin College, sheds light on these questions using the work of Thomas Aquinas.
The Afterlife Part 1/2: Time Center for Philosophy of Religion 2015-10-04 | Will the afterlife be boring? In this video, Christian Van Dyke, Professor of Philosophy at Calvin College, explores this question. She explains how one's view of time can affect the answer.
Christianity and Gendered Eating (Christina Van Dyke) Center for Philosophy of Religion 2015-10-04 | Christina Van Dyke, Professor of Philosophy at Calvin College, discusses the relationship between eating, philosophy of gender, and Christianity.
Pluralism in Biblical Criticism (Carl Mosser) Center for Philosophy of Religion 2015-10-04 | Should the evidence that biblical scholars use be limited to that which is universally accessible? Carl Mosser, Ph.D. New Testament (University of St. Andrews), Visiting Scholar at the University of Notre Dame, discusses this question.
A Philosophy of Biblical Criticism? (Carl Mosser) Center for Philosophy of Religion 2015-10-04 | Carl Mosser, Ph.D. New Testament (University of St. Andrews), Visiting Scholar at the University of Notre Dame, explores the theoretical and practical importance of the philosophy of biblical Criticism.
Biblical Basis for the Doctrine of Deification (Carl Mosser) Center for Philosophy of Religion 2015-10-03 | Carl Mosser, Ph.D. New Testament (University of St. Andrews), Visiting Scholar at the University of Notre Dame, explores several biblical texts that support the Doctrine of Deification, including 2 Peter 1:4, Psalm 82:6, 1 John 3:2, Genesis 1:27, Psalm 8:4-5, Hebrews 2:5-9, and Revelation 2-3.
