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Randal Rauser

Home of progressively evangelical, generously orthodox, rigorously analytic, revolutionary Christian thinking (that's what I'm aiming for anyway)

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afterlife

A Conversation on Christian Views of the Afterlife with Apostate Prophet

April 15, 2021 by Randal

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Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: afterlife, Apostate Prophet, debate, eschatology, heaven, hell

Why a meaningful life is not the same thing as a life that does (or does not) go on forever

November 21, 2020 by Randal

Christians sometimes argue that life is only meaningful if it goes on forever. Atheists sometimes argue that life is only meaningful if it doesn’t go on forever. They’re both wrong.

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: afterlife, atheism, Christianity, meaning

10. The 59-Second Apologist: Will we have free will in heaven?

May 25, 2015 by Randal

Mark Twain once quipped: “Let us swear while we may, for in heaven it will not be allowed.” That piece of advice, however questionable it may be, does raise an interesting philosophical question: when a person becomes unable to sin, must they give up their free will? Some theologians have supposed so. To note one […]

Filed Under: Podcast-59 Second Apologist, The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: afterlife, eschatology, free will, heaven

Do you have to love Jesus more than your children?

March 20, 2015 by Randal

A little while ago I was speaking at a convention on the topic of heaven. As often happens, several people came up afterward to ask questions and share comments and stories. Over the next several minutes the conversation slowed and eventually the crowd drifted away leaving one man standing quietly. Once the others had left […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: afterlife, death, God, grief, Jesus

Love has no shelf life: The goodness of life forever

February 20, 2015 by Randal

I’d like to live forever, and under the right conditions I hope I can. I discuss that wish (and rebut those who look askance at the prospect) here. So I always remain puzzled by atheists/skeptics/naturalists etc. who insist that they really don’t want to live forever, even under the most ideal of conditions. Soren Kierkegaard […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: afterlife, atheism, eschatology, eternity, skepticism

How should we think about atheists who have no problem with atheism?

February 19, 2015 by Randal

Yesterday my article “Do you have enough faith to be a theist? Or an atheist?” drew an interesting comment from a reader named Bilbo who reflected: “At a very dark perod [sic] in my life, when I was angry at God for everything, I tried living as an atheist for a few years. The bleakness […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: afterlife, atheism, existential argument, meaning, theism

Do spirits have a ghost of a chance to persuade a skeptic?

October 16, 2014 by Randal

Over the years I have blogged on the topic of ghosts on several occasions, including the articles “Should Christians believe in ghosts?”, “Jesus believed in ghosts (so maybe you should too),” and “J.B. Phillips and the Ghost of C.S. Lewis.” Three years ago I even did some research and writing for a planned book on […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: afterlife, atheism, ghost, naturalism, supernaturalism, theism

“Heaven is for Real” A Review

July 26, 2014 by Randal

Last night I saw “Heaven is for Real” available to rent at Redbox. Having read the book, and presented seminars critiquing it, and having written a sixty page book proposal titled What on Earth Happened to Colton Burpo? which was rejected by the publishers because they were worried that I (and they) would appear to […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: afterlife, eschatology, heaven, Heaven is for Real, movie, NDE, OBE, review

J.B. Phillips and the Ghost of C.S. Lewis

June 5, 2014 by Randal

J..B Phillips was a well known Bible translator of the highly regarded Phillips Translation as well as the author of the popular 1962 book Your God is too Small. In his 1967 book Ring of Truth: A Translator’s Testimony (London: Hodder and Stoughton) Phillips recounts a stunning experience he had with a ghost … and not just any […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: afterlife, apologetics, C.S. Lewis, ghost, God, J.B. Phillips, naturalism, NDE, OBE, paranormal, supernaturalism

Do human beings have spectral bodies?

February 7, 2014 by Randal

The other day I received the following query via email: “Do we get an intermediate body for our souls in heaven whilst we await the second coming?” I suppose the answer will depend what one means by “body”. Historically, most Christians have believed that human beings have (or are) souls, and that these souls are simple […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: afterlife, anthropology, death, dualism, ghost

NDEs and those determined not to believe in them

February 4, 2014 by Randal

In “Sprites and near death experiences” I argued that current study of NDEs is in the early stages of first-person reports analogous to the study of “sprites” (a rare meteorological phenomenon) which was initiated forty years ago with a growing collection of first-person reports. Mike D replied: I thought Sam Harris did a bang up […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: afterlife, dualism, evidence, NDE, OBE, Sam Harris, science

An Unbelievable debate on heaven with the Friendly Atheist

February 1, 2014 by Randal

Today (February 1st, 2014) Unbelievable with Justin Brierley broadcast a discussion / debate I had with the Friendly Atheist (Hemant Mehta). I have included the 1 1/2 hour episode below. After listening to the broadcast feel free to join the discussion. (Of course you can also join the discussion before listening to the broadcast, just […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: afterlife, Friendly Atheist, heaven, Hemant Mehta, Justin Brierley, NDE, OBE, Unbelievable

Cooling Twilight reviews “What on Earth Do We Know About Heaven?”

October 5, 2013 by Randal

The blog Cooling Twilight (great name, by the way) has reviewed What on Earth Do We Know About Heaven? You can read the review here. The closing of the review summarizes matters nicely: “In this slim vol­ume Rauser tack­les impor­tant and intrigu­ing issues in a robust and engag­ing way, pro­vid­ing a rea­soned alter­na­tive to so much of […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: afterlife, eschatology, heaven, review, What on Earth do we Know About Heaven

Randal talks heaven on The Bob Dutko Show

October 5, 2013 by Randal

I’ve been on The Bob Dutko Show several times now. Radio is a fast-paced medium as you gallop to make your points before the next commercial break. At the same time, it is a noble challenge because the medium forces you to state each point in what is little more than a glorified elevator speech. […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: afterlife, Bob Dutko, eschatology, heaven, interview, Randal Rauser

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