In this podcast I offer a response to Bill Maher’s recent incendiary comments against Islam. While Maher attempts to position himself as a defender of the true spirit of liberalism and free speech, I argue that his understanding of free speech is egregiously truncated and produces rhetoric which foments misunderstanding, demonization, and the eroding of […]
Podcast-The Tentative Apologist
58. Matthew Flannagan on God and Genocide
In his bestselling 2006 book The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins throws down the gauntlet against the Judeo-Christian God. While much of Dawkins’ book is devilishly quotable polemic, he arguably reaches his rhetorical apex with this oft-quoted passage: “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud […]
57. Terry Mortenson on Creationism
When I was in high school I gave my science teacher a copy of Paul Ackerman’s book It’s a Young World After All. The book aimed to show that evolution was false and the earth was a mere six to ten thousand years old. My science teacher politely received the gift and then, for all I […]
56. Deborah Haarsma on BioLogos, God, and Evolution
For many people today, the relationship between science and religion or theology can be summarized in one word: “conflict”. While conflicts inevitably do arise, there are many Christians who believe that a more helpful framework for conceiving the relations between science and theology is one of harmony. In this episode of the Tentative Apologist Podcast […]
55. Does the Trinity make sense? A conversation with Michael Rea
A.W. Tozer once said, “Love and faith are at home in the mystery of the Godhead. Let reason kneel in reverence outside.” And why are we obliged to leave reason outside? Well the doctrine of God brings with it many conundrums, but there is probably none greater than that posed by Trinitarian doctrine, that is, […]
54. William Lane Craig on Apologetics and Debates
As one of the most influential and prolific philosophers of religion today, and indisputably the world’s leading Christian apologist, William Lane Craig is one of those rare guests who truly needs no introduction. But that’s not going to stop me from giving one. Dr. Craig is Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology […]
53. Peter Enns Tells Me So: The Interview
When I was growing up, the Bible was viewed as the Word of God, revelation from above. And you could know this by confirming the Bible’s perfect moral teaching, its fulfilled biblical prophecies, its reliable scientific descriptions, its inerrant history, and its inexplicable unity: 66 books, three languages, two testaments written over one thousand years, and […]
52. Women in Ministry
In 1967 Katherine Switzer made history as the first woman ever to enter … and complete the Boston Marathon. In this iconic photo you can see race official Jock Semple (the bald man in the black blazer) attempting to pull Switzer’s numbers off and stop her from running. As I reflect on the role of women ministering […]
51. On God and Comedy: Trading jokes with comedian and pastor Dan Taylor
I suspect God has a sense of humor. But do Christians? In this episode of The Tentative Apologist Podcast I sit down with Dan Taylor to explore that very question (and a few others). By day, Dan is the lead pastor of Disciples Church in Edmonton, Alberta and by night he is one of Edmonton’s top […]
50. The Evidential Problem of Evil (Part 1)
William Rowe tells the story of a fawn (think Bambi) severely burnt in a forest fire and left to die slowly over several days amidst the burning embers of the ravaged forest floor. It’s just one fawn, right? Who cares? But if God really is all-good and all-powerful then presumably he would not allow gratuitous […]
49. David Goa on Christianity and the Religions
Some years ago conservative Protestant theologian H. Wayne House published a book titled Charts of World Religions. In one two page chart the book compares and contrasts the beliefs of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, secular humanism, Hinduism and Buddhism on their views of creation, God, mankind, and scripture. All that, in two pages. Twenty five years […]
48. God is not a white man: Terry LeBlanc on Indigenous Theology
God is a white man. Just consider the iconic “Creation of Adam” fresco in Michelangelo’s timeless Sistine Chapel ceiling. Take a look. See? There’s God, beard waving in the heavenly breeze, arm extended, creating Adam in his very white and very male image. But what if God isn’t white? What if he isn’t male? What if images like […]
47. The Devil’s in the Music: On growing up evangelical in the 80s
I grew up reading Hal Lindsey books. Beginning with The Late, Great Planet Earth (1970), Mr. Lindsey had a string of bestsellers throughout the 1970s. And each of those books promoted a popularist form of dispensationalist Christianity that read the predicted future of the book of Revelation in the unfolding events of the evening news. […]
46. Kelly Kapic on A Little Book for New Theologians
Some years ago I arrived home to see my neighbor sitting in the front seat of her car with a strange, pained expression. “Are you okay?” I called over in a faltering attempt to be neighborly. My friendly inquiry was immediately returned with an in-depth account of my neighbor’s lower back pain, its etiology, proposed course […]
