A podcast all about exploring big ideas and discovering truth together
Episodes
Tuesday Jan 19, 2021
Tuesday Jan 19, 2021
Many discussions about the existence of God get unnecessarily derailed by definitional differences. What matters most is understanding where the person you are talking is coming from, what kind of mental states are they having, and proceeding from there.
In this episode, Clint and Tony try to clear some confusion surrounding the terms "atheist" and "agnostic", offer some reasons why someone might be an atheist, and then discuss the rationality of these views as well as theism. Join the Conversation and Stay Curious!
Monday Jan 11, 2021
Monday Jan 11, 2021
In this episode, Clint and Tony react to the happenings at the U.S. Capitol and the early responses to it. This was recorded less than 48 hours (Friday morning) after the events on Wednesday, and as such many more details are and will be coming out that would influence our discussion. Our goal here is to approach the conversation with the intellectual virtues and give our raw, uncut processing of what our nation is facing.
We discuss the differences between protests, riots, and terrorism, the role of the President, the limits to free speech, the extent of similarities to the summer race riots, the implications for social media and public perception, the possibility for unity, and more. We hope that you Join the Conversation and Stay Curious.
Monday Jan 04, 2021
Monday Jan 04, 2021
How could an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-good God allow COVID-19 to sweep over our world? Is the fact that there is a widespread suffering and evil in the world a threat to rationally believing that God exists? These are important questions.
In this conversation, Clint and Tony offer a possible response on behalf of theists. We talk about whether God has enough power and knowledge to address such evils in the way we'd want, the problem of horrendous and gratuitous evil, the role of free will, the possibility of redemptive suffering, and the amount of evidence human beings have to make an accurate judgment on these topics.
Join the conversation!
Tuesday Dec 29, 2020
Tuesday Dec 29, 2020
So much of our personality, behaviors, appearance, and every day well-being is influenced by our genetic makeup. If we knew that a certain collection of genes made one's life worse, should we pursue and act on technology that would allow us to alter them?
There are a number of difficult moral questions surrounding the topic of genetic engineering. We discuss the extent to which our features are heritable, arguments for which features should or should not be altered, the implications of removing or altering certain traits, the importance of having these conversations ahead of the technology, and more. Stay curious and join the conversation!
Monday Dec 21, 2020
Monday Dec 21, 2020
We use probability language all the time. But what do we really mean by it? And further, are our intuitions giving us the right answers when we try to calculate chance, luck, and likelihood?
In this episode, Dr. Nevin Climenhaga, an expert in philosophy of probability and reasoning, helps Clint and Tony navigate these tricky words - and even stumps us in a few of his brain teasers! Thinking well about probability can help us become better reasoners, lovers of truth, and even assist us in discerning evidence for God's existence. Join the Conversation!
Monday Dec 14, 2020
Monday Dec 14, 2020
What would happen to our theology if we took seriously the idea that Jesus is the perfect revelation of what God is like? Pastor Brian Zahnd joins us to discuss the implications of this across a number of different topics including war, violence, biblical interpretation, atonement theory, and hell.
We linger on some themes from his most recent book, Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God. This book was enormously impactful for Clint and Tony - to the point of us minting the term "Zahndian" to refer to collection of ideas laid out in the book! You can find that book and other fantastic works by Brian at https://brianzahnd.com/books/. They are definitely worth your time. Join the Conversation!
Tuesday Dec 08, 2020
Tuesday Dec 08, 2020
Our society is facing many deep moral questions. But, how should we think about morality or ethics in the first place? What "ethical software" are you bringing to the table when you make moral decisions? In this episode, we offer the Mountain Road Thought Experiment as a way to test your intuitions about morality. There is a bit of killing in the thought-experiment, but no real persons were harmed in the making of this episode!
Monday Nov 30, 2020
Monday Nov 30, 2020
Have you ever wondered what an afterlife would actually be like? Who's there, what would you do all day, and how long does it last? The recent sitcom hit The Good Place explores each of these questions and more in winsome, hilarious, and surprisingly deep ways. Clint and Tony use the The Good Place as an anchor for a conversation about the afterlife and review the show.
Sunday Nov 22, 2020
Sunday Nov 22, 2020
What a treat! Brad and Paul have co-authored a book called The Pastor: A Crisis, which is a raw, authentic examination of the question, "Is anyone irredeemable?". The answer as you read on, is "No!" Even the worst, the abject worst, are redeemable through the "fire" of God's wrath-love. It's a rollercoaster book and a rollercoaster discussion. Let us know if you resonating with anything in this conversation or the book.
Join the Conversation.
There's so many good resources. Here's the links to The Pastor and other items we mention:
Monday Nov 16, 2020
Monday Nov 16, 2020
You wrote in - we responded! We want this platform to be a place where no stone is unturned, and we can ask all of our tough questions. We'd love to do this more often or even make it a regular segment of the show, so please write in to opentotruthpodcast@gmail.com.
Join the Conversation and Stay Curious!