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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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evil

Why I Think Frank Turek is an Evil Person

November 21, 2022 by Randal

Progressive Christianity is not progressive, and it's not Christian. — Frank Turek (@DrFrankTurek) November 21, 2022 Frank Turek‘s behavior in this tweet is evil. The term “progressive Christian” is every bit as diverse in lexical range as “evangelical” and has been used to refer to Christians who are demonstrably orthodox (e.g. Brian Zahnd who is […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: apologetics, evil, Frank Turek

Coming to Terms with the Problem of Evil

May 19, 2019 by Randal

If you want a simple and effective way to identify a Christian apologist worth listening to, ask them to share their thoughts on the problem of evil. If they keep their discussion of the problem in the abstract and if they suggest that it is a problem easily solved, you should keep looking. But if […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: apologetics, evil, problem of evil, steelman, suffering

Thoughts and Prayers and the Atheist’s Scorn

October 12, 2017 by Randal

Hurricanes. Wildfires. Mass shootings. The possibility of nuclear annihilation. Is it any surprise that we regularly hear the call to extend “thoughts and prayers” to others? As predictable as that phrase may be at times like this, equally predictable is the scornful reply from many an atheist. That reply typically amounts to “Thoughts and prayers? […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: atheism, evil

A Case Where I Spend WAY TOO MUCH Time Analyzing a Snide Atheist Meme

August 18, 2017 by Randal

Here is a tweet from the folks at “Atheist Republic”. Call it a meme if you want. (Might as well since the word “meme” seems to apply to most anything that gets retweeted.) So here’s the meme: pic.twitter.com/AduwjnloUq — Atheist Republic (@AtheistRepublic) August 16, 2017 I’m not sure what definition of “bullshit” the folks at […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: atheism, bullshit, evil, falsification, problem of evil, providence, rhetoric

On Praying for Milo

February 21, 2017 by Randal

We live in an age where extreme and hateful voices like that of Milo Yiannopoulos get way more attention than they deserve. I was disgusted when Bill Maher hosted Milo on Real Time last week (and I applaud Jeremy Scahill for withdrawing from the show in protest). By the time the video surfaced of Milo advocating for […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Dead Man Walking, ethics, evil, forgiveness, Milo Yiannopoulos, pedophilia, prayer, sin

Cursing the Killer: On Praying the Imprecatory Psalms

June 19, 2016 by Randal

Over the years I’ve preached my sermon on the imprecatory psalms on several occasions. Not surprisingly, when you return to an issue on multiple occasions, your position is liable to develop in particular ways. And so it is here. Initially my assessment followed that of C.S. Lewis: the imprecatory psalms represent a wicked desire for […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: biblical violence, curse, evil, forgiveness, God, imprecatory psalm, problem of evil, sermon

God and the Problem of Suffering: An Interview with Paul Buller

May 26, 2016 by Randal

In this interview I discuss that most difficult of problems, God and suffering, with Christian apologist Paul Buller. Paul is a co-founder of the Network of Christian Apologists in Calgary, AB and the author of the book Suffering: The Heart of the Matter. But while Paul loves to pursue the intellectual side of Christian faith, his perspective on suffering […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: apologetics, evil, interview, Paul Buller, problem of evil, suffering, theodicy, theology

The Act of Killing: A Review

January 20, 2016 by Randal

Pull the annals of the twentieth century off the shelf and you will find them dripping with the blood of countless victims of genocide. While Steven Pinker may be right that world history is progressively becoming less violent and more civil, that is little comfort to the victims of Hitler’s concentration camps, Cambodia’s killing fields, […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: documentary, evil, genocide, review, The Act of Killing

61. The Chaplains: Notes from the Frontlines

February 11, 2015 by Randal

Given that C. S. Lewis wrote one of the most influential theodicies of the twentieth century, The Problem of Pain, you might have thought he would’ve been uniquely prepared for the shock and grief of losing his beloved wife Joy to cancer. But you’d be wrong. Whatever the value of theodicies may be in the intellectual […]

Filed Under: Podcast-The Tentative Apologist, The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: chaplaincy, evil, interview, ministry, problem of evil, suffering

Why “The Wolf of Wall Street” is an evil, despicable film

December 27, 2013 by Randal

I haven’t watched Martin Scorsese’s new film “The Wolf of Wall Street”. Nor do I intend to. Consequently, you might think it a bit presumptuous of me to opine — and with such moralizing forcefulness! — on a film I haven’t yet watched. What gives? Well let’s start with the premise. The film stars Leonardo […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: evil, Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorcese, psychopath, psychopathy, The Wolf of Wall Street

Smith, Jones, and wandering into “Wandering in the Darkness”

November 9, 2013 by Randal

Yesterday I started reading Eleonore Stump’s magisterial 2010 book Wandering in the Darkness: Narrative and the Problem of Suffering (Oxford: Clarendon Press). It’s a BIG book, both in terms of pages (668 of ’em!) and size (6.8”×9.6”). But even more importantly, it’s big in vision as Stump brings her formidable intellect as one of the leading philosophers […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: analytic philosophy, Eleonore Stump, evil, narrative, Wandering in the Darkness

Check out my Beliefnet article on evil

May 1, 2013 by Randal

The title says it all. I just published an article with Beliefnet called “Facing Evil: Why Christians and Atheists Need Each Other.” In the article I argue that each side has a challenge to the other when it comes to thinking through the profound problem of evil in the world.

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: atheism, evil, theodicy

Can free will solve the problem of hell?

April 7, 2013 by Randal

I’d like to come back to my critique of Blanchette and Walls’ essay on hell in God and Evil. Let’s begin with a little indulgent self-quotation to set the stage: First Blanchette and Walls note that God could override human freedom that opts for hell, but he chooses not to because “Without genuine moral freedom, this […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: eternal conscious torment, evil, free will, hell

The Reason for Hell: A critical engagement with Timothy Keller (Part 3)

April 3, 2013 by Randal

In the previous installment of this series I pointed out how Keller endorses C.S. Lewis’ dubious account of hell as self-inflicted torment. As Keller says, “hell is simply one’s freely chosen identity apart from God on a trajectory into infinity.” (80) What this view lacks in biblical support it more than makes up for in […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: eternal conscious torment, evil, hell, resurrection, theodicy, Timothy Keller

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